Dog Blogs Travel Trips

Many many years ago, I decided that it was time for me to move out of Calcutta. Coolest choice in option was Pune. So I traipsed along, across the country, to this gorgeous city I later went on to adopt as one of my many 'homes'. After getting lost several times over, I finally found the Krantijyoti Savitribai Phule Women's Studies Centre, (the department of Gender Studies). I fell in love with the name to begin with. Still in my throes of utopian dreams of changing this nation, I quivered with thrills that I would perhaps be at a Centre which began with the name 'Kranti'. (I later found out it was named after someone and not for the purpose of fueling rebellion but more on that later!) At the Centre, I found the orientation room, and was doing a quick dekko across the room, when this vision strode in.. sylph-like, clad in black..all black..the short shorn hair had a sheen of henna…and the eyes…the eyes were deeply shadowed, sunken, and looked at you like she co...

Sometimes, you find yourself drifting through a big bunch of uncontrollable situations, all piled up together, and you find yourself wondering if there’s supposed to be a moment when you just combust in a glorious burst of epiphany and solve your shit. Yup, I've been reading Dave Besseling’s ‘ The Liquid Refuses to Ignite ’ and my traipse around the country seems to be reflecting every glorious word he’s penned. I've been indulging in another of my middle-class attempts at identifying that oh-so-elusive ‘Purpose in Life’ and this book has been partner & companion fueling my imagination with every wistful thought or pretense of being any nearer to identifying Purpose. I've borrowed heavily from Besseling’s concepts here, because he speaks of incidents & experiences like I might have and I justify it with a friend’s [i] words – ‘we have all the answers within us, sometimes we just need to hear other people say it.’ Am currently parked i...

My mom always says that people come into our life when our karma, destiny, what-you-may-call-it, feels the need for that person to be there. So when I moved to a new place, the mad Mallu was there. And before him, the English girl who adopted India. And the star sozzled philosopher. And after them there was the bouncy boisterous lil boy. It's been a year, and they have either gone, or are about to go. And I know what mom will say if she knew how sad I were about them leaving - "Life goes on." Yeah, life does go on. I’ve left behind friends and family in other places. On the rare occasions when we do meet, I just know for sure how crucial their advice and judgment has been in my life over the years. Not because I perhaps hero worship some of them a little bit, but simply because having them around means there’s someone saying to me, "It's ok, shit happens, we'll figure out how to fix it, let's go play in the sand till we do."  All of us cl...

Somebody mentioned that you value a place because of the people- that the people are important. True. People make a place. I wish he was wrong. People mean relationships. Relationships of any kind, are so difficult to deal with. Constant negotiations. Fragile, fraught with ego clashes and crushed feelings. I equate people with society. Social "norms" have led to the need to have a public persona, as close to "who you are" without letting go of the shield against being battered by the big, bad world. I see these 'ladies' and envy their grace. Arms akimbo just hasn't gotten cool yet. I guess I just don't get some of the stuff you gotta do to be "graceful". The whole idea of 'ironing' your hair. I thought irons were for clothes. And I've barely mastered the art of that yet! And so am stuck with being the recipient of 'compliments' like "your hair looks crazy". I call it a compliment because that's the ...

All those people blabbering about humanity and being civilized are lying to you. The truth is, there are some power hungry people capitalizing on human fear of death, starvation and poverty. The rest are just trying to wrest power from them.    People come together at posh fests where their primary aim is to impress. Imagine every person in a room with a coupla hundred people simply there to show how "socially responsible" they are. Dripping with diamonds, they ooh and shed a tear as if on cue, to a corporate sponsored line up of celebrities babbling about "issues" with no awareness of the fact that the simple, quiet tribal woman from the jungles of Jharkhand gracefully trying to explain to them that she was NOT anti-state when she asks to be allowed to live her peaceful life because those very same corporate houses are currently bullying and buying and bribing their way into her peoples' jungles. Those very same corporate houses are mining and ...

When you're a year older, you start waking up a little tired, just a little weird and just that little bit confused. Birthdays are supposed to be happy right? That's what they sing! I agree with Sid though - "Birthdays mean you realize you're actually not immortal!" People around me have grown up. They are doing stuff. Started working. Started painting. Casanova steadied up. One got married. Engaged. Had kids. Working. Contemplated studying. Started  exercising. Began running. Went back to dancing. Learnt swimming. Doing something. I'm just busy trying to quit going crazy. Ever since I left Goa almost two months ago for training camps, I've been going crazy. At times polite, at times well mannered, strict, loyal, quiet, well dressed, no slang, "rashtriya" bhasha, "decent", meticulous, mathematical, awake, alert, far thinking, conservative, demure, explaining, understanding, sympathetic, observant, eat fruits, be fit, quit smo...

I’ve been talking to a lot of people lately, and I cannot get over how damnably selfish human beings are. We lie, cheat, steal, rob, kill and hurt, just to improve our lives, our finances, our relationships. We love to beg. We beg for pity, compassion, clemency, empathy, sympathy, food, money, better jobs, good clothing, a good bargain, better food, name it, we beg for it. We twist our faces into pitiable expressions, contort our bodies to seem smaller, and try to whine our ways into people’s sympathies. It’s sickening – people beg especially when they know they do not deserve what they beg for. We’ve lost the ability to fight for what is rightfully ours. Because we sit back and expect it to land in our laps. Easy peasy. I received a sad little letter about how “I am ‘akeli aurat’” and by default, you must feel pity for me and give me what I want. What about a dignified letter about how capable I am? Is this how equality works? Big deal if your husband left you. He seems to be...