September 30, 2005

Point Blank

*The setting was a coffee shop normally filled with ppl except on this fateful day*
Three couples spread across the area, in all the corners, whispering sweet nothings and sippin coffee and other colored drink. And the Lean Dude, sittin alone in a table after attending an interview that went pretty damn well.

I order for my cappucino and wait while I light a cig and slowly take a drag and experience the smoke filling my lungs. My coffee is on the table, I take a sip and look at my phone that was lying on the table, after I hear two beeps signalling an sms. I was typing a reply, when I see a person walking in front of me and stopping rite in front of my face. I was still too busy sending a reply when I see the man, lifting his shirt and pointing his finger to the top of his trouser. *what I saw next was something i have read bout it in a lot of books and seen in a lot of hollywood flicks. A pistol was hanging loose from his trouser. Then I looked up to see a man in his mid thirties, hair pressed closely to his scalp, oily and with a huge brown shades covering has his face. Clean shaven- dark brown skin tone wearing a white kurta material shirt and jeans. I looked at his face and this was what happened the next five mts.

Me: *Having no clue and no expression. Looks at his face.
Him: What the F**K are u looking at?
Me: No expression.
Him: This is a .93 calibre. F**ker, I don't like ppl lookin at me (all this in broken english)
Me: *thinkin to myself..WHen DID I EVER LOOK AT U IN THE FIRST PLACE. U were the one who came and lifted ur shirt and showed me the gun*
Him: You think your cool? F**ker. I don't like ppl who try to look cool. I don't like long hair.
*sayin this, he walks upto me and sits next to me on the chair*
Him: I am D's gang member in B'lore. I don't like ppl lookin at me.
*Can smell booze. This guy is pissed drunk and has a gun*
ME: OK. *Don't have a clue as to how to react and Was not scared* Was thinkin this was all some prank..so was looking around for a car or a corner with a camera shooting this whole thing for some television show or something.
Him: Hey, stop looking. Do u wanna get up without a sound and leave now or do u wanna die here in the coffee shop? *sayin this, the man takes his hands to the gun and shows the gun to me again*
Me: *takes another drag from my cig and sips on my coffee..wonderin what the hell is wrong with him and the others, who all seem to be enjoyin their afternoon with their coffee*
Him: U will die if you look at me again. *Gets up, goes to the table behind mine and sits there and orders for coffee*
Me: *Makes sure I don't turn back and get a drunk man with a gun really pissed off*
Him: *Sits behind me and shouts to the guy in the shop to get his coffee and also buy a packet of cigs for him*

*after bout ten mts...with him sittin behind me..I was replayin the whole scene in my head, while drinkin my coffee*
ME: *Finishes my cup...gets up to pay for my coffee. Pays up and when coming out, dare to look at the man again*
Him: *smokin and drinking coffee, and looks at me* STARES BLANK on my face
ME: *continues to walk and does with out having a bullet up my head*

And I thought having a coffee at 12:30 in the afternoon in this city was a joy.

September 24, 2005

ABSOLUT


ABSOLUT
Originally uploaded by Lean Dude With An Attitude.
Thro with my Eternal Holiday. Miss the three little munchkins, endless nites, long days, endless coffee, new dimensions, family, mantras, sitting by the fire.
BAck to life in the concrete jungle, no complaints,back to endless nites at work, endless coffee, familiar faces, more family, miss the munchkins tho..
ABSOLUT IYER is back.

September 14, 2005

A Hole

OK, my last post was bout the reasons that attract ppl to blogging, and in the last one week, I have been subject to a lot of shockin, life altering and well just plain interestin news from the blog world.

