Of a mind and a slate,

Since deviation from established protocol does not necessarily always count as cool, I thought its time I get back to being a traditionalist.
Juno
American Gangster
Finding Nemo
Ratatouille
A Good Year
No Country For Old Men
Zodiac
Se7en
Atonement
The Great Debaters
Once
Hanuman Returns
Charlie Wilson's War
Across The Universe
Live Free Or Die Hard
Reign Over Me

Its been a ridiculously long pause, I agree.
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People should stop taking themselves seriously, don't you think?!
But that would probably rob the audience of all the fun.
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Was it a slate pencil or a chalk, I don't care.
Right now, I could use a wet sponge.

Of a slab of cheese and a hot knife,

Our protagonists make the journey and quite remarkably at that, from self-pity to indignation to accusation... mouthing tanhaayi, judaayi and bewafaayi.
Looks like we revel in romanticizing pain, considering the number of love songs that bear testimony to this and their bona fide classic status. The Ghazals even more so.

Do we stop at 'pathar ka dil' and 'bewafaa', smoothly playing the victims?
Not All.
Coz emotion is not just pain or indignation... it is also bitterness.
It is also the animal angst to return the favour.

Here's one that paints the emotion like a charm...

jaise birha ki... ruth main ne kaati,
tadap ke... aahain bhar bhar kein.
jale mann tera bhi.... kisi ke milan ko,
anamika... tu bhi tarse.

meri bheegi bheegi si palko mein rehgaye,
jaise mere sapne bhikarke...
jale mann tera bhi.... kisi ke milan ko,
anamika... tu bhi tarse.

-Movie:Anamika
Singer:Kishore kumar
Music:RD Burman
Lyrics:Majrooh Sultanpuri

Sanjeev and Kishore, both Kumars are unsparing and make sure the words cut through like hot knife slices off a cheese slab.

Folks out there, who have turned their heads by 30 degrees to the left and narrowed their eyes already...
No. I happen to appreciate good lyrics. Thats it. Not a penny less, not a penny more.

Of those letters un-posted,

Red cheeked, Mr. God resigns.
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You don't know it, if you can't explain it.
Or so they say...
I wonder...
If they have grossly underestimated the beast named communication. If they are blind to the fact that, like all else, not everyone is blessed with it.
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We all are busy being strong,
Forgetting to pause, at few things.
Refusing to acknowledge, the rest.
Just wish them away, can we really?
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Watching a Discovery special on the Delhi Metro and the man who has 'done it', E.Sridharan...
couldn't help but remember a debate on CNBC that touched up on 'efficient public transport' and the increasingly exponential automobile additions to crumbling Indian roads and the consequent environmental and infrastructural nightmares.
A panel member observed that, in Europe for example, the very best of public transportation system hasn't necessarily meant that less number of cars are bought every year.
There is general agreement that we can't really stop people from aspiring to buy a car, neither from making them, nor from buying them.
The only thing we could do, they observed, is to tell people...
"Buy your car mate, but just keep it a home".
However it might sound, you can't deny... it makes sense.
Given present day state of traffic and pollution, I trust everybody would welcome an efficient and affordable public transport. I hope to afford a hybrid one day but till then, am offering a silent prayer for the metro to come by.
That too shall take time... so its the Hyderabad-autowala zindabad for now.

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some of the best lines ever...

Hum Labon Se Keh Na Paye Unse Haal-E-Dil Kabhi
Aur Voh Samjhe Nahin Yeh Khamoshi Kya Cheez Hai

-Movie:Sarfarosh
Singer:Jagjit Singh
Lyrics:Nida Fazli

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Of those letters un-posted,
I sometimes cant help but wonder...
could things have been different?

hands secured in the pockets and a head half bent,

You turn your back and walk away,
slightly surprised at the half smile on your lips.
Glad that you've touched it,
even if it had to run through your fingers.

you have read this before,

There are moments of uncertainty...
moments of doubt,
when the road ahead is fogged with failed assumptions...
when the seemingly lucid logic fails you...
then somehow.. just somehow... life throws up its solution to you.
you might not be able to immediately make the connection..
nor would it be the most palatable....
it could be cruel in its obvious intent
and the immediate emotion can sometimes be very overbearing....
But.....
maybe.... you should give it a chance.....

Just maybe.....

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yes, indeed you have read this before...
And, on this blog.


Life repeats itself...
and when it does, old words come handy.

"Why?" Captain Flume managed to croak finally.

Disenchantment happens...
Second book, second movie.
Second conversation, second goof-up.

Is it our lack of restraint, the first time around...
Or something simpler, their inconsistency?
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"Why not?" was Chief White Halfoat's answer.

P.S: Title and the above line, both from Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

because the battered laptop always comes back to you

and there are never enough hammers around. Never enough.