Word Play

English is amongst the wordiest languages. Perhaps the wordiest. It boasts of a million plus words. 80% of which are borrowed from other languages. Contrast it with French, which has some 10,000 words. An average educated english-speaking person has a basket of 20,000 words! Although we use about 2000 words a week. Words fall into categories and patterns. I have attempted to put together a list of word classification which, in practice, are easy to identify with and often used, but their nomenclature is not necessarily so.

1. Antonyms: Opposites
2. Synonyms: Reason why Thesaurus is in business.
3. Buzzword: a popular word relating to a particular activity or subject
   1. Calibrate Expectation | Outside the box | Push the envelope | Sea change | Boil the ocean | Cloud Computing | Integrated Marketing
4. Catchword: a popular word relating to a particular idea, class or quality.
   1. Sexy
5. Demonym: word used to refer to one’s origin or country.
   1. Example Parisian, Indian, Egyptian
6. Derivation: a word that comes from another language
7. False friend: a pair of words that sounds similar in 2 languages but have different meanings.
   1. Actual in English and Aktuell (at present) in German
   2. Stanza in Italian means room
   3. Carte (card, menu) in French and cart in English
   4. Adept (proficient) and Adepte (follower) in French
   5. Affluent (wealthy) and Affluent (tributary of a river) in French.
   6. After in German means anus.
   7. Apologie is praise in French
8. Homograph = Homo (similar) + Graph (writing). Words which are written identically but mean and are often pronounced differently.
   1. Bark: Dog | Tree
   2. Beat: with a stick | Music
   3. Axes: plural of both axis and axe.
   4. Compound: Chemical | Playground
   5. Content: ingredients | satisfied
   6. Now that you have got the hang of it try these: Bat | Bow | Coordinates | Bust | Desert | Digest | Discount | Fine | Lead | Minute | Object | Produce | Putting | Refuse | Row | Second | Subject | Tear | Wind | Wound | Lie | Lead | Close | Bear | Bank | Back | Bar | Capture | Change | Conduct | Console | Contest | Converse | Convert | Defect | Foot | Letter | Light | Live | Match | May | Mind | Park | Rock | Rose | Spirit | Transport | Yard | Wave
9. Homophone = Homo (similar) + Phone (Sound). Word pairs with similar pronunciation but different meanings and spellings.

On Happiness

 

"Live your Love. You'll love life!" - Dilpreeta

Spoken word: Jugalbandi of words and art

Love of poetry and storytelling had me stop flipping radio stations and listen to "The deck of cards" by Tex Williams; experiencing a  Haruki Murakami moment "Whatever it is you are seeking won't come in the form you are expecting." I had discovered a form of art, spoken word. An estuary of narrative and music  for the soul. A confluence of words and performing art, dance and theatre. All this, over a banal trip, ridden with gnarling Delhi traffic, browsing through FM channels indifferently, driving back across 3 states from work.

I was in the throes of a scripturient urge to celebrate my abecedarian finding. The drive seemed longer than usual, there was so much to do; quench my curiosity by reading more, attend to a deluge of examples, listen to new finds and compile a playlist. Most of this though, was curtailed to the luxury of late evenings that afforded time for myself.

Sunscreen,  Are you lonesome tonight, Yeh kahan aa gaye hum, have been all time favorites, only today I  know better, I can flaunt the genre of music they belong to and discover more such gems.

Political motivations, social causes, religious discourses, leadership speak, life experiences, stories, folklore and many more expressions have found themselves in this experimental art form.

I have put together a humble playlist of Hindi spoken-word tracks to show and tell what spoken-word is all about,  and with your suggestions it could only get better. 

Get the complete playlist: Here

4 beautiful poems written by Javed Akhtar recited by Farhan Akhtar in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara

Apne Hone Par Mujhko Yaqeen Aa Gaya | Yeh Jaane Kaisa Raaz Hai | Dil Aakhir Tu Kyun Rota Hai | Toh Zinda Ho Tum

An all time favorite from a movie which is poetry in motion, Rituparno Ghosh's Raincoat. The movie is an adaptation of O' Henry's short story "The GIft of Magi". Enjoy the recitation in Gulzar's baritone and Shubha Mudgal's voice in Piya tora kaisa abhiman.

