Fish faux pas

As I swim through a vast ocean of rather pleasing (or displeasing) sights, I wonder to myself why the sea is devoid of a fairly forgotten necessity- Sunshine.

Is it because of the lack of light that the fish sport such blasphemous garbs?
Or maybe it’s the brine that seeped into their brains through their ears.
(notice how fish either don't have or have very little of those.)

Lost in a school of red headed trouts, I fin my way through with a false stitched tongue while I get nudged by smelly tricoloured sharks. Green stripes on orange, and brown scales clubbed with purple swim by with confidence and agility. Jostled by a pink spotted carp and a few fluorescent hakes breathing down my neck, it makes me spit the salty taste out.
Of course the bright yellow clown fish do what they’re famous for- Blind me.

On second thoughts, blinding clown fish can be forgiven for the disastrous sights they offer to hide from me, but when an eye piercing… *never mind*

Comes up for air.

Deep down under, where pretty corals and breathtaking inhabitants lie, happens to be one of natures most appreciated assets and I on the other hand, look at it as hideously ugly and a ghastly sight?

You're now invited to my mind of girls called fish while Marianna’s trench remains a Beaute.

Right Hear, Right Now

Cross posted from my blog.

Fear.

Panic. Terror. Mistrust. I find myself scrutinizing every human being around me, running away from every bag/ suit case/ parcel. I hate this cold feeling that is sliming its way through my body. I’m too scared to move, too scared to stay still.

B O M B - B L A S T - B O O M

Six, Seven, Eight. Twelve. It can’t happen here. It can’t happen to us.
“We condemn the blast”. Is that the best you can do? Protect us, damn you. Stop throwing money around and DO YOUR JOB. Condemn, condemn , condemn. Such a weak, weak, weak word. It reeks of helplessness.

And you. You. Yes, I’m drawing a line. I’m forced to. Div | ide. That’s what you want isn’t it? To be the other? Does it give you a sense of pride? To hurt. Again weak. Hurt. Pain. Suffer. Grief. This is all I can do. All I can say. You’re a monster, inhuman. You think you’re making yourself heard? You’re not. The sound is deafening. Nobody is listening. We’re far too consumed with something else. With the urge to protect, to seek warmth. To believe. You can’t shake my faith in people. I won’t let you.

Anger. Uncontrollable, immutable rage. My city, my people, my home, my country.

Our country. Do you hear me? OUR country.

How much are you really working for?

This was an interesting blog entry I came across... though I'd share it with everyone

We all live in an era of CTCs, fast moving salaries, benefits, etc, etc...
We live in an era of late nights, night outs, unpaid overtime...
Which then brings upon a question of how much are you really earning for the work you do?

Before embarking upon deciphering this, let us define a criterium upon which we shall measure what we are getting. I like to call this criterium Rupees per Hour and for those less fortunate to not be living in India we shall call it Money per Hour. But for the rest of this post you'll see it as rupees per hour, so please do all the conversions to whatever feels good for you, implicitly. :-)

Ok, so now lets take a look at a scenario. There were 2 guys with the same background and work experience who were working in different companies. One guy was earning Rs.35K per month and the other guy was earning Rs.50K per month.

The minute you look at this scenario you're thinking, ok cool, one guy is earning 50K. Sounds cool! Well lets go a little deeper into this.

Mr 35K was working just 40hrs a week while Mr 50K was working 60hrs a week. Some quick calculating will reveal that in a month, Mr 35K was earning Rs.218 per hr while Mr 50K was earning Rs.208 per hr. Surprise, surprise, a guy earning more per month is actually earning less per hour? Maybe you're not that surprised and you're probably thinking that hey its just Rs.10 an hour. But is it really that?

There is only a Rs.10 difference on an hourly basis but every week Mr 35K is gaining 20 hours per week over Mr 50K. Let us suppose that Mr 35K is an average player on the stock market and is capable of spending his 20 extra hours each week to make Rs.5K per week. That means that Mr 35K is now earning another 20K per month. Add that to his salary and he's earning Rs.55K. But wait that's more than Mr 50K! Now how did that happen?!

