The Small Voice

Both my 9-mth old son and I were down health-wise for last couple of days.  He was struggling with a bout of fever after his immunization shots, and I from a nasty bit of flu & fever. Both recovered around roughly the same time, i.e. today evening.  Wife had chores to do, and she left me in charge of him. After trying a few tricks, none of which interested him, I decided to be a bit innovative. I dimmed the lights, and together, in the dark, we watched my favorite Michel Jackson’s “Will you be there” picturized on Free Willy montage shots on Youtube. And this was my happiest 5mins of the week. Why? Because, this is one of my favourites and I am soo thrilled that my son liked it too!! He was seeing a whale for the first time in his life, but he enjoyed every moment when the whale emerged from the water and did tricks.  He he. Can hardly wait to introduce him to Doctor Who, Tintin, The Lord of the Rings, Batman, GI Joe et al.

Sri was loafing around at the Inorbit Mall on a weekend all alone. Her mom had made her come as she wanted to shop for some exotic veggies. Now, normally Sri would have wiggled away, but her mom was a great cook and when you humor her, the rewards were generally delicious. So now she was killing time before the old lady was done with her stuff and Sri could drive her home.   Sri was bored, and as usual, hungry. That was when she saw Natraj (Nat as they called him) her long lost college pal. She hollered at him and once Nat realized who this chubby girl running towards him was, he grinned and waited for her to join him. Soon, they were talking and caching up like the old days over a glass of chilled cold coffee after Sri’s Gola. After the usual pleasantries, Sri plonked directly to the point. “Where is Vani? Are you guys married yet?” Sri asked mischievously. Nat and Vani were inseparable in college, and Sri, as well as the whole gang was sure there was something ...

Sri was not happy. In fact she was downright frustrated. And it wasn’t due to that dunderhead Mohan, her boyfriend. It was her job. She had always been a bright student and prided herself on her hard work and focus. Her teachers and friends always had expected great things of her. And she hadn’t disappointed them. After her MBA in Finance, she had bagged an attractive finance job with a boutique mid-size investment bank. Her paycheck was average, but her work profile was exciting. Most of her classmates had been jealous of her “luck” on landing a pure finance job right away, while most had to be satisfied with sales profiles. Anyway, that was a few years back. After a couple of job hops, Sri landed at a really good position with satisfactory money and a great culture place. The exposure was great and her boss was intelligent and well respected in the industry. Her Boss believed in giving only directional inputs to the team and then allowed them to run free. But of late, thi...

Soon enough I will be switching off my mobile, pulling the plug of the laptop, in short will do my best to be incommunicado to the world at large. Now, please don’t mistake me.  I am not pulling the fast one on the boss. Nor am I one of the “End of the World on 21-12” believers. Nothing of that sort. You see, it will soon be the “Happy New Year” time. (shudder) Christmas and the New Year is a special time in the developed countries, a time for family, fun and joy.  It’s special time of the year for India too, albeit a bit differently.  The New Year is the time when city roads in India transform into virtual roads of Carmageddon (that game which lets you play out your speed-enhanced, crimson-tinted fantasies).   The women would only be fractionally better off than the hapless pedestrians in the above-mentioned Computer game. It’s fun time… Everybody will be trying to party at the same time. I have a neat algorithm for the 31 st December eve ...

"Saturdays are the most dull and disappointing days for me. I have an off while the wife is out on work and poor me, I am home alone with only a TV and an unlimited internet connection to pass time for the whole day. Boring." Ha Ha Ha. Good one no?? So guys, most Saturdays are super nirvana time. Ultimate chillaxing time when I can sleep late, draw fishbone charts in my mind on why I deserve to skip bath, dedicate time to decent hobbies (read raiding the fridge) and basically doing nothing of note or of use. So what was different this time? When a handsome thirty something boy is at home without parental supervision, zillions of interesting friends across the globe, and blessed with fast unlimited internet connection what exactly will he be surfing looking at? Well you got it right, the “normal” stuff. But I was shocked to realize that I had spent full 30 mins on the net drooling and ogling at…believe it or not… PAKISTANI CHICKEN BIRYANI !!! And so enamored was I w...

Jagjit Singh passed away today. Today, I must thank Ravi bhaiya, for he was the reason I heard the maestro for the first time in my life. Jagjit's ethereal Ghazals are as much a part of my growing up as my school or college. It was my dream to attend one of his live concerts, which alas, will now remain a dream. This is the day when billions across the world would join me in saying "...this is the day When the music died" Goodbye sir,your voice made the world a beautiful place. We will always remember you by your songs.

--> What Kunal meant was that even though there was a drizzle, it wasn’t yet pouring. That was ten minutes ago. In the morning today, the skies were so overcast when we stepped on to the CST station that it felt it was evening 6PM rather than 8.30 AM in the morning.  But that was only the buildup. The climax before the real action begins. And the action has begun and how! After the lean last year, India badly needs good monsoons. And not only that, its always a pleasure to watch the heavens rewarding the earthlings after the hardships of summer with cool showers. The fact that during rains, girls get prettier (to me at least) is another reason why I love rains. Coming to here and now, the view is awesome with the sea hardly visible and the rain blowing like mist in slow motion as it bounces off ledges and protrusions in buildings. I believe the pleasure of rains is best enjoyed in a South Asian country with monsoon showers. And in case you are lucky enough to...