Calling Amitabh Bachchan fans. Silsila scores high on music  and poetry. Yeh Kahaan aa gaye hum has Amitabh Bachchan monologues and Lata Mangeshkar singing to Javed Akhtar's  lyrics.

What I learnt from Stephen King 'On Writing'

Your life experiences shape what you write. Gather more. Reach out, within. Then expand the experience to imagination.





Find your nook; your go to place, for reading and writing. Nothing ostentatious. Nothing distracting. A place which allows your mind to travel to a state of hypnosis.





Reading is a non-negotiable.



 
Write each day, every day.





"It ain't how much you've got, honey, it's how you use it!" Use words that come naturally.

Keep your sentences simple. Put your reader, first.  Be understood.

A list of 100 "what's the word?"

Do you ever get stuck for “that one word” that best describes a nuanced feeling or a thing? Well, I do. This curiosity set me up for some random browsing. What I found, was a bunch of words that were fairly descriptive and interesting. I began categorizing some 100 words; from being prohibitive & amusing on one hand to conversational & slang on another.  From a usability perspective, I am inclined to remember words that are both easier to use and easily understood. The rest are plain trivia.

Words I can live with:

1.      Aglet: that little plastic bit on the end of your shoelace or drawstrings.

2.      Aphthong: alphabets used in spelling a word but not in pronouncing it, essentially silent alphabets in a word: Example: Knife | Knew | Knight | Wednesday; Yes, people ‘d’ is silent J

3.      Akimbo: love standing with your ‘hands on your hips and elbows outwards’? The position is called Akimbo.

4.      Barm: the foam on your beer is barm. Cheers!

5.      Beblubber: the swollen eyes and face due to crying. She looked beblubbered-for crying out loud!

6.      Box-tent: That plastic tripod that comes in your pizza box is a box tent. Not only does it have a name it has a patent too.  

7.      Brannock Device: Useless trivia but did you know that the instrument used to measure your feet at the shoe store had a name?

8.      Claptrap: pretentious empty language or writing. Use of big words which mean nothing, are insincere. If you do end up familiarizing yourself with these words you will surely fall into this trap.

9.      Clinophile: a person who loves beds. Need I say more? Need to go back to my reclining, clinophile position.

10.  Contranym: a word that can be its own antonym. Stumped? So was I. Let me come to your rescue with some examples

a.      Cleave: to sever | to cling

b.      Off: Activated (alarm went off)| Deactivated (turn it off)

c.       Weather: to withstand (she can weather any situation)| to be worn away ( she looked weathered)

Word Trap

Word traps are ever so inviting, swallowing us into gaffes and indiscretion. Some borne of sheer ignorance others of confusion.  The pedagogue instinct in me prompts me to  question, why should I learn alone? Then again, nothing is selfless. Driven by selfish motivation, to have you walk into fewer word traps and in the bargain check me when I do, a list of word traps follows:

1. 100s ≠ hundreds. It is one hundreds.
2. 360 degrees = back to square one. Diametrically opposite is 180 degrees
3. A.D. ≠ After Death. A.D. = Anno Domini - Latin for "in the year of the Lord."
4. B.C.E = Before the Common Era and C.E = Common Era is the new, less sectarian A.D. and B.C.
5. A.M. = Ante Meridiem Latin for "before noon". P.M. = Post Meridiem -"after noon." Hence 12 A.M. L. It is noon. Period.
6. Able to: People are "able to". Things are not "able to".
1. You will be able to read through this document.
2. Crawler will be able to read through this document. Incorrect.
7. Accurate ≠ Precise
1. Accurate measurements reflect true values.
2. Precise: The degree to which an instrument or process will repeat the same value.
8. Actionable  ≠ Doable
1. It is a legal term for something that provides ground for legal action or lawsuit. So please watch text of your next email and MOMs.
9.  Ad nauseam  ≠ ad nauseum and definitely not ad nausea.
1. Ad nauseam is  misspelled to quite a "sickening degree"!
10. Administer not administrate. The latter is just an unnecessary substitute.

Light

Heavy head,

Heavy heart.

Eyes wide open,

Before the crack of dawn.

