Youtube Wars

Ever noticed how people keep arguing on You tube? You are only interested in watching a video or listening to a song you can't download for free online-ahem- and you watch You tube. You scroll down to the comments section and there they are: arguments, quarrels, fights about anything and everything in the world. The worst ones are as follows:

- Justin Beiber comments: Really people? So you are listening to Metallica or Lennon or whatver and people say Justin Beiber is**** (fill in the blanks.) It drives me nuts. I mean is it even relevant? Why can't people just shut their mouth and listen to the song. What do they care if JB is 16 or 18 or 12? Or if he is hetero or homo? I wish people would stop commenting on that

- How XYZ artist is way better than the one you are listening to: You think so? Then why are you listening to this artist in the first place. Go listen to XYZ. Stop acting like a moron and stop making nasty comments

- Religion: Especially when you listen to songs about wars or death, people comment about how religion is the root of all evil and how THIER religion is the best. Well, dudes, there is no point in fighting on You Tube about who's the best. No one cares. Stop wasting energy on typing useless things. And if you are so passionate about spreading awareness about your religion, go write a blog or something, dont plague You tube. Its for entertainment.

- Girls are dumber than boys: This one makes me so mad, that I cant help but leave a comment or two. (I know I know.) I just get so angry, @$#@#%#@$ to all MCPs who think that girls are dumber than boys. I dont even have to say anything. Shows who the dumber sex REALLY is.

And a few others: 

-Asking for thumbs up

- Saying you miss your BF/GF and you will love them eternally

- Saying all the people who dislike a song are morons

- Porno links

- Un cool home made videos

- Justin Beiber is a pussy. Oh but I already mentioned that. Never Mind.

So, here's a request: Please listen to the song. If you don't like it, use the dislike button and STOP FIGHTING.. F******

Now I feel better! :)

Henry

Have you ever met someone and thought that you just 'clicked' with them? There are many times in our lives when we cross paths with interesting people and feel like we have known them for a long amount of time. For a long time, I have had a fantasy. It is not sexual, but merely, romantic. During my travels, I have wished many times that I run into  an interesting guy and share a level of comfort with him, seen only in couples married for several years. What a completely fantastical idea! Cynics would say. And I couldn't agree more. I am a frequent traveler. I take all sorts of transportation from planes to ships and I love doing that. I have run into folks of various shapes and sizes ranging from pungent, monosyllabic responders to magniloquent, jabbering baboons. The balloon of hope has been deflated then inflated by someone showing an inkling of intellect, only to be deflated again numerous times. I had almost given up on meeting the 'talker' until I met this guy. I cannot obviously reveal his real name for fear that he would  be tracked down or worse still, if he ever reads this and finds out how I feel about him, he would be devastated and I would be extremely ashamed. Let us call him Henry.

What was so special about this Henry guy? For starters, I didn't meet him while traveling. He met me while he was traveling and I was stationary. He took refuge in my house for a few days. Refuge would be stayed with me while traveling the world! Henry was English, affable and had a great sense of humor. From the instant we shook hands at the bus station, I took an immense liking for him. We were talking to each other like we had never been separated. He was a talker. No. He was THE talker. Why is this talker so important? It is because I believe that these momentary relationships we forge with people have an impact on our lives so deep that we don't even realize it. This talker I talk about, is actually none other than a part-soulmate. Someone we are destined to meet but not for long. He teaches us some valuable lessons in life and goes away, leaving a yearning in the heart but wholesomeness in the soul. Whatever I shared with him for those lucky days, some may call it chemistry, some infatuation and some may go far by terming it love, those feelings were unique towards him and I would rather not give them a name. He fit the archetype I was looking for. The talker, a simple person at heart, not very rich in the materialistic sense, but having an open heart and a great smile. His eyes sparkling with mischievousness ready to tease you  at the slightest hint. It was not purely physical attraction and it was not only a spiritual connection. It was a mix of the two and that is what makes Henry my part-soulmate. Part because I do not want to spend my life with him. I don't have knowledge currently of whether I will be meeting him again.  There are many such people out there. You may or may not marry one of them, but you will definitely bump into them at corners far and near. Henry had a profound effect on me. I sincerely hope I made myself a tiny place in his heart where he keeps his happiness. I also hope that in future when life leaves a rancid flavor in his mouth as life is known to do, he thinks of me and smiles and it becomes bearable to go on.

Here's to the talker then!

the church bell

The church bell;

It strikes away

As I hear it

I seek redemption

But it tortures my soul

Fills me with an irritability

Like it’s the end

Like life has left

As time moves to another station

I stand there and there only,

Waiting for redemption.

But get tormented instead

The agony and ecstasy all at once

I am a saint that never was

It’s the church bell.

Someone please stand guard

Don’t let time slip away

Stop the church bell.

For a sign of life

The floor struggles under my feet,

As I sneak around on my own.

An abode, a place to call home

It is vacant, empty,silent.

The vastness, oh the vastness opens up,

Piercing my ears with its screams

I run for shelter, from my own house.

I am frantic for a sign of life.

The chairs are still,

The table stares with glazed eyes.

The sofa succumbs to sleep

And my bed lies.

A bulb comes to life,

Replacing the rooms with light,

That’s worse than darkness even

I furnish and I refurbish

I clean, wipe, scrub.

My towel lies as it was in the morning

Crumpled, wet by me

I look at the sinister wall staring,
Mocking my predicament

For a sign of life

Did this move?

