The day that I was born

Once upon a time, a few decades back on 5th of august, there lived a Mom, about to deliver her first child. The child was to bring happiness to the family. She was to be the apple of her father's eye. She was to be a docile and polite child. The mom also hoped that the birth would bring end to her labor sufferings.

The father drove like a mad man, through the mountain roads, in the middle of the night. He just wanted to get to the hospital before anything happens. Obviously, something was bound to happen.

The hospital apologetically informed the father that no doctor was available on duty. The grandparents called their old friend's wife, who happened to be a gynecologist, to the rescue. She came rushing to the hospital.

New mom was obviously furious and wanted to take on the hospital staff, but the sight of the new doctor gave her some hope of this after all being the most memorable day of her life.

In the operation theatre, the staff was ready so was the doctor. She could hear thunder and the beatings of the rain drops against the window panes of the room. It was quite a fearful night. Just then, all the lights went off. The hospital somehow managed to screw up the power back up.

The new mom was all ready to become a new mom. But how? There was no electricity, and the doctor could not see a thing.

Tan was born that night, delivered in candle light. With the sound of her first cry, the lights came back.. It indeed was a night to remember, for the new mom and the panicking father.. :)

Frequent visitor

Has not been a very good day for me.. was feeling a little low.. and what best to lift one's spirits than to write a post.. :)

I can’t believe I trusted you
Yet again;
How do you do this?
Give me the same pain
over and over again
Yet every time
I experience it as anew.
I have walked out
that open door,
more times than you could count
my return has been more frequent
I hear people tell me so.
I am bound
to you without chains,
Close me inside your palms
for I don’t know what is right anymore..
what is mine,
and what I cannot demand.
Close me inside your palms
for I am about to cry.
I am not weak,
But somehow
I can’t help but cry..

hmm.. Feeling better already..

Lord (ess) of the RING

Here comes the bride.. Tra tra la la.. :)

Thanks bf.. Now I love you even more.. the materialistic person that I am. :)

'IT returns' mystery unfolded! sort of

Just when I thought that there was nothing more I couldn't accomplish in this world, I astound myself by filing my own INCOME TAX RETURNS! I know I know. I am too much.

It's really very simple. No jhanjat of intermediaries and wondering if they will do a good job of it. Somebody told me about the online filing of returns. It’s a good thing.

Create an account here just as you would for an email ID. Then simply log in, download an ITR form from the left hand side menu. It’s actually an excel sheet. and a very simple one. What's next.. Just upload that sheet and take a print out of the acknowledgement receipt and its ready to be submitted to any of the local IT offices. Cool or what!

I admit it took me some time to actually gain faith in the online filing thingi. I thought it would all end up in a disaster. Which it didn't. So that's good.

I proudly asked my friend if she had already submitted her IT returns and whether she needed my help. Apparently this online thing has been in the limelight for quite some time now.. and yes, she had already filed her returns.

Mommy would be so proud.. provided I haven't messed up things.

5 things I like to do when I'm bored

Boredom is a phenomenon, occurrence of which is not related to Time, space or distance. There have been sightings of more than 7 hours in an 8 hours working day. Reasons are umpteen - No work, too much work, monotonous work, scarce work, 'I don’t like doing this' work, 'crunch project' work and etc. etc. However it has been rightly identified by many researchers that most 'boredom' occurs at work. Following are the top 5 things I like to do when I am bored (in office :))


1. Write a post in my blog (like this one). Log out. Log in again to check if the "Visitors" counter has increased and if yes, then by how much. Log out. Log in again to check if there are any comments. If yes, then post an unnecessary reply to the comment. If no, then call up boy friend and ask him to read the article and post a comment. a good comment.


2. Log in to gtalk (provided you can access it from your work place network. I can, ha ha). Chat with other vella people like your self. Chat about the weather, Air conditioning, best detergent for washing clothes and looking for new jobs. Depends upon your interest.


