Friday, July 10, 2015

Maggi | Furore | Two Cents

With the stigma surrounding Maggi, everyone’s been in a tizzy of thoughts about its disappearance from their lives! How in the world is everyone going to claim to know how to cook now? What’s going to replace the one single solid go-to Food at 4 am post-party get togethers ? What are all the hostel-ites going to make on their iron plate? What’s going to entice kids to have dinner? Clearly, India has more to lose than gain with the current ban, no?
I agree that everyone with half a mind has given their opinion on Maggi, but then again Is the problem really a corporate one ? It’s like society blaming sleazy dance numbers on celluloid as objectifying women when clearly there is a huge demand for viewership in the very same society. Are we the problem?
For one, I think population is definitely the biggest problem plaguing the world and every other problem is an offshoot. The earth is not the milky way galaxy people ! “Stop Procreating!”should be the clear message that every responsible government must tell its citizens. Instead they promise jobs. The hope for a better job and better lifestyle drives not only the lower strata of society, but also the top echelons since that’s what human beings are about, wanting more no matter what ! Don’t get me wrong! I mean, I get the elevation out of poverty bit, but what about those with twin bungalows in Lutyens still wanting more??? Insatiable is probably an understatement when it comes to human greed! So eventually, everyone’s looking for better paying jobs, faster cars to buy (though roads are still pot-hole ridden!), swankier houses to own! No-brainer that corporates would be first choice of employment, corporates in-turn waste not a minute in capitalizing
this vast human population for their revenues. They sell and want to sell more. Somewhere some boss is swirling in his typical boss-like cabin chair, throwing his head back in evil laughter & rubbing his hands in glee with the dollar signs for eyeballs! Do you think such bosses even have the time to think about ethical food practices when all they want is triple digit growth?? Lead, Iron, Aluminium, Tar, Cement…. The list is endless; they will not hesitate to mix any of this to make profits. Monitoring all this is a corrupt Quality department in a government office, with slow fans, tons of files on the table, creaky doors and officers who seem to lead entire lives in slow motion! These snails would grant anyone who’d grease their fingers, a Quality OK Report ! Have to send kids to better schools, you see? Ultimately this led-soaked maggi is at the dinner table of the very same household, the one where the eldest son just got a job with a Cola manufacturer and so they have more disposable income for indulgences like Maggi !

What’s the end to what seems like an eternal vicious cycle? I would say two things, curb population and start organic farming. If each household supported its own food needs, we will be killing ourselves a little less with poison in the name of food !

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Snap! & Its Over !


Lament and whine in plenty a bout,

Of Petty trivial everyday mishaps

Self-Importance crowned paramount

Seldom cherishing brief encounters.

Until Death rears its ugly head

Sparing none of its hand of wrath

Claiming a good-hearted soul or two

In a manner so gruesome that needs no Recount

Unjustness of it all slaps you

Out of stupor that life’s nature courts

Alive one day, dead the next

Knocked out for no reason or rhyme

Makes you yearn for a Rewind

Replay the conversation, the moment,

Wishing you were more clairvoyant

To see an End so eminent

 

Saturday, August 23, 2014

Chalk & Cheese and other Alliterations!

