Raining Thoughts

Me: Hello…Hello….Amma… can you hear me? Amma: You just left! What happened? Me: (* excitedly *) ….Amma… there’s a peacock perched on the rooftop of a house on my way to the bus stop!!! Amma: (* skeptically *) Look more closely…that must be a crow or a hen. Peacock!? Ha… and that too in Trivandrum??? Mmm but…are you sure it’s one?…look more carefully… Me: (* irritated * desperate * ) : Aiyyooooo….IT IS A PEACOCK!!! I’m SURE. Amma : (* uncertainly *): eh?... mmm… Me: (* nail-bitingly *) Wait!! Guess I was a bit too loud. I’ve scared it off. Ohh!  It’s jumped on to the coconut grove adjacent to the house now. Ah! There it is…I am watching it. Amma: (* blandly *) What’s it doing now? Me:  (* breathlessly *)   It’s pecking at the ground & strutting around in the grove. Oh!... I wish I was carrying a camera phone at least… I could’ve shown you… Amma: (* non-chalantly *): Pecking at the ground…hmmm….that’s exactly what a guinea...

          A month and a half late into waking up to the call of Queen , I proverbially realize that it was better for me to have watched it late rather than postponing it to eternity at the fag-end of my diary notes, saving it for my doomsday-special-last-minute-list.           Kangana Ranaut in and as Queen , steals the show as she breaks away from her stereotypical ‘bold & beautiful’ mould and takes wing as the typical desiest of desi girls who embarks on her dream European ‘honeymoon’ all alone & heart-broken; ultimately, a journey that liberates her from the fear and humiliation that had been haunting her after the man she loved walks away from her life just a day before their wedding, flinging her into depths of depression & disgrace.           Queen is an overwhelming voyage that sets sail when a diffident Rani timidly expresses to her parents, her wish to leave for her ‘honeymoon...

April 7th, 2014.  Jumping into the nearest available water-body, partially displacing some water, spending the day submerged & staring into space blank-eyed like a dreamy water buffalo… just one of the many ideas that struck me on my way to work today. A few other ideas (most of them bordering on the lines of the Archimedes principle itself) revolve around sitting in a bucket of water…. (involves the risk of breaking the bucket) …. making a swimming pool out of the water-lily tank at home (involves swimming with the guppies in 3 ft. water)…. sitting under the office lawn water-sprinkler (involves a whole lot of company policies I suppose)…water fights…water meetings… water presentations… water trainings… water weddings… water parties… rolling on watered grass… etc…etc…etc. Anything…. Anything to beat this blistering, humid, cruelest of cruel summers… All that I see when I close my eyes is rain. There’s no music I love more than the sound of pouring rain, perhaps...

           The mercury has climbed to a record high. The Indian General Election 2014, dubbed the nation's “first big social media poll” is now just a stone's throw away! As the poll fever shoots up…up…& away… we also witness a huge transformation manifesting itself across the dimensions of an age-old customary event associated with the elections. An event which has established itself  deep within the system  over the years, an affair which has come to assume the proportions of a rather ‘ necessary social evil ’ ...... Election Campaigning!           W ith a huge chunk of the campaigning laddoos  now being distributed to one and all through virtual outlets like instant messaging sites and social networking websites, electioneering has undergone a paradigmatic shift in style & strategy this year. Facebook,WhatsApp & YouTube have become the prime pulpits of political parties everywhere. Not to forget Tw...