A Happy Diwali after all!!

It was indeed a Happy Diwali... I was home for Diwali after 4 long years... and it was awesome...
The warmth, joy, colors, sounds, sights were all there which made this Diwali perfect...

Hope you all had a great Diwali... Wish you a wonderful year ahead...

CWG 2010 - its bigger and better!!

Today I felt really proud to be an Indian, that too one born in Delhi. The city had been ready to put up a great show... and wot a spectacular show it was...
We managed to put behind all nightmarish scandals, allegations, missed deadlines and came up with a vibrant, glitzy and dazzling opening ceremony, one like never before...
It was rightly said that it would be like a Punjabi wedding... all that could be seen was pomp and splendour... it was glamorous to the hilt!!

The highlights of the evening were:
Rhythms of India - The announcement was made with Indian drums and nagadas (instruments from all over India)... the resonating energy was amazing and full of energy, as was the countdown which led to the fireworks. As the aerostat rose, so did the tempo of the music...

The aerostat - the sight to behold was the huge helium balloon which rose to greet the spectators, with colorful puppets dangling from it. (whether its really worth 40 crores is a good question?)

Swagatham - Along side vocals by Hariharan, school children did a spectacular display of Namaste (folded palms in greeting)...the best part of the act was when the children created a Mehendi pattern on a fabric pulled up over their heads... very creative and visually appealing!!

Arrival of contingents - Then it was the time to welcome all the contingents... all the guests were greeted with warmth and gusto by the Indian crowd... especially Pakistan (well done Indians, we still encourage peace)... and Singapore (guess that was due to easy visa and cheap flight tickets)... But the stadium was reverbrating with noise as the Indian contingent, headed by Abhinav Bindra, arrived at the end... looking dapper in Sherwanis and suits, the 619-member contingent was met with constant applause and Jai Hind slogans...
Also to notice was that each contingent was led by a lady draped in a saree and we had a total of 71 different sarees, draped in 71 different styles from all over India... now thats fashion for u!!

Baton relay - the baton passed between the hands of Vijendar Singh, Mary Kom, Samresh Jung and Susheel Kumar before finally reaching the Prince of Wales... I just wish Susheel Kumar was not chewing gum when he passed on the baton to Prince Charles...
Let the games begin - Then the games were announced open by Prince Charles and Pratibha Patil...

Tree of Knowledge - Thereafter it was another hour of spectacular display starting with the Tree of Knowledge forming slowly beneath the suspended aerostat with panels of fabrics rising to it... we had a display of all the classical dance forms of India... followed by a display of "Yoga" by about 816 performers, culminated by a larger than life shape of a man in padmasana emerging from the centre of the stage... it was picture perfect!!

Great Indian Journey - The intricacies depicted in the train journey were quite interesting right from coolies, beggars, chai-wallahs et all... It is difficult indeed to showcase India's rich cultural heritage in span of 15 minutes, but it was total chaos if you put folk artists, props, tableaus all at once, depicting the landscape, culture and traditions of 28 states and 7 UTs... It was pretty colourful for sure, but after a while it became difficult to follow what was happening. Till now we had been saved from Bollywood intervention, but one tableau was dedicated to a few big screen superstars... Also I guess Railways and Chaiyya chaiyya are inseparable...

History n tradition - there was also a segment where homage was paid to Mahatma Gandhi... the sand animation was worth watching... Next up were the folk dancers from all over India... It not only showcased India's rich folk culture but also highlighted the amount of effort these performers had put in to put up such a great show... Wish the media had been kind enough to highlight this during the follow up to the games...

Infact the India media has come off as the villain along with Kalmadi... The media has been really busy trying to feature stories on delays and glitches as Kalmadi has been busy raking in the dough... And he was rightly jeered at during his speech...
Anyways, the opening ceremony ended with ARR's rendition of the CWG Anthem - "Jiyo, Utho, Badho, Jeeto"... its not his best composition, but he was clever enough to follow it with "Jai Ho"... and it all ended with another round of fireworks!!

I am sure after today's sensational opening ceremony, London and Glasgow have tougher tasks at hand...

The games have begin in India and the world is watching... Welcome to India. Welcome to the Games...

शायद ज़िन्दगी बदल रही है...

I got this wonderful forward... Quite soul-stirring...

जब मैं छोटा था, शायद दुनिया बहुत बड़ी हुआ करती थी...
मुझे याद है मेरे घर से "स्कूल" तक का वोह रास्ता, क्या क्या नहीं था वहां, चाट के ठेले, जलेबी की दूकान, बर्फ केगोले, सब कुछ,
अब वहां "मोबाइल शॉप", "विडियो पार्लर" है, फिर भी सब सूना है...
शायद अब दुनिया सिमट रही है...

जब मैं छोटा था, शायद शामे बहुत लम्बी हुआ करती थी...
मैं हाथ में पतंग की डोर पकडे, घंटो उड़ा करता था , वो लम्बी "साइकिल रेस", वो बचपन के खेल, वो हर शाम थकके चूर हो जाना,
अब शाम नहीं होती, दिन ढलता है और सीधे रात हो जाती है...
शायद वक्त सिमट रहा है...


