Paintball Diary

How did Alistair D'souza (nicknamed Alice), a talented, middle-class Indian geek, end up in the jungle pursued by the CBI, the FBI, the Mossad, the Karnataka Rangers and the dogs of geek town ? Woof! Woof! How did he finish up there shot in the head, lying on the mud behind a barracade, in a remote village just on the outskirts of Bangalore ? Alice's current exploits was very much of a piece with the rest of his career. He lay there for the beliefs to which he had devoted his life, so to put the Paintball Diary in context, it is illuminating to go back to the very beginning to see how he got there. He was born Alistair Remedios Santan D'souza in the city of oranges.... errr... this is gonna take long... besides doesn't the intro seem like a plagiarised version from Che's 'Bolivian diary'. Plagiarist!!!!

Ok... Ok... I lied, but I did it for a reason. You see I'm an undercover war journalist. Errr... undercover from the scraps of metal that sometimes fly past my personal space. It was 9ish on an otherwise promising bloodless morning as we gathered our bearings, and were briefed about our mission by Sreejesh. The war room in the erstwhile Impulsesoft office resonated with words that resembled the likes of courage, strategy, plans, teammates. As our consciences began to take their responsibilities seriously, we arrived at the rendezvous point and began to strap up behind our masks and chest gear, which gave us a sense of false protection. As fear engulfed us we grasped our guns and fired shots in the air to lift our spirits. Each one of us loaded our ammunition which amounted to 20 balls of paint. However when they emanated from the guns they had an accuracy of about 40-50 feet and a projectile path that was way beyond the battleground. I took shots of the brave men in uniform, fear on their faces, trying to move the protective equipment to cover maximum surface area. In the process I managed to catch, on candid camera, one particular soldier in a catch-22 situation :-)

The first mission went without troubles nor glory as we vapourised the enemy before they could reach their bunker with our flag. I shot mercenaries in action, fallen heroes and a few imaginary ones, protected behind the sand sacks that served as barracades. We reloaded as our second mission seemed more out of a scene from a video game, as we disarmed the bomb set by the terrorists to go off in a few minutes. An air of invincibility surrounded us as we decided to take the fight to the adjoining jungle. I then commited a grave mistake of asking the fighters to pose for a few 'City of God' shots, as they pumped bullets into my back at a point blank range of about 2-3 feet. I let out a cry of impunity to spare my life but the scars will remain for longer. Two of us then decided to take a detour across a few streams, trees and moos to attack the enemy from behind. We took them by surprise but realised that our comarades had already been annihilated as we breached the terms of engagement. As I looked through my foggy, moist, poignant eyes I felt the sting of bullets hit me from all sides.

It was the first time that we were on the backfoot but time permitted us to salvage some of our lost pride and dignity. This one is for you, my imaginary hero. I managed to put myself in a compromising but important position as I shot down 3 enemy troops in 3 shots. We then had just two of us in the end with a gap of 30 feet that separated us. I summoned all the ammunition left with me as I shot four bullets in quick succession at a time. Only to see 3-4 similar ones fly past my head, emanating from the barrel of another gun at the other end, waxing its presence, cutting its path through space, my radar detecting them in quick succession, as I tried to find the enemy's position and deliver that one final blow.

Then the unthinkable happened!!! From the side of the battlefield a shot came and hit me straight in the head. I saw stars as the day seemed to be dawning on me. I turned around and looked at my teammate who had just shot me. We had been betrayed by a mole. In those brief moments my life flashed before my eyes and I looked up to the heavens to grant my assassin forgiveness for his exploits, some peace of mind and a conscience that might one day bring him back to the path of righteousness. I had to lead by example in life and in a fake death, as I set out on a journey to look deep within, as a veil of peaceful warmth engulfed me. But as I was looking deep down within myself to forgive him, I realised that I had run out of ammunition. It was now time for some hand to hand combat.... AAAAAAAGGGGRRRRRHHHHH!!!!!!!!

Website: Paintball Arena
Map: Its in the centre of the screen, about 8-10 kms from IIMB on banerghatta road. The road to the left of paintball arena on the map is banerghatta road. Follow the road going upwards on the map to find IIMB.

