We like it free

The other day, I went to a standup comedy show  at Canvas Laugh Factory, Mumbai, to bring in my birthday in a laughing mode. It was the best start to my special day. As much as you enjoy laughing your guts out, the acts boost your creative juices as well.

Photo albums and bottomless timelines

Digital and mobile phone cameras have been one of the coolest inventions. I love them, we all do. Click on the go and upload on Facebook. Get 'Likes' and comments galore.

But a few days later, the photos are lost in bottomless timelines. Some of our best photos and moments disappear in the "scroll down" mode of social media sites.

A reason to celebrate

Indians juggle with a lot many things on a daily basis (except, of course, the ones who get easy money by means of corruption):

·         Late working hours

·         The inability to spend enough time at home

·         Lack of sleep

·         Ever-increasing traffic

·         Ever-increasing prices of, well, everything

·         Corruption

·         The depressing news of rapes, murders, dirty politics, accidents, building collapeses...

·         The 'chalta hai' attitude

Fibromyalgia

You are constantly in pain. The kind you can't describe in words. The kind you say is unbearable, unstoppable and has bothered you for at least three months to several years, every single day, every single minute. The only change is the amount of pain in different areas of the body. Yeah it is chronic pain but there are a lot many other things that are bothering you. Like the unexplained fever that stays on for months. Then you keep forgetting things. You experience fatigue most of the time as if some unknown power has snatched away all your energy and most definitely affected your quality of life.

Life before Facebook

BEFORE FACEBOOK:

Phone rings

Payal: Hi Geeta

Geeta: Hi wassup

Payal: Hey what are you doing tomorrow? Would you like to stay over at my place? I will make your favourite pav bhaji and we can watch the season 10 of Friends together... Parents are out of town.

Geeta: Wow... sounds great. Even I have to tell you about this guy from work who asked me out today.

Payal: What are you saying! Is it Pramod, the new joinee? Tell me more about him, do you have his photograph? How does he look like? Where does he stay...

Geeta: Relax, relax... (whispers), tomorrow I will tell you all about him... oh and I don't have his pic yet, but I will try to source something from the HR friend Jigna, she has his resume and pics na.

And the next day they chatted and giggled all night through. Geeta described Pramod and Payal visualised his appearance. Not so tall, not so smart, has a moustache, but seems to be really cute... They met Pramod together the next weekend and had a great time! By the way Pramod tagged along a friend,  Akash, who later asked Payal out!

AFTER FACEBOOK:

EVERYTHING HAPPENS ON FACEBOOK:

Payal updates her status message: Parents out of town :)

Payal sends Geeta a PM: Hey wht r u doin tom? Would u like 2 stay over @ my place? I will make your fav pav bhaji n v can watch de season 10 of Friends together... Parents r out of town!

Geeta replies to Payal: Hey yeah, saw ur status message... liked it too. Let's do it. Even I hv 2 tell u abt this guy fm work who asked me out today.

Meanwhile Payal's status message gets 8 likes and  4 comments.

Comment 1 from Pradeep (uncle): lol... even you should have come with them to my place beta, it has been so long we saw you... chachi has been asking about you. And did you meet Sahil? Bhabhi said you have been avoiding.

Comment 1 gets 9 Likes.

Comment 2 from Agnes: Hey who's Sahil... tell us more

Comment 3 from Megha: Hmm parents are out and how abt Sahil ;)

Comment 4 from Payal: @Agnes, @Megha, nothing yaar, my chachu is just kidding... Sahil's a distant cousin

Payal quickly changes her Facebook privacy settings where Pradeep chachu can't see her posts anymore.

Payal PMs Geeta: Wht r u saying! Is it Pramod, de new joinee? Pls send me his facebook profile link... lemme see how he looks like

Geeta: Here it is - https://www.facebook.com/prramodarrora24613, he's not looking too good in de dp but he's really cute

And with a few minutes, Payal checks out Pramod's profile and pics. She scrolls down until September 2013 and checks out all his photos. She notices he has posed with one particular pretty girl in most of the pics tagged as Neha. She goes to Neha's profile. Neha's profile page has umpteen pics of Pramod, some quite 'couple' types. Payal gets inquisitive and scrolls down till August 2013.

