What Does Blogging Mean to Me!

Why do you think I spoke about tag etiquettes in my last post ? ;)
I have a few pending tags that I tried to put aside for quite sometime but not anymore. They are clinging onto me like parasites. I think I’ll finish them off now.
This one was given to me around 8 months back but required a bit of maturity, in terms of blogging to answer the questions honestly. Now that my blog is one year old, I have taken up this tag.

Without going into reasoning of who, why & when I come to the point. As always I put the rules first.

Rules of this tag:

1. Name the person with link who tagged you.
2. Complete the questionnaire without changing the questions.
3. Tag 6 or more people.

Rule 1: Well, I am tagged by a person who loves to tag me since my days of naissance in this blogworld. If you go through my tags, you’d come to know the culprit’s name. I am one of his permanent victims and so, I have renamed him as Tagger of the Century. Now, are you really interested in knowing the name after so many hints ? Well, the name of the culprit is Fleiger.

Rule 2:
This time it is a questionnaire to be answered on the topic “What Does Blogging Mean to Me”. Here I go with the questions and my takes.

Q1. Are you happy/ satisfied with your blog, with its content and look?
Yes, I am happy but not satisfied. I derive happiness from many small things but it takes a lot for me to get satisfied with anything, it has more to do with my hunger for excellence.

Q2. Does your family know about your blog?
Yes, they do. But none of them are remotely interested in it except for one cousin who once in 3-4 months reads it, gets charged to have his own blog and then his enthusiasm ends as quickly as it starts.
I try hard to pull my family members to the monitor to read my blog but of no avail. However, they appreciate my efforts and achievements when they see your appreciative & encouraging comments, but invariably their last sentence would be “There are better ways to utilize your time”. Duh !

Q3. Do you feel embarrassed to let your friends know about your blog or you just consider it as a private thing?
It is a private thing for me as far as my professional life is concerned but whoever is my friend, knows about my blog.

Q4. Did blogs cause positive changes in your thoughts?
Yes, of course ! My blog is the main source for venting out my sane/insane thoughts and it has come quite a long way. It has brought me many good things… more focus, more pleasure, more satisfaction and yes, more friends. My blog has become a medium to have conversed with some wonderful people around who have enriched my life as friends.
Moreover, I think my reason for satisfaction from blogging is changing slowly. Earlier I was quite content with being alone in this big world, now I have also started liking company of people around me and perhaps that is the reason I have made my blog a little interactive.
In short, it has surprised me for discovering a new me from within.

Q5. Do you only open the blogs of those who comment on your blog or you love to go and discover more by yourself?
Since the professional life does not leave me with much time and my readership is much more than I ever expected it to be, I barely manage to keep in touch with those who have been kind enough to leave comments on my blog. So, no discovery of new blogs for me UNLESS someone has recommended it in any way.

Q6. What does visitors counter mean to you? Do you care about putting it in your blog?
I love feedbacks and comments more than visitor counters, but visitors counter too gives me an important feedback. I have put it only for my reference.

Q7. Did you try to imagine your fellow bloggers and give them real pictures?
Yes, many times. I have seen photographs of many bloggers who have put them on their blogs. For others, I have tried to imagine.

Q8. Do you think there is a real benefit for blogging?
Do you think all those Fortune 500 companies would be blogging if there was none? Furthermore, I think the blogs have given a voice to an ordinary person like me and to me this aspect is very important.

Q9. Do you think that bloggers’ society is isolated from real world or interacts with events?
No, I don’t think so. I have seen bloggers helping others in whatever way they can. I’ll cite some examples that I have experienced or I know of.

- First one was seen on Mridula’s blog when someone wanted to contact a particular person in a hilly area and she became the link. Till date, none of them have met in person and I don’t think meeting is necessary for this purpose.
- Through their blogs I have come to know of many bloggers (not naming anyone here but hey guys, are you listening?) planning & going together on weekend leisure trips.
- My own blog has become a link between many bloggers who have started interacting with each other on one-to-one basis and I am sure they’ll meet in person when opportunity strikes.
- I, myself have become friends with some bloggers who are now more than just bloggers to me. I know I can count on them. Hey thanks.
- I think I am also going to be a link again between two regulars here. Both are studying in NMIMS, Mumbai and I would be the happiest person if they meet in real life.
- And more recently, when I wrote about a play that I watched, one of the actresses herself had commented here and is been since regular.
Similarly on a larger scale, at the time of bomb blasts in Mumbai trains, a separate blog was opened to help the victims and their families. My blog had not even taken birth at that time.

Q10. Does criticism annoy you or do you feel it’s a normal thing?
It is a normal thing and I try to learn from criticisms. I appreciate the valuable comments made by each of my readers. Many of them love to debate here on certain issues that I post. If you have noticed, I still have kept open my comments section for all, including anonymous commenters and no moderation of comments here. :)

Q11. Do you fear some political blogs and avoid them?
Fear ?? No. Avoid ?? I’ve never been to any political blog for the reasons stated in answer no. 5 above. Also, it is not an area of my interest.

Q12. Did you get shocked by the arrest of some bloggers?
Who ? When ? Where ? I have no idea of such arrests.

Q13. Did you think about what will happen to your blog after you die?
Being an optimist I don’t think I’ll die so early. Later, I hope someone from my family or my reason to blog would put a post here announcing to the world that I would no more be blogging. :)

Q14. What do you like to hear? What’s the song you might like to put a link to, in your blog?
Well, I always display my “current song” at the end of each post. So, it has to be my current song Jab Koi Baat Bigad Jaye, Jab Koi Mushkil Pad Jaye.

