Gum, Guitars and Gargoyles

Back

2011-05-13T10:49:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile, but was just scrounging around and decided to be back for a bit. In between, Blog, I did check out wordpress and nearly got regular. But it didn't quite stick. I am a better writer since my last post though. So there has been some character development.

In the meanwhile, Blog, you have been overrun by spam. I must block the anonymous comments, but the button has gone missing. For now.

Pooja

2010-05-16T03:24:00.001-07:00

is really not the best writer going.

So she is going to have to just make it all count. And super-fast.

Might I add, she is super-scared too. Super-so.

Rainbow hunting

2010-04-29T07:14:00.000-07:00

You know what I'd really like? A rainbow. All the VIBGYOR gang. Some birds flying around. Pretty birds please. White birds maybe. And definitely quiet birds. I dislike the chirpy variety.

And at the end of the rainbow, there'd be a pot of gold. And not just any pot. A big fat pot of gold - weight of contents = Yokozuna's weight. A big fat pot of gold that just doesn't go away. That should be the magic of it.

I'd seen a rainbow years ago. It was one of the few times when I felt awe at the wonder of God. But most times, I don't think God really cares. He's probably one of those state government employees who get to work late, spend hours at tea, and slip out before time. And his job isn't to answer prayers, contrary to what we've been led to believe all through those childhood years. His job is just to make sure the right clouds get here on time. And he's been doing a fuck-all job of that for years now!

Sunday funday?!

2010-03-21T02:46:00.000-07:00

The best half of another Sunday wasted on inanities. Sigh. Hard-knock life it is - that too minus the drama most times.

Why do all my posts end up looking like extended twitter updates of late?

But it's just half the day that's gone. I'm off to see the Wizard now. The wonderful Wizard of Oz. And he's hanging around with the King of Spades these days. And with this Cacofonix who knows the lyrics to every possible song (though he claims to be not too proud of it).

Weird

2010-03-08T06:54:00.000-08:00

I've been feeling weird all day. Which is why I tried to escape the day by sleeping most of the morning off, waking up only at the last possible minute. Yesterday I put my foot in poop. Today I didn't. But the whole day had this weird, uncomfortable feeling. Maybe I should go home and sink my teeth into some chocolate. Lots of chocolate maybe.

Work tally

2010-02-24T04:50:00.000-08:00

I'm making a tally of how many days in the week I hate work, and how many days in the week I kinda like it (Note: "Kinda like" as opposed to "love"). I know what the answer will be. And I know how this year will end on the work front. But still, a little scientific data never hurt anyone.

PS: Interestingly, all my labels today start with "W". Not intended at all. :D

Happily ever after

2010-02-22T06:47:00.000-08:00

Health's better, luck's better, and wealth will soon be on its way.
This will be a good year. I smell it in the breeze.
So what if the breeze is just from the AC vents at office?
I still smell it.
There's actually an ending.
After years of hunting for it, I've finally found my ending.
And the best part?
It's actually got a link with the beginning.
Sigh.
I'm so scared to burst this bubble.
So I'm going to hold it just right, stay just so still, move just ever so slightly,
And watch it grow in all its rainbow wonderment and childlike glee.
:)

Stuck

2010-02-14T03:10:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I've been physically and mentally worn out. It's usually one or the other. But now what to do. I've gone and got myself sick. And am currently in two minds about what I need my future to hold.

It's Valentine's Day also. Not that there were any plans really. But they've just been going awrier and awrier. And I'm stuck at work waiting for copies to come in so I can put them up. Brainless. And I'm all alone on the floor too. Because it's Sunday and there are no fellow sufferers around.

Double deep sigh. What I need is a week of nothingness. No office, no calls from office, no list of events lined up, no need to get dressed. Just a week of lolling about in pajamas at home, watching boka-boka movies, eating popcorn, bas.

I feel like a stupid piece of dust caught in a spider's web. Not like spidey's going to eat me even. I just sit there like a fool, stuck forever in a never-ending web of god-knows-what.

Full circle

2010-02-08T06:15:00.001-08:00

This is how I feel once again. Life comes full circle. Sigh.

PS: Concentric circles maybe?

January: Santa comes to town

2010-01-21T05:04:00.000-08:00

So after a microwave and a washing machine, now I've been getting clothes and instant foods and trinkets. AND a calendar and a unicorn. I be happiest with unicorn. Here's a pic stolen from Google:

Now, I'm in Pony collection mode. :D

Life in bullet points - Jan 2010, Week 2

2010-01-13T06:23:00.000-08:00

So I washed a month-old dirty clothes last night in the new washing machine that Poppa gave. Pictures by the end of the week. LG it is. Though Videocon Washing Machine had a better ring to it.
The washed clothes smell beautiful.
Drowned a biggish spider in Mortein Mosquito Killer the day before.
Got gift: Diary from Munich. Antique look. Tied with pink ribbon.
Have finally begun watching The Godfather. Should finish by the weekend.

Mew all.

@ Inihos: Price tag for Moo

Dumps

2010-01-12T22:19:00.000-08:00

I'm down in the dumps.
And it's not a nice dump even.
And this is not poetry.
Though it looks like a poem.
I want a nice, wonderful day.
But not feeling terribly wonderful inside.
Maybe I need sleep.
Or a day off.
Or a vacation.
Or just some hours of doing nothing.
This really isn't a nice dump to be in.
:( :( :(

Cows, buses, pups and books

2010-01-11T06:08:00.000-08:00

I'm going cow shopping tomorrow. To buy a cow with pretty eyes, long eyelashes, who prefers chewing gum to cud, and sings "Goru hoon main" to the tune of Sunita Rao's famous "Pari hoon main".

Second, I have realised that, usually, the crowded-er buses are the ones that travel quicker. Forget the travel light option.

Third, puppies with wrinkly faces are the best of the lot.

Fourth, I have acquired an autographed copy of a cookbook authored by a grand-aunt. It's in Bangla and has loads of very Bong, very easy recipes (especially lots of desserts). If you want to buy a copy, it's available for Rs. 50. Consider this a marketing ploy. Hee :).

Puppy faces

2010-01-11T00:58:00.000-08:00

Facebook 'Holi' fad follow-up

2010-01-10T02:29:00.000-08:00

This is a follow-up post to my rant about the 'what colour bra - facebook fad' the other day. I still think it was a (very?) silly exercise. But I read up a lot about it today, and here's what I found/concluded/etc.:

It is believed to have begun by some ladies in Detroit. But no one really knows where it originated so far. Two women, in fact, claim to have got the earliest mails that day - but at the time, it had not yet been linked with breast cancer. Later in the day, these two ladies that this very had been sufficiently modified and turned into a viral 'awareness' tool.
How far this spreads awareness is still a question in my mind. But it works in the American context, reminding women to go in for their annual mammogram. In India, how many women actually schedule one until and unless they find a lump somewhere? I'm 25 and I don't go for these check-ups. And I don't know anyone who does either. Makes you think doesn't it?
I still believe that there should have been a short attachment with the mail or the status update.: a link to a cancer site, a message that goes: Have you gone for your check-up? Just typing out your bra colour does nothing for the cause. And I'm convinced that minus the 'breast cancer' tag, many women would not even have gone along with the gag.
If I got a similar mail in future, I would react the same way. Every little step forward is a step forward, but some education must accompany every fad. Had the mail not made angered me, I would've just written out my undercolours, had a laugh at my male friends' expense and forgotten about it. But as it turns out, the fad made me react - and it's got me thinking about that annual mammogram. Will I go for one in the near future? Perhaps not. But at least it's got me thinking.

Two things

2010-01-08T06:00:00.000-08:00

1. All the Get Well Soon wishes for ailing Jyoti Basu. Great communist, and Guiness Book entering CM he may be, but is it reason enough to want him to live forever? He is 96, for God's sake. An old, old man. Isn't this kind of an existence just punishment to him.? Let the old man go in peace at least.

2. The new Facebook fad goes like this: In honour of breast cancer awareness, we are playing a game...... silly, but fun! Write the colour of your bra as your status, just the colour, nothing else!! Copy this and pass it on to all Females ...... NO MEN!! This will be fun to see how it spreads, and we are leaving the men wondering why all females just have a colour as their status!! Let's have fun!! - Send this message on to all females on your friends list.

That's one version. I got two more. It made me angry. The status message thing sounds fun, but why tag it with breast cancer awareness? Is there a link, or a message that adds some value? Why the need for the "Oooo.. I'm doing this for society" tag at all? Bullshit! It's frivolous and an insult to people who have battled breast cancer or know people who have. If you need a gimmick to spread awareness, it needn't be boring, but it can be a little informative at least.

Ditto for Pink Chaddi campaign. Frivolous as hell. The hype, didn't necessarily change any mindsets.

Q: What did I, a potential breast cancer victim, learn from today's exercise?
A: What colour bras every chick on my Facebook friendlist is wearing.

