Always in my heart

• I’ve been through this feeling before,


• Why do I think it’s not difficult anymore?


• I know what you’ve given me so far,


• Is something special yet bizarre.

• I know you think I’m crazy,


• Crazy for you my baby.


• Never thought I’d be like this one day,


• In your heart I’m here to stay.

• Deep in my heart I thought of this,


• When you touch me I feel the bliss.


• Now I know that the world is mine,


• With you on my side & I’m on cloud number nine.

• Once I’m with you I lose all my fear,


• When I see you smile, you make me cheer.


• I feel so good in your company,


• You make my day bright and sunny.

• The more I think, the more I feel you,


• Together I know, we’ll make it through.


• This has been quite a start I know,


• You’ll be in my heart wherever I go.


• You, the best babe, I adore you!

© Copyright 2008 Srini. All rights reserved

Thank You

• I know it’s been long overdue.


• I just didn’t know how time flew


• I know now, something that should


• Make me feel, Oh so good!

• It’s been a long time since I’ve


• Thought about this, but I just


• Couldn’t think of words so few,


• That would best describe you.


• Sometimes you were the best,


• Sometimes you gave us a real test


• And most of the times I know,


• You were better than the rest!

• With great motivation you made


• Me fight hard for the goals


• Always knew I couldn’t get


• With your help I always got


• What I really wanted.

• Well, now I know what to say,


• To lord with my heart, I pray.


• For loads of success to you,


• Thanks a ton and May God bless you!

© Copyright 2008 Srini. All rights reserved

I'll Tell you why

In reply to Amberlee Watson's 'Why?''

• Why is my name always floating in your head?


• You are in love with me, that's why!

• Why do you dream about the possibilities of the future ahead?


• Because it's a dream that will come true, that's why!

• Why do you wait? Why do you dream?


• Why do you bother with this sort a thing?

• Why will you make this possible?


• Why will you work hard for something that may not be possible?

• Cause you know it's worth it, that's why!


• Why is my name always on your lips?

• Why do I live in your heart and make it beat fast?


• Cause you know I'm the only one, that's why!

• Why do you cry within and smile from the outside?


• Cause when I meet you never will have to cry, that's why?

• When will God let your happiness being?


• When will he let us meet?

• Why does he want us to be apart for so long?


• When will he grant the opportunity for our longing to be gone?

• Now that's one thing, I can't tell you WHY?


• But I know this, Why YOU? Why ME?


• Cause that's destiny baby, that's why!

© Copyright 2008 Srini. All rights reserved

My true affection

• All that I think about you is true,


• All that I feel about you is true,


• This life, this love & the passion...


• A whole lot of joy and affection,


• I feel this emotion in my heart, I know.

• All that I felt about you is true,


• All that I dreamt about you is true,


• This life, this love & the passion...


• A whole lot of madness and conviction,


• I know this truth in my heart, I know.

• All that I heard about you is true,


• All that I speak about you is true,


• This life, this love & the passion...


• A whole lot of flawlessness & perfection,


• I see this beautiful painting, I know.

• All that I believe about you is true,


• All that I imagine about you is true,


• This life, this love & the passion...


• A whole lot of beauty & attraction,


• I’m so glad you are mine & I love you.

© Copyright 2008 Srini. All rights reserved

Eat that frog - Brian Tracy

• Eat that Frog! Don’t worry it’s got nothing to do with breakfast, lunch or dinner. I had bought this book like a couple of years back. In fact I had got it as a gift for my cousin. She was in HSC then, after I read this book I knew it would definitely help her. Brian Tracy is an excellent author usually writes books on Management and self help. His concepts are usually similar however worth the read in each and every book. Anyways “Eat that Frog” is a book which has techniques to help you avoid the old sin they call ‘Procrastination’

• It’s written very well with interesting anecdotes that will enchant you at every page of the book. Here’s something like that,

• “An old saying is that "If the first thing you do each morning is to eat a live frog, you can go through the day with the satisfaction of knowing that that is probably the worst thing that is going to happen to you all day long!" Your "FROG" is the one you are most likely to procrastinate on if you don't do something about it now! It is also the one task that can have the greatest positive impact on your life and results at the moment.”

