Badli Kismat Raju ki

This is a piece that was a part of the plan for my dad's birthday given to him right before giving him a nice gift(read:expensive Danish watch).

The poignancy of the moment lied in the fact that this was the first time I gifted him something which can be termed 'expensive'.(how I hate to use this term;).As you read the post,you would understand why is this such a big deal after all?

Also please note that this was a piece delivered to him with a rose each, in parts ,by 5 complete strangers/passersby on the road(part of my plan)and was thus completely unanticipated for.
The strangers include a policewala who was initially reluctant and thus little unsure of my intentions;)What if main bholi bhaali ladki ke bhes mein koi beharupiya hui to..But finally, I must confess, in terms of playing the role, he left his counterparts far behind by his sheer enthusiasm for execution of my idea.This is my personal favourite part.


This is how it goes......



a)Any resemblance to anyone is purely coincidental.
b) In case the story does sound familiar, go back to a)



Ever since Raju was a child..umm..’was’..It is quite an never ending journey in this case.Nevermind,ever since he was a child ,he always dreamt of being showered with gifts on at least his birthday…quite a legitimate expectation you would think.
But much to his dismay, let alone showering, his stingy daughters and an equally (now that is an understatement there) stingy wife never quite got him a gift that could qualify as one keeping his dignity intact.
As who on earth would expect to be smothered with love in the form of chaddis, baniyans as birthday gifts. On a few birthdays, if luck was on his side, he managed to get a pack of handkerchiefs or socks .Kindly note these were not by any means bought from the market. They had to found by archaeological expedition and thus were a result of preservation of about 100 years.
Year on year, birthday by birthday, he hoped for, if not decent at least a nominal hike in the quality of gifts and deterioration in the family’s (daughters and wife’s) sense of humour*.
*for how else could one explain the kind of gifts they tortured the poor helpless soul with.
Years passed, but his wish never really came true…until one morning on 7th September 2010 with a thunder lightening in the sky , his fate changed…

.....and now I would like to take this opportunity to thank my team of policewala,doodhwala,liftman, watchman and breadwala(refer:the 5 strangers) for their unimaginable support without which this would surely not have been possible.


flying kiss..flying kiss

Herd Choice vs. Hard Choice

How many times has it happened that life offered you two paths to choose from and you

took the one most people traveled by, for you had no reason to doubt their collective
wisdom. Our choices are often influenced by what majority seem to be doing. This
behaviour stems from a combination of a) Reluctance to work hard b) Inadequate self
belief c) Need for approval.

We have been taught not to pay much heed to the heart, as apparently it is the head which makes the wiser choice. But is the wise choice really the best choice for an individual or does he need to delve deep into himself and figure out what is it that really defines him?

Making the right choice is not just about blindly following your heart; instead it is a point of intersection of your passions, aspirations and competence. One has to have enough passion for the field he wants to get into. Being passionate means one should have gone deep into the subject. He should have a good working knowledge of that subject and not mere love for it.

A hobby is one which fills your heart with joy while you are involved in it. A passion is all consuming; it keeps you engaged at more than one level i.e. physically mentally and emotionally. An aspiration is one where you align everything in your life around the goal you strive to achieve. It is when you have a burning desire to fulfill your passion.

A person who sketches well, if sketches in his free time, it is his hobby which he is
pursuing. If the art of sketching intrigues him and he tries to learn some techniques and brings about innovation in his form of sketching by learning these new techniques, then one can safely say that he is passionate about the art. Moreover, if he is ready to accept the pros and cons of sketching as a profession offers and takes steps for making it his career; it means he aspires to become an artist.

All said and done, if you do not have the competence required to fulfill your dream, then a reality check needs to be done and the fact needs to be accepted with grace. If there is a competence gap, it needs to be filled over time.

Then comes the part of what happens when taking all the above three components you
jump into the world and engage with reality. Does life bog you down or are you able to get up and demonstrate resilience. For example, choosing to become an artist is a ‘hard choice’ to make. How do you deal with initial phase of criticism and rejection? If you have enough of self belief, you will be able to survive the negative pulls.

One who makes the hard choice has an internal measure of success. His locus of control is intrinsic. He has the ability to take risks and break away from the ‘status quo’. The world does not decide the meaning of success for him. He does. His worth in his own eyes is more important that the external rewards like social status and prestige. When Mohan Bhargava in the movie ‘Swades’ returns to India to meet his nanny and decides to stay back and contribute towards the village’s development, forsaking the lucrative job at NASA; it is his inner calling that he is listening to. Making the hard choice doesn’t come easy. One has to pay the price for it- it invariably entails giving up on the comfort and security that the herd choice offers, also it means having the maturity to make a mental shift when the reality demands you to rethink the goals you have defined for yourself.

So, remember to make the choice which when looked back upon, doesn’t invoke regret or
a sense of emptiness, of not having done something worthwhile in life. At least give your self a chance, that way you would only be fair to yourself.

The joy of making the hard choice comes out poignantly in the well known poem by
Robert Frost

‘Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference’.