New Year Wishlist

2010-01-03T02:23:00.000-08:00

What I would most like this year is a windfall. Pennies from heaven. Euros if possible.
Next, a little persistence - so that my never-ending book could see light of day.
Peace, peace, peace, and still more peace.
A life - friends, fashion, fun and fantastic food (especially crumb-fried fish).
Wonderful hair days throughout the year.
A monsoon to remember.
Movies, books that make me laugh aloud and/or squeeze out a genuine tear.
A clock for my house.
Entertaining bus rides.
One adventurous, unplanned trip to Madhya Pradesh. Or Kerala. Or Rajasthan.
Time to blog more often than in 2009.
A good year.

Blogpostcard to Santa

2009-12-20T02:51:00.000-08:00

Dear Santa

What I would like for Christmas is some holiday spending money. And a holiday. And some free time. While you're at it, could you also throw in a nice brown-and-white splotchy cow with pretty eyes? Kinda like in the picture below:

Love, Poojo

PS: I have been a good girl all year round. And a troubled one at that. I deserve the gifts.

PSS: Merry Christmas in advance.

***

Wishing for boy-dom

2009-12-07T06:27:00.001-08:00

Dressing up is a complete waste of time. Expensive also. Have always felt it and still do. It gives me palpitations. To the extent that sometimes I wish I were a boy. Then I'd wear one pair of jeans for one month, and own five pairs of tee-shirts. Bas. As it is I've no idea how to put eyeliner. And I'm like a shy guy in a lingerie store when it comes to eyeshadow, blush, foundation and the like.

I wish cosmetics were never invented only. And even fashion. Necessity?? Bah! Humbug! Buy me books, chips, mushrooms and movies instead any day!

Sigh. Stuck in the wrong body maybe?

Grumble

2009-12-07T04:40:00.000-08:00

Nobody blogs anymore. :|

Why not, may I ask?

There is hardly ever anything to read from fellow bloggers. (Grumble grumble)

Also, I'm eyeing a Wordpress account. Need a nice name. With poojo in it. Suggestions please.

I miss

2009-11-26T05:52:00.000-08:00

I miss Class XI. I miss that year. If there was any year I could go back to and live all over again, it would be the school year 2000-01. If there is any year that I look back on and remember tonnes of fun, and immense peace of mind, lots of little successes and a dozen great friends, its the year I was in Class XI.

Sometimes I wish I could go back there - where the only stress was exams (and hell, in retrospect, I liked giving them). And I wonder if life can ever be like that again. I don't know if it can. But it's nice to imagine.

Neverland, Wonderland - do we ever really grow out of those places? Will fairy tales ever cease to matter? Will Santa Claus ever feel like just another marketing gimmick. I hope not.

Class XI was one of those years when everything turned out just fine in the end. 2009 just doesn't have the same touch to it. Hopefully, 2010 will be a whole new story.

Another 'Dhurrrr'

2009-11-10T05:51:00.000-08:00

I'm feeling rather pointless. This is a continuation of the earlier post. Another of those 'What am I doing?' whines. I like my job on the good days. I can whiz through with nervous energy on the bad ones. But the neither-here-neither-there days just get my goat. And the new work timings aren't helping either.

"Sure," you say, "Blame it on the timings again."

Dhurrr

2009-11-09T07:33:00.000-08:00

Most times, we get so comfortable in this horribly blah existence. Hutt. And then you suddenly wake up from that drowsy, dull existence and wonder, "What am I doing?"

Spare me the big words

2009-11-02T05:10:00.000-08:00

Big words, long words, convoluted sentences designed to impress -- aargh! They make me so mad!

Who are you writing for? Academics!? Even the best of those folks write simply. Monosyllables speak so much better than those long-winded polywollysyllables. Aantlami? Nonsense and bluster is all it is. The real aantels write stuff that even class 2 girls in fountain-y ponytails can read. And then you can't call them aantels anymore, can you now?

I saw a monkey

2009-10-30T02:44:00.000-07:00

First thing in the morning that too. I woke up. Sat up. Looked out of the window. In precisely that order. And there it was sitting on the tree branch outside, its long tail hanging down.

"That's really a long tail," I said to myself, more astonished by the length of its tail than by the sight of a monkey in the heart of Golpark.

I rubbed my eyes to see clearer, planning to reach out for the phone camera next.

But the rubbing broke the dream. It wasn't a monkey at all.

A crow stared back at me from the branch.

Sigh.

2009-10-28T06:15:00.000-07:00

I hardly blog anymore. Have lost the habit I suppose. A random blog here. Another there. And then I sit on it and forget Triple G exists. And I miss blogging too. Perhaps that explains the numerous visits to see if one more person has commented. Or speed reading through one or the other blog, meaning to comment and never finding the time thereafter. I'd like to make this a 'I must blog everyday' resolution post. But I'm not sure I can promise it to me. Sigh.

Make way please

2009-10-12T05:54:00.000-07:00

"Make way. Make way. Let me pass."

It was an authoritarian, female voice accompanied with a light tinkling and heavy steps. She clearly had somewhere to go. Some place important. And she was late.

Almost a score of people in holiday mode were crowding the pavement, admiring the little lake off the main road. But she brought them to attention. They lined up horizontally (without any rehearsal whatsoever), keeping the lake behind them, making way for her to pass.

As for her, she looked neither left nor right, briskly walking straight ahead, the bells on her collar tinkling on. This, my friends, was a cow on a mission.

Black Rose

2009-10-08T11:33:00.000-07:00

A flower dropped into my lap today. But the black threw me off. As a disguise, it worked brilliantly. Until Rosie smiled and unintentionally let slip a glimpse of her little rosebud mouth. That's when I worked it out.

Panchami made me famous

2009-09-24T07:51:00.000-07:00

Yes. It did.

I practically ran away from office with the Sengupta Brothers to go pandal hopping. We braved a fullish metro (I've been in worse, and still worse is expected in the Pujas).

The first pandal we saw also had a canine visitor who travelled there by rickshaw, with master and master's nine-year-old daughter in tow.

Where we became famous was at Deshopriyo Park. Star Ananda caught the three of us heading to a Tora Tora type ride, which turned you round and round six times only (though it seemed much more). I suspect we were also caught on camera by some print publication while checking out Ma Durga's fancy saree. But I've no reports to that effect, so really can't be sure.

Mew

2009-09-02T07:20:00.000-07:00

I spoke to two cats today. They were walking along the wall that forms the view from my window.

I saw one first and mewed. White with black ears. He stopped, and gave me a long searching stare which said, "Well, so you called me. Now what?" I stared back blank. He waited a moment and was going along his way, when I mewed once more. He stopped again - hoping to be invited in for a tidbit. But I had none to spare. He guessed as much and walked on by. I'd already wasted enough of his time.

The second was younger; grey and white. I mewed. He stopped too, but had to follow big brother up ahead. He gave me a look and walked on by.

I might collect something for them to eat one of these days. Once I get the fridge working.

Black

2009-08-23T08:39:00.000-07:00

A black horse off Central Avenue isn't a common sight on a Sunday afternoon. And having an equally black naked man following on the heels of the black horse is rarer still.

I wish Otter were around. That'd have made for a prize-winning photo.

Lizzy sighted

2009-08-18T07:16:00.000-07:00

I saw the underside of a lizard's head today. I mistook it for a pointy strip of white painted metal at first, till I saw it moving. I think lizzy had swallowed an insect right then, kop kore.

Green Box Life

2009-08-11T11:01:00.000-07:00

I'll soon be moving into a place of my own. It's a little box. A cute box. And to mark the occasion, I'm starting another blog: The Green Box Life. Do drop by sometime.

N.B.: But GGG will carry on anyway, with or without the new blog.

Lullaby to me

2009-08-05T11:50:00.000-07:00

Going to keep this short. I'm supersleepy and greatly addicted to Typing Maniac on FB. I'm not even terribly good at it. I've been cranky and spaced out for much of the evening. Now, I feel better. I wish the buses would not be so crowded. I'm getting a little tired of worrying about commutes. A cat turned at my mew today. And I saw people playing chess below the Gariahat flyover, just beside the loo. Some blogger had written about it a year back - either Dreamy or Onnesha I think. Well, I've finally seen it. I'm not hungry, but I feel like some chips or momos about now. Nite nite.

In search of a bear hug

2009-07-30T04:29:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, I feel superior to everyone else. Happens pretty often. It's not always a wonderful feeling, but it's not terrible either.

People advise. But you don't want it. People sympathise. But you don't want that either. People try to get into your shoes - but hell, it's not one size fits all.

There are stories and there are stories. Some aren't mine to tell. Some are, but I don't want to tell them - not to everyone, maybe not even to anyone. So many stories, and yet the ones you record, aren't quite real. Fiction is so much happier and just than real life - so much easier to understand.

I wish my father were Baloo the Bear. But he's not. And life goes on.

Tea

2009-07-26T07:16:00.000-07:00

There's something special about earthen pots and ginger tea - something that goes missing in the mug. Except that one time on a bandh day when the chaiwala puts his all into pleasing his solitary group of customers with the steaming brown liquid in a dettol-washed glass.

The bhaanrs are so hot to touch, that all concentration is on not dropping the tea - you don't want to get scalded. You blow softly over the surface, wondering if some khaari biscuits with coconut stuffing could be an add-on. You sip slowly, gingerly, taking care not to burn your tongue. The sips get larger, till you're left emptying the contents down your throat. And then you tilt the bhaanr and strain for the last drop.

It's peaceful.

