My laundry lot had an interesting new addition today. During my spring clean over the weekend, I found the famous "Blue" T-shirt with the tricolor brushed on the front and INDIA emblazoned on top of it. I gave it a sad look, before chucking it in the machine with my other colored clothes, just in case it let go of it's colors(is that a pun?well if it is, it is intended). I was talking to another cricket fanatic friend of mine who said "Indians have shown their true colors again", I sort of sneered, I still felt sad. It's so easy for the Indian cricket team to choke and sputter and that is always typified with them showing their "true colors". I nodded and hesitantly said, "Ya, that's true, they indeed have shown their true colors again".
So I ask myself, what are the true colors of the Indian cricket team? Choking ever so often to inexperienced, sub standard teams that visit the country? Or for once standing up and saying, we are definitely the 2nd best cricketing nation in the world and we are here to kick some big time arse!
My alarm for the laundry cycle has just gone off. So, while I still use the laundromat to wash away the "blues" and wish that my Indian Blue cricket t-shirt has not let go off it's colors, I truly wish the Indian team would really let go off their "typical" true colors and help me wash away the blues I feel ever so often when I see them play.
Monday, March 28, 2005
Friday, March 25, 2005
The Russian Acquaintance
There is a Russian guy I know for the last 9 months. We see each other daily as we commute together.
We met one rainy wet day, if you're in Brussels, you would end up using that phrase "We met one rainy wet day" very often. I had crouched over to look at these slugs crawling across the pavement and he towered over me and said, "What are those", I replied "I think they are called slugs", he went,"Slaags, is that what you call them?" then turned away and kept repeating, "slaags, slaags, slaags.....".
As I already mentioned, I do see him daily, so in his efforts to move from acquaintance to friend, he tried to pick up the conversation thread again, he came real close and shouted "Where are the SLAAGS MAN", it was one of those rare bright and shiny days and I looked at him after a tiring day and said, "hopefully, the slugs atleast know where they are today" and trudged along, I could hear him go, while he nodded his head "Slaags, slaags slaags...".
This continued for a few months, he would ask me, the whereabouts and howabouts of the "Slaags", he asked if I ate "slaags", or if i liked "slaags" and I would give him some answer to quench his thirst for "Slaag" knowledge.
This went on till one day our mode of transport decide to show up late, I fumbled for things in my bag to read, rather to look occupied, to my utter dismay, there was nothing, so I tried to take out my cellphone and pretend I was thumbing a text message to someone. I could feel him creep up close to me. Suddenly, "Dudee!!do you speak french?", I look up say, "un peu"("a bit" in french) just to ward him off, that I am not good to help you with any translation, but good enough to understand any abuses you may want to hurl at me because I don't know the god damn where abouts of the "slaags". He smiled and said, "Good" and then went on to explain how he started to learn french after 2 years of living in Brussels as some passport authority told him it was a shame he had made no efforts to learn the language of a country he lived in. Suddenly, I realized that this Russian had a bit of depth to him, and isn't only interested in the lives of slugs.
I started saying Hi to him more often, and he would respond with a "Dude!!" or a "Hey DudO!!", man I was glad, we had been able to put the slugs behind us.
It would be perfect if I stopped here, but the fact of the matter is that we still commute together and potentially I could be working on the same office floor as his in a week!! Now that calls for some more words on this man!!
After our initial "slugfest" was over, I had decided to open up a bit to his loud enquiries into my past and future. I really don't mind answering questions about myself, while I hate asking people inquisitive questions about their lives - like "why are you not working in your own country?", "do you really like this crappy city?","So you like the west more than the east?"(questions posed to me by you know who!!??!!). Anyway, I found his line of questioning and especially his response to my answers quite ridiculous (maybe it's just my lack of cultural understanding) but I relegated the russian to the acquaintance status, right when he thought he was moving into friend status.