Rule 3:

And this is the top most reason why I like tags. Grinning *wicked me* .
Let me think whom should I tag (read victimize) now. Ok, here is my list.

1. Craver – This is my first tag to you, you are my first victim and we all very much want to know your thoughts on blogging. :)
2. Catmoves - Yeah, I remember I have to do a tag given by you (I am still roaming around for that one) and a post as well but I would appreciate if you to do this one. I am sure you’d enjoy doing this.
3. Carol – Oh Oh, I know you don’t like tags but this one is real thought provoking. Hope you would take it and do justice to it.
4. David - I would appreciate if you take up this tag and I know you’d do justice to it.
5. Maverick – Hey I know you have not done this one. Be a good boy now.
6. Jarvram – This is my first tag to you and I am sure you’ll enjoy doing it.
7. Scanman – Gentleman, you got to show the world your reasons for blogging.

So guys, I pass on the baton to you. Now it is your turn to do the rest.

Current Song: Jab Koi Baat Bigad Jaye, Jab Koi Mushkil Pad Jaye - Zurm
Technorati Tags: Tags Blogosphere

Tag Etiquettes

Today I am going to speak about tags and tag etiquettes. Tags.. they are fun to do, fun to read and they let you know more about the person who is doing the tag and thus help in building a foundation of friendship. I am quite often tagged by fellow blogger friends and try to attempt them very religiously.

Tags have two parties – tagger, the person who tags and the tagged person.

Etiquettes for Taggers :

1. If you first mention about the rules in the beginning of the tag, it’ll be easier to understand and will also help the tagged person to attempt it.
2. Generally the last rule of tag is to tag a specified no. of people of your choice. Do not worry on this aspect; you can always tag fewer people than mentioned or leave it open.
3. When you tag a person, make sure that s/he gets the message. Either link them in your post or knock at their doors. Simply by writing in your post would not help as they might miss reading it.
4. Try to make sure that the person you are tagging, enjoys doing it, don’t just randomly pick up any name. E.g. if your tag is about books and you tag a person who is miles away from books then the very purpose of tag will have failed. Don’t worry, it’ll come with experience. :)

Etiquettes for Tagged :

1. If you get a tag to do, first etiquette is to acknowledge it. Have some courtesy, some manners. Either accept it or refuse it but please don’t keep mum. Remember, silence means affirmation and the tagger will get a wrong indication.
2. There is no time limit as such but if you have agreed to do the tag, keep your promise. Nothing will happen if you don’t do it but you’ll come in bad books of the tagger.
3. Follow the rules of the game and paste them in your post as well, so that the next person doesn’t have any difficulty in attempting it.
4. When you are done with it, inform the tagger.
5. Sometimes tagger keeps the tag open to all. In that case if you feel to do the tag, please follow the rules of the game. Also, give due credit to the tagger (linking him/her is the best option) since you’ve picked it up from his/her blog.

Current Song: In Dino Dil Mera, Mujhse Hai Keh Raha - Soham
Technorati Tags: Tags Blogosphere

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एक नशा एक जुनून हो तुम
एक ख्वाब एक सुकून हो तुम।

You are the best thing to happen
The best habit to acquire
The best moment to live
The best …

Current song- Khwaab Ho Tum Ya Koi Haqeekat, Kaun Ho Tum Batlao – Kishore
Technorati Tags: Poetry

Cuckoo Being Questioned !!

Recently I had the honour to be interviewed through e-mail by Carol Hooper, the writer. It is not often I receive the opportunity to converse with someone possessing such a shroud of allure. Below is the interview produced. My answers are in green.

Carol- Hi Cuckoo, thank you for joining us here, come on in and pull up a chair. Can I fix you a drink whilst I'm hooking you up to the lie-detector machine? No? Oh well, just try to relax then. This? Oh, it's nothing really, just a tiny little gizmo, the tiny electrical jolt simply encourages you in your quest to be open and frank with us. Sorry, I know the spotlight is a tad bright, but we do need to see your expressions clearly.. body language, that sort of thing. There, well now, I believe we're about ready to begin. Deep breaths now –

Cuckoo- Well Carol, I am distinctly pleased to be interviewed by you in this extremely friendly environment. Carol, you are a terrible… errr.. terrific person. Excuse me for this slip of tongue. It is rainy season, you know. And thank you so much for this warm and spotlight bright welcome, turning me blind. Also, I thank you for recognizing my greatness.
OK, done. Now you can shoot the questions.

1. First, tell me Cuckoo, we know you are young and beautiful, but (indelicate as it is to ask) just exactly how old are you, are you still a student, if so, what are you studying, and why; if you are not a student, are you working, is this the reason why you travel so much, and what led you to choose this profession?

Well, it is all written over there in my profile and some of my posts.. some very clear and some between the lines. For ready reference, you can check the labels Tags and Self etc.
Ok, reiterating again. I work in IT sector and sometimes when I feel so, I study as well. Is it confusing ? No, I don’t think so.
My job requires me to travel. I chose this profession for two reasons – first, I didn’t want to be a butcher (my family is full of doctors from both sides) and second, my love for 0 & 1.
And you are asking my age ? Mademoiselle Carol, that’s not good manners at all to ask a girl about her age. Anyway, since I can’t say I am sweet sixteen and in no mood to postpone this silly question .. It is "between 20 to 30 years". No, I am NOT going to reduce the bandwidth. Come on, you’ll have to read between the lines. Like Mr. Holmes, I have dropped enough hints. OK, one more. Concentrate on "between".