There should be more things like this.

Untitled

2009-07-07T07:04:00.000-07:00

What's great about a blog, is that if you word it right, no one will guess what you're really talking about. I guess, the written word does offer a sense of privacy that the spoken one tends to take away.

Yesterday I entered a condom store and emerged out with a bed pan. Today I spoke to a man who feels like a woman.

It's been an eventful month minus the value judgements.

PS: Today's my 1-year anniversary. Gifts are welcome. Cash please.

PSS: Also the famous Chomu Kunda's budday.

Bad month blues

2009-06-27T03:56:00.000-07:00

This has been a terrible month. And its my birthday month also. Things have been so bad, that they can't possibly get very much worse. I'm exhausted to the littlest mitochondriums in my system. I need a 1-month holiday. But my official leaves are soon going to be fucked up completely. And I currently have no money to call my own. Sigh. So much to think about. So much to stress you out. Life at 25 doesn't seem like fun at all.

Welcome to my official quarter-life crisis.

On the bright side, at least my favourite season is here.

Unofficial Review: Madly Bangalee

2009-06-02T11:02:00.000-07:00

The official review of Madly Bangalee is up on ILK. Here comes the link: http://www.ilovekolkata.in/index.php/Movies/-Madly-Bangalee-A-review.html

Roshni I think did a hell of a good job in the movie. That's really what she should be doing. More than anything else. I got all teary-eyed and very proud seeing her in some of the scenes in the film. I'm secretly glad I didn't get to meet her after the movie, I wouldn't have been able to say a word. It's kind of hard to put it into words, but I'm very very very proud of her. (But for future reference, it's kinda weird sitting next to mother of actor-friend when a steamy or even vaguely steamy scene is on. To be avoided.)

Btw... my unofficial review is that the film is lovely. It's complex but seems managed so simply. And I adore the songs. Neel Dutt - who cares if you look like a cartoon character I don't quite remember - some of those songs are unbelievable.

Watch the movie for:
1) The scene with Neon and his drunk father, where old man tells his son to stay away from addiction.
2) Anjan Dutt. Especially the first song he sings. The dancing with Lew Hilt is lotsa fun.
3) Neel's songs and everyday scenes from Kolkata - Dharmatala, AJC Bose Road Flyover seemed quite popular.
4) Baaji's religion-identity speech & the scenes with Benji and Joy's mother.
5) My friend is in it!
6) My another-friend is in it. See if you can spot her.

Fresh beginnings

2009-05-29T10:52:00.000-07:00

I'd like to start over. For everything. Like going to the start of the race again, despite having run a third already. Like ending a mobile Sudoku game midway because it's not going to be a Hall of Fame score this time anyway, so why not start anew with a record-breaker in sight.

There's this official review that I have to write tomorrow. Will follow it up with an unofficial one - I'd like to. One of my bestest friends is in the movie - and jolly good in it too.

Para 2 is not related to Para 1. Just more of my disjointed thoughts.

In Thane, I once saw a rainbow - the whole deal - from end to end. I wrote about it somewhere, don't remember where. But if ever there was a message from God, this was it. I don't know what the message was, just that not everyone gets to see the whole rainbow stand atop a field for almost 15 minutes while you walk towards it, and it takes its time, but it slowly fades away.

In Thane, there was this star that I used to look at. I don't see it here. The pollution keeps it hidden away.

In Kolkata, there's this Rooster that crosses my road everyday. Yesterday he was with a hen, and my day was goodish. Today, he shat while crossing - I think that wasn't such a good omen.

I like

2009-05-17T03:35:00.000-07:00

Gloomy weather. I like.
Barely-there drizzles. I like.
Empty houses. I like.
Episode after episode of Criminal Minds. I like.
Packets of Cheetos to go with it. I like.
I just wish I could find some chocolates somewhere.
Then life would be almost perfect.

Poojo's Pre-Poll Post

2009-05-12T11:18:00.000-07:00

Another edition of the Indian General Elections comes to town. Another year that leaves you with choices that aren't choices at all - choices between the devil and the deep blue sea - conversations that veer around "the devil you know to the devil you don't". Jaagore doesn't really help after a point. It tells you to go and vote. Doesn't quite help you decide who to vote for, and more importantly, why.

If anything, this will be a coming of age election for me. I guess I've come a long way from voting for the one that seems the most harmless. Not a good idea really - just another wasted vote. You could as well be casting the neutral vote. Yes, I'm completely against the "None of the above" option – I think it's just another excuse to pass the buck and let other people make the choice for you. Why? So you can sit smug that you've voted and complain about the rowdies that have come to power?

Every party's got its share of goons, corruption, dirty politics. There's no guarantee that one or the other will really make a difference. It's all so very circumstantial - tomorrow could go any which way. A bomb dropped a country away, a bankruptcy a continent away, and there you have it - equations changing like numbers and symbols gone bonkers. Politicos take U-turns - whatever works, right.

"Politics is the art of possibilities". Who was it who said that? Buddhababu I think, while talking about a possible post-poll alliance with the Congress. Yeah, the same Congress that's currently hobnobbing with Buddhadadu's arch rival, Mamatadidi. It's supposedly all for the greater good.

After a point, they'll all be the same. But it's five years of my future, of the future of my city, my country. So I'll be voting for people I trust - at least, people I trust a little more than the others - silver strands and heavy speeches being hardly a factor. I'll be voting for sensible people, efficient people, clean people, responsible people, and well-intentioned people - at least the people who seem that way from my perspective.

I could be wrong.

I could be very, very wrong. But at least, I'll know I counted.

And democracies have changed governments, people have voted wisely several times over. What number general election is this? I can't quite remember. It runs into double digits - that much I know. Beyond that, it's just a number. But then, elections are all about numbers - the number of seats, the number of candidates, the number of political allies, the number of paramilitary forces, the number of booths, the number of election-based shows, the number of votes.

I am just a number too.

But as long as I count, it's worth it.

251

2009-04-29T08:12:00.000-07:00

That's for lack of a better idea for a headline.

I'm really tired today. Maybe it's because I scared a lizard. He was taking a stroll on my office terrace floor around the same time as I decided a trip to the loo was needed. He stopped in his tracks and played dead. I gave him a curious look to see if he really was. He didn't move. I walked ahead and looked behind - he was scooting across to the wall, completely relieved that the danger was past.

Sometimes I wonder why lizards scare me so much.

I'm really really tired. And I've got this awesome story to do -- just not enough time to get my brain cells around it.

And. And. Anyone who says History is boring has just not read the right books.

Happy 250

2009-04-26T02:22:00.000-07:00

I didn't realise till a few minutes ago, but this is my Happy 250th post. 2nd happy birthday of blog also coming up.

Which brings me to my budday plans. I heading to M'bai. There's talk of Goa, but I think I'd rather lol around the house, meet friends, ex-bosses and ex-colleagues and basically have a nostalgia trip. But I'm still undecided.

Oooh.. I had dinner at One Step Up last night. The Chicken Paprika was yumm, though it gave me a runny tummy.

Do I give too many details?

I half want a Dev R Nil dress for my budday. But I don't think that's gonna happen.

But new mini laptop might soon be mine. Poppa has been offering.

While I'm still rambling, Shreya has new pup - Labrador. It's tingu and has big feet and elderly eyes. I like him.

And see this mew:

'Good Day' bulletin

2009-04-22T07:44:00.000-07:00

I like blogging daily (or at least almost daily). It keeps me happy. And it's nice to see a bunch of comments below the post every so often. Correct that: it's very nice.

Today has been a good day.

For starters, the heat hasn't been as unbearable except for the tea-time outing which brought us back sweating like boars - or am I just getting used to it?

Second, I spoke to Shubha Mudgal :) It was telephonic, but what the hell. She has a lovely tinkling laugh. Remember, you heard that from me first.

Third, (though this happened before the Shubha interview) I found long-lost childhood friend in auto and we exchanged numbers. She lives almost in my para as it turns out.

Fourth, I finally uploaded a photo gallery that I'm happy with and proud of. Here's the link: Jeet-Koel: Match made in Tollywood. If for nothing else, check out Koel. She looks lovely in the pics.

Fifth, this is a nice long blog. If only, there was something more exciting than pumpkin waiting for me at dinner. But then, this heat kills the appetite anyway.

Of ACs and cows

2009-04-21T08:32:00.000-07:00

Uff... long day. Nearly 10 hours. Tomorrow's going to be longer. But the AC in office is godsend. For a change I'm not even grumblebumming about the long day.

There was something I wrote down this morning to copy-paste here, but it is not to be found. I also heard this awesome cow song: http://travel.webshots.com/video/3099383350079233465

I have this fascination for cows. I want to own one called Daisy someday to ride to work. Just hope she doesn't get scared off by the crazy autos at Chandni.

I wish I were a fish

2009-04-20T07:18:00.000-07:00

I got 5 comments 24 hours after my long-delayed post-Holi post. What can I say? I'm touched and I feel happy inside.

It's been a crazily busy day at work, but the good kind. I'll go home whistling. Hell, I already am. ilovekolkata.in is getting a new look :)

Today was one of those days when I really really wanted to get to work. The AC was the bait on this 40-plus-degree day, and I bit it.