Shot an Eagle

The day dawned on us, and with it arouse an anticipation that we would have a swinging time. It was to be my first swing at the game of golf. I mean how tough can it be right, you put a ball in front of you and you keep your feet apart and you manoeuvre your tush just the right amount till it finds its place in the scheme of things and then err... you swing... and then ?... ohh... then you see the ball fly like a bird, its maiden voyage through space and time, only to be reminded by gravity of its intended projectile motion and its ephemeral life... so where did it go... where did it go... I excitedly began to scan the area for any fast moving objects, restricting my viewing angle to 60 degrees cause... c'mon you don't expect me to hit the ball off target do you. ok.. ok.. I slyly scanned the full 180 degrees viewing angle but I couldn't find it. Maybe it was such a hard and accurate swing that it flew out of sight. I then consoled myself with the fact that it just had to move on, spread its wings and fly, there was nothing I could do. Everything moves on... sob sob... and so I decided to take another shot. But then I looked down and smiled, "Ohhh... Biiiirdieeee!!!! You came baack!!!". Hmmm... BUT as I looked up I decided to share my emotional enthusiasm with my friends with the translated look of wisdom, 'Yeah yeah... Just practising my swing'.

In some subsequent swings the ball did manage to go far beyond the 200 mark, the first bounce way ahead of the 150 mark. So are we entering the era of the bird. I mean I can take on Tiger Woods any time... at err coding :~) "Go on. Be an eagle."

Jung Typology Test

Jung, pronounced as hyuung - not much stress on the g is a world known psychologist Dr. Carl Jung. This test shows your four major traits. You can take the test here.

My type is ENFJ

Extroverted	Intuitive	Feeling	Judging
Strength of the preferences %
1	75	25	33

here is what the docs say... I mean how bad can it be right :-)
ENFJ type description by D.Keirsey
ENFJ type description by J. Butt
The Pygmalion Project: The Teacher

Let me know if you think the docs are quacks.... or what you would point out as my traits... like they didn't say anything about my weirdness level :-)

Jumbled Names

In each question, we've re-arranged the letters of an actress, actor or director, and three movies that the person starred in or directed. How many can you name?

1. Actress: - Movies:
CORN MAIZE AD - "Very Bad Things" “Vanilla Sky" "Any Given Sunday”

2. Actor:
PAIN COLA - "Serpico" "Donnie Brasco" "Dog Day Afternoon"

3. Director:
DRAW HONOR - "Ransom" "Parenthood" "Grand Theft Auto"

4. Actress:
WORD BOGGLE IHOP - “Sister Act" "The Player" "Made in America"

5. Actor:
TAVERN ITEMS - "Bowfinger" "Mixed Nuts" "Grand Canyon"

6. Director:
MAMA IRIS - "Spider-Man" "A Simple Plan" "The Evil Dead"

7. Actress:
GERMANY - "Restoration" "City of Angels" "Promised Land"

8. Actor:
CLONED HEAD - "Ocean's Eleven" "The Family Man" "Mission to Mars"

9. Director:
DIRTY CLOSET - "Black Rain" "Gladiator" "Blade Runner"

10. Actor:
BONG SMILE - “Bird on a Wire" "Forever Young" "Lethal Weapon"

11. Director:
MORAL RADISH - “Analyze This" "Club Paradise" "Groundhog Day"

12. Actress:
AUTUMN HARM - "The Avengers" "Maddog and Glory" “Sweet and Lowdown"


Answers Below:













Answers:
1) Cameron Diaz 2) Al Pacino 3) Ron Howard 4) Whoopi Goldberg 5) Steve Martin 6) Sam Raimi 7) Meg Ryan 8) Don Cheadle 9) Ridley Scott 10) Mel Gibson 11) Harold Ramis 12) Uma Thurman

