back from hibernation

Yes I am back...
lot many things have changed ever since I last blogged...
Marriage
New extended family
Greater responsibilities
Relocation in terms of home and work
The whole social media bug.. which has almost literally exploded
but all said and done...
Am here again.... just that it's almost 3 years since I last scribbled something... but hey better late than never.

The apple being grown in the most reputed garden or the apple planted in fresh soil??

My Copy of The Copy Book

How 32 of the World's Best Advertising
Writers Write Their Advertising.

All thanks to the Crossword book-sale, finally laid my hands on the ultimate. :-) Though I have read it many times over and over, from now onwards the high achieved will be of a different level altogether.

The 27 Club

I had been planning it for quite some time. This birthday had to be special. I was to touch the age of immortality-the 27-club; the age when great legends crossed over the edge. Janis Joplin, Jimmy Hendrix, Kurt Cobain and but of course the mighty Lizard King himself - Jim Morrison.

My enthusiasm knew no bounds, for I had even set my alarm to blast off a Morrison number, ‘Come on baby, light my fire’. I wanted to live like him, sing like him, drink like him, go absolutely berserk like him.
So I stepped out of the house, wearing my favourite ‘WANTED’ Morrison T-shirt, headphones stuck like glue with all his songs queued up for the day, bottle of water replaced by pack of beer cans conveniently dumped into my back-pack. I was feeling no less than a rockstar myself. I had switched off my cell-phone as today was meant exclusively for my hero. No interferences whatsoever. I took off on my activa, not knowing where I was heading to. Undecided and carefree, that’s the attitude I carried up on my sleeve. Forget the world, forget the people, not to touch the earth, not to touch the sky, just run run run, just run. The words echoed over and over again. Let it roll, baby roll..let it roll, baby..let it roll..all night long, it was as if something got over me, the speedometer kept rising, hitting 80, crossing 90, chasing 110, mounting over 140. I was so lost in the moment that I never realized that I had lost control over the brakes. The lights came flashing into my eyes and had me completely blindfolded.

I was kept under observation in the ICU for 3 days. When I regained consciousness, I could see my family looking at me with bated breath. They were uttering words but I couldn’t hear them. It felt as if all my bones were going to crumble any moment. I was completely helpless, I couldn’t speak. My throat was parched beyond measure. I saw my brother holding my iPod. Relief at last, I thought to myself. I looked at him with desperate eyes and he knew. He handed over the iPod to me. He plugged the headphones onto my ears while I struggled to lift my hand to adjust the volume. It was on the maximum level and I yearned to hear the voice of my idol, but nothing happened. I tried switching it off and then restarting but all in vain. I tried tapping the iPod and hoping for a miracle, but no luck. I had tears rolling down my cheek when realization dawned upon me. I stared at the ceiling in disbelief. One day of sheer madness and I had lost my hearing for life.

‘Cut’ I heard a voice in the background. It was Mr. Mehra, the show producer, ‘Well done, Sunisha!’
I knew radio was my calling.

Metered down @ 02224937755/ 24937746

All Mumbai commuters can now heave a sigh of relief. In case you want to travel to a particular place and the driver (be it rickshaw or taxi) refuses to take you to your destination, reach out to Mumbai Traffic Helpline @ 02224937755/ 24937746.

Here's how it works : Let's say you have to go from Pt.A to Pt.B. On spotting an empty rick/ cab you ask the driver to stop. By all means he will, but the minute you tell him the destination many a times he might refuse to go there, citing reasons like there's too much traffic to my tyre is about to break to there's no gas to something as lame as this vehicle is local :-p. By now you must have already got into the vehicle. When he refuses to move, dial the helpline 02224937755/ 24937746. A police officer will answer your phone immediately. You tell him, I boarded the vehicle from Pt. A and I intend to go to pt.B and the driver refuses to go there saying blah blah blah.. whatever the excuse. The inspector will want to confirm if the meter was up. If was tilted sideways before you boarded the vehicle, then you as a passenger are at fault. As apparently sideways means the driver is off-duty and you can't win the case. Once the inspector confirms the meter was up he will ask you for the vehicle registration number and then you will need to hand over the phone to the driver. There will be an exchange of arguments and finally the driver will agree. He has to. If he still insists to not budge, then the inspector will send a wireless message to the nearest traffic police guy and he will come up to you. This could take around 10 mins. And the cop will then take away the driver's licence. It has worked for me all the time. I don't know what's the number for outside Mumbai. I sincerely hope they implement this strategy all across.