Neha's status message then read: Best day of my life... found my soulmate... I know u'll want to know more... for now, let's just call him P (Pyaar)... (blushing).

On further research, Payal sees that Neha's relationship status is "committed", she has a lot of pics of her several weekend trips with Pramod and Pramod's relationship status is "single".

Payal sends Geeta a PM: Check out Pramod's photos with Neha, check out Neha's profile... looks like Pramod is seeing her... you should teach him a lesson. Don't worry, he's not too good for you. We'll talk about it tom when you come over. Boss is back. TTYL.

Geeta is shocked. A heartbreak via Facebook! She checks out both Pramod and Neha's profile and pics. Payal seems to be right. And as she wonders why he asked her out, she gets a PM from Pramod.

Pramod: Hey Payal, can't wait to meet you this weekend!

Geeta is infuriated and does not reply.

And the next day Geeta and Payal spent all time cursing Pramod and discussing how 'all men are the same' over pav bhaji and lot of tissue papers.

- Anuradha Khanna Pentapalli
(annucool15.blogspot.in)

Voices of a Commuter

"Kidhar utarna hai? Door kyun block karke rakha hai?"

"Zara sarko bhaiiya, fourth seat pe baithna hai."

"Khaalipeeli machmach nahi karneka."

"Thoda push karo, jagaah ban jayegi."

"Dus ka paanch, gaanvti santra lo!"

"#*%^... #%*+..."

Mumbai local train is not called the lifeline of the city for no reason. It is the heart and soul of the city echoing the most common phrases used almost every day by almost every commuter. The train journeys aren't just from Point A to Point B, but are journeys in one's lifetime from youth to the ripe years. And through these journeys, many commuters make friends for life.

Street food of India

Light on pocket, heavenly delicious and highly addictive, street food is like a magnet that attracts every foodie. And when it comes to street food, I bet India offers maximum possible variety. The umpteen Bollywood songs using chaat in the lyrics are testimony to the popularity of these irresistible food choices.

Remember the Coolie No. 1 song featuring Govinda and Karishma Kapoor?

Main toh raste se ja raha tha, main toh bhel puri kha raha tha...

Movie remakes

Kitney aadmi thhey? [Sholay]

Vijay Dinanath Chauhan, poora naam. Baap ka naam Dinanath Chauhan.  Maa ka naam Suhasini Chauhan, gaon Mandwa, umar chhattis saal, nau mahina aath din... aae yeh solwaah ghanta chaalu hai. [ Agneepath]

Don ko pakadna mushkil hi nahin, naamumkin hai. [Don]

Movie remakes might be the trend but nothing beats the magic of the original movie. I am simply unable to remember a single Bollywood remake that was better than the original Bollywood movie. Many remakes actually turn out to be a disaster.

However, there are four kinds of remakes in India:

Voices of a Home-maker

She may not be eligible for a home loan considering she doesn't have a tangible income. But she is what makes a house home. Yes, if you think about it, there is a fine line of difference between a house and a home. A residential structure comprising floor, walls and ceiling might make a house. Let's throw in some furniture as well. But it is the presence of a homemaker that makes it a home running fine and full of life... that's the power of housewife!

Ladakh calling

 

It is as if nature took it's time to create a pristine painting, so magical that one look and it is etched in your memory for a lifetime. Snow-capped mountain ranges look into the mirror of crystal clear rivers and the skies join in to add some more hues. Ladakh... it sure is a wonderland!

Tourist Guides

 

Google may tell you everything about just every place. But when you plan to explore a new place, especially one with a historic significance, the magic that a travel guide can create is unmatched. Of course, you need to be careful that the guide you opt for is a genuine one. 

Sitcoms

Ted Mosby: When 2 broke girls said it was hot in Cleveland, the big bang theory was invented and that’s how I met your mother! 

The sitcom fever is really catching up in India thanks to Zee Cafe, Comedy Central and Star World. Gone are the days when everyone was hooked on to (and eventually bored with) thesaas bahu dramas. This is the era of laughing with sitcoms (or stand-up comedy for that matter, but we will talk about it later) instead of plotting and mind-poisoning dramas that do us no good.