Thank God it's Friday ?

'All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy' - is a saying we are all familiar with. And if you can instantly relate to Jack you know you have been working too hard and need to take a break.

A break? Are you kidding? Ask those working in a 24x7 setup – which is practically everywhere i guess and all you’ll get in response is a look of disbelief. Alarmingly, the people of the fastest rising economy in the world don't have time to sit back and relax. Unrealistic targets, enhanced matrices and tempting incentives coupled with never-ending quest for perfection is pushing us into working round-the-clock – with no time for leisure (Yes this is where my craving for Foosball comes in..)
The duration of a weekend has declined from two complete days to just one or maybe half a day now, which usually starts as late as Friday night (I prefer to sleep on a Thursday afternoon after college) and doesn’t really continue till Saturday evening because your phone keeps ringing due to something or the other or the tensions of submissions. Before the TGIF feeling can sink in, there is a fleeting sensation of the arriving Monday blues, or in my present case Sunday blues. The work, the environment and the week, which in most of the cases is an ordeal, is too prominent in the minds of people to let go for these two days.

I had 4 days to complete the goddamn portfolio though its almost complete but still not done up to my expectations, every time i think that i might complete my work over the weekend somehow i just don't complete it. (Can't blame anyone i was too lazy earlier ... ) My weekend mood starts from Friday afternoon and even the shops close earlier in my area than usual on that day. People here are living (Friday) happy and contended lives without the luxury of having housemaids, cooks, cleaners, drivers etc...(Yes my maid takes an off on a Friday and decides to chill out)

Look at my mom for example weekends for her are meant to be Fridays and Saturdays and as soon as the weekend arrives, she switches off her mobiles, Blackberry’s, laptops and doesn't really work unless absolutely necessary. Despite me taken up a course what i always wanted to do or maybe didn't now BA (Interior Design) being pretty clear with my working hours, i end up stretching everyday and even on weekends. Regardless of how much i love (or hate) my work or how much the 24x7 work culture has sink into us Indians, everyone does need some ‘me time’ i guess...

Just like there is a time for everything in life, there is a time for leisure and recreation. Recreational activities provide that much-needed balance and positive energy to our lives without which we would burn out in no time. Have you ever thought about this you end up in a tiff with your girlfriend ONLY on weekends. No i am serious in my case its always like that, still yeah whatever i am committed .. :).... (never really mention your frustrations on your relationships over the Internet past experiences haven't been good).... I still love you Aakriti :)

Before i continue my mindless blah ! about how screwed your weekends can be i am off to rediscover the art and the entertainment of the PLAYSTATION 2 ... adios

P.S - Everyone should really check out the new Need for speed - Undercover ... now that's a game that can really test your driving skills ....

Simple Truth ...

The Punjabi's Of Delhi...

Sometime back i had got a mail from a friend of mine , i had thought of publishing it here but for some reason it just went of my mind and i completely forgot about it ....

Read and Enjoy ...

A is for Adjust. Punjabis will always ask you to 'adjust' whenever they want to push you around!

B is for Backside, and it has nothing to do with your bum, it is an instruction to go to the rear of a building, or block, or shop or whatever!

C is for Cloney and its not a process for replicating sheep, nor is its first name George. It is merely an area where people live, e.g., "Defence Cloney"!

D is for Dudh: the rich ' Punjab diyaan dudh-lassiyan' give nouveau riche Punjabi kids their round shapes!

E is for the Expanditure Punjabis incur on acquiring the latest cars, gadgets, marble floors …!

F is for Fackade, and even though it sounds like an obscenity, it is actually just the front of a building (with backside being the back, of course!)

G is for Gaddi, and the way a Punjabi can pilot his guddi puts any F1 driver to shame. (If the Grand Prix does come to Delhi there's no way Hamilton , Alonso or Kimi can overtake Balvinder, Jasvinder or Sukhvinder!)

H is for Ho Jayega Ji, and the moment you hear that you have to be careful because you can be reasonably sure it's not going to happen!

I is for Injaayment, which is the raison d'etre of most Punjabis! J is for the Jwaeller's, where Punjabis visit regularly to buy their jwaellry!

K is for Kake Di Hatti, which was Delhi 's most famous Punjabi restaurant in the 1970's!

L is for Lovely, but unfortunately he almost never is!

M is for Mrooti, the car that an entire generation of Punjabis were in love with!

N is for No Problem Ji. To find out how that works see H.

O is for Oye, which can be surprise (Oyye!), a greeting (Oyy!), anger (OYY!) or pain (Oy oy oy ...!)

P is for Panj Mint, and no matter how near (1 km) or far (100 km) a Punjabi is from you, he always says he'll reach you in panj mint!

Q is for Queue, which any self-respecting Punjabi would never stoop to join: it's so much quicker to cut in to the front, reciting the names of all the VIP's he knows!