Flashes intermittent, with blankness.

Stillness on face.

Silence in person,

Chaos within.

Time ticks,

Time paces.

Self, a basic instinct.

Boundaries blur,

Walls emerge.

Impregnable future,

Fragile past.

Getting ahead?

With open eyes,

At the crack of dawn.

Marketing the brand, to you.

The  previous post on "Marketing the Brand - You" dwelled on the art of persuasion. The exploits of which, are aplenty, in the field of advertising and politics. A natural progression would be to identify these tactics at play and set your grey cells ticking, recalling brands and campaigns. Interestingly, as you begin to recall campaigns, it may strike you, that a majority of marketing campaigns lead with a primary tactic, but have an interplay of the others woven-in seamlessly into, stories of persuasion, they tell.

• Associations: forge a connect, arouse an emotion. Example Coke-Open Happiness. Nike- victory. The arsenal is well equipped with:
• Beautiful People: Before and after, a la fitness / fairness cream ad- the I could be like that feeling. A word of caution this can translate into an Oh I am so ugly moment too. Which is why read beauty magazine's sparingly- they only make you feel ugly- Baz Luhrman
• Transfer to a warm and fuzzy place : the aww moment, use of children, puppies, friendship, elderly, vacations and good times (Kingfisher)
• Symbolism: Broom :: cleaning corruption for Aam Admi Party, Cars to sexy women being wooed.
• Nostalgia: simplicity which = higher quality; evoke memories of childhood, India's partition- Google-Reunion Ad. Think Pilsbury Chakki fresh atta.
• Status- Snob value: discerning people drink Bailey's. Usually associated with Luxury marketing.
• Patriotism: Buy American, Dress Indian, Drive German. Example: nationalized banks, Incredible India
• Brand name: Umbrella branding- P&G, Unilever, HUL. Endorsed brands- Polo by Ralph Lauren.
• Bandwagon: Join us: everyone is doing it! Don’t get left out. Example Blackberry boys and every social networking platform-Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram.

Marketing the Brand - "You"

Anecdotes, make for valuable lessons. People who share their life stories mentor us fortuitously. It is over one such conversation I was told that, in personal and professional life you always get what you negotiate for, not what you deserve. Well, the original thought was Chester L Karrass'  “In business as in life, you don’t get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate.” However, what made it meaningful, was the narrative that followed. Needless to say, I had been subject to deft demonstration of negotiating capabilities.

On my drive back, I thought to myself that great negotiators would be rather capable in the craft of persuasion. A skill, I assume, we all would love to bargain in favor of.

Persuade means:

to prevail on (a person) to do something, as by advising or urging:

to induce to believe by appealing to reason or understanding; convince:

Thesaurus, can be quite a tool for learning. I don’t mean it from a "replace with a tougher word" perspective, alone. Look up, persuasive. Dwell on and internalize each of these synonyms.

Influential | Effective | Alluring | Cogent | Compelling | Conclusive | Convincing | Credible | Eloquent | Energetic | Forceful | Impressive | Inspiring | Logical | Plausible | Potent | Powerful | Valid | Seductive | Smooth| Actuating | Convective | Effectual | Efficacious | Forcible | Impelling | Stimulating | Moving | Inducing | Strong | Winning

Three thought bubbles popped in my head. First, how the often cited mechanisms of being persuasiveness were really not tactics, but aspects. Second, how advertising and politics had thrived on this expertise. Lastly, individuals are brands that need marketing.

Black

White is all colors

Yet

We call it pure

Black is absence of color

Yet

We call it impure

White reflects everything,

An impenetrable chill.

Black absorbs everything,

An inclusive warmth.

White is blinding

Black is blind

White is marriage

Yet

White is death

Black is protection

Yet

Black is death

Transition from life is peace

Peace is white

Yet

Rituals are black

Transition in life is chaotic

Chaotic is black

Yet

Ceremonies are white

Coal hardened to diamond

Black seasoned to white

Black is the reason for light

Black is the soul of white

Shouldn't white be black?

