The One with the Comeback

The Old, The Mighty n The Bakseesh

oneLast sunday, I had a chance to visit the Howrah Railway station. I had to drop off my uncle, on his way to chennai, there and thought i could try and shoot a video of the mighty bridge. After saying bye to my uncle, i came out of the station and shot some gr8 fotos of the bridge 😀. After tat, i planned 2 walk along the bridge for the first time. Till now, the only memory of the bridge in my head was a smoke filled old precariously hanging bridge.I kept shooting pix and then started shooting a video. The weather was gr8 and i thot i cud walk along the bridge and shoot the whole bridge. Alas! after 30 secs or so, i found myself facing a policeman. He asked me to look up:
“Photography is strictly prohibited”
The policeman threatened 2 throw away the camera(:O) but then i told him i was a tourist and a whole load of lies. After I buttered his fingers, he got convinced tat i was not planning to plant a bomb on the bridge and let me off! Long Live Kolkata Police!
Click here to watch the hoogly bridge.
PS:
To appease the policeman,i hve also shot him(wit my cam tat is!). Do catch a glimpse of him at the end of the video…

The Tale Of Two States

Painting the town red!!!

While one chose to turn left , the other chose to remain in the red.is this a thumbs up for communism or sign of desperate people stuck with hobson’s choice?

The Rasagula Times- I

Beginning from today, a series of posts on my trip to calcutta titled,

“The Rasagula Times“
First of all,sorry,sorry,sorry..haven been able 2 login to net regularly…cant say tat i am lazy…just tat everytime i plan 2 post sth,i am lured instead by the prospects of havin a rasagula or kachori 😀
my aunt has got a puppy. its name is sniffy and its a german spitz. i hve uploaded a video of it..check it out here.

Wakooww!!

A search for the word Wakooww in Google,Wikipedia,Webster and all other kinds of search engines drew a blank. So I thought I could give my own definition for this word 😀

Wakooww-Ur favored or favorites to win something. You start off with THE most stupidest plan to do so;realise your mistake half way through and make conscious efforts to change but however gud ur efforts are,you lose out.
Examples:
1. My B.Tech education.
2. Jose Mourinho’s gameplan for the FA cup semifinal against Liverpool.
In the end, both of us ended up being losers 😦

I am not gonna gloss over the former(Worsht kinda self damage:O). So lemme write about the latter.
For all those who still think soccer and american football are one and the same, Senor Jose Mourinho is the manager of Chelsea Football Club. Hes got a big brain but the problem is that hes got a bigger mouth. So he shoots himself in the mouth most of the times with whatever he says. However, he IS ONE of the best managers in the EPL(English Premier League) at the moment. Senor Rafael Benitez is the manager of Liverpool FC. I would rate this guy as the second best in the league at the moment. He isnt as controversial as Mourinho though.

When the two teams met @ Old Trafford(home of Manchester United which is an arch rival for both these clubs),lots were at stake. The two clubs had already met lotsa timez in the recent past. Also, this was Liverpool’s only chance to grab some silverware while Chelsea wanted to continue with the “double” saga( last time, they won the League Cup and EPL).

So amidst much tension and frenzy, the two teams started the game. To put it in a single word, Mourinho’s gameplan was “Dumb“. It was blasphemous!! He had at his disposal,midfielders lyk Duff,Cole,Robben,Wright-Philips(yeha he does play for Chelsea!). Instead, he starts off with Ferreira in the midfield. He is a very gud defender and at the max, a defensive winger. Geremi plays on left flank(hes basically a midfielder). So we have Essien, good ol’ Makelele, Lampard and Ferreira in the midfield andDrogba and Crespo up front. This formation would have come good against a relegation threatened team. Not against a team that had come back from being 0-3 behind and become the European Champions! I still don understand what Mourinho sees in Drogba that he chooses him over Crespo.
So the game starts. Drogba got a sitter early in the game and as usual, he missed. In fact, no one expected him to score. It was such a shock when he scored later in the game. Liverpool got an freekick and they scored by penetrating through a “crack” in the chelsea “wall”. After the goal, Chelsea midfield was in tatters. It was mayhem all around. No one knew where to pass. Of course, Liverpool’s defence was awesome but then this wasnt what one expects from a side that could afford losses around 80 million pounds and still spend more on players!

