Saakshyaa.

The story did not begun the day I first spotted her on the isolated bench of the central park, fidgeting with a shriveled neem twig. She was definitely waiting for someone, the way she craned her neck every now and then made it evident. Everything screamed “average” about her, the simple lemon yellow kurta, beige floaters and thin gold chain around her slender but middle aged neck. The only thing which struck odd to me was a sparkly platinum ring brilliantly adorning her finger. The writer in me instigated me to have a conversation with her, to build a story around her greying , wispy flicks and to conjure a character based on the out of place ring. But the story did not begun that day.

The story began when I spotted her again on the same bench, wearing same kurta , same floaters and same expensive ring. She was scanning the crowd again, though not in an anxious way. I wouldn’t have recognized her had she not wore the same semblance. I don’t know it was my writers’ instinct or the feminine one , but I knew those eyes had a story hidden behind them.

“Hello! I have often seen you in this park. You live nearby?”

“No, no I live in Dadar west.”

“That’s too far to travel to visit such a lame park.” I joked.

She smiled , actually a wisp of a smile.

“Five years ago, this used to be a pretty sight. Cut out bushes, dog-flower lined pavements and jamun trees.”

“Five years??? You have been coming here since then?” I couldn’t hide the question in my voice.

“I just come here on 2^nd of every month.”

“ Any specific reason?” I prodded.

“Why do you want to know?” she asked, again with a sliver of a smile.

“ Curiosity.” I lied.

“I hope you are not looking for a story or some inspiration.”

“How on earth…..”  I was interrupted in mid of the sentence by a full ear to ear grin, followed by a hearty laughter.

“You think I hadn’t noticed you with your oversized writers’ bag, that writing pad and pen, observing everyone keenly.”

“Okay! I promise I will not write a story, but now honestly the curiosity is killing me.”

“I will tell you the story, its been ages I shared this with any one, but only if you promise to write a story and tell it to the world.”

It was my turn to be taken aback by this sincere request from a simple yet mysterious woman. The story which followed was straight out of some classical romance novel and wrenched my heart along with making me fall in love with love again. I hereby tell it you people keeping my promise.

                                               ************************************

Saakshyaa had no plans of relocating to Mumbai from her cozy hometown but life has uncanny ways of teaching you the things you never want to learn in the first place. She was having a hard time adjusting to the crowd, the language, the food, and most important the locals. Twice she boarded the wrong train and missed her interviews, once she fell on board and multiple times abused by the ladies for blocking the door.

One such sweaty and confusing afternoon she was stranded on Thane station, struggling to figure out her interview location when she bumped into a guy wearing larger than life headphones. She broke her spectacles and along with that her composure too. In no time big fat drops of tears were falling from her eyes as she tried to gather her strewn papers and broken spects. The guy she bumped into was apologizing profusely but she knew she had no chance of getting to that interview in time and without her spects . Saakshyaa has had enough and was already planning to return to her home, forgetting about the interview. She desperately wanted those unfaithful tears to stop before a stranger, but they were as adamant as her misfortune with the interviews.

“Mam, Im really sorry, I wasn’t looking straight, I didn’t mean to bump into you.”

“Its absolutely OK , its not your fault, I wasn’t looking either.”

“You sure you will manage without your spects? Shall I accompany you to wherever you were going?”

“Now listen , Mr. Biggest-headphones-I-Have-seen, just because I didn’t say anything doesn’t mean you can hit on me. I know these tactics very well. So kindly mind your own business.”

“Okay, okay I get it, but seeing the thickness of your glasses and seeing you blink like that Im pretty sure you will not reach anywhere without getting one or two injuries. But if you don’t want my help, its okay.”

Saakshyaa wanted to retort, something cruel, sarcastic but realizing her petty and helpless state all she did was shed some more tears.

“Listen, I have nowhere important to go, I can take you to home, office or wherever you want to go, and I promise I will not ask your phone no or mail id.” he said with a sheepish grin.

Saakshyaa has had enough of trial and error and for the first time after the painful incident in her past which propelled her to relocate to the city of dreams, she trusted her instincts. She not only asked the stranger his name which was Haamid but also took the liberty of asking him to accompany her to the interview. Apparently Haamid was going in the same direction and accompanied her, not to the company but to the interview room, thanks to her poor vision. Moments later a joyous and bubbly Saakshyaa emerged from the room confirming the fact that she got the job. For Haamid , it was love at first sight when he saw her rare ear to ear smile. She was a complete change from the sobbing, doleful Saakshyaa he met earlier. Haamid didn’t ask her phone no, for she herself gave it to him, calling him her good luck charm. Saakshyaa found a faithful friend in Haamid who not only taught her about locals, but also showed every nook and corner of Mumbai. Haamid was falling in love oblivious to Saakshyaa’s traumatic past and Saakshyaa was oblivious of Haamids feelings for her. It could have gone like that, it should have gone like that, but fate has to play an upper hand and it did.

Haamid was a struggling musician who played gigs for survival but was waiting for a big break which he got. He was selected to compose background score for a documentary being shot in South Africa by discovery channel. The only glitch in the dream like story was the fact that he had to accompany the crew to Africa for 6 months. It took every ounce of courage Haamid had to buy the platinum ring he was eyeing for his proposal.

He called up Saakshyaa to the central park where most of their post work time was spent.

“Hey, that’s a really cheap treat for a musician working for discovery you know.” She chirped.

“I promise I will make up for that. But first I have something Important to discuss.”

“No, I will not call you on ISD, and will definitely not look after your house while you are gone.”

“Can you be serious just for a while?”

“Okay, okay grumpy go ahead, tell me.”

“Saakshyaa, since the day I met you on Thane station where you were as lost as a deer in town I have been in love with you, I haven’t seen any girl who looks as adorable with spects as you do, I haven’t seen any girl who hands out candies to the beggars on traffic signals , I haven’t seen any girl who can tolerate my nonsense musical gibberish for so long and I am sure I will never see such a girl. I don’t know what you feel about me but all I know is I love you and I will love you for the rest of my life.”

With this stunning declaration he produced the ring on which he spent every penny he saved. He was hoping, rather praying for Saakshyaa to accept the ring. But fate had to have an upper hand and it did.

“Do you know any thing about me or my past Haamid? Do you know Why I came to Mumbai leaving my hometown? Do you know why I never talk about my family ever? No Haamid you know nothing about me . The day I came to Mumbai was the day I was supposed to get married , to a guy chosen by my mom and dad, the guy I fell in love with on my engagement , the guy who was supposed to protect me from the world, the guy who was in a live in relationship even after our engagement and when I confronted him all he said was he was marrying me for the sake of his parents and I had no choice but to marry him. I had an easy choice of marrying him and spending the rest of my life in a loveless marriage or to defy my family and live on my own terms. I haven’t trusted any one since then, but you coz I thought you care as a friend, but seems I was wrong. You belong to the same creed of men who can not see a girl as any thing but a marriageable asset. I refuse to be one.”

All her pent up aggression, her anger came crashing down like a thunderbolt on unsuspecting Haamid. He was too stunned to defend her flawless love for her, he wanted to tell her he was not at all like that scoundrel fiancé of hers who couldn’t see the innocence in those bespectacled eyes, he wanted to scream that he will never ever lay eyes on any other girl, but seeing Saakshyaa shivering with rage and hurt all he could do was to place the ring next to her.

