We went for a star party again day before yesterday. Nasrapur again. This time though, I had decided to take charge of the auxiliary arrangements around the star party and let the others handle the party it self. It left me a couple of hours of free time at the base. So there I was, with nothing to do. I lay down on the ground, looking up to the starry skies. As I lay there, one song came to mind...
The lyrics go like this... Play the video and read along...
I dig my toes into the sand
The ocean looks like a thousand diamonds
strewn across a blue blanket
I lean against the wind
pretending I am weightless
and in this moment I am happy, happy...
I wish you were here
I wish you were here
I wish you were here
I wish you were here
I lay my head unto the sand
the sky resembles a backlit canopy
with holes punched in it
I'm counting UFO's, I signal them with my lighter
and in this moment I am happy, happy...
I wish you were here
I wish you were here
I wish you were here
I wish you were here
The world is a roller coaster
and I am not strapped in
maybe I should always care
but my hands are busy in the air
I wish you were here
I wish you were...
I wish you were here
I wish you were here
I wish you were here
I wish you were here
I wish you were here...
A great song, innit?
Saturday 28 March 2009
Thursday 19 March 2009
Silly but true!
This morning, I understood the real meaning of showing off. India are playing New Zealand in a three match test series. Tendulkar was playing the last few balls of the day. The light was deteriorating and Tendulkar was visibly unhappy. In the last over before they went off, Tendulkar edged two balls to the slips- though the ball fell short on both occasions. Indicating his unhappiness again, he finally convinced the umpires that he really couldn't see the ball anymore. The umpires called off play, and this was followed by the silliest and funniest bit of commentary I've ever heard. I have no idea who the commentators were, so I'll just refer to them as A and B,
(players walking off)
A: That's the mastery of Tendulkar! Deliberately edging two balls to show the umpires he can't see well... and and ensuring they drop short of the slips!
B: Aww COME ON! He's not that good!
A: (sounding like an indignant school boy) HE IS, HE IS! He is that good!
It made me smile. And it's probably true as well. Because like I said before, I've understood the real meaning of boasting today... I mean Tendulkar- the man is such a show off. Iain O'Brien was bowling one of the last overs of the day. He bowled a short ball to Tendulkar. Tendulkar decided to let it go, and left the ball in his typical style - drop the bat and sway slightly out of the way. Then he decided that would be too boring. He decided he would have some fun at the bowlers expense. By the time he'd made up his mind, the ball was almost past him, so he did the cheekiest thing- swung up the bat and cut the ball high over the slips and into the third man fence for four.
SHOW OFF!
(players walking off)
A: That's the mastery of Tendulkar! Deliberately edging two balls to show the umpires he can't see well... and and ensuring they drop short of the slips!
B: Aww COME ON! He's not that good!
A: (sounding like an indignant school boy) HE IS, HE IS! He is that good!
It made me smile. And it's probably true as well. Because like I said before, I've understood the real meaning of boasting today... I mean Tendulkar- the man is such a show off. Iain O'Brien was bowling one of the last overs of the day. He bowled a short ball to Tendulkar. Tendulkar decided to let it go, and left the ball in his typical style - drop the bat and sway slightly out of the way. Then he decided that would be too boring. He decided he would have some fun at the bowlers expense. By the time he'd made up his mind, the ball was almost past him, so he did the cheekiest thing- swung up the bat and cut the ball high over the slips and into the third man fence for four.
SHOW OFF!
Wednesday 11 March 2009
The render of the veils
It's the title of a horror story by Ramsey Campbell. Among the creepiest stories I've ever read. In synopsis, it's like this:
It's a rainy, gloomy night. Two men, looking for a taxi, decide to share the first one they find. During the taxi drive, they begin to discuss perspectives, and the thought that we do not truly see things for what they are. We see things as we have been trained to see them. One of the men is a worshipper of Daoloth, the render of the veils. Daoloth is the deity who renders the veils that keep humans from seeing what truly is. This man is about to perform a ritual to Daoloth, so Daoloth may remove the veils.
The other enthusiastically agrees and they head to the first's house to perform the ritual. The next morning, police finds both the men dead. They also find a very creepy audio recording of what transpired that night.
I read this story a long time ago. But it has always been at the back of my head. What if what we see, what we feel (as in sensory perception), what we hear, what if it is all a figment of our imagination? An imagination that we have been brought up with?
It struck me how much the perspective changes the way we see things recently. Friends of my parents came home one night. My entire family was at our shop at the other end of the city. I offered to go along with the friends to the shop, since they were not from Pune and didn't know the roads. And it changed the way I see Pune.
Having travelled the length and breadth of the city on a two wheeler for most of my life (generous thank you to the folks at Kinetic Engineering and Honda Motor Scooter India, for the unforgettable experiences I've had on a Kinetic Honda, a Kinetic Nova and a Honda Activa, before my current beast), all the development was unnoticed. I'd seen it change slowly, seen it evolve. But when was the last time I'd travelled through Pune sitting in the back of an Army Gypsy vehicle? A VERY long time ago. Sitting in a Gypsy again, it suddely showed me the contrasts in the Pune of old and the new Pune. It showed me the immense development that had taken place in my city. The city I'd lived in for years. It felt an alien city suddenly.
Another example of this, is the realisation that my college is actually a very beautiful place. When you're busy with college activities, you seldom see how nice the place is. The other day, I took out my camera to take a couple of pics. The realisation didn't dawn on me until I'd started clicking. My college is beautiful. In bits anyway. And it took me the bast part of three years to realise that.
How deep does it go? How much of what we sense is real, and how much of it is what we're supposed to sense? Who can tell?
It's a rainy, gloomy night. Two men, looking for a taxi, decide to share the first one they find. During the taxi drive, they begin to discuss perspectives, and the thought that we do not truly see things for what they are. We see things as we have been trained to see them. One of the men is a worshipper of Daoloth, the render of the veils. Daoloth is the deity who renders the veils that keep humans from seeing what truly is. This man is about to perform a ritual to Daoloth, so Daoloth may remove the veils.
The other enthusiastically agrees and they head to the first's house to perform the ritual. The next morning, police finds both the men dead. They also find a very creepy audio recording of what transpired that night.
I read this story a long time ago. But it has always been at the back of my head. What if what we see, what we feel (as in sensory perception), what we hear, what if it is all a figment of our imagination? An imagination that we have been brought up with?
It struck me how much the perspective changes the way we see things recently. Friends of my parents came home one night. My entire family was at our shop at the other end of the city. I offered to go along with the friends to the shop, since they were not from Pune and didn't know the roads. And it changed the way I see Pune.
Having travelled the length and breadth of the city on a two wheeler for most of my life (generous thank you to the folks at Kinetic Engineering and Honda Motor Scooter India, for the unforgettable experiences I've had on a Kinetic Honda, a Kinetic Nova and a Honda Activa, before my current beast), all the development was unnoticed. I'd seen it change slowly, seen it evolve. But when was the last time I'd travelled through Pune sitting in the back of an Army Gypsy vehicle? A VERY long time ago. Sitting in a Gypsy again, it suddely showed me the contrasts in the Pune of old and the new Pune. It showed me the immense development that had taken place in my city. The city I'd lived in for years. It felt an alien city suddenly.
Another example of this, is the realisation that my college is actually a very beautiful place. When you're busy with college activities, you seldom see how nice the place is. The other day, I took out my camera to take a couple of pics. The realisation didn't dawn on me until I'd started clicking. My college is beautiful. In bits anyway. And it took me the bast part of three years to realise that.
How deep does it go? How much of what we sense is real, and how much of it is what we're supposed to sense? Who can tell?
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