At halftime, Mourinho must have been thinking what the heck had he done(similar to what I felt in my second year;I shall save that story for some other time :P). As one of my friends quipped, Chelsea did not have anyone playing who could do a decent dribble. No midfielder attacked. Hence Drogba and Crespo were left fuming since they rarely got the ball. He makes amends at the half time by bringing on Robben instead of Del Horno( a defender). But it was Liverpool who went further ahead through a peach of a goal from Luis Garcia. The ‘keeper Cudicini was left stranded by the spaniard’s left foot strike. The game was in the bag as far as Liverpool was concerned. Mourinho decided enuff was enuff and brought on Duff and Cole in place of Crespo and Geremi(yeha, u read it right, mighty Crespo was subbed 😦 ). And the results were there to see. Almost the whole Chelsea squad attacked. Liverpool was dumbfounded. Their defence was under enormous pressure. The pressure cracked the Liverpool defence finally and Drogba sneaked in a goal after a rash clearance by Riise. The temperature rose and we all thought that Mourinho had got it right this time. They kept attacking. One has to give credit to the Reds’ ‘keeper Reina. He had a gr8 game and almost single handedly made sure that Chelsea got nowhere near that second goal. Joe Cole had an easy chance during the injury time but his shot was inches above the crossbar. And when the refree Poll blew the whistle signalling the end of the game, Mourinho had shot himself again. This time around,it was coz of his brain and not because of his mouth. Hope he returns to sanity by next weekend (Man U vs. Chelsea 😀). If not, then I guess its “Adeus Senor Mourinho” time for the Blues.

PS:
The author is neither a Mourinho hater nor Anti-Blues. In fact, he is a true Blues fan and an admirer of Mourinho. Now can you understand how Wakoowwd Mourinho had been???

Milestone,The

Hurray!This is my 50th post…i hve been rackin my brains as to wat to write for a week..then i thot i shd let my drawing skills do the talking.Presenting to all,inspired out of sheer boredom and lack of will to write sth meaningful,

The Milestone by Viive Van Anand

Milestone,The
MS-Paint
261.0 x 297.0 pixels
Calicut,April,2005.

To everyone whos has kept visiting this blog,thanks a lot…the cafe is open and the coffee is hot… keep visiting 🙂

I Me Myself

I was tagged by Demonic Dude. The thing is to answer 50 questions about myself 😀
So ladies and gentlemen, here we go :

1. Were you named after anyone? Yes. After the gr8 philosopher( Swamiji,plz do forgive my mom :D)
2. Do you wish on stars? Noo(Esp after watching the lead actors do the same in Hindi movies..Rule of thumb,never follow hindi movies:P)
3. When did you last cry? A month ago. Well.actually, I am crying a lot these days 😦
4. Do you like your handwriting? Lyk???U kidding???????????I lost 2 marks in maths in my +2 exam because of my messy handwriting!
5. What is your favourite meat?Tried chicken once but then it tasted similar 2 paneer..basically a veggie
6. What is your most embarrassing CD on your shelf?I had this broken CD of some dumb movie called fifth element..doubt if its ther still..
7. If you were another person, would YOU be friends with you? Yeha
8.Are you a daredevil?Hmmm…err…huh…kinda…
9. How do you release anger?I shout out
10. Where is your second home?If chennai is my first home, then coimbatore is my 2nd home ;)…calicut is more lyk a jail 😦
11. Do you trust others easily?Yeha…luk how kind hearted I am 😀
12. What was your favourite toy(s) as a child? My He-Man, a Jeep, my cycle and my teddy bear 😀
13. What class in school/college do you think is totally useless? Engineering Graphics(I f**kin hate it X-( )
14. Do you use sarcasm a lot? Wat a sucky question…of course Yes.
15. Have you ever been in a mosh pit? No
16. What do you look for in a girl? I had put up a post earlier…plz do read it 😛
17. Would you bungee jump?Yes.
18. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? No I dont…hey wait….its been eons since I wore one:O
19. What’s your favourite ice cream? Butterscotch and chocolate
20. What are your favourite colours? Blue and black
21. What are your least favourite things? does mess food come under “things”??
22. How many people do you have a crush on right now? 8 i guess….hillary duff,elisha cuthbert,Reese Witherspoon(I lyk gals wit blonde hairs…..but not the stereotyped “blondes” :P) etc.:D
23. Who do you miss most right now? My parents
24. What are you listening to right now?Fort Minor…LP!!LP!!!LP!!!
25. If you were a crayon, what colour would you be? I don wanna b a crayon…better b an eraser 😛