“Im leaving On 3^rd of December and I will wait for you on 2^nd here on this same bench. Everyone is not alike , and I petty that man who didn’t see the brilliance and innocence of yours. If you come I promise I will never let you cry again , ever. Goodbye.”

That was the last Saakshyaa saw of Haamid, she never went to the park on 2^nd, for she was sure she didn’t love him. If only she had known that she wouldn’t be able to survive one day without him she would have gone, if only she had known she was having the most clichéd confusion of lovers being friends, she would have gone. But the realization came late and she lost Haamid.

                                                   *********************************

I didn’t realize I was crying profusely, uncontrollably and it was Saakshyaa who was wiping those tears off my face . If fate could be so cruel this was a living proof of that.

Since that day saakshyaa had come to this forgotten park on every 2^nd of the month, in a vain hope of finding love again. She even wears the same suit so that Haamid would recognize her despite the greys. The ring proudly adorns her finger like benediction of her lost love. That is her Day of love.

As far as Im concerned, Im still trying to find Haamid through the discovery channel and internet, may be if I get Saakshyaa her love back I might find my day of love. Promise me you all will try finding Haamid, and if you do tell him his love will be waiting for him on that park bench.

                                                   ***********************************
P.s.This post is written for Indibloggers contest Platinum Day of love.

Pittho's world-Book Review.

Book- Pittho's World
Price-299
Harper collins publication
ISBN 13-978-8172239343
Author-Murtaza Razvi

Pitthos world is a collection of short stories which are interlinked to one another at one level but are as different as chalk and cheese. the writer has been one of the distinguished journalist from Pakistan and though he was born after the horrible act of partition his stories encompasses a great description of both pre and post partition Pakistan. For a moment you are living through the larger than life yet believable characters and events. As much as we nurture and fuel our hatred towards our counterpart brothers and sisters living across LOC, there is always this innate curiosity regarding them, their culture, their routine. Whether their life is interspersed with the same spices of emotion as ours, whether they shoulder the same monotonous struggle for bread , clothes and living. The stories are outrageously humorous and at the same time pushes you to empathize with them.

The stories have a wide range of elements, ranging from supernatural to basic, lovers jealousy. The stories are interlinked as far as the characters in question are concerned but each story has been spurned in such a way that even if you pick up a random story , you will not only understand the basic plot but also enjoy the variety of emotions on display. The book will prove to be a pandora's box for people who have not got any ties to the village and its tradition. They would have learnt a lot about the rural culture and traditional differences existing smoothly between a city and a village. But the story doesnt end there itself it takes us on a whirlwind tour of Karachi, Lahore and a picterusque one at that.

Apart from giving us myriads of glimpses of another country's culture which was once a proud part of India, the stories also tackle different emotions and human traits as precisely as possible. The characters, be it the abuse hurling Apa, or a fierce feminst Rani or the righteous Dada all seem to have etched from our own surroundings and we do sem to identify them, may be not always but sometimes.

The only teeny tiny drawback I found (Not that I was looking for one) was the lack of crisp vocabulary which could have escalated the status of this book from a good read to a great book.
All in all a good book to splurge.

Crooked

devils heart he had
cocooned in an angels snowwhite garb
crooked smile stole my soul.


P.s.This haiku is written for haiku heights and the prompt for the day is Crooked

Shrouded night

The sense of loss was
Not evident in your
Stoned visage,
Nor your spirited soul
Reeked of
Disappointed destiny.

I noticed the pattern
Below your frosted bourbon,
The tale of jilted name,
Peeping through the letter,
Your manicured talon traced.

The layered, sparkling gloss,
Unsuccessfully veiling,
The jaded smile.

"Trance it is.",
You blasted my ear,
Clanking your heels,
On wooden floor,
Flipping your wild mane,
Aimlessly at bodies
With name less faces.

The sense of loss was
Not evident in phosphorescent
Shadows.
Nor the neon lights,
Reeked of disappointed destiny.
I noticed the despondence ,
In the dark circles around
Your eyes,
Whispering the romance
Of your sleepless nights.

Truth bared itself
In harsh full moon
When the silver threads
Shook the uncomfortable existence
Of your fragile heart.

Black

Amber coals waiting for them,
little hands scarred by glowering stones,
They have no escape.

The post is written for Haiku Heights and the prompt for the day is Black.

Myth

Of love and its glory,
Courtesan sings with unabashed zeal,
alas! wish the myth breaks.


The post is written for Haiku Heights and the prompt for the day is myth

Teachers.

Of their wit and will
We thrived and fueled our dreams
Gracefully, they faded.



This haiku is written for Haiku heights and the prompt is Teachers.

Ballet

                      Two little feet on wood
               Carving her destiny on rythm
                     Bedazzles gaping me.

                             She moved with aplomb
                           Melting slowly in his arms
                        The floor burned underneath.

The haiku is for Haiku Heights and the prompt is ballet.

Ramblings..

The best part of my job comes when the night shift gets over at fivish, and its time to leave for home. You are glad that there were no emergencies, no casualties. You head out for your cab when you automatically look up to catch a glimpse of the fading moon. Its just a sliver, an arc proudly dangling in sky. Inky blue it is, blotched by a hint of pink, promising for the sun to take over and herald a new day. You pat your own back, basically because there is no one else to do that , for the fact that you have survived one more day without breaking down and without missing people from your past enough to bring sparkle to your otherwise dry eyes. The instrumental music playing on radio is giving fuel to your kindering spirit. Just a little tilt of your head out of the car window to trap some wind in your hair and aah!!you are set for the journey. There is no other option than to leave your regrets on the road, for they are a thing of past, and there is no better time to move on than right now.
One more day,,a new day!!

Fragrant memories

Nostalgia can be your worst opponent and at the same time your best friend. At times when you are neck deep in work, shifts, patients, a glimpse of the same royal blue shirt or sniffing a simlar incense stick can take you to the bygone lanes and forgotten moments. Blame it on your senses, you see something and you reminisce, you smell something and your head is spinning in good times, you hear a familiar phrase and instantly remember where and when did you first hear it.
The crux of the story is that our senses define our existence.

Childhood is the phase where we are constantly building memories, and if we knew we would be surviving on the same memories we would have strived harder to memorize the details.
Gone are the days when the whole summer vacations were spent at Nani's place (matrernal grandmother). We could sleep all we wanted without being yelled at ,"You are getting late for school, get up!!!"
We woke up with hot aroma of french toast wafting from kitchen along with omelettes. The rose -jasmine incense stick burning gloriously and declaring that Nani had already taken bath and conversed with The Almighty. On hugging her the soft and sweet smell of the old , original Ponds talcum powder filled your nostril and you hugged her a little longer just to inhale the fragrance, which was 1000 times better than any perfume or deodorant.
I dont eat eggs any more but whenever I smell omelettes being cooked I recall each and every moment spent with my Nani.

Nostalgia can be your worst oponent and best friend. You are getting ready for work, rushing , hurrying to reach on time, when it starts raining heavily. Petrichor drowning your soul and flying you back to a rainy evening spent below a tree in lonavala, with the only person who mattered most, eating corns and talking seamlessly.
You are getting late for the work, but you still smile at your own reflection lost in time.