Obviously making Rs.5K per week on the stock exchange is maybe being a little ambitious... On the other hand someone may say that they'd make much more than that! The point is that Mr 35K has generated something that can potentially be worth a lot more than the extra 15K in terms of salary. He's earned 20 hours of extra time which invested could potentially earn you a lot monetarily.

 
I'm not going to go into sermons about how free time can lead to better balance in life and things, because I'm basically trying to convince guys who are ready to work long hours to earn more money. My advice is then, spend your time more fruitfully. :) There's a lot you can do to earn more money than slog it out.

I'm reminded of a story here about a person who works in a particular company. He was a workaholic to say the least and was on one of those "critical", "its gotta be delivered" kinda projects and he was under a lot of pressure to complete within in the month. In order to meet the deadlines he was working late nights and weekends much to the distaste of his family who would sometimes accompany him to work on a Sunday. Well the project got over but his family was really pissed off and made him take them on a vacation to a hill station which cost the guy around Rs.21K. He came back after a 2 week vacation and was joking that this project had cost him Rs.21K.

Well the question here is, did it really cost him just Rs.21K? Lets assume that him being a senior engineer in his team was earning Rs.100K per month and was supposed to work 40hrs a week. Now with his schedule he was working 80hrs a week. That's double of what he was being paid to work. Which basically meant that he was getting only half his salary if you talk of rupees per hour. So in the end he ended up gifting the company Rs.50K. So now what did the project cost him? It cost him Rs. 71K!
In our quest to do better, to earn more money, we're often found trying to meet unrealistic commitments either made by us or made by others. What is important to realize is whether its really worth it. That's not to say that working long hours will not get you anywhere. I mean sure at the end of the day, putting in long hours does make you more available which is going to lead to career growth in one form or another. But, if you're talking about money, I think you seriously need to re-evaluate your rupees per hour and ask yourself,

"How much am I really earning?"

who should be ashamed???

exactly two days back we were all glued our television sets waiting for the verdict on the nuclear deal and whether the UPA would survive the trust vote."the trust vote." little did we know about the sad images we were going to see..those images will probably go down to be remebered forever..three BJP members all of a sudden show these big bundles of notes alledging that they were bribed by the congress and by amar singh of the SP to vote in favour of the government and what a big favour they have done by bringing this money and "exposing" this. within seconds we had all the news channels broadcasting this "breaking news."they said stuff like what a shame and how this has affected the parliaments image and all.. as if the indian parliament was some pure and holy place which had never been dirtied in this fashion.the whole parliament is filled with people who are well criminals and people who are facing various false charges aginst them. i was more curious to know what happened to all that money after they showed it and what on earth happened to the security system where such large amount of money is generally not allowed..
then after about half an hour the prime minister had to give his speech. the opposition did not allow him to speak at all. like they knew about what the nuclear deal was exactly about and how it affects our country..
then after sometime finally the trust vote was carried out and out of the total 504 MPs only 487 managed to vote!! i mean what happened to the rest of them?? apparently they did not know how to use the voting machine!! i mean india with a population of 1 billion votes with only electronic machines and these people who are suppoesed to be the voice of the nation were not able to do such a simple task and then their votes had to be counted by using the old fashioned way of writing in slips and passing it around!! well after all this drama the manmohan singh government won the trust vote by a small but descisive margin.immediately the news channels said stuff like "singh is king!!" talk about being creative..
well we all saw this and some of did even bother to think about it for sometime.well did any of us even try to get to know what this whole deal is?? i mean we are supposed to be the "youth"..but sadly no one is interested.. for they have lost hope.. an then they sit there and blame the government.. an how the government should be ashamed of its acts blah blah..well all of us are good at this arent we?? but who is it that needs to be ashamed? think about it?? some of us may say that we dont care about the deal.. it really does not affect us directly does it?? whatever be it.. we all forget the common man.. yaeah many books and soaps are based on the lives of the aam aadmi or the common man but hold on what has it done for the commmon man??? we all know the answer.. nothing.. let us all hope that someday things will change.. and we should be a part of the change.. if we do not do anything about it now then we have right to blame other people.. let us atleast start by tryingto figure out what the deal is anyway.. i no its too late but atleast make an attempt and then probably try to figure out who to vote for in the general elections next year may 2009.. i hope by then we all will vote for a change or atleast get our voter i.ds..and for god sake lets vote whether the person standing is bad or worse.. atleast lets make start by choosing the bad over the worse..
uhh i hope u guys like it.. an yeah pleez comment whether is shud this kinda stuff or should i jus forget writing about politics.. really i want to know...

