Luck and fate... Part 2

Some days ago, it so happened. I'd forgotten my wallet at home, and been to office. And I realized this a few minutes after reaching, when my mother called me up to tell me she found my wallet. (seems funny, that now a days, I'm forgetting a bit too many...) Hmm... I'd had no money for anything that day too. Well, now to call luck or fate, PArt 2.1, my bike was to be fully drained of fuel, and so did it happen. Just as I thought it would. One of my friends, who'd borrowed some money (was meagrely 50 bucks, but meant a lot that day.) incedentally happened to return it. Petrol ka locha khatam. Got something for my bike's tummy on the way back.
But a few minutes before leaving, just as I was speaking to (and not speaking with, as most people I know do;) ) a few friends. Had a feeling that something is gonna go off track on the way back home... Asked if someone could lend me a few hundreds while in a jovial mood., but never actually borrowed any. Now was the funniest part of the day to come., the luck and fate part 2.2...
At around 9:45PM and a third of my trip back home still left, (it is one every day from home to office, n back!!! 20+ kms on bangalorean roads!) I met a few people, who were loyally doing their job. They were calling aside, every person from whom they thought they could earn. (I donno if it was for themselves, or for the Govt though...:P) I was one of them. A senior Officer, asked me for the card. My Driving Licence. After promptly denying that I had any proof of documentation about myself., except my I-Card, as well as for my bike, he asked me if I would pay for this.
Me : "How can I, when my wallet is at home??? I would atleast have paid a fine and gotten home if I had atleast my EC cards."
Off : Take your I-Card from me tomorrow after showing me your documents, or paying the fine... (He had my I-Card by then.)
Me : But I leave for office by 7AM. (My biggest lie to a Govt officer...;)) I can get the documents here within sometime.
Off : Where do you stay?
Me : About 8 km away.
Off : But that's pretty far away.
By now, I'd called home, n asked for all the original documents., which I actually had...
He wandered around me with a hope, and repeatedly asked me if I had any money left with me at all... and got the same answer every time. A plain toned NO.
Finally, even before someone could get my originals, he probably felt I was not worth anything that day. His bait had failed to catch a fish. Instead, it had hooked up to some fishbone...
Unwillingly, and with an unsettling frown on his face, he returned my I-Card, and let me off.
This was my first encounter with a Traffic Police and will be one of those everlasting memories of fooling around government officials.
But whatever be it, "MURPHY RULES."
btw, who's this Murphy??? The smartest earthling I've heard of!!!

Luck n fate...

Off late, quite a few people I know have been using these two words very frequently. I've still not been able to understand what these two are? And how they attribute to what happen(s/ed) solely because of our behaviours and attitude towards someone/something in life, or be it towards life itself... Somebody to explain???

Is silence really golden??

One shaayari that I came across., reminded me of some good old days...
जुबान ही सिर्फ़ एक ज़रिया नाही
जो आप शब्दों को समझ पायेंगे।
कभी आंखों मे झाँक कर देखिये
हजारों अल्फाज़ ख़ुद-ब-ख़ुद बिखर जायेंगे।
A fight with one of my dearest friends way back sometime in my primary school. For days, we don't even look at each other, and finally, we sit together without a word, and life is all new and rejuvenated again... Wonder at the beauty of some relationships. Also reminds me of another saying that goes "The best conversation is that where neither speaks, and finally, they get up to go after having the best chat of life". I guess this is what Aamir, Saif and Akshaye did on the fort walls of the beach, when they were off to GOA... I would say "Not" golden. You can always pay for the gold you get. But such moments of silence are eternally priceless.
Keep a watch, and you'll find more of such souvenirs of the good old days...
Cheers.
Abhi.

What's d problem?

We know that things are not going the way we expect them to. But still, what binds us, that we are able to do nothing about them? Are rules so supreme or duty so important, that they are above someone's life? Or is it mere reluctance from everyone to whatever seems to go on?

The Drunken Don of Bollywood

It was just another day for this BEST conductor. As always, he played his gimmics in the bus. Everything was as usual, except for the presence of one man in that bus. At the end of his journey, Balraj Sahni asked Badruddin Qazi(born-1923) to go with him to VKS Padukone, one of the most successful producer-directors of his time. Qazi walked into Padukone's office on Balraj's instructions, as a drunkard. Padukone., better known as Gurudutt, was annoyed at the entry of a drunkard into his office, and when he was about to fire his rage on Qazi, he revealed his true self. As Balraj entered, and the two discussed, Balraj asked Gurudutt if Qazi could be a part of his sets of Baazi(1951). Though there was no role for him, Gurudutt created one minor role for Qazi. Thus began the career of the uncrowned KING of Comedy in the hindi movie industry. His roles were so much based as a drunkard for his beautiful enactment of a drunkard even while he was not drunk. His biggest success as a comedian-actor came with the Gurudutt-DevAnand duo in C.I.D(1955), where Qazi was picturized in this classic that is an ode to the city of a million dreamz, Mumbai, even today. Another evergreen song picturized on Qazi was from Pyaasa(1957). These were not the only few superhits, for every producer and distributor of his era wanted atleast one song picturized on Qazi before they accepted offers. Such was the fame that Qazi had gained as a comedian. However, he proved that he could act serious roles equally well with Rajesh Khanna-Amitabh starrer superhit Anand(1970). His last movie was the 1998 Kamal Hassan starred Chachi-420.