Bruce Lee in India

All words should end with Lee

a) A Festival loved by Bruce Lee eg: Holee

1. What is Bruce Lee’s favourite vegetable ? --------------

2. What is Bruce Lee’s favourite breakfast ? ---------------

3. What does Bruce Lee like to have for lunch ? ---------------

4. What does Bruce Lee call his sister-in-law ? ---------------

5. What is Bruce Lee’s other favourite festival ? ----------------

6. Who is Bruce Lee’s favourite Actress ? -----------------

7. Which is Bruce Lee’s favourite Music ? -----------------

8. What is Bruce Lee’s most interesting job ? ----------------

9. Which is Bruce Lee’s favourite hill station -----------------

10.How did Bruce Lee die ? with a ------------------

11.What happens to the theatre once a Bruce Lee movie is over ? -----

12.This message was originally sent from UAE by a ----------------

Answers Below

Answers- 1) Mulee 2) Idlee 3) Thalee 4) Salee 5) Diwalee 6) Sonalee 7) Quwalee 8) Coolee 9) Manalee 10) Golee 11)Khalee (empty) or Thalee (claps) 12) Malyalee

How Sweet are You ?

HOW SWEET ARE YOU ?

This is the English translation of some Indian Sweets. Name the sweets.

1) Juicy Balls eg: Ras Gulla

2) Mr. Block

3) Shiny Shiny

4) Famous Gardens & Neighbouring State

5) Cashew Diamonds

6) Icy

7) Plumpy

8) Stomachy

9) Gold Strips

10) Juicy & Creamy

11) Tree Come

12) Message

13) Majestic Feast

14) Art & Yam

15) Sugary Mercury

16) Milky Latex

17) Rose Berry

18) Smelly

19) Go round & round &stop

20) Heart Outside

Answers Below

Answers

1) Ras Gulla. 2) Shrikhand. 3) Chum Chum. 4) Mysore Pak. 5) Kaju Katli. 6) Barfi. 7) Boondi Ladoo. 8) Peta. 9) Son Papdi. 10) Ras Malai. 11) Peda. 12) Sandesh. 13) Raj Bhog. 14) Kala Kand. 15) Shakar Para. 16) Rabri. 17) Gulab Jamun. 18) Basundi. 19) Jalebi. 20) Dil Bhar.

Mind your language

Match the following.

ENGLISH .................................................. JAPANESE

Eg: That’s not right.................................. Sum Ting Wong

1.) Are you harbouring a fugitive?......... a.) Lei Ying Lo

2.) Stupid Man ......................................... b.) Ai Bang Mai Ni

3.) Small Horse ........................................ c.) Chin Tu Fat

4.) Did you go to the beach ? ................. d.) Yu Stin Ki Pu

5.) I bumped into a coffee table ............ e.) Wa Shing Ka

6.) I think you need a face lift ............... f.) Dum Gai

7.) Its very dark in here ........................ g.) No Pah King

8.) I thought you were on a diet .......... h.) Wai Yu Kum Nao ?

9.) This is a tow away zone ................... i.) Wai Yu Mun Ching ?

10.) Our meeting is scheduled for next week .... j.) Hu Yu Hai Ding

11.) Staying out of sight ........................ k.) Wao So Dim

12.) He’s cleaning his automobile ........ l.) Tai Ni Po Ni

13.) Your body odour is offensive ....... m.) Wai Yu So Tan

Who am I ?

I suddenly found myself in the midst of martians from Mars (how dumb.. now wasn't that self explanatory.. like Martians have ever been discovered on any other planet other than Mars..). Ok I'm digressing. As I was saying I found myself in the midst of familiar faces, buzzing around in my house, with these yellow 'post it' sticky thingies on their forehead. As I moved closer there seemed to be some famous person's name written on the paper. My analytical mind deduced that they were playing some game which employed simple physics principles in ingenious ways, proving that energy in the universe remains constant. I was witness to this phenomenon as the people moved around in an excited state of Brownian motion bumping into each other, releasing energy that would take them through the proceedings of the evening, hopefully with a little bit of that transformed energy spilling into the days to come. As they bumped into each other they seemed to be mumbling a few sentences, asking the other person questions about the 'famous' personality that was written on the paper pasted on their forehead. The other person seemed to be replying in monosyllables, 'Yes', 'No' or 'Maybe'. Well 'Maybe' has two syllables but that was to be used only in situations where you wanted to declare to the world how ignorant you are. Most people stuck to monosyllables, even the ignorant ones :-)

There were names like Bill Gates, Kofi Annan, Zinedine Zidane, Saddam Hussein, Lalu Prasad Yadav etc. One amongst the populace had by random sticking of 'post its' the name 'Alistair D'souza'. That person happened to be Deepa. And in her perpetual state of brownian motion she bumped into me. So the questions began.

