Strings Of Life

While browsing through newspapers & literary websites, I often find crappy books such as, '5 point someone', 'Twilight', 'Harry potter' etc etc.. in the bestsellers list. Which implies that most of the people are reading crappy stuff. And why not?, these books are easy to read, spicy, unrealistic and full of fantasies. What does a reader get out of all this?, nothing.

Why do we read something which does not portray reality?, the kind of world we live in?, the kind of feelings a normal human being goes through?.

25 years later, when our kids may want to know about ‘our times’, what shall we gift them? 5 point someone?, or Harry potter?.
Writers are writing what the public wants, I think this is the very death of literature.

      Every art is unique & so is the style of any artist. Even today when we read our childhood poetry books we very well recognize the author by the mere rhyme of the words. When we are involved with any form of art, consciously or subconsciously we tend to develop a style. Style is an artists way of portraying the elements of composition.

“…the modern portrait photographer should strive, with the help of his own feeling for light, to express himself in a completely personal manner, create his own style, and deliver with every portrait his visiting card… in order that he can be recognized in every one of his pictures.”   

- Helmar Lerski

I too wish to have my unique style. To me, a perfect photograph is not the answer but a question in itself. It should engage the viewer in such as way that he/she feels looking over it again and again, not only because of its aesthetic value but also because of the story being told. I'll consider myself a photographer the day people will start recognizing my images without my name written on them.

Do Check Out: Supar Studio

26th January 2000, those five hundred students of a boarding school had no idea that lot was going to change in their lives that day. I was one of them.
It was 9:30 in the morning and I was still in the bed, dreaming of candies & biscuits my friend has kept in his cupboard. And then I heard a voice: “You sleep monger RUN...., RUN FAST.”
Half awake I started running out, only to realize later that it was an Earthquake.
Yes, the deadly earthquake of Gujarat.


Everything was in a huge mess. The buildings were damaged, after-shocks were felt every minute, few students lost their near and dear ones, and the final exams were nearing each day.
One guy from my hostel who was known for his sincerity and honesty complained that he saw a lady ghost cladded in a white sari in the nearby ground at 12’O Clock midnight. As we were already in the trauma of the earthquake, we ignored his plea. Next day, he reported the same. This time we got really scared. And the matter was taken up with a head teacher who took the guy to a ‘TANTRIK BABA’. And finally the guy was declared of having a “KALA SAYA” of some lady ghost. Kala Saya of a white lady? we couldn’t digest the concept, so we decided to stay awake and witness the ghost ourselves.

Equipped with hockey sticks and chains we waited for the clock to strike 12. As the time passed by the night kept getting darker and darker. Exactly at 12'O Clock the lady ghost appeared in the basketball court. Clutching the hockey sticks and stuff, we all ran out of the hostel. As soon as the ghost saw people approaching her, she started running the other way. We grabbed her and as she was about to get the first blow of the hockey stick, she shouted : “Hey, Please Stop, this is Varun from the Garuda hostel; remember I played black magician on the school annual day.” And we all laughed out loud.
The next day, no ghost was seen on the ground. But it was heard of being seen in the Garuda hostel.

Finally back after a long break. It was so much fun. Drove car for more than 1500 kms, visited college, had good time with friends. And all those nostalgic feelings.
It is strange that:
“When I was driving the car, I yelled at people walking down the street.
When I was walking on the street, I yelled at people driving the cars.”

Fast driving is so much fun, isn’t it?. It’s adrenaline rush, and the feeling of weightlessness? -it’s awesome. Driving at a high speed I wrongly overtook one car. By the time I realized my mistake, the car was left far behind. All that adrenaline rush feeling was over and I brought my car to a normal speed.

After a few minutes, the same car sped past me and stopped right in front of my car. My gut feeling said that the things are going wrong. I was all alone and the road was empty too. Fear struck my heart and my stomach had that feeling -the one you get before an interview or a viva. A man double my size stepped out of the car and asked me to step out too. Things definitely were going wrong, mustering courage I stepped out.
I could sense anger in that man’s eyes. But when I went near he asked politely(Maybe by my getup I appear an innocent person. Thanks to the Sarkari Naukari, now I hate formals no more): “Sir, your fast driving could have killed me”. I apologized, and since that day my speedometer hasn’t read more than 45km/h. After all, more than myself I don’t want to risk somebody else's life.

Image curtsy: loritingey

Happy Diwali to all my friends.

May this Diwali bring happiness infinite to you. And also:


» May your blog get huge popularity

» May your posts get 1000's of comments

» May your blog get loads of backlinks

» May your blog get listed on the first page of Google search

» May your blog get featured in the Time magazine

» May you get featured in the every "Top Bloggers" list

» May you start a blog - if you don't have one!

And above all
May you ever stay a happy & nice blogger, as you already are.

Happy Diwali!

The cop whistled at the black Alto and asked to stop.
Knock, knock. "Roll down the windows you freak."
The cop: License Please!
Sorry sir, I don't have one.

Cop: What?, Show the registration.
Sorry Sir, but this is not my car.

Cop: Fine!, Do you know what's the penalty for not carrying the papers?, 500 Bucks!.
Sorry Sir, I'm a government servant, and have not got salary this month.

Cop: OK then, pay me 200, without receipt.
Sorry Sir, forgot my wallet at home.

Cop: What the F***!, go off you bastard.
Thank You Sir. But Sir.
Cop: NOW WHAT?
Sir I need your help.
Cop: FOR WHAT?
Sir, the car is running out of gas, could you please lend me 500 bucks?

Thank You Aditi for the award. I'm honored.
And also Thank You for the interesting TAG.
Statutory Warning: This article is unnecessarily long and contains lots of personal uninteresting stuff, read at your own risk.