Mom enters the kitchen in morning and you are following her all the way from bathroom sniffing her wet, shampooed hair. You are trying to save a piece of her for the times you will be away from her in the hostel.

You find a pen to jot down a phone number when a familiar fragrance takes over your senses. The pen was given to you by your ex which was lucky enough to be placed in his pocket, near to his heart and received some liberal sprays of the perfume your ex used. The relationship vanished but not the memories. Nostalgia can be your worst opponent, it can make you stand to a complete stranger at a paan tapri and inhale the poisonous goldflake being smoked by the stranger, just because your ex smoked the same brand. Ofcourse, the stranger will assume you to be a mental case instead of senti.
Theres so much more to the sense of smell. A rose reminds you of the anonymous bouqet placed in your kinetic on valentines day long ago.
The smell of cumin seeeds in ghee reminds you of your kitchen.  Ethanol or spirit which I get to smell on a daily basis always takes me back to the chemistry lab in school and the bloopers we did.
Coconut oil reminds me of the group oiling sessions in hostel where we gossiped like crazies on saturday nights.
The vanilla smell has recently become synonymous with my cute and sweetheart dog, murphy coz yhat is his favourite flavour when it comesto biscuits and bones (dont look so bewildered , there are vegetarian vanilla bones for dogs..)
I could go on and on...but as I said earlier nostalgia is your worst opponent and your best friend...I should stop reminiscing and focus on my duty.

khwahish

This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 40; the fortieth edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton. The theme for the month is "MAKE A WISH"

शायद तेरी मिट्टी की किस्मत

मेरी मिट्टी से अलग सी है,

फिर भी तेरी मिट्टी की महक

मेरी मिट्टी की महक सी है।

जो मंजर देखे तेरी मिट्टी ने

वही देखे मेरी मिट्टी ने,

लहू सोखा , पसीना देखा

कुछ आँसू भी सँजोये थे,

माँ के लाल की भूख की खातिर

गेहूं के बीज भी बोये थे।

फिर क्यूँ झूठा जग ये बोले,

तेरी मिट्टी मेरी मिट्टी से अलग सी है

मुझको लगता ऐसा अब भी,

तेरी मिट्टी की चमक मेरी मिट्टी की
चमक सी है।

कुछ हीर इधर रेह गयी

कुछ राँझे उधर बेह गए,

कुछ आँखें यूं ही पथरा गयी

कुछ दिल चुपचाप सेह गए।

चंद लकीरें खीच के कहते

ये जमीन तुम्हारी ,ये उसकी है

आहें समझ रहे है जिसको,

नादान ना जाने सिसकी है।

लकीर के उस पार कड़ी वो देखे मुझको,

उसका एक सवाल रहे घेरे मुझको।

"तेरी चूड़ियों की खनक मेरे कंगन सी है ,

फिर क्यूँ मेरी मिटटी की किस्मत तेरी मिटटी से अलग सी है।

मुल्तान, लाहौर सब तुम्हारे हो गए,

रह गया पंजाब मेरा अधूरा।

जाने ये अधूरा ख्वाब मेरे पागल मन का,

कब होगा पूरा।

लकीरें मिटायें तो मिटायें कैसे,

ये खिंचे बुझे दिल मिलाएं कैसे।

चंद लम्हों की बर्बादी ने बदल दी किस्मत 

मेरे मुल्क की,

जो जमीं कभी थी हमारी,

आज शान है वो तेरे मुल्क की. 

कभी मिले खुदा से,

ये सवाल उठेगा हमारा,

क्या आया तेरे दिल में जो कर दिया 

मेरे मुल्क का बँटवारा।

जब तेरी मिटटी की चहक 

मेरी मिटटी सी है,

फिर क्यूँ तेरी मिटटी की किस्मत 

मेरी मिटटी से अलग सी है

P.S. There are a lot of things we wish for, true love, money, comfortable life, happiness, etc etc,..There are a lot of things we wish we could change, decisions, faults, choices...you name it. But there are a few wishes as common and as gruesome as the fact that partition shouldnt have happened. It has been years and the scars havent healed at all. They remain fresh in our memory. Partition divided our country, and the after effects was a gruesome, gory tale for all of us to remember.

I wish it did not happen.

The fellow Blog-a-Tonics who took part in this Blog-a-Ton and links to their respective posts can be checked here. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton. Participation Count: 06

One day..

One fine day you see someone from behind in a crowd and a silent gasp escapes your soul. Nostalgia hits you like a warm shower and you are fighting the kaleidoscope of thousand by gone memories and moments.

The curve of the neck, the crease on the hand holding the cell phone, everything resembles the person you knew inside out. What is he doing here? He cant possibly be here..

You are conjuring thousand questions to ask, thousand complaints to make. What if he doesnt recognize? What if he has already moved on? And similar thoughts swarming in your head.

Then the dreaded moment comes when he turns and he is a stranger indeed. All you are left with is a tearful smile, a song in your head and whole day to reminisce about the past.

There are days like this..

Escapade.

I kept my silver shoes by the door,
To sprint away from your deadbeat world.
The fragrant sand beckoned me
Adorning the silver shore.

I kept my silver dreams by the door,
To cast off the gloom of your sleepless world.
Washing away my past, the silver rains
So pure.

I kept my silver wishes by the door,
To shun the obstreperous world
Outside my soul.
Silver clouds enticing me
Serenading my very core.

Road redemption.

Change is inevitable,you cant avoid it, you cant fight it, you cant beat it. The problem with change is acceptance, if you are accepting the change with an open heart the transition is smooth. We are afraid of the unknown, hence we resist change, taking comfort in our familiar surrounding but in doing that sometimes we miss what could have been the best moment of or otherwise mundane life.

I never was loner, atleast not in my conscious post pubertal  life. I enjoyed being with people, observing them, taking in their reactions. I still do, but  I have matured. I cherish my own company , I do not crave to be near crowd. The sense of balance itself is overwhelming. You can easily fit in a crowd, gliding in  conversations and while at it, a part of your being is either Loitering on the beach, or finding a way in the forest you once travelled.

While I was in Mumbai, I made it a point to travel the nearby scenic places and most of them I did. What I missed was the Konkan coast and if God had provided A way to kick ourselves in the back I would have kicked me . I know im gonna do it the only question is when. The best part about Konkan coast is that it is a haven for the mountain lovers And bliss for beach-admirers.

Road trips are best when planned and even better when impromptu. When I will get tired of the routine, drained soul, lost thoughts and uninspired life, then I will take this trip. The best part of the journey will be my choice of vehicle. Someone asked me some months ago if I could own any vehicle irrespective of the cost what would I buy, and without thinking I blurted Hummer(I know its not a girly vehicle Still wish is a wish and once you make it smelling like spring, and feel like orchids nothing beats the girly feel.) Get a good GPS and you are ready to hit the road. If you want to Experience the best, get up early, Pack for three days and if comfortable pack a camping tent. The trip to Konkan coast would be incomplete If you dont breakfast at Panvel , the famous Kaande-Pohe, legend has it that he never packs and people come from all over mumbai to savour the delicacy.
The NH17 takes you to Alibaug if Im not mistaken, Ill probably take a stay there in some of the hotel or lodge, Aibaug has some beautiful beaches and I know I can easily spend a day or 2 there, all I need is love...just kidding all i need is my journal, my music and solitude. It is a bliss when No one knows you, no one bothers you. You can eat whenever you want, you can lie on the beach for ever.

