Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Farewell

Anwar Khan played host, to a host
of Kgpians,
who cherished his inedibles,
and christened his place
after the hole
in his nose.

Most time now spent, instead
at an eatery with an exotic, accented name,
though lacking that acute subtleness –
Café Coffee Day!
Identical to the ones in Connaught Place
and Whitefield and Richmond Road.
Well, at least similar to them.

And just peek out of the Coffee House
there you have it:
"Heritage AC Restaurant"
stands majestically
as Veggies glares from a distance.

Yes, we have an AC Restaurant now,
trying its best to make us forget
the backwater town embracing it;
though to be fair,
they do serve 'Motor Paneer.'

Deepak Da's taken it to the streets;
JCB Canteen has ceased to be,
as have 3 am meals.
No more paranthas with cheese flowing,
no more cheese curry to match.

And it’s all so alien now
at these places not seen before,
for I see faces new,
faces, not seen before,
or again!
And just too many of 'em.

The utter loneliness
in this swarming mess
makes me sick in my stomach at times.
Now don't get me wrong there;
I love a coffee had in solitude,
just that I prefer being alone
only with familiar people around.

Hundreds and hundreds of freshmen
over a thousand in all
and sophomores and juniors
crawl the halls of residence,
the messes, the wings,
faces unseen, unknown
except a few perhaps:
the quizzers, the math olympians,...
the mental-masturbators basically.

Only a few recognizable clans remain:
batchmates - seniors, super-seniors, some beyond...
who now talk in tongues bizarre,
saying TIME took away most of theirs,
and speak of "apping" and GRE.
(and those speak in REALLY creepy tongues)

And of CATs and Barks (or was it Barc's)
and CFAs and MBAs
and PPTs and T&Ps
and PPOs and P&Gs
and Schlums and Siemens
(Spellings double checked)
and so on and so forth…

So most meals now had
are by myself
most interactions online
most chats, on IMs.

Except the train journeys,
the 2.2 run-ins,
other such inavoidables.
Social media, bringing the far nearer
taking the near, much farther...
Oh! Don’t get me started on that one!

So, as I sip my beverage,
not at Anwar Khan's shack,
or Cheddi's as they call it,
but at the aforementioned CCD,
amidst the aforementioned crowd,

and think of times well spent
over leaky cheese paranthas
at a place which did not know
of coffee bars with accents in their names;
I can't help but ask,
even though graduation is far,
and another semester is in sight:

Is it just me,
or has Farewell,
already arrived?

Peace...

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Awesome! Like a 100 Billion Hot Dogs!

awesome /ˈɔsəm/ –adjective
  1. Causing awe or terror; inspiring wonder or excitement.
  2. showing or characterized by awe.
Modern usage of awesome
Awesome is all about inspiring awe, described as an emotion similar to wonder but less joyous, and more fearful or respectful. It's something of a combination of surprise and fear.

awe   
/ɔ/ noun, verb
  1. an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, fear, etc., produced by that which is grand, sublime, extremely powerful, or the like: in awe of god; in awe of great political figures.
  2.  power to inspire fear or reverence.
  3.  fear or dread.
    –verb (used with object)
  4. to inspire with awe.
  5. to influence or restrain by awe.

So, the breaking of huge waves on a rocky shore, a dinosaur skeleton, the thundering roar of a massive waterfall, the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Grand Canyon and the vastness of open space in the cosmos are awesome.

Awesome is not how you describe EVERYTHING (along with 'Omygod' and 'Shit'). Awesome is not the new 'cool'. And contrary to popular belief, Barney Stinson is not, I repeat, not awesome.

Bonus: Eddie Izzard



Let's leave the Dog's Bollocks discussion for some other day. But isn't he awesome?

Peace...

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Aana Meri Jaan Sunday-ke-Sunday...

Came across this gem of a song sometime ago, and was surprised to find it on youtube. A very famous number from the film Shehnai (Not there on Wikipedia) released in 1947,the lyrics are by director P L Santoshi himself.

While it's adaptation by the National Egg Coordination Committee (India) is pretty well known, do go through the original:

Singers : C Ramchandra, Meena Kapoor and Shamshad Begum
Song : Aana Meri Jaan Meri Jaan Sunday Ke Sunday
Lyricist : P L Santoshi
Actors : V H Desai, Indumati, Kishore Kumar
Music Directors : C Ramchandra



Lyrics:

Aana meri jaan meri jaan
sunday ke sunday
aana meri jaan meri jaan
sunday ke sunday

Meri jaan meri jaaa
sunday ke sunday
aana meri jaan meri jaan
sunday ke sunday

I love you
bhaag yahaan se tu
o ya ya I love you
bhaag yahaan se tu

Tujhe paris dikhaaun
tujhe london ghumaaun
tujhe brandy pilaaun
whisky pilaaun
aur khilaaun khilaaun

murgi ke murgi ke
ande ande
aana meri jaan meri jaan
sunday ke sunday

main dharam karam ki naari
tu neech videshi abhichaari
main dharam karam ki naari
tu neech videshi abhichaari

maama hain ganga pujaari
maama hain ganga pujaari
baba kaashi ke kaashi ke
pande pande
aana meri jaan meri jaan
sunday ke sunday

aao haathon mein haath le
walk karen hum
aao sweet sweet aapas mein
talk kare hum
arre hat..

saiyaan mera pahalwaal hai
maare dand hazaar
haan haan maare dand hazaar
saiyaan mera pahalwaal hai
maare dand hazaar
haan haan maare dand hazaar

bhaag jaayega bedum bandar
dega jo lalkaar
bhaag jaayega bedum bandar
dega jo lalkaar

maare gin gin ke
gin gin ke dande dande
aana meri jaan meri jaan
sunday ke sunday

o my saab come come come
tum romeo juliet hum
o my saab come come come
tum romeo juliet hum

o dear come here dont fear
tatada papapa
ye gaaon ki native ladki hai
ye dil ki beating kya jaane
ye chasing hunting kya jaane
ye love ki meeting kya jaane
right righ right allright

aao dear hum chalen there
aao dear hum chalen there
where
there
gaade muhabbat ke
muhabbat ke jhande jhande
aana meri jaan meri jaan
sunday ke sunday

Peace...