2. Thank you, Cuckoo, you are bearing up well - sorry about throwing the bucket of water over you, but that bit about your age seems to have made you pass out on us for a bit there. Anyway, continuing on.. I note you have often written some soulful poetry, which we all enjoy reading. Are your words those of experience, have you ever been in love, if so, how did you meet, how old were you, why did you part, are you still in touch, and are you currently in love?

Well sweet lady, I am a very sensitive person. I call myself an emotional fool & hence I guess the soulful poetry. But still I think I am not able to express the true emotions behind those lines.
As I have always been saying, none of my post is a total fiction. Many, many of them are 100% true. They all have been derived from real life ingredients. I write my thoughts about what happens around me, not necessarily with me and the people, whom I write about, always relate to these posts.

No, I have never fallen in love, actually waiting to rise in love. :))

3. No, sweetie, you cannot unhook the electrodes, I'm sorry we forgot to dry you off properly before they were reactivated, but you have my word I won't drench you again so long as you promise to stop fainting, all right? Okay, so moving on to my third question then, you appear to be quite a spiritual person, and I have also noted some posts you have written speak out against what you perceive as the oppression of women. Can you elaborate what both your spiritual and your political beliefs are, have they always been the same, if not, what happened to make you change them?

First, let me point out.. you are a very smart woman. Your each question consists of many sub questions and I know you’ve participated in the game “Passing the Sentence” on my blog. You got the hint ? Ouch, don’t hit me so hard.
Yes true, I have written some posts on oppression of women, not only because I am a woman myself but I feel they are the most oppressed ones in this whole world.. more than the children, old people and even animals. Nonetheless, I want to be born as a female in each of my lives.
Spiritual ? Except for believing in God, I am not spiritual. I believe there is only one God having many faces and none of Them ask us to torture ourselves or other living beings to please Them.
I am NOT a political person at all; want to stay aloof from this dirty game.

4. Cuckoo, that was NOT an invitation for you to pray to your God to release you from this interview, kindly try to stop shaking, and to focus, dear! You've not long to go, question number four is here - describe two memories to us - one is of the most happiest one you can recall, the second is of the most embarrassing one.

First I’ll describe the embarrassing one. I was probably around five years old and we had gone to see some circus in the outskirts of the city. As usual, the circus was in oversized tents with little facilities for washrooms. Unfortunately my mother was ill and was not accompanying us. Even more unfortunate was my day because I suddenly felt the pressure. I tried to control but realized I had stomach upset. Then in the middle of all that noisy fun filled atmosphere I told my father about the emergency.
There were only makeshift toilets and I had to go to a ladies toilet with my little sister giving me company. By the time I was mentally prepared to sit on the hole, I had badly spoilt my panty. I washed myself with the help of my kid sister (there were no tissues or a tap, just a small washbasin inside that structure) and came out without the panty. For the remaining part of the circus I wasn’t wearing any undergarment and was terribly tensed. Obviously I couldn’t enjoy the circus. This is THE most embarrassing moment of my life till date.

Well, happy memories are many, can’t pickup one. I get happiness from the smallest simplest things. Hmmm.. let me think. Ok, this one is when I was very happy with the nature.
When I reached the pinnacle of Jungfraujoch mountains, I felt on top of the world. I had read Heidi, the classic story of the curly-haired Swiss girl and her simple life in the Alps. It's not too often you get the chance to turn childhood dreams into reality. The happiness I got can not be explained in words.
I have been to many snow capped mountains but this experience was totally unmatched. It was all blinding white everywhere with iced chilled wind. I could see far away mountains, all covered in snow. There was no other colour except white in any direction as far as one could see. It was an unforgettable scene. I have no intentions to reach Mt Everest but this was MY Mt Everest. I also picked up some postcards and posted from the highest post office in Europe.

5. There, that wasn't so bad now, was it? The dogs? You want me to remove them? They are still chained up, you know. Oh, all right, I'll shut Caesar and Brutus away then. Happy now? You really have some trust issues, you know, you should work on that. Ah, it appears we are down to the final question. You have been given unlimited wealth, you have already saved the world and given generously to every charity. How are you choosing to spend the rest of your life?

Oh thank you for moving away the dogs, not that I am scared of them.

Well, if I possessed unlimited wealth, I would probably divide my time between working for underprivileged children/women and traveling, exploring the vast beauty of nature.

Thank you Cuckoo, you may remain seated until we unhook you. I am pleased to say, as expected, you have passed with flying colours, sweet lady (now for goodness sake stop crying)..

Carol, thank you for taking time out of your life. You are just wonderful !

Now, now, now, an interview by Cuckoo – How does it sound ?

Don’t miss this lifetime opportunity to be interviewed by Cuckoo. Don’t be chicken else I’ll pick your name up and that would be quite cruel. Hope you get the point.

Interview rules:

1. Leave me a comment saying “Interview me.” with your mail-id if I don’t already have one. If you don't want to publicize your mail-id, let me know. I'll enable the comment moderation and will delete your comment after noting your mail-id.
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions and no, you can not change them.
3. You will update your blog with a post containing your answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Current song- Maine Tere Liye Hee Saat Rang ke Sapne Chune – Mukesh
Technorati Tags: Self Conversations Blogosphere

Independence Day

Today, 15^th August is our Independence Day. Independent India is celebrating 60^th birthday. The day holds a very special place in our lives. Anddddd we all feel very nostalgic about it especially if we are outside India. No jokes, it’s true !!

To me unfurling of national flag and singing of national anthem always evoke a powerful sense of belonging. I can not say how many of us are really patriotic but am dead sure about this little girl and I think she is going to remain the way she is.

