So..
He said.. Ria, We are Greek Gods and they are mere mortals. But ,with great power comes great responsibility. Because ,the evil that men do lives after them, and the good is oft interred with their bones..
This gentleman in the red shirt..Yes the one with the seemingly crooked nose, profoundly critical eyes and a mass of crisp kinky hair..is my friend Karthik. Acquaintance as he would put it. "Friend" as I have always maintained!
You see being friends with a Greek god, high on a pedestal isn't very easy. For he is all that I am not. Organized,Intelligent, Analytical,Patient, Meticulous,disciplined...Perfect to the T! Ha! I almost believed it. But you see all good things come to an end (however tall they maybe!).Beneath that "Mister V Karthik to the world" lies an individual who is so much like me! Emotional, adventurous, maddeningly comic.. endlessly talkative and silently loud!
He reads my blogs to say that I have punctuation and spelling mistakes, and tells me "why dont you ever write about me!" His strongly silent persona comes so seamlessly undone when he talks about Sachin Tendulakar being God's gift to mankind or when he sings Jaati Hoon Main Jaldi hai kya. Oh and yes, did I tell you about the disco dancer..the blue mask the silver shoes,the pelvic thrust.(Smirk, guffaw!!!) Nautanki is his middle name,sandwiched between Shakespeare and Batman!
Karthik's claim to fame at Sterling, are his stern eyes, punctuality and almost vampire like fangs.. He is at his terrible best when he needs to collect junta together for an Altus event( preferably Dumb Charades or Pictionary..eww!) or make us believe that Altus is the Managers answer to the employee union (blah!). :P Why else do they call him "Wicked Vampy", I say!!
I was almost scared of him, almost .. But then it is almost always impossible to daunt my fiery spirit! And so ,I spent some of my best Sterling afternoons sketching on his desk while engaging him in utterly buttery nonsensical one sided conversation! Some of my best Sterling Mornings ,were of course when he got those packs of karachi bakery biscuits from hyderabad! Yummy.. He says its his pleasure to see mankind( in particular, ME) to indulge in shameless gluttony! I agree, because I simply cannot think of any other reason on earth which would make anyone part with a huge pack of LinDt chocolates!! My most memorable Sterling evenings, when he gifted me a gigantic bagful of chocolates , an endless supply of Neutrogena and .. a statue of Liberty!
A man of many faces, a singer a dancer a dramatist a watch collector a driver a basket ball player an IIT 7 point somone, a dreamer and a believer. Kar has a streak of unbelievable passion in him( that explains the broken bones!). He shares every small happiness with everyone around him. If you are down and out, he is the best person to go to. He never hangs up if he cant make you smile! Because like he says , "baby I hav a a phd in making a :( to a :) !"
I hope you realize now that the reason I never blogged about you, is because, perfekshun kannot B vorded! :P
Cheers to you and that Glen Morgan spirit! Thank you for all you have been and never "get lost or go jump"!
-Ria
PS:The general who became a slave. The slave who became a gladiator. The gladiator who defied an emperor. Karthik..Its all part of the plan..WHYYY so Seeerious ..I say ;)
aye dil
dil ki dunia mein, aisa haal bhi hota hai.
bahar koi hasta hai, andar koi rota hai.
humko ye maloom na tha, pyar bhi ek samjhouta hai
aye dil..
koi pehchana nahin
kisi ne ye mana nahin
kisi ne ye jana nahin
kisi ko batana nahin..
dard chupa hai kahan ..
so..
Agar aap sab soch rahein hain ki..the source of these lines are because of a recent breakup or an immense longing for a beloved. Well then sorry , par aap ki soch galat hai!
This is for dsahu-lt , sackumar-dt and amathur-dt, the source of my music at Sterling Commerce. I have no idea what I would have done without their "new song" old song" pop song" english music" mettalica" "ghazal" folders.
My two years at Sterling has been punctuated with very regular visits to their computers shared music folders!
From the recent and current Hindi /english numbers, you would find all the old beloved's here too. For example this song from yaadien! And what more, if Dev really likes some number be it old or new, he always pings junta on gtalk to let them know! "Ria..Wo qurban ka Ye wala gana acha hai" :)
When I moved from HP I rememeber actually emailing myself some of my fav numbers. Lekin pareshani ki koi wajah hi nahi thi, 'cause at Sterling I discovered a treasure trove of songs. When either of these guys go home, its panic time for me. I am so used to listening to the songs direct from their systems , that when the systems are I get totally distraught. But no worries, they say that absence makes the heart grow fonder and rightly so.. I really do miss them when they are away! :) Sachin came back from his home trip and the first thing I said was Aree tu aa gaya! system chalu kar wo naya wala gana chaiye!
