Village of stars

'We are on the slow runway'

'Hmmm'

'Why are we going on to the grass'

'See lights'

Let's start at the beginning. Got auto checked into a window seat and didn't change it. Reached the airport way too early so spent an hour reading Malcom X. Truth is stranger than fiction which explains all the biographies/autobiographies that I keep picking up. Anyway the lounge had this young mother with a very sweet baby girl and a slightly older boy.

Babies I can get along with, especially girls. My nephew is probably the only male baby with whom I've had such a blast. Anyway I smiled away at the kids from a safe distance from the lounge to the bus ride till I suddenly realized that the boy was right behind me.

What ensued was the kid kicking the hell out of my chair. His parents really tried their best to keep him still and quiet with little success. So I did what I could do best. I plugged in my earphones and tried reading my book.

Anyway I soon got tired of the best of blues (courtesy Andy) and then began listening to the kid and his absolute amazement at most things outside the window.

Flying, most days is almost a reflex action. and here was this kid bringing the magic back. I looked out of the window as we were landing at Kolkata. It was like a village of stars. Each star probably a house. Maybe watching an IPl match/ Saans Bahu serial oblivious of the effect they had on a little kid eagerly absorbing everything and his imaginative narration making it beautiful for the 27 year old Manager who has probably become that wee bit cocky and a tad cynical.

Thanks dude,

Treasuring the village of stars

- Pranay

The brats still at it

My nephew in his playroom formerly known as my bedroom :). He's standing in front of the AC vents while trying to unscrew the Exer cycle seat.

Pranay

I'm all alone in the land of my forefathers. I generally revel in my loneliness but that's mostly because I know there is some friend I can meet in the place I am in. Here there are no friends I can think of. Some relatives for sure, but I really don't know them well enough. so I am killing time subjecting you my most kind reader to a load of nonsense.

Let me first analyze my name for you. My vast experience in googling tells me that

PRANAY

Gender: Masculine Usage: Indian Other Scripts: प्रणय (Hindi)

Means "leader, guidance, love" in Sanskrit.

Leader, from the time I used to captain my local cricket team while hardly knowing to hold a bat. Unsolicited guidance is my forte but I am quite the agony uncle for quite a few friends. It's quite easy you know. That's why phones have a speakerphone option. Listening is an art. Love (for food) is what sustains me, though it is kinda on the wane. Love (for photography) is what keeps me alive and besides being in love with myself, I am also in love with the concept of being in love. Which is also the reason you hardly find a decent pic of mine on my Flickr account. Maa and Sis are on the get son/bro married plan.

I then move to another statistically true tool ergos the sms based name analyzer which tells me and I quote

Hi Pranay, you are witty and creative. You have a positive frame of mind and are very inspiring and bighearted, When your feelings are hurt you withdraw into a shell but your cheerful nature pulls you through. Be careful lest you lapse into depression and cynicism.

Somehow it was this particular message which had me depressed at the prospect of being depressed and then Anshul's name giving the same meaning had me feel cynical too :).


Totally bored to death,

Luv,
P.R. (which said fast and repeatedly also means love :))

A drop

It began as a little drop of water. Each drop contributing to a mad gushing stream. The stream hit the mountains breaking away that which constricted it. Then the stream moved into the parched land and filled each crack with moisture. What it lost in form it gained in gratitude of the parched plants. The water caused the plants to sprout a beautiful green with flowers in a multitude of colours. The plants attracted the animals. They tore the leaves to satisfy their hunger. But what the leaves lost in their presence was gained by the sounds of the animals.

The drop had finished what it had set out to do. On it's own it had little power to move a mountain or germinate a seed or even parch the thirst of any animal. But it did not give up. It never lay under the sun hoping to evaporate some day. Each drop was tiny but it was their spirit that formed a stream.

Take a drop and place it on your forearm and let it trickle down your hand. at the end there will be nothing which will tell you that the drop had ever been. what will remain will a certain tingle along the path of the drop. It made a difference in your life. What's stopping you?

Moving up a notch

Just when I thought that I could never miss a flight because of myself, I got late because of a last minute research explanation to my colleagues and a further delay in getting my specs from L & M, which is where began my upgrade trend.