Don’t miss it, celebrate the Independence Day through her eyes.

Jana Gana Mana Adhinayaka Jaya Hey
Bharat Bhagya Vidhata
Punjab Sindh Gujarat Maratha
Dravida Utkala Banga
Vindhya Himachal Yamuna Ganga
Ucchala Jaladhi Taranga
Tabh Shubha Naame Jaage
Tabh Shubha Aashish Maange
Gaahe Tabh Jaya Gatha
Jan Gan Mangaldayak Jay Hey
Bharat Bhagya Vidhata
Jaye Hey ! Jaye Hey ! Jaye Hey !
Jaye,Jaye,Jaye,Jaye Hey

Note:- You can comment either there or here or at both places. Hee hee..

Jai Hind !!

Current song- Kar Chale Hum Fida Jaan-o-tan Sathiyo – Md Rafi

Instead of listening to a song this time watch this video, from one of my all time favourite movies of black & white era. I still remember how I had shrieked with that boy when I watched this song and I don’t think I’ll behave any differently today even after watching it innumerable no. of times.

Technorati Tags: India Celebrations Independence Day

Lazy Sunday

Can you guess what this sign board is trying to say ?
And can you guess the place as well ?

I know I know, many of you will laugh at my idiocy as how could I be like you but this question is mainly for those brainy ones sitting far away. Hurry up, I’ll tell you the correct answer on 15^th August.

Current song- No Song – I am feeling sleepy
Technorati Tags: Lazy Sunday

A Delusion ?

He was around 11-12 years old. Dark in complexion, big black sad eyes, beautiful and innocent face, unkempt hair. Wearing an unbuttoned crumpled checked shirt and a half pant, he came close to me and mumbled something.

It was raining heavily at around 11 that Sunday night. We, three of us, were waiting at Bandra station for a local train to take us home. We had avoided the car mainly for three reasons – heavy rains, night time and Mumbai roads. The electronic board on the platform was showing the arrival time of next train as 11:06 PM.

As I was busy speaking, I could not notice him at first. He raised his voice a little more without touching or poking me, contrasting to what generally kids of his likes do. I looked back at him. With tearful eyes and almost crying face he requested “Ek biscuit khila do na wahaN se (Please buy me a biscuit from there)” pointing to the kiosk nearby.

For the first time in my life someone who looked like a beggar, had not asked me any money; instead he had asked for food.
I, as a principle, never give a single penny to beggars even if they are old or standing in front of a temple. Begging is something I strongly disapprove of, but when I saw that boy’s sad and hungry face I immediately decided to buy him food. To me, it was a request and not a begging.

I have heard of many begging rackets where they force young children to beg for money and at the end of everyday torture them mercilessly if they have not collected the required minimum amount. As I was moving towards the kiosk with him, flurry of thoughts started bothering me.. was he one of them ? Had he collected enough for the day ? What punishment he gets when he doesn’t ?

The kiosk had many varieties of snacks .. from biscuits to vada pav, pakoda’s, buns, muffins, Lays, some cool drinks/slush and tea. He guided me to a side where biscuits were sold. But I wanted to buy him a full meal instead of just a small packet of biscuit. I asked him “Why not something heavy to eat, why do you want to have only a biscuit ?”.

Very hesitantly, he agreed for a chai (tea) & a small paav (bun). Nothing more than that. Perhaps his stomach had resized itself with the very little he used to get daily.

When I was opening my purse to pay for it, he stretched his hand and out came a Rupee one coin which he kept on the counter. “Ye ek he rupiya hai mere paas, baki ka tum de do (I have only this one rupee, you pay the rest)”. I told him to keep it with him and paid the full amount. I was touched by this little lad’s self-respect.
By the time I could get the balance amount back from the shopkeeper, the boy had taken away the chai & paav to a corner near the shop without me noticing it.

I came back to my place. It seemed the train was going to be late by a few minutes. It was still raining and the weather had turned a bit chilled. I could not resist myself to have a glimpse of that boy. I turned and glanced. There he was in a corner, gulping down a cold paav with a hot cup of chai. He looked very hungry. I did not want to invade his privacy of satisfactorily eating a meal but before I could turn my back to him, he caught me glance. A very pure and genuine smile came to his face and from that distance he gestured in a “Thank you”.

I smiled. My day was made.

As the train rolled into the station, I looked for him again. There was something very intriguing to him that kept me doing that. We got in, our train started to move; I searched for him on the platform.

And there I saw him performing once again the same ritual to a group of four students in the age group of 20-22 years. Again.

What was it ?

Was it a habit or was he still hungry ? If yes, then why he refused to take something more from me ? Was he shy or was it self-respect ? Was it a necessity for him, an illusion for me ?

While the train rumbled through, I rambled on my insane thoughts.

Current song- Mera Kuch Saamaan Tumhare Paas Pada Hai – Asha Bhosale
Technorati Tags: Issues Society Human Behaviour

An Update

Heya Guys !

Just an update for "Carry on Heaven" !!

Check my Chit Chat-box and the Recent Readers col. Sarika Mishra, one of the actors who took part in the play has visited and commented here on my blog as Guest.

Below you can read the full conversation as on my Chit-Chat-box.

Thanks Sarika.

She says “So glad about the review...hey cuckoo I wud wish that u had written more about me...hehehehe... “.