Unboxing Indian languages

My tryst with languages has been that of, love-hate. Education, across a string of schools and cities throws at you challenges, of what some might recall, as 2nd and 3rd languages. Compulsory languages, that you had to cross the mark on, to make it to the next grade. I had my encounters with Hindi, Bengali, Gurmukhi, Sanskrit and acquainted myself with French and Urdu. Thankfully, English was the marathon friend.


When it came to taking a second language, for boards, the hoity-toity had, French. As much as, the bourgeois bug appealed to me, I had to resign to Hindi "A". Then, I had kicked myself for not having scored lesser, so that I could have been assigned to the batch of Hindi "B". The scholarly subscribed to Sanskrit- oh boy, for that cramming! I have a fundamental disconnect with the whole, memorizing without understanding, school of education, but addressing that would merit an entire post. Honestly, I would have opted for neither French, nor Sanskrit, or the long tail German, Russian, and more. It’s the lack of choices, which sets you off on the "what if" mode. Sometimes, no option is not such a bad option, after all. It makes life simple.

Story of India- The Amul way

2014

History as we write it each day...

2013

Flashback of the year that was...

1978

India’s timeline-1978: The Amul way from Dilpreeta Vasudeva

1976

A-Z Brand Slogans & Advertising Tag lines

A | B | C | D | E |F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

A

1. We know Money - AIG or American International Group Insurance Company
2. Making the Sky the best place on Earth - Air France
3. Its good to be home - Airwick
4. Thodi Sharafat, Thodi Shararat - Aliva
5. Macharoan ka Yamraaj - All Out
6. Friday Dressing - Allen Solly
7. My World, My Way - Allen Solly
8. The Power on your side - Allianz Group
9. You are in good hands - Allstate Insurance Company
10. Lalach Aaha Laplap - Alpenliebe
11. Lets Go - Alto
12. Lasts Long, Really Long, Ting Tong - Amaron
13. Fragrance Your Imagination - Ambipur
14. Its Gone - Amrutanjan
15. Kick Out Pain - Amrutanjan
16. Pure Healthy Essence - Amrutanjan
17. Ye toh bada toing hain - Amul Macho
18. Better Ideas - Amway
19. We are listening - Amway
20. Racing DNA Unleashed - Apache
21. Cool Drink to Hang Out With - Appy Fizz
22. USA 1851 - Arrow
23. Be Life Confident - AXA UK
24. Stop @ Nothing - A Star
25. Making More Possible - ABN AMRO Bank

Fallen

Bright lights,
Big city.
Meandering streets with faceless entities.
Finding familiarities in nothingness niceties.
Yellow raincoat,
Puddle soaked feet.
Puddles for lakes,
Alleys for express streets.
Dilapidated creativity on graffiti-laden stone walls
Or lesser gods at life’s call
Frayed toothless smiles,
Grease smeared passersby.
Disguised charades,
Or victims of the urban epidemic.
Shredded being,
Patches and threads that hold the cover.
Clinging onto soul piercing shards of shame.
Distraught pleasure in metal crushers heave down car graveyards
Doomsday?
Naah!
Just a pit stop.
For evolutionary transformation,
Reduced to shapeless iron,
Looking to be crafted into an object of desire.
Deliver the earths ye potter,
The iron ye blacksmiths,
The souls ye poets
Dazed mind, hazy vision,
Warm blood trickling temple to chin,
Losing ground.
Natures pain of labour,
For darling creativity.
Churning stomach,
Craving for just once more.
Gashed its arms to lend the world its beauty.
Ah! The high of creation,
Make believe or believable?
Flickering misery, flinching hope,
Fallen.
Blackened nails, infested wounds.
Crooked wry happiness,
Rats gnawing into skin.
Stench of inconsequential
Calling the bright lights in the big city.
Fallen

Finding love in unreal places

Finding love in unreal places
A beautiful story, defaces.
Vacillating countenance
Dry eyes cried aloud.
How could the gospel truth
Be so far beyond?
Never looked me in the eye.
All that numbed my head,
Affections without a stance.
Belied.
Trials of belief in self,
Time and again.
Dainty love,
Coffined his strength.
Victory of her demonstrated vulnerabilities,
There was never a battle to win.
Can’t cry foul and yellow,
No bone to pick,
Each conceded,
Cackles to bouts of silence,
Venting of one, sans duologue.
Relenting once into momentousness
No memories, just flashes.
Blinded then, in hindsight.
Surreal, in time.
looking for love in unreal places.
Finding love in undone spaces

