No strings attached

The happiest moment I can recall in the recent times was when I was standing on the Las Vegas street with multimedia screen on the ceiling. Very rarely, in life, do we feel really free alone (not aloof), and truly happy.

I was elated to be standing amongst total strangers and enjoying a show (right above me), with one of my most favorite soundtracks, smiling to myself, tapping my feet, singing along; in a nutshell, having the time of my life. Sometimes being with people you cherish is only the next best thing to being with yourself!

Those were eight of the best minutes of my life, which is why I would, probably, never want to go back to that street.

The roller-coaster even Walt Disney did not dream of

Here I am, 3 months and a week of California, a flight to New York, a quick session of re-packing, a flight to Miami, a 4-day cruise to Bahamas, four evenings of wobbling on waters, four 4-course dinners, a martini night, a white night, a ping-pong session with my most missed sibling and friend, several rounds of Blackjack, a jacuzzi session, a family raft adventure, a failed attempt at para-sailing (due to mechanical fault), a dark Bohemian tan on top of a Cali tan, a drive to Orlando, 7 days of walking from 9 am through 9 pm at Disney, a walk through Mickey's house, a visit to Cinderella's castle, a surprise party with friends for Minnie's birthday, a free fall from 13th story in the Hollywood Hotel, a peep into my eco-friendly future, an 1100-mile drive to New York, a stint with Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, New Jersey and New York weekend/holiday traffic, a fever due to exertion and a round of honey-ginger-lemon teas, and 1600 photographs later, sitting in a Manhattan-bound New York subway.

Now that's a roller-coaster ride even Walt Disney never dreamt of!!

Do svidaniya

After watching a recently released Hindi movie "Dasvidaniya", I was awed by the brilliance with which the script has been written. The work of the cast is also beyond excellence, especially the protagonist. I could not but praise the work of every single person involved in it's making. However, the movie did lead to a few hours of sleep-deprivation for me. Not because, it gave me a head-ache or anything.

My gray cells were perturbed by a thought, rather the question mark that this movie had etched on my forehead. And I couldn't help but wonder, what would I do if I knew I only have a few months left to live. Would I like to make a "List of things to do before I die"? Or, would I just wake up each day and do whatever I wish. I think I am more of a list person. But, then there are some lists you wish you never have to make. Is this one of those lists? Would I ever like to know how much time I have left?

I think most of us are better off living in an oblivion - of not knowing how much time we have left! Because, not everyone is well-equipped to handle that situation. And they don't even teach that in Disaster Management!

Well, where I started was whether I would like to know beforehand or not, and whether I would make "the" list? The answer, I guess, would be - no, I would not like to know, rather I would like to go away by surprising even myself - all of a sudden. One moment you're there, and the next you're not. That would be my coveted end. However, I do realize that I might sound very selfish here. But, gotta be true to myself.

And the answer to the second question is - I, kind of, already have a list. But, unlike the character in the movie, I do not have a list that only shrinks. Instead, I have a list that keeps shrinking and expanding. I learn about many more things every day. Each day, I make new aspirations, and add them to my list. And, at the same time, thankfully, I keep crossing things out from it. I am happy that I am lucky enough to have a dynamic list. I am sure this list would not be empty the day I depart, but then if I had done everything I wanted to, I would have ceased to have a purpose to live anyways. That's the last thing I want.

So here's a wish, that may my list be ever-growing, dynamic, and non-empty until the day I breathe.

"My to-do list is so long that it doesn't have an end; it has an event horizon".
-- Craig Bruce

There's no self-less good deed - Phoebe Buffay

I learnt this from the cheesiest character in my most favorite sitcom F.R.I.E.N.D.S, not that I reflect upon everything she says, but this one in particular popped back out of my ROM (dedicated to dialogs from F.R.I.E.N.D.S.) a couple of days ago because of something I did.

I do not think all humanity could have been summarized so beautifully, yet obliquely, in just six words. As Phoebe puts it; if you do something nice, it makes you happy, which makes it selfish!

The art of killing time

I wonder if, when airports were designed, anybody gave a thought to what all purposes they could serve. Airports are great places, where you can see time being butchered all around. Waiting for the boarding, after baggage check-in and security check, is like being stuck between earth and moon. Airports, in fact, inspire you to innovate new ways of killing time.

For some, it includes ignoring a nagging child to chat away to glory on the cell phone; for some others, it might involve reading an interesting thriller's last few pages; for yet others, it might mean all the time in the world to reflect upon things and pen their thoughts. Another very interesting way is to just stop everything you are doing, sit and watch.

Only a port for international travel can show so many colors in one place. And, I do not mean the colors of skin; rather, colors of life. Someone's touring for work, someone's going to see family, someone's going away from family, someone's backpacking around the world, someone's traveling for health facilities, someone's traveling to study.

The only places that resemble an airport in my eyes is the Times Square. The only second place (probably in my knowledge) where you just have to stay for two minutes to see people from all parts and walks of life.

Well, that's my boarding call. I'm off!

An interesting after-thought to the theory of elimination

One of my friends had an interesting after-thought to the previous blog titled "Theory of elimination". The human psyche is inclined towards comparing things. Enter the theory of relativity. According to him, it's about thinking things could have been worse when you feel like being at the bottom of the pit. That imbibes a new sense of courage and momentum in you to handle what's at hand, so that you reach a point where you finally see the so called "Silver Lining". This is how you turn the zeroes into ones, which in itself might be a process involving fractions, instead of a straight jump from o to 1.

Theory of elimination

Two of my friends used to say life is binary ... there's just ones and zeroes in it. But wouldn't that mean if one's not happy, then one's sad. Everything is always either good or bad. On the contrary, maybe there's worst, worse, good, better, best. Maybe, there are gradients. Infact, there are deltas. Things move from worst to best over time. Actually, perspective dances it way down this slider.

If one starts to search the "betters" and "bests" in , they are not all that hard to find. One learns from everything that happens. And learning makes us better equipped to live life. There is nothing that we should/need not know. There's never enough learnt. So, in that sense, we are always growing.

Things might seem to be on the darker side of this slider initially, but over time, they turn out to be better/best. Although, one takes time to find the silver lining. And the faster one finds the silver lining, the more fun life is. Its like a game and games are fun. And the better one gets at it, the more one enjoys it. And somehow if I'm not able to find the silver lining, I tell myself "Picture abhi baaki hai ;P (the movie's not over yet)".

I still remember, as a kid, I used to play this game "Who's dunnit", which I had won from Nestle. It was about four detectives trying to find a stolen treasure hidden in one of the seven wonders of the world, with the help of hints given through cards throughout the game. The detective who found the treasure first was the winner.

I feel I am one of those detectives. I may not win over life every time; I might not be the first to discover that lesson which life is hinting at, but sooner (rather than later) I find my treasure.

And if I don't know what I'm looking for, the game can become a bit twisted, but all the more thrilling. In that case, I try to let time guide me. Time yields a clarity, which nothing else ever can. By themselves, quite a handful of options get stream-lined, and in the end, you are left with only two options.

Now if one observes closely, the pattern on which these choices are based is almost always the same. One is what we should (could) do and the other is what we should not (could not) do. I shall, hereby, like to stress upon the parenthesization. When I say, should (could) / should not (could not), I am talking of passion coupled with pragmatism. Passion tells me the "should", and pragmatism tells me the "could". For others, it might be the other way round. But I think from the heart first, so this is the case for me.

Well, maybe, here my friends were right. Life just became binary. Go on , take your pick. And another one of mathematical theories applied to life here is the theory of elimination. Well, living life is, thus, an intriguing game. However, learning this game takes time and practise.