MJ Mojo

As a kid, his was the only 'English' music my parents listened to. I don't think they could've escaped from it if they wanted to; he ruled the 80's, ubiquitous over the radio, TV, newspapers, concerts... you name it. And he appealed to almost all sections of the society, young and old. He invented the 'Pop' culture. So inadvertently, I grew up listening to Michael Jackson. And boy, didn't I just dig his music! Be his crazy outfits, his brilliant dance-moves, the unique 'moonwalk' (I remember a guy who perfected it, everyone thought he was SO cool!), the lavishly-produced music videos and of course, his catchy music.... they were all truly loved by MJ fans worldwide.

My first brush with Western music was 'Bad'. I remember Dad inserting a dainty plastic cassette in the 'tape-recorder', rewinding it (it took so long!) and finally playing it, the 'wooooh-ooohs' and 'aaaa-ooohs' of the superstar resounding in the air (only he got away by uttering those strange exclamations; he would be ostracized in this age if he did that!). Then, I saw him on TV. I thought he was pretty neat, doing that famous moonwalk of his, those aviator glasses and flashy dresses that somehow didn't look garish on him at all (except his trademark crotch-grip... 'cheee!' I used to say). The Way You Make Me Feel, Beat It, Black and White, Remember the Time, They Don't Really Care 'Bout Us, Ghosts..... they were ALL my favorites and could recite them by-heart at one time. He also visited Mumbai in 1996 and I remember how the entire city went gaga over his concert.

But then, it all went downhill for him. Child-abuse accusations, indebtedness, drugs, disease and other maladies become the norm of his life. Personally, I think he suffered more than what he deserved. And this, not cause he's dead and gone. Somewhere, I always felt sorry for him despite his various eccentricities. Pushed into stardom at an early age, tasting stupendous success, being surrounded by thieves claiming to be friends, the glitz and the glamour.... how is a man expected to keep his sanity intact? That's not to defend what he may or may not have done, but he deserved so much more.

But let all this not cloud our judgment of the incredible music he made. Fact remains, MJ was a great entertainer & musician, right up there with the greatest music icons (Elvis, the Beatles etc.) of all time. I'm glad I was witness to the MJ era. He left a void behind with his untimely death, but also left behind a vast treasure of good music behind, and for that we shall always remain grateful! Michael Jackson - R.I.P.

You can stand under my Umbrella

The monsoons have set in full force now (thank the good Lord for that). Somehow, the rains always remind me of this lovely, catchy song by Rihanna; among other things, of course, that one is reminded of when it rains (like steaming hot bhajiyas, walks in the rain, splashing-in-puddles, wet-and-won't-dry-for-a-week shoes, broken umbrellas, the resultant-trip to the chathawaala, earthworms, water-logging, long car-drives, thunders, lightening, long phone-calls, nice cosy blanket etc. etc.) .

Meanwhile, ella-along with this song!

You have my heart
And we'll never be worlds apart
Maybe in magazines
But you'll still be my star
Baby cause in the dark
You can't see shiny cars
That's when you need me there
With you I'll always share
Because...

When the sun shines
We'll shine together
Told you I'll be here forever
Said I'll always be your friend
Took an oath
I'mma stick it out 'till the end
Now that it's raining more than ever
Told you we still have each other
You can stand under my Umbrella
You can stand under my Umbrella

These fancy things,
Will never come in between
You're my entity
Here for infinity
When the war has took its part
When the world has dealt its cards
If the hand is hard
Together we'll mend your heart
Because...

When the sun shines
We'll shine together
Told you I'll be here forever
Said I'll always be your friend
Took an oath
I'mma stick it out 'till the end
Now that it's raining more than ever
Told you we still have each other
You can stand under my Umbrella

You can run into my arms
That's okay don't be alarmed
(Come into me, there's no distance in between our love)
Gonna let the rain pour
I'll be all you need and more
Because...

When the sun shines
We'll shine together
Told you I'll be here forever
Said I'll always be your friend
Took an oath
I'mma stick it out 'till the end
Now that it's raining more than ever
Told you we still have each other
You can stand under my Umbrella
You can stand under my Umbrella

Ferrrrrrrrrrrari!