To love , with love

rarely in life you come across someone ...........

whom you like, when you first meet and want to know more about,
after knowing him, you love him not in-spite of, but because of the little things he irritates you with

not only do you feel that you guys clicked when first met
but still feel that you share a connection you never had known, existed, till you met him

when you try recalling the times spent together, you get reminded of the best times
when all the times spent together Are the best times

when you attempt to write a testimonial
and realise its ironically the most difficult task

when you brief a friend about your soul mate and you cant stop praising him
and then you realise there is nothing else you could have said to describe him

when cricket suddenly becomes your favorite sport
even when yorker and googly continue to look the same to you

when you take time in deciding upon a movie to watch together to ensure that your evening is well spent
when the matter of fact is that every evening spent with him is well spent

when he gives you a compliment, you feel you could give Aishwarya a run for her money
when he doesn't, you give him a run for his life

when he is willing to give up on his much awaited holiday to be with you
but still ditches you on account of his first love which is Gilli danda

whom sometimes you cannot deal with

but rather not live without

While I await 'Ishqiya' movie show

aaj finally main theatre mein hongi

phir samne screen par casting shuru ho rahi hogi

phir hogaa kyaa, kyaa pataa kyaa Khabar -2



Chorus: la lala la , la lala la -2(read: ra ra ra ra ra from dil to baccha hai ji)




andekhaa anjaanaa story plot kaisaa hogaa

na jaane vo inspired ya original hoga

aate hi nazaro ke saamne, mere dil mein,

ek beqraari si teen ghanta (actually 2 ghanta 15 min in this case;)saath hogi

phir hogaa kyaa, kyaa pataa kyaa Khabar -2




aaj unse pahli mulaaqat hogi

Chorus : ya yaya ya , ya yaya ya -2(read:furrr fuurrr furrr furu furu ru fur fur)

Muskaan se lekar Aahaar tak;)

An instant poem that I had composed a night before my MBA entrance exam....
Bhagwaan ka yahi insaaf hai,andar ka creative aise mauko par aksar jaag jaya karta hai

chah hai tumhare chehre par khilne waali har muskaan banu
tumhare ansun ko pochne wala rumaal banu
tumhare har sawaal ka jawab banutumhari zindagi ki dhaal banu
tumhare sangharsh ki talwaar banu
tumhari har saans ka qaraar banu
tumhaari har shayari ka khayal banutumhare sapno ka adhar banu
pani ki phuhaar banu
khushi ka smachar banutumhara aitbaar banu
rishton ka taar banupehli baarish ka asaar banu
ashaao ka sansaar banu
tumhaari soch ka akaar banu
umange beshumaar banu
tum jo pao wo dulaar banu
tumhara raazdaar banu
shabdo ka saar banu
tumhare geeio ka phankaar banu
dosti ki misaal banu
tumhara sahara har baar banu
tumhare jeevan ka pehredaar banu
saccha saajhedaar banu
tumhare ghamo ka haqdaar banu
musibati ka hiisedAAR banu
andhere ki mashaal banu
tumhari taraaqi ki raftaar banu
nirasha par prahaar banu
kireno ki bauchaar banu
harsh ka saagar vishal banu
bikher sake zindagi mein tumhare anek rang aisa sashakt kalakaar banu....

and now on a lighter note....

tumhare kamaye paiso se maaldaar banu
mooh mein daalte hi ghul jaaye wo aam ka achaar banu
na ki ghar mein rakha bhangaar banu
ya aafat ka bhandaar banu
athava pet ka ahaar banu

Plight of a Movie Buff

I always thought of writing a blog. But somehow, I could never find a topic I feel so strongly about that I m compelled to pen my thoughts down. Finally I get a theme I feel passionate about; and what better topic than movies to get me started.People who know me can’t agree more.( Don't the words"so strongly about " carry the risk of being misinterpreted as a precursor to something more meaningful or revolutionary in nature?)

Anyway,I was looking forward to friday morning rather eagerly since a couple of days;most of you would mistake it to be the usual TGIF syndrome. But let me tell you ,its not! Obviously as I say this I shirk and am reminded of the fact that it can never be the reason, not at least for the time being.

I awaited the review of the movies Rann and Ishqiya in TOI.Though thesedays, i must confess it passes a tad adulterated verdict on movie ratings which is rather ironical when it gives a review of the Movie Rann, considering the subject/theme of the movie.I have been pondering and doing a fair amount of research on both the movies in order to reach a decision regarding the movie that is worthy of my,Mind you! 'MY exclusive saturday evening slot'.

Only a true movie buff can empathize with the intensity of the mental confusion (read: kashm-a-kash) that I am going through as the clock is ticking away, indicating the low probability of finding the ticket for the movie of my choice ;which is a rather interesting permutation and combination of various factors like possible time slot ,feasible venue and preferred company to watch it with .These would also be one of the many factors that I will have to keep in mind while deciding on the movie.

One would never have thought that deciding and watching a movie could also be that difficult a decision to make!


Kya dekhe kya na dekhe ye kaisi mushkil haaye!
Koi to batate iska hall o mere bhai !!
Ki ik taraf to intelligentsia kehlana chahe hum !
Par serious cinema(read: Genre of Movie Rann) se pallu bhi chudaaye hum!!

Har pal hum sochta yehi !
Kya humko picture dekhne milegi ya nahi !!
Nahi to advance mein le lega saala black mein le lega !
Kaise bhi picture hum dekhkar hi maanega !!

Main booking counter pe pahunchti hai !
Saans hi atakti hai !!
Aur last ticket(read: teekatt)jati hai nikal!
Kya dekhe kya na dekhe ye kaisi mushkil haaye!!
Koi to batate iska hall o mere bhai !!!