Cents to a Dollar

Every cent you take
You give back a dollar.
Every moment you fake,
You get closer to reality.
Its all about un-thought unscrupulous mortality.
Deathless.
Breathing life into listless insanity.
What really is sanity?
Is the glass half full?
Or egg half broken?
Am I simply an opportunist?
A characterization of contrived adherence?
or a picture of societal free fall?
You will love me tomorrow,
Do you see me with you today?
Time is not uni-dimensional
But a multidimensional mess.
Walking dark alleys,
Silencing poltergeists.
Or is that scream a longing for silence?
Palpable.
Untouched.
or conveniently forgotten?
Delving into condescending duality,
The spell of frivolous lust and greed.
Knowing men are vents for gods sins
HER unpretentious pleasures
His happiness but a mirage.
HER love for him, a masquerade.
And when was it that you saw beyond the almighty's mask?
HER surreal identity,
His unforgiving hypocrisy,
Both brutal.

I sit by the sidewalk,
Investing cents for a dollar to roll back.

-Jugalbandi @Route04

The more you do, the more you can

16th September:

Heavens were falling, the rain gods irascible. It thundered, only this was not a no-man land but our very ol’ concrete jungle of pot holes and traffic jams. It was only last Friday that I had lived through a nightmare and my bravery was not rewarded beyond Ashram where I took a U turn and headed back to a work from home. I had no sadistic overtone to suggest that I would even fathom inflicting myself with the pain.

Windows lend a story book charm to our lives. Looking out of mine, I could see the verdant trees, smell the dampness, hear the thunder and feel , just feel! It’s good to have moments through the day where even if it is for some fleeting seconds one can connect with oneself, it just sets a rhythm to our breathing for the day. They say if you can control your breathing you can control the way you feel, perhaps for me it lasted more than 48 hrs.

A productive day at work must be rewarded. A Friday celebrated.

Rina Dhaka and Rocky S fashion show. Red painted nails and batting eyelids. Don’t mistake me for the fashion fraternity but am agreeable to it occasionally, much like a family wedding. Yes, the sentiments are pretty similar you spend long hours preparing for it and last crisply. Interestingly you don’t’ complain. To me the show was about anorexic women, champu men, sponsors, free loaders, non-buyers! The tag of designer label seems to have diminshed, the era of models passé. Of course there will be individual shows with great elan and in their usual pomp and flair but until then its good to give them a miss. The first glass of wine was needed and I glugged it only the second glass wouldn’t go down my gullet. It was time for my sister and I to treat ourselves to some chettinad, hot, spicy, rooted food. It was not by design but Swagath was one amongst the fewer restaurants we could have a meal at 1130pm. Of course we couldn’t move much but make it home and plonk ourselves to sleep.

17th September

Its got nothing to do with my community! Its got nothing to do with my DNA.. but it was 12 exact 12. An amusing start. It has been forever that I slept for 10 hours straight. No phone (battery died), no maids, no wake up its 730, what time do u need to reach work?, no here is your tea, no where are the car keys? No licks on my face. No nobody, no no-one.

This evening we kick off Experience Delhi. There is a concert at American Center by Carrie Newcomer, a Grammy award winning singer accompanied by Gary Walters Pianist and Jim Brock Percussionist. When you share itinerary there is credibility at stake, you need to own it and I could feel the pressure of hoping it would be nice. It was gone by the time I got into the car. It snapped out. I was excited. I was setting out for something I genuinely wanted to do, Experience Delhi, it wasn’t meant to be ExperienceD Delhi. The discomfort with ambiguity had vanished, especially when you are standing in a queue, in queue where you are not allowed to enter. Yes, I was 10 mins late, blame it on finding the venue and then a parking but then I was late none the less. I was living one end of the spectrum in Delhi. Punctuality, Queues, Security Checks and being escorted to an LCD for viewing as a consolation prize, a prize a friend didn’t get for entering 18 mins late. He had to turn back. No one can take the dilli-walla out of me. I was soon cajoling the hostess to allow me into the auditorium and she was gracious enough to relent. Carrie was soulful, her lyrics meaningful and well when she spoke ahem I knew she could dirty talk. For me Jim was the STAR , brilliant he just blew me away with his talent. I wondered what it would be to think like him, to witness creation like him, to hear music in everything, to make music of everything!