• In addition to anecdotes like these, the book focuses on 21 rules to ‘Eat that Frog’ i.e. avoid procrastination. Rules like:

• 1) Set the table
• RULE1: Think on paper!Step 1 - Decide exactly what you wantStep 2 - Write it down!
• Step 3 - Set a deadline on your goal
• Step 4 - Make a list of everything that you can think of that you are going to have to do to achieve your goal
• Step 5 - Organize the list into a plan
• Step 6 - Take action on your plan immediately!Step 7 - Resolve to do something every single day that moves you toward your major goal.

• A book, which will be an interesting, read for people who love self-help and motivational books. Here’s another one to your collection. In fact for people who are already into these kind of books must have already read this book I’m sure. For those who haven’t please do and I’m sure you’d find it worthwhile.

Illusion - Adventures of a reluctant messiah - Richard Bach

• I read this book first when I borrowed it from one of my close friends. I knew right then that this is a book for keeps. So I decided to pick up a copy for myself. It’s a very short book and truly inspiring. After a long time I’m writing a review for such a book. This is a short read and at the same time has a lot of magic. Magic that can make you think about the kind of stuff that most people don’t believe in. The kind of stuff that most people just imagine about.

• Richard Bach, the barnstorming aviator, meets Don Shimoda, another barnstormer, and they strike up a friendship. Shimoda seems to be able to do things that are impossible and Bach discovers that Shimoda has stopped clinging to the bottom of the river, and Bach wants to join him. He discovers a Messiah Manual which has no page numbers. You simply flop it down and it opens to the right page for you at the moment. As a result Illusions is peppered throughout with quotes from the manual, a fact that makes this novel into a Messiah Manual of its own. Shimoda, if he were writing this, would caution you that the same is true for every book you open or that falls off a shelf in front of you, you are destined to read from that page or that entire book. There are no accidents, only intended events that we don't understand at the time that they occur. Here's an example: I was writing this and suddenly the bottom half of my computer monitor filled with horizontal stripes which extended up to the top, but stayed clear enough in the middle of the screen for me to close up my jobs. I'm back with a new 20" monitor to replace the broken 17" one. Looking at all the new space this bigger screen provides for me to get my work done, I'm beginning to understand why the old one gave up when it did, just at the right time.

• This is the kind of book that you want to give out to someone especially when there’s an occasion that calls for inspiration. Occasions where one sees a different horizon and a dimension of life. Most admiring fact about this book is that you can relate to the things that he says and they are so simple that even a four year old will understand his philosophy. A philosophy well told in the form of the examples and the story in the book.

• Here are a few quotes from the book.

• You teach best what you most need to learn. Thus a Teacher, so also a Learner. I discovered long ago that in any situation the person assigned the role of teacher is learning as much or more than the learners. This is the one that I relate to very well. I learnt this long time but when I read the book I realized how true this was.

• Here's a test to find whether your mission on earth is finished: If you're alive, it isn't. And if you're alive, then every statement you make about what is true for you in your life is a statement of limitation because your mission is not finished. Statements of limitation are simply expressions of the way your life has been, up until now.

• All in all this book has so many profound thoughts that you will keep them in your closet and use them in life on many a occasions. So a must read especially if you are interested in spiritual as well as motivational book. Happy Reading!

The Time Machine - H.G. Wells

• Who doesn’t know this book? One of the best fictions written ever. Of course a lot of other works, movies have taken ‘inspiration’ from this concept of the Time Machine. But what H.G Wells had thought of in the 18th century is truly remarkable, other books of which were written a long time ago have actually materialized into scientific realities. So he definetely was a man of vision. He has written papers on Nuclear Energy way before Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we all must have seen Hollow Man; it definitely is a concept he wrote of in the ‘Invisible Man’

• I thought of going back and reading this book once more. It is definitely gripping even though in today’s world we’ve seen so many sci-fi movies that we may not be captivated by the idea of reading this book and enjoying it’s thrill... But trust me once you get into this sci-fi thriller u’ll really enjoy, it. But yes if you have already watched the movie, then it’s a lot better than the book. But you have to remember that this book was written two centuries ago.