Deepa> Is the person a girl ?
Alice> No

Deepa > Dead ?
Alice> No

Deepa > Bad guy ?
Alice> Nope!!!

Deepa > Is he a terrorist ?
Alice > Pardon moi....
Deepa > What ?
Alice > NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!.... (At that point I felt like slapping her. But I didn't cause she wasn't french!!)

Deepa > An actor ?
I then decided to break the rules of monosyllablic answers. I mean rules are mean't to be broken right.
Alice> Well... (tilting my head to one side, with one eyebrow up) he can act.... but errr....

Deepa > Is he famous?
Alice> Well... hmmm... not famous as such.... but well he has come in the newspapers sometimes... and then on TV too... cable TV and then BBC where he was almost famous, for 3 seconds. Well for 2 of those seconds he had flowers covering his face. Mother nature can be so cruel sometimes. Why couldn't she have wilted those flowers but never mind. Sob Sob...

At this point Deepa looked totally confused. She realised that the atomic composition of this piece of mass was err... loose in places. She then decided to bump into other people to clear her doubts. I think she was one of the last people to get the name of the so called 'famous' personality on her forehead. I also have doubts that she cheated by slipping into another room and then took a look at the paper.

Well after that I had two written games. I was almost beaten/kicked to death after the Jumbled Names game, cause people felt it was too tough. I mean what can I do if you don't watch movies!!! Then we had another 'How sweet are you?' game after which people were kinder to me.

After that we cut my mom's home made cake. There were these reigniting candles which made me blow air through my mouth so hard, that I think I might have just added to the ingredients... I mean icing/other ingredients... whats the difference... right... We all had fun :-)

Chocolate Cake Recipe

Chocolate cake.
This is my mom's chocolate cake recipe.... A lot of ppl ask me for the recipe so thats why I have it with me.

Chocolate Cake
--------------
500 gms butter
430 gms maida
70 gms cocoa powder
500 gms eggs (Weigh the eggs ,add 1 extra egg)
500 gms ground sugar
½ tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. vanilla essence

Method: Sieve the maida, cocoa powder and baking powder together. Keep aside. Cream the butter, ground sugar and vanilla essence with two eggs until light and fluffy. When done gradually beat in the seive maida and alternately two eggs. In the same way add the remaining eggs and maida until done. The batter should be light. Spoon batter into a cake tin that has been lined with grease-proof paper (butter paper). Bake at 180 C

Chocolate Icing
---------------
400 gms icing sugar
80 gms cocoa powder
50 gms butter
2 tsp. Vanilla essence
2 ½ or 3 tablespoons boiling water .

Method: Sift icing sugar and cocoa powder. Make a well in the centre of sifted ingredients and add boiling water and mix well. Gradually add butter and vanilla essence. If necessary , add tablespoon of boiling water. Stir gradually until icing is smooth. Pour on top of the cake and spread evenly with a knife dipped in boiling water.

If you want to add a number of layers of icing use a thread to cut the cake into layers.

BTW: I haven't tried baking myself. However have played the role of being the taster/mixer. The good part about it is that you get to clean/lick the dishes/instruments afterwards (and sometimes during the process) :-)

Enjoy maadi!!! And if you live in Bangalore you can always call me over to taste.

Strangers in the Night

I heard some voices mumbling in the background as I swayed between reality and never never land. As I was following the white rabbit, I heard my mom trying to open the front door. In my groggy state of affairs I vaguely heard her mutter some words, "Someone's at the door. I don't know who they are but they said they are your friends.", and she continued to struggle with the door without much light on the subject. Wait!!! Just the other day I had read in the papers that Bangalore had just been crowned as the crime capital of India. My biological clock, which is never wrong, told me it was about 3-4 AM in the morning, only to be proved wrong later. The incidents of robbery and murder having increased over the past few months. As I persuaded gravity to rush the required quantity of blood to my legs, I attempted to levitate myself and managed to assert in slow motion, "Don't open it!!". In those subsequent moments as my words seemed to be delayed towards its destination due to multipath effects, I saw the light from outside engulf the passageway to the entrance as I stopped in my tracks, the silhouettes taking shape out of thin air............