What normally starts as a hobby, or a plain love and interest to write, share and communicate begins to slowly take its toll on bloggers. The most important thing being, u know that WHAT EVER U WRITE- others can sit in front of their comp and read it (ok smart ass, Don't even think bout askin me bout protected posts..shall take that very thing ur holdin in ur hand and shove it up urs.... *mumbles gibberish) . Nothing is personal. Well that's our choice, we get to choose wat others read. We get to post it, blog bout it or keep it to ourselves. There are ppl who start bloggin and are addicted to the comments bug more than their posts..They start writing for comments. Then what they write makes no meaning to what they wanna write. What they write is not really THEIRS. there is no human touch to it.

I have been in this world for quite some time to know certain aspects of blogging. Certain effects that blogging causes to ppl. The concept of personal space is intruded. The concept of time is royally fucked. It gets cramped in here, it gets claustrophobic, it gets too much of a load to keep givin things to ppl, coz they are hooked onto ur life. What is the end result. A temporary shut down, a period of hibernation, a break, a journey some place, or a permanent shutting down of the blog.

But it's not possible. They are already hooked to the crazy claws of this cyber blog world, that they return to write more tryin to forget bout the past as a mistake, learning from them, writing for themselves this time around, or just come back into the blog world with a new URL (makes life simple..or so they think)

It hurts me to see Strong ppl, intelligent ppl, dumb pricks, losers all falling into the pressures of the blog world.
It surely is "SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST"

P:S Come back ,I miss u already!!!

September 10, 2005

Blaags for weird ppl

What is it tht attracts ppl to bloggin?

Are all bloggers genuine writers, in their own league? DO they blog coz they love writing. They are just bored. They are software engineers, who are paid out of their brains to sit in front of the comp all day? Or pathetic lovers who take their revenge? Or just plain odd people tryin to sound philosophical or in simple terms, too stoned beyond.

What is the scene when it comes to blogs?

I was just the usual guy-next-door, hair messed up, too lazy to keep the huge lump in place, too broke and without a job to buy a clean new pair of jeans and a T-shirt. A boring day in college turned out to be my guru to this completely new world of Blog. I registered the same evening. A huge mug of coffee sure was the reason.

Here I am, I have a new blog now, wat do I do? The typical computer illiterate that I am, I can't differentiate between a flowchart and a venn diagram, a program and a problem, html to mtnl. It was strange. It was scary even. Why did I sit and fiddle with the crazy comp and the options that blogger gave me the whole night. This brings me back to the first para of this post.

Confused, frustrated and out of coffee, I decided I shall screw the demon (read html code) in the blog that was seriously tryin to screw me and doing a pretty good job at that. Endless attempts, failed attempts- endless mugs of coffee and a lot of ciggies later, i crack the code, and my keyboard. That's when I realised i sure have a strong head for things.

OK, i have my blog fixed. Used the template that blogger gave me, a 'Kaching' orange, a shitty yellow, a gooyie green and a boogie blue. (ah they all rhymed). Orange it shall be for starters. Next koshtin to self, now what? More coffee's later, I read some random blog from the net. Momma-BUn-BUM (no kiddin). read her blog, she was errr graphic bout her life and sexcapades, her kids and her nanny (don't ask me why) and she had so many ppl in her blogroll (the term that am familiar with only NOW). Who are all these ppl? And why do they blog? This brings me back to the first para of this post AGAIN.

Gosh! It's 4:30 in the morning. What am I doing up so late and typing crap on the comp? Am I one in the list? This brings me back to the first para of this post AGAIN....

Yea, am bored and I can't sleep. You have a problem?

September 09, 2005

.........

"ENTHUSIASM IS FAITH SET ON FIRE"

September 05, 2005

Soul Searching?

Two months of hibernation later, its time I just give a doze of wats been happening. Simple pleasures of life, a well deserved break from things, even friends to a certain extent. A month in kodaikanal with three kids. Adorable is not the word to describe them. Their language, so simple, not the usual words that we use to make our point, but in their own special way, so innocent and so clear.