Musings

I'm a little unsure of whether anyone will even care to read another poem, specially such a long one. But I need some HARSH critique on this. Please :)Written in May, 2007


Sometimes, when sleep must be held at bay
With a gentle word and a firm rein
I find myself coerced, by the eternal moonlight
To compose a song, to mould into words
What has been rippling in my soul for a while

And this night, I’m torn more than usual
Compelled to break down and cry
At this bewildering crossroad where I find myself
But tears are naught but a last resort, for now,
I would rather contemplate

The paths I traverse now are not of my blood
They are cold with the beat of a thousand such hearts
As mine, that travel in a manner only too similar
But the stones that these bare feet seek are there only for a moment
Seeking only my touch and then lost forever, gone

Warmed by stale thoughts adrift on a silken breeze
I’ll sit here tonight, and watch kindred souls fly by
All ghostly shadows of our otherselves, and deceived
By our own doubts and drunken on pain-brewed draughts
Once and again I’ll wish for your hasty company, though in vain

We’ve all been there, and even now gaze there sidelong
Why do we ne’er traverse together in this peculiar land?
And guard so jealously the weird mutterings
Of the flower-sodden vines, that unfailingly touch each
But always in a more varied way?

In moments when I’m not there, I pine for its call
In remedy, I drug myself with heady dreams of conquest
Over this elusive place, aided with the construction of
Great railroads of common self-will, yet it amounts to nothing
For I do penance in its exacting lap once I do get recalled there

The sweet affection of my lovers now touches me with reason and logic
In indulgent humour they always await my return
Until the glamour fades and better prospects trumpet
And tonight the moonlight bestows me with a wistful smile
For such greetings and partings, for times of pre-sleep and the ending of such ramblings

Untitled

 

Just two wheels, to balance                                                                     The load on his back.                                                                              And there is just 4 miles distance                                       between ‘Singarapettai’ and back.                                                           Still nothing bothers him,                                                                          Not that huge stack.                                                                                   As he can’t wait to be done, and                                                               Go see his daughter who has come back.

3 long years at hostel it’s been.                                                                 So long that she wasn’t seen.

“Will she be all bright and new…                                                               Or will she still be the same daughter that I once knew…”

Thought as he went with the load on his back,                                              3 miles between ‘Singarapettai’ and back.

P.S. Haven't been able title the poem so any suggestions at all are welcome...

random

i close my eyes as the rain pours down
i block the drug and abuse all around
i run away from the pain i so fear
as the downpour washes away each tear

one day it all comes back to me
what i am now and what i used to be
my conscience wont let me sleep
when it does, nightmares leave me to weep.

Commetaholic

Being sickeningly Amanda Byrne-ish -- thhhhaaatttsss MEEE!!

*Ahem* I'm Ajooni and I'm a commentaholic.

*Comm-E class, in a monotonous chorus: Hi, Ajooni.*

Alright alright, I'll stop being cheesy now.