The way to Harihareshwar is serene, misty and once again beautiful. A treat for the eyes and soul. The famous harihareshwar temple will be next on list. Im not an atheist, I never was and I never will be, I believe there is a supreme lord looking after me, and I call him by different names. I know he gives me tough time because he knows I have the strength to bear that.

I dont like travelling in metro coz most of the times, I cant see the sky..and most importantly I can not see the moon. Driving  gives me that pleasure, watching the trees run by you, watching the moon travel with you, stars blinking and guiding you.
The power of music is such it can take you to a long forgotten Memory, a song makes you relive the moment you have been cherishing. Coldplay, Pink floyd, Atif Aslam, some old hindi jewels make best combination for travelling.
 Diveagar is another stop you can take and relax. The hummer  and me both would need rest.
There are various stops on the way, Kaashid beach, dapoli, guhagar and others. Though Im not  a photographer I will definitely go crazy with the camera and will take thousand snaps to relive the bliss, the solitude and the silence.
Ganpati pule is a place I will definitely not miss as people say whatever you wish for comes true soon. Who knows a miracle could happen,  never lose hope is   all I believe..
The trip would end at Tarkalli, which is a hot shot  spot for water sports, including under water diving. Im scared Of water bodies and specially going under, Im sure when I will be alone Ill not be stressed about embarrassing myself . I will definitely try all the water sports, since trying all adventure sports is my wish list.
Its said water has the potential to wash away your impurities, may be the water will  wash away my past as well.
I read somewhere that best of the journeys are those made back to home and so after curing my burn out,I will head back home, ready to face the world again, ready to take up the responsibility...

this post is written for indiblogger contest "a perfect road trip" in association with Ambipur.

Welcome to Dilli.. :)

There are days meant to be longer, there are days meant to be whackier, there are days meant to be memorable and there are days never meant to end. 6th July was one of those days . Sometimes I can be a total clutz and other times I am oversmart. I planned my visit to passport office (which coincidentally lies behind Hyatt) just before the Indimeet, hoping to save some time. Somewhere amidst my pseudo-intelligent research and enquiring from a certain Mr-Know-It-All, I missed a crucial point that it was a Saturday and hence off. So there I was standing like a moron infront of Hyatt Regency at 12.45 P.M. , full one hour ahead of the time. This was my first ever meet in Delhi, and needless to say I was apprehensive despite being assured by Gv Sparx that he will attend the meet and I wont feel lonely or awkward. As I entered the venue I realized there were more enthusiastic people than me, and hall was almost filled. I met a cute, female blogger named Priyanka Banerjee (whose blog URL I forgot thanks to my aging grey cells)
We ended up chatting for long when I finally spotted Priyanka Dey, who is way cuter than her pictures and whom I expected to be a bit taller, but there she was as cute as a kitten. She introduced me to Gv Sparx, whom I couldn't have identified without help, coz I expected him to be a bit older..and a moustache, I don't know why though.
The mystery shrouding bloggers whom You know in virtual world but not in real world, remains profound till the time you haven't met them. I consider myself a people person, so I was happy to see the faces behind the words. Speaking of faces, it will be unworthy of me not to mention two pretty faces Himadri and Garima, fun and freaky people to be with. I was meeting all these people for the first time, but seemed I knew them since ages. That's the fun of blogging, you connect to people on a much deeper level than appearance or attitude.
The meet started with classes on head banging from none other than the man who is perfectly quipped for it, Nihal...irrespective of the age factor, hair factor almost every one did it.
I was afraid my wig would come off so I refrained, or the 27 species of lice I was breeding in my hair might find them homeless...:D
The most sporting head bang I found later in the pictures was that Of Madhu Bharadwaj. Seriously she had the most fun without even spoiling her hair style.
The best section of a bloggers meet is the intro, 30 seconds of fame. I am relatively new to delhi blogging circle but I had read many of them earlier, and thank god for that. The introductions were poetic, inspiring , lengthyyyyyyy....Even I got my chance and grabbed it with both the hands..
The meet was sponsored by Ambi pur...and hence the topic of discussion was indeed smelly..there were several pictures of rotten veggies, pets, shoe racks, socks, pets...but the prize went to a picture of potty..., i mean who can defeat that when it comes to odour..But when it comes to pets im blessed to own a dog who doesnt smell much, thanks to his habit of wearing booties on walks, and washing his face in a bucket full of water every chance he gets.(I cant help mentioning him, he is too adorable)
Somehow rainy season is an excuse for smells all around. The marketing team of Ambi pur did a good  job of answering the queries, providing the solutions to the smelly problem (lavender, vanilla , hawaiian flowers).
The meet was interrupted by the food which was ok I guess, and the fact that there were 4 options for desserts for non-veg people and only one for us the veg-eaters made it a little depressing.
Amidst the smelly banter our table, hosting priyanka (actually 2 priyankas), Himadri, Gv Sparx, Garima , was having fun...and may be thats why we were ignored and not handed the room fresheners. We could have ignored the fact had it not been the factor deciding our teams for group activity. Hence we had to shout to Vineeth to hand our fresheners. I identified Arvind passey sir and Sangeeta mam, but was too tongue tied to talk. And later I got to Amritt, saurabh, Murtaza, Medha all were there but I was too blind to identify them. The most pleasant surprise was the sudden greeting by rinzu susan, whom Ive made acquaintance quite recently but the girl speaks my mind.
Thankfully I was in the same team as Garima and Priyanka, but  sadly Himadri and Gv both were in other teams. Our theme was hollywood action movies, and needless to say we were supposed to use our gifts As props. Our team had excellent guides Neha, saumya, anup and priyanka. The best part of our play were the smelly cats played beautifully by three femme fatale. Needless to say we won, but there were other memorable performances like the guy as Zombie, Himadri as gabbarni and the chinese female fighter.
The crazy impromptu skits ended finally and so did the meet. I made new friends in Gv Sparx, Priyanka, himadri, And Garima.
Wish the meet never ended, had an amazing time and a great welcome to the the city as I have recently shifted to Delhi.
Mumbai reigned my heart but im sure my heart can accomodate two cities easily.

Thanks to indiblogger team and ambi pur people for organizing such a fun filled event.

For more pics follow the indiblogger.

The following post has been published for indibloggers

यूँ ही !!!

बाँवरे नैनो में थी एक बाँवरी सी ख्वाहिश
बाँवरे मौसम ने रच दी बाँवरी एक साजिश
बाँवरी सी एक थी शबरी बाँवरी थी राधा
बाँवरी सी हुई ये शब् है बाँवरा चन्दा ये आधा

बांवरी कोयल ने दे दी बांवरी सी कूक
बाँवरी गोपी से हो गयी बाँवरी सी चूक
बाँवरे मन ने है बाँधा बांवरा सा धागा
बांवरी वो शब् गयी है बांवरा जग जागा


बाँवरे हाथों ने थामी बाँवरी एक बांह
बाँवरे पैरों ने पकड़ी बाँवरी वो राह
बाँवरे नैनों ने दे दिया बांवरा एक वादा
बांवरी सांझ आ गयी है बांवरा चन्दा ये आधा

Irony

It was her suitcase, the peculiar purple, with a hand made patchwork. It had to be hers. Saksham eyed the pretty suitcase on conveyor belt at delhi airport. 13 years have passed since he last saw Varsha. Suddenly two young hands picked up the bag. He was mistaken.
Kriti dropped the suitcase and hugged Varsha,as Varsha tried to wipe the tears and focus on her daughters chatter. She was sure it was Saksham.