For starters L & M changed my frame for a better frame complimentary. Then I reached the airport at 2020 for a 2030 flight and the Jet guys actually call me up (repeatedly) and ensure I get my boarding pass even though I was a tad late :).

Then the flight promptly ran out of economy veg meals and I was treated to continental veg courtesy the business class and then I come to the Maratha and am again upgraded to a room too ostentatious for words.

Additon on 25th evening: Got upgraded to business for the flight to Trivandrum too :). On a roll, mate.

Each of these upgrades really were not something which majorly changed my life but they provided those few moments of Aha. Funny thing is that I just spent the last 2 days helping put together a service level questionnaire where the onus was on capturing this same thing. As a part of our role in Research we provide a level of consultancy to various SBUs and departments in getting surveys done and this was one such project.

BTW might be moving soon. Where I move is something I have no freaking idea about. Also met a colleague who liked kite runner and was reading Khaled Hosseni's next. Seems like I was the only person who didn't. If you do support the movement against pedophiles especially online child porn visit http://www.lightamillioncandles.com/

Ending on a serious note.

- Pranay

Live to fight another day

0030 AM. I'm watching Jab We Met and have reached the part which becomes a little senti. Suddenly the light blinks (probly we've shifted to the generator) and the fuse of my AC blew off which would mean that I would die of the extreme heat in Kolkata, especially since my fan's already conked off etc. etc...

I suddenly realize that there is another 15 Amp socket with a fuse which I thankfully insert into this fuse socket and it fits. Life's like that. When one door is closed, god opens another and another because banging your hand on a door which will never open makes no sense. Not knocking at all is the presence of a false ego, letting go at one go is just lack of commitment but when you try and try and the door never opens, you realize you are at a point when either you or your dignity must give way and dignity is something once lost can never be recovered.

At such a point, you give way and live to fight another day. Probably what was behind that door was not meant for you. Probably you treasured it more because you never could have it. The forbidden fruit of your life. You could spend your life thinking that the next knock will cause the door to magically open or you could just move ahead and find a new path beckoning you far better suited to you.

Unlocking the mysteries of life :),

Luv,

P.R.

Pictures from Eden

The Stadium
Sasank and Rahul

Me and Jeevesh

- Pranay

Day and Night T20 at Eden Gardens

P200408_20.02, originally uploaded by Pranay Rao.

They say no cricket fan's experience is complete unless they watch a match at the Eden gardens and so me accompanied by Jeevesh, Rahul and Sasank, thanks to Anshul from production who bought the tickets for us had the experience of a lifetime.

From the sheer madness of watching a match at 1600 hrs on a freaking hot day to the sheer charisma of the King Khan to the beautiful cheer leaders of the Deccan chargers, every minute was worth it and of course there was cricket too :).

The Kolkata Knight riders won a low scoring yet tight match against a highly rated Deccan Chargers on a Eden gardens pitch reduced to encourage six hitting and there was loads of dram, mostly off the ground.

Mr. SRK had most of the women (and Sasank) training their eyes, binocs and digital cameras on him and his entourage of stars. Though even he could do nothing about two floodlights conking off mid 2nd innings.

The Eden garden apparently holds more people than most markets in HP that I had trained in and the sheer multitude of heads all around you makes the atmosphere simply electric.

Special mention must be made of the Deccan Chargers' cheerleaders who were most eye catching though they could not match steps with any of the Hindi music.

All in all, a wondeful time. Can't wait to do it again :)

Luv,

Pranay

The angel who fell from the sky

The world suddenly stopped,
The scenery changed as people froze in time.
Violins played symphonies of pure bliss.
And words began to form their own rhymes.

The walls turned to murals, the ground to a flower bed.
Their beauty paling in comparison to she who walked by.
Oblivious of all that she had changed in the world.
She passed by me, the angel who fell from the sky.

I wished I could speak but the words refused to come.
I wished I could sing, but music dared not show it’s face.
Each afraid that justice they could not do her beauty.
Each afraid that capture they could not her grace.

She smiled and the flowers bloomed,
The room filled with their scent as sweet as honey.
The murals changed to reflect her buoyant mood.
The birds in the painting twittered, the sky ever so sunny.

