Abhishek aya tha kya, tum logo ko bigaar raha hai woh. every second night he comes with a bottle and gets u guys drunk.
This was maushi's idea of Abhi. Pary and Parvy always nodded, as a sense of yes even if Abhi was snuggling the whole night in hostel bed with the be bugs.
Please change your tickets to the 14th she said.I cant travel alone. Please we would both travel together from Calcutta to Pune. Naive as he was our man , with sense of possible romance blossoming, asked his dad to change the tickets for the fifth time.
He had reached howrah stn an hour early to make sure he could catch her on time and help her with luggage.And help her find her seat. the thirty six hour long journey with her was something he was looking for. The opportune moment to come closer and may be speak out. He had thought it was a good time to carry his music essentially simon & gurfunkel cd and his collection of Ruskin bond .She loved them thats the only musical connection they had.
They boarded the train, and within minutes the pair of laurel and hardy emerged from no where to meet her. Abhishek thought this is it, they are not going to steal my show. It was I who changed my tickets for her, but alas they were her friends from college . Batch mates. she knew they were traveling in the same train. She introduced Pary and Parvy to Abhi. Initially disgusted by their presence , Abhi did carry on with the small talk.
Soon as she went to sleep with his music, he started enjoying the conversation with the duet. From small talk, to boy talk, they found more common friends, found ghosts in their heart that they wanted to seek. From intoxication to football to brufen to black coffee. The thirty six hours sped past while she slept.
The day Abhi reached Pune he found Pary and Parvy waiting for him at the hostel door. Thy went ghost hunting that day, and have been chasing their dreams together since then.
Pary and Parvy One was a cute teddy another an seemingly under nourished Martian with a shaved head and a ear stud complete. They complimented each other to the point of being opposites. Pary slept when Parvy woke up. One and atheist another a pious human being. The teddy used to take full responsibility of the Martian brat , leading the life of peter pan. And then came Abhi a moderate amongst the extremes. But did wand his alcoholic concepts on Parvy and made Pary reduce dry.
They stayed together through thik and thin and stood by each other.. and Abhi today does not know where his Ruskin Bond collection is or the person who took it is either but where ever she is , he would really liked to thank her for making him change his traveling date.
Some things happen because they are meant to happen. And today when abhishek looks back to his Pune days, It can not be complete even to the half with out those laurel hardies.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Monday, June 09, 2008
The weakest sex
If you are a man , in todays world... and that to from the general category make sure.. that life is bound to be tough for you. Not only you need to compete with, ST,SC and OBC quotas.. but also womens quotas. Many colleges like already have a womens quota in place, their exist a womens quota list of 12 girls, where the general first list does not exceed 50. And soon we could expect a 33 percent reservation for women not only in the parliament but also in the public sector. They already have seats under quota in trains and other public transport. They pay less tax, than a normal man. They have their education fees reduced, and still call them selves weaker sex. Well they argue these were necessary to bring them at par with men. I would still understand the less tax and lower education fees but quotas.. why are they not intellectually proficient enough.
And as for as equality is concerned, for the normal urban women, its to shrug household work, as demeaning, as thats suppose to be pulling them down, and tying them to household..and all those hackneyed womens liberation propaganda .
I guess men are more proactive in erstwhile household bastion for women.
As a market researcher by profession myself i took a survey amongst my friends circle and colleagues across urban India of 50 men and women respectively of age group of 20-28. Many would find the sample size small and the hypothesis skewed, but its a trend alright.
And the survey result made me smile.
out of the lot 38 men cooked their own food, or could cook a full course meal . the number for women were 14, another 10 said they could survive on maggi and tea, cause thats what their culinary skills were.
45 men did their own bank work, and paid their bills. Only 20 women did so, most of them working, rest found it cumbersome and time consuming.
25 men could wash their own clothes without washing machine.. the number of women was 28. Well i knew men would lose out this front, but did expect a much higher margin.
As far as grocery and other utilities and chores. 40 men did their groceries at least once week , for women it was 28.
I did not ask about doing the dishes part, as only very few members of womens sample ever entered the kitchen.
the demographic break was quite interesting, out of the 50 women surveyed, 20 were working, 20 so called home makers, and 10 students. And 40 of the men were working and rest students.
Brilliant equality i presume.
People like us, in times to come would be able to apply for only 5% of the seats in colleges, and public jobs, would be expected to earn a handsome living, run a family, cook a meal,and a take care of the household chores. and already the trend shows they are getting prepared to do so, not that they like it, but their partners, liberated urban women find it demeaning for their fight for equality to learn these things, and hence the common man does not have a choice.