I would say he is a bit of a conversational and social retard, not in the terms that he talks less or doesn't interact much. On the contrary, he overdoes it. I was at an expat bar for an after work drinks thingy, I saw the Russian there and managed to stay at the other end of the bar and engaged myself in animated conversations with people around me. The Russian was with a few other men and was downing vodka in true, for lack of a better term "Russian style". A couple of hours had passed and I hear this very familiar voice, albeit a bit slurry this time, "Heeey, you are sooo beeauoootiful, you are the most beeeauoootiful sing I have seen this naait"(sorry I am trying to communicate the slur and the accent to create the right impact), I really jumped out of my pants there..It was the Russian, but phew.. thankfully, he was saying it to some lady who was standing right behind me. She was making a valiant effort to not spray that sip of her drink she had just taken in, all over my Russian acquaintance. I decided to slip away, before I was in anyway summoned to help him solve this latest situation in his life. I have to confess, I have at times made such statements, but have done so, probably, to women who I have known for a while and who are comfortable to hear it from me and probably under lesser influence of alcohol. But ya my Russian acquaintance had said it to a total stranger, that's real bravado and a glaring example of his social and conversational skills
I respect my "Russian Acquiantance's continued efforts to know more people and become part of the "western decadence" as he likes to call it. Hope there are enough slugs around Brussels for him to make more friends.
Here's till Tuesday morning, when I see him again.
We met one rainy wet day, if you're in Brussels, you would end up using that phrase "We met one rainy wet day" very often. I had crouched over to look at these slugs crawling across the pavement and he towered over me and said, "What are those", I replied "I think they are called slugs", he went,"Slaags, is that what you call them?" then turned away and kept repeating, "slaags, slaags, slaags.....".
As I already mentioned, I do see him daily, so in his efforts to move from acquaintance to friend, he tried to pick up the conversation thread again, he came real close and shouted "Where are the SLAAGS MAN", it was one of those rare bright and shiny days and I looked at him after a tiring day and said, "hopefully, the slugs atleast know where they are today" and trudged along, I could hear him go, while he nodded his head "Slaags, slaags slaags...".
This continued for a few months, he would ask me, the whereabouts and howabouts of the "Slaags", he asked if I ate "slaags", or if i liked "slaags" and I would give him some answer to quench his thirst for "Slaag" knowledge.
This went on till one day our mode of transport decide to show up late, I fumbled for things in my bag to read, rather to look occupied, to my utter dismay, there was nothing, so I tried to take out my cellphone and pretend I was thumbing a text message to someone. I could feel him creep up close to me. Suddenly, "Dudee!!do you speak french?", I look up say, "un peu"("a bit" in french) just to ward him off, that I am not good to help you with any translation, but good enough to understand any abuses you may want to hurl at me because I don't know the god damn where abouts of the "slaags". He smiled and said, "Good" and then went on to explain how he started to learn french after 2 years of living in Brussels as some passport authority told him it was a shame he had made no efforts to learn the language of a country he lived in. Suddenly, I realized that this Russian had a bit of depth to him, and isn't only interested in the lives of slugs.
I started saying Hi to him more often, and he would respond with a "Dude!!" or a "Hey DudO!!", man I was glad, we had been able to put the slugs behind us.
It would be perfect if I stopped here, but the fact of the matter is that we still commute together and potentially I could be working on the same office floor as his in a week!! Now that calls for some more words on this man!!
After our initial "slugfest" was over, I had decided to open up a bit to his loud enquiries into my past and future. I really don't mind answering questions about myself, while I hate asking people inquisitive questions about their lives - like "why are you not working in your own country?", "do you really like this crappy city?","So you like the west more than the east?"(questions posed to me by you know who!!??!!). Anyway, I found his line of questioning and especially his response to my answers quite ridiculous (maybe it's just my lack of cultural understanding) but I relegated the russian to the acquaintance status, right when he thought he was moving into friend status.