There were three of them and they had a cake with them. OK... errr... come inside please. It was after 1AM and Saurabh, Namita and Mani had decided that they wanted me to eat cake. Happy B'day :-) Well I decided not to beat them up as it was a nice thing to do. I mean a nice thing to get cake for me at 1AM in the morning!!!!

My mom and sis had decided to come down to bangalore inspite of me telling them that I'm a big grown up boy now... and that they didn't need to come and visit me on my b'day. But they did anyways.. which was what I wanted :-) Also Janelle, my younger sister couldn't come as she had school. So I started worrying her about it as I knew she would have loved to come here. I kept on worrying her about what all she would miss and she tried to pretend that it didn't bother her even a teenie weenie bit. She then sent me this nice power point slide on a CD, wishing me for my b'day.

Saurabh and Namita also gave me this present with a nice letter explaining the gift. Just thought of putting it up.

Dear Alistair,

Wish you a very Happy Birthday, we wanted to give you a very special gift. After a lot of hunting, we are happy to give you gift coupons from Landmark. You love reading, so a book shop coupon is the best thing to give you. However, we didn't want your choice to be limited by Landmark. That is why we specially ordered for coupons that would work in other major bookstores, such as Crosswords and Gangarams. These coupons do not have an expiry date either.

Just one more thing. You've been reading a bit too much of Che in the recent past. Please don't use these coupons for buying more of Che. After all, one doesn't want one's friend roaming through South America, following the footsteps of a revolutoinary, making out with all those hot Latinos. Not when we haven't had the chance to do that ourselves. We are sure you'll understand.

Love,
Namita & Saurabh

About Che, well whatever the doctor prescribes for asthma I say... and then again doctor knows whats best. Regarding that other comment, now now you decide.... what kind of friends would want to stop you from making out with some hot Latinos... Nope ... me no comprende ma man....

The bad hair day

err.. week... well lets make that month.... so here it is 'The bad hair month'.

My sis Sonali who lives in Gurgoan, decided that she had to look more beautiful by manoeuvering the hair on her head in ways that would only seem innovative to the common mind. Mind you this is a very touchy subject so pay attention please. She then decided to pick a hairdresser by the age old process of elimination, "Well if they charge 300 they must be better than those who charge less than that." However you always have to check if the person who has been nominated to give you a makeover, is also not in a state of transition i.e. learning the ropes. Finally after battling it out for a few hours in the ring, the moment of truth. Lights.... Camera.... Reaction!!!!

Sonali walks out of the salon with a fringe that requires a little bit of gel to put things in perspective. Later on she had to use this baby clip on the right side of her head, to keep me from smiling. Well the baby clip did keep me from smiling but it couldn't stop me from laughing when I saw her down in bangalore :-) I mean, like I always get the same bad haircuts for 30 bucks... you don't need 300 bucks to do that.

PS: I only know for a fact that she had a bad haircut and uses a baby's clip to look better. The other part of the story is a pigment of my motley palate (read palette). Its not that good at painiting and thats why a thousand words are sometimes required to paint the picture. However the story I believe is very close to the real one, this presumption being based on another fact that I can put myself into her shoes and then walk around in them a little bit.... and when I'm a bit far away from her, damn I have her shoes so RUN..... hehehehehehe

The good, the bad and the err... terrorists

"It's GOD's responsibility to forgive the terrorists. Its our responsibiltiy to arrange the meeting between them and GOD."

Well I got this SMS from a relation who makes a living in the city of dreams, in the aftermath of the terror that had gripped the hearts of anyone who knows faces residing in that city. I went through the SMS, as the words took shape on my little lcd screen. And as new words replaced the old ones that had served their purpose, new thoughts replaced the old ones, following a similar pattern. At first a smile adorned my face which emanated from an anticipated thought that had formed in my head, wherein the sender wanted to be like those few who have it in themselves to forgive another, or maybe wherein the sender seemed like those many others who make use of such situations as a public show of empathy. Which category the sender fell into was already decided a few seconds before that. But only when I reached the ending did the irony and intention of it all unfold in front of me. Come to think of it the intention was still ambiguous as it was not stated if the meeting place was in heaven or on earth :-)