I wish I were a fish. My boyfriend is one. But he has no fins. Moo is one too, but with a name like Moo, who would ever believe it.

S.O.S. call

2009-04-19T02:25:00.000-07:00

I need truckloads of money. And even more free time. Then I will sit and write an earthshakingly brilliant bestselling book that will bring me still more truckloads of money.

Sigh. Such a nice dream come true that would be.

I'm blogging from work. A first this is. What this means is though, that long posts are a no-no. I would like to do this daily, or on alternate days or even weekly. But sigh... Work seems to have wound me around its crafty l'il finger, and I'm too gutless currently to unentangle myself.

Somebody please rescue me. Send in your donations. I need to get those trucks loaded.

Holi-day

2009-03-11T01:07:00.000-07:00

Man I miss playing Holi. The hullabaloo, the colours, the shrieks, the confusion - I love it. And I love that you can wear you're worst (read: most comfortable) clothes and no one will judge you for it.

Nobody seems to play Holi these days. Lack of people to play with is the No.1 excuse (it's mine too). And then comes, (2) the colours these days are terribly toxic, (3) that one off-day I need to catch up on sleep, (4) that's for the kids (I'm too old now), (5) other. There's no dearth of excuses when it comes to Holi - including, 'I don't want to be molested by the para changras'.

Sigh, life just gets complexer and complexer as the years move on. Some people sleep their Holis away, others watch from the safety of their fourth floor windows, still others watch TV and snack, and some turn to their blogs.

But look on the bright side: It's Holi and I have a holi-day. So yay!

Welcome March

2009-03-01T10:01:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since I've been here. An almost constant state of depression has kept me away. But now -- and I'm NOT trivialising this -- now, I've rediscovered chocolate. You just need to be feeling sufficiently unhappy about life to really appreciate the magic of chocolate -- and now, since life is not being terribly pleasant, I'm gorging on chocs. So far, it's working. And getting fat is far from my mind.

It's been an eventful February that's brought on many hurried decisions -- made and changed. It was an emotionally charged month with many deep breaths and too many complaints. I'm glad March is here. Emotional isn't my gig really. I always thought I was the Phoebe Buffay type -- flakey, wise, a little blonde in the head, armed with a guitar I can't play, and a smelly cat that my boyfriend insists is gay. But February proved (to me at least) that I'm not as detached as I'd always made myself believe. Luckily, the month is over. A new chapter begins. Welcome home, March.

Today's random fact

2009-02-10T10:36:00.000-08:00

I like digging my nose.

Yes. That's the 'gross fact of the day' as well.

:D

Randomly

2009-01-28T09:40:00.000-08:00

Major repairs happening in the main bathroom. It looks like a cemetry. Grandma is hence refusing to sleep in her usual room :D

Met an interesting dog-feeding sadhu on the bus who claimed who claimed he used to be a neta at one time. Now he's just 'chhera faata'. (I didn't meet him meet him... but he was on the bus with me, seated a few seats away)

I found a stray I'd like to feed. I'm not an activist type like Shreya, so I can't just feed kuttas from the goodness of my heart. But I like this one. So starting tomm maybe I'll get her some biscuits - if I see her again that is. She's all ribs it seemed to me.

House hunting

2009-01-27T10:03:00.001-08:00

I'm in the mood to buy a house. 1 BHK. I don't have the money. I'll have to take a loan, make my father stand gurantor, and find a cheap house. Centrally located. Within the city (Kolkata). No suburbs please. Consider this a 'Flat Wanted' ad. Lemme know if you know of any. I'm interested.

My best story yet

2009-01-20T09:26:00.000-08:00

And here's the link: Obama visits Kolkata: The Mamata chapter

This has been a very very good day. I'm almost scared that this will not last. When Shreya had told me this maybe a month earlier, I'd thought to myself: what a pessimist. Now I get what she was saying.

This is a delicate state of affairs. This good luck thing. Santa? This be the gift of peace I asked for?

Aaaargh!

2009-01-16T20:51:00.000-08:00

This is proving to be one crazy year man. There's crisis after crisis after crisis after crisis. Fuckity-fuck-fuck totally. Imagine me sitting at my computer with electrocuted hair, pausing between typings to wrench out the burnt out (once-upon-a-time) tresses.

Dear Mr. Santa Claus,

I know I didn't bother with that pre-Christmas I-want-this-and-that letter to you last December. And I don't know if you also deal in luck, but I'd like some please. Some super-duper-trooper good luck and a few 24-hour days of utter peace. Make that a week at least. I've been very good for a long time now. I think I deserve it.

Lotsa lowe and big hug

Poojo

Slumdog: Super-duper-short review

2009-01-15T08:01:00.000-08:00

So I watched the rest of Slumdog Millionaire. Somehow, the second half wasn't quite as brilliant as the first, nosediving as it did into a very Bollywood climax and happily-ever-after ending. Does it deserve an Oscar? I'm not sure. Would I watch it again? Quite likely.

Random clucks

2009-01-12T20:42:00.000-08:00

The problem with blogging often is that you run out of things to say. And there isn't any interesting Mamata-Banerjee-or-otherwise news that I can latch on to. Even the autos, two-stroke, three-stroke and four-stroke seem to be running as before though I seem to have converted to bus travel even as the three-wheelers fight to avoid LPG conversion.

The other day I had to write this office blog about 'the hazards of auto travel'. Now, being a great fan of auto reeskaaz, it isn't easy to jot down all the bad bad things about them. But what to do, when your boss says, 'write blog', you jolly well 'write blog'. Here be the link.

I've been listening to Western classical music of late: Beethoven, Bach, Handel, the works. I'm on my way to becoming a true-blue aantel. If only I could acquire a taste for ciggies. Then I'd be ekdum fit.

Oh, and I watched half of Slumdog Millionaire. Saying 'it's awesome' would kinda dilute the effect. But yeah, since I'm not in review-writing mode, that's what I'm going to say.

One of my cats is on heat and meowling all night long. All through the day too, I expect, but since I'm not home mostly, it doesn't matter to me. But at night when I'm dying to snooze I don't want 'meowee meowee' reverberating (yes, that's the exact word) through the room. I've been seriously considering sticking cellotape across her mouth for awhile now.

Btw... I read this strange book: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. It's a good book, but more strange than good. Got to do with the idea of human clones being people too. And its a story about love, friendship and coming of age.

My resolution has been threatening to get broken of late, but if I can carry on with it till Valentine's Day, it should become permanent I guess.

---> :D

2009-01-10T08:26:00.001-08:00

After a long time, I felt that my job is rather worthwhile. I'm not sure how long this feeling will last. Going by past experience, not very long. But it is a good feeling. Part of the new realisation may be due to my New Year's resolution - Episode 24 (my ever-increasing age) not to worry.

I've finally found the secret to successfully keeping New Year's resolutions. And I'm going to type this just once. So read carefully.

The secret to successfully following a New Year's resolution is to find one that is sufficiently difficult to keep, something that you have to do constantly, and something that, if kept, provides far more benefit than the mere satisfaction of having adhered to that resolution.

Aunty Poojo has been saying very wise things of late. Particularly to the blogger named Solo, who recently had a scratch on her cornea and has in her last post put up adorable pictures of her cat Gin and dog Pyro. Here's the link.

I've this post in mind that I'm preparing in my head. If all goes well, it should be up here soon-ish. But no promises.

There was something meaningful that I wanted to write, but its flown outta of the window. However, Arsenal just scored a goal against Bolton. So you may cheer :D

Financial worries

2009-01-07T21:22:00.000-08:00

Money is a terribly worrying thing. But I have resolved to not be a worry-wart this year, so I shall not grumble about not having enough just yet. Money comes, money goes. I shall not stress over it as long as I have 20k in my bank. Once it dips below that, then I shall start getting panicky.

I was reading in the papers about this 74-year-old German billionaire who threw himself in front of a running train because his business hasn't been looking too hot in the recent past. And then there's this whole fiasco over at Satyam -- son of farmer becomes top corporate honcho becomes fraud.

Money is a terrible evil. Too much trouble. Most crimes are also caused by money. I wish we could all go back to growing cauliflowers and clobbering mammoths on the head for meat. Okay, so maybe cavemen drag cavewomen by their hair, but maybe that's not such a bad thing.

But I don't think cavepeople grew cauliflowers.

I saw a bus burn today

2009-01-03T08:07:00.000-08:00

I did. And I took a video of it which is up on ilovekolkata.in. In the process I also learnt one of the first tenets of videojournalism (is that what they call it?): Do not talk while the camera rolls. Do not. Do not. Do not. And certainly do not carry on conversing while the cops disperse the crowds and the fire engines clang-clang there way into the line of fire and set free gallons of smoke that billow into verandahs housing curious onlookers.

Here are excerpts of the thoughts that were lost during the video editing process:

1.Bells are a ringing. The fire engines appear in the camera's line of vision.
Poojo (Suppressing a 'Yay'): The whadya-call-it's come. The domkol I mean.

2. As smoke covers the face of the camera and threatens to come home for lunch.
Poojo: There's so much smoke.
Shreya's dad (Not in response to my tidbit): The cops are dispersing the crowd.
Poojo: Oh. Is that tear gas? Haw!
Poojo (Realising no tears have appeared and noticing that the firemen are rushing around with their massive hose): Oh. It's the firemen at work.
Shreya: Papa abhi aapko maarenge.

