Remembering 26/11 …

Fear, hatred, chaos, sadness – a heavy mix of emotions is all I can remember of this deadly, blood-boiling and ghastly episode in the history of our commercial hub – Mumbai.

I remember it was 5 in the morning; I was at Pune airport waiting to board my flight to Mumbai. The day before had not been the best in my life, I got the news that my dad was in the hospital, my niece hadn’t been keeping well – basically a day full of fear and apprehension for my family. In fact, I was on my way to be with my mom and dad.

It didn’t register. I sat there staring at the television set at the terminal. With an emotionally charged day – being emotional and trying to be brave at the same time, and with hardly 2 hours of sleep that night, it just didn’t register. My first fear was that the flight would get cancelled and I won’t get to meet dad. Thankfully, that didn’t happen. I reached Mumbai on time. Not once did the fear cross my mind that I had landed in the city where terrorists were brutally murdering the innocent that very moment. All I could think of was boarding the next flight and seeing my parents. I looked around; security tighter than usual, crowds staring at television sets with sad fearful faces. I asked the cleaning lady what the current situation was, she told me a taxi blew up a few hundred meters from the airport, and that we are still fighting the terrorists in the Taj and the Oberoi. The heart skipped a beat. Friends started calling up to check on me and to see whether I was ok. Some part of me was fearful, but not enough to overpower my thoughts of reaching dad’s hospital.

Boarded the flight, reached the hospital, met dad, wished him (it was his birthday). And finally I was at peace when dad said “Don’t you worry, I am absolutely fine now. These people just wouldn’t let me go home!”

Have a happy and healthy life everyone!

And a message to those who don’t think twice before destroying life – one earth, one life – why can’t we all live harmoniously? Isn’t life greater and above countries, religions and castes?

Wake Up Sid, Independence and the special someone

Its 9 mins to 1am in the night (or in the morning, depending on whether you are a normal person or an owl!), and here I am running a temperature of 100 degrees and sleepless. No, I haven’t given this blog three titles because I am delirious from the fever; the multitude of titles comes from the fact that there’s this bucketful of thoughts in my head and I have no idea which title I am going to be writing about.. but mind you, all three are closely linked to each other, which you will discover in a moment if you have the time and patience (and the craziness :D ) to keep up with my thoughts without thinking that I am some tortured soul from a Nazi camp or a person delirious from the above mentioned fever… which I am not! ;)

Wake up Sid – now I don’t know whether this movie has been well received by the audience, but it has gained a very special place when it comes to me. It is one movie which I have been able to identify with. And Konkona’s character… well, there were times when I could completely relate to it! For those who haven’t watched the movie yet, she is this young woman who has come to Mumbai to make a career. Living alone, living independently, living by her rules – that’s .. umm, well I forgot her character’s name.. that happens when you are running a temperature of 100.. and NO I am not delirious!! ;) Not exactly the same story, but here I am living alone, living independently and yes, living by my rules! Now, when A here (oh, by the way, I decided to call her character A… well, you gotta give the lady some name!) came to the city, she didn’t have any friends, she was nervous and she would have liked someone to be there by her side, you know, to get accustomed to the new surroundings. I happened to start my career with the same nervousness, with no friends in the company and someone to get my mind off work pressures and guess what, like A, I got a friend who did just that.. helped me consciously/unconsciously in settling down in my new surroundings… God bless him!

Couple of scenes that I really liked from the movie:

1. It’s her birthday, she is alone in the city… she calls Sid because she does not want to spend the day alone. Here comes the special someone part of the 3 titles. Unfortunately, I don’t have anyone who I can give a call and say, “hey, I really feel like having some company”… like right now, who wants to be alone with a fever and no one around! Hmm…so that’s how you end up writing blogs!

2. A little deviation from A… lets concentrate on a scene featuring Sid. A little backdrop about the story - so Sid is this guy who is really disoriented in life; his life is a little (well, a lot) screwed up.. he has moved out of his parent’s house, does not have a job (or a sense of responsibility for that matter) and where do you think he ends up? Of course, he has found a friend in A; and he moves in with her. Now, with some help from A, he gets a perspective about his responsibilities, his career and well, life in general. He gets a job, has become responsible, he starts caring and living with and for others (and by others I mean primarily A, his parents, his friends). And now the scene – Sid gets his first paycheck, goes to his dad’s cabin and like a responsible son, gives his first salary to his dad. Dad-son hug and dad says “Son, this time be careful and give it your full commitment”. Loved the scene. It is testimony to the fact that no matter who stands by you and who doesn't, your parents will always be there for you, unconditionally.

2. Last, but not the least – (I must say that Konkona has played the part really well). There’s this scene towards the end where A is getting used to Sid being around and she does not like the idea of getting used to him - she does not like it because she knows one day he will leave her place and her and go back to his own house and his own life. She gets irritated with every single nice thing that Sid does for her. She likes everything that he does but she knows it has an expiration date. Oops, she is starting to fall in love with him! She would have loved all of it had there been a sense of permanency. Torn between emotions and practicalities, she is helpless. Despite being this nice person, why does it happen that she has to bear the brunt in the end? Thankfully for her, the hard times don’t last long, because Sid realizes soon that he loves her too … and like most movies, this one ends on a happy note too!

Cheers to a happy ending!

PS: People who have successfully reached the end of this blog (OMG), you are as delirious as I am… at least I have a reason, what’s yours?? :P :P :P

tup-meeth-bhaat aani batatya chi bhaaji...

Whenever you meet a person for the first time, whether small talk or out of curiosity, one of the first questions put forth is – So where are you from? Needless to say, I have been posed with this question a zillion times and I have answered it a zillion times, each time improvising my answer – well, improvising or complicating– highly debatable! Until recently, my answer’s been this: Born in New Delhi, brought up in 6 cities and 4 states; Parents from a 5^th state altogether and one of my grandparents hailing from a 6^th state! And .. yeah, there’s more.. the roots of my surname lie in a 7^th state! People have their doubts whether to think I am a Maharashtrian, a gujarati, a delhi snob (though I’ve never spent more than 2 months in that place), a south Indian (for my undying love for curd rice until recently) or a Kokanasth (that’s where my roots lie!).
Well, until recently I considered myself to be an Indian (am still an Indian, no doubt).. but the reason I called myself an Indian was for the absence of the sense of belongingness. After having lived in so many states, I had become a Jack(or Jill :P) rather than a master. Mind you, I have loved every single aspect of travelling and living all over India, getting to know so many cultures, tasting a variety of food, making friends from different dialects and languages, in a nutshell – being a cosmopolitan.
But since the time I moved to Pune, 5.something years back, I realized this is where my heart lies.. after all, I am a Maharashtrian to the core! I love the language, I love the people (some sweet, some nice, some helpful, some arrogant.. love them all!), … and I cant believe I am saying this, but I simply love tup-meeth-bhaat-batatya chi bhaaji- waran….... heaven !!
Simple living, high thinking.. that’s the first thing you will notice here. The culture, the people, the food… everything has a simplicity to it .. pure and genuine.
Given a chance, I would love to explore every single city in the world – no doubt. But ultimately, home is where the heart is .. and I know where my heart is. J