A prayer that had to be completed. A Padayathrai (religious walk) from coimbatore to Palani. A distance of about 120 kms in two days. A walk that was made so memorable thanks only to my brother who walked with us. A walk that was loaded with religious principles, stories, chanting mantras, bhajans, a walk that was for one purpose alone, to redefine our lives to be able to explore the inner depths of our spiritual mind and soul. To realize the importance of our birth and to juxtapose all this with the world around us. Slept on the floor of a tea shop on the first day and then on a roadside temple on the second night. The mind was so full of thoughts. The body gave way from time to time. The aches all over the body and excruciating pain in the heels and boils in the foot were all forgotten when we saw the temple in the distance. The focus was to complete the walk and to see the kids and other members of the family who joined us there. It felt so COMPLETE when we did actually walk up to the gates of the temple and saw the lord sitting there with all his usual decorations, clad in sandal wood paste and vibhoothi, like he was sitting there waiting for us- smiling.

A month in kodaikanal, totally cut off from civilization, from telephone towers, from work and from a whole lot of other things, life was phenomenal. Went off to coimbatore after packing our bags. The warmth of my home. The happiness that was engulfing all of us. There is no place like home. There is no joy like sitting with your parents, talking bout life, talking bout family gossips and talking nothing. I would give anything in life to have a complete meal with my family. You have to be there to feel the energy. A blissful week at home and I was back traveling again. Like I haven’t done enough in the last two months. In b’lore this time around, to see the world of a difference. The fast cars and the rich spoilt brats, the pubs and the parties, the coffee shops and the maddening streets. To think of it all, I like this tension around me in a way. I like this city and this city has given me so much in a way, that am still tryin to figure out what that is. The fashion capital of the south, the various lifestyles of the rich and famous, the cultured and the oh-I- Think am cultured clan. Not to forget the abundance of the most gorgeous women. In plain simple words, I love this city like I love my cup of cappuccino.

Not in my wildest imagination would I have ever thought that just an overnight train journey from B’lore would transport you back in time so much that you are warped totally. Civilization is of that of the 1800s. Hampi is a world that would take everyone by storm. So full of wonder and so full of mystic energy in that place. Anywhere you look there are huge rocks and boulders. Temples and houses look ethereal. The place was once vijayanagara before it was unearthed in 1810 and named Hampi. Even to this date, there are unbelievable number of temples and pots of gold under the earth that are waiting to be unearthed. The Thungabadra river flows through this mystic town, dividing the town into Hampi and Gangavathy. According to the Ramayana, this place is Kishkintha, the place where Lord Rama came looking for Sita and met up with Hanuman. The silence of the town is so breathtaking. Sitting on top of a huge boulder and watching the sun set behind the rocky mountains, overlooking the Virupaksha temple has left me mesmerized. Cycling through the little town, observing the architecture of the place, the culture of the place, the amount of backpackers from distant lands across oceans, the vegetation, the food, and the energy of the place, makes me understand the importance of my life, makes me aware of who I am and my purpose in this world. Anybody who is born in this world, has been blessed. This is the world where even gods come to cleanse their soul, the world where there are so many truths. The world that has witnessed so many events, the world where myths, Vedas, Upanishads, religion, gods, rishis are all intricate and make up our everyday life. I have never ever been so overwhelmed in any place to such a huge extent before. I have never been so quiet in my entire life. I have never been so quiet and still ended up finding so many answers before. You have so many thoughts in your head, at the same time feel so light and blissful. The trip to Hampi was a journey of sorts for me. It has made me a better human than I ever was. Everyone should go there atleast once in their life. Coz once you go there, you wouldn’t feel like coming back. There is so much to the place, that one can never grow tired of .One will only grow to a better level from there. When you do end up going there, close your eyes and say my name once, the energy am sure would reach me.

I am back in the concrete city now. Life is no different than what it was. People are no different from who they were. The same fast cars, the busy roads, the endless traffic, the maddening streets, the money, mobile phones, coffee shops, pubs, restaurants, movie halls, and they ask me what more does one want in life. I look at them, and I can only smile.