Was that a shadow?

Is someone watching me?

I wish! I wish! The house was haunted

But for a sign of life.

Mee Marathi!

Disclaimer: This post is not meant to discriminate against (or incriminate) any sect, caste, race, religion, community or nationality. It has been posted by a passionate Maharashtrian in patriotic fervor and not show any kind of superiority.

Special consideration for the US: This article is NOT a ploy to take over the world.

'Labhle amhas bhagya bolto Marathi.'

I cant stop raving about this song! This Marathi Asmita song has hit a nerve. It has made me realize how proud I am of my culture and the values imbibed in me. I love to speak in Marathi. Being in the US, I talk English, I walk English, I sleep English, bloody I even shit English. I die to speak to my parents and sis and anyone from India who will listen because I get to speak with them in Marathi. Of all things, I never in my wildest dreams imagined that I would miss talking in Marathi so much.

Some of my friends' think that I am a communal zealot. I am too proud of my community! But unlike Mr. Thackeray, I don't want to kick non-Marathi ass and throw them out. I want to co -exist. I still am happy that I was brought up in a 'cosmo' environment in school where we celebrated everything from Garba to Id to Christmas. I have friends from every religion and many languages. And I don't intend to say that Marathi is the greatest language in the world and nothing can be better, coz that's not true. But I would like to say this: Marathi is a beautiful language. It has versatile arts and its literature is one of the most extensive in the world. Its music is original and its artists are very talented yet humble. Its leaders have been foremost in bringing reform in the community.

Maharashtrians have a high thinking and they conduct themselves truthfully. They give immense importance to family values. They have participated with vehemence in the revolution. Yes, they cannot run businesses, hotels and banks. They prefer to work for someone, but they are simple people with uncomplicated needs. A good house, a good spouse, 2 kids, puranpoli and drama/cinema/musical performances on Sunday is all they need for happiness!

I am so glad, my parents did not take away the Marathiness in me when they put me in a Catholic school. Now, no one can.

As Jayashree T once said: I love Marathi!

Oh! its what you do to me..

I am a love struck puppy! Well I am not actually in love or anything near. Its just when I listen to this song called 'Hey there Delilah' by Plain white Ts, I remember-well, someone.

Oh its what you do to me! I was so young then. But I felt it. The love I mean. Maybe I could love him so much only because I was so young. What I felt then was so pure. Why did I grow up? I cannot love selflessly anymore. I am practical and selfish. But back then I was just a kid, still grappling with teenage. But it was so so pure. I was so pure. The feelings, when they hit me, the flood of tears when I realized I miss 'him'. And yet, I did not want to possess him. Did not want to touch him. But just be with him. Keep watching him. Look into his eyes, and feel love and only love, spotless.

I am thousand of miles away from him now. I am not sure if I can love anyone so much again anymore. If I can love at all.

2 more years..

Blunder of the day!

Blunder of the day: I see my roomie in the corridor. I heard from my other roomie, that she just lost her job. I am feeling sad for her. So I ask her, " Hey, I heard you got laid?"

She stares at me blankly. "that's none of your business." She says and walk off.

Oops!

The Great American Christmas Dinner

Hello fellow bloggers,

So I have been writing crappy blogs since the last few times. Of Love Longing and Belonging, although sounds smart was a total downer. The fact was driven nay drilled into my head by the fact that I got just one comment that too from a complete stranger who was also a BIG loser. Sorry bro!

Well I suck. But I am still going to continue writing crappy stuff on my blog because WTF..its MY blog!! So bear with it. Anyway..for the newest post scroll down.

Christmas! The time of the year when everything looks like its straight out of wonderland or neverland or some other fairy talish land. And why not. There's snow which looks astonishing against the dark red and brown backgrounds of the houses on which it falls. There's music, frolic and lighting everywhere. So, Christmas makes me really mushy. (It has got nothing to do with Christ's birth)

This year I got invited for the Great American Christmas Dinner. It was awesome! It was everything I had ever dreamed of and more. You know how the dinner is depicted in English movies- a large family, the matriarch/patriarch, the lovable and loving granny or grandpa, the pets, the children of the family, the daughter-in-laws, the guests. Well they were all there. They were all dressed up for the occasion. There was a huge dinner table set for everyone who going to be attending. There was mistletoe and Holly. The grandly decorated X-Mas tree. Now all this may sound mundane to Americans, but for me it was amazing. It was one of the best Christmases I have had in years.

So anyway, there it was, the X-Mas tree strewn with presents wrapped wonderfully. The tree itself adorned in the best decorations. The reindeer and Santa in the porch, the aroma of the pie being baked in the oven. The feeling of oneness and togetherness floating in the air and the wine. It was really straight out of a fairy tale for me.

The best part of the whole evening was the exchange of presents. Everyone got a present, everyone criticized what they got. Everyone actually loved what they got-even if it was a pair of socks or undergarments because come on you always need them all. The sibling rivalry, the affection. It was all there. Just like it used to be for Diwali.

At the Great American Christmas Dinner, I realized we are no different. We are just people who need love to survive. We need family. We need that. I mean the Diwali dinner we had every year was no different than the Christmas dinner. Whether its USA or India or Afghanistan well maybe not Afghanistan, we celebrate different festivals yes, but what we really celebrate is Love, togetherness and affection. And that is the same everywhere. Throughout the world. Yes we all belong to different races, cultures. But we are the same essentially. We are all just Humans.

Sigh!