26. What is the weather like right now?Its sultry
27. Last person you talked to on the phone? Don remind me abt fone…It took 6 calls for the customer care guy 2 understand tat I am the subscriber and not the retailerX-(
28. The “first” thing you notice about the opposite sex? Smile and eyes(esp if they hve kajal on ther eyes..gals wit kajal luk soo …. :D) and the way they tie ther hair
29. Do you like the person who sent you this?Man I luv him 😛
30. How are you today? My graphologist friend told me tat my confidence is at an all time low :((
31. Favourite non alcoholic drink? Sprite
32. Favourite alcoholic drink? I wud luv 2 taste a martini 😀
33. Natural hair colour? Black.
34. Eye colour? Black
35. Wear contacts? Nope but planning to.
36. Siblings?A elder sister…how I miss our fights 😦
37. Favourite month? July
38. Favourite food? Home made…my mom dad n sis can cook..now if u ask wat abt me..i hve started cooking :D..so all r welcome to ma home 😀
39. Favourite day of the year? Saturday 😛
40. Have you ever been too shy to ask someone out?Nope I guess
41. Scary movies or happy endings? I despise scary movies….happy endings r ok as long as they don sound cliched
42. Summer or winter? Summer
43. Holi or Diwali? Diwali
44. Do you like your name?I just feel pity for the Swamiji 😦
45. What book/magazine are you reading? Finished One Night@Call center, reading LOTR, Alfred Sloan’s “My years with General Motors”, Bill Gates “Business@Speed of thought” and Norman Peale “Amazing results of positive thinking”.
46. What’s on your mouse pad?Muaaaaaaaaaaaaaahaaaaaaaa…no mouse pads 😛
47. What did you watch on TV last night? Gunners and Juve match and I very well doubt tat Juve has fixed the match…how do u explain Gunners winning 2-0 and two Juve players being sent off????
48. Favourite Smell?Smell of petrol and smell of deeply fried potatoes 😀
49. Have you ever regretted breaking up with someone? Yes
50. Most tiresome thing you’ve ever experienced/done?I watched a movie called “Madurai” in the theatres 😦 and travelling in buses in kerala!
On this solemn occasion, I pass on the tag to everyone on my blogroll :D(claps all arnd)…

Sense and Sensitivity

I have always blvd tat its a crime 2 send fwds esp the chain mails. A bigger crime is to copy n paste those fwds in blogs! So do forgive me for committing a crime :D. I was browsing thro Dilbert on ma comp when tis particular cartoon caught my eye…
I lykd the question tat Dogbert asks:”Is it my fault tat i was born without the ability to sense the feelings of others?!“

Omerta

This is the third part of the trilogy after Love Story and Christmas Gift.

OMERTA

‘Inspired’ by real n reel events

“There is a dark man in everyone. It’s just that we choose to be who we are….”
-Silence of the lambs
——————————————————————————————–
43 years ago, my dad landed on the shores of this gr8 wide land. 25 years later,he married my mother. And they never regretted my existence. But one day changed everything….

20 years after I was born, I woke up one day realising I had not done anything to justify my existence in this world. My friends told me that I still have a long time to go before I find out wat the Real Me can do. Alas!If only my parents had understood that. Instead they forced me to do this and do that. The vesuvius dormant inside me exploded one day and I ran away from my house. The hearts of my parents crumbled like the city of pompeii. I did not care.

A month later, I met someone on a bus. They say life is a matter of choices that we make and that day, I chose to talk to him. He looked like a stereotyped ruffian. Long hair,unshaven beard and unkempt clothes. Yet he sounded so knowledgeable and harmless. I told him everything that was to be told about my life. I rambled on and on and realised that I had missed my bus stop. After an hour of patient hearing, he offered to help me. I got out of the bus along with him and he took me to his place. The next day, he took me to his ‘office’. One cannot call it an office. It was a house rather. He asked me to wait outside. An hour later, he returned and asked me if I knew how to drive a car. I said yes and I was appointed as the driver.

