Life, The Universe and Pune

Wednesday, May 26, 2004

English Peotry is something I can never relate to......for that matter even the ones in Hindi and Marathi....dont really strike a chord.....I dont know if Urdu shayari can be classified as poetry.....someone please enlighten me....but whatever it may be classified....shayari is something that I can relate too.....though Urdu is tough to understand most of the times....I have enough people I can go to and get the meaning sorted out.....what makes shayari appealing to me is that soo much is packed in those few lines....somehow I never get that feeling from those long poems or then maybe I have not come across anything yet that appeals to this mind that seeks depth of meaning with minimal words....

A few of my favorite shers are as follows....I think the Zaahid ko Guzarish is by Ghalib....not sure abt the Zaahid ka Jawab one.....

Zaahid ko guzarish

Zaahid sharab peene de muje masjid mein baith ke
Ya voh jagah dikha jaha Khuda na ho...


Allow me to sit in the mosque and drink (appealing to someone who is Abstemious i.e. Zaahid)
Or show me a place where there is no God

Zaahid kaa jawaab

Zaahil sharaab naa pii masjid mein baith ke,
Botal ek hii hai kahin khudaa naa maang le


Dont sit and drink in the mosque,
There is just one bottle, God might just ask you for it

I am guessing Zaahil is the opposite of Zaahid.....

The other one.....

Mulla gar dam hai teri dua-on mein to masjid hilake dikha
aur gar nahin to do ghoont pee aur masjid ko hilta dekh


I consider dua to be something akin to paryer so my translation is...judging by the theme I think this one would be by Ghalib too......

If there is strength in your prayer then let me see you shake this mosque,
if not then have a couple of drinks with me and watch the mosque shake....

More often than not...when I am couple of beers down...or have enjoyed some good scotch....I can't help think of the above shers and smile to myself....I guess I am not that poetically challenged...:)

Tuesday, May 25, 2004

Finally managed to see Munnabhi MBBS over the weekend...and also Shrek 2.......Shrek 2 absolutely rocks......Saturday was dedicated to some good ol' six-a-side cricket.......pity we did not make it to the final considering that Akron CC has been on the losing side in the finals for the last 2 years and we really wanted to change that....change that!!!...sure we did...but not to our satisfaction at all....

apna adda in Akron BW3....or BDubs as we like to call it.....mast mein ekdam decor change ho gaya hain......I can actually feel the AC workin now......not that it makes a difference...we woould still go pretty often before the renovation......so much so that the bouncer does not ask most of us for our ID's....other than some characters with the babyface look:)

Jagjit Singh live in concert was on the agenda for Sunday evening......sponsored tickets....corporate istyle.....two things that really made it for me.....during the concert I told my dost "Ki Jaggu ne agar 'Kal Chaudvi Ki Raat Thi' gaya na...to apan ekdam khush ho jayega"....and in the the next minute or so....he started singing that ghazal.....and then during the break I remarked to my dost..........." Pune me rehete to abhi interval mein mast vada pav ya samosa pav khane milta that".....and sure enough in a while my Mami's friend comes up to me with a food packet that had a samosa, a kachori and some kaju barfi.....now looking back at that brief period of time....I feel like I should have asked for a little more considering my wished were being granted....ahh what the heck....!!!!I have the long weekend to look forward to.....meet up with Phani Dawg and go check out the his village.....have heard reports that it IS actually a village and that Akron seems like a sprawling metropolis when compared......

There is a post on Fight Club (again) thats brewing in my head.....need to work on that.....

Mind It!!!!!

Friday, May 21, 2004

The Windy city was fun...met up with friends.....made some new ones.....in short ekdam paisa vasool trip.....along with work I did find the time to squeeze in a fair bit of good food...beer...and what a variety of beer I must say...Belgian (white/cloudy beer), Thai, Chinese and good ol' American MGD......and the solitary Irish Coffee and Chivas too.....food...hmm....there was Desi, French (I was taken to the place by being told that we were going to an Italian place)...but this french place called Marche's was real good.....had awesome smoked salmon, steak, crab and lovely tender chicken....ohh yeah and Thai food too......

If business trips are like this one...bring it on!!!!.....next on the agenda...hmm lets see.....wanna see Yuva...Shrek 2....did see Troy...ok types movie.....Sunday ko Jaggu Bhaiya ka concert hain Cleveland mein.....shall be goin there....ohh yeah and there is the 6 a side cricket tornament in Columbus tomorrow.....Akron CC..lets kick some A@#$!!!!!

I'm off to lunch...Adios...amhi goes!!!!!

Friday, May 14, 2004

Its not like I am very regular these days when it comes to updating this blog....anyways......will be away for the 5-6 days....attending a conference......much needed break from good ol' Akron.......will probably be meeting up with the chaddi dost from school days...who also happend to be apna sutta partner and integral part of the galli gang...been nearly two years since I saw him.....added attraction....I get to see his aaakha family......hoping it works out...keepin my fingers crossed.....

All this while whenever I went to attend a conference it was always as a student....this time around it feels nice to say that I am going on business....prospective clients to meet...new contacts to be made......touch base with existing contatcs.....power lunches (ok the last one is not true).....but what the heck...I am looking forward to this.....so Venusians and Martians.....behave while I am away....

Windy City....here I come:).........

Thursday, May 13, 2004

I needed to remind myself of the simple pleasures of life....a walk in the rain was enough

Friday, May 07, 2004

Superman

Superman stands alone. Superman did not become Superman, Superman was born Superman. When Superman wakes up in the morning, he is Superman. His alter ego is Clark Kent. His outfit with the big red S is the blanket he was wrapped in as a baby when the Kents found him. Those are his clothes. What Kent wears, the glasses the business suit, that's the costume. That's the costume Superman wears to blend in with us. Clark Kent is how Superman views us. And what are the characteristics of Clark Kent? He's weak, unsure of himself... he's a coward. Clark Kent is Superman's critique on the whole human race, sort of like Beatrix Kiddo and Mrs. Tommy Plumpton.

Bill....in Kill Bill Vol. 2

Not very long ago...my nick on ICQ used to be superman....for the simple reason that I used to ride around on a 1983 Bajaj Super....which happened to be the love of my life then:)

Thursday, May 06, 2004

First practice game this weekend ...Cricket season is here.....its time to get the Slazenger V800 out.....Could I be more excited?