The other spectrum awaited us. Bollywood, fashionably 3 hrs late, my name is on the guest list, can I make a call, oooo we love you, muah muah, large peg, treated hair and a jars of gel! Speedy Singhs event. Now that’s not what we were prepared for. It was Russell Peters whom we wanted to root for. Little did we know it was Gugi to Harbhanjan Singh and a lot of Punjab in the middle. I wonder if there is any correlation with the start of the day. Oh there was a star cast. Only I wasn’t sure they were stars! At least not until now. You can tell little these days. Song and dance, recitation of Russell Peters rib-ticklers, oh and some phone photography owing to which one of us got knocked down and out for a minute. Now is that not truly an experience for him and at his expense for us!

18th September:

Sunday lunch has to be big, if it’s not paranthas, it is butter chicken! If it not home, its dining out. Atleast that’s the reputation a Punjabi family enjoys and we lived up to it. Ideally a hot cup of tea and sprawling like a cat on my couch would have been an ideal follow through. Only if I had not wanted to see that girl in yellow boots. The movie left me numb. Unconventional theme, unorthodox portrayal, avant-garde artists, unaffected cinematography. Disturbing and dark. Very disturbing, very dark.

5 new pairs of shoes can make anyone feel better, try it! Shopping is the elixir..

Experience Delhi

It was about three weeks back that a concept was actualized.

Experience Delhi.
The genesis of which was a New Year resolution, only it wasn’t an annual one. It was a way of life. After not much deliberation I arrived at self-development. Ideally pursuing a passion should be best suited but I could not seem to find one-a passion, a passion in its truest form. What I discovered although was that I had varied interests, a multitude of activities I enjoyed dabbling in.

I wanted to make time for myself.

Enjoy simple things.

Uncomplicate pleasure.

There always has been joy in doing small things, only this time it was about making memories of those moments.

Living and absorbing.

Meeting friends over drinks and meals isn’t very enriching and engaging, needed something more concrete, something that would genuinely help bond.
It then occurred to me that I had lived in Delhi for a decade if not more but had almost next to never experienced the culture and its richness that it has to offer. Most of its beauty was about living in nostalgia. Thus the ball got rolling and I soon was thoroughly enjoying myself.

25th August-Driving to work it dawned upon me that there would be several like-minded folk who would like to break away from the web of complacency. I could only imagine how exhilarating it would be to have shared experiences. Learn from each other, meet interesting people, enrich one another, dig into our abilities and discover new possibilities. I experienced an adrenaline rush thorugh the day and could not stop thinking about getting started.

Activities spanning from heritage walks followed by breakfast to karaoke, From concerts to theatre, dance recitals to museums, sound & light show to mid-night photography and drives, cookery to pottery workshops, root for your favorite team at a watering hole or go for a game, learn an instrument or learn a language, movie marathon to short get- aways from Delhi, fine dining to rustic culinary indulgence.

Imagine, appreciate, participate, motivate!

Exploring, learning and growing! Together.

The mechanics of it were simple too- initiate a group on Facebook, yes one more amongst the several. The invitation sent to some like-minded people with whom the concept would resonate and only if it excited them would they join. A truly joint effort, a community where everyone contributes, participates and takes initiative. Comfortable being just a handful, even if it means to be able to count us on one hand to begin with.

17th Sep- We met and witnessed bi-polar Delhi at its best!