Picking your bags and setting off to lands unknown, there is always a spring to your step no? that palpable sense of independence? So in the five days ear-marked for solitude, 3 were at a secluded sanctuary cut off from civilization and 2 in the outside world. The stark contrast jolted me out of routine and was truly fodder for thought! Makes me wonder, how our circumstances totally influence expectations, impressions, likes, dislikes, yearnings, resistance, all of it! The first day usually ends up being most eventful and every moment is utilized to the hilt and that’s exactly how my first day at this spiritual sanctuary was! An obvious transition from a bustling city to a narrow path dotted with tiny sloped-roof houses, slight drizzle, open skies, and several green hillocks later, here I was! Working as a volunteer in such a vibrant place where everyone seemed to be charged with a purpose and a sense of sincerity proved truly transforming. Would I be just as motivated day after day to do this knowing that’s what I’d do all my life?? Definitely not! And that’s why maybe they say, to find a purpose beyond you is of utmost importance! Jolted out of slumber by a torrent of cold water, Walking barefoot to feel the grass blade caress, eating an absolutely vegan meal, being lulled into sleep by this mild afternoon breeze next to a Pillar with the sounds of birds chirping & water flowing, watching the sky change colors during the sun set and finally a content night’s sleep on a mat have painted super colorful hues on the canvas of what should be an ideal 2 day detox ! I also ended up watching an amateur play put up by kids, where Krishna who delivers pep talk to Arjuna before war ends up forgetting his mike and apologizes for it, totally had the audience in splits. Left with a heavy heart and vowed to embed every moment!

Opening an even heavier work Inbox made my head spin, acclimatizing slowly, got thru the work day and literally showed tremendous resistance to check-into an uber luxurious hotel room ! Left with no choice, I reluctantly walked into this glass-mirror-exuberant-wood-fluffed-up-mattress room! Felt this shock when my feet touched the super soft carpeted floors, a look in the roof to floor mirror made me realize I hadn’t looked at my reflection in 3 days ! TV was such a revelation! Suddenly made me wonder if 3 days made such a huge impact, what would it be like to live a lifetime in such a sanctuary and be pushed into luxury immediately. Does the mind go into a guilt trip thinking luxury is to be abhorred? Or does it over-indulge due to deprivation? Or is it more conscious of experiences and their impact when a stark contrast happens? Does the mind automatically put all things comfortable into the “Like” Box? Do we inherently incline towards the easy in Life ? *Thought Clouds*

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Hydie !

In crazy times when i don’t know which city i have arrived from when am approaching the baggage belt and when out-of-office assistant messages just won’t keep my inbox from overflowing, i am still compelled to write about this 1.5 days which took about 3 months of planning to materialize and about a month to create a blog-post about ! Most memorable take-aways from those 36 hours have been about Airport Mishaps and the much-awaited 2-hour night out 


FROM my name being called out for boarding due to excessive chit-chatting and taking for granted the non-timeliness of non-Indigo airlines, TO re-juggling a whole bunch of baggage just 'cos ur not allowed to carry more than 50ml of shampoo! Boo-Hoo to airline hand-baggage rules, do they really expect you to pour exactly 10 drops of shampoo required for your trip ?? or do they really expect you to check-in just one bottle of shampoo and wait endlessly for it to crawl by at the baggage belt ?? Oh, and dare i forget the ATR we made a mockery out of, by declaring it didn’t even need a pilot for how small it was and how even the slightest of clouds would make us feel like an earthquake inside !

Having manipulated a lot of people to make our dates of travel to hydie co-incide, me and my friend were seriously looking forward to hanging-out at the most happening joints all for a good two hours... :) We had quizzed atleast a gazillion people who suggested a gazillion places and all this atleast 2 months prior to the trip. Though we did end up going to a decent place, we were too tired to make the most of night-out which was the sole reason of all this endless planning. Like they say, anything too well thought of never seems to work !! And so, even though I did zilch of the touristy things, it still turned out to be a lotta fun !

Sunday, March 13, 2011

For the love of Numbers !


What goes around, definitely does come around especially in the case of numbers...! Off-late i 've had to go back to basics with maths, and it brought back spine-chilling childhood memories. Though these aptitude exams claim to test high-school arithmetic and algebra, they seem soo gruelling after we get all rusty with our mundane work lives! But this makes me wonder, why haven't we got more creative with framing problems, why have we always dealt with the exact same situation, like :


  • Why are people constantly driving towards or opposing each other ? Also, even if they are, why are they perpetually driving at different average speeds !!!!

  • Why are ladders slanted against walls ? (always ?, really? so they form right angles, could we please innovate with creating more right-angled situations)

  • Why are people buying oranges and apples in specific ratios?