R is for Riks, and a Punjabi is always prepared to take one, even if the odds are against him!

S is for Sweetie, Bunty, Pappu and Sonu, who seem to own half the cars in Delhi !

T is for the official bird of Punjab : Tandoori Chicken!

U is for Ulloo De Patthay, Punjab 's only 'clean' gaali!

V is for VIP's who Punjabis are always in awe of and schmoozing!

W is for Whan, as in "Whan are you coming, ji?"

X is for the many X-rated words that flow freely in all Punjabi conversations!

Y is for "You nonsense", when anger replaces vocabulary in a shouting match!

Z is for Zigzag (Please refer to G, M and P!)

Delhi ... My First Love

What is it about this City that drags me to it ? What is about this city that i am always attracted towards it ? Today morning me , Ria and Vikrant decided to check out historical monuments around, call us jobless , wella or whatever you feel like , i agree to whatever you say because you branding us as jobless is justified. Our 1st destination today was Tuglaq Fort, As i drove past the ramparts of the Tuglaq fort, i somehow was so awed by this majestic fort that i came back and parked my car near the entrance. As i strolled through the the steepy curvy lane to a huge courtyard, my mind was racing towards history. As a part of boosting tourism in the state thanks to Delhi CM Shiela Dixit the place was very clean. After i read the history in one of the red cornerstones, I was curious to explore the place . The Ramparts have lent a sepia touch to the whole building, it seems everything has a fading touch to it. It seems you are still in the beginning of the 19th century. The small rooms, audience halls, solid bastions, underground chambers, and carvings, all made for a very intresting expedition. But as me Vicky and Ria decided to explore more and reached the highest point of the fort, we were amazed on seeing this part of the city as well. On the South were an expansive green cover and another big tomb. On the West was the Qutab Minar , and the North were civilization and the Lotus Temple shining as bright as it could, and on the east was Industrialisation which Vicky said it stretches till the Yamuna ends , Ria went to one corner and decided to scream " I love Delhi " ... weird female i tell you , though besides Vicky me and Ria dont exactly live in Delhi anymore but still this female has got its love for Delhi to the extreme.

We decided to bid adieu to the fort and proceed towards the Jama Masjid , as when i come to Delhi i do increase my weight , maybe you can call me a Glutton, no matter what time it is the hunger pangs always take me and Vicky to the ever tempting Walled City. From the Chole Bature of the Nai Sadak to the Kebabs of Jama Masjod area , everything about that area is enthralling. We decided to have a bird eyes view of the masjid , at first the Ria declined as she has a major problem with heights but yeah she gathered courage later on and agreed to come with us. We climbed 130 steps of the minaret. ( Damn... i was exhausted when we reached the top i guess i have to really reduce my smoking ) As we reached the top my eyes widened. The whole city was beneath me. Everything was so cramped about the Walled city and at the same time everything seemed so massive about the Red Fort. No wonder this city was the capital of the Mughul Empire till 1857. The view was a feast to the eyes. As i gasped " Man i love Delhi its simply amazing " . Ria corrected me saying " Dilli ... I love Dilli "

It was already 5 in the evening when we decided to go back towards South Delhi. We decided to go towards the Parliament area , with absolutely nothing to do in the evenings , Delhiites prefer to go towards India Gate. I personally believe that most Delhiites like to kill time . A famous picnic spot for many, where they bring chattai along with food and play Antakshari. Here i come to walk with Ria and Anu sometimes as this is where we had initially met. The place is the liveliest part the city during the evening time. I drove till the gate of Rashtrapati Bhavan, the 3 of us shared a smoke and looked at the view from there. It was breath-taking. Two avenues made by pole lights were ending at the India Gate, dazzling in yellow. That moment was misty and surreal and again i gasped " I love Delhi " ....

December 4th , 2008 ----> Tamarind and the Famous Dope

It seems that it has just gone. It seems that it just did not happen. How much ever i can deny i know it that it had happened, blaming on being high on weed and vodka is also something which cannot be justified. I probably feel stunned as to the way i am. I feel this city called New Delhi has taken over me, staring at the mirror at the moment does not yield any way as to what had happened , maybe the atmosphere at Tamarind had taken over me, maybe the way Anu answered me. Guilty is not something which i am looking forward to... Why should i feel guilty about it anyways ?.. I don't think i did anything wrong at that stage, i guess Ria and Anu believe the same. It couldn't be the end of the world or is it ? or maybe i am too high under the influence of a requisite pot well personally i would have said it was Exotic. I might have never got lost on my way back provided i would have lived here more than the last 15 years of my life. I feel the markings on the roads were trying to tell me something, a path towards redemption , a path towards internal peace, however it might have mislead too .

The trucks zooming past me seemed like big elephants running in a heard , as if running from a fire in the forest . Its probably amazing that vehicles can act as humans and animals too. I could read signs telling me " vengeance point ahead " , it could have taken me 10 minutes to be back from Safdurjung Enclave however the journey seemed to have taken hours, my eyes feel pain , i can see it watering , it has a glowy red feeling towards it. My head seems to be storming , it seems Atom bombs are bursting one by one .

