Of Peshwas, unexercised bodies and the ultimate passion…

This one’s a page straight out of my diary (not that I write diaries :D, but it’s like a wake up call to myself)…

I was up at 6am today, usually the girl who cribs and winces at being woken up at odd hours of the night (tond banda kara…:P, for owls like me, 6am is the middle of the night!) woke up without a wince. At the time, I did not know why I was eager to head to the place where I was headed to. But, now, at 11:24am, I think I know why.

It was a short climb, very short indeed… Last time when I had been there(6yrs ago), it seemed like a small hill; today it was barely a few steps, I bounced and started about… soon I was panting and puffing and cursing myself for not having exercised in god knows how many months… But in a matter of 15mins, I was at the top. As is usually the case, I was not interested in looking around the city. I have done that plenty a times before, and no way can you get a view as great as from on top of Sinhgadh. I really don’t know why I went to this place. I think it was only to get some form of exercise. Last night I was chatting with this friend who’s in the States, and was generally telling him how I want to get started again on those endless games of Badminton/ Lawn Tennis/ Table tennis but simply couldn’t find company. It is strange when you claim to have so many friends around (214 on FB and 207 on Orkut to be precise :D … out of which at least 100 must be in the same city as I am), yet you crave for company for the simplest of things! So may be this little form of exercise was incentive enough for jumping out of bed at 6am (still can’t believe it!).

Soon, I was meandering here and there, with my bro-in-law giving running commentary about the history of the place. Mysterious dungeons, pathways, artillery, rajas and maharajas fighting for kingdoms and thrones… I transcended into another era, where it was only me and my thoughts (kinda like a cool scene from a movie… everything is moving around you, and only you are standing there as a spectator watching things in brown and white that happened eras ago.. in this case, according to my research, it was the year 1712). It was amazing I tell you. And then… then kya? I was out of the daydream, jumping back... jumping nahi, galloping back down the stairs! Psychologically I was under the impression 15steps kya chadh liye, I am fitter than the fittest man on earth! Not just that, I also went ahead and indulged in Poona bakery’s patties, wholemilk mango milkshake and yummy pancakes (or what my mom would like to call pancakes;)..Ma, if you are reading this, they were yummy!!)

Ab you must be thinking title and meri neend mein likhi hui (6 baje uthi hoon yaar, kuch to mercy karo!) story ka connection kya hai… connection aisa hai ki –

1. You must be thinking which place had I been to? Well, that’s for me to know and you to find out. Two clues – one is in the title, and the other is in the pics… dhondte reh jaoge!
2. Unexercised bodies…. Well, they are no longer ‘un’exercised… I climbed 15steps yaar!
3. ultimate passion… what ultimate passion? Sorry am too sleepy, don’t know why I wrote that…. Will write in next post if I miraculously recall!

Say cheese!

Nahi yaar, main recipe nahi likh rahi hoon… and no, am not gonna be talking about photography either…haan, if you give me a Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III, I promise I will! (Photographers, do not ping me on gtalk to ask about this camera, google pe best professional camera search kiya to ye mila… I do not, I repeat, I do not take the responsibility of its credibility :P). But anyway, let me put a disclaimer that this post may contain thoughts full of wisdom + thoda sa grandma type ki lecturing + thode heavy duty humble, sincere and honest thoughts – to soch samajh ke padhna J. Let’s put you through a test .. if you are able to read the next sentence without rolling your eyes and saying Nams has gone mad, then Bingo! You pass the prerequisite to read this blog…. This is for your own safety. Here goes:

Samajh samajhke samajh ko samjho, samajh samajhna bhi ek samajh hai, samajh samajhke jo na samjhe who meri samajh mein nasamajh hai…. Samjhe???

*Actual Blog starts*

You know, of late, I’ve been using a lot of mixed languages in my blogs, so I am gonna try to stick to only English and spare you the Hinglish/ Minglish/ Ginglish (Gujju re :P ) part…

Sorry, Actual Blog Starts NOW .. Promise!

How often do you meet people with an incredible smile? And by incredible smile I do not mean the Ms. Universe/ Ms.World wali smile…. I mean smiling through the eyes… and whenever you do see such smiling/twinkling eyes, you are instantly attracted to it. That’s the power of a genuine smile.

Why I thought of writing this blog is because we come across so many people in our life, but not all succeed in leaving their mark. Why? Because very few have the attributes which make them beautiful people. What attributes you ask? Sincerity, Honesty, Modesty and above all - a warm heart. And warm heart directly translates into a warm smile. When you meet a person for the first time, you try to make the other person feel comfortable, you smile, you strike up a light conversation. You may be a scholar, a genius in your field, an oscar winning actor, a noble laureate or a Pulitzer prize winner… but these things don’t necessarily make you a nice human being. What makes you a nice person is these attributes. I am not gonna say Sachin Tendulkar is God just because he has some xyz record to his name, I am gonna say he is great because he is down to earth despite his achievements, he is humble and modest – that’s what sets him apart, that’s what makes him such a great player. And have you ever seen him smile? It could light up a stadium!