I guess a person like me, a common man from the general category ( worse if from the majority community, as minority reservation is being discussed in high levels).. would soon rather has already become by far the weakest sex
And as for as equality is concerned, for the normal urban women, its to shrug household work, as demeaning, as thats suppose to be pulling them down, and tying them to household..and all those hackneyed womens liberation propaganda .
I guess men are more proactive in erstwhile household bastion for women.
As a market researcher by profession myself i took a survey amongst my friends circle and colleagues across urban India of 50 men and women respectively of age group of 20-28. Many would find the sample size small and the hypothesis skewed, but its a trend alright.
And the survey result made me smile.
out of the lot 38 men cooked their own food, or could cook a full course meal . the number for women were 14, another 10 said they could survive on maggi and tea, cause thats what their culinary skills were.
45 men did their own bank work, and paid their bills. Only 20 women did so, most of them working, rest found it cumbersome and time consuming.
25 men could wash their own clothes without washing machine.. the number of women was 28. Well i knew men would lose out this front, but did expect a much higher margin.
As far as grocery and other utilities and chores. 40 men did their groceries at least once week , for women it was 28.
I did not ask about doing the dishes part, as only very few members of womens sample ever entered the kitchen.
the demographic break was quite interesting, out of the 50 women surveyed, 20 were working, 20 so called home makers, and 10 students. And 40 of the men were working and rest students.
Brilliant equality i presume.
People like us, in times to come would be able to apply for only 5% of the seats in colleges, and public jobs, would be expected to earn a handsome living, run a family, cook a meal,and a take care of the household chores. and already the trend shows they are getting prepared to do so, not that they like it, but their partners, liberated urban women find it demeaning for their fight for equality to learn these things, and hence the common man does not have a choice.
I guess a person like me, a common man from the general category ( worse if from the majority community, as minority reservation is being discussed in high levels).. would soon rather has already become by far the weakest sex
Saturday, February 02, 2008
Publicity
With every publicity comes a negative publicity. If you are good , then You are better than some one hence.. some body is worse off than you. So every time you publicise your are good you are telling some one they are bad and you are there too get their Job.
Why am i talking of this, well today while driving to work i saw near my home a new three storied C3 opening. For those not from Calcutta, C3 is a big super market rather retail house which can take on Reliance fresh in business any day and twice on Sundays. This was their second outlet in saltlake itself. But how come i did not see any demonstration against it, well they are in to retail business are they not and sell cheaper than our corner grocer shop.
Some how it occured to me it was publicty rather lack of it that allowed its business grow.
It never publicised that they will procure directly from farmers and over ride middle men and nullify them to sell at a low price, neither did they claim they will sell cheaper than the papa-mama grocers.
Reliance on the other hand did the same, and hence the entry barrier. They publicised that they would NULLIFY .. and hence they were annulled in Calcutta.
With every publicity comes negative publicity
Why am i talking of this, well today while driving to work i saw near my home a new three storied C3 opening. For those not from Calcutta, C3 is a big super market rather retail house which can take on Reliance fresh in business any day and twice on Sundays. This was their second outlet in saltlake itself. But how come i did not see any demonstration against it, well they are in to retail business are they not and sell cheaper than our corner grocer shop.
Some how it occured to me it was publicty rather lack of it that allowed its business grow.
It never publicised that they will procure directly from farmers and over ride middle men and nullify them to sell at a low price, neither did they claim they will sell cheaper than the papa-mama grocers.
Reliance on the other hand did the same, and hence the entry barrier. They publicised that they would NULLIFY .. and hence they were annulled in Calcutta.
With every publicity comes negative publicity
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Kamikaze
No body knows where they came from or how did they get there , but as legend says even if you want tiger milk you get it in SS Hogg market , or as we commonly call it New Market. Kushal taking a stroll down the bi lanes of new market found them alive in a fish tank. Two bright pinkish Silver salmons.
Something passed through Kushal's cynical mind , and he bought the tank and yes with the fishes.
There were two of them one large almost a 30 kilogram giant, another a small puny baby perhaps.
While keeping them on his drawing room corner, th middle aged lonesome bachelor thought of giving the fishes their names. They would now be his companions. Two names that some how rang a bell was some thing he was fascinated by this afternoon. While reading the book on Japanese world war history. He read about the Kamikaze Pilots , who would crash their aircraft into a ships boiler to sink it, and if they fail they would commit Hara-kiri , our takes one own life to restore honour.
He named the young one kamikaze and the older one Hara-kiri.
As time went by, it became more obvious that the younger one was getting Kushal attention more than the giant.
Yes a 30 Kg fish might seem a wonder, but some how through his loneliness he preferred the baby. This had disheartened Hara-kiri, as he felt he should steal the show. When ever people visited Kushal, they were amused mt hara's sheer size, but over some time even they paid more attention to the kids behaviour and playfulness .