• It talks about a ‘Time Traveler’ that’s his name in the book. He’s a scientists who actually invents the Time Machine. When he displays a small model to his fellow scientists they think it’s a joke. Well to prove them right, he goes ahead and uses the actual model and goes ahead in the future. The machine The criterion of the prophecy in this case is influenced by the theory of "natural selection." Mr. Wells' vision of the "Sunset of Mankind" was of men so nearly adapted to their environment that the need to struggle, with the corollary of the extermination of the unfit, had practically ceased. Humanity had become differentiated into two races, one the Eloi, race of childlike, simple, delicate creatures living on the surface of a kindly earth; the other, the Morlocks, a more active but debased race, of bestial habits, who lived underground and preyed cannibalistically on the surface-dwellers, who they helped to preserve, as a man may preserve game. The Eloi, according to the hypothesis of the Time Traveller, are the descendents of the leisured classes; the Morlocks of the workers. All this is in the year 802,701 A.D.

• THE TIME MACHINE, despite certain obvious faults of imagination and style, is a brilliant fantasy: and it affords a valuable picture of the young Wells looking at the world, with his normal eyes, and finding it, more particularly, incomplete. At the age of twenty-seven or so, he has freed himself very completely from the bonds of conventional thought, and is prepared to examine, and to present life from the detached standpoint, views it all from a respectable distance; but who is able, nevertheless -- an essential qualification to enter life with all the passion and generosity of his own humanity. It’s a good read, which has an open ending and I the sequel can only be written by H.G. Wells who knows maybe he’ll ‘TIME TRAVEL’ and do that for us...

Nine on Nine - Nandita Puri

• Interesting name for starters… I saw this book at Cosswords. What caught my eye was it’s beautiful cover page. None other than, the renowned painter, M.F. Hussain has designed it. A striking picture of a woman blessing you, a beautiful sketch definitely makes you pick up the book. Never judge a book by its cover, did you say? However, market dynamics often put that old saying at a big loss. The fact is - book buyers generally judge a book by its cover. An interesting book works as hard as a 10-second commercial spot for your book. In fact, book market stats reveal that an average person browsing the store will not devote more than 3-5 seconds to your book cover.

• Nine on Nine is a collection of short stories, most of them inspired from real life written by Nandita C Puri, wife of the famous actor Om Puri. It’s an amazing book with an array of characters that have been portrayed very well throughout each and every story of the book. The underlining factor of this book is ‘Women.’ All these nine stories are of women who inspired the author. It starts off with ‘Arranged Marriage.’ A story about Rekha, who’s married to Shiva, a ‘love marriage.’ It’s about her family and how they have opposed her of her love marriage and supporting her brother who by the way is okay with an arranged marriage and is pampered like a 4 year old. The climax of the story is something that makes it more interesting.

• I’d definitely agree to ‘Truth is stranger than fiction’ after reading some of the stories in this book. My favorite story in this book is ‘ At Jenny’s.’ A beautiful episode about higher middle class females who are frequent goers at Jenny’s beauty parlor. It’s the ending of this story that makes it really interesting, for all this while you know what the climax is going to be like. However the most interesting part is the subtle way it finishes and surprises you, much against your expectations.

• All in all I’d say an interesting read, especially for all the women. I know for a fact that you’d relate to the stories in this book. Beautifully written, overall a nice feel to the book and most importantly a lot of stories touch your heart and inspire you. Must say Indian fiction definitely has another talented author to its repertoire. Way to go Nandita!

Veronika Decides To Die - Paulo Coelho

• Synopsis – Veronika seems to have everything she could wish for. She is young and pretty, has plenty of attractive boyfriends, goes dancing, has a steady job, a loving family. Yet Veronika is not happy; something us lacking in her life. On the morning of November 11th, 1997, she decides to die. She takes an overdose of sleeping pills, only to wake up sometime later in Villette, the local hospital. There she is told that although she is alive now her heart is damaged and she has only a few days to live...

• This story follows Veronika through these intense days as her experiences lead her to question the whole idea of what madness is before she comes to realize that every second of existence is a choice that we all make between living and dying. This is a moving and uplifting song to life, one that reminds us that every moment in our lives is special and precious.

• My good friend and my boss Stacey Fernandes recommended this book to me. Having read the ‘Alchemist’ I was all game for this book. Definitely Paulo Coelho is an author who has the inspiring power to change people’s lives. In fact this book is an interesting read and inspiring as well. What’s more the cover is also very insightful. The protagonist Veronika is a very strong character and has been portrayed in different shades. The real story starts off after she attempts to commit suicide and fails. Which is when she is admitted to a mental hospital in Villette. Now besides the fact that she’s in the hospital she also has been told that her heart is damaged and will die in a few days. This is something ironic. It’s a different thing when you want to die on your own and you succeed and it’s another when you fail and you know you are going to die. This way you don’t have control over your death or your life. All you do is wait...

