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Word List

Tried out making a list/ cloud/ whatever of words I used often in my blog. This was the result ! ( http://www.wordle.net/ )

That old man in the train

"This place seems haunted", said the voice. It was half past midnight and I was the only other person in the compartment of the local train. I was completely drenched and on the verge of catching cold. But that was least of my concerns. I just wanted to reach home safely. The train stopped on the bridge due to power failure and the place was engulfed in darkness.  The only sound I could hear was that of incessant rains.The only other person was an old man, probably in his 80s or 90s, or maybe even 100. "Yeah. It looks so.", I replied indifferently while shuffling songs on my ipod. "Maybe, there are ghosts around", he said. "It surely is scary, and we seem stranded in the middle of nowhere", I replied trying to hide my fear. "Do you believe in ghosts?", he asked. "No. I don't", I replied, with a gentle laughter. "Ah! This current generation doiesn't seem to believe in anything", he replied while

A run against time

And I found myself running ... Running really fast, unfazed by the drizzle, for there was a lot at stake. Few moments ago I was walking briskly. But I soon realized that I was running against time. There was a train to catch. It would probably have gone by now.  Or maybe not. Maybe, there was still a chance and it was the last chance I had. If only I could make it to the station in the next minute. I could hear the sound of the train. Its gentle whistle, announcing that it was ready to move ahead. But I was nearby. If only I could tell it to wait for me for a minute. I sped past the small station building. It was not crowded. And then I was on the platform to see the train leaving. I ran in the direction of the train. The train was still chugging slowly. If I could run fast enough, I could probably manage to catch it.  I gathered all my energy and started running. I was sweating and panting all along. But catching the train was really important. It was the last chance I had.

Power corrupts ?

Random thought - As the saying goes - Power Corrupts. But isn't the opposite more valid ? Without being corrupt you cannot get power ? And with power  I mean - political, economic, social ... everything And maybe, "corrupt" includes a milder form also - "manipulative" What do you think ? Or maybe, there are few exceptions ...

sarcasm(?) dictionary

(This is not a complete generalization, but almost ...) - Individuality - Attributes that define a person, usually supposed to be similar to the attributes of "others". - 100% chance - Any event whose probability is >50%. In case of >75% probability, it is defined as 110%. - Interesting person - Any person whose interests are similar to yours.    Boring person - Any person whose interests are different from yours. - God - A "tool' necessary to do unethical/ immoral/ evil things with impunity. Also a good way of keping people in your "control". - Ethics -Good to say about, bad to practice; even the ones preaching it probably won't like you to practice it. Of course it is acceptable, thanks to a recourse found in the above mentioned definition. -Freedom of expression - Freedom to say what you like to say, as long as it is what the listener wants to hear. - Creativity - The art of mimicking others with near-perfection. (incomplet

Somewhere @ Nowhere - 32

I now have so many copies of my book ... Wondering what to do about it Options - 1. Gift it to people (Of course!) ... People in and around Mumbai can get it from me! (Outside, it'll give rise to logistical issues!) 2. Gift copies to vendors outside Vashi and other railway stations! Any other ideas ? Would love to hear from you (whoever read this blog; maybe you can drop me a line!) By the way, You can order it from - Flipkart Pustak Mahal Infibeam Indiaplaza Amazon Kindle And join the Facebook community HERE

Who am I ? (Part 2)

Once again I wonder, Who am I ? Someone, somewhere, Just another guy? A dreamy explorer, or An exploring dreamer; Or sitting motionless like A disinterested viewer? Like a flowing river, Charting its own course, Or a stagnating pond, Choking at its source? Like those high mountains, Kissing the infinite sky, Or those large stretches of land, Endless and dry? Or a resident of two worlds - Each with its own ordeal One world uninhabitable, The other one unreal?

Creatively Challenged

I stare blankly at the computer screen. Somewhere deep within I feel a pinch, I hope to unlazify my grey cells But they refuse to budge an inch. Then I look within myself again And search for that source of humor, Which was there once, I believe And wonder if it was just a rumor! And to find a story somewhere, I hope In the faces of people I look around Each of them has a tale to tell. But nowhere are my instincts found. I stare deep inside within me, And all I can find there - Is a soul stuck in a time warp, And a big void everywhere.