Adhure khwab.

अधूरे ख्वाब दवा है

अधूरे ख्वाब यानि की
अभी चलना बहोत बाकि
नींद गर टूटी
आंख मल पानी मार चेहरे पे
ख्वाब हकीक़त करने के लिए
किस्मत ने खाई दी
मेहनत लगेगी भरने के लिए

कुछ अधूरे ख्वाब रहे
ये अच्छा है
नीरस जिंदगी न हो जाए
हम धार में न बहे
लड़े थोडा स्वार्थी रहे
जब ख्वाब पुरे हो
नए ख्वाब ठान ले

चहकती रहे जिंदगी
अधूरे ख्वाब दवा है
महकती रहे जिंदगी
रुक जाएंगे तो ठंडे पड़ेंगे
सडन हो जाएगी
ख्वाब लालच रहे
बहकती रहे जिंदगी

हाँ मानता हूँ
ख्वाब अधूरे दर्द देते हैं
कभी आँखों को नींद नहीं
दिल में करार नहीं
पर कुछ ख्वाब अधूरे से
मुझे ले आये है
यहाँ हौसला बन के

जब भी अधूरापन खटका
मै दौड़ा पीछे पीछे
पूरा करने के लिए
ख्वाब पुरे हुए
जिंदगी बिना ख्वाबो के
ये आंखे भी क्या करे
चल नए ख्वाब गढ़ ले

मै कुम्हार, ख्वाब मेरे कच्ची माटी घड़े
गर आज सारे भट्टियो में झोक के
सब के सब पुरे हुए
कल न माटी रहे चक्का घुमे
मै क्या करूँगा बोलिए
घड़े नए गढे
बेहतर कुछ ख्वाब कच्चे रहे

Shashi prakash saini.

This is a guest post done by none other than shashi prakash saini who has already proved his mettle in poetry with his e book saamarthya. He needs no introduction. I cant thank him enough for doing this guest post for me. I discovered him through Blog a ton and I have been a fan since then.

Of memories, moments and memoirs..

While we are breathing our lives through the monotony of our daily routine,we forget that it is nothing but an assortment of varied moments. Moments which we might remember for the rest of our lives or moments we try our best to erase from our memory. Whatever the case might be, that moment doesnt lose its importance. It hovers above us like a giant nimbus. It bathes all our senses in an earthy shower. What we do not realize is the fact that moment is transient, its gonna perish like every other thing. However hard we might try we can not hold on to that moment, its not humanly possible, and we let go of that moment. May be we fight tooth and nail to hold on that final straw but eventually we let go of that. It had to pass on, it did. That moment might be the biggest event of our life but it goes...

We assume that change is a gradual process when in reality change occurs suddenly, fast enough to suck air out of our lungs, and leave us breathless. We might try our best to brace ourself against the change but it is never enough to protect us against the impact. The hardest to deal with are the changes associated with loss.

Memories have played a tricky game ever since man started making memories..They make us happy when we are sad and urge us to cry when we should be smiling ear to ear. They hold our past together, they make impossible possible for us. Yet they remain underestimated when it comes to our commercial world. True that it is tough thriving only on our memories, specially when we are going through a personal loss but somehow they create the cocoon warm enough to shield us from the chilling reality. They have an unbelievably wide range. An innocent get together to wish good luck to a friends college life, which was the first moment a young girl realized she was in love. Four girls sitting rooftop on their hostel discussing and planning future with utmost seriousness when in reality they were just 20 something,young enough to plan a whole future on a whim. Memories never perish, and that is the difference between moments and memories..memories stay, rooted in the deepest layer of our soul and they find the most unfortunate time to bubble up to the surface and by Joe when they do,they knock us bad. The ones where we did something with spirit of life stand out erect. Memories never decay..

Memoirs are the binding forces between moments and memories..again sometimes its all we are left to hold on to. The testing times start when we are faced with a dilemma to get rid of those moments, memories and memoirs. Only if it were that easy to get rid of, we would have become God...:)

I read somewhere that world of pretend is not a warm cocoon but a hard bed, still most of us infact a vast majority of the world ignorantly survives in that world. If only the moments stayed and memories perished....

We Chat!!

I am nervous, a bundle of super excited nerves, anticipation bubbling and brewing on top of my mind . Today is 'the day' I had been waiting for a long time. Today I shall get all my answers and the ultimate secret of life. I have to finish my shift or I would be the last one to join.

When I saw the advertisement , I did not not believe the possibilities, but here I am ready to have a tete-a-tete with all these biggies. Whats the use of technology if you cant attempt the impossible. It took me 3 weeks to decide the 5 personalities with whom I wanted to "connect". Today I will have my own private 20 questions with them. May be now you can share my excitement.

As soon as I reached home I was faced with dilemma of what to wear, considering the grandeur of my guests today I could not be seen in a drab jeans, t-shirt. And to top that one of the guest has been my crush since eternity. Before I could make myself presentable my phone started whirring crazy.

GOD-Kiddo you cant be late when you decide to have a chat with me. I have work to do, now dont sit on your lazy ass and come here.

ME-Arent you supposed to be all gentle, calm and patient.

GOD- Aah!! another moronic assumption about me. You seriously think I could manage this chaotic hell of a world by being patient or calm. You see this Macbook Air, I have purchased it recently to organize my chores. Pretty mean machine this is!!

ME- You purchased it?? You could have snapped your fingers and got it for free..is'nt that how it happens.

SHAHRUKH KHAN- Dont worry senorita, bade bade deshon me aisi choti choti baatein hoti rehti hai...

ME-Oh my god, you are actually here, and this is so cool , you seem so close and real ...(I was blushing already and he could see me)

GOD-(rolling his eyes) Listen kiddos I dont have all day to listen to this Love-Guru so ratsy are you ready to shoot your queries..

ME- Sure, but all of them are not connected there are 2 more to follow..;

GOD- Okay, but then you guys have to smoke up the pot with me..

SHAHRUKH KHAN-  This is unexpected...It wont go well with my reputation..I have a daughter you see..she wont like it...

GOD-Stop with the hypocrisy you fool, dont tell me you have stopped smoking infront of her, coz seeing the promos of your Chennai Express I can only imagine the packs you have devoured.

MOTHER TERESA-Be faithful in small things , it is in them your strength lies.

ME- Aah!!  The person I was waiting for...

GOD- stop lying infront of me, You are forgetting I can read minds...You were waiting eagerly for SRK to turn up..(Rolls up a joint and takes a drag)

SHAHRUKH KHAN- I knew senorita , you were waiting for me, isnt it?? Kya karu ladkiyan aksar mujhe apna dil de baithti hain, hmmm.(magically the joint appears in his hands)

I was getting exasperated, I wanted to ask so many questions, so many ideas I had to discuss, and here they are discussing there own philosophies, getting baked like any thing. I wasnt expecting Mother Teresa to smoke, but she was the most enthusiastic smoking like a pro. May be God had something else in mind, may be he was just playing with me. But I still had hope, as the 4th person I had invited for this is Danielle Steele, may be she brings about a semblance to the party.