Well, Sarike… Oops Sarika. Sorry, I am still in that heavenly mood. ; Had I known that you would visit my blog, would have written an essay here. Ok, only a few words about her. Like other actors, Sarika also played multiple roles in that play. Some examples – IT officer, a silly sexy Malyali nurse, working in an ad agency, singing a quawwali (don’t go on spelling, you know what I mean), changing political parties etc etc. Sarika, you tell the rest.
And yeah, don’t expect me to write about her figure and big eyes. Go and watch her. As she says, the next play is on 15^th August. And don’t ever forget to mention my name there. Yeah, that’s a warning.

Now Sarika, will you please tell Bharat Dabholkar to come here, I am ready to write a full post on that baldy macho fella ! Hmmm.. Flex shampoo. Moreover, I need to give him my invoice for all this free publicity.

I think next I should write about Brad Pitt. What do you say folks ? Let me see. Hee hee hee hee.. Cuckoo chuckles..

The Conversation:-

Guest hey cuckoo..thanks for the review...well m sarika Mishra from who acted in Carry On Heaven.
Guest Well hope u liked the play...and all the characters that I play in Carry on Heaven especially the Malyali Nurse.

Cuckoo Hey Sarika, I am elated to see you here. Oh yes U mallu nurse. I wudn't have written abt the play, had not I liked it. Thnx for ur visit.

Guest So glad about the review...hey cuckoo wud wish that u had written more about me...hehehehe...jus kidding...
Guest Thanks buddy...It's always a pleasure to have ppl like ya in the audience,,,criticism is also welcome.
Guest Guys pls come to watch the play on the 15th...and do come backstage to meet all of us..
P.S.Bharat uses Flex Shampoo...

Cuckoo Sarika, Lolz.. Why don't you write ur name here? Ppl @my blog will be happy to knw. Do U have a site?
Cuckoo And why didnt u tell me b4? I wud hav come backstage. Was sitting in 2nd row from stage. Wud've shook hands frm thr itself.

Sarika Mishra Hey Cuckoo....Thanks for those compliments...Well must say Uve made my day...Bharat would really luv to post his comments,shall coax him to do so...
Sarika Mishra Hey Fleiger...The movie's called "God Only Knows"...I have also acted in that movie...it's a small spoof on the coke ad.
Sarika Mishra Cuckoo you must have seen the clipping of the spoof..the one which is shown during my ad presentations during the play.
Sarika Mishra Abhi...u are too cute...u remember the movie's name...Hmmm.....

Cuckoo Yeah, saw it & shouted as well... "she's the same girl"
Cuckoo Sarika, Why Abhi is cute? Even I knew the ans.
Abhi Thanks Sarika!! Cuckoo, you knew the answer, but I am cute.

Current song-Dil Ka Aalam Main Kya Batau Tujhe - Kumar Sanu
Technorati Tags: Play Humour Entertainment Carry on Heaven

Review of “Passing the Sentence” – Don’t Miss It.

So, the second “Passing the Sentence” game is over now. And the critique was on my computer even before I could send the details to the reviewer !! Yeah, looks like he kept checking my blog for the story to wrap up and without wasting a single moment he was on the job. And what a fantastic job he has done, writing about each statement given by us, a kind of review I like most.
You can imagine his excitement about this game from the simple confession he has made and I have scolded him for that. :)
And all of you will agree with me that the story generated so much anxiety among all of us that at one stage we started praying ! That’s the beauty of this game.

Here are some observations from my side when I compared it with the previous game.

Except Peter, all other participants are Indians living in India or abroad. Does that mean we Indians are good at appreciating horror or do we like it very much ? Read Peter's many comments on that post.. he was very upset & really wanted ME to finish off the story so as to bring a happy end. :)
Another observation was that unlike before, only two females (including me) participated this time. Girls are really chickens I guess.

Ok, so here is the critique produced verbatim, done by a fellow blogger Pyare Mohan. He is Mumbai based film maker with animation industry and a great story teller. Please read till the end, he has some suggestions for us as well.

Cuckoo chan some people call, some others have some other names. Sweet sounds, sweet games. Well, sometimes you might be surprised; the game might lead into a horror story.
An interactive game is a wonderful medium for bloggers as all the bloggers love to type and type. So the first thing that crossed my mind was 'Man, I wish I could be a part of it.'
As the rules were, I couldn't. But I must confess, I cheated, and that is a compliment to the post. I couldn't resist. Cuckoo, Clap clap clap to the game you started!

Now to the story part -

Each line written by a blogger reflects the personality traits of the person and how they interpret the word 'horror'. I am going sentence by sentence trying to analyze how many emotions, twists and turns a story can go through in 20 lines.

Cuckoo started off with a mystical journey setting out the mood and the pace for the next 19 bloggers. The sentence took the reader to the chilly, foggy environment.

Sag_Nik, continued. Here came the predictable footsteps of an unknown stranger...

Maverick bought a little twist in the tale, by bringing her long lost friend. He left it with an open end... a suspense that could change the course of direction of the story..

Peter, wanted to make this into a comedy. A comic tragedy or a tragic comedy... I wonder, but this is where the next couple of bloggers had to be careful. Peter’s plot, made the story to be carefully taken forward, the following bloggers had to tread on slippery roads.

Till this point the story bought in an essence of the place, an intrigue about her long lost friend and left a ghost of her past in the memory of the reader.

Vaidya brought the story back to the present, with the rustling leaves crushing beneath the feet.

Now the story could have gone anywhere, murder mystery, revenge... etc. Sam brings in the realisation of horror by presenting the Missing Shadow.

Scanman takes the reader into a different dimension, talking about an unsolved mystery thus certifying the death of the lady, and that this lady in front of her was actually a ghost!