I would say he is a bit of a conversational and social retard, not in the terms that he talks less or doesn't interact much. On the contrary, he overdoes it. I was at an expat bar for an after work drinks thingy, I saw the Russian there and managed to stay at the other end of the bar and engaged myself in animated conversations with people around me. The Russian was with a few other men and was downing vodka in true, for lack of a better term "Russian style". A couple of hours had passed and I hear this very familiar voice, albeit a bit slurry this time, "Heeey, you are sooo beeauoootiful, you are the most beeeauoootiful sing I have seen this naait"(sorry I am trying to communicate the slur and the accent to create the right impact), I really jumped out of my pants there..It was the Russian, but phew.. thankfully, he was saying it to some lady who was standing right behind me. She was making a valiant effort to not spray that sip of her drink she had just taken in, all over my Russian acquaintance. I decided to slip away, before I was in anyway summoned to help him solve this latest situation in his life. I have to confess, I have at times made such statements, but have done so, probably, to women who I have known for a while and who are comfortable to hear it from me and probably under lesser influence of alcohol. But ya my Russian acquaintance had said it to a total stranger, that's real bravado and a glaring example of his social and conversational skills
I respect my "Russian Acquiantance's continued efforts to know more people and become part of the "western decadence" as he likes to call it. Hope there are enough slugs around Brussels for him to make more friends.
Here's till Tuesday morning, when I see him again.
Dimaag ki..
Dimaag ki.. loosely translated means "The brain's", but those two words are usually followed up with a variety of vernacular colloquial words to signify people's state of mind - from being stupefied, to being amused, to being annoyed etc. etc.. I am using it as a heading for my blog only because I want to put down a lot of things on this blog which made my mind feel happy/elated/angry/annoyed/flummoxed/smug and the list goes on.
So it's spring time here in Brussels, it was 9 degrees, raining and grey - I don't mind the weather, but so much for spring :-s (I keep telling people, I as an Indian inherently will always love the rain because that's the only weather worth anything in India and it will really take me a long time to get out of that indian frame of mind, oh the number of love songs written with rain as a backdrop) - The nonchalant state of my brain :)
Saw I "heart Huckabees, not sure what I walked away with from that movie. It had it's moments but it didn't take me in like my previous vehemently recommended "Garden State". Yet I am gonna watch it a couple of times to get a hang of it - The flummoxed state of my brain.
My previous post on this blog spoke of blogging being a possibility of truly "free" expression through the written word. Read this, how the leading newspaper in India has forced a blogger to shut down his blog, the blog that was shut down http://mediaah.blogspot.com/ and the blog that still carries the content from the previous blog (run by another blogger)http://mediaha.blogspot.com/? I got this from Amit Varma's blog http://indiauncut.blogspot.com/(good reading) - The angry state of my brain.
U2 got inducted into the R&RHOF - Amazing speeches and amazing performance to one of my all time favorite songs if performed live - Until the end of the world. Bono serenades Catherine Zeta in the Audience, pops a bottle champagne from someone's table. Great stuff. Read speeches here http://u2log.com/archive/2005/03/rebels_without_a_pause.php - The "There is hope in the world" state of my mind.
I had written to a friend last week, 4th day of second test match between India and Pakistan - "Key lies with Kumble", the man took 7 wickets to make India win the test - The smug state of my mind.
Carrying on with that topic. In my limited knowledge of cricket, I feel this is by far the least experienced and one of the weakest Pakistani sides to have toured India, on the other hand, this is by far the best composed Indian team in years. Unfortunately, the Indian media has blamed the pitches way too long. I feel sad that India is not 2-0 in this series and has not been able to wipe out the Pakistan team in less than 4 days. Something is wrong somewhere. The Indian cricket team has miles to go before they can claim to be number 2 in the world. - The WTF state of my mind.