Bon Voyage

It all began with a start! Dad waking me up with a cup of tea and I habitual of romancing Mozart looking at it dismally. Why had it let me down? I didn’t remember putting it on snooze. 10 mins to 4am and am checking mail, instinctively. Who raised a storm in the cup of life in the last 3 and a quarter hrs of my being away? No one. Absolutely no one. Its these moments that being inconsequential is blissful to otherwise one’s belief in self –love and indulging in Ptolemic theory until the disruptive heliocentricism strikes
I wonder where I get abundant energy and enthusiasm to spring into action at unearthy hours like these. On other days it takes innumerable snoozes in a span of 1 hr, which needless to say is not sans grunts and moans.
Here I am getting everyone into action. Assuming my dads role for once. We have landed at weddings while the florist and caterers were setting up the place and the girls side still absconding, at dinners before the host , so much for abiding by his clockwork. Punctuality in Delhi is so mediocre. Delay, to my father, once an NDA cadet and forever an officer, is blasphemy. On all other occasions I hold true to Indian Standard Time, but this one time, an exception. This, one more time, am my dad’s daughter, this one time am ready a complete half hour before time. I have already begun to surprise myself.
Car reversed and ready to load, paper foot mats from last night’s servicing discarded, two sticks with abundant music plugged, and an ISB Alumnus sticker displayed! Phew hadn’t found the time to do this in a month. Had purchased it from campus during my last trip with Di and Pratima, my niece.
Windows rolled down -Mom, Dad and I join our hands for a pact- a fun filled, memorable holiday as the car rolled out of the driveway. Driver? Me.
God bless mom for all the goodies she packed for the journey. Traditional picnics have been a while and may I add the chai in a thermos with sandwiches, paranthas and biscuits, bargained rather poorly. Thanks to her had enough to chomp on shakad pade, crackers, chocolate cookies and fruits. Of course I dig the unhealthy munchies, afterall have just started my way to cleansing, it will be a while. Mum recited her morning prayers and side view mirror captured the crack of dawn in its full glory.
Those monster faces, I can imagine them come alive, or at least did when I was 17, in a session with my driving school instructor. He urged me to drive through the most busy streets and chug along trucks that although had been adorned lavishly yet it didn’t take away from the angry gluttonous look they wore. The truth, I thank him. Today their gangs didn’t bother me.
When you are driving towards perfect state of mind, uncanny how the things move towards perfection. A perfect frame of laden clouds against a backdrop of verdant Aravalli’s, luscious fields, full wheat cods, tar road and music. Music to which mom and I crooned away. I could see,Dad, from the corner of my eyes drumming his fingers, sitting beside.
Paranthas, masala tea, customary visit to the washroom, couple of stretches and a photo shoot later at the pitstop we resumed the road trip.
We overshot the bypass for Ajmer and the navigator who had been deputed to receive us lead us to our accommodation at Jaipur. We loomed into the thick of traffic, coordinating on calls and stopping several times to seek directions ( the benefit of women drivers).Here is a tip when asking for directions in Jaipur. Watch the hand, cause what they say is left/right agnostic, everything is “seedha” while their hands are thrown all over the place in a truly animated manner. At their expense we had many laughs and of course my driving skills tested through narrow lanes.
Chai is the red bull of India. It energizes, revitalizes, and brings us back to life. Sipping tea, I knew, now there is no rush, I have time on my side, am not running and I could hear the birds chirp. The holiday has begun.The Road trip to Rajasthan.

Art & Science of Deception

Elementary, my dear Watson!
And that’s what the world remembers.
A line that never existed.
The untruth that lives each day and dies.

We see what we want to.
We hear what we desire.
We believe an illusion.
And when the illusion breaks,
Say that the world conspires?

Deception is a strange game.
It relays a vicious cycle.
It plays on the weakest link,
Trust in another,
Until it feeds into your self
The beginning is where it ends.

What you give is what you earn.
What you get is,
Neither fate,
Nor out of turn.

Tied to strings,
Self-professed, oh so detached!
Holding onto the last straw,
That sinks.
Instead,
Believe in oneness and survive.

Definitions and boundaries,
Amorphous principles,
Open to scrutiny and sub-judice.
Collective intelligence,
Limiting individuality,
Pre-ordained paths to happiness.
Crafted concepts of social being.

Subterfuge of who we are
And perception.
Striving for acceptance,
Moving to religion.
Restricting living,
To sheer existence.

One amongst the plenteous stages of evolution
Is self –admission
to ravenous narcissism and intemperance.
Arguably,
love of self is ‘the’ driving force
Confronted with a tirade of continuous dissent.

All are born with colored eyes
With colored love and a colored mind.
with the ongoing struggle to demystify
with a challenge to revive
a sonnet called life.