DANIEL STEELE- Ratsy, you realize that some people are not meant to stay in your life, they are just a fleeting moment in your life, now you may wanna hold on to that moment and get stuck in it, or you might wanna move on.

that was my moment of truth, this was something I had in my mind to discuss with her and God ofcourse. Then I looked at my screen, God was smirking behind the joint and the quirkiness of the moment had me smile too. He had read my mind and was answering my questions through other people.

ME- If you know what I want to ask each one of you, you might be knowing the 5th person I wanna chat with , but I have no inkling whether its possible or not.

SRK- agar dil se kisi cheez ko paane ki khwahish karo, to puri kaaynaat use tumse milaane ki koshish karegi.

DANIEL STEELE- Sometimes if you are not sure about something, you just have to jump down from the bridge and grow wings on your way down.

ME- Thats not the case with me, I guess I have passed the phase of wishing and hoping. Its about how to deal with the loss. The absence which is sharpening the feelings every second, the memories haunting...

MOTHER TERESA-I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.


GOD- Listen kiddo, I can tell you only one thing, I have seen it all, I have brought it all, I know you have had it tough, but I also know you have the strength and thats why the pain. You have never let me down, and if I wouldnt be stoned I wouldnt have told you this, but you are doing fine till date and will be alright.

SRK- I am supposed to be an expert on the topic you wanted to discuss, but let me tell you just one thing its difficult what you did. And you dont need to find happiness outside, just look for it in right places.

DANIEL STEELE-  If you can see the magic in a fairy tale, you can face the future.

MOTHER TERESA- child you are a reflection of god, (god rolled his eyes at that, and I caught him doing that) and you shall behave like him, be generous, be giving and you shall receive.

GOD- i wouldnt go as far as to compare you with me, but be brave, forget the past..stop worrying about the future and you will be alright..now take up the joint and attain nirvaana.

Now I couldnt refuse God his wish, so I smoked....and suddenly the whole gang appeared infront of me, SRK flirting with Mother Teresa, Daniel Steele chatting up With god as if they were long lost buddies, and then the 5th person I wanted to be a part of this conversation appeared...may be I was hallucinating, may be it was all my imagination, may be all of it was my imagination, but there he was..and all I wanted to do was ask just one question, where did I falter?? What was my fault?? I saw him mumbling something but it was inaudible.. he tried to hold my hand but was fading slowly, and then I saw GOD smiling a calm one. May be it is time to let go, may be its time to heal...the scars will be there but they will be a reminder of letting the expectations go and be happy..After ages I am feeling sleepy and I just want to close my eyes,..its time to sleep and dream new dreams...


The above post is a work of fiction and is written for We Chat We connect contest in association with Indiblogger.

बोल

जिन  जंजीरों ने जकड़ा था 

वो टूटना  बाक़ी है 

कतरा कतरा रोज  मरे हैं 

थोडा जीना बाकी है 

उन अरमानों से कह दो 

फिर फैला ले अपने पंख 

 कदम चाल अब बहुत चल लिए 

थोडा उड़ना बाकी है 

शब्द लिखे वो सुने नहीं थे 

बोल कहे वो पढ़े नहीं थे 

ग़ैरों  की अब बहुत सुन चुके 

थोडा कहना बाकी है 

कतरा  कतरा रोज मरे हैं 

थोडा जीना बाकी है 

Life happens!

Courage is not about having the strength to go on,its all about going on when you dont even have the strength. I read this when i was going through one of the worst phases of my life(and i seem to have made a habit of having worst phases every now and then.) and this has stuck with me ever since. i have had days when i gave up, i have had days  when i stood up, i have had days when i stumbled ,fell flat on my face but what i never did was give up,(though i was tempted to do It most of the time,but fate did not let me) i would be lying if i say im  again ready to take a challenge , im not. All i want to do is rest my  tired to the bone soul, put my head in your lap and sleep for the rest of my life dreaming the   dreams i always saw.. but life does give you lemons. Someone said to me once that the real emergencies are only if  your house is on fire, you are starving or you are dying. Well its none of these right now  but another kind of emergency the heart burning kind. I know  the wise man who told me about the real emergencies must be smirking  on reading this. I have gone beyond the point of really caring about else. Selfishness becomes your barrier and an effective one at that. I am not ready to give up,not yet. Just one more try even if takes every ounce of will power i have. One of the biggest misconception we feed our souls is that change is gradual, well its not. Its so sudden that it sucks the air out of our lungs, knock us on all fours. One day we are  alpha  while the next moment we Are surrendering our selves to the higher powers. I want to write, magical words, gleaming with emotions, but they dont come to me easily. I wont give up, not yet even if it means writing a blogpost about the leibster awards I received(trust me this was not emotional blackmail to get you to read my post but an honest confession.

Ritvik Gautam who writes at Casacio has been gracious enough to pass on the liebby as he calls it, Im sure you all know the rules of liebster. So here are the 11 questions Ritvik wants me to answer.

1.What does your name mean?

Well my Name was kept after goddess Rati.

2. What is your ideal holiday destination like and why?

On top of my mind is Greece island, dont ask me the reason why.

3.if you had a geanie and he could grant one wish what would be it and why?

Well its simple, i want to go back to 9th july 2011 and remain stuck in that day for ever.

4. What according to you is that one thing that could change the present situation of the country?

Again very simple,  make rajnikant the head of our country and deport the foreign rulers.

5. What is god to you?

The only light i see when rest of the people in my life have blown all my candles.

6. Before I die, I want to...

Simplicity is my middle name, try all the adventure sports in the world.

7. Blogger or wordpress?

Well im a self confessed tech-challenged person so blogger for me.

8. What would you like to be reborn as ?

Considering the amount of pampering my murphy is getting definitely murphy.

9.  One thing you wish you could just delete from your life.

Not thing, but person.

10. What would your alternate occupation be?

Without a doubt journalist.

11. Whats your honest opinion about my blog?

Well without being diplomatic ill tell you that i make it a point to read all your BAT entries and they are upto the mark. You are getting there.
 Rest of the rules i have already followed and you could read them here.

Divine intervention.

I rest
My trust in you
Pulled me from abysmal ditch
Soaked me in translucent divinity
elevated my dreams at your feet cocooned
I pledge my eternal being to you
Lord I pray to salvage
Mangled soul so
I rest.

This poem is shared with Theme Thursday and this
Is rictameter form where we write in 2-4-6-8-10-8-6-4-2 and
The first and last line is same,this I learnt on
real toads.

The chant

The chant
Of hope,peace,love
Traverses through my soul 

 butterfly riding rainbow dreams,
Vibrant hues sparkle paints the stream and clouds
I encircle the shrine redeeming dreams
Rosaries blink like stars
the monks whisper
The chant

Irony

I burned the moon
Flames engulfing
Me and my soul
Alleviating the chill
Your icicle stare
Seeped in my bones.

I drank the ocean
Waves lashing
At my heart
Quenching the parched dreams
Your insatiable will
Scorched my skin.