I was very happy. I then thought I was on the path to identify the real Me. Anyway, I was asked to drive around the city and the boss seemed to be happy with my driving. Somewhere in the corner of my mind, something was nagging me. That night, I was asked to drive my boss around to a night club. The ‘boss’ was a short guy of medium complexion. If someone had not introduced him to me as the ‘boss’, I would have mistook him to be a circus clown. The boss asked me to wait outside. I had never been to a night club before and realised I have to work for few more years before I can accompany them inside. Sometime later, I could hear gunshots. I was terrified. I saw my boss running out of the night club and approaching the car. I started the car and the moment he got into it, I drove out of the place. I could spot a hint of relief on boss’s face thro the rearview mirror. I was shy by nature and hence,drove without opening my mouth. After sometime though, the boss talked. He explained how he had shot the owner of the nightclub. He seemed jubilant and in fact, let out a huge laugh. It scared the shit outta me! I dropped him at his place and ran over to my friend’s house. He was sleeping and took sometime to open the door. I was panting for breath. I asked him and wat his boss was doing. The trouble with this guy was tat he really knew how to talk to people. He let me shout at him for sometime and then explained quietly that our boss was a local thug. As he gave me more details regarding my boss’s “profession”,blood drained outta my face. He then warned me that since I had driven him around the city, everyone would have spotted me and my name would be marked as a member of THE Gang. I cursed myself for the first time for running outta my house and the deep shit I had gotten into.

The problem with choices are that,sometimes, our decision lets others control our future. My condition was similar to that of a bird who has had its wings cut and stuffed in a cage. With great trepidation, I reported for “work” the next day. My friend seemed to have told our boss regarding my outburst the previous night since the boss appeared very friendly to me. In fact, he even boasted to some outsider that I had saved his life yesterday and that I had a gr8 future!That day, he proclaimed himself to be my ‘guruji’ and began my tutelage. For the next couple of months, he taught me. He told me how a person could rise in this world only by pushing someone else down the drain. To me, it all appeared nonsense in the beginning. But as days passed by, I realised I had little choice and so picked up a few tricks. The boss was really impressed with my ‘learning’ skills and after sometime, I was ‘promoted’ from a driver to a henchman. I din know whether to rejoice or cry.

Every day, many came to seek counsel from my boss. They ranged from ordinary mortals visiting him out of fear to bank executives paying him to track down defaulters. One fine day, a man came to meet my boss. He looked omnious and deeply worried and angry. For the first time, my boss let me talk to the person. It was the clear indication of another ‘promotion’ for me. This time, I did feel elated. I asked the person what his problem was. He told me about his wife’s dallings with her ex-boyfriend. He offered to pay me whatever I demanded if I could drive out the other guy out of her life. Though I was reluctant to accept, I relented after sometime. After the guy left, my boss ordered me to deal with this ‘case’ myself. This was going to my first kill.

For two days, I kept following the other guy. In broad daylight, I saw them walking down the street hand in hand. What made my blood boil was the fact that the lady had a kid. I decided to put an end to the story the next day.

That night, I couldnt sleep properly. The next day, I was to commit my first real crime. Till then, I had accompained the boss and his henchmen but then never had got myself involved. My friend, who was really amazed by my ‘growth’ in the gang, suggested that I try weed before I hit him. I had never tried drugs till then and was slightly hesistant. I realised my friend had always been right and asked him to explain the intricacies of smoking weed.

Since I was doing it all alone, I decided to catch a bus instead of driving around in a vehicle. I got down at the bus stand. I remembered my friend’s instructions and walked up to the auto stand. I lighted a cigarrete while standing between two autos. A man walked up to me and he offered his hand. I held up 50 bucks in my palm and as we shook hands, we exchanged the cigars and the 50 bucks. He informed me that the cigar contained the dope and I can smoke them jus like ordinary cigarettes. Before I could reply, he had disappeared. I took a doped cigar, placed it between my lips and smoked. For sometime, I did not feel any change. Then I felt as if I was flying in the air. Everyone around me looked as tiny as liliputians. I kept laughing. I kept crying. I saw him getting out of his car and escorting her into the departmental store. The kid was standing beside her and ran after them. Strangely, the kid looked happy. I thought it was the grass tat was playing some trick. I followed them into the store. They were standing near the other end of the store. While the kid was checking out the chocolates section, the other guy and the lady were holding each other’s hands. She was crying and then hugged him. For some reason, it drove me mad. I snatched the chocolate out of the kid’s hand, paid the bill and got out of the store. The kid started crying and followed me. His crying disturbed the other guy. He too got out of the store following the kid who was following me. All while, the lady stood inside the departmental store looking through the glass door. I got out and turned left and waited. The kid did not know where I turned and chose the wrong direction. The other guy too turned the same direction. As they searched for me, I ran behind them. The kid stood and the guy ran ahead. I knew this was my chance. I closed his mouth using my left hand and held the knife in the right hand. I knew that the lady was watching us from the other side of the door. But she did not shout. She came running towards the door. I realised I had very little time. I tapped the guy’s shoulders. He turned towards me and before his brain could send a signal to his hand tat I held a knife in my hand, I drove the knife into his stomach. I took it out and drove it in again. Blood was sprouting out of his stomach and I could see his intestine. The lady came out of the store and rushed towards the guy. She was in tears and her face was white. It had the mixed look of fear and anger. And she shouted.“Oh Nikhil…nikhil…” No sound came out of her mouth but I could hear each and every mouth she mouthed as if she was whispering them in my ears. She told me how much she had loved this guy but had spurned him since she thought his love was based on sympathy. How her husband suspected her each and every action and without realising,drove her into Nikhil’s hands. How she had named her elder child Nikhil although she could never call his name. How I had spoilt her only chance to regain happiness in life. How she had continued her liason with him despite knowing that she was committing a cardinal sin. She kept rambling on and on. I realised that it was the first time her voice had found an audience. Till today, I do not know how I was able to hear it. May be it was the dope or may be it was something else. She sighed as she got up and looked at me with a motherly look on her face. She was still crying as she took the kids in her arms and ran away from the place. Suddenly,everything appeared clearer to me. The choice had been made. And I know she too remained so. Her secrets were safe with me and so were mine with her. And we both knew we had to live with it. The code had been signed.
I too ran away the next moment. I did not go back to my boss or my friend.Instead I ran away from them too. They did not bother to chase me since for them, their job was done. The police
did not bother to chase me since they never knew I had existed. 5 years later, I am happily married and settled in life with my husband. Till this day, I have not come across that lady.However, that code of silence we two women accepted that day is still being honored and shall be honored ever after……