We come across a lot of people in our lifetime, some we like and some we don't, and then there are those that we hate. But those very same people that we detest are liked by others, which we sometimes find really hard to understand. Maybe its cause we all need mirrors to remind ourselves of who we are, and in the process we choose certain mirrors from amongst the populace that reflect our good side and certain that reflect our bad. And then there are those mirrors in which we would like to see our good side but due to lack of reciprocity/understanding, we sometimes end up seeing the reverse. So in a way there are terrorists all around us and we could so easily be branded as one too. Coming to the question of playing GOD's secretary for setting up meetings in heaven, can we really judge a person by quantifying how good they are to us. Or do we need to judge them by how bad they are to others, those unknown others who followed the white rabbit down the rabbit hole, never to return, even with red ruby slippers.

Born on the 3rd of July

There are those who would love to be born on the fourth of July and then there are those who would detest it, and then again there are those who really don't care.

Two of my colleagues just became proud dads. Sandeep has gone to Mumbai where the baby was delivered. Kausik's little one was born right here in bangalore. Infact when I first called him up to congratulate him I told him that I couldn't picture him as a father. The next day he told all of us with his characteristic sense of humor, "Yeah they are all saying that the baby looks like me. And I'm saying to myself... another smart kid in the family :-)". Well, still can't picture him as a dad. I then inquired about the ceremonies that would follow to compare notes with those followed by Catholics. A little more than a month back my cousin gave birth to a baby girl in the US. She sent me some very cute photos. My sister who migrated to Australia is expecting in Oct-Nov. A lot of babies will be born in different parts of the world. I had also been to Goa recently, for another cousin's child's baptism. Met his little daughter Shania who wears these thick soda glasses. She is so so so so cute. She is just 6 but thinks she is an adult and tries to talk like one. In a group she is real shy but you can have some very intelligent one on one conversations with her. Some of her words echoed more rational than those coming from other kids her age.

On the eve of my return journey riots broke out in Goa as a mosque was damaged. Shops were shut and tension was in the air. The hindu and muslim areas were under high alert. That night for a brief moment I was given charge to rock the little one to sleep. His hands and legs were so tiny as he slept calmly in my arms unaware of the religious tensions around him. I returned safetly to Bangalore only to hear about some bomb blasts that that had rocked the capital.... religious tensions agains. I called up my sister and some friends to apprise myself of the situation. Actually it was to make sure that things were ok with them.

When I look back to that moment when i magically rocked the little chap to sleep in my make shift cradle, I wonder whether after his baptism his faith was sealed. As in, does he now belong to one particular religion. I mean he really didn't choose his religion, his parents did, as their parents would have done for them. But as he grows up his thoughts who be moulded to reflect his religion, by looking and emulating family around him. Slowly it would become a way of life, a way of life that he would get used to, a way of life that he would come to believe is the righteous way and no other. And in his interactions with people of other faiths how would he act. Will he question their faiths, will he question his own. Will his beliefs metamorphise through time... will his religion. So will his religion become his beliefs or will his beliefs become his religion. I wonder.

Superman Returns

To save the world ? To fight against evil ? To give us hope for a better future ?

Err... is it a bird, is it a plane. Well neither of those, and neither does he wear his underwear on the outside. Its the fifa world cup 2006 and its Zinedine Zidane. I mean he came out of international retirement and after a lacklustre beginning he seems to have found his majestic form again. He sure moves around the field like a master tactician, always maintaining that super cool composure of his. The way he caresses the ball, his balance, his passing ability, whilst always being on the lookout for openings, combined with the confidence that he exudes from his eyes can sure intimidate the fiercest of adversaries. I'm sure most of us tuned into the brazil-france match expecting the samba boys to beat the crap out of france. But Zidane at 34, after the end of his international career sure seems to have looked deep down within to find that little child inside. The child that knows no fear, who knows that he can take on the world no matter how big the obstacle or what others think of him. France have being playing with superman on their side for the past two matches. I'm sure Luiz Felipe Scolari must be on the lookout for some kryptonite.

