Tuesday, October 30, 2012

10 things you didn’t know about me

1.I have a habit of talking to myself even when others are around; when I see people and situations I tend to drift in a world of my own imagining funny conversations where I end up mouthing dialogues. I get so lost that I forget there are others around and many times speak loudly leaving others around much amused and bemused

2.I have never played any sport in my life, let it be childhood, teens or present day. I usually stayed much away from the sports ground as a result of which have a poor physical attitude, I still cannot run properly and my body aches if I have to do any lifting or jumping; maybe this is reason why I put on weight easily

3.I don’t have any concentration ability; in school and college my mind used to wander everywhere during classes and even now I sit through some discourses without getting any word of it

4.I never smile; if any one asks me what I find hardest it would perhaps be smiling. I carry a straight face everywhere which never changes shape

5.I imagine people and situations doing funny things. In my old office I had a Sardar in IT division, every time I bumped into him I would for no reason imagine him saying “Oye paape” although he never spoke to me in Punjabi; in my present office I have a Southie who I always imagine gesturing “Che che che…” in Tamil/Kannada style

6.I stay away from gadgets and gizmos; for the life of me I can never understand how iPads, MP3 and other stuff works. Recently my company gave me a BlackBerry phone and I still don’t know how to reply e-mails on it; although I work for an electronics retailer all the gizmos appear like UFOs to me and even when some friends ask about latest phones I tend to avoid the topic. My low understanding of technology extends to Web also as I am yet to decipher how to reply to tweets or how to change the layout of this blog page (someone once explained me some funny stuff called HTML, to me it sounds like name of a Public Sector company)

7.I have a habit of doing stuff on fixed time; I cannot stand delays in meal time to the extent that even in official events I start eating if the clock hits fixed time. Last month on office trip I opened my box of biryani inside the moving car as I couldn’t delay my eating time

8.I have a habit of walking with my head down. Instead of looking up straight I look down at the road, only when I am somewhere near destination do I lift my neck

9.I stay away from SMSs. During festivals, like many of you, I too receive hordes of SMSs which are quickly deleted and I don’t recall when was the last time I replied to any SMS

10.I am shit scared of dogs; I get petrified of dogs to such an extent that back in India I used to first scan the lanes from a distance before entering and if there were any dogs around would immediately change my way. I also avoid visiting people who have pet dogs and many times ask the hosts to tie their affectionate pets under leash lest they run up to me and shower any affection…..yeeps

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Morality and its dilemmas


Last week I was chatting with a close buddy and ex-colleague when he disclosed that back in 2006 he had slept with couple of interns at my old workplace in Gurgaon. At first I thought he may be kidding but when he came out with the explicit details I knew he had indeed scored those goals; however what was surprising was those girls always appeared casual with everyone in office and even now they are present on everyone’s friends list on Facebook. Now this buddy of mine is a laundiyabaaz and is always scouting for some good catch which is well known to everyone but that did not deter any of those girls from hitting the sack, infact now I feel they may have been egged on knowing this guy is always game for any fun on the side. I am not too sure if those girls also knew then or know about him now that this guy also uses whores and a bit too frequently at that, however I doubt if this knowledge would have deterred them from doing what they did.

Now I am not complaining here, after all casual sex has become a bit too common these days and I myself have slept with whores couple of times but it was the nonchalance around the whole issue that caught me off guard. Maybe I would have reacted bit different some years back but now after all these years I only think of that as a choice someone made when presented with an opportunity.

Maybe my perception has changed over the years, at times I yearn for my old innocence and ponder why I grew up. As a teen I used to be flabbergasted when my hostel mates used to visit brothels or when some girls in school casually lifted their already short uniform skirts when boys were around, however what I learnt over the years was that some things are simply meant to be done and not to be thought so much about. I have had my own share of action now and then but never look upon it as a sin, infact I think I should have been a bit more active and maybe scored more

Perhaps my argument gets strengthened when I see so many others who started with me and along the way chose the unconventional and today are in a higher league. In this internet age its easy to track down what others have been upto and when you see wayward creatures hitting jackpot you get to understand that righteous choices do not always necessarily bring success and sometimes immorality may indeed be a virtue. I will refrain from taking any names here (I had posted couple of years back about an ex-classmate famous for her promiscuity during her teens who has now made big as a TV journalist, that post has apparently gone viral now as I still receive comments there) however now I can’t resist reflecting if dropping the towel is after all not a bad option. Life is all about choices and as long as consequences do not bother, no harm in taking the plunge

I am aware that morality is a tricky issue and it carries different meanings and limits for different people hence one can never be and should never be judgmental about others. Many of my close buddies, both in real and virtual world, have confided in me about whom they slept with; some have multiple partners while others are on single wicket however being close to them I could understand their necessity and the fulfillment they derived. As I firmly believe to each his own, however I wouldn’t mind going back to 2006 and meeting those interns again!