I feel the wind blowing on my face as if to ask for companionship, the floor below is inclined i feel closer to the clouds. Is it just me or is it just in my mind that in this cold winter i am only one who is sweating profusely. Everything seems to burning from the inside , mu lungs are trying to exhale a big fire. Maybe the Blue fairy is trying to give me a message to Fuck one and Fuck all !

Everything seems inverted, maybe i am the one who could be upside down. Why do i regret it now ? . Why couldn't have thought about this earlier ? It's just probably a time of 2 hours more that i would be fine, my main initiative to write this today is to record my experience no matter how fucked it was, at the moment when you see the sky , you can probably note that a animal kingdom is alive , there seems to be a re-make of jungle book happening up there.

At the moment i presently feel like a Guardian Angel sent from far away lands. Maybe because i can still hear Vikrant singing right into my ears

"" Get your lighters , roll that shit and lets get higher

your lungs are gonna feel a fire

maybe you think i am a liar

drive as if you have a burning tire ""

""You are soo fucked that probably gonna roll

Until its done dont open the door

Dont pass it i can't take it anymore

Someone go down and take a trip to the store ""

Our Netas are us...

Since the time i have landed in New Delhi there is a new buzz in this town and i dont blame it . The Mumbai Blasts have created a huge tension among the people everywhere, infact my conversation with almost everyone here is just about this and nothing else, it is by far the most fucked national security problem that the country has faced till now since the last 60 years of its independence. The usual Sms's are doing its rounds ---> We have dealt with the men who came in boats, now we should deal with the men who come in with Votes ; lets hope Chandibaram will bring down the terrorism like the way he brought down the stock market. Never before has the Indian Political Class as a whole been so fucked by the citizens as after the Mumbai terror attack.

The anger directed at our politicians is inevitable and justified; there is profound sense of betrayel by a political leadership .

The token resignation of some netas some effected in the face of shameless reluctance to demit office will do nothing to assuage public anger which is only too aware that those shown the door will be replaced by the same moronic clones of the same genetic stripe : 100% promise 0% performance. I am not saying this just for the heck of it , facts prove it . Snubbed by the father of the NSG commando killed in action, the Kerela CM said " even a dog would not have visited the Unnikrishnan house had it not been that of a martyr " . I personally would say its more the pity that it had to be the commando and not the CM himself as the martyr . Not to be outdone in the in the " Most Tasteless Remark of the Year Award " Deputy CM of Mumbai R R Patil said " Yeh toh bas ek chotha sa hadsa tha " . I am more than happy that he has given his resignation coz of his ABSOLUTE inability of handling the situation , the most shocking part is after the whole 3 day debacle with the terrorists at the Taj and The Oberois , the CM of Mumbai Vilasrao Deshmukh brings along Ram Gopal Verma as his private guest to view the devastation in the hotel for a new movie proposal (you see the incident has just happened recently and it will be fresh on the minds of the people so why not a movie at this time it could be a major hit)

Our Political class as a whole are assholes they are arrogant , flagarantly self serving and utterly derelict in fulfilling its most basic duties and responsibilities to those who have voted it into existance. Which is us . And there lies the rub . In a democracy even a deeply fucked democracy like ours where the ballot box every year should be renamed as the bribery box we are as responsible for our political leaders as they are supposed to be for us but are not , as tragic evidence only clearly shows .

I sometimes wonder why is that India can produce world class scientists,doctors,artistes,philosophers,scholars not to forget soldiers (whose heroism is all too often sacrificed on the altar of political drama) but a generic political class that can be graded as 3rd grade, if that ?... Could it be that other professions demand skills and dedication that reflect what might be called our highest common denominator, the profession of Indian Politics reflects our lowest common denominator ?

In a democracy , politicians are what we, the people, choose to make of them. If our politicains are corrupt and drunk in the name of power is it not because we ourselves have made them this way , first by electing them to power and then by seeking boons from them as one would do from a powerful diety ?

We will vote not for the most deserving, or efficient, or honest, of candidates but for the one who, for reasons of caste or other considerations, is the most likely to grant us favours in the form of jobs, reservations, government contracts, string-pulling, out-of-turn LPG connections, attendance with much fanfare and security bandobast at our family weddings or other functions.

It is time that these old idiotic morons give way to new faces who have credibility and ability to do something for this country and not for themselves like my father always says " Yeh aaj kal Pilot, Rahul Gandhi jaise launde dekhna ek din kuch karke dikhayenge "

If our politicians are the parasitic monsters that we accuse them of being, it's because we have helped to make them that way. By all means we see the ugly and unacceptable face of Indian politics. But let's realise that it's the same face we see in the mirror every morning.