It sure is a treat to see people at their best, be it in football, other sports, music, the arts or whatever their profession. We enjoy seeing them attain this state of mind cause it reminds us that we can do the same. I guess, in a way, we all need mirrors to remind us of who we are. But as we grow up, most of us tend to strike up an acquaintance with the hard reality that envelopes us, as we settle for mediocre dreams. However every now and then some of us find that courage to look deep down inside, to find that little child within, armed wih pure skill and a lions heart. The little superman that can save the world, that can fight against our evils, that gives us hope for a better future. That little child within, who is not afraid to fly around in his underwear.

PS: I'll be cheering for portugal. So I hope that they find the right costume, if you know what I mean.

Resonant Whisper

Resonant Whisper

A never ending journey, to get lost we fret,

Some sounds that we hear, save life from death.

They alter in pitch, they accrue over time,

Their only purpose, to make the journey sublime.

As each one goes through our unconscious mind,

An unknown part of us, they tend to unwind.

A beautiful sound, an archer's touch,

It pierces the heart, but maybe not much.

A fleeting thought, so fast it came,

It tingles your senses, they all feel the same.

You think you have reached the end of the loop,

You start to filter, unknowingly you group.

Out of the blue a whisper passes by,

You tend to ignore it, you seem to know why.

But as time moves on, you hear it again,

You start to enjoy it, you no longer feign.

Sometimes its candid, which pricks like a pin,

It created itself from somewhere deep within.

The silent whisper in a world of the blind,

It starts to resonate, is it your kind.

You hear more such whispers as you go along,

Use your imagination, it adds up to a song.

As the whispers grow slowly, you must let it know,

Of its aesthetic rhythm, a well composed score.

But when distances threaten, will the whispers cope,

No promises to keep, no words, just hope.

Will the whispers start fading, will it whisper no more,

A song for your heart, it resonates for sure.

------ Alistair D'souza 2^nd June 2006

One Moment in Time

The 10 of us were on our way back from what we unanimously agreed was a swell trek. I mean our legs were paining but our souls were marching on. We hitchhiked a ride at the back of a truck which was carrying logs. Some of the logs were tied down while the others were loose. The truck did not have any side support. At first we were a bit skeptical about travelling literally on the edge as we held on tightly to the logs. But as darkness engulfed us we looked up to the stars above. When we looked around it felt as if we were being teleported through time and space and then it happened. The stars descended down from the heavens and they twinkled all around us amongst the foilage, fireflies everywhere :-) It was one of those sparkling moments in time. Nature sure has a way of waxing notalgia.

As a kid i remember more such moments, some on our early morning excursions with my dad. We would take off on weekends and go out into the wilderness. Birdwatching, playing in a stream far away from reality, or a hike through some untrodden paths. Nature sure has a way of waxing anticipation.

The challenge in all of this is waxing the present and embracing each moment as it comes. Nature sure has its ways. Btw ppl are a part of nature too. Happy father's day :-)

Hell's Angels

Today's date is 6/6/6. 666 also happens to be the 'number of the beast'. During school we had 4 exams during the year. Two were of 700 marks and the othe two were of 240 marks. During one year I managed to get 666 for the first term. At that time I knew nothing much about the 'number of the beast', but for some weird reason whatsoever the techer felt that it was a big deal and felt it appropriate to tell apprise my mom of my 'marks'. My mom brushed the matter aside. From that time onwards the teacher always looked at me thru this lens which seemed to distort reality a bit. Its a long time back but i think I welcomed the challenge to prove her wrong but in the bargain freaked her out of her wits and managed to score 666 in the finals too. I can imagine her painfully going thru my papers, trying desperately to increase or decrease a mark somewhere :-) But I guess I was like 'marked' for eternal damnation or something.

I guess its human nature to judge people based on outward signs that emanate through the prisms that each of us create over time. I mean we always feel that our actions are white, but often they are seen in a different light by different people. I reckon it all boils down to our frequencies and our wavelengths.