3. Coffee breaks. I think I take way too many coffee breaks. So much so that I don’t sleep so well at night these days. and My boy friend thinks that I stay awake just to speak with him (dear bf, you always knew what you were getting yourself into. now its too late.. no stepping back.)


4. It helps if you are about to get engaged or married. I check out a lot of sites on the internet. Just to look for restaurants and places to host the reception etc.. Looking for bridal clothes is also a good time pass. 'Red' is a very popular color. at least in India.. and my mom wont let me wear white - "Shaadi ke din white pehenna ashubh hota hai (Wearing white on wedding day is considered to be unlucky)".. But then Christian weddings are all white and they look so pretty.. waaah..!!


5. Go out with team for long lunches - outside or within campus, does not matter. as long as it consumes more than an hour, it is acceptable. If that is not happening, then I surf some Mutual fund sites.. not because I am interested in investments.. heck I don't even understand anything. It just makes me look intelligent. :)


All bright ideas are welcome. After all, we all want to live the good life - by killing boredom..

Wise men say

I love that song.. especially the version by Elvis Presley. I love to sing that song and love to listen to it.. somebody sang it for me once.. :)

You know.. its the simplest of all love songs, gives out just the right message (not sounding desperate at the same time), and the chords are extremely easy.. I usually play it on my guitar, but it sounds even better on the piano against the backdrop of a subtle 6/8 ballad.. mostly using octaves and dominants (arpeggios).. with the hands moving in a motion similar to that of pendulum..

These are the chords that I like to use..

C---------Am--------Dm---F-----G
Wise men say, only fools rush in

----F--G---Am----F----------C----G----C
But I cant help falling in love with you

C--------Am
Shall I stay

--------Dm--F--G
Would it be a sin

---F-G--Am------F----------C----G----C
If I cant help falling in love with you

Em-----------B-----Em------------B7
Like a river flows surely to the sea

Em-------------B
Darling so it goes

Em-----------------------F-F7
Some things are meant to be

C-------Am------------Dm-----F----G
Take my hand, take my whole life too

----F-G----Am----F----------C----G----C
For I cant help falling in love with you

----F-G----Am----F----------C----G----C
For I cant help falling in love with you

And as one becomes proficient in playing these chords, a little spice can be added to make this 'continental' into 'punjabi tadka'.. Add a few sevenths, major sevenths, minor sixths.. but remember.. too much of anything is not good..

Simplest recipe to this song is, a list of chords, a guitar and of course the love of your life whom one can sing this song to..

Hold back or run..

These days I am working on a new composition.. a musical composition.

A few days back I was talking with somebody over the phone. That person was troubled and needed counsel and solace. While I was listening to her, I heard a tune in my mind (yes this is quite possible. Many a times you can hum a song in your mind without having to use your vocal chords).. I had to just write the tune somewhere right away..

So while I was trying to tell the person that its not the end of the world, I fetched my pencil and music sheet.. I started with writing just the basic chords.. you know.. C, D.. blah blah.. The tune was to be a simple ballad or a theme instrumental depicting feelings of a person who is on the run.. may be away from circumstances, from family, from self..

I ended up writing 'CMaj7', in place of a simple 'C'.. The tune is going to end up being a jazz theme after all..

I usually lose interest in writing a piece if I stretch it for too long.. Once completed, I will try and upload that MIDI file here on my blog.. let's see..

New look

Since I am jobless these days (at work :P), I had ample time on hand to take care of some pending tasks.. Like replying to my friend's emails.. refusing 'I wanna make friendship with you' offers on Orkut.. and of course work on my blog..

I dint like the blue so much.. Have always wanted to make the background white. But none of the templates offered me the look that I really wanted for my blog. I started with creating a personalised banner for it. For which I had to learn how to use Adobe Photoshop.. man! its a lean mean editing machine! So many variants, so many tools.. It took me half a day to figure out purpose of most of the options available.. I wonder if there are institutes that give training on this application..

Anyway..