My favorite F1 car - Ferrari (only because Michael Schumacher was with it) is in town! And where it is, can Avanti be far behind? She certainly can't. And here she is, next to her dream car! The car she's rooted seven full years for (during Michael's stint)! Now only if Schumi was there too..... *starts dreaming*

Ooooh!

Aaaah!

Me, beaming (you know why!)

Its Raining!

This is an 'eating my hat' moment. I'd never thought I'd be saying this.... but its POURING and ain't I GLAD!! Admittedly, I *hate* the monsoons. In Mumbai, that is. Cause the rains have this uncanny ability to turn our city into a filthy, rancid, dirt pot; with its teeming population just managing to stay afloat like flies who have fallen into a ditch filled with goo. But this time, yeh garmi neh toh humari jaan le li! The Rain Gods have at last, and mercifully at that, beamed on us - showering this baked, scorched and thoroughly roasted planet with some much-needed succor.

Some green shoots (there's one tree with berries growing on it, it looks beautiful during the monsoons) outside my apartment, limp and almost burnt before, but now seem to have come alive, thanks to a nice lil' bath:

Of Feathers and Chairs

Mom had temporarily shelved this old chair in one obscure corner outside our window. I'd almost forgotten about it until one fine day, when I popped my head outta the window to tend to the plants, I find this pigeon, perched royally on the inside of the chair. It was blissfully unaware of my presence (Wha! Now birds ignore me too?) and was seemingly enjoying a nice afternoon siesta. Spiffy! I had to capture this, ran along, got my mobile and clicked a picture! But then the camera sound is on, a deafening sound erupts and off goes the pigeon!!! And what it left behind surpised me more! Two little eggs!

The bird fluttered restlessly, angrily around while I was taking another picture of the eggs. Typical of a mother who's left her children behind at home. If it weren't for those two lil' shells, I'd had shooed the gentle, but messy (its always pooping!) bird away. But for now, it can bank on a cosy lil shelter to protect it during the monsoons.

Here are the little residents:

Lil' Missy

Missy (n): An affectionate or contemptuous form of a young girl

That's my sis for you.

Its a love-hate relationship with her. Sometimes I detest her mere sight, hatred flowing through every vein in my body..... and sometimes I think she's the most underrated and misunderstood person in the world, an impish darling. She will giggle with me at the world's silliest, lamest Sardarji jokes, but will readily abuse me with equal passion, with a barrage of the choicest, foulest insults one could ever find in the dictionary. And yes, I am her elder sister who loves to irritate her, point out her various faults (which undeniably brings out another list of curses from her), complain about her to mom, pass on my used and abused, second-hand possessions to her, yell at her, make fun of her, tease her etc. etc. To give you a gist, I'm a major pain in the arse for her.

Just took some snaps (yes yes, with my new SE-W902) of the various trails this lil' imp leaves in our house. Mom calls her the the most untidiest, laziest & most arrogant person on this planet. I wholeheartedly agree. But she's also the cutest, hottest and the most amiable person on this planet!

She still insists on donning these horrendous, furry and garishly yellow (eeks) Garfield slippers at home. Here they lie, partly hidden but still in plain view, much to Mom's chagrin!

Beyond this door lies a treasure.... of trash. Be prepared to be greeted by an avalanche as soon as you open it.

She steals my nail-paints and then flatly denies doing the same. I found out her hideout... one of my bottles (the brown Colorbar is MINE!) planted in an obsure, shady little cupboard stacked with old videos.

Here's the lass, giggling again just because she thought the photographer looked funny. (C'mon! Its not as if he had a mole on his nose)

Grand ol' Dame

She was born in 1916. She's never been hospitalized, never had any ailment, never had so much as even a bruise in all of her glorious 93 years. Yes, read that again. My grandma's maasi has astonishingly lived a staggering 93 years of life on this planet without consulting the medical profession. Yet, here she was lying on a hospital bed. The reason? A petty fall, of all the darned reasons in the world. This enterprising old chick (sorry ajji.... but you are one rocking 'chick'!), on one sunny day, felt it necessary to step out of her abode, to hunt for flowers to adorn her abode's deity with. In the process, while standing on her dainty but tired toes, she lost her sense of balance and took a nasty fall. A few bones broke and her hip dislocated. Piercing pain ensued and it was more than her fragile body could take. Result - hospitalization.