Beast dwells deeper into the case, and poor Cuckoola is trapped in the story as a demon. tch tch..

Praveen brings the Dracula effect... Now the horror starts growing...

Mayank brings about the biggest twist into the story by bringing Anita, the ghost and an unidentified boyfriend who was snatched by the prettiest woman. So this story looks like it is going to be a revenge story...

But my question is if she was in the body of a he, wouldn’t it be a guy who was walking towards her in the forest in the first place ? Why would a ghost disguise a man’s body to a woman? She just has to go for the Kill... Nevertheless... I keep the logic aside for an explanation...

Rohit brings in the personal touch... the missing bracelet. The Ghost gets a name...and the suspense mounts...

Lord Suicaine unsolves the mystery. John, the boyfriend’s death, Rozy is dazzled... how? when? where?

Kalyan gets in the suspicion... we dive deep into the psyche of a sad, heart broken Anita, and all the suspicion in her heart.

Deepti confirms the fear.

Ashutosh invents the new source of energy for Bloggers. Also I must mention, the imagination was quite surreal. The needs of a ghost is not limited to taking revenge, but slow conscious death... that’s an interesting perspective!!

No comments on the next line...

Adi brings a breath of fresh air with a smiling J's face.... but leaves an uneasiness with the noiseless shriek...

Sid brings in the twist. It is not Rozy who is a ghost... it is she who is the ghost!!!

There are so many twists in this story, it looks like a Jalebi!!!

Arun P, brings both the dead lovers into a romantic mood but...

Abhi finishes it off in a note that leaves us pleased. All the 20 bloggers lived through the nightmare along with Anita.... and everybody heaves a sigh of relief. The nightmare is over....

An applause to all the contributors, for the story that has been developed, has more emotions, chills and thrills than some of the mundane books that are published and floating in the bookstores... I hope there are more such thematic games on this blog so that I can participate in it without cheating!!!!

P.S. How about each blogger writing a chapter and passing it on. 20 chapters make a book... and we send it to a publisher... what say?

Note:- I request & expect each one of you to reply to the suggestion made by Pyare Mohan. What do you say folks ? A book ? Please leave your suggestions/comments here on comments section.

P.S. - Requests are pouring down to have another round with more sentences… yes; I’ll increase the no. of sentences but first let the game become a bit more popular. More than half of my readers are wary to participate in it and I hate to leave things incomplete. I have some ideas and suggestions are most welcome. But promise me first that you’ll all take part in it and bring in more people to do so.

Current song- Daddy Cool – Bonney M
Technorati Tags: Passing the Sentence

Carry on Heaven

Sunday evening I went to see the play “Carry on Heaven” being played in Manik Sabhagriha, Bandra Kurla Complex. Written and directed by Bharat Dabholkar, the play is a musical comedy. Louis Banks has designed the music and the songs are comical take-off from popular numbers of Bollywood and Hollywood. I wouldn’t have gone to see it (ah don’t like replays of mythological stories), had not I heard about its popularity.
The two hour long play is a spoof that lampoons every aspect of life – from politics, cricket, films, languages, film stars, doctors, medical systems, mafia, music, demons and even Gods!
The King of Gods, Indra desires to see a 20th century man from earth but what he gets is much more than he has bargained for...in the form of an Indian minister (read Laloo Prasad Yadav) of considerable political clout.

What follows is a hilarious chain of events...with minister trying to woo the heavenly apsara Menaka, learning new ‘positions’ of Kamasutra; Yamraj, the God of death joining the new coalition party in heaven, the ‘hung parliament’ and so on.
The naughty witty dialogues are mainly in English with subtle touch of Hindi, Marathi & Gujarati. From wonderbra to castration – it mentioned everything. Worth watching if one doesn’t mind a little of shh shh dialogues. And Bharat Dabholkar ? What shiny head he has ! I wonder what oil & shampoo he uses. ;)

The cast included Viju Khote, Kishore Pradhan, Atul Kale, Sameer Chougule, Mukesh Ahuja, Priyanka Khimani, Palash Dutt and Sarika Mishra.

This was my first visit to Manik Sabhagriha and in my opinion, the auditorium is much better than Prithvi theatre at Juhu; both in size and infrastructure.
On my way back while waiting for 11:06 PM train at Bandra station, one small incident happened that left me thinking. More on that later.

P.S.-The "Passing the Sentence" game is still on for the last sentence and I have asked something over there. Will you be kind enough to answer that ? Pulleeease..

Current song- Love Me Do – Beatles
Technorati Tags: Play Entertainment

Passing the Sentence Game #2

Ok, as promised I am back with game #2. This time I don’t want any complaints of not being able to play. So, making it a bit longer.. that is 20 sentences for this story.

Once again here’s an open invitation. Can 20 different sentences – written by different bloggers across the globe – weave a good Horror story? Let us find out.
I’m going to write the first sentence and I invite you all to contribute the next sentence, in sequence. Yes, the sentence is passed onto the next blogger. Just leave your sentence as a comment, and I’ll keep updating this post to show you the flow of the story. Believe me it’s lots & lots of fun !

I want to see how long it takes to complete the task, so please don’t be reticent. Also, I am going to invite a guest judge (Surprise, surprise !!) – who is also a blogger – to critique our effort.

Ok now, first things first, as this petite Cuckoo always does … here are some rules of the game. Please read them carefully before playing.

Rules of the game :

1. No one blogger can participate more than once in a single game and no anonymous commenter please. I am dead scared of them ! Bhoooot...
2. The story has to finish in stipulated no. of sentences only (20 in this case). So choose your sentence carefully as to go with the flow.
3. If you write more than one sentence, I’ll take only the first one and the story will move from there.
4. Sentences can be as long or short as you wish them to be, use lots of comma & semi colons. Please refer to Game #1.