  • Why is everyone thinking of relative speed when rowing upstream/downstream, just enjoy your damn boating expedition !

  • If i do organize a party at home, and god forbid with a circular table for seating, i would really let the guests sit where they want without thinking about how many ways i could seat them !!

  • Why is that multiple people are working on building a wall, painting, paving a road etc, and each one necessarily works at a different rate ?

Sigh !!


Thursday, December 10, 2009

Vixen Parables



The term “metro-sexual” man totally has me mind-boggled. Is he the one who is allowed to flirt-ogle-drool all he can? Or wear pink and get away with it? Or the on who gets to sleep over at his female friends place claiming they are “jus-good-friends”. I have had quite a few hilarious escapades with the Indian male tiger (especially the ones prowling our urban jungles).


Modesty is definitely considered a virtue by me, but a single independent pretty woman is never deprived of attention in this city.Considering my life style is most conducive for encounters with this species, I’ve frequented parties citing social obligations to bid farewell or congratulate or welcome a friend and have ended up distributing my number like flyers to friends of friend because you don know what to say to “Can I have your number please?” You could probably be downright cheesy to say “Yeah, you could, if you guessed all ten digits” but you wouldn’t want to offend the Friend. The “known” guy-friends are no less in coming up with evidently made-up “Cooks’ called in sick today. Why don’t you invite me over for dinner?” They exemplify the term knowledge is power with lines like “I know you hate coffee. Why don’t we meet over green tea instead??” Fashion big-wigs declared fuschia to be in vogue in Fall 07-08, and I happened to just be one of those fashion slaves who pave way for more fashion trend setters to earn their living. And I decided to team a black outfit with fuschia shoes for a Movie screening at Zenzi. So what is with men wanting to know about this? Aren’t they supposed to discuss spokes on football shoes? ‘Hey! Great pink shoes’ exclaimed someone. Arrrrgghhhh!!! Dude, the Diors’ and Giovannis’ would have turned in their graves then! Alcohol is a guy’s best friend when it comes to asking a girl out and when it turns sour, blames it on intoxication in a desperate bid for normalcy! “I am sorry about last night’s messages. Too many vodka shots!!” “Did I just ask you out last night?? Sorry, but I sent the message to the wrong number!!” Workplace men are a different league altogether, mind you, only in their ways and not their intent! This weirdo I was sharing desk space with (whom I have NEVER interacted with) once exclaimed loudly to no one in particular “Bright sunny day ain’t it??” I bit my tongue before I could retort “Get a Life!!!” Yet another time, I entered a conference late and in denims with a casual tee only to face comments like “I thought you entered the wrong conference hall” not to mention the bold wink it came with! On a second thought, maybe all these actions really do help every woman with her million dollar question of “Is he Mr. Right” “Or at least, Is it Mr. Wrong worth going through the trouble anyway???” Moreover suggestive compliments are never unwelcome in the Venus-influenced women’s life !!! ;)

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Indian idiosyncrasies

Busy bustling road, a banyan tree unnoticed, coffee shop bursting with ever-so-boisterous teenagers, office goers slamming cab doors to vent out what they went through during the day. Amidst all this, an ordinary looking man, (could belong to any profession, really!! Listing ones most popular in that area, broker, RBI clerk, church gate staff, just anyone!), takes out this idol and photograph of a saintly looking man (read heavily bearded) and guess what! He begins performing poojas and singing bhajans for it with incense sticks and all the paraphernalia, looked like he was absolutely prepared to pull off this stunt…. Soon, people started gathering around him, hopeful street children started clapping, ever-so-inquisitive firangs who looked in amusement (everything in India seems to amuse them !!!!), the youth leaving the coffee shop looked skeptically, all the office-goers seemed to offer their salutations, and all of this WITHOUT once questioning who was being worshipped or who began the whole charade ! tsk-tsk !!