SRK – did he have a film background? Did he have a Kapoor dad to give him his first break? No. Yet he is a superstar today. Why? Because he is close to his roots, to his principles. Though he has never shown modesty upfront, yet he knows what he is, who he is and why is he where he is. His greatness does not lie in being the King Khan, his greatness lies in his honesty, in the fact that he is always there for his friends, that he makes his juniors feel comfortable on the sets and above all he is a family man. And……… don’t miss the twinkle in his eye when he smiles. ;)

Kajol – Acts with her eyes, smiles with her eyes. She is a beautiful lady, yet I have never seen her ‘display’ her beauty, unlike some of her contemporaries (read Ms.A Rai B and Ms. K Kapoor)

Madhuri – Bholi si surat, aankhon mein masti, door khadi sharmaye….Aye haay!!…. Her smile kills yaar! Those smiling eyes could light up an entire city! Her smile even made me forget that I had pledged not to use hindi! Again – a beauty who is down to earth.. truly a marathi mulgi! My friend SP would immediately say Kokanasth Brahmin!:P But it has nothing to do with Kobra, it’s her inner beauty that radiates!

The thing is, no matter how learned or rich you are, no matter how many echelons of society you have climbed, humanity is always the highest ranked and most important attribute. 

True, humanity is overrated…. yet, nothing beats it! J

Be nice, be compassionate……….. And say……? CHEESE!!

Arey bolo na! Tan ki shakti, man ki shakti, bournvita!! :D

I miss landline phones :(

Mobile phones, orkut, facebook, twitter, and now buzz… what happened to times when there used to be one landline at home kept on that side table in the drawing room beside the tv, and the phone would inevitably ring when the entire family would be huddled up watching that favorite tv show - swabhimaan/ hum log/ chitrahaar?

You know, times have changed, we have progressed, not only technologically, but also socially (progress or digress, I do not know which word to use L)…. My point being that technology is making us lose the importance of things – relationships, values…

Ye kahaaaaaan aa gaye hum, yun hi saath saath chalte:

1.      Kal:

Let’s say you meet some friends, in turn you meet their friends, you make more friends.. and your friendship circle’s radius gets bigger and bigger… you all meet up for luncheons/ dinners/over a cup of coffee or simply for a game of badminton… fun, right? FUN!

Aaj:

You wanna catch up with friends, you leave a scrap on orkut, a comment on facebook, tweet about what the tutlela nakh of your little finger of your right hand is doing this very moment.

2.      Kal

You wanna meet up with your friends, you would call at their place (or even better, just drop by unannounced) and fix up a time and place and just meet – plain and simple? Ji haan!

Aaj:

First, you would drop an email to all people concerned, then wait for their replies, then exchange 100 msgs about the time and place (jo last moment tak fix nahi hota), then one person comes up with the plan, it is circulated among all friends, then everyone leaves for the destination, again 100’s of msgs are exchanged – “I m stuck in traffic”, “I reached”, “where r u?!”, “will reach in 15mins” so on and so forth……… and finally you meet! Phew! Plain and simple? Nahi na!

3.      Kal:

Guy sees girl, guy likes girl, guy is shy, guy tries to find out more about the girl through friends, guy smiles at girl, girl smiles back, guy gets the girl’s number, guy is afraid to call her, but since he likes her soooooo much, he finally gets the courage to call her (sometimes at gun point from well- wishing friends :D), guy has started loving the girl, he has GOT TO talk to her… FINALLY he calls, phone rings, girl's dad picks up, here’s the conversation:

Uncleji: Hello

Guy: Namaste uncle

Uncleji: Namaste beta, kaun bol raha hai?

G: U-u-uncle, main Raj bol raha hun. Uncle, kya main Simran se baat kar sakta hun?

U:  Haan beta, abhi bulata hoon…ek minute hold karna.. Simraaaaaaaaaaan….

See? Talking to girl’s father - now that is the ultimate litmus test for a guy’s love for a girl!

Unfortunately, Aaj:

Guy sees girl, guy likes girl, guy is not so shy, guy adds girl on FB, writes on her wall, adds girl on gtalk, guy n girl nicely chat, guy can make up all romantic dialogues with some help from Mr. Google, guy asks girl’s number, guy and girl sms, once the girl is all comfortable with the guy, guy asks girl out, girl agrees, guy and girl meet……… you have no idea whether guy really likes girl or he is just ‘time-passing’ with the girl…….. Tch tch tch……. TCHHHHHHHH!

Samjhe?? That is why I say “dislike”, “dislike”, “dislike” social networking sites….

Virtual social networking  - thumbs down!

Physical meet – thumbs up! (zyada mat socho, mez talking about handshake :P)

Ab aapne meri theory to padh li (yahan tak padhne ke liye congrats!), ab corollary suno:

Corollary #1: If a guy likes me, FB is not the way to break the ice :P

Corollary #2: All my school friends who don’t hestitate in calling up directly ghar pe and saying namaste aunty, namaste uncle – thumbs up!

Corollary #3:  Mes Amis - Thumbs up for calling up mom and saying “Aunty, Namita phone kyun nahi utha rahi!” :D

Corollary #4: Dil Chahta Hai & Lakshya – thumbs up for showing friends who directly call up ghar pe!

Waise to mere corollaries ki list khatam ho gayi, but 4 is not my lucky number, so here are 2 more:

Corollary #5: Stop asking each other “how r u dude” on FB and go play badminton (jisko tennis khelna ho woh tennis bhi khel sakta hai… meri height thodi kam hai for tennis isliye badminton –  waise coaches ne bahut try kiya tennis sikhane ka, but some things are out of control !!)

Corollary #6: I am out of corollaries, khud kuch add karlo yaar…:D