Precious Pearls

Regardless of your resolutions to stay away from banters, there are certain things or people who can set your tongues wagging. At times, it’s not about how much control you exert upon yourself but some personalities come up with interesting anecdotes making you laugh. There is nothing exclusive in what they speak but the way they do it adds spice to the entire episode. Their manner of narration forces you to keep logic aside and be party to playful conversions. What’s more important, it prompts you to be sporting enough to take everything in a light vein. My recent encounter with a younger cousin kept me in humorous mindset for a couple of days. Naughty and mischievous, I recollect how he would give sleepless nights every person around him through inane activities in childhood. His mischief had landed many in trouble. Our family members, guests, kin, neighbours, teachers, even servants were victims of his impish ways. I wasn’t in touch with him for many years. And whenever we caug...

What happens a thousand miles away concerns every nook and corner of the world. While the entire world had set its eyes on the US polls, let’s agree they have certain significance for everyone us included. Of course, not much was common in our and their procedures. Imagine how the things could have been in India on the Election Day. For America , it was a 24-hour affair. The game is over and result is out with the President firmly in the saddle. Ours is a different scenario altogether, isn’t it? Perhaps, we love the melodrama called election, event that runs for months, if not more. It’s no less than a circus where it’s tough to make out who are all performers and where’s the ringmaster. Perhaps, we wouldn’t be able to choose between two candidates. Perhaps, we require multiple choices. And profiles of candidates! Criminal background seems a plus and charges of graft appear to make one’s electoral claim stronger … Just before counting, Obama had a quiet dinner with wife and ...

I am fed up of a typical question mediapersons ask in every interview: what’s your opinion on X issue? Let me put it straight. As a scribe, I haven’t asked anyone this question till date and pray, will never. I don’t feel it’s necessary for every person to react on everything under the sun. I know, what I feel hardly matters, as this question is almost invariably answered. A film personality may pass some comments on politics, sports or even international affairs. This isn’t confined to social or glamour fields; this is something we come across in day-to-day life. It’s not merely about making opinions but about passing instant judgments!  Generalising things often makes matters worse. This headline in a leading business paper caught my attention. It was about Marissa Mayor, Yahoo CEO, joining work within two weeks of her maternity leave.  The newspaper went to the extent of saying that she was setting a bad precedent for career-oriented women. After a few days, I saw her ...

It was the song I was humming all yesterday and today but I wasn’t too keen on listening to it anymore. Song apart, first things first! Certain things we like at the very first go. What happens to them when they start getting older? Anything loses its sheen when it becomes common and overused, it seems. I have observed this pattern with myself. I desperately look for a new song that has arrested my attention. Mobile, internet, Bluetooth, i-pod and what not, I leave no stone unturned to find it out. Without exaggeration I must confess that I literally want the new song by hook or by crook! Since times immemorial, you never get anything you are looking for desperately for a song. That’s the reason you exploit every possible means to find it out. Yes, it feels so happy when one gets what one wants. You feel it was worth the effort you put in. Here I am, listening that newfound song umpteen times. I play certain songs at every possible opportunity. After a few days, there comes a po...

It’s relatively relative matter! Visiting your kin or inviting them to your place, either of it may land you in soup. After a hectic weekend, sipping your morning coffee on Sunday, you plan to take it easy and enjoy your holiday to its fullest. And the cellphone rings… It’s perhaps the call you didn’t want to attend; someone is coming to your place or you have been called over… a tough ask! And there’s no ‘Not Applicable’ option. Wait, I am not referring to those who aren’t social or don’t like people around at all. After spending my lives only with and among relatives, I had to cut down on them due to job demands. Still I have been making it a point to attend major family functions to catch up with my folks. Trust me, these short meetings turn out to be very sweet. To me, that’s a wonderful way of staying in touch with everyone without letting yourself involved in gossips… Last weekend, I made a small deviation and spent a little longer time on relative meets, thanks to a cousi...

That’s not the way but can’t help it…this is the refrain I am used to hearing. Before wondering who keeps sounding me this, let me clarify right away; this is what I tell myself umpteen times! Agreed everyone knows what fair and what’s not but we have to often ‘adjust’ a bit. Every time when I find it a bit difficult to follow a fixed set of principles, I let go. Probably, that’s the best thing I can do. I was unmindful of it till yesterday. I was supposed to catch up with a professional at a coffee house and I was getting late. And here I was trying to find a parking slot. Finally I could locate a relatively empty space, the best possible for my bike. As I went near, I saw a cycle parked in between two-wheelers. I moved the cycle to make room for my bike. When I relocated the cycle to a nearby place, I observed its stand was too weak to make it stand! On seeing the person I was supposed to meet, I left the cycle to its fate. Somehow I wasn’t able to focus during the meeting. ...

Can driving on crowed roads be ever pleasurable? It would drive me to my wit’s end but I have gradually learnt to enjoy it. I am careful about using the right expression. ‘Gradually’ holds significance; it cannot become pleasurable at once. The 15-km drive from home to office isn’t something I look forward to. At night, when roads are relatively clear, those 15 kilometers appear like 5 km and during a mad rush, they are like, what, 50 km! When I couldn’t enjoy the drive, it seemed a never-ending journey. Today, hardly do I realise how time passes. I wonder what has made me find peace on the road amid no chances of traffic getting thinner. A major hurdle during the voyage (!) was the road that has several central and state government offices and more importantly the collectorate. Rallies, processions and morchas not only block the road but lead to chaos. What once used to be something that caused stress has now turned out be a stress buster. While commuters have to drive a ha...