So I searched for some pictures to use in the banner.. found one that suited the theme I had in mind.. oh yeah abt the theme.. well its a song.. I think from the movie 'Peter Pan'..

I won't grow up
I don't wanna go to school
Just to learn to be a puppet
And recite a silly rule

If growing up means it would be
Beneath my dignity to climb a tree
I won't grow up, won't grow up, won't grow up
Not me.

I won't grow up
I don't wanna wear a tie
Or a serious expression
In the middle of July

And if it means that I must prepare
To shoulder burdens with a worried air
I'll never grow up, won't grow up, never grow up
So there

Never gonna be a man
I won't!
Like to see somebody try
And make me!
Anyone who wants to try
And make me turn into a man
Catch me if you can

I won't grow up
I don't wanna wear a tie
Or a serious expression
To try to act just like a guy

'Cause growing up's awfuller than
All of the awful things that's ever been
I won't grow up, won't grow up, won't grow up
Again

Growing up's awfuller than
All of the awful thing that's ever been
I won't grow up, never grow up, won't grow up
Again.
Not me.
Not I.

It's a beautiful song, if you consider.. Simple, poetic, and makes sense till the end.. I picked up a few lines from this song.. because that's how I feel - Never wanting to grow up.. I don't mean literally.. Remember when we were children, we were never pretentious.. always being the way we were.. well.. same concept..

So here's a new look for my blog.. hmm.. White is definitely better than blue..

Traveling disasters...'The giggling men'... Part 2

So where was I? oh yeah.. Part 2...

I was traveling alone (as usual). Going back home from hostel (as usual). My co-passengers were a bunch of 'over grown wanna be teenage (ninja mutant :P) MEN'. About 10 of them I think. I don't remember the number 'cause I was trying hard not to stare at them so as not to appear 'indecent'.

Anyway.. Seemed like they had just returned from an Alumni meet or something, which they all decided to discuss about during the 2 and a half days journey. Actually it was not a disaster per say.. considering I didn't get an allergy.. :)

They discussed about their old loves and the new ones. There was quite a bit of an argument over which female was the 'hottest'.. These men were well over 40 years of age.. They sang songs.. love songs. For each other and for their old lovers.. They giggled a lot.. like little girls.. I was the esteemed audience to a secret but 'loud enough for the whole carriage to hear' conversation.. and they giggled.. at every single utterance of any word in the engligh/hindi dictionary.. without fail..

It was all fine till the time I was not the only one getting disturbed from my sleep. Just then I made the biggest mistake of my life... I laughed at one of their stupid jokes. In my defence, it was a supressed laughter..

"You don't talk much do you?", said one of the uncle's in the ninja group.

I didn't know what to say, so I just smiled. Yeah rrrrright, as if that was going to work.

I turned to look out side the window. Nothing to see. It was dark outside and all I could see was reflection of those 10 uncles looking at me and giggling.. hehehehhee..

"Are we bothering you?"

"No.. not really.." Duh..

"Hey guys.. Its Ok.. I told you so.." hehehheehhe

"Cummon sing a song with us" said one..

"Yes.. cummon.." said the other..

"No thanks." I said..

"Chalte chalte... mere yeh geet yaad rakhna.." one of the uncle's started to sing.. and of course the other joined in, in all possible octaves that the human voice box can produce... "Kabhi alvida na kehena.. kabhi alvida na kehena.." hehehhehe..

They gobbled their cold meals in a jiffy.. and made sure that I had some of the banana chips they were carrying with them.. Actually their wives had packed it for them for the journey..

Slowly the loud off tune singing turned into soft whispering sounds as lights started to go off in each cabin..

This is it. I thought. Time for the giggling men to go to sleep. which they did. obviously. But not until they had sung 3 more songs.. with the chorus,solo, duet,connecting music.. everything.. and finally the cadence..

Tomorrow, I thought, these guys will get back to their rudimentry lives. They got an opportunity today to relive their past and with what aplomb!

