Awesome.

Roothi hui hai tu - ek pal mein maanegi
Dil se hamesha hai bacchi.
Aye zindagi tu bhi - mere hi jaisi hai -
Dikhti sayani - par hai kacchi.

Phoola muh leke - baithi kyun hai tu -
Ungli meri chal tham le -
Jahan main chalu - wahin tu chale
Jahan tu chale - wahin main chalu.

OST - Wake Up Sid (2009)

Invictus..

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

~ William Ernest Henley

I was thinking how a man could spend thirty years in prison, and come out and forgive the men who did it to him...

~ Francois Pienaar in the movie "Invictus"

I learnt something today - forgiveness - Mandela is truly an inspiration.

Awwwwww :)

Picture courtesy: NatGeo

Change

Change - like it - hate it - cant ignore it. It has always stayed with me - kept me on my toes - never really let me settle down. Friends changed - continents changed - houses changed - terms changed - people changed - you get the jist of it right? Do I like it - I still can't decide. Someone once told me - all the things you wish for are just outside your comfort zone - the thought stayed with me - and it makes me kinda look forward to the unpredictability of each day.

Of late - the unpredictability was getting a little too much to handle. Thats when I sat back - looked at everything around me - and figured - this is the story of my life - unique - different - special - offbeat - call it what you want - but this is the way it is going to be written down. Destiny - kismet - chance - fortune - call it what you want - some things are just not in my hand. What I can do - the way I see it - just sit back and enjoy the ride.

High time...

..I started living according to EST.

Uber cool..

Fedora hats!

Fact - not fiction.

Its for real - it's not a myth as I thought - an unwanted and unnecessary outcome of unrealistic romantic novels and regular dose of romantic movies - no sir - it's out there - in this real practical fast-paced world - true love - unconditional love. I saw it - today.

For a friend..

Ted: Okay, I'm going to say something out loud that I've been doing a pretty good job of not saying out loud lately. What you and Tony have, what I thought for a second you and I had, what I know that Marshall and Lily have, I want that. I do. I keep waiting for it to happen. I'm waiting for it to happen and I guess I'm just tired of waiting. And that is all I'm going to say on that subject.

Stella: You know how I talked my way out of a speeding ticket?

Ted: Really?

Stella: I was heading upstate with my parents, I was doing 90 on the country roads. I got pulled over. So this cop, gets out of his car, swaggers over and he says, 'Lady, I've been waiting for you all day.' And I said, 'Sorry Officer, I got here as fast as I could.'

Ted: For real?

Stella: No, it's just a joke. I know that you're tired of waiting. And you may have to wait a little while more but, she's on her way, Ted. And she's getting here as fast as she can.

3 day rule

Barney Stinson: Jesus waited THREE days to come back to life. It was perfect! If he had only waited ONE day, a lot of people wouldn't have even heard he died. They'd be all, "Hey Jesus, what up?" and Jesus would probably be like, "What up? I DIED yesterday!" and they'd be all, "Uhh, you look pretty alive to me, dude..." and then Jesus would have to explain how he was resurrected, and how it was a miracle, and the dude'd be like "Uhh okay, whatever you say, bro..." And he's not gonna come back on a SATURDAY. Everybody's busy, doing chores, workin' the loom, trimmin' the beard, NO. He waited the perfect number of days, THREE. Plus it's SUNDAY, so everyone's in church already, and they're all in there like "Oh no, Jesus is DEAD", and then BAM! He bursts in the back door, runnin' up the aisle, everyone's totally psyched, and FYI, that's when he invented the high five. That's why we wait three days to call a woman, because that's how long Jesus wants us to wait.... True story.

The right place – at the right time.

Kids – I have been telling you the story of how I met your mother – and while there’s many things to learn from this story – this may be the biggest. The great moments of your life may not necessarily be the things you do – they will also be the things that happen to you. Now I am not saying you can’t take action to affect the outcome of your life – you have to take action – and you will. But never forget - that on any day - you can step out the front door - and your whole life can change forever. You see the universe has a plan kids - and that plan is always in motion. A butterfly flaps its wings - and it starts to rain. It’s a scary thought - but it also kinda wonderful. All these little parts of the machine – constantly working – making sure that you end up exactly where you are supposed to be – exactly when you are supposed to be there. The right place – at the right time.

~ Ted Mosby in How I met your mother

I forgot....

...how much I love the smell of old musty books stacked away in a library. A rainy evening spent in Sanborn with Arabian nights for company - one word - awesome.

I recommend...

Review of Love Aaj Kal - Meera decoded. I love the way the post ends - "Love Aaj Kal is that rare romantic movie that is, well, romantic. A film with two of its women, who hate black coffee, yet for some goddamn reason gulp it down just so to remember their men is sure as hell romantic." Brilliant ending.

Makes me smile :)

A pleasant surprise for me on Rakhi - I am lucky to have such awesome people in my life - touch wood :)

Special :)

Deja Vu

Thought - was reminded of this again today.