So, here goes my first sentence. Let us see who the next one is. Please remember we are trying to make a HORROR story.

She loved the mountains, unsullied greens and that chilly foggy weather.. that morning as she leisurely came out of her hotel room, rubbing her hands, mesmerized by the surroundings she stepped onto a road she wondered where that would lead her to, and then suddenly...

Now folks, the stage is all yours. Loosen the reins of your imagination and create the magic.

-----------------------

Ahaa !! The story has started moving within no time. Cuckoo khush hui.

1. She loved the mountains, unsullied greens and that chilly foggy weather.. that morning as she leisurely came out of her hotel room, rubbing her hands, mesmerized by the surroundings she stepped onto a road she wondered where that would lead her to, and then suddenly... from Cuckoo.

2. She heard a voice, stopped for a while and as she turned back, found a blurred figure from that foggy atmosphere gradually proceeding to her...wow, it was that lady.... from Sag_Nik.

3. Who was her friend and with whom she had lost touch; meeting old friends in new places is always refreshing and she expected this was the same but least did she know that wasn't the case. This was from Maverick.

Bravo Peter ! Nice twist. It actually fits well with my current song, as if someone is calling out that woman !
4. She felt something strange about it, but did not yet know that this "lady friend" actually was a disguised man. From Peter.

5. That lady proceeded with a wily smile as the rustling sound of leaves made her shiver, unaware of the disguised person she asked her to join her stroll. From Vaidya… a first timer here as far as I know.

Five sentences gone, 15 left. Now, what next ?

6. It was while strolling that she noticed that the shadows showed only one person... "this cannot be!!", she thought... with this creeping on in her mind, she walked on casting a nervous and scared glance at her companion. From Sam.

Now here comes the challenge for all of us to carry on further. What I could make out from a veryyy long sentence by Scanman is here…not verbatim exactly.

7. The word 'disguised' offers too literal an explanation for the fantastic and other-worldly transformations that have taken place in the body and psyche of the man after he was possessed by the spirit of the woman whose sudden disappearance is still shrouded in mystery after so many months and the case file remains open for the police who are increasingly inclined to classify it as an unsolved homicide.

A request to all of you. Please keep the sentences in flow, in the spirit of the game and simple.. in order to let the next person understand it, else you know what I am going to do. :)

Huh Beast ! You are always after poor petite Cuckoo. Nice continuation but lordess ?
8. Nothing about the case was simple, no wonder it couldn’t be solved; her parents narrated things that defied logic, prior to her disappearance, the woman had been possessed by a demon, the demon Cuckoola, lordess of all evil powers. From Beast

Ha Ha.. demons writing blogs ?? Very interesting.
9. People closely associated with the woman have seen her, late into the night, writing (blogging!!!) and tearing up parchments of paper in high quality blood; obviously, people speculated about the different sources of blood, leaving them all paralysed with fear, and then suddenly, one "fine" night when many people died, they saw her taking the road leading to a dense forest all alone... . From Praveen

10. And this was that very road but now it was morning.. SHE in the body of a HE wanted to be with Anita, this prettiest woman in the world who had earlier snatched her boyfriend and in a way was the reason for her death.. today she wanted to take revenge by being close to Anita.. she would definitely try to woo her and take her to the interiors of that forest... From Mayank, a very old fan of Cuckoo. Mayank, you still without a blog ?

Ok, so ten sentences are over and as I can see it now, it indeed is going to be a horror story.

11. So it was a lady demon hovering over the man, disguised as Anita's female friend Rozy and now trying to take Anita to the remotest place in the forest.. Anita in a pink flowery dress looked as awesome as always, oblivious of Rozy’s devilish plans, wanted to go back to the hotel since she was scared and found something amiss… she noticed Rozy’s hand on which there was a bracelet which resembled the one given to her by her boyfriend…how could Rozy have it ? This one is from Rohit.

The twelfth sentence came in from Lord Suicaine.
12. Her boyfriend John had given her the bracelet when they were on a romantic trip to Greece where within two days John was found murdered; on the same evening the bracelet was stolen from her bag under mysterious circumstances and now the same bracelet on Rozy’s hand.. Anita was now scared to death thinking of the unthinkable, her face became pale in spite of her pink dress.. is Rozy a ghost?

Oh la la, where are we heading to ? This indeed is a spine chilling thriller. Simpler and shorter sentences please. We still have 8 more to go and am quite sure that the story will finish in that.

Next sentence comes from Kalyan.
13. Or is it just Anita's doubting senses.. she has become suspecting of almost everyone since her boyfriend John's death. She was keeping a close look on the bracelet and trying to find the initials of their first names AJ which was embedded on it and her mind was preparing to run back if she found it out...

14. There it was, the initials AJ embedded beautifully together on the inner side of the bracelet and with a blood curdling scream, Anita fainted. From Deepti.

Ouch ! Never expected so much of bloody things out here on my blog. Ha Ha.. enjoying it immensely. Hmm.. some people just love the horrors of life. I must say, the fifteenth sentence from Ashutosh is a very good attempt.

15. She started dreaming almost immediately, wherein she heard Rozy mention about the 'Blood Bloggers Band', an association that collected blood and supplied to bloggers who wrote in high-quality blood, and then she saw Rozy and John engraved inside a heart on a tree trunk in the same forest, with the entire etching bleeding freshly; Rozy was trying to get her back to consciousness—penetrating even her subconscious—before she made her next move as she wanted Anita to see what was coming to her.