Timeout

I have been writing lots of stories lately. My previous two posts were stories. My next one is also a story(yawn!). It should complete the trilogy. Now don ask me wat the common thread connecting the three stories…even I am searching for sth :O!
Many ppl have asked me why I changed my blog name from Me Te ReBel to Viive. Well after reading Ayn Rand(its her again!), I realised tat the rebel in me has disappeared. I hve become wateva I din want myself to be. Anyhow, the rebel in me is down but not out ;-). And to indicate tat, i hve changed my blogger disp pic to that of a flicker of light. Again inspired from Rand. Terz a similar flame in the book Atlas Shrugged:the flame from Wyatt’s Oil Field. Any Rand followers wud know wat its sup 2 mean. For others, the flame is the symbol of the crusade against the looters. They say “Alcohol breeds philosophers” but I should add tat “Vettiness breeds philosophers”!
Watched a cricket match after a very very long time. And wat a match it was:Aussie plundering 434 against South Africa and the Springbooks chasing it!I din watch the Aussie innings. In fact i watched the SA innings only after20 overs. And wat a chase it was!I shd add tat Aussie bowling attack was below par. Without McGrath and Warne, their bowling is akin to a rock band without guitarists. It wud b better if any of the two bowling greats is roped in as the bowling coach or sth.I do think tat the match signals the beginning of the end of Aussie Domination of cricket. They have been beaten comprehensively(by their standards that is) in Test by the Poms and now in One-Day too,their performance is beginning to deteriorate. Rest in peace Aussies…Ur time is up 😀

Hurrrrrrrrrrayyyyyy!!!Schumi is back..the king is back….Long Live the King!!I know Schumi din win…but a 2nd place finish has laid the foundation for a Championship victory this time…Last year, he was defeated not by his competitors instead by changes in the format…LOL..luk wat happens if someone keeps winning!
Now they will ask Federer to play without a racket or order Ronaldinho to play as a keeper :O
I was a cars n F1 freak during my skool days and the frenzy hit a all time high during my 11th n 12th stds when I became a big Schumi fan.Everything changed when I arrived at college. I left cars behind and instead, embraced computers. Not tat I don derive the same pleasure but watching Schumi battling out wit Hakkinen(anyone know where he is??) and leaving the rest of the pack to battle it out amongst each other just felt great!These days, I am a soccer fanatic(soccer,not football :P) but I shd admit tat I am beginning to lose interest in soccer too…
Listening to lots of tamil songs these days. Lotsa movies r gonna release in the near future. Vetaiyaadu Vilayadu,Pattiyal,Godfather,Poi,Pudupettai, Paarijatham,etc. The trend these days seem to b this:two duets, one masala,one ‘pheelings’ number,a classical,a remix of any of the previous mentioned songs n a rap. Sometimes, the rap n the remix r the same though ur often left wondering wats the point of a remix in the same album! And the rap lyrics all sound cliched n stale.
The third part of the trilogy is titled “Omerta“. I am doing a lot of research for this. Its inspired by an event in my college. Before I reveal nething else, I stop….(konjam over build up :P)