For a girl that's supposed to be soft-spoken and who doesn't talk too much, I must've broken a record somewhere... all in the course of one exclusive ILK video that happened due to very very good luck. (Psst: Our official photographer turned up much after the flames had died a fireman-wrought death in this not-so-bitter cold.)

Two buses in the Park Circus area had been burnt on Saturday morning. Excitingly enough (or scarily enough), the third bus was torched a bare two minutes after I crossed the flyover. Even before I rang the bell outside Shreya's house's door, the bus was ablaze. She gave me this horrified look: 'You came through all that?'
Poojo: All what?
Shreya: They burnt the bus. You didn't see?
Poojo: What bus? Where bus? I was looking for a burning bus. There was no bus when I came. I crossed in front of a truck.
Shreya: How come? I saw it burning just as you pressed the doorbell.
Poojo: Haw!
Shreya: There were all these changra boys on the street...
Poojo: I crossed the road with the changra boys. I thought they were there to catch all the action.

The theory Shreya and I now hold is that I crossed with the bus burners.
Poojo's reaction to the above-mentioned theory: Whoa!

What I want to know is how they did it. No one was hurt. Well, not enough anyway to warrant a line that goes: 'Auto operators protesting the High Court ban on two-stroke autos torched a bus on the Park Circus flyover injuring 7 including a child.' Thankfully, that did not happen. But what this meant was, these dudes had to wait for me to enter Shreya's building, find a state bus coming their way, get all the people out, set fire to the box on wheels, and have it blazing away by the time I rang Shreya's doorbell. My theory is that these guys weren't just angry, insecure auto drivers fighting for their livelihood. I think these were professional fire-setting bastards... the kind that are ordered to start mob riots in all those movies where Shakti Kapoor plays a villain politician.

It's not funny though. No political party ought to be allowed to disturb the peace like this. Hunger strikes, factory sieges, and simply sitting outside the CM's house (ostensibly braving the cold. hah!) are just either destructive or irritating tactics. We don't want strikes or slugfests. Give us a solution Ms. Banerjee. It may be a tad unfair to say all the violence is thanks to TMC-backed cadre; it's very likely that CITU Men and Co. are also involved, but somehow, the blamegame always comes back to Mamata Di. Did you know she's been trying to sign her name as 'Mamataa' these days? A Jayalalithaa-like numerological try at the Chief Minister's post. Hah! Fat chance missy. The Left may not be the best option in this so-called democracy of ours where no party is worth a vote, but at least it has a respectable grey-haired Buddha Babu of Palm Avenue to earn our respect even if its folks go around majorly troubling folks in the Nandigrams and Singurs of Bengal. It's not a great option. But at least there's a main man that you can respect and look up to, even if he makes mistakes every now and again.

This post wasn't meant to kick off the Left's pre-election campaign, though it seems to have turned out that way. I'm just pissed off with Mamata's 'Aaj ka gundaraj' style of politics. I wish she'd turn her attention to the terror problem. So the next time terrorists get into some hotel in the country, let's send Mamata to plonk outside till her demands are met. Demands that probably even she will not know. She should soon manage to terrorise the terrorists into surrendering for all eternity. Mamata should be our weapon in the war against terror. At least for this cause she has my vote.

Btw, here's the link to the bus burning video by yours truly: Bus burns in auto-ban protest. And that's Shreya doing the voiceover.

There's been a change in plans

2009-01-02T21:25:00.000-08:00

I spend too much time doing things I dislike and too little doing things I enjoy. So there's been a major change in my daily routine which is being propped up by a new New Year's Resolution; one that I had a tough time keeping through most of yesterday. The resolution is that I will worry no more. I've recently developed this tendency to keep going over and over the same things 144 times a day till I'm almost a basket case. I'm not doing that anymore. So whenever a nasty thought enters my head I start thinking of my next fix and voila! I'm stressed no more (at least temporarily).

The New Year concept is kinda silly for Kolkata weather. It comes bang smack in the middle of winter (if you can call this winter). But it gives you a chance to start a new MS Excel sheet for accounts. And a chance to say 'Go away' to all the nastiness of last year. Psychology is a strange subject truly.

This post is quite a rambler. Haven't been posting much at all of late. Blogging is one of the things I do like you see. Even if I type on about nothing in particular. So if my resolution survives me, GGG should see a post population explosion in the coming months.

PS: Going to work is going to be even more irritating with the auto problem these days. There are too many angles to this story... but for starters, I seriously think Mamata should start a bigshit company called Miscellany Bachao Committee. After Krishijomi Bachao and Auto Bachao, this could become an entrepreneur's dream in the TV18 scheme of things. She could even buy up the Nano Bachao Committee and steal the patents, copyrights, trademark, ya-da-ya-da-ya-da.

Towards Christmas

2008-12-23T20:56:00.000-08:00

'Away in a manger' gets me teary-eyed.

After the vacation

2008-12-16T03:05:00.000-08:00

Now, I'm terribly tired. I need a vacation to get over this. Some famous retro dude (Charles Lamb I think) once said, "No man needs a vacation as much as one who has just returned from one.

5 plane rides and 9 days later, I'm a tired woman with one more plane ride to go tomorrow. KL made a shopaholic out of a non-shopper, and I think I've developed strong calf muscles following 8-10-hour-long promenades down snazzy malls and never-ending lines of stores. Contrary to public opinion though, shopping in Kuala Lumpur is pretty expensive. Pretty pretty. The cheap place is Bangkok. That's next on my list.

Expect more on the trip over the next few days. With pics and all.

And I'm very glad to get back to Indie-style meals again. Minus the Malaysian groundnut oil smell.

After the attacks: Catharsis

2008-12-04T08:01:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since my last post. A busy calender and a disturbed soul kept me away from GGG over the last week. The Mumbai attacks took place a little too close to home for comfort.

I spent two years in Mumbai between 2005 and 2007, and my Baba and stepmom Alpana Aunty live there. Baba's office is barely two minutes away from the Oberoi-Trident. Alpana Aunty works in a building in a lane roughly between the Taj and Cafe Leopold. My best friend Smita is in a building opposite the Oberoi.

But when gunshots began last Wednesday night, I had no clue. I was on my way to Birati for Chomu Kunda's reception (refer to earlier post for who Chomu Kunda is). It took ages to get there, saree-clad and all. And coming back was quite the rural midnight adventure, a tale I'll save for a later post. I stayed over at Roy's that night, it being too late to come home. Sleep happened only around 3 am, but watching the news was the last thing on my mind. The next thing I know, my phone rings at 7 am. Baba.

Baba: You asleep?
Poojo: Yes. Talk to you later.
Baba: Yes yes. Just wanted to tell you that we are all okay. Thought you might get scared seeing all the stuff on TV.
Poojo (half-asleep): Okay okay. I'll talk to you later.

Just another blast was what I thought.

Just. Another. Blast.

'Later' came much later, around 10 am, when I was on my way to meet Amrita (who is also hearing wedding bells) to help her shop for her January 23 wedding. That's when I called Smita, to find out if she was all right. She was, but what she said was ominous: 'It's like 9/11. The terrorists are shooting on the street. But I'm okay.' The phone signal went off then. No access to the news or to the newspaper. Time to call everybody in M'bai to see if they were all right.

Next call was Nisha. She was okay too. Gave me a full update on the situation. 'Fuck,' I went.

Then it was just a flurry of calls to see if everyone was alive. Usha, MoonMoon, Nancy, Euge, my ex-boss... They were. Thank God.

I bought my first newspaper of the day at 11.30 am from Gariahat. But apart from the highlights of the attacks, I didn't get a chance to find out more. Amrita had a wedding saree to buy. And everyone I knew in Mumbai was safe. The entire day was spent shopping, catching up, sharing laughs. But the attacks were at the back of my mind. What was happening?

It was 8 pm by the time I got home and turned on the TV to watch Mumbai burning. 'I didn't even know,' was my first reaction. I'd put off talking with my father while one of the worst ever terrorist attacks was in full swing. My reason? I wanted to sleep a little longer on my day-off.

Baba and Alpana Aunty are always near the Taj or Leopold's or Oberoi. They sometimes go into the Taj or the Oberoi to buy pastries or a birthday cake. When my sisters and I are meeting the parents and they are late, we walk down Colaba. I don't like Leopold's too much (they pander to the whites a little too much while us brown-skins are nearly ignored), but I'm often outside it - shopping, bargaining, wasting time.

The bottomline: It could've been me. Or someone I love.

While watching TV Thursday night, I blinked the tears away. I thought that once the TV was off, the tears would evaporate and I'd return to my optimistic oblivion once again. But it was a flood of anger at myself for not caring enough to find out from Baba what had happened, for not knowing when the gunshots had first begun, for waiting till later to find out if everyone was alive.

Hemant Karkare, the ATS chief, was about my Baba's age. They had the same moustache. My Baba is not a top cop. He's a consultant. But it could easily have been my Baba in Karkare's place.

I cried that day. And on the next. At work I wrote two reports on the Mumbai blasts. And then I cried again on Sunday, while telling Shreya that the attacks happened in a place that was, and still is, home.

