Hmmm...What a weird dream I had this morning. Ever since waking, I have wondered what connects Naseeruddin Shah and Pakistan and my mom (!) drinking martini.
I dreamt of Naseeruddin Shah and another man (I knew him in the dream, cannot remember now) ride into the Pakistan High Commissioner's house located in a random mountain outpost (I have no idea why the HC would live there) and proceeds to talk to him in chaste Urdu.
I have forgotten most of it now but the meeting went something like this: Naseer and friend are treated to a lunch of biryani, curd and salad. Naseer takes a lemon from the salad plate and asks the HC if the biryani will still taste the same if he squeezes a drop in. HC laughs and says of course a drop will not leave its bitter mark. So Naseer squeezes the lemon thoroughly and says 'How about now?' Naseer and HC banter some more and the HC is left with a glass of lemon juice. Then Naseer says something like 'You should be able to drink that then.'
Then, it descends into the realm of complete whackery. As Naseer and friend drive away, I look up and see my mom and aunt (in their sarees) standing at the balcony of the next building watching them. Then, they are laughing and toasting each other as they down their martinis.
As I said, I have no idea what was going on.
Note: Apparently, in dream state I can speak Urdu - Though I am sure Naseer knows the language.
- And my mom drinking martini (snorfle!)
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Ssh...Bitter Confessions
How do people live in a place for years? How did people work in one place for years?
For me, this is an enduring question.
I like meeting new people and making friends. The whole process of making friends is a fine chemistry experiment - how much of this to add - how much of that to subtract for now - how much of compliments, confessions and treating, knowing the right time and amount of blunt truth to be dished out - how much of coffees, movies, and lending of books - how much of sarcasm to be dished on a Tuesday and how much of wit and humour to be showcased on flagging Thursday spirits.
So is it any wonder that once a friendship connection is managed, I am usually flummoxed on how to proceed? You told me I must make a friend in a new place - Done. But Step 2 is what? Maintaining that friendship? Ah so easy...Step 1 rinse and repeat! But wait. What is this new substance that my 'friend' waves hello to, goes on lunches with, makes calls to while I am 'waiting' and generally, doing exactly all that I am doing with my friend?
I will play the hop, skip, slide to the side but are you now asking me to hop, skip, slide to both my sides with the guarantee that I will fall on my arse every once in a while? At the best, that is. At the worst? Hah, I will fall and will probably cause no single goosebump to rise and disturb the larger scheme of things.
So now, I am at a situation of 'Ahem...ahem...what? oh no, I didn't say anything, just a scratch in my throat, oh no I do not mind at all, please carry on' with a parallel commentary in my head going 'Oh are they planning to watch Star Trek this Saturday night? And I am not even being asked about this? be still, make no movement, oh heck, here goes, shucks should have invited over myself, pharaoh! after spending a whole month talking about nothing but Enterprise? Hrmph! I will catch the Saturday morning show!' and poking out an imaginary tongue.
See, if it was you - you will probably have been laughing and having a real conversation rather than an imaginary one and you would have had a fun evening and offered a boost to your friendship with not one but two people. Maybe not enough that they would forget home and ambitions to war with the world for and with you. But then, that happens only once in 500 years, right? So why lose appetite worrying about that?
But with me, the chemistry of friendships is nuclear science. I may know the base elements but I have no idea what to do with them. Most of the times, I do not care. This is sad because I do have an idea of what could be done in a certain situation, but the effort stymies me. I would much rather subject myself to soliloquies, day dreams, lone jaunts to movies, chocolate binges, exotic food haunts (my translation for fried spicy food) and eventual boredom. In a weird way, I like this. I look forward to days when I can do just this. I will sit closeted in my room, with a juicy chicken leg, a plate of biryani on the table, a cup of chocolate cake in the wings, a sexy story to read and a comedy on the telly on standby and during this all, keep moaning about my lack of friends while answering a telephone call from a friend and saying I am too busy and hence, cannot come over for a Barista coffee trip.
And when this gets too tiring and predictable, the city gets too stuffy to negotiate and I am off to a distant land with no friends and acquaintances to slog and grind at new works and tackle strangers through the day.
Oh Woe! Such is the fun of life.
For me, this is an enduring question.
I like meeting new people and making friends. The whole process of making friends is a fine chemistry experiment - how much of this to add - how much of that to subtract for now - how much of compliments, confessions and treating, knowing the right time and amount of blunt truth to be dished out - how much of coffees, movies, and lending of books - how much of sarcasm to be dished on a Tuesday and how much of wit and humour to be showcased on flagging Thursday spirits.
So is it any wonder that once a friendship connection is managed, I am usually flummoxed on how to proceed? You told me I must make a friend in a new place - Done. But Step 2 is what? Maintaining that friendship? Ah so easy...Step 1 rinse and repeat! But wait. What is this new substance that my 'friend' waves hello to, goes on lunches with, makes calls to while I am 'waiting' and generally, doing exactly all that I am doing with my friend?
I will play the hop, skip, slide to the side but are you now asking me to hop, skip, slide to both my sides with the guarantee that I will fall on my arse every once in a while? At the best, that is. At the worst? Hah, I will fall and will probably cause no single goosebump to rise and disturb the larger scheme of things.
So now, I am at a situation of 'Ahem...ahem...what? oh no, I didn't say anything, just a scratch in my throat, oh no I do not mind at all, please carry on' with a parallel commentary in my head going 'Oh are they planning to watch Star Trek this Saturday night? And I am not even being asked about this? be still, make no movement, oh heck, here goes, shucks should have invited over myself, pharaoh! after spending a whole month talking about nothing but Enterprise? Hrmph! I will catch the Saturday morning show!' and poking out an imaginary tongue.
See, if it was you - you will probably have been laughing and having a real conversation rather than an imaginary one and you would have had a fun evening and offered a boost to your friendship with not one but two people. Maybe not enough that they would forget home and ambitions to war with the world for and with you. But then, that happens only once in 500 years, right? So why lose appetite worrying about that?
But with me, the chemistry of friendships is nuclear science. I may know the base elements but I have no idea what to do with them. Most of the times, I do not care. This is sad because I do have an idea of what could be done in a certain situation, but the effort stymies me. I would much rather subject myself to soliloquies, day dreams, lone jaunts to movies, chocolate binges, exotic food haunts (my translation for fried spicy food) and eventual boredom. In a weird way, I like this. I look forward to days when I can do just this. I will sit closeted in my room, with a juicy chicken leg, a plate of biryani on the table, a cup of chocolate cake in the wings, a sexy story to read and a comedy on the telly on standby and during this all, keep moaning about my lack of friends while answering a telephone call from a friend and saying I am too busy and hence, cannot come over for a Barista coffee trip.
And when this gets too tiring and predictable, the city gets too stuffy to negotiate and I am off to a distant land with no friends and acquaintances to slog and grind at new works and tackle strangers through the day.
Oh Woe! Such is the fun of life.
Where are the cookies?
What is depression? I do not know. The first sentence about 'depression' from psychologists and scholars will probably last 2 minutes. I think 'depression' gets its name from the way a person feels the chest cavity bottoming out - it sometimes feels like free fall.
Or we can use a cookie analogy here: Do you know the dismay you feel when you dip your hand into a box of cookies for a midnight snack and your hand keeps dipping lower and lower into the box and meeting no cookies on the way?
Or we can use a cookie analogy here: Do you know the dismay you feel when you dip your hand into a box of cookies for a midnight snack and your hand keeps dipping lower and lower into the box and meeting no cookies on the way?
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Anil Kapoor talks 'Slumdog Millionaire' - Today Show (MSNBC)
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
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