• Now what is more interesting is that she meets a few people in the Hospital and interacts with them in fact, gets inspired as well by their perspectives and at the same time changes their lives as well. This mutual association comes to a climax at the end of the book which is the most interesting part and that’s why I’d like to recommend this book to everyone. Besides the way the author has portrayed all the different characters and their lives is very interesting and how it relates to their existence in that hospital is worth knowing.

• All in all a very inspiring book and at the same time catchy. There’s no way you’d be bored at any stage in this book.

Manual of the warrior of light - Paulo Coelho

• This one’s quite interesting. I’m quite enchanted by his style of writing. Paulo Coelho, a Brazilian writer, the one who gave us ‘The Alchemist.’ This one’s very much similar to ‘The Alchemist’ inspirational and a kind of a book, which you’d never get tired of reading over and over again. What more, it’s actually written as if it were a manual or a handbook. A tool that will help us to sail the ship of your life even in the rough waters.

• The cover of the book has a comment by none other than our very own President, A.P.J Abdul Kalam. Here’s what it says, “The book that left a good impression on me is Paulo Coelho’s Manual of the Warrior of Light (Harper Collins). I enjoyed reading Paulo’s statement in the book, ‘The warrior smiles because nothing frightens him and nothing holds him. With the confidence of one who knows what he wants, he opens the door.’

• It is truly inspiring and not at all boring. You can read it anywhere you want as it has quotes like this, which you’d absolutely relate to. Come what may, the Warrior keeps on fighting. The warrior is a metaphor for each and every individual who has a dream and thinks of achieving something in life. It includes proverbs, extracts from theTao Te Ching, the Bible, the book of Chuang Tzu, the Talmudand various other sources, and is written in the form of short philosophical passages. The book's content was first published in various Brazilian newspapers between 1993 and 1996. It was compiled in 1997, given a prologue and epilogue, and then published under its current title.

• All in all a very good read that will keep us going, when the going gets tough in fact, will bring strength to our lives day in day out.

The Inscrutable Americans - Anurag Mathur

• A very popular book, in print for ages, probably read by 80% of young Indian readers in India as well as America. Well to tell you the truth, I hadn’t read this book till now. In fact I had started reading it a decade ago. (‘exaggerating’, laughs to himself) but did not finish reading it, was not my copy and then never got my hands on it again. Until I bought this book from the book fair at Assam bhavan. Usually I got time to read this book when I was traveling to and from the office. Well, when I started reading the book, it immediately gripped me with it’s laugh out loud hilarious approach towards the scheme of things. Initially I thought it must be just another book which will probably talk about a simpleton from India who travels to the land of opportunity and gets mocked at. Maybe get’s punched by a few people and at the end of the day, saves a beautiful blonde from hooligans and gets to become the hero. If you are expecting anything like that. I’m sorry to disappoint you. Well, here’s what the book is all about. Gopal, a young and intelligent lad from a small town of Madhya Pradesh called Jajau sets off to America, gets an opportunity to study at the University of Eversville. In the beginning the most amazing part is the way Gopal writes a letter describing his experience of America. Here’s what he writes.

• Dear Brother,

• Greetings to respectful parents. I am hoping all is well with health and wealth. I am fine at my end. Hoping your end is fine too. With God's grace and parents' blessings I am arriving safely in America and finding good apartment near University. Kindly assure mother that I am strictly consuming vegetarian food only in restaurants though I am not knowing if cooks are Brahmins. I hope parents' prayers are residing with me. Younger brother, I am having so many things to tell you that I am not knowing where to sart. Most surprising thing about America is it is full of Americans. Everywhere Americans, Americans, big and white, it is little frightening. The flight from New Delhi to New York is arriving safely thanks to God's grace and Parents' prayers and mine too. I am not able to go to bathroom whole time because I am sitting in corner seat as per revered grandmother's wish. Father is rightly scolding that airplane is flying too high to have good view.