Irony played me
Like a puppet
On the threads
Our resemblance
Shone in the fact
That I loved you
And you loved you.

Ramp ready...oops stage ready!!

"Women are complicated, even Brahma , the creator of the world can not understand you ladies...!!"

This was an outburst from my non-female (Oh there is a specific term for that!!..male) friends back in college. I disagreed then, I disagree now.
The simplicity lies in the fact that we can forget any tension by retail therapy, we can overcome any problem by a visit to our favorite salon and brush away any woes by just a makeover..I might get my ears burned if any feminists are reading my this statement. Jokes apart, every female (and now it includes every male!!!) wants to look prim n propah, and what makes it so special is this that ladies want to do it for themselves, not to impress any guy. They are rediscovering their beauty, expanding their choices and loving it.
I was born with hair, which has its own mind...yes my hair has its own mind , when I want it to remain poker straight, it gets curled and not those fairy like curls but twisted and tangled...and when I purposely curl them all they do is fall flat, limp and lifeless.
*Sigh...
I used to crib about my hair, until the day my sister declared she owns the tag of 'bad hair day' and I was dethroned automatically.

This is what her hair appeared after trying numerous hair products(which of course claimed to smoothen the frizzes but ended up frying her hair).

Now I am a true Indian, I always go empty stomach in a party (specially those where I dont even have to carry gifts.) and I apply for any thing that has stamped FREE over it. So it was natural that when TRESemme's sample popped up on Indiblogger's page I clicked on it without even thinking and when I received the free samples, I was a bit skeptical on using them. But my Indian spirit got the better of me and I washed my hairs with the shampoo and the conditioner (salon silk moisture, for dry rough hair) and I know it sounds unbelievable but it did wonders from the first wash itself.

"You have to try this shampoo and conditioner. Its amazing!!!" I said.
"Huh, you said the same thing when you got that stupid ****** conditioner." my sister retorted.
"No, no its seriously good yaar. Just try once, if you dont like it I  will finish the bottle."
"Okay, but just one wash , but if it doesnt work I will never listen to your advice on hair care."

Now after a lot of cajoling and coaxing she did use both the things and voila, her hair was silkier, and manageable. The best thing about the shampoo was that there was almost no hair fall, as most of the chemical laden shampoos do, they make your hair silky but at the cost of the hair itself..and the conditioner too worked miracles on my sister's tangled twisted mane. Now we could not stop at just ogling at the pretty hair so we set to work and some real cool hairstyles emerged as a result, ranging from fish braids to twisted ponytail. But when we curled her hair, it was too good to be true and the hair looked straight from the ramp.

My rockstar was ready with her awesome hair and her guitar........and we lived happily ever after.


This post has been written for INDIBLOOGER in collaboration with TRESemme India

Toke- Book review.

Toke- By Jugal Mody
Harper Collins Publication
Price-160 Rs.
ISBN 978-93-5029-340-9

When you receive a book for review, that exact moment is already supposed to be a moment of elation, add to it the subject of the book is all about getting 'high', so what do you feel? You get high on penned words, thats what you do and that is exactly what I did when I took the book in my hands. I had no idea what I was rushing into, but the story was far from predictable, attention-seeking, and focused.The protaganist of the book is not your cliched, muscular, John Abraham types dude, but an average office-goer with a weird sense of humor and a great deal of un-wanted responsibility on his frail shoulders.
The element of mythology always adds spice for us, the devoted , God-fearing middle class people(Rich people dont have to worry about their karma, they absolve their sins by charity!!) However the mythology staring at us from the crisp pages is completely different from what ever you might be expecting or read previously. Lord Vishnu is not your soft spoken, serenely smiling , benevolent larger than life figure, but an awesome rock-n-rolla, marijuana loving, hilarious comic timing and an even better dressing sense(not to forget the dancing blondies behind him!!).
The confusion starts when a guy having an average IQ and an even lower sense of responsibility is faced with a task of saving the world(read the book to know the cause of destruction), his allies are nothing but two of his college friends (read pot-smoking) , two japanese(err they may be chinese ) chicks with impeccable fighting skills and uninhibited love for the two friends, a geek, and a snitch. Yeah they are aided by Lord Vishnu, Shiva and other mythological figures but the humongous task had to be performed by them.

The plot is fast moving with its twists and turns, evil fighting the good (oops good fighting the evil) and at times you wonder what did the author smoke himself before conjuring up such a ridiculously unbelievable plot and characters. I mean fantasy is one thing and mythology is another, when you mix it up and blend it with humor, You get "TOKE".
The characters including the protaganist and his allies are believeable and you can relate to them on a number of levels, be it professional scenario as in a Multinational corporation or personal level where the hero lusts after his office beauty.
An absolute delight to read it for the first time and I recommend it to all those who cant travel without a book in their hands. It will allow you to forget your daily woes even if for a moment or so. You will wonder "what if?" someday this happens with you. I read it somewhere there are no bad books ever. This one is worth spending your hard earned 160 Rs. If I write any further I will give away the freshness of the plot. My rating for this book is 3.5/5 and I will be looking forward to read more of Jugal Mody in future as well. The cover page in itself invites you over for a look through.All in all a good read.
P.S. In this era where every third person is becoming a published author, with a soppy love story, Jugal Mody's TOKE is a breath of fresh air.
"Fun , fantastic freakshow...."

Lucknow literary festival through my eyes.

Recently I attended the first ever Literary festival held in Lucknow and I wanted to share my experience. Fablery publication was kind enough to allow me to express my heart felt warmth at the festival on their blog.
Here is a link to the post. Enjoy.

Lucknow Literary Festival Through my eyes.

10 rules to follow after break-up

Ok, so the honey dewy love-glossed matinee show is over, the mauve tinted glasses have been taken off by the same person who put them up on your eyes, and you have hit the big B, and by no means I mean the great Mr. Amitabh Bachhan. The break up has happened, the "never-ending", "will always be there for you" love has come to an end. Hmmmm what to do now, or more important what not to do.If you are looking for agony aunts or uncles, this might be the time for you to turn away and ask it on Quora.
 denial, thats all we live in for initial days, and if you survive that safely, give yourself a brand new samsung tab, you deserve it(stop with the greed and dont say why not I-pad).

1. Avoid alcohol-Now dont go all cynical and pound on me, I am not saying to go all dry and not high, but limit your access to the doomed drinks and stay away from binge drinking. What did i hear?? come again?? aah u r talking about devdas or srk or dilip kumar...well they had the greatest advantage as aashiques, cell phones were not invented, mails were passed through pigeons and mark zuckerberg wasnt even born let alone fb or google. so you understand what am i trying to save you from, the deadly drunk call...you have few drinks, your mind is messed up bad, the first thing you do is call the sucker. even if you call to just say a simple hi, you will end up telling him/her how badly you miss them, that you are the same loser who got left(reasons not important). so to avoid these bloopers STAY AWAY FROM ALCOHOL!!!!! (for few months at least, then you can indulge...:P)

2.Delete the doomed digits- If you look at a wider picture, why carry the unwanted numbers and load your phone's memory with it(rather upload some cute pictures of Jessica Alba, Eva longoria, or Ian Somerhalder whatever works for you, you know what I mean when I say cute, dont ya???)  It is extremely unlikely for you to dial the 10 digits again and again , specially if you dont have the drunk excuse. Also if you are stoned you wont be able to dial the correct number and who knows you land up in some Johnny's phone rather than  your x-beloved Jasmine's. Also delete the messages, photos, mails, there is absolutely no freaking need to pile on. The message is DELETE THE DAMNED CONTACT.