Anyway, as I was saying, I'm a commentaholic (betcha you're sick of this word by now!). I LOVE getting (preferably long) comments on my online posts (blog and otherwise) and I can't help but give random, usually rambling comments on other people's posts.
And now, coming to the whole point of this post: what sort of comments does the Comm-E class want?

After being rabidly addicted to a certain online art community, I've become painfully conscious of what sort of response someone prefers to their art. I find it easier to comment on people's personal blogs because you get a better idea of what's allowed and what the blog owner would find unacceptable. But what about this blog?

Do you people want general comments, random scribbles, in-depth opinions, constructive criticism?...What??

I want you to leave a comment on this post saying what kind of comments you prefer. Maybe we could come to a general consensus or the people who are as obsessed as me can simply resort to leaving an end note about the kind of comments they'd like. Meanwhile, I'll hunt around for one of those poll widgets to make this easier.

Finally, if you were wondering why in the name of all things odd would I make such a big deal out of commenting...
I believe most of us are not familiar with blogging and therefore are not yet aware of how bloody easy it is to annoy people online. Seriously..!
Also, if we could get into the habit of constructive criticism, we might actually learn something instead of turning this into a rant-space. Not that I have anything against ranting. I'm totally pro-ranting myself :)

Go comment now. Shoo!!


WAIT!! People, reply to comments on your posts, too. Please. Or don't. Your choice. I just happen to think that it's the civil thing to do :P

The All-American Dream

I'm sure you've all heard this expression before.But what does it really mean anyway?!Is it that all Americans have one dream or is it that they dream one day of an entirely American race?I write about this expression because a fairly elderly slightly senile relative(who has lived in the US of A for most of his life) told my brother "Son,you are living the all American dream."Are they trying to say that all Americans dream of being holed up in a laboratory for 14 hours a day living on minimum wage?!


So I wonder what this expression truly means.I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out to be the second option considering the United States of America has a nasty habit of poking their obscenely large noses into everyone else's business.


Having said that,we don't exactly ignore the affairs of the yanks. We know that Barrack Obama is the democratic presidential candidate and John McCain is his republican counterpart. At the same time we also know that Obama's wife is called Michelle, Dick Cheney shot an old man instead of a deer and Mike Huckabee played the electric guitar in a gospel band. Although this information has not been heard by all, it is fairly widely known.

And so I pose a question to the comm-e class. Do we give the Americans more importance than necessary or is it in fact necessary to give them this much importance?

P.S-Front page news a couple of days ago:American actress Angelina Jolie gives birth to twins.Yes,FRONT PAGE.

Leaning into things

Here's a thrilling description from the Pico Iyer biography of the fourteenth Dalai Lama: "He speaks largely with his body, leaning into things, moving with all of himself, rocking back and forth on his raised chair, eye clearly alert to pick out salient details".

That "leaning into" goes straight to the heart; it's perfect, the Dalai Lama literally leans, he has a habit of bending his body just so, and I can't think of a better description of his spiritual stance.

The rest of the book, though is disappointing.

Hmmm...now where do i start from...about the subject c.e. its a real good subject.. it gives a good idea bout how the corporate and bussiness world is gonna be....we learn to analyse poems....n stories..draw comic strips...do group discussions....we hav a lot of fun knowin each n everyone s personal views bout a particular topic..dats all we hav done for now.We are now comin up wid new ideas for the media corner hopefully well make itlook neat and nice somethin jazzy....our topic is MUSIC....alll types of different music...hip-hop,rap n d rest...

Worst lyrics ever

Inspired by commE class:
<<>>

"i love you like a fat kid loves cake"
- 50 Cent's <>

"there were plants and birds and rocks and things"
-America <>

"time is like a clock in my heart"
-Culture club <>

"i'm all out of faith, this is how i feel"
-Natalie Imbruglia

"I don't think that I've got the stomach to stomach calling you today"
-saves the day <>

"but if this ever-changing world in which we live in..."
-Paul McCartney <>

"I don't like cities but i like New York, other places make me feel like a dork"
-Madonna <>

"war is stupid and people are stupid"
-Culture Club <>

Your body is a wonderland...

