The Journey of the One

As the calendar year reaches its climax, I look back to remember the year that was.

There was something different about the day. It started off with conversation and no sleep, with an ‘enigmatic connection’. It was to be a day of records, with one getting created right as the day started. A long while later, when I often wake up to get ready for work, I decided to go to sleep instead. Groggy and sleep-deprived, I had decided to stay at home and catch up on much needed mid-week rest during the day. As the day gave way to dusk, we decided on a plan for the evening. Shiro was my place of choice, but she just wouldn't acknowledge the existence of a world outside South-Bombay. And there it was, the decision made. Bootleggers in Colaba. Not quite familiar with the name, I Just-Dialled it up and found out that the address was somewhat familiar. 4 Pasta Lane, it said. Cabbing it from Churchgate, I reached there exactly at 1945, as promised. And she was late, as I’d presupposed. My mood was dampened by the half-hour wait outside. As I walked aimlessly outside...

Of late, I have been inundated with personal accounts of proposals, searches, oppositions and the entire gamut of experiences associated with marriage and a partner. Most people around me are on the search for or in the process of sealing the deal in hand, and yet coming excruciatingly short of the finish line. There are those that have found the 'right' person, those that are not sure if the one they've found is 'right', those that are stubbornly looking for the 'right' one despite kissing a lot of frogs, those that believe there are no 'right' ones around and lots more one-off categories that would take a while to list down. The more I've heard of these experiences, the more I've realized that there are no easy stories around, simply demonstrating the age-old claim that 'ideal' doesn't quite exist. If you've seen the reality show Perfect Bride, you know how unflattering the show is to the title. There are a few guy...

He gets on the bus to college, the 121 route bus which ferries by every 15 minutes like clockwork. He looks like any other kid, just into college and about 18, trying to look older than he actually is. He gets on, flashed his pass to the conductor and chooses a seat near the window, while plugging in his earphones to his phone and clicking on the random play button. He looks around, flashing a rehearsed scouting gaze that he's mastered, which could pass of as a nonchalant glance. He notices a pretty girl sitting two rows ahead of him, and another slightly overweight girl that had a cute face diagonally opposite. He remembers having noticed the pretty one before, and it seems like she knew a couple of people from his class. She seems way too well dressed and made up to be traveling in the bus. And people like her didn't take the train either. They got their drivers to drop them off to college or take the taxi everyday. She was the kind that stayed at Malabar Hill, the type tha...

Often during one's lifetime, one goes thru thorough introspection about the meaning of life and one's place in it. While some of us take solace in the fact that a Supreme Being extinguishes those splinters of doubt that plague our minds, others stay content with seeking faith elsewhere. I won't delve into the merits and demerits of each school of thought, for that would no doubt be a pointless exercise. My motive, however, is to unearth and question some of society's prejudices towards these often contradictory paths of choice. From time immemorial, people have faithfully paid Gods their tributes and followed elaborate traditions to please their form of a Supreme Being. While the origin of some of these traditions may well be bordering on superstition and myth, a major part of society preaches that we follow our ancestors' unwavering faith in these endeavours. Society has increasingly become more accommodating of alterations to its ethos, as people have ch...

As if the heavens had let go altogether, Down came sheets of pouring rain, As I struggled to find shelter under a thatch, The Marlboro between my fingers begged to be guarded under my protective palm, I was lost in the music of the downpour, Oblivious to the noise of the incessant chatter around, The mood often obeys the season, As transient and unpredictable as they come, The sea resembled the movie-set storms, As the blanket of haze hindered the overwhelming view, Thoughts loomed large over my mind, Like the gray clouds did over the bay. Memories of the past and hopes of the future, Hanging by a small thread in the present, I searched for the aura of a year ago, The shades and hues couldn't be more different, The contrast was not unlike the Light and Darkness, Discerningly distinct, yet menacingly similar, The trickery of variables continued to enrapture, And the obstinate constants inspired more belief, Yet the dead-end seemed an inevitable monster, That I had to slay without s...