• Still please tell her I have done needful. But, brother, in next two seats are sitting two old gentle ladies and if I am getting up then they are put in lot of botheration so I am not getting up for except when plane is stopping for one hour in London. Many foods are being served in carts but I am only eating cashew nuts and bread because I am not knowing what is food and what is meat. I am having a good time drinking 37 glasses of Coca-Cola. They are rolling down a screen and showing a film but I am not listening because air hostess ladies are selling head phones for 2 dollars which is Rs.60 and in our beloved Jajau townwe can sit in balcony seats in Regal Talkies for only Rs.3. I am asking lady if they are giving student discount but she is too busy. I am also asking her for more Coca-Cola but she is looking like she is weeping and walking away. I think perhaps she is not understanding proper English.

• Then I am sleeping long time after London and when I am waking it is like we are flying over sea of lights. Everywhere, brother, as far as I am seeing there are lights lights. It is like God has made carpet of lights. Then we are landing in New York and plane is going right upto door so that we are not having to walk in cold. I must say Americans are very advanced. And as I am leaving aeroplane, air hostess is giving me one more can of Coca-Cola. Her two friends are also with her, but why they are laughing so much I do not know. I think these Americans are strange but friendly people in their hearts. I hope she was not laughing for racial. Perhaps she was feeling shy earlier. Then I am going to long bathroom. As I am leaving I am making first friend in America. This is Negro gentleman named Joe who is standing at door and as I am opening it he is holding out hand so I am shaking it and telling him my name and he is tellng me his. I am telling him if he is ever coming to Jajau he can ask for National Hair Oil Factory. If I have not returned from Higher Studies please tell father that if negro gentleman named Joe is visiting Jajau he may kindly do needful. In this way I feel each and every one of us is serving as Ambassador of our beloved Motherland. Joe is doubtful I feel because he says "Far out, man, far out", but I am reassuring him that India is only 16 hours away by plane and that is not very far. I think he is accepting this because he is not saying anything any more. Next I go to place marked " Baggage" as Father has advised and suddenly place I am sitting starts to move throwing me. It is like python we once saw in forest, only rattling and with luggage bouncing on its back and sometimes leaping to attack passengers. I am also throwing myself on bag before it is escaping. I think if I am not wrestling it down it would revert to plane and back home to India. I am only joking of course. Before this I am meeting very friendly gentleman at Immigration desk. I do not know why all relatives had warned against this man, because he is so friendly. He is talking English strangely but is having kind heart because he is asking me about nuts and I am saying that I am liking very much and eating many on plane. "Totally, totally nutss," he is saying, which I feel American expression for someone fond of cashewnuts. Before this he is showing friendliness by asking "How is it going?" I am telling his fully and frankly about all problems and hopes, even though you may feel that as American he may be too selfish to bother about decline in price of hair oil in Jajau town. But, brother, he is listening very quietely with eyes on me for ten minutes and then we are having friendly talk about nuts and he is wanting me to go.

• At Customs, brother, I am getting big shock. One fat man is grunting at me and looking cleverly from small eyes. "First visit?" he is asking, "Yes," I am agreeing "Move on," he is saying making chalk marks on bags. As I am picking up bags he is looking directly at me and saying "Watch your ass." Now, brother, this is wonderful. How he is knowing we are purchasing donkey? I think they are knowing everything about everybody who is coming to America. They are not allowing anybody without knowing his family and financial status and other things. And we are only buying donkey two days before my departure. I think they are keeping all information in computers. Really these Americans are too advanced. But, brother, now I am worrying. Supposing this is CIA keeping watch or else how they can know about our donkey? Anyway please do not tell Mother and Father or they are worrying, but lock all doors and windows. If CIA wants to recruit me to be spy in Jajau, I will gladly take poison before betraying our Motherland. Then I am going out and cousins are waiting and receiving me warmly. I will write soon after settling down.

• Your brother,

• If you thought this letter was funny, read the way Gopal gets his way out in a mall, he goes and bargains in a shopping mall, now that’s the spirit of India. This book has so many other hilarious experiences of Gopal, who tries to understand new things and adapt to the culture of America, how he differentiates between lives of different types of people living in the cosmopolitan America. No it is not a book that makes fun of our countrymen, if people thought that is what it’s about after reading the letter. It talks of the incidents that happen to him that make him realize how cold the culture of this country is and how difficult it is to make a living out there. Realizes the fact that we are better off living in India, with its warm hospitable culture and beautiful countrymen who are always here to help each other whenever required.