Somewhere @ Nowhere - The Book

Finally ... The book is out ... It is available at - http://tinyurl.com/book-khareedo  (Flipkart) http://tinyurl.com/nikesh32  (Pustak Mahal) Do grab your copy soon, in case you haven't already :) It will be in Crosswords and Landmarks in some time (maybe some time later this month) 32.

Who am I ?

Who am I - A frog in a well who wonders, That this is the best place, And asks if the ocean is any better? Or a deer in the forest that knows, That it has but limited control Over his the fate that awaits? Or a bird soaring up in the sky With the world as its playground And dreaming to soar even higher? I wonder ... Is there is a different answer for What I am and What I want to be?

Where is that world?

Where is that world, That I once thought I would make With my dreams, That kept me awake. With my thoughts And that fire within. And those crumbs of motivation Igniting the will to do something. And that thing resembling faith Placed high up there, And when I look around I find it nowhere. All that remains is just a void That world there is no more, That utopia exists no longer, It is now just an eyesore.

Cover Page - Somewhere @ Nowhere

Finally ... The new cover page of my book ... Hoping things get rolling soon and it is out Maybe sometime next month Super Excited, though it might be a bit far fetched ! (... and wondering how to manage promotion on a shoestring ... er... zero budget!) BTW ... Do join the Facebook group & follow me on twitter (links on the sidebar) (self promotion!)

Random Current Affairs

Of late, I have been blogging very infrequently (and most of it is about me "not blogging" ... so in real terms I have been blogging more infrequently than it appears to be) Maybe, I thought that I can jot down few random points about random happenings around me - - I loved the movie - "Inception". I am increasingly tempted to believe that life is just a dream within a dream! Maybe, that this world is my totem and that it goes on continuously, is a proof that life is a dream. - I watched Udaan (all alone!). Loved the movie.   Few points (apart from plot, performances, narration etc) that added to this liking are -   music that gels with the pace and theme of the movie (including "motu master" song), poems (especially "joote kahan utaare the" - have copy pasted it below in Appendix -1), realistic settings (un-karan joharish sets) etc. I would love to call it a "Taare Zameen Par" for teenagers. - The "w" key of my lap

Update on Somewhere @ Nowhere

Some quick updates on my book Somewhere @ Nowhere. - I had self published it through www.pothi.com  around 3 months ago and the feedbacks have been quite encouraging. - Meanwhile, I got to know about a contest being run by one of the leading publishing houses in India and entered it ... and the book was selected for publication! - So the book should be out in markets shortly (maybe in 1-2 months). Hoping to see it in the Landmarks and the Crosswords soon. Keeping my fingers crossed ...

The local train

That was when I saw her. She had almost missed her train. There was another in 8 minutes, but she always preferred to catch this one only. It was a long ride - Mira Road to Churchgate and it took nearly an hour to reach there in a fast train. More than three hours a day she spent in commuting. It could have been more had her home not been near the railway station. I had moved to Mumbai recently and was still trying to catch up with its pace. I was yet to get accustomed to the local trains. Slowly and steadily I would. Sometimes I wished that I stayed near my office, but it was too expensive. So I chose a distant suburb, trying not to dig a hole into my pocket and screwing my life inside stuffed trains. This continued for few weeks. I always noticed her getting to the station, catching the train and alighting at the destination before briskly walking to her office. Mine was nearby, but that was it - I never manged to talk to her. She was somewhat reclusive and I didn't have any p

Individuality

Individuality - "The aggregate of qualities and characteristics that distinguish one person or thing from others; character"  (Source - The first result on google search for - "individuality + definition") So, I assume that it is fairly a constant thing which is with shapes a person's thoughts and probably his actions (unless under some kind of duress). If I had to give some kind of physical form to it it would be fairly solid though not completely, as it is subject to change by effect of some external influences, which maybe somewhat significant influences (after all, this is the only way an almost solid object can change its shape). I was just wondering that what happens in case of a person's individuality is a fluid or is expected to be a fluid. In this case a person's individuality will be flexible - probably not defined at all. And, if the vessel is a relatively powerful object which can think on its own & has a right to dictate wha