It's been a disturbing week. One that's given me a new perspective. Irrespective of who the next home minister is, or who forms the next government, I'm not sure when I'm going to feel completely safe again. The roads, the stations, the airports, the markets... where the fuck are you safe?

Following the Mumbai attacks, I was paranoid. I stored two packs of Wai-Wai in my bag (in case 'something' happens). I made sure to charge my phone fully. I even carried the charger in my bag for a couple of days.

Sure, the paranoia is fading away gradually. But I was frightened last week. Terrified actually. When the gunfire is in your own backyard, it becomes so much more real, so much more tangible. I'm glad that everyone is safe. But my belief in 'everything will be fine' is shaky now.

Nine of the terrorists may have been shot, but this time they succeeded in their aim: instilling terror in people's hearts.

This is not one of my best posts. But it has been pending for awhile. Consider this my catharsis.

A wedding toast to chomu-giri

2008-11-21T07:37:00.000-08:00

After days of grumbly, angry, frustrated posts, it's time to look on the bright side. My best friend is getting married.

My official best friend is Smita. But I have a bunch of other best friends that I can't do without. There's Madhurima and Roshni and Shutapa and Shreya and Amrita and MoonMoon and Nancy and Eugenia and Roy and Rocky and Kohi and Moo and a couple of more people that I suspect I've forgotten. But I've only one chaddi-buddy (even though we've been friends since only class 11) and that is Rahul, better known as Chomu Kunda. The label 'chomu-giri' is an ode to him, as is this post.

Pic of Poojo and Chomu:

Chomu Kunda is special. Very very special. He's my favourite boy ever. Even now that he's put on even more weight and looks like a man (He is 25), he's still my favourite boy. Boyfriends have come and gone, but Chomu Kunda has remained a constant. Using the most colourful cuss words when he realized my first guy was a jerk that was Rahul. Seeking consolation on hearing the tragic news of my breakup with the second, that again was Rahul. He's not the King of Good Looks, but he cleans up nice and is a total dude. How many guys do you know who get on to a bus from Lake Town to Mullickbazar, exchange numbers on bus tickets with a chick, and have a girlfriend in hand a phone call later? How many guys do you know who walk into a movie hall with a guy friend and emerge out of it three hours later with a girlfriend?

I know one of those. Rahul Chomu Kunda. And the boy is getting married. I'm so proud. The last time I was so proud of him was back in Class 11 and 12. He was the school football team's goalkeeper and we (Madz, Smita, Shutapa and I) his biggest fans. Smita and I had our respective boyfriends on the team, but Kunda was our No. 1. Even when he let go of that one easy goal between his legs... That's one embarrassing story we will never let go of.

He can't play dumb charades though. Not to save his life. But if you're ever in the mood to ride the Flying Saucer at Nicco Park, I'd recommend Chomu Kunda. He won't get pukey and if you put him on the outside, it's a nice cushiony person to fall against.

I love the guy. Did I mention it? And he loves me. He's the only non-boyfriend guy friend that I say 'I love you' to on a regular basis. Of course, he's said 'I love you' to millions and zillions of girls. Mitali, Diksha, Payel (the first), Priyanka, Esha, Pamela, me, Smita, Natasha, Payel (the second and the bride-to-be)... and these are just the ones I remember off hand. :) The guy has spirit. And fight.

I guess I've seen him through more relationships than vice versa. I've also seen him sitting on a chair on my terrace with a towel wrapped over his school shirt, while my Ma stood with scissors trying to salvage what remained of his hair after a particularly disastrous haircut. It looked better after. That was the day Shutapa's birthday party was held on my terrace and short skirts were the order of the day.

My first drink was with him. As was my first smoke. He's the one who'd wake up suddenly and realise that somebody or the other had changed. I remember the time he kept looking at me, shaking his head sadly, and muttering occasionally, 'Pooja, you have changed'. It was hilarious then, but perhaps he saw something that even I missed. I think he saw me growing up.

But I'm not sure if I noticed him grow up. He did though. Suddenly, stupid, idiotic Chomu was all adult and talking sense. Sure, he still had an eye for the ladies. Sure, given a chance, he'd still add water to the bottle of sauce to dilute the damn thing while cooking. Sure, he had a talent for finding the most Bong people in Maharashtra. Sure, he'll never lose weight. I hope he doesn't. Sure, he'd still steal the chicken off your plate if he smelt the slightest chance. But then that's Rahul. If he didn't do all those things, he wouldn't be very chomu after all, would he?

So this is my ode to Rahul Chomu Kunda. May his chomu-giri survive the tempest called marriage.

And finally, a picture of the happy couple: Payel Rani and Rahul Raja ;)

With love, Poojo

Understanding problem

2008-11-18T21:12:00.000-08:00

I don't understand people. Most of them. Their priorities are so strange. In living for tomorrow, they forget about today. Social lives, hobbies, all fall by the wayside while fear that tomorrow might become a mess if we don't behave in such-and-such way reigns supreme. Whore-ism... that's what it is. You've just got to plan your escape from it quickly. Prison break.

I'm not as unhappy as I sound here. Just venting.

Job woes again

2008-11-15T08:08:00.001-08:00

I need to need to leave my job. It's (a) depressing me as much as my earlier one did, and (b) making me feel trapped. The first can be dealt with. The second is the biggest no-no possible.

And strangely enough, last year, almost exactly this time, I was at pretty much the same crossroads (Refer here, here, here, and here for last year's job woes). Colleague just told me that Boss is planning to change our timings to 12 pm to 8-9pm. If that's the case, I'm quitting right away. Would make the decision a whole lot easier for me.

If you are reading between the lines or know me well enough, it's probably clear that I've already decided. The timing is still a question though. Let's see how soon I get pushed over the edge.

PS: I'd almost forgotten that I had started using new labels. :P Went straightaway to the old ones.

:D (For want of a better title)

2008-11-08T08:53:00.000-08:00

At the end of the day, it's the human story that rules.

'At the end of the day' is also one of the most cliched phrases that one can use.

A year and a half from now, I'm embarking on a world tour. Promise.

And I'm planning to scrap my earlier set of labels for GGG. New labels starting today.

Monster.com time

2008-11-07T08:03:00.000-08:00

I feel stuck in the wrong job.

But then again, I'm one of those people who will always feel stuck in the wrong job, 'cause the entire 'job' concept doesn't rest easy with me.

On the bright side, my writing skills have been seeing an upward curve. A little button mushroom soup wouldn't do any harm though.

I'm not looking for a new job. But I adore complaining about my current one. It's one of my favourite hobbies. :D

When words are hard to find...

2008-11-04T08:51:00.000-08:00

Are words all that matter? And things left unsaid don't?

What can you say to a question like that. You know the answer, but interjecting between someone else's tears and saying it just right isn't easy.

Life is hard. Feelings, brittle. Friendships, a mass of interconnected wires that could shortcircuit when you least expect.

Grief arrives at the worst of times, just when someone else is preparing for a happily-ever-after. And sometimes that's enough to bring on hurtful thoughts that had remained hidden away for months, even years.

People sometimes reach out for a comforting voice that isn't coming, while the one to whom the hoped-for voice belongs goes to church to pray, but never mentions it. And the unsaid stands up like a mammoth Berlin Wall that for the time being, seems in danger of never crumbling.

But not everything is a tragedy.

Sometimes 40-somethings find long-lost best-friends-forever and giggle like jackasses across time zones and make plans to spend Christmas together. And that's when you know, life really isn't all bad.

Wedding bells (Not for me)

2008-11-03T08:46:00.000-08:00

I have a job. I have to convince one close friend to go to the wedding of another close friend in Pune who will be paying our way (Air tickets in these times of skyrocketing air fare! Whoohoo!). The villain here is a Boss who doesn't know (which kinda reduces the charges on him) and work pressure that refuses to go away.

Sometimes I forget I'm 24. I still feel 23 somehow. And when I'm thinking 'how-old-am-I?', the reflex is '23'. Then comes 'Nyaah. That doesn't sound right.' And a quizzical look at the dude/dudette in the auto (It's happened twice), and a question, 'How old are we?'

The answer, sadly, is '24'.

But if it's all in the mind, and it's all the same to you, I still feel '23'.

I do I do.

It's been awhile

2008-10-29T10:37:00.000-07:00

I've been avoiding the computer chair (which is in fact not a computer chair at all) because it gives me backache. Age and grey hair - the troubles they bring along. And because I've been avoiding the computer chair, the computer has been getting the royal ignore too. But today I decided to catch up with people I've been out of touch with. This included a Cousin Dadi (who I spoke to), an aunt (whose phone was busy) and Mr. Computer (who has kindly forgiven me without a word of reproach).

I've written a lot today. I've also finally submitted my latest article (this one on the Russell Peters show in Kolkata last week) at work. Here's the link: Laughing out loud with Russell Peters. This caused me a lot of insecurity while I wrote it. I constantly worried that I wasn't doing a good job, but despite all the worrying, it's turned out well enough at the end.