• Gopal, our Indian, has taken a strong liking to Coke, French fries and has won over quite a few people with his innocent and funny behavior. He also meets a good friend, philosopher and guide, Randy, who is eager to introduce Gopal to the joys of an American college education. At the same time Gopal has to "uphold" the Indian culture and also keep his head in the books. What is important at the end of the day in this book is that he realizes that his true place belongs to India. So this one actually has a deep message that talks about issues like “Brain Drain” People going to study to US. Staying there and working for a lot of American companies, and in a way benefiting America instead of India. It is for those people as our Indian hero Gopal, returns back to India once he finishes his education, to help his father in his family business ‘An Oil Factory in Jajau.’ All in all a very good read and funny in it’s own way. Enjoy.

Interpreter of Maladies - Jhumpa Lahari

• Jhumpa Lahari, winner of the Pulitzer Prize winner for this very book brings an interesting collection of stories from Boston and beyond giving us an insight on Indians abroad set in the past. The similarities that still exist in the present society amongst Indians in North America are something that one would find to be interesting. She’s also the author of ‘The Namesake, another of her interesting book, which I’m planning to read anytime soon. At least before the movie is out. Yes it’s going to be released soon, a Mira Nair movie starring Tabu, Irrfan Khan. But that’s another story.

• The stories don't have grand passions and tumultuous relationships, or dramatic plots. Instead, they exquisitely detail the thoughts of one individual about a period of his or her life. For example, a woman who is having an affair with a married man and watches him go back to his wife each week. Or a child who goes to an immigrant woman's home each day after school, and sees her deal with homesickness, loneliness and isolation.

• Then again we have an interesting story, which by the way is the title of the book, and the story ‘Interpreter of Maladies.’ Talks about a guide who also is a translator for a Gujarati doctor in Orison. He interprets patients’ troubles and pain to the doctor who does not know the local language. This is something one of his tourist who is from North America finds romantic and how their story is portrayed in the chapter is very interesting.

• My favorite pick is ‘The treatment of Bibi Haldar’ It is a beautiful story about Bibi a misfit young woman living in a rundown building in Calcutta and is taken care of by her cousin and his wife. The story moves on from there to how they leave her at her plight and go away. How her life takes a major twist is very interesting and you’ll absolutely enjoy the climax of this story.

• All in all a collection that definitely deserves the award in fact, it exposes facts and at the same time makes us deeply involved and reflective. Certainly a must read for any one and everyone.

Restaurant Review - Firangi Paani

• 9:00 PM on a Wednesday night, my colleagues planned to go to ‘Firangi Paani.’

• We left behind our midweek blues and were all set for revelry of sorts. Firangi Paani is a lounge bar at the top floor of Kstar Mall. It is near Diamond Garden in Chembur, opposite to ‘The Barista.’ On ‘Wednesday - Ladies Night,’ Firangi Paani offers complimentary drinks before 9:45 PM to girls, and a ‘buy one get one free,’ for stags. We stepped in and the place is a buzz with, ‘Cindy Lauper, Bon Jovi and Queen. The leather upholstered seats, and tall bar-stools added to the retro feel. The bar is decorated with wine glasses hanging upside down. The bartenders juggle in rhythm as they poured our favorite cocktails. The walls brizzle with intense graffiti, British Shields, and Swords a sculpture of a Jazz artist on the Sax, and of the great comedians, ‘Laurel and Hardy.’ On the big screen TV. screen a cricket match played silently.

• “Vodka with orange juice. I want to try orange instead of Sprite,” said Neha

• “Me too,” said Sandy

• Raj, Darshana and I ordered beer while we listened to music.

• “On a Saturday Night you will find the hottest guys and gals of Chembur out to party!” said  Jeetu, who was in his elements while dancing to the retro numbers.

• “The Paneer Chilly is delicious,” Sandy, the foodie munched on the starter.

• We had ordered more starters: Chicken Frankie and Veg Rolls. For main course we ordered Veg and Chicken Schezwan Rice. The food is splendor and it does sink in to your taste buds.

• It cost us Rs 1000 per head with the drinks.

• This place is a haven for retro music and pub atomosphere lovers. Theyhave live bands play here sometimes. That does not happen elsewhere. Firangi Paani is an ideal spot for those who want to hang out with friends over the weekend.