जब मैं छोटा था, शायद दोस्ती बहुत गहरी हुआ करती थी...
दिन भर वो हुज़ोम बनाकर खेलना, वो दोस्तों के घर का खाना, लड़कियों की बातें, वो साथ रोना, अब भी मेरे कईदोस्त है,
पर दोस्ती जाने कहाँ है, जब भी "त्रफ्फिक सिग्नल" पे मिलते है "हाई" करते है, और अपने अपने रस्ते चल देते है,
होली, दिवाली, जन्मदिन, नए साल पर बस SMS आ जाते है...
शायद अब रिश्ते बदल रहे है...

जब मैं छोटा था, तब खेल भी अजीब हुआ करते थे,
छुपन छुपाई, लंगड़ी टांग, पोषम पा, कट थे केक, टिपि टिपि टाप,
अब इन्टरनेट, ऑफिस, फिल्म्स से फुरसत हई नहीं मिलती...
शायद ज़िन्दगी बदल रही है...

ज़िन्दगी का सबसे बड़ा सच यही है... जो अक्सर कबरिस्तान के बहार बोर्ड पर लिखा होता है,
"मंजिल तो यही थी, बस ज़िन्दगी गुज़र गयी मेरे यहाँ आते आते"...

ज़िन्दगी का लम्हा बहुत छोटा सा है,
कल की कोई बुनियाद नहीं है...
और आने वाला कल सिर्फ सपने में ही है...
अब बच गए इस पल में...
तमन्नाओं से भरी इस ज़िन्दगी में हम सिर्फ भाग रहे है...
इस ज़िन्दगी तो जीयो ना की काटो...

Don't just spend your life... Live it!!!

For all my Frenz... Thanks for being there...

Oh what joy it is
to have a friend like you,
For giving me strength
the way you do...

For lifting me up
when I am feeling down,
And putting a smile on my face
when I am wearing a frown...

Thanks for being there
and helping me grow,
Your friendship mean a lot
this I'd like you to know...

Thanks for being such a wonderful friend...

If...

Saw this interesting post here...
So taking it up... :)

If I were a month, I’d be May...

If I were a day of the week, I’d be Monday...

If I were a time of day, I’d be 10 PM...

If I were a season, I’d be spring...

If I were a planet, I’d be Venus...

If I were a sea animal, I’d be a dolphin...

If I were a direction, I’d be East...

If I were a piece of furniture, I’d be a beanbag... :)

If I were a liquid, I’d be iced tea...

If I were a tree, I’d be a Gulmohar tree...

If I were a tool, I’d be a knife...

If I were an element, I’d be gold...

If I were a gemstone, I’d be diamond...

If I were a musical instrument, I’d be a guitar...

If I were a color, i’d be pink...

If I were an emotion, I’d be happiness...

If I were a fruit, I’d be an Mango...

If I were a sound, I’d be the sound of falling raindrops...

If I were a car, I’d be an Ferrari...

If I were food, I’d be a chocolate...

If I were a taste, I’d be tangy...

If I were a scent, I’d be citrus...

If I were a pair of shoes, I’d be stiletto...

If I were a bird, I’d be a cuckoo...

And last but not the least, if I were you, I’d take it up too!

The year that was...

This is a really overdue post.. Had thought of posting this around Christmas, but the unexpected end to last year and a busy start to this year has delayed this.. Anyways better late than never...

2009 has been a good year...

Started on a wonderful note with frenz in Singapore... India vacation in cold January... Shifting... new frenz... the night outs...the movie going experiences... the numerous trips to Malaysia... the amazing b'day bash... Mom dad's Singapore visit... relocating back to India... teary adieus... hearty welcomes... celebrating Durga Puja @ home after a long time... barely settling in Noida before moving to Chennai... feeling alienated in India... spending Diwali alone... more frenz... learning (more like trying to learn) Tamil... trip to Pondy... meeting an old friend in Hyderabad... Missing winters (again)... and ended wonderfully with me spending Christmas/New Year at home in Chandigarh in freezing conditions...

Has been quite a roller coaster year.. felt as if I have been living out of a suitcase... Hoping the new year is as exciting as the last... :) .. or even better... :))

Trivia for 2009

• Got hooked big time to Facebook...
• Crappiest year ever for bollywood... 3 idiots was the saving grace... maybe it felt more crappy as I went to the theatres so much...
• Learnt to play tennis...
• Tried to learn a new language... (m still struggling)...
• Made lots of friends... some life time types... :D
• Reignited my love for sea beaches...
• Did snorkelling for the first time...n second...
• Realised one should shop in moderation... not actually put this into practice yet... :)
• Honed up my culinary skills...
• Took out more time to read... best read this year was "Eat, pray, love" by Elizabeth Gilbert... hope the upcoming movie does justice to the book...

All in all a good year...

Since I could not do justice to my resolutions, so not making any this year... :P

Aim for 2010 - to be Happy... :) .. Amen!!

Wishing everyone life's best this new year... Have a wonderful year ahead!!