What a line!
As a non-commissioned social experiment, I used to ask Gurgaon’s autowallahs whether they are happy with their lives, and most of them used to say yes. This was before I moved onto bike taxi. I don’t feel like disturbing them when they are in the middle of a balancing act on not-so-friendly roads. Yet, I’d say that most people you meet from the low-to-middle mobility section of the society would claim to be happy. Kaise ho? Badia, sir. You can almost hear “Bad day, sir” there. Which is obviously strange and humbling at the same time. How can those who don’t seem to have cracked the code of success (in a conventional way of speaking) manage to smile away their worries (in an unconventional way of speaking)? Or is this pattern emblematic only to India where, for the first time in its independent history, there are more people falling under the working age bracket compared to the non-working age?
While watching the latest season of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, I couldn’t help but notice how little we know of our Bollywood stars. Everything is so hush-hush about the industry. Yes, of late, a fresh breath of camaraderie can be felt thanks to the upcoming young blood who know better. But from the older lot, you hardly hear much of how they felt about their contemporaries “back in the days”. One can’t help but imagine the utter loss if the public is never privy to their amazing stories. For one, the previous generations of Bollywood can either be considered insecure or private. Secondly, we never really had the luxury of talk shows the way Hollywood did — there was hardly any outlet to hear tales from the horse’s mouth. A vacuum which was well quenched by magazines who exaggerated stuff, forcing the so-called stars to maintain their elusiveness.
There are many ways to be a leader in your field. I don’t know about the easiest method but the toughest has to be the style in which you lift yourself up. People mostly look up to a leader not because that person is at a superior position but because they can’t think for themselves. There is an unmissable formula here. During the ’06 World Cup, I remember reading how one of the French footballers openly admitted that he passes the ball to Zidane on instinct. One could clearly see who runs the show when the game is on. To reach this position, a leader has to prove himself again and again. Once a leader, always a leader. A leader can’t fail you and if he does, then the margin of return can widen up too. In the end, the people who couldn’t think for themselves can very well think of replacing you with somebody else. Once an ex-leader, always an ex-leader.
Ranga enjoys monsoon like nobody else I know. He acts dumb but is tragically smart. As soon as it starts drizzling, he’ll lie down on the rug and look fondly outside, pretending to hear sad jazz music playing in the background . He has no interest whatsoever in getting wet but he appreciates monsoon. When it’s not raining, he keeps an eye on the pigeons who gather for the water placed for them in the balcony. Once in a while, he’ll kill one of them and fastidiously place their corpse on the doormat outside our room. Some kind of primitive offering, if you may. It’s hard to figure out this fellow. He abhors violence so much that when Palla and I fake-fight, he’ll bark loudly at us — even to the point of jumping on to the bed which he doesn’t otherwise. Still, for the record, he has killed 5 pigeons in the last 7 months already. My best guess is that he’s a cat trapped inside a dog’s body.
Right now, we are closer to the end of this year compared to the beginning of 2019. Most of our new year resolutions have died their natural death and it’s unfair to suggest that we are going to enjoy a paradigm shift in our attitude towards leading a more fulfilling life. On this lovely note, let me announce that I am back to morning walks from tomorrow. Why not today? Because tomorrow can wait.
Sugar is addictive and so is money. However, nothing can take the place of power on the long list of addiction. But how does one quantify power? Let’s say, in a democracy, the prime minister holds a lot of influence but in your personal existence, your mother might have a greater say in your life. So, does that make your Amma more powerful than NaMo? And if you look around, the fabric of society is built on the dynamics of power: who wields what and who suffers when? But if you were to ask me, I’d say, the person who can make you laugh at any given point of time is the most powerful person around you.
There are massive floods in several states of our country and then, there are states where the groundwater level is beneath deplorable. Either way, the balance of nature is missing and we should think why this could be happening. As a kid, my grandma used to tell me that all the good things in the world are happening because of God (Devera) and all the bad things can be attributed to Evil (Rakshasa). For the longest part of my timeline, I believed this is how it must be in real. After all, dear old lady was always correct in my dictionary. However, now, I can safely presume that mass human activity (and inactivity) has a major role to play in both these equations. In other words, gods and the devils have better shit to take care of.
Copywriters don’t get a lot of credit. Insofar when was the last time you saw an ad or an artwork and said — “What a line!” More often than not, the visual concept consumes all the available room of affection. Which is fine as long as the copywriter is in a rather unique position of not giving a damn about how her lines are being employed in a design. Once they are written down, the assembly of words are supposed to fly away as far as they can. So, no complaints whatsoever.