So heres to some more music masti and fun :) thank you guys. You gave me the red for my loves, the blues for my greys,the pinks for my hearts, the words for my gtalk status, lyrics for my valentines day cards, and last but not least..helped me become a Senior Quality Analyst!
So..
D's best friend, A, called up one evening and loudly and emphatically protested my entry into D's life.
He put forth various strong arguments, a multitude of reasons and a series of tough one liners all ending in NO NO NO! Of course a strong independent broadminded educated salaried bengali brahmin was definitely not his idea of a perfect girlfriend for D.
RC is too open ( I wonder how A knew!) was the gist of what I understood! From where A came I gathered that a will to live a happy life and make it one for others wasn't his idea of ideal existence..
I can never forget the night D came to me and said anytime I want to trust you, my friend comes up with alternates to make me do the opposite. I dislike it when people who hardly know me question my integrity and assassinate character. That was one day when I really questioned myself how far would I go, to be ..accepted. As I looked at it, being "open" wasn't bad for me. If nothing it makes me accept an Udaipur Jain with as much equanimity as a Sasaram Bihari, a tam brahm, a Karnataka coorgi or a Behrampur Oriya. It is the same openness which never made me hesitate to stand by D.Impractical and Impulsive as it seemed to many, to my mind it seemed the correct thing to do. I am sure A would have duly objected to me accompanying D to a police station . Being "open" after all is just to be used while one is dating..eh!
As it so happened, me and D parted ways. Life came to a turning point and suddenly it seemed we weren't really biking together. I had hitched a ride on the highway and as nice as the ride was, it was time to walk alone again.. Maybe I should have complained, raved and ranted, screamed and shouted..But then I don't fight loosing battles and D never leaves any exits uncovered! The time had come to accept what we individually were .. he is a simple man and I am an open woman! I never shut the doors and he does not like unbolting them. The one time he did, he had A breathing down his back !!
On facebook D turned single and Voila A jumped to gaYly proclaim that he sure "Liked" it. I am just glad I was "open" enough to agree with A..
Sometimes the first and last acceptance that one need's is not of society and community ,of friends and foes, of husbands and boyfriends of parents and family. The foremost is to accept oneself and be at peace with it.
Never explain yourself. Your friends don’t need it and the A's of this world would never accept it!
Yay .. I decided to go Pink! :P
Pink Roses (Daddy's Chinese ones)
Pink Cheeks ( Pond's ads)
Pink Hair ( Tonks!)
Pink Bed covers (mmmm..)
Pink Crockery ( Mom's Bone china )
Pink Jacket( Lee Baby)
Pink Wallpaper ( Am's Gift)
Pink Shampoo ( Herbal Essence)
Pink City( Jaipur)
Pink Flowers( Cherry blossoms)
Pink Bath( Rose Petals in the tub!)
Pink Leaves( Aspidistra)
Pink Tops ( Must Buys!)
Pink Dessert (Strawberry Ice cream)
Pink Drink ( Raspberry Vodka)
Pink Underwear ( Chinatowns n Victoria's S)
Pink Lip Gloss ( Mary kays)
Pink watch dials ( Fast Track , Guess n Fossil)
Pink Signs( Pink Ribbon)
Pink Animals( Flamingos)
Pink Music ( Pink Floyd!)
Pink Movies ( Pink Panther)
Pink Songs ( Gulabi Ankhen Jo Teri Dekhi)
Pink Toys ( Barbie)
Pink Pink .. All that Pink in our lives.. Carnation Pinks, the Hot Magenta Rose, a soft lavender dew, Dmtry's Salmon Pink (;)), the deep french rose, Nikita's Adidas Rose Pink,Paris Hilton's Hollywood pink, the bold carmine streak, Sweet Fuchsia Pink Or the Bold Shocking Pink!
So go on.. put on your rose tinted glasses and color your life ..what else..PINK :)
PS: A new form of Kryptonite called pink kryptonite appeared in SuperGirl Comics in 2003. It turns super-powered Kryptonians temporarily gay!! grin!