• Firangi Paani – 3^rd Level, Kstar Mall, Opposite Diamond Garden, Chembur (E)

• Tel: 02225208704/05/06/09

• *Currently under renovation.

• © Copyright 2010 Srini. All rights reserved

Large Format Retail Chains and their impact on resellers / assemblers

• “I want to buy a laptop for my father at a reasonable price. Let’s go to HyperCity and check out the new Samsung N120 or Gateway Laptops.” said Swapnil Ingle a resident of Borivali, Mumbai. This is the same person, who used to work with Transworks Computer systems in Lamington road and assemble PCs for other customers back in 2001. Now he is a business executive who helps his dad in an MLM sales company and needs a laptop for the very same reason.

• I ask myself a very simple question. For a person who may have known the ins and outs of the traditional reseller / assembler market and has been back and forth at Lamington Road in Mumbai, why would he want to buy products for himself through LFR (Large Format Retail) stores? Is this a dawn of a new era? Are LFR pushing back conventional resellers/assemblers?

• Way back in 2001 when assembled computers were a trend and resellers and assemblers ruled the market, consumers had very tedious task of running around to fetch quotations from different assemblers. With an AMC and sure shot service near your home, buying a computer / laptop from a dealer around the corner rather was more convenient than a branded Compaq Presario or an HP Laptop. Those were the times when profit margins were based on the whims and fancies of each reseller / assembler and that was the boom for the industry. As shown in the recently released movie, ‘Rocket Singh – Salesman of the Year’ it all boiled down to the competition between local dealers and assemblers. They could decide on the prices as well as service that they need to provide to the consumers and corporations alike. All these aspects were completely controlled by companies like AYS and Rocket Corp. as shown in the movie. Branded laptops and desktops were a bane because of the lack of after sales service or proper branding and accessibility in itself. The only names in Laptops and Notebooks we heard back then were IBM, Gateway, HP and Toshiba. The availability of service centers was also a huge problem while going in for a branded laptop/ desktops. In addition, the prices were skyrocket high, who is to blame with the demand being so low?

• Enter 2010, the scenario has completely changed. Desktops are outdated. Every other person you know has a laptop / netbook, that too bought from either HyperCity, Ezone, Big Bazaar or Vijay Sales. There has been a plethora of Malls in and around metropolitan cities like Mumbai, New Delhi, Gurgaon or Bangalore for that matter. This has given the companies like, IBM, HP, and Compaq, Lenovo etc to display their products and reach masses thanks to ‘Windows Shopping’ pun intended. There are many benefits that LFR stores have come up with as opposed to the conventional resellers or assemblers back in 2001.

• When asked why he wants to purchase a laptop from an LFR instead of getting it through a conventional reseller/assembler Swapnil said. “There are many benefits that LFR offer me and it’s very convenient for me to actually go and buy it from them as compared to the counterparts.”

• Many people in today’s age visit shopping malls almost every day. Awareness of notebooks, laptops and netbooks such as Acer, Sony, IBM, HP, Lenovo, Compaq, are more evident thanks to these large format retail stores. Besides seeing the netbooks in advertisements of size zero Sony Vaio by Kareena Kapoor we get the option of actually feeling the products and taking them for a test drive only at stores such as these.

• Add to that companies such as Gateway and Wipro who have recently hit the market with their sleek series of notebooks and netbooks get a broad platform to display themselves more effectively. Today an LFR store is not just an outlet to go and buy a Laptop of our choice but also a haven for Geeks and gadget lovers alone to check out and keep themselves abreast of all the latest notebooks, gadgets that are raging a fire in the market.

• To add to that many LFR stores have tie-ups with financing companies and provide with instant loans with executives present to guide each consumer right down to the tee.

• “I would feel more secure and trust the genuineness of the product more in an LFR as opposed to a conventional reseller / assembler especially when it comes to software and Operating systems.” Swapnil says, as he had been a part of the industry a while ago. To add to that he says that LFR stores have a good amount of freebies and offers that go along with the sale of notebooks on display that make for a very lucrative offer for us to buy the products from them.

• However, the most important aspect that LFR chains have brought to light is the actual feel of shopping for a netbook / laptop to be able to touch and check out the configuration before going in for a particular product. With the boom of LFR, stores selling netbooks of compact sizes every consumer will get an option of trying out variety before actually getting himself a sleek and stylish model.