Interestingly enough, Qazi never let a sip of wine down his lips, though most of his acts were as a drunkard. Gurudutt gave him the title, by which the world knows him, for his drunkard's act on the sets of Baazi(1951). The name was from the famous Scotch Whiskey brand "Johnny Walker".

With his demise in 2003, the hindi movie industry lost a gem worth millions.

Badruddin Qazi(1923-2003).

Johnny Walker(1951-). You will never be forgotten.

juggle of life

Life is a juggle, with family, work, friends, health and spirit., the juggling balls. You miss any one and the game is nearly spoilt. Expect that, if you miss the ball of work, it bounces back, but drop the others, and the game ends there. So, be very careful with the delicate balls of the juggle of life.

striking the right cord

have you ever thought, how music would be if you do not strike the right cord for the note you have? yes. it is really annoying to hear such music. my point here, just to emphasize on knowing when, where and what to do. i thought i had planned to do something the way i thought, and thought it could be the right way. but all my presumptions were shattered in no time, and the fact that had it... one simple question. "What would you say if you were..??
yes, i had a plan to make a big impact on something. a way that could change the way we live. and this is what i thought was worth sharing with a friend of mine. i was telling him what i wanted to do, and how i intend to go about it. briefly, it was to make our city, a better place to live. yes i was thinking of refining ನಮ್ಮ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು. i also had some thoughts on how to go about it after i had read on some websites, how some bangaloreans had come to hate their own city, instead of striving to refine it., or in my words, redefine it. as i spoke, he asked me something, that i never thought of. had i begun my task at hand, i would definitely have failed miserably. the reason: well. i had never considered what was the cause behind all that was happening. this is what i meant by striking the right cord. he did something, which helped me refine my intentions. all that he did to make me realize that it would not succeed unless not a just a handfull, but all my "city"zens were part of it. he made me realize this when he asked me "what would you do if you were to lose something in return for this?" and being a typical bangalorean, my response was the same as what every other bangalorean's would have been. "it depends on what I GET out of it." he had knowingly, or unknowingly, made his point. as long as we come together as one, there is nothing that can stop people from blaming the sorry state of our city. not even GOD himself can object to people who object to the city's situation. i just love this city, that i don't want it to lose the recognition it had once gained in whatever sense.. be it as a pensioner's paradise, or the garden city, or off late, the silicon city. i just don't care for the collective adjectives, as long as every common thing is proper. they are just too abstract for a city like bangalore, which is much more than just that..
cumon people, you've all enjoyed Bangalore's pristine beauty at some point of your life. it's time to restore Bangalore's beauty, and give it some life too now. only together, can we make Bangalore the paradise it was once considered to be. wake up!!! for it's time to act.

A day for ever.

"Bharat Mata ki. Jai"..."Bharat Mata ki.. Jai"..."Bharat Mata ki.... JAI"...that was the closing call of an independence day celebration in an apartment house in a place far off from India. the moment was one i will never be able to forget. at about 10:00 AM, one friend of mine sends across a mail to all the residents of the apartment, offering a poll. the issue: well!!! 'are you ready for an Independence Day celebration at our place??' and at 7:30 pm, we gathered together at the reception waiting lounge. we were a bunch of about 35 patriotic (or so i think we are...) Indians. initially, it appeared to be a bad response for celebrating a country of a billion people., but people gradually pitched in. at about 8:00 pm IST (not the Standard one, but the Stretched one ;) ) we could see " जननी जन्मभूमिश्च स्वर्गादापी गरीयसी " that your mother, and motherland are greater than heaven, particularly, when you are away from home. never ever in my life, had i heard a bunch of the new-age people in chorus for something. but, here, for a change, it happened. every one had his/her head held high when there was one voice in the room where we sang in perfect synchronization. there was never a time after my school days, that i heard "THE ANTHEM" being sung with such precision. it was more like a military band singing it. and as everything was coming to a close, there were a few drops of water that rolled down. for the first time in ages, i had felt for my Nation. nothing was a great pomp or show, but everyone's eyes gleamed with a passion for their country. it was a true national celabration. patriotism, it seems is more evident when you are away from your homeland.
i was back to my school days, when we had chocolates that we were given after the National Anthem. and not to forget, we did celebrate the day in a big way, and distributed chocolates... eating foreign chocolates to celebrate a national occation is not any offence. is it?? ;)
Jai Hind...