For the sake of childhood

Do children still..
-wear gum boots during the rainy season?

-exchange trump cards/free stickers with friends?

-wear PT shoes to school on Fridays?

-request their teachers to give them a ‘games’ period?

-wait like crazy for the annual school fete?

-take Milton water bottles to school?

-finish their lunches during the periods so that they have maximum time to play in the break?

-like other children’s lunches more than their own?

-exchange Tintin and Asterix comic books with friends?

-read Femina Home Truths and laugh about it?

-hide their report cards from their Dads and get them signed by their moms while the school bus is honking the next morning?

-discuss with friends the movie due to be played on the coming Friday night on DD/Zee TV?

-prefer outdoor games to dull computer games?

-wear civil clothes to school on birthdays?

-force their parents to rent the latest video cassettes for the coming weekend?

-are crazy about hot wheels cars?

-love going to their grandparents’ during their vacations?

-enjoy going to school for the Republic Day parade?

-have house wars with the other house students (Red, Yellow, Green, Blue or Shivaji, Tagore, Ashoka, Raman)?

-save pocket money to buy their favourite comic books?

-feel overjoyed when the mom lets them keep the change from a shopping trip?

-save up the loudest fire crackers for late night on Diwali?

-squabble with their friends over being the cricket/football team captain?

-feel proud to be one of those towards the end of the class line in the morning assembly?

-never sleep in the afternoons rather play around in the kitchen garden?

-crave for the Sunday brunch that mom would cook at home?

-maintain a homework copy and a classwork copy of each subject notebook?

Ah! those were the days.

What's their fault?

Catching up with my fiancee, her brother and her cousin at Woodside Inn in Colaba. We had some drinks, some snacks. We discussed about the shopping we had done (yours truly is tying the knot in Nov, thus) and joked about the dance preparation (or lack of it) for the Sangeet night. All this and some more and we decided to head to Falafal for dinner which is next door to Woodside Inn. On the way (5 steps between Woodside Inn and Falafal) I saw an old lady with a little boy (probably her grandson) having their food out of a crumpled silver foil. They were having rice with some watery gravy and the little boy had the most wonderful smile on his face. Maybe, he was happy to be having dinner with his grandmother, maybe he was happy to be having a full meal after a long time or, maybe just happy. I questioned (like many times before) the existence of a God (or whatever it is that decides which family and in what conditions will a child be born to) and if there really is one then why does he/she do it. What’s the child’s fault? The same child could have been born to some rich industrialist or even to a normal middle class family where his needs would be provided for, where he would be given the opportunity to become what he wanted to or where he would get at least an education.

Every time I see poor kids sitting on roadsides, or traffic signals or anywhere I feel ashamed for not being able to do anything for them. Giving a beggar some money is not going to solve any problem but that’s all I can do at that moment. Maybe even that's useless because that money might make its way to the ring leader or equals of those beggars. Irrespective, I have always wanted to donate to CRY, SavetheChildren or any such NGO working towards providing the basics of life to the underprivileged children.

The other day outside the regional Passport office while waiting for my agent (he was running late..damn these agents) and having a Veg Grill sandwich I saw a little boy and a girl (probably siblings) begging at the signal. After the lights turned green they came near the stall and sat down. The little girl looked up towards me and a sense of guilt struck me. There I was eating (just to kill time actually) away ignorant of the problems so many of those children face every minute of every day. I just asked the two kids if they would like to eat something..the little boy jumped up, turned around and looked at the shop and shyly said "Lassi". I got them a Lassi each and it was a such a satisfactory feeling I just can’t explain. I walked back towards the office looking back in between to see the kids sitting on the footpath drinking the Lassi and smiling at me. I can proudly say that I remember the happiness I felt that day much more than the loathing I felt towards the officer who rejected my Tatkal application. Damn these sarkari babus- they don’t even know their own rules or maybe I shouldn’t be so hard on him cos he just wanted some bribe.

How we live our daily lives- eat out of international food chains, buy branded clothes ignoring the problems millions of children face day in and day out is so appalling. For all our indifference, we could have been in their place. After all, we didn’t do anything to be born to the families we were to. There is no qualification for that..it’s just destiny. There’s nothing we do for them while at the same time cribbing about the petty things in life. I think all (well, most) of us should hang our heads in shame. I know i will.

Lost Friends

By virtue of being from a Defense family I have travelled a lot and made a lot of friend but what hurts is that i have also lost a lot of those friends along the way. Going through old albums or school chronicles reminds me of the great times and friendships I had with some of those and how they are now lost in time.