1. What is your current obsession?
My Chevrolet Spark, Nikon D40 & Apple MacBook.


2. What are you wearing today?
Blue Jeans & Light brown T-Shirt.


3. What's for Dinner?
No idea.


5. What are you listening to right now?
Fiqrana from the movie Blue, music by A.R.Rehman. Amazing song.


6. What do you think about the person who tagged you?
There are rare people who follow their heart, those who chase their passions. Aditi is one of them. With such a great attitude, she's definitely going places.

7. If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world, where would you like it to be?
Sundernagar, as the name suggests is a beautiful place in Himachal, I always dreamed of building a house there someday. Now my dream house is already under construction and I'm too excited about it.

8. What are your must-have pieces for summer?
Nothing!, Because if summers make my complexion dark, winters are gonna make it white. So whether it's summer or winter, I enjoy both. :P

9. If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?
Sainik School Balachadi, where I've spent the most beautiful years of my childhood.

10. Which language do you want to learn?
Sanskrit

11. What's your favorite quote?
"Be the change that you wish to see in the world." - Mahatma Gandhi

12. Who do you want to meet right now?
My younger brother.

13. What's your favorite colour?
Navy Blue.


14. What is your favorite piece of clothing in your closet?
Formal black pant & a sky blue shirt.


15. What is your dream job?
Own a bookstore so that I get to read a lot of stuff for Free.


16. What's your favorite magazine?
Reader's Digest.


17. If you had $100 now, what would you spend it on?
Tripod & a 55-200mm lens for my Nikon D40. With the leftover I'll buy books.


18. What do you consider as fashion faux pas?
I think fashion itself is a faux pas.

19. Who according to you is the most over-rated style icon?
S.R.K, I don't understand why people adore him so much.


20. What kind of haircut do you prefer?
Formal


21. What are you going to do after this?
Continue with "The White Tiger" by Aravind Adiga

22. What are your favorite movies?
Hindi:
Yeh Mera India, Anand, Ab tak chappan, Swadesh, Hungama, Hera Pheri.
English:
American Beauty, Crash, Adventureland, Braveheart, A beautiful mind, Toy Story 1 & 2, Shrek Series, Lion King, Finding Nemo.
Korean:
My Sassy Girl, Classic.


23. What are three cosmetic/ makeup/perfume products that you can't live without?
Water, Water, Water. Rest all is marketing gimmick.

24. What inspires you?
Honesty & Simplicity.


25. Give us three styling tips that always work for you:
Bath everyday, Avoid onions in the lunch, Smile as much as you can, coz it improves your health & also the frequent movement of lips keeps your teeth clean & shining :D.


27. Coffee or tea?
Coffee


28. What do you do when you are feeling low or terribly depressed?
Put on some music and play "Age of Umpire" (In the EASY mode).


29. Which other blogs do you love visiting?
Genuine blogs. Check out my favorite blogs in the blogroll.


30. Favorite Dessert/ Sweet?
Ice-cream.

31. Favorite Season?
Spring


32. If I come to your house now, what would u cook for me?
If it's your first time, I'll take you to the nearest decent hotel. If you are a frequent visitor, well i'll check the refrigerator (for the raw vegetable obviously) :D.

33. What is the right way to avoid people who purposefully hurt you?
I'll give them more opportunities to hurt me, until they get bored with it.

34. What are you afraid of the most?
What if my wife doesn't like cooking?. :D

35. My question: Funniest one-liner you've ever heard?
I want to die peacefully in my sleep, like my grandfather. Not screaming and yelling like the passengers in his car.

Rules for those who are tagged: Respond and rework – answer these questions on your blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your own, and add one more question to the list. Then tag as many people as you like.

I would love to pass on the tag and award:
Yogesh, Shas and Solilo.

As a little kid I longed to be a football hero. I wanted to kick the ball like the big guys. At the age of ten, when I was sent to the hostel, I volunteered to join the class football team. We were a bunch of kids just excited about the game. Every evening I would excitedly put on my sneakers and run to the playing ground.

For days I kept chasing the ball without getting a single chance to hit it. Every time the ball was passed on to me, my mind went blank and failed to make any decision. By the time my mind worked out something, some other guy would be handling the ball.
Due to my inability to take quick decisions my team members lost faith in my game. At times they would shout names and make faces at me. Dejection set in, and a feeling of failure captured my heart. And I decided not to play the game ever again. Whenever asked, I termed football as a mere time waste.

Now as a grown up I hardly find any leisure time but I still wish to kick the ball like those big guys someday. Encouragement is a big factor in a child's life, we all know this. But still, how many of us really encourage the kids around?.

I'm the Spider-man. I can fly past heavy buildings with the help of a rope. Whoa, I can climb huge buildings in a fraction of a second. But wait wait, Why have I turned so powerful?. Just because a spider bit me unknowingly?. This can't be true!.

With the vermilion mark on my forehead and a short pony tale, I'm the Desi version of the spider-man. I have a wife too, and two kids. But they are perfectly normal. Maybe they are not lucky enough to be bitten by a spider. Yes, this is the shortcut to success; go to the nearby jungle, get bitten by the deadliest spider and get the celebrity status overnight.
My eyes were close, and my back felt painful, maybe due to the war I just had with the goons. But wait, where is my wife? and the kids are missing too.

I opened my eyes and a spider was dancing on my bed. I stretched my eyes in order to let more light pass through them. And two more little monsters were mocking me from the ceiling. I grabbed my missiles (water bottle, mug, shoes) and bullets (pen, pencils and the other stuff kept on the table) and smacked down those monsters.
Yes!, I won the war, I'm the strongest. 

Oh, I should sleep again now. This time peacefully, with no such wacky dream.

Image Curtsey: Spyndle