I will get him some day he said to himself, the kid is doing this in purpose to humiliate me, the day i get my chance ill kill him.
But never could he have thought his chance would come sooner than he had anticipated.
Nandita walked in the other day. The moment she saw the salmons, she started laughing. You know Kushal she exclaimed, your this sense of absurdity made me leave you, who would try to pet a 30 kg salmon, other than an oaf like you. You have not changed have you.
Even if you had told me that you have kept them to make a good continental feast out of it, but knowing you it does not suit your taste.
Nandita always did that to him, humiliate him, but some how with he could never stand up against her, rather gullible enough to follow the same.
This time was no anomaly either.
He took out his car with the tank in his rear seat. The safari drove straight towards Princep ghat.
Standing at the banks of Hoogly river he glanced one last time at the fishes. They have been is companion for around three months now. Kamikaze was bigger now than what he came as , but yet small enough for Hara-kiri to kill him.
There was a silence in Kushal's eyes. He was doing yet again doing a spineless act knowingly, where his emotions for Nandita overwhelmed that for the fishes.
Splash they went into the water.
Hara-kiri had been waiting for this moment for ages, a moment when Kushal's eyes where not on them, the moment he could avenge his humiliation and agony created by kamikaze. A humiliation that never was.
Scratch , there goes your pectoral , and here is one your tail. He attacked Kamikaze with all his venom.
But to give him a slow painful fearsome death, left him alive.
With a gash in his tail and a broken pectoral fin, the young salmon was in this alien territory which he had never seen or thought of. His world was the tank, where he could play around. The river was less of freedom and agony galore for him. His whole purpose in life from now was to run away from the only other fish he ever knew: Hara-kiri. One day during on of his stints in running away he bumped into a fish who though smaller but looked similar to them. A telapia it was, a common river water fish of Hoogly, from the same genre as Salmons.
You look new here, we have not seen much oof your kind here. You must be like Hilsas,who come to fresh water to lay eggs and go it seems. I dont know replied Kami, i have never been a river before, I dont know what i am , i just know i am alive. Yes Alive said the telapia, our only meaning of life is staying alive, to remain away from the nets of the fishermen and jawas of bigger fishes.
You also need to eat, dont you, what food do you have , well we usually have coloured balls for food answered kami. No real food like the worms , talking of worms see that worm there near the surface, thats the food you should look for. Ill show you how to hunt, and the telapia swam towards the worm, and moment he bit it the the jerk of the fishing rod pulled it outside. Kami was amazed to the point of fright and swam as fast as he could only his fate was against him, it was but a conspiracy he thought, as he swam right into hara. Food!!!! exclaimed hara, and bit Kami's tail . Kami fought for his life, he managed to wriggle past Hara but he knew the damage has been done, his fins where broken so was his tail. Within no time Hara would get him.
This was it he thought, lets take the bull by the horns.
he went out when Hara was looking behind went straight for his gills, he bit hard but damage was not much. It was not damage he was looking, he wanted Hara's attention
that he had got. give me five yards, give me five yards. the strength for five yards
, he swam as fast as he could but his tail was giving up on him. Yes he was there, but snap went his back as the jaws of the larger salmon clamped against it.
But he was there he bit the worm , and off in jerk went the fishing rod, taking hara along with him. Kamikaze had done what the Japanese aircraft fighters did , take the larger ships down with its self destruction. Where as Hara-kiri, committed suicide by bullying Kamikaze, a suicide that was forced on him for not being honourable.
Something passed through Kushal's cynical mind , and he bought the tank and yes with the fishes.
There were two of them one large almost a 30 kilogram giant, another a small puny baby perhaps.
While keeping them on his drawing room corner, th middle aged lonesome bachelor thought of giving the fishes their names. They would now be his companions. Two names that some how rang a bell was some thing he was fascinated by this afternoon. While reading the book on Japanese world war history. He read about the Kamikaze Pilots , who would crash their aircraft into a ships boiler to sink it, and if they fail they would commit Hara-kiri , our takes one own life to restore honour.
He named the young one kamikaze and the older one Hara-kiri.
As time went by, it became more obvious that the younger one was getting Kushal attention more than the giant.
Yes a 30 Kg fish might seem a wonder, but some how through his loneliness he preferred the baby. This had disheartened Hara-kiri, as he felt he should steal the show. When ever people visited Kushal, they were amused mt hara's sheer size, but over some time even they paid more attention to the kids behaviour and playfulness .
I will get him some day he said to himself, the kid is doing this in purpose to humiliate me, the day i get my chance ill kill him.
But never could he have thought his chance would come sooner than he had anticipated.