Five more to go. Let us see how it ends. As I said earlier the story is going to a spine chilling thriller ! Good Luck to all the five next bloggers for brining it to a thrilling end. Black King, be ready to wrap up the game again.

This one really had me puking. I don’t think I’ll ever ask people to make a horror story. :(
16. Her subconscious mind sent electric impulses through the nerves emitting pulses which would explode the nerves, the arteries and the veins, making her head grow larger in size, the veins and the nerves ripping apart from her skin spreading like roots of a tree and her head growing bigger than the tallest tree in the forest emanating shrieking sounds... From Prax.

And this was once again a nice turn. Thank you Adi for bringing me to senses again. And heyy I am NOT Anita. Ok ?
17. As Anita came to her senses, she saw a face bent over her, it was a smile... a benign, veiled smile on J's face...J! J? "J", she screamed and...

18. she screamed and... found no voice coming out of her which first surprised her.. and then forced her to think if it was all dream she was having.. but then her eyes fell upon something that froze her - it was her own dead body.. This came from a dear blogger SiD.

Ok, now only two sentences left. Let us see who those two brave ones are to bring the story to a respectable end. Come on guys, don’t be afraid. It is just a story we all are trying to weave.

19. .. lying next to John’s.. his left hand around her shoulder, both were smiling as if they were going for a romantic walk in that perfect romantic morning on that mysterious road and then suddenly... From Arun P.

Only last sentence left !! Who’s going to bring this story to a meaningful end ? Heyy guys, I’ll wait for another 12 hours and if no one is courageous enough to come forward then I’ll complete it. What do you say ??

Hurray !!! I asked for one and got two in bargain with a difference of 9 minutes only. Thank you both Iceman and Abhi. Nice try, guys. All the readers wanted a happy end and you both have tried to do the same.
However, I am taking Abhi’s sentence as the last one since it is more meaningful. It looks like he read the story carefully to bring in all the finer points to a conclusion. Also, Iceman’s version has multiple sentences.
So, here goes the last sentence.

20. she heard him calling her name...."Good Morning Honey", he said and there he was smiling at her, standing with a breakfast tray in his hand, specially made for her on a chilly Sunday morning,......this was just what she had always wanted....a romantic holiday to Greece....she took a look at the tray and there it was.....a lovely blue bracelet with the initials AJ embedded on it.

Now the story is going directly to the reviewer's desk. Let us see what he has to say.

Current song- Waadiyan Mera Daaman, Raaste Meri Bahen – Md Rafi
Technorati Tags: Passing the Sentence

इजाज़त

So, I am back. It feels good to be home... to be in familiar surroundings. :) Some stories, some pictures.. hmm it will take some time. At times it is difficult to balance between work, travel and (yes, you guessed it right !) blogging. Nothing more I want to say at this point except to enjoy these lines written by me sometime back.

My next post would hopefully be (Oh, you’ve guessed it again !) “Passing the Sentence”. Oh I am so much excited about that game. Keep watching. Don’t miss it this time.

तुमसे दूर जाने का ग़म ही तो है मुझे
जो पास आने की इजाज़त नहीं देता।

बिछड़ जाने का डर ही तो है मुझे
जो मिलने की इजाज़त नहीं देता।

पर ये कमबख्त दिल समझता नहीं,
भूल जाने की इजाज़त नहीं देता।

Permission

It is the sorrow of departing
that holds me back from reaching you.

It is the fear of separation
that restrains me from meeting you.

But oh! This wretched heart!
It does not permit me to forget you.

Current song- जुस्तजू जिसकी की थी, उसको तो न पाया हमने – आशा भोसले

Technorati Tags:- Poetry Love Hindi

The Cracked Pot

Off late except for one or two, I have not been able to comment on any of your blogs. You could have judged that since I haven’t replied to your valued opinions on my blog as well, which I religiously do. Work and travel are keeping me busy and these short trips always keep me on my toes.
Nothing to grouse about, let me share a beautiful story with you. I call it 'Cracked Friendship' story. I’ll come back shortly. Till then Tchao, Bye bye, Au revoir. Have a blasting happy weekend !

A water bearer had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole, which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walk from the stream to the House, the cracked pot arrived only half full.

For two full years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water to his house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection. And miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you. I have been able to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don't get full value from your efforts," the pot said.

The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side? That's because I have always known about your flaw. So I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you've watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house??

Each of us has our own unique flaws. We are all cracked pots. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding. You've just got to take each person for what they are, and look for the good in them. Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape. Remember to appreciate all the different people in your life.

When you choose your friends, don't be short-changed by choosing personality over character. Accept people as they are. Never expect anything, always try to give .. for, it is their wonderful friendship you are getting in return.

Current song- Khushboo Jaise Log Mile Afsaane Mein – Ghulam Ali

Technorati Tags: Friendship Society Human Behaviour

Why ???

Scribbled this late last night. For true meaning, I can say… Try, try, try ;)

Why it happens whatever happens ?
Why I cry till eyes dry ?
Why scream, why not dream ?
Why it rains when it pains ?

Why I choose to lose ?
Why me caged, why you raged ?
Why a scare, why not dare ?
Why a veil when I wail ?

Why I whine, why not wine ?
Why not a fake smile for a while ?
Why affection, Why addiction, Why surrender ?
Why Why Why ??

Current song- Lag Ja Gale Ki Phir Ye Haseen Raat Ho Na Ho – Lata Mangeshkar

Technorati Tags: Poetry Questions