Days of thunder

This weekend I metup with friends. We had a lot of rounds of 20 questions as AJ just got engaged. He was at the receiving end as we fired away with questions. He was treating us, so were polite in our queries :-) AJ was all charged up and replied to one and all. As we drifted towards the lean end of dinner the conversation stabilized towards the rhetoric. Sometime around that very moment a stray query hit Deepa on the head. She looked at us and replied that she was also engaged. She told us that she was to tell us the coming day but decided to tell us about it today itself. She then told us that the proposal came a few months back. The guy was on his knees and stuff :-) Well we'll be having another round of 20 questions soon. AJ was silent as the focus now shifted to Deepa. I then jumped up and shouted, "You just stole his thunder". :-)

Immaculate Dream

Immaculate Dream

A brand new life, a sculptor's clay,

To see it form, through night and day.

And as it grows a dream is born,

As seasons change, with every dawn.

Unwavering thought, thru the passage of time,

Stand up and walk, through means sublime.

The guiding hand always shows the way,

Incase we falter, incase we sway.

Empathy's glance, the gentle touch,

The daily struggles don't seem that much.

The day will come, our heart is told,

We will take over, the dreams unfold.

As reality abides, we walk on our own,

The Secret of Memories, we are not alone.

The Angel's lullaby, the soprano's song,

The silent whispers still linger on.

------ Alistair D'souza 14^th May 2006

Read the following lines somewhere eons ago... I think it was the Reader's Digest.
"Someone once said that you don't need to tell your parents you love them, they already know. Well I guess that someone is not a parent."

btw the name 'Immaculate Dream' comes from 'Immaculate Conception'.

Happy Mother's Day.

Life's calling, where are you ???

Got this forward from a friend... Needless to say, she is a girl... quite obvious otherwise I would have said, 'He' is a boy.

Find my comments at the end :-)

[snip]
Life's calling, where are you???

What happens if u stay late in the office"
It's half past 8 in the office but the lights are still on.. .
PCs still running, coffee machines still buzzing...and who's at work?
Most of them?? ? Take a closer look.. .
All or most specimens are 20-something male species of the human race...
Look closer... again all or most of them are bachelors...and why are they sitting late? Working hard? No way!! !
Any guesses?? ?

Let's ask one of them...
Here's what he says... "What's there 2 do after going home... here we get to surf, AC, phone, food, coffee.. that's is why I am working late...importantly no bossssssss!!!!!!!!!!!
This is the scene in most research centres and software companies and other off-shore offices.
Bachelors "time-passing" during late hours in the office just b'coz they say they've nothing else to do...

Now what are the consequences... read on...
"Working"(for the record only) late hours soon becomes part of the institute or company culture.
With bosses more than eager to provide support to those "working" late in the form of taxi vouchers, food vouchers and of course good feedback,(oh, he's a hard worker... goes home only to change..!!).They aren't helping things too... To hell with bosses who don't understand the difference between "sitting" late and "working" late!! !
Very soon, the boss start expecting all employees to put in extra working hours.

So, My dear Bachelors let me tell ! you, life changes when u get married and start having a family... office is no longer a priority, family is... and that's when the problem starts... b'coz u start having commitments at home too.
For your boss, the earlier "hardworking" guy suddenly seems to become a "early leaver" even if u leave an hour after regular time... after doing the same amount of work.
People leaving on time after doing their tasks for the day are labeled as work-shirkers...

Girls who thankfully always (its changing nowadays... though) leave on time are labeled as "not up to it". All the while, the bachelors pat their own backs and carry on "working" not realizing that they are spoiling the work culture at their own place and never realize that they would have to regret at one point of time.

* So what's the moral of the story?? *
* Very clear, LEAVE ON TIME!!! !
* Never put in extra time " *unless really needed *"
* Don't stay back un-necessarily and spoil your company work culture which will in turn cause inconvenience to you and your colleagues.

There are hundred other things to do in the evening..
Learn music.. .
Learn a foreign language...try a sport... TT, cricket.........
Importantly Get a girl friend or boy friend, take him/her around town.

* And for heaven's sake net cafe rates have dropped to an all-time low (plus, no fire-walls) and try cooking for a change.

Take a tip from the Smirnoff ad: *"Life's calling, where are you??"*

Please pass on this message to all those colleagues

And please do it before leaving time, don't stay back till midnight to forward this!!!
[snip]

My take on it
> Take a tip from the Smirnoff ad: *"Life's calling, where are you??"*

So basically the forward very subtly tells us to go out and get drunk everyday. The things liquor companies do for a little bit of advertising :-)