3.Stay away from the happy couples- You might resent it and say they are your only hope in getting you back on your feet and the positive vibes from them blah blah will yadda yadda happy feelings. Bullshit!!!! with a capital B , when it comes to post-apocalyptic ooppps Post breakup state, most of the contemporary philosophies(well whom am I kidding??) alll of the philosophies fall flat as a bread on their freaking face.So instead of hanging around your engaged or married or would be married couples and making them uncomfortable get away from them. They will only make you feel super-conscious of your 'single' status and may be unintentionally , it will be in-your-face more than Eminem's urban poetry. You will be reminded of your 'happy days' in their proximity, even if they dont say a word and sit together, you will infer something memorable out of it. (Remember love stimulates same centres as pain does in brain...) Its sitting on a pin-cushion if you keep hanging with the 'couples'. (Remember Ted in How I met your mother?) The message -STAY AWAY FROM COUPLES.

4.Common sites- Now thats a pretty improbable thing to ask, but if possible stay away from the common sites 'you' visited as a duo. Now if you are working in the same office, GOD bless your blemished soul, but if not then scout for some new pubs, cafes( again, if your never-ending love story brewed in CCD or Barista, dear GOD bless you!!!!) To cut the long story short, shun, avoid , ban those old hang outs from you own life. If you live in a metro you will have no issues finding new bistros, pizzerias and delis. No, India gate doesnt commemorate your love and also Marine drive wasnt structured to remind those long hours you wasted discussing the non-existing future and other things which you could have invested in more productive things(and I dont mean making babies). Now dont go all teary-eyed and say "I meant it then"...the simple rule in Love-if its not forever its not love dude(whether its lust or misinterpretation is upto you to decide...:P) The message-STAY AWAY FROM COMMON HANG-OUTS.

5. Delete 'your songs'- Actually that should have been the first advice, 'in a relationship' all the duets appear as if they were belted out for you and only YOU..(SIRF TUM!!!) No sir, A.R.Rehman is not even aware of your existence let alone your belief in the fact that "Rehna Tu" is exclusively created for you. Neither did Pritam think of you while 'composing'(ahem ahem!) "Tu Jaane Naa..." Admit it, you relate every romantic song with you when you are dating, and as soon as the shit hits the fan all sad and tragic songs are all you hear everywhere. Remember there are 10000 people like you who are suffering from the same breakup syndrome(I am sorry to break the bubble of your unique love story). So the next best thing to do, delete them, erase them, do not listen to them for a lonnnnnggggggggg time(never!!!!) I know we are depriving ourselves of a sweet melody, but there are 100000 more songs to search, and who knows while searching for a new genre you might stumble on something mind blowing.The message is simple-DELETE AND NEVER EVER LISTEN 'YOUR' SONGS.

6. Make hard rock your BFF- This is a general destressing therapy I discovered in Medical College where long study hours can be grueling to the point of driving you mad. Also pile on the tantrums of college mates and always sarcastic professor, you have the perfect recepie for stressed mind and body. But not to worry when Asteria is for rescue. Think ACDC, think LINKIN PARK, think Metallica......Plug the earphones , max the volume and voila the screaming voices, the hard hitting drums fill your ears and soul only to clog out the thing eating away your grey matter. Well this works for every situation, and break up is no different. Whenever your mind starts wandering in the prohibited lanes of your blissful past, rush to the i-pod and drown your self in the raps of Chester and Eminem till the time you are not able to think coherently.MAKE HARD ROCK YOUR BEST FRIEND.

7. Abuse(In Private)- Come on, dont tell me throughout while  you two were together there never was a moment when you did not want to strangle the person with your bare hands. So, sit , meditate and remember all those times you got stood up on dates, forgotten anniversaries, the time when he/she ridiculed on your ignorance on something he/she masters. Remember all those times and thank god you dont have to keep wondering whether the plan for movie is still on or you will have to spend one more weekend alone. Just be careful of doing that in private, i mean use the glorious expletives in whatever language you prefer, but do that in confines of your home/bathroom/journal/blog. Your not complying to the rule of abusing in private may add loser to the already pathetic state of your persona in society. So take out those clandestine expletives rotting in some corner of your brain and start ranting..:) It will take time if you really really were in true, bollywoodisque type love but You will come around. ABUSE AND ABUSE UNTIL YOU ARE TIRED.

8.Steer clear of the 'single friends'- Okay you might jab me and say not to party with couples, not to stay with single friends, then where to bang your heads. Relax, there is a third species which you might not have noticed during courtship period. The breed which is single and not at all ready to mingle. You get me right?? The moment news of your break up is leaked with a cautious "Do not tell any one." Every single male gets a heads up, as if the fact You are single will improve their thin-as-a-sliver-chance of hitting on you. They take the whole and soul responsibility of consoling you(as if you needed the acid to pour on your burning heart, no heart burn is different..:P) They start dropping these Larger than life hints how they have always seen you as their soul-mates and blah, yadda, zabba. Well , beware of such species, specially girls need to be on look out for these prominent members of FOSLA. The iron is hot as you are most susceptible to a rebound, and the 'forever alone' friends think they will hit. If you fall prey to their non-existent feelings, you are adding catastrophe to already existing disaster.
STAY AWAY FROM 'SINGLE' AND READY TO MINGLE FRIENDS.

9.Learn to do things on your own-Now that you are clearly on your own, its high time you learn how to sync your i-pod with your i-pad or how to keep your pictures hidden from 456 friends on your facebook(yess, I have seen people who were totally unaware of the privacy option on FB until their respective bfs/gfs told them.) I am sure you must be having troubles but learn people, learn!!! Next time you date you will be the one telling the direction to the Joint. Also, now you will have ample time on your hands to watch those movies which were rotting in your hard disk, coz you are free from all this,
"Why hasnt he called me?"

"Is she with some one else?"
"Am I not good enough for him."

"Will she dump me like she dumped Rajesh, Suresh, Akshat??"

"Jaanu, first you hang the phone....no you....no you.....see you didnt hang it either, ok lets count to 1,2,3 and keep together. 1.....2.......3......see you did not hang it again..."

So ladies and gentleman do all those things you wanted to do but didnt coz your BF/GF wasnt interested. Go for Wine tasting, trekking, writing seminars while you are single, coz no matter how much you train yourself not to fall for someone else, you are bound to rebound with someone much hotter or smarter!! LEARN SOMETHING NEW.INDULGE.

10. Last and the most Important- There was that unique quality which made you fall for them, be it their intelligence, compassion, or their enthusiasm for new things. Remember them and try to imbibe those. Relationships leave an impact on all of us, so its better to keep the good and throw the bad. Take all those good things and discard else. You will be a better person.

If nothing works, either join some Sahaj yoga or hit your head with a hammer coz when you 'fell-in-love' you DID  serve your heart on a plate like a hamburger to the devil and asked him to slice through it multiple no of times.



P.S.. If people write about death doesnt mean they have died or if they express about rape doesnt mean they were raped. You get what I want to say.