"Who's to blame if you're so tired? And haven't found what you were longing for? Lost everything you sought so hard, Flown up to the sky and fallen back again?" - Translation of a Russian Song Most people continue to live in state of mild displeasure at their current plight. It is described as normal human behaviour in classical psychology, as long as that state doesn't instigate one to destabilize that balance, more than mildly. People fit into this mould with relative ease, always wanting something they don't currently possess. This reinforces the theory that humans have not evolved significantly in this respect for the past thousands of years, and will continue to tread on this path, notwithstanding the allowable limit of exceptions. "I hate my job, I just can't stay put any longer!" This is a phrase I hear as often as once a day, from a diverse set of sources, for a multitude of reasons. Hypocrisy, Bureaucracy, Lies, Deceit, Boredo...

The scene is that of a hospital, quite a while ago. No, I it wasn't for the reason that may be crossing your mind. I'm pretty sure I'm better off than the subject of that earlier post ( My Most Embarrassing Moment ). I still don't know why I went to a hospital, except that I didn't know any practitioner to go to. And with my downright lack of faith in doctors, I only went because I was pushed and required a prescription for the drugs which I knew I wanted. Totally convinced that I was going to get prescribed some broad-spectrum antibiotics as most doctors would for most symptoms, I entered the doctor's room, hoping it would be a short encounter. Now, considering that I absolutely deride visiting a doctor and trust in self-medication, I must admit it's been a while since I've been to one. So I started, almost as soon as he took his eyes off the newspaper and looked at me. He seemed above 50 and indolent, like he wanted to get this over with soon, and get ...

A sultan of the new age world, you take whatever you've got and accentuate it a thousand fold in your mind. You've never stopped to rethink this. "It's one life, after all", is the one-liner that justifies all your actions. You want to be the rock-star that Nickelback rhythms about. Whether conventional wisdom appeals to you or not is secondary, as you define rules for yourself. They are, perhaps, but small tweaks to the ones that are already in place, but you've got to create your own version. This is what defines you. You're not one amongst the crowd, and you've etched your place in stone for everyone around. The worst insult to you would be if you were thought to be similar to someone else around you. You would never accept that you're not all that special as you thought you were. You disregard this as an aberration from someone who's obviously envious of something you possess. It all adds up to one giant size movie set in your mind, which i...

All our energies are directed towards just this one thing in life... The fix differs from person to person, from material things to people, intangibles to aspirational quests. It is an itch on one's back, a nigling pain one feels, like the single mosquito in your room that keeps irritating you, buzzing away. There's no peace without attending to it. It's much bigger than everything else that seem like trivial pursuits in comparison. It occupies most of our subconscious mindspace until we get it. And when the next fix does arrive, in small bursts, we embrace it with all we've got. It's almost how junkies would react, to the mana that drives them. You often get clouded with ecstasy when it hits you, albeit for the smallest of durations. It gets you into a trance, one that can't easily be shook off even with generous doses of reality. And when the music's over, you're left with a sense of emptiness. A sense of deja vu from the last time around that this hap...

Here's a theory I formulated when someone told me that they had attained a degree of self-actualization as a result of a relationship. Maslow, the psychological behaviour analyst, has without a doubt created a highly robust model to explain the needs of a human being thru the course of their life. So here's my attempt to borrow from that concept and create a model to explain people's needs in relationships... This model seeks to enlist the main needs of individuals from their relationship. However, needless to say, it does not discard the presence of other physical, physiological and emotional needs. The Levels Decoded 1. Acceptance : The most basic need of any relationship is acceptance. An individual feels the need to be accepted by their partner for the person that they are, the values they stand for, the ideals they believe in, the goals that they work towards and their idea of happiness and life itself. This is where several potential relationships break down before fo...

This term holds varied meanings for each of us. And I was inspired to write this after getting hooked on to the show by the same name that plays on primetime television. Firstly, as many probably haven’t seen this, let me explain the mechanics of this game show. It's an answer-questions-win-money theme with the difference from conventional ones being that the contestant is hooked onto a polygraph machine, which judges one's truthful answers from the ones that are not. One has to answer truthfully to move further. The questions increasingly get more personal and intrusive, to dissuade people from carrying on further. In the process, there are many relationships that are severed beyond repair. What's interesting about this is to note people's motives to continue, knowing fully well that their secrets will be revealed to the whole world. And it's not just the money that drives them, but also getting a chance to clean out their closet. Do we all have so many hidden trut...