Try as I do, For once I can’t seem to say what I feel,
Forever stuck in an endless night that never seems to see dawn.
Delayed for too long have I, the expression of my feelings,
The courage that deserted me may have come back just as she is gone.

Wait I do, hoping that one day she shall be back,
Pray I shall, to god to give me that one chance.
The opportunity to speak what the heart has to say.
Hoping that my words, in her heart shall ignite a romance.

Words that will tell her, what she means to me,
Words that will express my feelings, forever and for now.
Words brave enough to look into her eyes and say,
That there just cannot be, an alternative to her love.

- Pranay

Capturing beauty.unplugged

DSC00679, originally uploaded by Pranay Rao.

You could spend days on end in forests or breed caterpillars and still never see a butterfly emerging out of a cocoon. Or just a month after your mother buys you a camera. A half emerged butterfly flys into your home and emerges out of the cocoon on your dining table while you take a picture in absolute comfort. Unbelievable naa.

Life has been kind to me in giving me a zillion opportunities to capture beauty. Someone with a little more expertise and knowledge of photography would probably have done a better job. Today if I were to take this picture there could be half a dozen improvements that I would consider but yet none of these can add in any way to the beauty of the scene. Sometimes just capturing beauty is enough.

Luv,

P.R.

Bratatoullie

DSC06755, originally uploaded by Pranay Rao.

My nephew, from when he was about a few months old poses each time he sees a camera so it is very difficult to get that mischievous glint in his eyes when he's up to no good. Finally captured it.

Can't imagine where he gets that from :D.

- Pranay

The greatest distance sometimes, is the distance between two people

P020408_17.35, originally uploaded by Pranay Rao.

The Howrah bridge captured this time by my Viewty. It's actually decently close to office though I've never been on the bridge. Can't seem to find any one enthusiastic enough to do that.

Distance really is not the factor though. It's just the will.In fact the greatest distance sometimes, is the distance between two people so says a movie promo in between the no brain comedy movie 123 which I just saw.

Very pertinent thought.

Luv,

P.R.

One long post

Long time no blog. Reason would mainly be lack of time coupled with some poor connectivity in Kol. Managed to finally come onto the post page in less than five minutes. Back from a dinner treat sponsored by yours truly as a very belated birthday treat. Had the usual Mba conversation with each person dying to have the last word :).

The Mumbai trip description would be kinda incomplete without mentioning the pre - birthday treat for Chintu and Kau. Met Swapnil and Sarika as usual cancelled but this time with a valid reason. She's expecting. I really have no idea what to tell a friend who's gonna have a kid. My response 'Finally you do something worthwhile'. To which she thankfully laughed. Dhara Bens coming back from the US sans my PS 3 because of my dilly - dallying. Instead I bought myself a LG Viewty and am loving it.

Meeting my Mumbai friends was cool mainly cause you realize how different we are from others. There is a level of frankness between us where in we have no qualms about saying what we feel without getting extra sensitive about it. Most people outside Mumbai are extra touchy, extra sensitive about most things. Way too much focus on sugar-coating what you feel just because you're worried about what others say. And yes I'm almost always surprised by how guys outside Mumbai act around girls. Best reaction from a guy who stayed in Mumbai from some time 'What amazing girls yaar, mind blowing'. I'm scared that I might just end up like them. It's not that they are bad people. It's just not my way of life.

My Thur - Sunday was devoted to my family which meant the second saturday in a row that I spent at home. At that point I was really not interested in any partying out. Sunday was my birthday and also easter which meant church in the morning after which I purchased my nephew his first easter egg which he looked at and then gladly banged on the floor. He didn't like the contents though.

Had lunch at my sister's house and basked in the reflected glory of appreciation of my sis's house designed by me. Though I did get into a tiff with my sister on the flavor of ice cream to be ordered. Had my way in the end just cause it was my birthday :D.

Meanwhile also realized that I could make a cool crore in dowry money by just getting married to a Syrian christian girl. Seems sad that dowry still happens amongst such a well educated community. No one there actually sees it as bad though. In fact they seem glad to give huge amounts of money. It's like a status thing. Can't imagine marrying a woman like that though. Would look at her and see a pot of gold. Hee Hee.

Till next time,

Luv,
P.R.