Preoccupations to Passion

Recent news about the early departure of international 'wildlife daredevil' has kept me pondering. What made this khaki-clad, 'Crikey! Crocodile Hunter' so passionate about what he did?

Or lets ask this General Q to everyone... what makes one passionate about what he/she does?

Multiple reasons - guiding-people and conducive-environment around one, a role model who one would like to follow or just say inner-cravings.

But there is one more reason which we normally dont attribute our passions to.... and that is our preoccupations !!!

You must have surely encountered the wave of enthusiasm when you got your hands on something new viz. the chess game on yr new palmtop, free-wheely on yr new pulsar-bike, yr first bungee-jump et al. I got all excited when i solved my first Su-Doku.... i was so pre-occupied with it that i kept on solving the puzzles of past news papers also. Not only this, i went around advocating how exciting Su-doku was etc.... i got passionate about it. But then as anyone would have guessed it this was only momentarily...within days or weeks... my passion fizzled out.

What was David Blaine preoccupied with till he became famous? Give your 3 yr old your mobile and you will see him preoccupied with games on it. Ask Ambi (Dr. L Subramanium's son) what was he preoccupied with when he was a tiny tot...you will hear "violin". Some children will be preoccupied with what their parents are busy with. Take for example this child - Steve Irwin, he too enjoyed feeding the crocodiles and other animals he had in his backyard.

One gets preoccupied with something at any stage in his life and he might or might not get passionate about it... immediately. Or he might get passionate about it but later replace that with other momentary passion in his/her life.

You must have got fascinated with a no. of reality shows. Guinness Book of World Records, Ripleys Believe It Or Not, Extreme Sports, Animal Planet.... who do you think are the heroes of this show? Well its one of us, people who have made their preoccupations their passions of lifetime.

But if you observe closely, there are very few heroes from this land of 1+ Billion !! This is because we Indians arent too ventury or sporty or risky....i am not getting the right word...ohh ya...we arent that experimental i guess...to get preoccupied with some silly thing which we cry out as "amazing or unbelievable" if done by some gora !!

So...Get Preoccupied...Get Passionate about something in your Lifetime !!!

This post is dedicated to Steve Irwin. I salute yr grit-n-gumption and your passion for wildlife.

Grabbing YoYo (Year On Year Opportunities)

Many events/occasions repeat at regular cycle time viz. Oscars, Nobel Prizes...(annual), Olympics, W-Cups...(once-every-4-yrs), Kumbh Mela...(once-every-12-yrs).

Inspired by these global events, i have got an annual calendar set for myself. These are Navratri, Paryushan (Jain festival), my-village-trip and Tanmay's Bday. I call them YoYos (Year On Year Opportunities) bcoz the remarkable thing abt them is that i meet and catch up with different sets of Friends and Familiies (F&Fs) at these occasions, exactly once every year only.

Recently i attended Tanmay's bday (my colleague - Sumit's son who jus turned two)... the proud father had thrown a big party when Tannu was two days old then, and i was invited... i had struck right chords with his family with a befitting gift... a cute baby poster reading "Beware Baby Zone"... (thnx for remembering this everytime i appear once a year)

I normally dont remember dates unless 'Birthday Alarm' alerts me. Jus a evening before Tannu's bday...Sumit called me to "be there"!! I turned up right on time (jus 2 hrs early if i go by others' right time) !!! What i am about to describe here is something everyone experiences before and after a party...and i hope to read your comments if u differ or have any other interesting episodes for the "PARTY"....

You become conscious of your dressing sense as soon as u come out of the shower on the D-day !! What do i wear? Will i bump into someone lovely? Would she judge me by my dress... so u try to shortlist yr wardrobe based on certain assumptions and then u further curtail them based on creases on them !! Voila after some 2-3 dress rehearsals...u are out dressed as a Prince. (chigs tip - parties are mostly at late eve's or nights... so wear sth which looks bright in neon lights... dont worry abt yr pimples nor prick them... they normally subside during night). Next step in succession is to wear yr fav Deo/Perfume and a pair of polished party shoes !!!

The next big thing - choosing a GIFT with various contrainsts like the budget, the age, the dutch gift, the not-so-common gift etc... might take as little as 1 hr to wrap this up !! This makes u rush to yr venue... things can get worst if you have to locate a fully-lighted-venue on a map !! But a cell call to the host, for directions settles yr heartbeats !! You might have to park your car a few blocks away if u r not an early bird... :)

I think this post is getting longer...let me dive into the party now.

