Dreamy confessions

2AM now. The night before Diwali. With no sign of weariness, I blog.

Five dreams that are hard to forget:

1. Stupidest: picnic to the moon. I bought myself a ticket for the moon. Launch pad was somewhere next to the IMAX theatre. We (I was in a group) landed on the moon in approximately 40 minutes. There was an agent who received us and boarded on a Volvo bus. There were trees, people, and chai ka dukans. Bus halted near a garden. I stepped out in the space suit, recalling "small step for man, giant leap for the mankind". Err! Without the head gear (what ever it is called in the NASA parlance). I got back in the bus, wore the entire suit, ran against its checklist and stepped out with pride. Boy! I was awed. I was jumping high defying gravity. It was humid yet pleasant. Go, get yourself one, IMAX sells them now-a-days. Analogy: This is what happens if you watch Magnificent Desolation and visit Ramoji Film City. Beware.
   
2. Nastiest: We lost the battle against cockroaches. Mind you, these are 3-4 feet man-eating pests. They are all over the house. Vacuum cleaners and insecticides proved futile. We all finally succumbed. Analogy: The other day, me and my wife really waged a war against these tiny little creatures and vacuum cleaned innumerable number of them. Of course, we won.
   
3. Scariest: That I was writing my post-grad Physics exam, again. Analogy: I was reluctant studying this subject during college days. As destiny would decide, I am now happily married to a Physics lecturer. P.S. I am not scared of my wife :)
   
4. Sexist: The dream is censored. Analogy: Doesn't exist. Trust me.
5. Dearest: That night I was with my father, with my entire family. We had coffee together. We discussed many different things. I still remember the pride of being with my father. It was a lifelike experience. I woke up only to be disappointed. Analogy: I love my father so much that I feel his presence in every moment of life. Yet, I miss my father.

Well done Ganguly

I am sure Sourav Ganguly has found his soul. I feel he must have read Chicken Soup for the Soul. He is now training cricket to the football crazy Mizos.

In Telugu, there is a saying, "Chettu leni chota avudam chettu minna", which literally translates to, "Where there are no trees, castor trees are great".

May his soul rest in peace.

Proximity breeds

I like this phrase. It is often said that proximity breeds danger. But it produces intimacies and off-springs too. Though subjective, I can recollect many instances where I developed intimacies, had conflicts and was also contempt.

Why, this, now? I came across this inspiring character from ISB, turned colleague, who has nurtured this "art form" to its best. We shared the same table space for six months and had great fun at work.

Hang on, no lateral breeding happened between us, for, he is a male. And me too.

I recommend reading his blog at Mango Indian.

I may not be the best of expressionists, however, he has vetted my appetite for writing.

PS: Proximity is dangerous and contagious too. Use discretion.

Signature style

For those non-Telugu readers, wondering what this blog name meant.

Itlu is a valedictory/sign-off phrase.

Experiencing the experience

My work demands travelling quite a few times in a year. Fortunately, to destinations that I haven't been before; always carrying my passion for photography. During initial trips, I was cocooned in the camera, capturing in it whatever awed me; from tall buildings to gardens; from women to heavily armed cops; from cars to monuments, which contributed to my 1200+ printed photo gallery. My eyes searched for anything that fits my frame and until the rollfilm lasted. It was an experience in itself; capturing while enjoying myself and later sharing experieices with my friends and relatives.

This intro again relates to my experience with Bengali babus at the RFC*. They left no leaf unturned in the 2000-acre park that is not captured in photos. All with pride and glory with Yashica cameras. In fact, many of them had the age old Yashicas.

Even I have come of age. I now take more pleasure in experiencing the experience than capturing it. I look back and laugh.

*RFC - Ramoji Film City

West Bengal is feminine

It took me 10 years to make my first visit at Ramoji film city. Hang on, not that I missed something extremely wonderful in all these years. Yet, all non-native relatives of mine had seen it before, which leaves me behind.

With Dusserah ended just a week ago, Ramoji was filled with Bengali babus and bahus. They make a community of their own, distinct in style and substance. What is glaringly visible is the way wives dominated their counter parts. Right from selecting a seat in a local bus journey or a public show that hardly lasted 8-minutes. They are not even shy of vocally dwarfing them in public. My verdict - females rule in Bengal.

Postal day

I don't remember when I had last written to someone. I almost became dormant with this art form. There is one of my relatives, who, to this date loves writing letters. I received one from him a couple of months ago. Rather unusual in this e-age, he is not connected to the Internet, nor to the SMS. Every red postal drop box that I pass by reminds him, however, my lethargy in picking up a paper, pen and writing to him is overshadowing.

Thanks to radio FM, it reminded me that today is Indian Post & Telegraph day. I had decided, come what may, that I would reply my dear relative today. And also recommend him to get hooked on to the internet.