The Journey of the One

Our eyes had met when we were scanning thru the crowd and glanced back at each other instinctively.  Your look said it all .  For that one moment, there was a window that had opened up within you.  You were at a bar, with people you wouldn't normally meet. The judgments of strangers didn't count or gash at you as much as the ones from friends did. The fact that your life didn't end up the bed of roses that you'd proclaimed it would. Theirs didn't either, but you were always better than them. You had never said that to them, but they knew it by the way you walked with your head held high and your chin up. While they slowly tumbled like bowling pins to rules and compromises, you told them about how you were still having an amazing time. And how that day would never arrive when your life ceased to be spectacular. Exaggeration was your antidote to the truth. Your mornings started with it and the day wore you down until you couldn't get yourself to, anym...

The different genres of people one encounters.. The Deprived Indians These are the people who're the gatekeepers to anything free in the city. They know the places for cheap haircuts, the places that have free entries and everything else under the sun which can be done free or at low cost. It isn't that being Indian made them this way, it's just more pronounced because they fit the stereotype. They've often not had any freedom in India and feel like this is heaven because it's their first time experiencing it. And the thing with freedom is, when you see it for the first time you go a little nutty and overboard. Typically work in NY and stay in Jersey City or somewhere but Manhattan. And claim to love it because they love the peace! They often don't have the confidence to do anything on their own and always move around in groups. And they claim that they have traveled when all they've done is visit Western Europe on the deals flying around all ...

New York, they say, is the melting pot of world cultures. The place where diversity gets its due, and you can be whoever you want to be without inhibition or remorse. It is true, every single word of it. For many, this is the dream. If you ever belonged to a marginalized group of society or felt like you were laughed at not accepted, this place is where you want to be. You can belong here, whether you are a Southerner from Texas who struggled thru childhood not falling into any peer groups or whether you are a Russian ballerina who never really liked conforming to rules. This place makes you an equal, it gives you an identity. It promises you to entitlement just like any other world citizen in this greatest city on Earth. You can choose to be whoever you want to be, and not have to fight it. With freedom comes indifference. And oftentimes, the latter is confused for the former. And that is where confusion lurks. If you are a gay Jewish boy from Rhode Island, doe...

If you live anywhere in the democratic world, you've probably grown up listening to stories of how the United States is the flag bearer of the free market capitalistic ideology. You've probably also listened to innumerable accounts of some of the purest forms of capitalism in everyday existence. The Gordon Geckos and the Oprahs who were simple people rising to incredible fame, power and wealth with their intelligence and talent. The "Land of Opportunity" brings in hordes of dreamy-eyed immigrants from all over the world in search of this very glory. And you can't help but think that that's the place for you if you're smart, talented and can get by with your wit and charm better than the average person. The hot bed for rags to riches stories in any genre. Fast forward to 2013. New York, the greatest city on earth, the place where the high powers of the capitalist world rest. And here is where the myth shatters. Everywhere you look, people are s...

A set of characteristics that summarizes a person. It consists of their motivations, their fears, the traits they've carried from their upbringing and anything else that has shaped the person they've grown to be. And it shapes what they want out of their life, their social interactions and themselves. Some people are easier to read than others. It takes simple observation to notice that there are some dead giveaways for anyone to pick up. The subject knows it too, subconsciously. Nobody reveals more than they want to, however intoxicated, trusting or naive they are. It's more often than not a calculated risk to gain the confidence of someone new, a concerted effort to prove themselves worthy of a clique, an attempt to gain the affection of a lover. Most pick up the superficial remarks and perhaps pay little heed to the inner meanings of those seemingly innocuous statements. Parties are a great social construct where people drop their inhibitions much more tha...

The Champion She marches confidently where angels fear to tread. She's no angel and doesn't claim to be. Listening only to her heart's desires, never to be caught up with the hassles of right and wrong, logic and reason. She doesn't want to be a part of the rat race. That's for the lesser mortals to indulge in, she quips. Confidence is her forte and she can prove that the sun rises in the west even to the strongest naysayer. She wants simple things in life, never to be caught up with the wants of others around her. She's a child inside, that always wants the shinier ball that lies in the shelf. She wants it only until she has it in her hand, at which point, she concedes that she wanted the one next to that... This process goes on and on until the person on the other end of the counter loses his patience. But it's so hard to say no to her, when she looks expectantly at you with those pretty big eyes... She is a bundle of energy, a beacon of...

There was an insecurity that followed her. It thrived in the shadows, only emerging when there wasn't anyone around. She didn't mind her time alone; these were the times she felt at one with herself. The world was always going to be the easier battle to conquer, when compared to her own mind. She juggled between people to entertain her, to humour her, to curb her loneliness. She fed off of other people's overt awe of her. She could see it in their eyes, and she knew she held their attention. She had to bat her eyelids just the right way. Pose with her head tilting to her side, enough to spark a wildfire amongst the people around. There were many that came into her life, vowed by her beauty. Add to that her wit and charm, and it made her a heady irresistible cocktail for all seasons. Everyone that came into her life expected a larger than life persona, a superstar image that she carried forth to transcend into her personal life as well. But she was far from it. S...