Impressions...

Among alcoholic drinks, Scotch remains my favourite. I love the smell and the smoothness of it. And the way it burns your throat when you take a good strong sip or a gulp... And then the way it stays with you... And of course... I love its colour.
There used to be an ad on TV long ago... of one of the Johnny Walker labels (Black, most probably) or some other brand of Scotch.. There was this middle aged guy who had a very friendly face and an equally friendly voice. This guy poured some Scotch in a clear glass... put in a couple of ice cubes and was looking at it against the daylight. All this while he was describing what he felt about it.
There are some things that I can't forget about that ad - The tinkling sound of the ice cubes against each other and against the glass, the consistency and texture of the liquor, and the wonderful colour of it. The guy said it looks like the sun rising from your drink. And I still remember it SO vividly. That ad made such an everlasting impression, that I think it may have played a significant factor in my fondness for the drink.

The other (more) significant factor being Dad.

He's also responsible for coffee...by the way.

Cheers.. on whatever you are drinking! A glass of cold water can be a lot more satisfying than any other drink in the world.

~K.

psst:
1. This (also) came out of a mail I wrote to a friend. The discussion was a comparison between Vodka and Scotch. Sigh. I know Mom won't approve of such an open discussion on a fondness for any alcohol. :-) Oops! A thousand apologies!
2. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Yes it is.
3. I'll probably continue a little more in this series. Not alcohol. I mean impressions. The books that I read, the songs that I heard, the things that I saw or did (including ads)... that have stayed with me. So... see ya again... soon!
~K.

Finally flushed out...

Have you ever had one incident spark off a hundred thoughts inside your head? One after the other? The kind of things you wouldn’t think about in your everyday life, but can’t seem to get rid of currently just because of that one incident?

It happened to me a few months back. And now is when I’m finally publishing it. This has been a long pending note, lying in my drafts for more than a month. I’m glad to finally have this article see the light of day and get it off my system.

A couple of months ago, sometime in end of October last year, one of my colleagues in my client team passed away. I hadn’t known the guy for a very long time, but it was evident that he was an intellectual force to reckon with. It took us a little while to get our work back on track and more importantly, to accept that we would have to put in more efforts to derive those tricky solutions to sticky problems that we almost took for granted until now. That apart, the reactions that I saw on people who had known him for much longer than I did triggered off another weird chain of thoughts in my head.

1 – Boys don’t cry. It takes real men to do that. To be able to face your hurt and sorrow and have enough strength to show your vulnerability to hurt takes a lot of courage. And not all people can do that. The point is not what hurts. The point is how much and how you deal with it. The point is also not getting tears in your eyes. The point is to be willing to face and accept your pain, your grief, your sorrow. Running away from it, shutting all your senses to it, making yourself stoned to all hurt, isn’t really what I would call strength. To me, that’s the biggest weakness that any man can have. I use the noun “man”, because, in my opinion, women are better at this emotion business. Yes they show it, because they are not afraid to. (Women of the world - You Rock!)

2 – Stupid thought. I’m almost sorry that it came to my head. But then, let me use my “Momentary Lapse of Reason” as an excuse again. I started wondering – who, in my workplace, would be affected if I die? People other than me know what’s happening, so work won’t get affected. Will anyone miss the way I work? Or wish that I was around doing whatever has to be done instead of whoever else does it in my place? Points to ponder; but then, I’m not willing to find that out yet.

3 – In continuation of the thought#2, I did realize that there are a lot of people who’d be really affected if I died. There may also be a lot of people who’d feel sorry at the news but not think about it too much and carry on with life. But, fortunately, I couldn’t quite think of anyone who’d rejoice at the news. (Thank Heavens!) Anyway, I’m still thinking about the first category of people who love me more than I can ever hope to deserve. And to them, I promise, I will not die. Not so fast. Not by my own design. Ever.

4 – Now, a little more than 2 months later, things at work are how they always were. Haphazard! ;-) Jokes apart, everyone learnt to accept the obvious and continue with each day that comes. That’s what happens. We learn to move on. Things would be a little different for friends and families. But they learn too. And learn to live and love and even laugh nevertheless.