Nandita walked in the other day. The moment she saw the salmons, she started laughing. You know Kushal she exclaimed, your this sense of absurdity made me leave you, who would try to pet a 30 kg salmon, other than an oaf like you. You have not changed have you.
Even if you had told me that you have kept them to make a good continental feast out of it, but knowing you it does not suit your taste.
Nandita always did that to him, humiliate him, but some how with he could never stand up against her, rather gullible enough to follow the same.
This time was no anomaly either.
He took out his car with the tank in his rear seat. The safari drove straight towards Princep ghat.
Standing at the banks of Hoogly river he glanced one last time at the fishes. They have been is companion for around three months now. Kamikaze was bigger now than what he came as , but yet small enough for Hara-kiri to kill him.
There was a silence in Kushal's eyes. He was doing yet again doing a spineless act knowingly, where his emotions for Nandita overwhelmed that for the fishes.
Splash they went into the water.
Hara-kiri had been waiting for this moment for ages, a moment when Kushal's eyes where not on them, the moment he could avenge his humiliation and agony created by kamikaze. A humiliation that never was.
Scratch , there goes your pectoral , and here is one your tail. He attacked Kamikaze with all his venom.
But to give him a slow painful fearsome death, left him alive.
With a gash in his tail and a broken pectoral fin, the young salmon was in this alien territory which he had never seen or thought of. His world was the tank, where he could play around. The river was less of freedom and agony galore for him. His whole purpose in life from now was to run away from the only other fish he ever knew: Hara-kiri. One day during on of his stints in running away he bumped into a fish who though smaller but looked similar to them. A telapia it was, a common river water fish of Hoogly, from the same genre as Salmons.
You look new here, we have not seen much oof your kind here. You must be like Hilsas,who come to fresh water to lay eggs and go it seems. I dont know replied Kami, i have never been a river before, I dont know what i am , i just know i am alive. Yes Alive said the telapia, our only meaning of life is staying alive, to remain away from the nets of the fishermen and jawas of bigger fishes.
You also need to eat, dont you, what food do you have , well we usually have coloured balls for food answered kami. No real food like the worms , talking of worms see that worm there near the surface, thats the food you should look for. Ill show you how to hunt, and the telapia swam towards the worm, and moment he bit it the the jerk of the fishing rod pulled it outside. Kami was amazed to the point of fright and swam as fast as he could only his fate was against him, it was but a conspiracy he thought, as he swam right into hara. Food!!!! exclaimed hara, and bit Kami's tail . Kami fought for his life, he managed to wriggle past Hara but he knew the damage has been done, his fins where broken so was his tail. Within no time Hara would get him.
This was it he thought, lets take the bull by the horns.
he went out when Hara was looking behind went straight for his gills, he bit hard but damage was not much. It was not damage he was looking, he wanted Hara's attention
that he had got. give me five yards, give me five yards. the strength for five yards
, he swam as fast as he could but his tail was giving up on him. Yes he was there, but snap went his back as the jaws of the larger salmon clamped against it.
But he was there he bit the worm , and off in jerk went the fishing rod, taking hara along with him. Kamikaze had done what the Japanese aircraft fighters did , take the larger ships down with its self destruction. Where as Hara-kiri, committed suicide by bullying Kamikaze, a suicide that was forced on him for not being honourable.
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
A Different Take
I was seating in this auto-rickshaw back seat today.. when a young lady about my age came up to the Auto , and sat next to the driver on the right hand side. Suddenly i realised that i had not got out and given her my seat like i used to earlier during my school days.
With the wake of the whole womens liberalisation movement, i suddenly find it to be impertinent to the same. Don't get me wrong here. Not that i am not a chauvinist but yet, i do not do this as an act of chauvinism.. But as an extreme act of feminism. In the sense if i had got down from my seat and given it to her it would be as if i was saying lady you are fragile enough to not be able to seat in front seat, and she would have not liked it at all.
Hence to not demean her i do not leave my seat these days. Its different when it comes to senior citizens. I would have done that in either cases, without considering their sexes.
Similarly i would disagree to the concept of constituencies reserved for women candidates.. its like telling them you are not competent enough to fight with men when fitted against you.
With the wake of the whole womens liberalisation movement, i suddenly find it to be impertinent to the same. Don't get me wrong here. Not that i am not a chauvinist but yet, i do not do this as an act of chauvinism.. But as an extreme act of feminism. In the sense if i had got down from my seat and given it to her it would be as if i was saying lady you are fragile enough to not be able to seat in front seat, and she would have not liked it at all.
Hence to not demean her i do not leave my seat these days. Its different when it comes to senior citizens. I would have done that in either cases, without considering their sexes.
Similarly i would disagree to the concept of constituencies reserved for women candidates.. its like telling them you are not competent enough to fight with men when fitted against you.
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