You enter the party-zone but then re-enter again with the gift a few mins later. You meet the hustle-bustle host trying to fix the last balloon on the fan and reconfirming that the caterer is welcoming every guest with a glass of cola and chips (fatty i say) !! You scan your eyes around to track those "lovely" species... but mind you, u cant get lucky on family functions/events !! So step-down your expectations and behave. Slowly as ppl trickle in, you meet same set of ppl with whom you had dined a year back. The only difference you spot is that some have left your 'being-single' community and come with 'only-if-i-could-get-a-wife-like-his', some have added a few kgs here and there, some have come with a 2nd kid in their arms and some come with their family-planning progress!!

The only thing which comes out of you when u meet annual old-chums are "what a long time!!", "whatz up?", "where are you working these days?", "you never mail (as if i do)", "whats the attrition rate there?", "any onsite opportunities?", "what would be hikes like this year?"... and if u venture into making friends with new ppl around, you only have few more questions like "which company? IBM/ORACLE/KPMG...", "what platform/profile/project are you working on"... before he/she excuses himself/herself to more interesting being arnd... the only Q which comes to your mind when getting introduced to her wife is "how are you"... end of discussion... ppl normally talk brief and to the point when they are with girls arnd.

You must be wondering why do u need to know other ppl arnd... jus hang on with your own friends... but the fact is that some of these parties are motleies of friends.... your branches end at second level ie the host and you.... and you hardly know anyone beyond an occasional "hi" earlier!!

Okie so the party goes on...the music...the serving and spilling of oil-rich food, the photographs, the occasional bumping-into-the-same-person with the sam-set-of-questions, the generous you look lovely in this dress/shirt, where did you get that sleek mobile from, did you book your new flat/plot?, which school does your prince (u obvisiously dont know his name) go to? There are some ppl you try to avoid eye contact becuase either you would have embarrased them or bumped into them quite often.

The only person you know (the host) might not be available as he is busy keeping everyone feel at home...the party comes to an abrupt end as and when ppl finish their dinner and find means to tell the host why they should be rushing back home now !! I think the host too is waiting for you to leave...so that he can open all the gifts at peace and then take a well-deserved rest !! You part with ppl promising to keep in touch by either mailing or calling... you also promise to meet up soon for the next movie or the next excusion etc... but you normally wait for one more year to banter and bring-back the same old memories with the same set of friends...the only difference would be (as i mentioned before...) not-single-anymore, have-2-cute-kids-now kind of updates !!!

There is one more YoYo which i would like to describe at length ie our annual "Appraisal" where you get to meet your host-n-ghost exactly once a year to discuss the same old....

Would you be interested to talk abt the "Appraisal YoYo"?

In August Company

Last weekend i didnt have to wake-up lazily and read every line of 'Bangalore Times' nor had to do all household chores.... i was looking forward to something unconventional !!!

Any guesses what? Ya... who has the time to guess... jus go on...

Well, i was in the august company of Vani Ganapathy (Bharatnatyam exponent), Aman and Ayan Ali (Progenies of Sarod Maestro - Amjad Ali Khan) and Dr L Subramaniam with his progeny Ambi (a true Prodigy) !! I couldnt have asked for more, thanx to Times Of India - Refresh Bangalore initiative.

This was my first exposure to "classical" india after my getaways to Spic Macay concerts when i was in school (i was in a boarding school and we use to find means of going out of the school campus... Spic Macay use to give us double benefit... getaway and good-impression-on-teachers who felt they were instilling good taste in tiddlers) !! Its so strange that only a few people here enjoy the real "classical" side of India... i mean its ironical that ppl from west like our culture and we luv theirs (literally).

I was entranced and tapped my foot and hand-on-knee to the tunes of various ragas... as if i was giving them the beats :) Every time a composition was over, i urged for more... i have no idea about various ragas or their compositions but the sheer music uplifted me... I was mesmerised by the flawless jugalbandi within the lead and percussion artists. Each composition started melodiously and paced up to finally culminate into an applause and once-more.

I can go on about describing how elated i felt but i know that ppl will laugh at me even if i utterred one more word... its just that we youth-indians dont give as much respect to indian classical and traditional form of culture !!! Maybe this is because it is still in its purest form and yet not commercialised... the day is not far when some PR company will take over to promote the indian culture and showcase the talents in "old wine in new bottle..." way !!!