But hey, my promise stays.

Whew! This has got to be one of the weirdest articles I have ever written. Like I said – I’m glad it’s out. Good riddance!

~K.

ps: Goodbye Igor. People still miss you here. Hope you’re having a nice after-life!

The other side...

Siiiigh....

25 years of my life is still...
Trying to get up that great big hill of hope...
For a destination.
I realized quickly when I knew I should
That the world was made up of this brotherhood
Of man. For whatever that means.
And so I cry sometimes when I'm lying in bed
Just to get it all out what's in my head
And I am feeling a little peculiar
And so I wake in the morning and I step outside
And I take a deep breath and I get real high
And I scream at the top of my lungs
What's going on?
And I say, hey hey hey hey
I said hey, what's going on?

And I try, oh my god do I try
I try all the time, in this institution
And I pray, oh my god do I pray
I pray every single day
For a revolution
And so I cry sometimes when I'm lying in bed
Just to get it all out what's in my head
And I am feeling a little peculiar
And so I wake in the morning and I step outside
And I take a deep breath and I get real high
And I scream at the top of my lungs
What's going on?
And I say, hey hey hey hey
I said hey, what's going on?
Twenty-five years and my life is still
Trying to get up that great big hill of hope
For a destination...

(What's Up... by 4 Non Blondes)

Siiigh... 25 years... what a journey... and even though I haven't reached there yet... that hill of hope is a wonderful, perennial destination. I still remember the time when I'd written that I want to stay 24 for the next 5 years. And that was a little more than a year ago. And now, in less than an hour, I'll cross into the other side of 25.
Time flies... And how... And it continues to fly... and well... so do I. I wonder how this year will turn out to be. Here's wishing me a good one... And here's wishing everyone else that they are around wishing me a good year all my life...

Amen.

~K.

2007!!!

Gone... out of the window... lost somewhere in the thin air. And I didn't even realize when it went away. It feels like just yesterday that I was wishing people a Happy 2007 and wondering where 2006 had gone.

And where DID 2007 go? Spending late nights at work and shuttling between Shols and M-city (my two office locations back in Chennai) through the first quarter and a half (now tell me how long was that.. ;-) ). Then zipped in to Stamford. A storm in a teacup... that's exactly what it was. Another 3 months gone. Change of scene - Moved to Seattle. Beautiful place. Very scenic. But kinda grey. Some more reds and oranges and yellows would have done it. But well, never mind. Peace and quiet in the hillside after that. Next thing I remember is November and December which again flew past ending in the 31st when I sat down thinking about all this.

Anyway... back to where I was. Irrespective of how I've celebrated New Year's eve - whether roaming around in the streets of Manhattan or just quietly sleeping the night away, I have almost always spent December 31st wondering where the hell the whole year went. Oh well... the wonder-ful person that I am, I did my share of wondering this year as well (or should it be last year). And like all other years, I decided to make the best out of the new one coming my way. And I'm so sure I will spend December 31st 2008 in the same retrospective mood that I am so used to.

A couple of things that I want to do in this year -
1. Write a couple of articles in Hindi. I think in English now... gotta stay in tune with our Raashtra Bhaasha. It's so rich!
2. Learn to cycle. (I couldn't have made the fact more public... but well... I can't cycle... tee hee)
3. Ride a cycle on the Golden Gate bridge or at least on Pier 39. (I might get scared on the bridge)
4. Go for sky diving.
5. Read a couple of long pending books.
6. Watch some more Broadway shows.
7. Buy a nice evening dress and wear it. Not just at the shop in the trial room but also wear it to someplace nice.

Hoo boy.. Let me not get too carried away. If I put a lot of these action items here, end of 2008 is going to be really troublesome. Will keep myself in check while I can.

You all have a wonderful and satisfying year! Live a beautiful life. Stay happy, healthy and fit!

Cheers!!


~K.