Note that this lady has encountered me maybe once or twice in her laudable life. Yet she remembers me like it was just our last meeting. All this at the ripe age of 93! I keep reiterating this number cause I want to remind myself how inferior I am in comparison to this enigmatic lady. Hell, sometimes I don't remember what happened five minutes ago! I don't remember half the people I've met only once or twice in my life. And here was this amazing ol' granny who recognized me in an instant, took my hands and caressed it, thanked me for coming to check on her and hugged me like I was her own child. Such tenderness and love! I was truly moved.

Someone wisely said - Old is Gold. I still see the love and care in the eyes of my aged relatives, them having the same intensity that I saw decades back. My maternal grandparents top the list. They love me more than my parents do. Who said that the old are boring, intrusive and meddling? With the right amount of care and approach towards them, they too can be your best friends! Trust me! I found a new friend, aged 93!

Sleeping Duties

What is with people who are traveling in public transport who subsequently lose control over the position of their eyelids, the latter steadily descending downwards, the brain slowing losing its consciousness and the head gradually lolling over onto the unfortunate, unaware chap parked beside? To the left and to the right, sometimes northward bound and sometimes southwards, the head rolls (not necessarily in tandem with the movements of the transport), the said unfortunate neighbour being completely petrified of the possibility that it will at any moment land on his quivering shoulder and finally come to a staid rest there. And then what? What does one who is at a total and absolute loss of wit to deal with such a situation do? I can think of 3 points-of-action (1) Should he politely tap the ill-behaving, nodding-off-into-oblivion, insensitive Kumbhkaran-clone and request him to have a control over activities that should only be best adopted at night and mores so, when one is prone on a horizontal surface so as to cause minimal discomfort to the person sitting beside? (2) Or should he simply lift the erring head off his shoulder with an insulted finger and throw it off, having no care whatsoever for its well-being? Or the best option - (3) Should he simply move aside sharply, causing the dozing beauty to roll over to the seat/floor, thereby causing him extreme embarrassment and shame?

Despite having 3 interesting options at hand, each one being nastier than the other, I chose to go with the first option. I politely tapped the wayward gentleman and asked him to please be seated correctly. My action caused him to wake up with a start. He obliged, but without apologizing for his actions. What an uncouth soul! I had a good mind to embarass him further by getting up from my seat and switching places with someone else, but I let it go. No point in that. The nitwit would probably start dozing away on the next poor commuter too. So, I endured him for the remainder of the journey, but thankfully, a hard glance at him was enough to prevent him from repeating his actions.

So people, remember there are sleeping duties that you need to follow while catching the forty winks. High on the list is to refrain from nodding off. If you're feeling sleepy kindly do not travel. Have a nice little snooze at home itself, fix yourself a refreshing cuppa of coffee and then step out into the big, bright world outside. Rest assured, you'd be doing yourself, but mostly the others a huge favor.

Droooooooooool (Part-2; with its logical, happy ending....)

When I saw you it was love at first sight

My breath stopped, my heart soared high like a fluttering kite

With a body that shines so bright

You kept me awake at night

Thinking "If only I could hold you tight!"

But now as I hold you in my hands

Way above anything else you stand

I'm in la-la land... dancing to the beats of a hip-hop band

And to think.... You came for as little as 16 grand!

Gosh, you're so sinful, you should be banned!

Except for me... that is. Now, before your devilish minds get into mode overdrive, let me clarify that it is my new mobile phone that I'm penning badly-rhyming-words about and not some chiseled-gorgeous-looking-hunk-types (err... can I get one of them too?).

Now I have been hunting for this particular piece of palm-candy for eons (I wrote a post about it way back in August '08 on this blog - http://avantishastri.blogspot.com/2008/08/droooooooooool.html). After pestering my local mobile-wallah, ringing up countless regional mobile-stores, even scouring Delhi & Chennai for it, all I came up with was a disappointing, frustrating blank.... the idiots didn't stock this beauty. But then a knight in shining armour (Arjun - this isn't meant to embarrass you) promises to get me one from Singapore..... and finally he does! If anyone's seen me dancing a merry little dance lately, don't blame me.... its the stunning W902 in my hand that's responsible!