Disclaimer: As my previous post proved to be a Huge problem to edit due to various technical glitches. With the Help of window Live writer I managed to rewrite it and post in a more eligible fashion. Please bear with me.

Today... Was well eventful or rather a day worth remembering. I guess everyone would agree with me that the minute we heard 'top 10 worst lyrics ever' A LOT of songs must have popped into our heads... but the information that we were about to hear totally threw us off balance. The minute the words 'Your Body is a Wonderland' were uttered every ones reaction was 'NO!!!!'

It seemed almost impossible that, that one song by John Mayer that was universally liked happened to Appear on that list. Well actually I guess the minute we heard 'Your Body is a Wonderland' the memorizing tune of the song and the romantic voice of John Mayer's is what came first to mind, after having being reassured that it had appeared on that LIST for purely LYRICAL reasons and not MUSICAL. None the less it seemed like a heart breaking task for most to critically sit and rip that hear felt song to pieces.

Frankly I don't know how i managed to even come up with a criticism for that one. By the end of the 2 hours of class I was honestly a little surprised and A LOT shocked with myself. Nothing bad I guess to criticize some thing when your being asked to but I hadn't in my wildest dreams Imagined that it would be that particular song. OK I guess I'm over exaggerating that a wee bit too much. After having rather successfully managed to survive being jumped at, every time my hand went up or I opened my mouth to voice my opinion about the lyric (no offence meant just a description).

I began to wonder whether my absolutely negative out look to the lyric had been completely justified. I guess not!! The drive on the way home got me thinking.... a couple of points I came up with were

• No matter how the lyric read, for someone to write a hear felt song and trying to express his (as in case of the song) to someone he perhaps Loves is definitely not easy. I mean personally I struggle to write an apology letter, can't even begin to imagine writing a love letter , let alone a song for someone I probably love.

• I also suppose that taking into consideration that some of the lines do have a very umm.... a different choice of words used to express his feeling, it actually shows a lot of originality on the part of the lyricist. Something you don't see too often. I mean how many time have we heard a Hindi song with the same words just put into a different sequences and different tunes from movie to movie and wonder 'WHERE'S THE ORIGINALITY PEOPLE!!'

• But one point from that morning that I still hold onto is the fact that the person still seems a little confused and is trying to put down almost all of his feelings into one song which does majorly contribute to the slight disconnect between lines in the song.

So after all this I actually feel that putting this song into the list for the top 10 worst lyrics is kind of harsh. I mean sure it's no Sonnet, with women with hair as golden as the sun and lips as red as roses but the song definitely has its own style and originally. And frankly its something we in the post-modern era can relate to , after all ,those sonnets were written eons ago. I mean how much of it will be applicable today. John Mayer's lyric gives a slighter newer and fresher perspective into the whole matter of Love.Well I don't what you guys feel after reading this. I guess reading the lyrics one more time would help us decide whether it needs to be in the list for the top 10 worst lyrics or not.

Here's the Lyrics:

We got the afternoon
You got this room for two
One thing I've left to do
Discover me
Discovering you

One mile to every inch of
Your skin like porcelain
One pair of candy lips and
Your bubblegum tongue

And if you want love
We'll make it
Swimming a deep sea
Of blankets
Take all your big plans
And break 'em
This is bound to be a while

Your body Is a wonderland
Your body is a wonder (I'll use my hands)
Your body Is a wonderland

Something 'bout the way your hair falls in your face
I love the shape you take when crawling towards the pillowcase
You tell me where to go and
Though I might leave to find it
I'll never let your head hit the bed
Without my hand behind it

you want love?
We'll make it
Swimming a deep sea
Of blankets
Take all your big plans
And break 'em
This is bound to be a while

Your body Is a wonderland
Your body is a wonder (I'll use my hands)
Your body Is a wonderland

Damn baby
You frustrate me
I know you're mine all mine all mine
But you look so good it hurts sometimes

Your body Is a wonderland
Your body is a wonder (I'll use my hands)
Your body Is a wonderland
Your body is a wonderland

Write for the eye also

Can we please change the look of the blog? Or at least the font?
(Meerasan's post is looking crowded.Could you re-arrange the lines or something, M?)