Expensive!

Priscilla of Boston - tch tch - who said the best things in life are free! :P

Steady steady..

Yesterday, while I was traveling to Boston, I saw the cutest thing on Dartmouth coach – an old person was seated next to me and he looked pretty tired and sick and sleepy – his hand shivered – his leg was quivering. What caught my attention was his shivering hand – even while he was asleep – reminded me of my grandma. He woke up near Lebanon and was searching for his headphones. He had dropped them off earlier – I offered it to him. That broke the ice between us – he got talking with me – his wife chimed in – they were telling me stories about their life and times – was nice listening to it all.

What amazed me was the love with which his wife was taking care of him – I did not admire it because it was an act of kindness or greatness – it was an act of love. She took care of every little detail for him – he had trouble remembering certain things – she remembered it for him – she finished his sentences for him – she held his headphones for him because he kept losing his grip on them - they had their own jokes - which they kind of understood and I could only guess :) She looked really tired – maybe she had not slept properly – but her eyes twinkled while doing things for him – while filling in small details of the stories that he was telling me – her eyes had a sparkle every time he laughed – she loved him. I saw true love yesterday – first hand – yet again. These were two people who had spent more than 40 years with each other – and still could not get enough of each other – whose love only grew with years.

I want it in my life – someone I want to grow old with – someone who I know will love me on my bad hair days – when I become fat – when I crack the silliest joke and he will laugh with me no matter how lame the joke - when I wear spectacles – when I grow old and lose all my teeth – and he will still think am awesome. I don’t want crazy momentary highs of love – I want that steady glow of love – the glow which fills your life forever and assures you that you will never be alone again.

I respect...

...photographers - because they see when life is in full bloom - in various colors -they hear when life whispers - they let life cast it's spell on them - they capture the beauty of every mundane moment - mostly because they live life to it's fullest.

I have a new favorite :)

Pink oriental lilies

Pretty :)

Flowers in downtown Hanover

Photo courtesy: Harini Sridharan

Hahaha!

"There will be lots of 'REPUTATED' people there tonight" - the last I heard that word was reputed - hahahaha - the things you get to hear while walking across downtown!

Awwwww...

Mark: I don't think you're an idiot at all. I mean, there are elements of the ridiculous about you. Your mother's pretty interesting. And you really are an appallingly bad public speaker. And, you tend to let whatever's in your head come out of your mouth without much consideration of the consequences. I realize that when I met you at the Turkey Curry Buffet I was unforgiveably rude... and wearing a reindeer jumper. That my mother had given me the day before. But the thing is, what I'm trying to say, very inarticulately, is that, in fact, perhaps despite appearances, I like you. Very much.

Bridget: Apart from the smoking and the drinking and the verbal diarrhoea...

Mark: No, I mean I like you very much. Just as you are.

~ Bridget Jones' Diary (2001)

Divine

Photo courtesy: Harini Sridharan

Lilies

The best thing to happen to Hanover of late - lilies - loads of them - everywhere :)

Photo courtesy: Harini Sridharan

Freaking awesome!

The best part about today - I saw a full rainbow on one of my long walks - it was so beautiful and divine - freaking awesome! The one you see in the pic above is the closest to what I saw today - wish I had a camera at that moment - damn it!

PS: Eve teasing - very much present in US too - sad but true.

Happy 4th!

The blackboards usually listing the specials for the day in front of Boloco's and Dirt Cowboy read that yesterday. That's what the lady at the counter told me at the Co-op - with a warm smile. That reminds me - while walking out of Co-op - I ran into a lady tending to the flowers displayed near the entrance. Now, since I got here, I got to see so many flowers - both exotic and mundane - I don't know the names of more than half of them - though from my limited knowledge , I know that my favorites happen to be tulips and wild lilies - so anyways - I decided to ask this lady which ones she was so lovingly tending to - she told me those were petunias and then wished me a happy 4th. We got talking and I happened to mention to her that 4th of July here reminded me of 15th August back in India. She started telling me the history behind this day and how important this day was to each one of them. As we ended our conversation, she said that she was sure that all the Indians took their 15th August as seriously as Americans took their 4th of July. I nodded at that time and started my long walk back home - her statement got me thinking - did we actually take our independence day seriously - I don't think I can say an absolute undoubted yes to it - to most of us , including me, the day is just another holiday - when in school it meant that I would get sweets to eat - at work it meant another day when I could wake up late. Do I appreciate the efforts that went into making India an independent nation - yes - do I do soemthing to express my pride - no - should I be making an explicit attempt at showcasing my pride - I don't know. As I was thinking about all this and heading towards CVS - I happened to see a fireworks display - one after the other - brilliant colors filled the dark sky - most of the people walking with me on the street paused and just looked at the sky - in awe. The display lasted for almost 10 minutes - now - I was regretting the fact that I could not be in Boston to see the fireworks display - which my friend P so passionately recommended as a must-watch if I was anywhere close to Boston - but I got my fireworks time sitting here in the quiet town of Hanover - I got to enjoy my own little celebration - the sounds and colors reminded me of Diwali. So that was the lead-up to my first 4th here in US - my drumroll - you would get the drumroll joke if you happen to watch "How I met your mother" :) Well - as I get back to enjoying my long weekend - filled with long walks, poetry reading and "How I met your mother" - I wish everyone out there a happy 4th - or as they say back in India - happy independence day :)

Seriously?