Will I ever want to relive any moment in MY past? if yes, what would that be........I dozed off trying to think of an answer..

I don't know if the ninja gang sang any more situational songs that night.Thankfully I fell asleep..

Traveling Disasters... Tan be thy name... Part 1

I think I may be jinxed or something. None of my travels have been the 'normal' kinds. I have always had the pleasure of travelling with beings that are not generally seen in normal course of life, but when in transit. It has its advantages and disadvantages. There is a lot of talking, jumping, snoring, asking, poking into one's personal life, and it always makes a good story to tell..

Bangalore to Kolkata

"Can you please take care of my daughter?" I heard my Mom tell another woman in the train. "She is travelling alone for the first time. Please wake her up when the station comes. Thank you so much behenji.."

I said my emotional good byes to my mom and the train slowly start to move away from the platform. I knew that my mom would stand there until she saw no trace of the train or the noise. Just to make sure...

"So you are travelling alone eh?", asked the big fat woman occupying the berth below mine.

"Yes Aunty." I don't know why, but all Indians looooooooooove calling strange men and women 'uncle'/'aunty'.. makes us more connected I guess..

Well that was the end of the conversation. Or so I thought.

I think she may have got a little too emotional with the whole 'behenji' thing that my mom cooked up. Every time I fell asleep, she would wake me up.

"Beta get up get up! It's evening. You should get up and wash your face. Come here and eat something".. But I was not hungry!!!

"No thanks aunty. I am quite full."

"But you should eat.!! You don't need dieting!"

"But I don't want to eat pleeeeease" I cried a bit..

Then I saw her say something to the woman sitting right next to her in thier regional language, which of course I could not understand. But it didn't take a scientist to guess that she was talking and disapproving of my attitude. Just to save my face and further embarassment, I picked up the food thing and put it into my mouth.. without thinking..

Have I ever told you guys that I am allergic to 9 out of every 10 things in this world? Now is a good time I guess. It turned out that there was something in that thing I ate and my body was not very happy about it.

Within seconds I was coughing like a mad woman, scratching wherever my hands could reach and looking as if my eye balls are just about to pop out. I saw a faint glimpse of my reflection in the opposite window. My lips had become thrice thier normal size. Obviously, I looked 'possessed'.

My dear fat aunty did nothing. Instead she just whispered something more to her husband, but this time in english. "What's wrong with the new generation? If she didn't want it, she could have just told me so. Now due to all this fuss people will think that I did it on purpose or something.."

oh cummon woman! I am dying here.... helppppp meeeeeeeeeeeee....

All I remember next was somebody waking me up to tell me that the train had reached its last stop and thankfully that was my destination too.

to be continued...

DVD Trouble

Dear Diary,

I know I don't keep a journal, but nevertheless had to get this out of my system.

Have you felt sometimes about something that is so achievable and yet when somebody challenges you to do it, you just fall flat on your face? I believe it's called Murphy's law.

My sister got a DVD home. All her friends have seen the movie. But when we try to open the DVD on our computer, it just wouldn't play! My sister gave up and declared "If I cannot open it, nobody can!" I somehow now feel I should have left it at that. But No. I took up the challenge. Ya I know. LOSER.

Anyway... I tried everything. Wiping the back of the DVD with a soft cloth (as suggested by one of my dear friends), I restarted the computer (as advised by my DVD Troubleshooter), I also downloaded several software from the Internet (Because my Grandpa had the same problem once, and his was solved so). All but in vain.

I ate my lunch in a hurry just to get back to solving the greatest mysteries of life. I couldn't take an afternoon nap even though it was a Saturday. I spent 3 hours over the phone with different 'IT' engineers hoping they would be able to solve my problem. Seriously.. These guys have a huge ego. They just wouldn't give up. Adding to my throbbing migraine.

In the process I discovered that all the players in my house were not DVD players. Only my computer could play them. But it was not doing so.

I still haven't given up though. I am using the DVD - as a Frisbee.

Good Night

Tan