Came back from my 5 days of skiing, the 3rd ski season I have seen in this life time, the sun was pounding down and we had some fresh powder towards the end of the 5 days. So it was perfect ski conditions. I came back sun burnt as hell but the feeling of going down those slopes at speeds of 70 - 80 Km/h (ya i clocked 83Km/h on the speedometer),forgetting things like fear of broken bones and doctor's fees(Viva swiss insurance schemes)! Skiing is my closest contact to any sort of extreme activity. It's a great sport, hope I can pursue it for years - The ecstatic state of my mind.
I am trying to put up pictures on this god damn blog. Now I don't want to sign up with some 50 thousand different photo sharing websites like picassa and hello and flickr. Can anyone who is a little less technologically retarded than me, point me to the right direction? - The frustrated state of my mind.
The guys at nomadlife have asked me to sign up with them. They can't offer me a url with more than 14 characters and I want to stick to this suspendedamitation brand, can someone convince me why I should join nomadlife, and I wonder what they are gonna do one day with the network they are building? - The pensive state of my mind.
Don't mean to be making "Dimaag ki kadhi" (Curry out of your brains), so am gonna say over n out for a bit..Happy easter and enjoy your long weekends.
So it's spring time here in Brussels, it was 9 degrees, raining and grey - I don't mind the weather, but so much for spring :-s (I keep telling people, I as an Indian inherently will always love the rain because that's the only weather worth anything in India and it will really take me a long time to get out of that indian frame of mind, oh the number of love songs written with rain as a backdrop) - The nonchalant state of my brain :)
Saw I "heart Huckabees, not sure what I walked away with from that movie. It had it's moments but it didn't take me in like my previous vehemently recommended "Garden State". Yet I am gonna watch it a couple of times to get a hang of it - The flummoxed state of my brain.
My previous post on this blog spoke of blogging being a possibility of truly "free" expression through the written word. Read this, how the leading newspaper in India has forced a blogger to shut down his blog, the blog that was shut down http://mediaah.blogspot.com/ and the blog that still carries the content from the previous blog (run by another blogger)http://mediaha.blogspot.com/? I got this from Amit Varma's blog http://indiauncut.blogspot.com/(good reading) - The angry state of my brain.
U2 got inducted into the R&RHOF - Amazing speeches and amazing performance to one of my all time favorite songs if performed live - Until the end of the world. Bono serenades Catherine Zeta in the Audience, pops a bottle champagne from someone's table. Great stuff. Read speeches here http://u2log.com/archive/2005/03/rebels_without_a_pause.php - The "There is hope in the world" state of my mind.
I had written to a friend last week, 4th day of second test match between India and Pakistan - "Key lies with Kumble", the man took 7 wickets to make India win the test - The smug state of my mind.
Carrying on with that topic. In my limited knowledge of cricket, I feel this is by far the least experienced and one of the weakest Pakistani sides to have toured India, on the other hand, this is by far the best composed Indian team in years. Unfortunately, the Indian media has blamed the pitches way too long. I feel sad that India is not 2-0 in this series and has not been able to wipe out the Pakistan team in less than 4 days. Something is wrong somewhere. The Indian cricket team has miles to go before they can claim to be number 2 in the world. - The WTF state of my mind.
Came back from my 5 days of skiing, the 3rd ski season I have seen in this life time, the sun was pounding down and we had some fresh powder towards the end of the 5 days. So it was perfect ski conditions. I came back sun burnt as hell but the feeling of going down those slopes at speeds of 70 - 80 Km/h (ya i clocked 83Km/h on the speedometer),forgetting things like fear of broken bones and doctor's fees(Viva swiss insurance schemes)! Skiing is my closest contact to any sort of extreme activity. It's a great sport, hope I can pursue it for years - The ecstatic state of my mind.
I am trying to put up pictures on this god damn blog. Now I don't want to sign up with some 50 thousand different photo sharing websites like picassa and hello and flickr. Can anyone who is a little less technologically retarded than me, point me to the right direction? - The frustrated state of my mind.