I did not go back to listening to Michael Jackson until this week. I was wondering...if he was still around...would I have Liberian Girl playing on Youtube right now? Don't want to know the answer to that one.

I wish...

I really really wish I could visit London some day!

PS: Add Paris and Inverness to that list too! Hehehe :)

Pause

Some one please hit the "play" button - life's been on a pause of late!

I love...

...living in Hanover. I went for a morning walk today - sheer beauty surrounded me. I wish I had a camera to capture all of it - but some times a photo can't do justice to what the eye beholds. Cozy little houses - creepers on the walls of some - a mail box surrounded with pansies of all possible colors in front of another - wonder what's the story behind each house - how old each one is. Exotic flowers - I don't even know the names of most of them - roses - tulips - so many colors - subtle - bright - it was all there.

Music from my iPod accompanied me as I was lost in the beauty around me - and then it happened. A deer was watching me as I walked along - a thought struck me - I decided to give my idea a shot - I started walking towards the deer - it did not move - graceful - beautiful creature - soft eyes - tame - mild - subdued - in a pensive mood maybe - just at peace. I kept walking towards it - it just kept looking at me - an inquizitive look - wondering what I was upto. I reached out my hand and stroked it's head - it did not move away - just kept nibbling at the grass - I was thrilled beyond words - I touched a deer today - how many people get to say that - hardly a few :)

Finally!

I will own a Fossil today - finallyyyyyyyyyy :)

Next two on my list :)

Numb

Ever thought about this - how does it feel to not feel anything?

Ouch

Does it have to hurt this bad?

When photographs speak

Something about this photograph - every time I see it- it gives me a sense of comfort and belonging. I love looking at it - somehow reminds me of times spent with friends back in Hyderabad and Bangalore. At times life out here feels so surreal - this place - the people - something totally different from what I had back in India. I have been here for almost 10 months now - for me - this photograph - in a weird way - don't ask me how and why - summarises my times till date out here.

Craaaaaash

And that's how she fell.

Tranquil

I have never seen a river that I could not love. Moving water…has a fascinating vitality. It has power and grace and associations. It has a thousand colors and a thousand shapes, yet it follows laws so definite that the tiniest stream is an exact replica of a great river.

~ Roderick Haig-Brown

Picture courtesy: Niketha

Am glad

At times things don't go the way you want them to - am glad about that.

Whoa!

A Dartmouth Coach driver praising Arundhati Roy, Vandana Shiva and Shashi Tharoor for 10 minutes in front of Hanover Inn, while I listen to him patiently, with a heavy bag weighing me down by the minute. Happens. I am so glad that happens :)

Last week

I surprised myself. I realised who were the people who really mattered. I saw the lowest low. I experienced the highest high. I lived life - in a full circle. Last week.

Yaaaayyyyyy!

:)

:)

Bare foot!

Dilli-6

Title track of Dilli-6 - this song reminded me of this - Delhi calling.

Stay

I rise, looking through my morning eyes,

Surprised to find you by my side.

Rack my brain to try to remember your name

To find the words to tell you good-bye.

Morning dues.

Newborn day.

Midnight blue turned to gray.

Midnight blue burning gold.

A yellow moon is growing cold.

Track: Stay

Artist: Pink Floyd

I was around

First time an Indian won the Nobel Prize - first time the Wright brothers had a successful flight - first time man walked on the moon - first time an Indian won an individual Olympic medal - first time India won the World Cup at Lords - first time a lady became the Prime Minister of India - first time the wax statue of a living Indian was put up at Madame Tussaud's - I was not around.

Today United States got her first African American President - I was around.

Of late

Recently, I read a really beautiful love letter written by a friend of mine. It was a really touching one - he seemed to have poured his heart into the words out there. That letter got me thinking - do we ever really move on in life - can your past ever completely cease to haunt your present - are we just better off that way - is this a choice we don't get to make.

Too many questions - too few answers - some things are better best forgotten then.

Bad, bad server...no donut for you!!!

Orkut can never change I guess....tch tch.

At MIT

Need I say more? :)

Am in love :)

That's the cutest dog with the sweetest eyes ever - am in love :)

Good times

Lying on your back in the middle of the night - on a frozen pond - with a full moon and million stars for company - definitely good times :)

Boston

I think I'll go to Boston,
I think that I'm just tired -
I think I need a new town, to leave this all behind.
I think I need a sunrise, I'm tired of the sunset,
I hear it's nice in the summer, some snow would be nice.
Boston - where no one knows my name.

~ Boston (performed by Augustana)