I have a request: When you post, place the words-letters-sentences-paragraphs on the page so that it pleasures the eye.

Functional Writing is as much about form as it is about content. As Indians, with maya - that nothing is permanent-real/of value, except some intangible Absolute Truth - having crept deep into our bones and concepts, it's difficult to not think that what we are writing is more important than how it looks.

Go visit e.e.cummings

K

Pen stabs and pools of ink

Waiting for the title to make sense? Cease and desist, I say!

Swiped off of Geetanjali's post (cf Writing):
"I don't know if anybody realized, but while we each made our introductions in those first few classes, most of us neglected to talk about our love (hopefully) for writing. As if it was to be understood, just like that."

Well.. I definitely hadn't :)

I love writing. And I hate it. And I'm indifferent towards it.

It's my madness and my no-method. Most of the time, I'm blissfully convinced that writing is only a sham to be able to buy loads of pretty stationery. There are, of course, time when an invisible blue gel pen called Spik keeps poking my insides until I give in and scribble. But that's not something to be discussed in polite society.

Can you tell that I wrote all that because my silly guilty conscience was acting up again? Hopefully.

End note, I have another (couple of) blog(s) too. But you can go find them on your own if you're curious enough. Good creature. Here, eat cookie...

Writing

It's what brought us all here, right? It's what we begin our three years with - the fact that each one of us loves to write.

I don't know if anybody realized, but while we each made our introductions in those first few classes, most of us neglected to talk about our love (hopefully) for writing. As if it was to be understood, just like that.

I personally felt a bit lost. Like I left a good friend out in the cold. Deliberately. Why? Because (ok ok, so I started a sentence with a because - kill me!) until now, it's the one word I've used in every introduction I've ever made.

So let me start again: Who am I? I'm Geetanjali and I love to write.

There! I feel so much better :)

Oh and I'm a blogging addict. I've been blogging since I was 13, and like every teenager I've had my share of "angsty" and "emo" posts. Ok who am I kidding, I still do that sometimes ;) My personal blog can be found here - http://geetanjali.chitnis.com

So what are we waiting for?

Yes, what? I opened imagining the results of flurried activity on the page, and here I am having to make the first post. Dear Ones, this is one of the Must parts of the module, so please get into character and act onto the page. At the end of the semester, you must have a minimum of two posts - and "I agree with X's saying that..." or " Can somebody forward OE notes" does not count as a post. At all.

Since our classes are about language, let the first post be about writing. For me, it is, home and unmapped territories both; it is light at the end of tunnels and it is the dark in those tunnels too. Every word is a vast kingdom of possibilities: some tyrannical, some magical, some impotent, some sly and others unformed.

I hope - at the beginning of each new year - to find in class at least a few willing to make that blind leap over the cliffs of grammar and composition into the tumultuous demonic waters of the raw word; to risk being undone and to labour at re-writing self. And every year there are a few unwary adventure-seekers.

OK, let's hear Rilke in Letters to the Young Poet. Google for the whole text:

You ask me whether your verses are good. You ask me. You have asked others
before.You send them to magazines. You compare them to other poems and you are
disturbed when certain editors reject your efforts. Noe(since you have allowed
me to advise you) I beg you to give up all that. You are looking outward , and
that above all, you should not do now. Nobody can counsel and help you,
nobody. There is only one single way. Go into yourself. Search for the reason that
bids you write; find out whether it is spreading out its roots in the deepest
places of your heart, acknowledge to yourself whether you would have to die if
it were denied you to write.