The guys at nomadlife have asked me to sign up with them. They can't offer me a url with more than 14 characters and I want to stick to this suspendedamitation brand, can someone convince me why I should join nomadlife, and I wonder what they are gonna do one day with the network they are building? - The pensive state of my mind.
Don't mean to be making "Dimaag ki kadhi" (Curry out of your brains), so am gonna say over n out for a bit..Happy easter and enjoy your long weekends.
Saturday, March 05, 2005
Freedom of expression
This is by far one of the most easy, unedited and unmonitored form of expressing through the written word. A lot of people do use the medium very effectively to communicate exactly what they feel and think. A lot of people even use it to chronicle their lives, however boring that maybe.
I have wanted to write a lot of things that I usually think of, but i have to confess, I do hold myself back, even more than I would while talking to people. The spoken word, is said, and it goes away, people can remember it if they wish to, but there is no proof of it. On the other hand, this blog could stay on the www forever, even if I die, people could find it.
For a guy who is at the stage, where I am in life, the totally unbridled freedom of expression and thought may not go down too well. I mean come on, I am just starting my life, trying to find my feet in the real world, a job, a new set of friends in a different country, probably a Masters sometime in the future.
Imagine if people were to do a reference check about me on the internet and find some really earth shattering information (maybe one of those alcohol induced sessions of genius writing that I may belch out) - see now that is already bordering on a negative comment about me, it could be misconstrued that I drink copious amounts of alcohol or depend on alcohol to feel a moment of genius to write something noteworthy.. Oh well!!
Seriously, I don't know where this blog is heading, but I need to head out of here because I am really tempted to let out one of those really rip roaring belches which signify total defiance of anyone else's presence and express myself really really openly.. but on hindsight, it might not be a great idea.
Enjoy yr saturday nights everyone, wherever you are.
Actuallly a leaving note for all Indian's reading this,i'm hoping for miracles for Narain Karthikeyan!Something makes me want to back him. And seriously don't Indian politicians have more important things to attend to, than pass legislations if Indian sports people can wear the Indian tricolors as part of their sport uniform! If I was the sportsperson I would wear the tricolor and defy authority, what are they going to do? Take away my citizenship? Imagine, India without it's cricket team as indian citizens.. hahahahahah
I have wanted to write a lot of things that I usually think of, but i have to confess, I do hold myself back, even more than I would while talking to people. The spoken word, is said, and it goes away, people can remember it if they wish to, but there is no proof of it. On the other hand, this blog could stay on the www forever, even if I die, people could find it.
For a guy who is at the stage, where I am in life, the totally unbridled freedom of expression and thought may not go down too well. I mean come on, I am just starting my life, trying to find my feet in the real world, a job, a new set of friends in a different country, probably a Masters sometime in the future.
Imagine if people were to do a reference check about me on the internet and find some really earth shattering information (maybe one of those alcohol induced sessions of genius writing that I may belch out) - see now that is already bordering on a negative comment about me, it could be misconstrued that I drink copious amounts of alcohol or depend on alcohol to feel a moment of genius to write something noteworthy.. Oh well!!
Seriously, I don't know where this blog is heading, but I need to head out of here because I am really tempted to let out one of those really rip roaring belches which signify total defiance of anyone else's presence and express myself really really openly.. but on hindsight, it might not be a great idea.
Enjoy yr saturday nights everyone, wherever you are.
Actuallly a leaving note for all Indian's reading this,i'm hoping for miracles for Narain Karthikeyan!Something makes me want to back him. And seriously don't Indian politicians have more important things to attend to, than pass legislations if Indian sports people can wear the Indian tricolors as part of their sport uniform! If I was the sportsperson I would wear the tricolor and defy authority, what are they going to do? Take away my citizenship? Imagine, India without it's cricket team as indian citizens.. hahahahahah
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