I've been telling everyone that I'm reading a bad book by Hemmingway (the same dude who wrote The Old Man and the Sea, A Farewell to Arms, and For Whom the Bell Tolls). This one is called Fiesta, and I have only about 20-odd pages left, and I would like to say that it has finally turned interesting. As in, this is no thriller. That sense of chill anticipation is absent, but the last few pages have been an improvement over the first 150-odd pages. I guess, even Mr. Hemmingway had to start somewhere. Nobody's perfect.

Except my father, by his own admission.

Surprise!

2008-10-18T09:44:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you think you know somebody inside out and then they spring a surprise trait on you that you would never have guessed they had. It's nice. Two fishy people have done the 'Surprise' routine back-to-back and I'm quite pleased about it. One lies through his teeth like a professional, the other has a fascination for green because that's the colour of the house she belonged to in school.

You think you know people... The question is, 'How much?'...

Btw... 2 latest stories:
1. A first for Bengali animation
2. Lal Kalo: Going beyond red and black

PS: Made a major goof-up on the review. A small but major one. Thanks to Coffee Stain who corrected me.

Belated Happy Birthday Parcel

2008-10-16T20:10:00.000-07:00

My sister's happy birthday parcel is planning to get sent off today. Her birthday is on the 17th. It takes a week or so to reach. Procrastination is my middle name. Call me Poojo Procrastination C. starting today.

Pampers

2008-10-15T10:04:00.000-07:00

Pamper Poojo spree by Poojo.C is on. It's expensive by her standards, but it keeps the stress away and brings on the smiles. A good deal I would say.

PS: The title of this post should in no way be confused with the Huggies competitor.

After a long time...

2008-10-14T22:44:00.000-07:00

I'm whistling at work again. That's a good sign.

Colloseum Capers

2008-10-14T09:06:00.000-07:00

A temple of gold melts in the heat of man-made flames of greed and a monument is built for generations to see. Ancient Romans make off with relics from an ancient Jewish temple, using the loot to build an entertainment complex that would later become a tourist hotspot.

One theory goes that the Collosseum was built with blood money. A temple of gold in Jerusalem was set aflame till it turned into an aureate river. The river cooled to form solid gold pieces which were carried by Roman soldiers into a Rome in ruins. A great fire a few years earlier had razed buildings that once occupied the area which is now the Collosseum.

It was time for an image revamp. Emperor Vespasian started building the amphitheatre. The work continued and was completed under his son Titus and witnessed all the blood and gore of gladiator fights, animal hunts and executions. And the wealth that had originally belonged to the Jews never returned to Jerusalem.

Now, the Collosseum is just another symbol of times gone by... and one more must-visit spot on my bucket list.

Machu Picchu Diary

2008-10-13T10:31:00.000-07:00

Am a fan of the Incas today. They lasted a hundred years but built stone walls that lasted five hundred, and they didn't even use cement or mortar; they were simply extraordinary at jigsaws. They fit the pieces in exactly, and these refuse to budge even today.

Plus, they housed over a thousand llamas.

What more could one want?

No love lost anymore

2008-10-12T20:38:00.000-07:00

My first job. Aaah... now that was love.

This is just a marriage of convenience.

De-stress Now. Ask Me How.

2008-10-11T09:59:00.000-07:00

I'm looking like Jon Bon Jovi today. The pretty version. It's the hair I tell you.

From stressed to destressed... That's the wonder of bookstores and credit cards. A thousand rupees of pure joy + another 80 bucks for Blended Mint Mocha (+ tax + tip) and another 44 bucks on commuting via cab (What's the point of spending 1000+ bucks if you scrimp on commutes. Scrimp days should be separate from splurge days).

In case you didn't notice, today was a splurge day.

And it made me happy.

Book-buying is my best mood uplifter. It has always been. Beats the occasional Dairy Milks also. Whenever chocolate isn't working on my stress points, send me off to buy books. It could get a little expensive, but given that I limit myself to a 1000-odd rupees at a go, and stay away from bookstores for the rest of the month, bankruptcy is a little distance away, even in the face of a global financial crisis which threatens ICICI bank (shudders).

I bought 3 books today.

A volume called 'The World's Greatest Short Stories' priced very reasonably considering the thickness.
'The Wednesday Letters'. Priced at 375/-, it was a little extravagant by my 3-digit-prices-starting-with-2 standards, but the epilogue is actually a letter (a Wednesday letter) placed in a sealed envelope on the inside of the back cover of the book. How could I ever resist.
My favourite. A book of poems by Ogden Nash. 'Candy is Dandy'. That's the name. And it's given me my latest blog idea. Dunno how long this one will last, but for what it's worth, I'll add a Quote of the Day with every post and try to post daily like I once used to.

Today's Quote of the Day (is actually an entire poem of 2 lines):
I would live all my life in nonchalance and insouciance
Were it not for making a living, which is rather a nousiance.
-- Ogden Nash, 'Introspective Reflection'

And Happening of the Day:
I am now a fan of Mountain Dew. Having officially disliked white/colourless fizzy drinks on the whole till today (which happens to be Amitabh Bachchan's and my first cousin's birthday), I have finally tasted the champ of all white/colourless fizzy drinks. And my newest motto comes from there: Darr ke aage jeet hai. :D

And Moral of Today's Post
Books make this babe happy. Very very.

Post-Pujo post

2008-10-09T04:42:00.000-07:00

The Pujos came, made a lot of festive noise, and it's gone already. For those whose offices were generous enough to give their Kolkatan employees four days off, "You lucky pigs!" For those whose offices didn't, "You poor things."

Surprisingly though, I didn't miss having to spend most of Durga Puja 2008 facing a computer screen. I hated having to be at work while the rest of Kolkata wore new clothes, ate chicken rolls and took photos of the heppest pujas in town... but having had two days off (Navami and Dashami ... one of which is my weekly off anyway and the other a holiday across the country), I feel light and happy and in an I-can-conquer-a-small-world-like-Pluto mood.

I read a wonderful book yesterday: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne. It's the Holocaust again, but from a refreshing, childlike perspective.

ScroogeSpeak-I

2008-10-05T23:22:00.000-07:00

Life is officially fucked up. 'Officially'.

poojo.c is officially Scrooge starting yesterday. Puja fever? Bah! Humbug!

More ScroogeSpeak posts coming up over the next few days.

Finding answers

2008-09-27T09:30:00.000-07:00

The most unlikely people end up telling you what you most need to hear. A good thing too. For when answers come from unexpected sources, you sit up and take notice. When it comes from Mommy-Baba-Uncle-Shunkle, it just doesn't register.

I'm not in a bloggy mood somehow. I was, say half an hour back, but the entire thought flow has gone and got lost. So tonight's blog ends with this thought:

It's not the end. It's never the end.

[The following was added 5 seconds later. After the first speedy comment made it's way here...]

But as you know now, it's never the end. So here's an interesting tidbit...

Khosla Electronics' special Puja offers that let you buy 17000-rupee LCD TVs for EMIs as low as Rs.600 per month are not extended to police-folk, lawyers, and (hold-your-breath) poor, cash-starved journos. Yes. And that info's straight from the boss's mouth.

Adventure postponed

2008-09-25T19:19:00.001-07:00

Passport adventure postponed to Monday. Hopefully, given that it's Mahalaya and all, the office will remain open then. I would appreciate some company if anyone likes standing in queue from 4.30 in the morning. :D (Notice the winning smile)

I think I'll spend the rest of the morning reading. Eye issues still persist, couldn't meet the doc yesterday. Sigh. Chaap e chaap. Will somebody exchange lives with me for a few days please?

Sigh of relief

2008-09-24T21:42:00.000-07:00

Been stressed and worried and really really stressed and worried of late. Thankfully, I was mostly worried about a-little-more-than-nothing, and am heaving many sighs of relief just about now. The moral of the story is: DO NOT PROCRASTINATE. I will probably start procrastinating once again when this sudden bout of worry disappears into the carbon monoxides of time... but for the time being, I will be a good kid, and do all my work on time. I have to stand in line at passport office really early tomorrow morning. Pray that I get my token asap.

Latest story

2008-09-15T20:26:00.000-07:00

Here's my newest story. For a change, I'm quite happy with this one: Saved by the off-screen Bachchan

I have an eye infection so am avoiding the comp at home for a while. I wish I could avoid the one at work too :'(

Will return with a big bang once the eye issues clear up.

Boss bastion

2008-09-09T09:26:00.000-07:00

I caught my boss watching Love Guru when he should have been working. Taking advantage of the big boss' being away and having passed most of the work to us, his poor cursed subordinates, he had happily put on his headphones and was watching Guru Pitka impart his copyrighted knowledge to all who will listen. And having seen him watching the movie, I did what I do best -- practice diplomacy by offering him a mini-review of the film.

Being a boss is a good job. You don't have to work. If you're sincere, you just make a show of doing a lot of work. And that's all you need.

Sometime ago this same boss had dozed off, with his head half under the monitor. Us giggly subordinates had tiptoed all the way to his work station to check out the scene.

And he's not the only one. Soon after this dozing off session, we spotted the big boss with his head down on his table. A colleague went over to ask him something, and he raised his head, eyes red with sleep. Of course, this boss works kinda hard, so a nap is forgivable in this case.