Currently only scions of the "classical" Masters are taking the beacon of Indian Art-n-Culture ahead viz. Aman-Ayan-Ali, Ambi, Anoushka Shankar, Rahul Sharma et al. I feel its duty of every indian to spread the light of Indian Culture to unchartered boundaries... we need to produce more "classical" prodigies and Masters...

And one may ask "how" ??

This has to be a National initiative implemented at personal level. We need to discover the innate and encourage the budding talents. Existing maestros should open more academies to promote thier art forms to a wider yearners. Parents should advocate atleast one form of art to their children at young age. All these efforts should be recognised at national level by awarding and showcasing our national talents on international frontiers. I am glad the first steps have been taken towards this direction... Sa Re Ga Ma Pa (ZeeTv) is already touching a million hearts by producing 'lil champs'. We need more such platforms to embrace, groom, encourage and showcase talents of indian classical dance, vocal, instrumental music and yoga.

The world has known India for centuries together as the land of Tradition and Culture (apart from I.T. in recent times) and it has been the healing ground for all those who seek tranquility through music or yoga. Let us take this to the next level by ushering our next generation into learning, performing, respecting and disseminating Indian pride and glory to the world and beyond.

Vande Mataram !!

Lage Raho...

Must See (Two words are enuf for this Movie Review)

This is one movie after Baghban, RDB (movies with entertainment and a message)... everyone will enjoy !!!

"A" Coupling

Take 1

Which sitcom comes to your mind when i say it has 3 couples ?

Huuhh FRIENDS right?

But will your answer be the same if i say 3 pervert couples?

Take 2

Lets try to guess once again...

Which sitcom comes to your mind when it has 'above' couples sipping beer and wine whole day long where one group talks about 'male-chauvinism'; sex and the other about 'female fads and freckles'? And do i need to say what they talk or do when both these groups meet??

Hmmm FRIENDS still?

Are you still stressing on recollecting one of the episodes of FRIENDS or you have given up?

Take 3

Hope this 'take' stops me from going 'merry-go-round' and coming straight to the point...

Okie i value 'time'... lets try again :)

So this sitcom has 3 pervert couples and each group knows what to talk/do when they are alone and when they are in company of one another... right ??

Disclaimer - There are many take-aways from this BBC sitcom...'Coupling' ('A' rated in India) but unless you watch it for yourself, this post might look greek and latin... u might also decide never to come back to my blog... but guys/gals there are certain things which you dont understand when some fool is talking about it (and his experiences)... but its a small world and you will surely be repeating what others have sooner-or-later...

I wouldnt be talking about this if this was all that they had to offer in this sitcom...

Then whatz more? Well for starters... you can improve your diction and enrich your vocab which might indirectly help in CAT/GMAT vocab sections... you might think these are some words straight from dictionary... but dude... full sitcom uses these so-called 'common' x-rated and other words which we never come across anywhere... for example...

bloke, snog (sth more than french-kiss), rump (okie i am not going to exlpain each word here... got yr e-dic ;) near by??), consummation, epidural, stalk, wop, ilk, cleft, daft, squelch, verve, straddle...

ya i get it... listing down new words which i didnt know doesnt mean anything...

Let me try this one, there are six personalities in there and i am sure most of us fall under one of them... chk this out !!!

1) steve - man run this world (but become mice in front of their gfs or would-be's), man have the right to have one-to-many relationships, hapless, life-is-made-of-simple-blocks but need-a-friend-to-come-out-of-its-complexity

2) susan - pragmatic, experimental, go-getter, direct and confident

3) patrick - man only need two things in life - sex and cars... most girls are 'patricized', TORY, polygamous and simple-semi-intellectual

4) sally - beauty conscious, insecure, paranoid, beauty-wout-brains and desperate for man

5) jane - egotist, attention-seeker, here's-my-own-philosophy-theory, nice-to-have-around gal but keep-silent, kooky and lonely or dont-have-a-steady-boyfriend-yet kind

6) richard/oliver - rump, cleft, nudity, snog are-there-any more words in english lang?, talk-big-act-zilch, spooky, geek, smutty and own-mother-fearing

Thats not all... they are all in late twenties and early thirties and still bachelor/spinster... all of them fearing from this villain... 'commitment' !! They want to enjoy life to the fullest but dont want to get trapped in the well of commitment... 'escapism' is the word !!!

Last words...

if you liked FRIENDS and the like sitcoms, then you will surely enjoy this BBC Coupling which is full of gags on what an approaching-thirties-single-blokes-gals need...

Thnx Mathew for introducing me to ppl of my kind thru this sitcom ;)