Friends are few..

I was meant to live a long life.

I was just another actor on this stage.

They cut my part short and left me midway

Its killing me like a severe plague.

Life had ended as I knew it

Everything changed in that moment

When I was alone and helpless

There was no time to lament

People are not bad, is what they said

Its situations that make the wrong decisions

So my friends be very careful

Take every step with extreme precision

For personal gain is the last motive

There are no ‘friends’ in this

But if there are some who can give their life for you

Do not let them be missed

Living is a challenge everyday

Facing several problems new

But all my fundas come to rest cuz

Life is a leaf and friends are the dew

Pphhhbbbbtttt... Phatak!

My dearest, awesome friend and fav Pcom member Koshy,

Here's a list of your lyrical abilities for the world to see.. ;)

17/12/2010

Look at us, we write poems that are sweet and lovely,

For this guy who is nice and funny.

We take his case and he gives it back,

We say phhhbbbttt and he says ‘phatak’.

The gods have gone crazy, the kids have gone mad,

The verbal volleying will continue till one too many drinks is what we’ve had.

18/12/2010

And so they started early and got stuck in traffic

But it didn’t work in dampening their spirits.

They had fun,

Had a great beer run.

And took a taxi

To cap a night that was sexy!

20/12/2010

There are days on which we feel low,

days when progress is  real slow,

On these days remember that you have the friends to act like their not 25,

friends whose lyrical ability is real fine ;)

And here's what started the whole chain of poems..

and its for all my recently single friends.

17/12/2010

Today, I become a free bird

Flying high, above the world

No more shackles to bind me

I feel joyful, light and glee

Screw the world, I am my own king

Every sunday an affair, every saturday a fling ;)

If this is a jungle, I am on the prowl

You can hear me celebrate, drink and growl

And I feel AWESOME, I am Superman

Back to the drawing board and making plans

Time to move on and get going

Back to sayin, " How you doin?" ;)

Dedicated to RJK...

Love you sweets :)

Keep smiling and keep me smiling :)

P.S. : For others who are unaware.. First three were written by him.. and the last one by me! ;)

No more.

Deep down in your eyes

I do not want to see any more lies

Stop this deception once and for all

Be a man, honest, faithful and tall

When this story began, it was true

The love was amazing, fresh and new

The dreams were plenty to kill all day

But time killed you, my love of y’day

Today, I don’t know who you are

You lie, you bitch, you’ve gone too far

This story is just near its end

Another steep curve, another long bend

We better say our goodbyes now

And take leave, with a deep bow

Let memories be of love and respect

No more arguments, nothing to expect.

a night of AWESOMENESS!!

More than a month prior to my birthday... (well thats how early i get excited! :P), my brain came up with a huge idea. Invite all friends @ SIMSR to my place and celebrate it with them and my family.. So as i sat down to make the guest list, the work was tough but i managed to put in most people i really wanted to come.

Earlier the plan was for the weekend, then a weekday it had to be! So thursday, 25th November 2010, some 37 people from SIMSR are making their way to my place in thane. Many wondering whether i have enough room.. (Well, now you know!!)

The first person to make it to my place... Elizabeth... and the next big surprise... She gets me FLOWERS!! whoa! totally unexpected... but completely flattering!! My parents and she immediately hit it off.. [[U know how liza and her one liners are!! ;) ] Some time later, enter koshy, aman and praaag :P. I was just glad that koshy came.. :) and then the others take ages to come... m sure JD took them for 'thane darshan'... (look guys, this is kunjvihar vada pav place... sachin tendulkar and vinod kambli came here... blah blah.. show off.. oops! C.A.G.!) So finally he manages to get a set of people to my place. The welcome drinks follow.. and yes, people did not miss alcohol! Enter dahiwada and chinese samosa.. Gosh.. our mess and canteen food really sucks!! The food disappeared like hot cakes!!

Meanwhile sneha ghadiali (the perfect bahu material certified!) helped my brothers and mom with serving the others. Thanks a ton Sneha! :) Junta kept pouring in till 10.30! the last one being niharika. meanwhile koshy, krishna, swapnil, auro and ghosh got the real taste of a marwari meal. In one 'thaal'.. i showed them, how we sit together in a single plate and enjoy the awesome maru food.. The menu: Gatte ki sabzi, Paneer ki sabzi, Lachcha Paratha, Roti, Pakode, Moong Dal ka Halwa... damn.. writing this sitting in the hostel doesnt really help!! :/ So well, they eat and leave and make promises to compensate for the lack of 'availability'...

the rest of the party is here for the night... one by one.. in batches of 7-8 they sit together for the phodu maru style dinner.. then i did what a maru host does.. Make sure every guest has the sweet from my own hands :) It was super duper awesome fun!!

Dinner over, 32 people cramped into that little room of my grand mother's and i must admit, they were cozy! 'Chidiya Udd' was the game of the moment! Mahek, shivi, abhilasha and many more had fun trying to hit each other!

And then as the clock said 12, there were all my friends, all around me singing Happy Birthday!! And WHAM!! there goes a cake of butter icing on my face! yess one FULL CAKE ON MY FACE!! followed by TOMATOES!! Rotten and perfectly ripe ones too!! But 1st time in the history of SIMSR did guys and girls both gave birthday bumps!! and well, me being myself, had to share it... Others who got their share of the cake/ tomatoes: Nidhi (the running away doesnt help!), Abhilasha, 4g, Rutuja, Viral, etc.. and 4g got birthday bumps so did abhilasha.. well nidhi got lucky there! ;)

after all this, the actual cake (the one we ate) came.. and there was a nice celebration.. :) My roomies (real and virtual) gifted me a nice top. :) I went quickly for a bath, and then what followed was another adventure...

