Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Dude, where's my car?

Bangalore, they say, has traffic woes. Bah.Traffic, on the contrary is very organised.So organised that you can classify it into different type of drivers:

Type 1 : Ah let me just stop the car and count the number of stars in the sky. What was the count last time -3387?
Type 2 : I got my accident cover today! well how much will it practically cover? lets test it!
Type 3 : What is the maximum degree rotation of my steering wheel. Let me just turn it so that i reach the right end of the road from the left.
Type 4 : What did they teach us in school? Red is for Go right? (The first course i flunked.)
Type 5 : I have played Road Rash half of my active adult life. Want any proof?
Type 6 : Will my bus start automatically by the sonic energy of the honking?umm...
Type 7 : Why is the girl with THAT guy? My bike is better!!
Type 8 : Is that a plane? Is that a bird? No thats Superman!!
Type 9 : Smiling at traffic policemen and breaking rules doesnt amount to bribery does it?
Type 10 : The remaining, scarce, drivers who actually follow the traffic rules! philistines!

Dedicated to the traffic policemen and the unsung heroes of type 10. I most likely resemble Type 1.

Saturday, October 07, 2006

Carpe Diem

You are 22. Listening to your favourite song, you are without a tension. No backlogs. No responsibilities. No worries. Heaven? Aha..but something is amiss. Something inside you keeps on knocking at the portals of your intellect, asking the same question each time - " Are you doing what you wanted to? Are you content?"

For most of us passion and occupation tend to be mutually exclusive sets. The real seeds are sowed when ironically you dont even have full knowledge of the effects of your decisions, while choosing your 'career' at 18. Maybe its herd mentality or maybe parental pressure, but the victim is always the same - your individuality. The way you think.

When i was in class 9, my class teacher once asked me "What do you want to be when you grow up?". I was naive. I was stupid. But i was hopeful. I stood up and replied proudly "An astronaut". And now the only similarity between me and an astronaut is that we both look at stars with fascination, he a bit closely. Maybe i never had the courage to follow my dream or maybe i didnt have enough opportunities. But i could have tried.

All our lives we never really listen to ourselves. We tend to create an image of ourselves based on how we want others to perceive us. Theres a constant struggle between this image and our honest self..what we truly want. But more often than not, the former wins. And the voice of individuality is drowned amidst the din of expectations. Again.

Ok, i am not an idealist. Heck, if not for my job, i wouldnt even have money for such self indulgence as blogging. But passion is equally important for sustaining life. And for a change, we must listen to ourselves. Carefully. And Live

“Carpe Diem! Seize the day. Make your lives extraordinary.” - Dead Poet's Society (1989)

P.S. I am still not sure what i want to be at 22 but at 70, definitely Hugh Hefner :D