There's this other loudmouth senior chap in the office. Thankfully, he isn't our boss and belongs to a different department. Now this guy is something to see, and hard to miss with his protruding belly and loudspeaker-like voice. And all he does throughout the 9-hour work day is read the New York Times website, advise people on everything around the sun, ask over-worked people unnecessary general knowledge questions till they are out of polite answers just so he can show the world how much he knows, and show off the photos he has taken with his 80k-rupee DSLR and posted on his blog just so you have the wonderful opportunity to praise his creativity.

As I was saying, being a boss has many, many perks. Sometimes I feel I'm stuck in the wrong job. I should be a boss too.

Life in (not-really) Bullet Points

2008-09-05T08:52:00.000-07:00

The other day, my auto-wala got caught by the cop for going the wrong way on a one-way street. I felt bad for the dude -- he did drop me closer to office, but then... I didn't ask him to go that way... he chose to on his own. I just sat tight for the ride.

This morning, my auto-wala dropped me still closer to office. I suspect he was hitting on me... but I can't be sure.

I saw a very ugly cat on the road today.

My office-buddy-cum-colleague is sick. Now is the right time to go tsk-tsk.

There's this bunch of movies that I want to catch:

Rock On!!
A Wednesaday
Tahaan

I don't know when I'm going to get the time. Sigh. There's also an Arabic movie playing at Fame... but that's a lil outta the way.

This is another of those meaningless posts that ramble on.

Wish for the day: A trip to the zoo would be nice.

Wish for the month: Nokia N73... you are going to be mine.

Wish for the year: 120 days -- get over fast!

My latest story

2008-09-04T11:23:00.000-07:00

http://www.ilovekolkata.in/index.php/My-City/Soccer-Stars-from-Kolkata.html

I would've preferred a lot more editing, but what the hell, it's up finally.

My latest addiction

2008-09-02T10:45:00.001-07:00

Wisdom.

Go figure.

Saturday night fever

2008-08-30T08:34:00.001-07:00

is not a good thing. Especially not when you also have a runny nose and sweaty palms and a full working day to take care of. Have been feeling pretty darn sorry for myself all of today. And missing my Mommy also. It's funny how you end up missing Mommy most of all when you're sick. It's nice to be mollycoddled sometimes.

My hottest gal pal and I have decided that we've finally met a true-blue bitch... and while we don't exactly dislike her... it's exciting to finally have one of those types in our list of 'People I've Met'. (No, I haven't put that list together just yet, but it just might be time).

Being cryptic on this blog gets harder and harder every single day given that everyone seems to chatting with everyone else. It's a burden I tell you, especially for us folks who keep everyone in the loop about everything all of the time. See, I'm a quiet fellow... but even I need to do something to fill up those awkward silences. Life is tough sometimes. And complicated.

And I have a cold. And inside-inside fever. Please feel sorry for me.

Happy 201st post

2008-08-29T10:18:00.000-07:00

Highlight No. 1 of the day: I have been called 'her smileyness'. I like it.

Highlight No. 2 of the day: The girlfriend of the guy who called me 'her smileyness' and my boyfriend bought dinner and I got to take home the doggy bag. Free food :D

Highlight No. 3: I'm being interviewed by Moo... about how I propose to tackle the troubles of the world.

No. 200 arrives

2008-08-28T09:22:00.000-07:00

I've had a vacation. It lasted less than 24 hours but felt like 2 whole days and left me wishing I had another 24 hours so that I could enjoy a 4-day vacation for a change. I feel refreshed and exhausted all at the same time, and it's lovely.

It's raining beautifully as well.

The thought of office tomorrow is making me mentally tired, but after a well-spent 22 hours, I think I should temporarily surrender the right to complain. So even if I end up yawning a few extra yawns, I'm postponing my usual I-wish-I-didn't-have-to-work grumbles to the next post.

Btw... this post will be Happy No. 200. Congratulations, looks of awe, envy & admiration, and wolf whistles will be welcomed and appreciated.

Tyred

2008-08-26T10:05:00.000-07:00

Another of those supremely tiring days. I wish I could have a few slices of a large Chick'n Supreme. Pizza Hut is it?

I need to go to a spa. A nice spa with chirping birds and much greenery and the sea nearby.

I also need to stop falling asleep with the light on and the book on my nose.

I wish there were monsoon vacations (and summer and winter and Puja vacations) for people who can't go back to school unless they have tonnes of money.

I'd like to buy a good pair of jeans. My existing ones look sad... one has no pocket anymore... just a hole and its been hanging like a coat from a hanger.

I wish there was chocolate in the fridge. I really need to start stocking up on snacky stuff. Starting tomorrow.

2 posts to 200th post

2008-08-21T10:13:00.001-07:00

So Best Friend met Boyfriend, and everyone seems to have hit it off well. I re-met a dude who's a true-blue storyteller at heart. I be happy.

Everybody does seem to be getting married this year. I got another announcement from another friend. It's all kinda freaky now... the marriage card -- so many at the same time.

Am almost reaching my 200th post and this milestone has come superfast. I'm happy. Writing almost-daily has its plusses. Unlike in the case of Post No. 100, I've put no chaap on myself to write a kickass post. But I have the fight in me to get to Post No. 300 even quicker. Watch this space dearies.

Black & white and weddings

2008-08-18T08:27:00.000-07:00

Black and white movies are really not my thing, but fairy tales are. And as far as fairy tales go, it's hard to beat a Cinderella story -- no matter which era it is set in, it touches a chord.

Audrey Hepburn was the Cinderella in this movie with Humphrey Bogart playing her Prince Charming. Personally, I think he makes a rather ugly Prince Charming. I preferred the guy playing his brother (who originally got the hots for Audrey -- the good ol' love triangle to bring in the twist).

Everybody around me seems to be on the brink of marriage these days. Chomu from school and Chandannagore from work are the latest victims. The first dude has had his parents and her parents set the date for the wedding but hasn't popped the question yet. The diamond ring is yet to be bought. The second dude has spoken to wifey-to-be over the phone over the last two days and seems very very giddy and blushy about it. It's kinda cute to see a guy go all red in the face talking about his wedding.

No wedding bells for me in the very near future, though there was this joke in office about my getting hitched that a certain much-liked intern and my boss fell for. It was all very funny till it seemed like one too many people know. But I did discover that the two ladies who sit beside me at work, love to overact when it comes to pulling the wool over other people's eyes (or spectacles). The fool-your-colleague questions I had to answer included:

Is the boy's brother coming down from the States?
How is the mom-in-law?
When are you going jewellery shopping?
Will you be buying gold? (If you don't like gold, go in for rodium-polished jewellery)

I don't have enough money or time to get married just now. And the whole shopping bonanza thing and crowds of unknown, smiling, judgemental faces gives me nausea. So I'll just go to other people's weddings and eat like a pink pig for the time being.

One reason

2008-08-17T10:19:00.000-07:00

why I dislike having a job is because it forces me to ask other people for the use of time that is rightfully mine.

Stop signs don't exist

2008-08-16T08:50:00.000-07:00

I have no time for people who wallow in pity. I have no sympathy for those who seek it. I don't want your sympathy, thank you very much, and don't expect me to return the unasked for favour.

There are some people who keep complaining. All the time. Every day of their lives. But the tried and tested martyr act is, at the end of the day, just that -- an act. Crocodile tears that drop off self-pity-filled eyes, seeking sympathy.

But sympathy is the most useless feeling in the world. Worthy of scorn almost. It doesn't encourage you to hope. It doesn't push you to get off your butt and find happiness. In the guise of a safety belt, it pushes you further into the danger zone, making you shed more of those false tears till the line between true and false blurs, and the false tears are mistaken for real ones.

It can always be worse. Always always. And it's never that bad. Ditches on the road can always be fixed. Or avoided.

There's no problem so big that it can't be run away from. (-- paraphrasing Richard Bach)

Keep moving. There's no such thing as a STOP sign.

Lost

2008-08-15T22:13:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, on the way to your dreams, you get lost. Then all you have to do is find another dream.

Ally McBeal said that one. But the great thing about being lost is that you can find your way back again. There's always a wrong road and a right one. And even the wrong road could turn out to be the right one. You never know till it happens to you.

But this is not quite what I wanted to say when I started this post. I conveniently got lost in the words and now am trying to scrabble my way out of the woods. That's the thing. You needn't be lost forever. A good thing too.

There's this thing I'm trying to say, but it's just not happening. Maybe this is not the right day for saying what's on your mind. But it's started off well. Had enough sleep. Wrote a little this morning. Watched the last 40 minutes of a movie. And have some time left over to surf the net with an unsleepy-unworking mind and blog. And all this before heading to work. How have I managed all this? :D By waking up early. The body clock has been behaving itself over the last one week and working wonders for my state of mind and happiness.

I forget sometimes what I really want to do, and get entangled with routines and deadlines and rage at bosses doing no work. And then there's that "eureka!" moment, and I remember that all this is temporary -- the peasant-like existence, the office politics, the trapped feeling. This too shall pass just like the monsoon clouds outside threatening to burst the moment I get into the auto.

Life is hard and boring and supremely frustrating at times. But sometimes... I just can't help liking it.

Some days

2008-08-15T10:06:00.000-07:00

are good days. Amnesia strikes. And the world just goes away.