Sometimes when I do happen to get in touch with them again (thanks to the orkuts of the world) it always isn’t the feeling that I had expected would take over me. Don’t get me wrong but we grow up into different individuals in different surroundings and circumstances; even though i enjoy remembering the old times i really am unable to relate with some of them now. In fact, it would be easier talking to complete strangers than some old friends because you know you have to start fresh. Whereas with old friends, it isn't that easy.

It is like this, most of us have had some teenage crush or love (for the serious ones..he he) and do remember how much we used to like them but when face to face with them again we hardly feel the same. Let alone feeling the same we find it unbelievable that we liked them at some point in our lives. It is just that we tend to grow into completely different individuals but had we stayed together our growing up would have affected each others’ and we may have been different than what we are today. In which case, we would still like them and be their friends (more importantly be able to relate to them)..hmmm!

This brings me back to the old lost and found friends- I have met a few of them till date. While the idea of catching up with some evoked great enthusiasm and excitement it didn’t quite excite me as much when it came to others. Infact, I don’t even know at times what to talk to some of them. I guess, in some cases its best to not find your lost friends as their last memories are the wonderful ones which you always will cherish.

Is this what I want?

Many a times when I sit thinking (mostly while smoking or before going to sleep or while taking a dump) , I, inevitably end up asking myself- ‘Is this what I want?’. The answer is always a crisp and clear 'NO'.

Now, I am, by nature, a content person of sorts and have my priorities set quite clearly for me. I would be happy if I don’t do great in my career albeit have a wonderful personal life. I don’t want to become a hi-flying corporate honcho who is respected for his work and is in big demand but has no time to do things he wants. Not that I am a corporate honcho but I definitely don’t see myself headed in the direction i would want to. Well, then what do I want?

Let’s say-
Professionally: a career in sports; before you go all ROTFL let me make it clear- I can’t be a sportsperson (now) :o). so wishfully-realistically, associated with some sport (footy anyday)..say branding of a club, consultant in a sports management firm.
Personally: living in a small and green town where everyone has time for themselves (Goa or sleepy towns of Kerala come to mind), where I can spend hours sitting in my veranda enjoying tea or whiskey, where everybody minds their own businesses- basically life is laid back. Go on a trip to a new place every year.

Is it possible-
Now, my profession shouldn’t be a bone for my family unless of course I get paid big bucks (without being on the wrong side of the law) because, otherwise, I might just be able to meet their needs but not their wants.
My wishful personal life would mean for them to be OK with the sleepy(‘dead’ for them) and ‘green’(village or jungle for them) town. I doubt they will.

So there it is… what may be the best for me may not be the best for my loved ones and I definitely don’t want to be a recluse to the ones that really matter. So, I am destined to be in this rat race forever OR maybe (just MAYBE) I can find a way out and a balance to keep myself and my family really happy. There definitely are people who manage to be professionally and personally satisfied- doing work that makes them happy from within and returning home to lives that have everything to love about. Such, for me, are successful people.

As for the rest…Guess we can’t live our lives just for ourselves; we got to live it for our loved ones too.

Who likes gloss anyway?

I never fail to notice, while travelling by air, the obnoxious amounts of make up most air hostesses wear. I mean what’s with that?? Why do they try to look like some Japanese dolls with red/pink cheeks? I travel a lot (not a lot by air though) so I am guessing, like me, most travelers would want it to be simple (except for those who are paying for luxuries), clean and decent. Nobody likes to travel with too loud people, music, decor OR MAKE UP!! All the more not, when it is worn by those who are supposed to be your hosts for the journey. It’s just ghostly, cheap, irritating…glossy! Most of them look like people with no fashion sense (let alone fashion..not even basic sense).

I mean most of them are smart things, they really don’t have to put those kilos of make up on them to look ‘better’, you ask me.. it only makes them look funny. I don’ think they like to do it themselves, I mean there can’t be that many ill-fashioned air hostesses flying people around. Although, there can be that many airlines that want their hostesses to look good..err white (white and pink). First, why such fixation with the white skin. Second, if you wanna do it then can you not be a bit subtle and normal to look at. The way these hostesses make up, it seems they dip their faces in a plate full of foundation, then in another plate full of some other white thingy and then paint sunsets on their cheek bones. Yukk!!!

Or...maybe, just maybe..these air hostesses are actually part of a smuggling syndicate and smuggle cosmetics across borders by applying it on them. later scraping it off their faces and stuffing into those bottles/packs. who knows!