Points to remember:

• The Meter has to be UP AND NOT SIDEWAYS
• Especially for ladies:Try this stunt at a public area and not some isolated locality
• Be quick to note down the vehicle registration number
• Ensure there is enough battery charge in your cellphone

PLEASE PASS ON THE NUMBER TO WHOMSOEVER YOU THINK MAY NEED THIS DISTRESS-CALL NUMBER!

I repeat the number 02224937755/ 24937746.

In a little while....

In a little while
Surely I'll be back
In a little while
I'll be there

In a little while
this hurt will hurt no more
I'll be home

The new year is in!

This will be our year!

Spread the Spark

Resolve to go green
Keep the city clean
Wipe the face of terror
Undo all your foolish errors
Heal the wounded tears
Console those sleepless fears
Fight against crime
This world is yours and mine
Let’s learn to live at ease
In the company of peace.
May this Diwali usher
A new dawn of realization.

Prosperity to one and all!

Spartans prepare for glory yet again!

Yes! We were victorious yet again. Last year we showed what it means to be PIONEERS and this year we proved our worthiness as the SPARTAN warriors. So what if we stood 2nd, we sure as hell did a splendid job of spreading the spark of Diwali around our work area.

Awesome job, Viggy, Archana, Vikas, Mayank and but of course yours truly.

Check out the sample of our edible (and eco-friendly as Deepali rightfully says) rangoli which was being eyed by many a hungry souls :-D

All thanks to these concerned individuals not a single drop or morsel was wasted.

Society, you're a crazy breed.

Oh it's a mystery to me.
We have a greed, with which we have agreed...
and you think you have to want more than you need...
until you have it all, you won't be free.

Society, you're a crazy breed.
I hope you're not lonely, without me.
When you want more than you have, you think you need...
and when you think more then you want, your thoughts begin to bleed.
I think I need to find a bigger place...
cause when you have more than you think, you need more space.

Society, you're a crazy breed.
I hope you're not lonely, without me.
Society, crazy indeed...
I hope you're not lonely, without me.

There's those thinkin' more or less, less is more,
but if less is more, how you keepin' score?
It means for every point you make, your level drops.
Kinda like you're startin' from the top...
and you can't do that.

Society, you're a crazy breed.
I hope you're not lonely, without me.
Society, crazy indeed...
I hope you're not lonely, without me
Society, have mercy on me.
I hope you're not angry, if I disagree.
Society, crazy indeed.
I hope you're not lonely...
without me.

A Wednesday rocked my tuesday!

Mind-blowingly explosive movie.
After a real long time, I got to see
such a good movie.
A must-see for one and all!

Ganesh Chaturthi

Auspicious in more than one way.

Dusk adorns the Darling Harbour

Spot the two iconic structures

Shimmering Night

Night by the Sydney Tower

Suicide anyone?

Atop the Sydney Tower.

Aah! the Sydney Tower

Walking by the bridge

Magistic Cruise

I went inside one of those!

Opera House from Sydney Harbour Bridge

Opera House from the Pylon Lookout

Harbour Trip

Those who dare, make it... Check out the group of dare-devils heading for the 3 hour climb! I wanted to make it but the sprain in my anle wouldn't let me.. Also it was bloody expensive .

An Eiffel Tower in Sydney

Boat show at day

Boat Show at nite

Powerboat of 2008

a distant Sydney Tower

Wish I could reach out.

Such a contrast!

Call it professional hazard or whatever, Ijust can't hold myself back from reading hoardings or posters while commuting. Came across this one and found it rather amusing. Such a contrast to whatwe have in India (upto 50% off... they can be really tricky ). Have read couple of more interesting such stuff here. Shall keep posting for sure.

Darling Harbor (right view)

Darling Harbor (left view)

Voila!

Behold! The Opera House

Spectacular is the word!

Sydney Harbor

When the sun comes down

Sydney Harbor

What a beauty!

My 1st wonder of the world

Everything fishy about it part II

Everything Fishy about it!

Whoa!!!

Sometimes it pays to stay awake late night. Specially when you are on board a flight.
Taken at 3:45 am(IST) which means roughly around 8:15 am in Australia. Dunno at what height might I have been flying. But whatever be the case, it's the most fabulous sight.

Taken

I'll be back soon baby

It's just a matter of a few days.

Aunty kaho na

Yes! I am an aunt today.
My brother and sister-in-law were blessed with a baby girl this morning. Can't wait to see her and take her in my arms.

Leaving tonight!