Before Sunrise/ Before Sunset

Bottom line - If you haven't seen them, then get a DVD/ Download it and do watch it (unless you hate each and every so called "romantic" kind of movie) - not much taxing - total run of 3 hours(for 2 movies combined, seen back to back) _____ What if you are guy travelling across and exploring Europe (wishful thinking!) and strike a conversation with some young chick in the train (wishful thinking again!), decide to spend few hours together at some place, say Vienna ... and that day turns out to be the most memorable day in your life? Well, this is precisely the story of Jesse and Celine in the movie "Before Sunrise" and their meeting ten years later forms the premise of "Before Sunset". (Today I saw them for the 3rd time) Interesting concept, I would say but that is just surface of the movie. The real soul lies in the light hearted kind of discussion they have. That forms the heart and soul of these movies. Well, the discussion isn't specif

Somewhere @ Nowhere - The Book

FINALLY .... After a tryst with so-called-creativity, I have come up with a book -  Somewhere @ Nowhere. You can have a sneak peek at the story & a few pages from the publisher's website and order the same & get it home delivered anywhere in India/ Abroad. Details as mentioned below- - Preview and get the book home delivered from HERE Also, you can join the following groups - - Orkut Community - Facebook Page Hope you like the work. Would appreciate a feedback. Till then ... Happy Reading!!! And yeah, please spread the word (relying on word of mouth & word of blog publicity) :-) ___ Update (18/02/2010) - Thanks for the initial response to the book :) Update2 (25/ 02/ 2010) - Thanks for the feedbacks on the book those who have read it. (hope to get a feedback by others soon). Encourages me to overcome inertia and write more! Meanwhile, those who ask for why is it currently not available in traditional retail outlets - well, I hope it will be

25 random things

25 Random facts about me (Inspired by Arjun's post on Facebook). Won't tag anyone but would like people reading this to tag themselves. I crazily check mail/FB evey now and then even (usually very few minutes) if there is no update or any likelihood of any update. Before this current "book" I had almost written a manuscript some 1-1.5 years ago, but found it useless and abandoned the project. I often randomly laugh out loud while remembering some random thing. I hate to shave. As a kid I used to read and analyze maps and know about how different places were connected (and hence interest in railways!) and used to mentally test myself on how many places do I know in a particular state and similar stuff. Even now, I get excited by trains and railway stations and highways and airports. (maybe, it is somewhat heredity as my dad had amazing information about different places and all) I have command over some thoroughly useless information about Bollywood. As a kid

Somewhere @ Nowhere

Somewhere @ Nowhere Coming soon ... As of now a snapshot at the cover design - (LHS - Back Cover, RHS - Front Cover)

(Insane) words of non-wisdom

A stroll down a lunatic asylum proves that faith means nothing;  A glance at the glamor world proves that "morality" means nothing;  A walk along the corridors of corporate world shows that "ethics" mean nothing;  Few moments in a crematory shows that "life" means nothing. So whatever we learn mean nothing;  Hence ...  Everythi ng is nothing and nothing is everything!!

The sea and the infinite

Standing at the shore I stare at the infinite. Numb of all the senses Of the wrong, and the right. I am there at the moment yet It seems like it has been forever. I feel crashing upon my senses The past present and future together. Up there near the horizon I saw a ray of fading light. It went away like that fleeting glory And disappeared as came the night. All I can see is The sea and the wave, And all I can think is I was so, so naive.

New year resolutions

Ah! It's that time of the year once again !! Wish you a very happy new year. I was just wondering about the alternatives for new year resolutions but chucking them out nevertheless ... ... but on second thoughts, some might be worth considering ... Some random thoughts - Resolution 1 - To find out what is the purpose of life, universe and everything and come up with a non "32" or "42" answer ... but isn't this what I am trying to do the whole of last decade ?? Resolution 2 - Continue keeping the 1024 * 2048 resolution (similar to RM's) ... but as things get hazier, it is likely to be broken ... Resolution 3 - Be myself ... I always promise so ... every year without fail ... and fail ... Resolution 4 - Write a book - Fiction to be precise (even if it sells 10 copies, 5 purchased by me :) WIP ... Coming soon ... (Well ... maybe, sometime in near or late future ... but definitely in this decade!) Resolution 5 - Travel ... Travel ... travel ... Explore ...

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