So at around 1.30 in the night, we are 30 odd people on the street. I go there clean and huggable and receive my birthday wishes and hugs.. :) now we are a gang of guys and girls.. some masti is given.. Enter the COPS! Bloody, i never invited them! But who the hell does. And that the moment i knew my bday celebration would be remembered for real long... Now that cop took offense to some of our masti. So he told us to wait. JD and his negotiation skills come in.. No use. The guy refuses to bulge. Calls up higher authorities!! (Some people's hearts are in their mouths by now.. their mind racing... Out of MBA... No career.. Loser for Life!!... :P.. ROFL!!) I call up my higher authorities. Enter Daddy Dearest! He tries to reason with this cop.. but i am sure the guy thought it was his lucky day... and didnt want to lose out on the 'cash'.. ;) so his boss turns up.. and my dad talk to him directly! And turn of events... THE BOSS SCOLDS THE DEPUTY FOR WASTING HIS TIME!! LOLZ... Dad.. U Rock!! people return home shaanti se... and well breathe a sigh of relief!! Phew...

The night was amazing.. These guys gifted me an original Arsenal Jersey!! :) :D :D (Amazing gift people!!Thank you!! thank you!!) and the dessert too.. Rose Kulfi! The night had some nice games and even better performances... Notable was Jinx's 'hooker' dance (it wud put bar girls to shame!)... JD's mujra (total anarkali style!!)... Vivek's (i am about to strip dance!! (Plz dont threaten us again!! :O )...and Harish's pole dance.. Arjun and jinx did a couple dance too.. hard time deciding who should put whose hands on the waist!! :P and the games continued till the wee hours in the morning..

Early morning... (yes, 7 is early by SIMSR standards!).. I wake everyone for tea and breakfast. people are barely interested in the breakfast but everyone had enough for dinner to last  till lunch! So i get the butte ka kiss and gajar ka halwa to SIMSR for breakfast! (Again.. disappeared in class before i could say Happy birthday to me!) All return to base with a nice cozy (read: super crowded) ride in the local train @ 8 in the morning! All was well!! we reached college well in time and some people even slept a little. Everyone was satisfied and well... happy :) And my birthday just had the most Awesome Beginning!

Thank you all SIMSR Junta for making this birthday one of the best!! Love you all, you guys simply ROCK!!

P.S.: On 29th Nov 2010, Monday, in college we cut a cake. Again, i had cake on my face and hair!! these guys just dont understand the value of cakes!! But yess, they do know the value of friendship and making someone's special day become even more special!! Thank You!!

Mumbai belongs to all.

Mumbai. A city of Acceptance. Anyone who comes here, the city just makes them feel at home, accepted and allows them to be themselves. For those who have been born and brought up here, it’s a matter of pride and luck, that they were born into the city of opportunity.

Today however, a burning question lies in the heart of this city. A question which all political parties, claim to have an answer to and then want to leverage upon that just for the sake of votes. The question is: To whom does Mumbai belong?

As a part of this city, honestly, it is a bad question. The city has never differentiated among its people. Then how can a certain set of people claim Mumbai to be theirs? As a person, new to the city, I attempted to find answers to this burning question.

Does it belong to the selfish political parties and leaders who just use this city every time for their own good? NO! Absolutely Not! They do not even deserve to be called Mumbaikars. Then who can lay claim to the city? The ‘Sons of the Soil’ or only the ones who were born and brought up here? Maybe, But definitely not just them.

To all those who accept and love this city, the city belongs to them. The crowds, the every day fast paced life and the grime and toil of daily travel, people who bear all this and more and still love every bit of it, it is to them that the city really belongs to. It belong to that lady, who lives her entire livelihood in a 10 x 10 feet room in a chawl and to her husband who toils despite heat and rain to earn his bread.

Mumbai belongs to anyone who has come to it for some space from Ambani to the man sleeping on the railway platform. It belongs to the humble fellow who lives in the slums yet dreams big and grand. It belongs to all those who dance like crazy in Ganeshotsav as if there is no tomorrow. When rains knock, and couples frequent to Worli Seaface, the katta or the pavement is also Mumbai. It belongs to the kids who go to the national park, hanging gardens and Jijamata zoo and get a taste of wild in the middle of a concrete jungle. It belongs to those families who go to chowpatty every Sunday to have bhelpuri and just look at the sun set. It belongs to those, who have left the city for a New York or London, but still harbor the dream of coming back Home!

Mumbai belongs to those who cross knee-deep and waist high water in monsoon when the local fails them. It belongs to those who put stumps and start playing cricket at any place available in the city. It belongs to the connoisseurs of painting, dance and various other arts. (Fun Fact: The walls of Taj Mahal Hotel’s restaurant have been painted by M.F. Hussain. In his youth, he liked to give expensive parties to his friends, but didn’t have the money to pay. The manager at Taj saw his talent and asked him to paint the walls instead!)

It belongs to those muslims in byculla who lovingly welcome Lalbaugcha Raja with aarti every year. It belong to the hindu who wishes everyone Id Mubarak at bhendi bazaar and lovingly accepts the kheer and biryani. It belongs to the orphan who has lost its parents in the train blasts. It belongs to that old aged couple who still mourn the loss of their young son in the 93 riots. It belongs to those who show the resilience that the city is characterized by. And to those whose blood boils at the mention of the 26/11 and Kasab. 

If a city has so many dimensions, such a brilliant life and well amazing history, How can it ever be the property of one race of people or religion or political party? It belongs to all those Indians who come here to make their drams turn to reality. No race, sect, caste, religion, region or language can ever be criteria for this city. Its soul is heterogeneity. It prides in the fact that ‘It is equal and fair to anyone who comes to it.’