Am going Down Under

Got my VISA to the land of Kangaroos

Practice doesn't make a man perfect, CORRECT practice makes a man perfect!!

That's what I realized in my violin class today. very thoughtful indeed I say.

Be careful what you wish for. It might come true.

How do you react when something like that happens?? At times you are just taken aback, asking yourself, ‘Is this for real?’, ‘Can dreams actually come true?’, ‘doesn’t that happen only in movies?’

The other day I met a friend of mine who kept on harping about his new-found love life. He had been waiting all along for this wonderful person to step into his life. Someone who met all the expectations he ever had… her smile, her eyes, her talks, her stupidity, her maturity, …anything you name it… she had it. He secretly had a crush on her for a long time, but it took an eon for him to confess. And when he finally did, it turned out that she had a much bigger crush on him. It was too overwhelming for him to react to such a situation. In all the excitement and exhilaration, he would often goof up saying silly things and unknowingly upsetting her. She is extremely caring and leaves no stone unturned to make her happy. But of course they would both patch up soon after.

He sought advice from me. All I could say was, you are one hell of a lucky guy. Try to not goof up. Be a lil more cautious. What advice would you give him?

For the record: They are very much in love and can’t wait to get married. But there are a minor complications that he needs to sort out before he takes the big plunge. He says he is the luckiest guy to have found true love in her.

Moral: It’s worth waiting, if you are waiting for the right person to come along.

Movies as I see it ..or rather hear it.

http://myfavmoviedialogues.blogspot.com/

For all the times I made you cry

The first time must have been when you held me
in your arms.
Dad says you almost cried a river.
I must have heard it a zillion times.
But every time seems like the very first.

My first word, my first step.
Each occasion was a celebration.
Though it was my first day at school.
It was you who waited with bated breath
outside the gate in the hot sun.

My nagging, my crying, my stubbornness.
You endured them all.
My lavish birthday parties, my shopping excursions.
You fulfilled them all.

When further studies abroad beckoned,
you let me spread my wings and pursue my goals.
I didn't want you to see me off at the airport.
As you'd embarass me in front of my friends by crying.

And now, as I sit here, seven seas away from you,
watching my daughter grow in front of my eyes.
I realize how many sacrifices it takes to raise a child.
And she's just 6 months old.

Dear Mom, I know I've been hard on you all along
Craving for your attention, day in day out.
You pushed aside your each desire, crushed your every dream
Held back your tears as if nothing happened.

For all the pain I caused
Sorry seems to be too small a word
I know I can't turn back the time
The least I could do is make sure
the next time you cry
the tears you shed be those of joy.

The other day, me and my colleague were taking an interview. My colleague asked the candidate, "what has been your best work so far?" . She promptly replied, 'Not yet!". I started thinking myself and dug out this ad. I gave my heart and soul to write this ad. It's about an oldage home. Thanks Maddy for coming up with a brilliant layout! :-)

Oops! I did it again...

don’t hang up on me…

you had me at ‘hello’
so don’t hang up on me
i haven’t had enough of you
don’t think i ever will

your voice is the first thing
i wanna wake up to
your voice is the only thing
that sees me through the dark night

oh! you really had me at ‘Hello’

it’s funny, i used to change
my ring tones so that i could
reach out to answer any call
but now it’s mostly on silent mode
as i hold on to it
as if my life depended on it

it must be true when they say
‘you gotta choose your addictions wisely’

well! guess what??!!
am waiting to hear you say 'hello'

all my waking hours
are spent charging
maybe i’d run out of topics
but i surely don’t wanna drain the battery

keep talking. keep talking

i wanna hear the breath of your voice
i wanna hear the pulse of your silence

don’t hang up on me
not yet…

the teasing, the pleading
the sob stories, the amazing journeys
the silly jokes, the crazy dreams
what’s for dinner
what you wish was for dinner

i’m listening. i’m listening to them all.

don’t hang up on me…not yet
it hurts like hell
to not have you around

you amaze me
in every little thing you do
the souvenirs you collect
of our every visit
the way you sneak out
to say how much you love me
how you can just hold my hand
for hours at end
and yet not speak a word

don’t hang up on me
don’t EVER
‘cos i haven’t had enough of you
and i don’t think i ever will

To my Lizeen,

She tells me she's dazed and confused.
In that case I must be disillusioned.
For I draw my inspiration from her.
Young, restless and carefree.
That's what she claims to be.
Don't I hold my head high up in the air;
For in her I oft see a reflection of me.

Talk about being over-protective!

Why Binda why????!!!!