• "The large format retail chains have emerged as an additional sales channel for us to reach customers," said Ms Shuchi Sarkar, Head Marketing, Personal Systems Group, HP India. However, HP India has not been seriously tracking the sales through such retail chains, Ms Sarkar said, adding that it was too early to comment on the potential.

• Currently, for Acer, sales through organized retail chains account for a fraction of its overall India sales, said Mr. S. Rajendran, GM Sales and Marketing, Mobility Display Products Group, Acer India.

• Courtesy – The Hindu Business Line

• With everything going wireless and compact in today’s age as shown on a TV show Netguru, Swapnil says there would be a time where PCs or desktop computers would be outdated just as the 386,486 or P1s. Every other kid on the block would carry a compact, portable netbook not even a Laptop for that matter. We await an era where netbooks would be just as common as mobile phones in this country and that day is not far away.

• © Copyright 2010 Srini. All rights reserved

A conversation indeed!

• It had been a while we had met,


• Talked about love, life and goals we had set.


• For ourselves we had no dreams in particular,


• Yet we had a belief which we shared together.


• With that belief we decided to go with the flow,


• Make the most of our conversation before we go.


• Yes, to each other we had a lot more to say,


• Cause of destiny we met, and in a very strange way.

• We hadn’t met in quite a long while and it had been certainly a long time since we actually allowed ourselves to flow into the reality that we had built for ourselves. We have had a strong belief in our own expression of thoughts and somewhat felt a strong connection to begin with. It’s as though we were made for each other and could talk on for eternity and over again. How can I forget the way we met each other. It was surreal, surreal but true. Now when I look back at how we met and where we are at I feel a certain sense of disbelief as to why it all happened in the first place. Life is so unpredictable and life is so strange in it’s own ways. It keeps leading you to so many paths and so many new unexplored locations that you keep wondering where to go?

• It had to be a nice time, a few starters, a couple of drinks and a conversation that we usually have not necessarily about something. That’s the best part about the conversation we have. It doesn’t need to have a meaning nor a reason but it enlightens us and yes we get to know how much more we are just like each other. That made a difference to our relationship, a belief that is impending to tell us something, a sign that we always knew in our hearts.

• We started talking about our lives and for the first time we actually opened up to each other and felt great to be listened to. With each expression that I saw on her face it felt as though she was in tune with what I had to say and for the first time I felt uninhibited to talk about my feelings and tell her how I perceived life and how I went about my beliefs. It felt sweet to know, how I expressed my deep thoughts was actually understood by someone.

• We always had this chemistry together and she always had told me that, but despite all that this day was certainly remarkable in all the times we have had conversations because of the fact we were able to actually relate to what each other was saying without the fear of being judged nor being misunderstood. How I wish life was this clear. So many times there are misconstrued communications and beliefs that are completely incorrect and relationships begin to get into the humdrum of certain same beliefs. So many times expectations are more when there are names to relationships, so many times assumptions disturb a portrayal of a relationship in particular and that is why we want to make everything like this society has for us. The society tells us to be true, tells us to be right and probably tells us to do what they want or they perceive as truth. How difficult it is for everyone to understand that?

• It may not be truth or for that matter mean anything to anybody, yet it has to be told. It needs to be heard by everybody, but not really important as long as it meets the norms of the society. The world is a place for us to wear these masks and clothes that they want us to and in fact everyone is more than happy to do so, with a different penchant for keeping it that way.

• How I wish someone understood these feelings and truly it was a day to remember for she did understand what I said that day and we let ourselves flow into the reality that we had built for ourselves. Thanks a lot for making my belief in our relationship strong and hope life has more for us.

• © Copyright 2009 Srini. All rights reserved

Runaway Bride

• 
  
  “How could she do this? How?.” I asked Ramesh”

• 
  
  “She loved me...” He said

• 
  
  “I guess our time was not right."

• 
  
  “There is no such thing as a ‘right time’” he said...

• 
  
  ***

• 
  
  We wondered what to do. We were in a huge mess. He loved his girl a lot. Ramesh could do anything for his girl. Even she would go to great lengths to restore their faith and belief in the love they had for each other. I had to do this for him; I had to help him. Both of us thought of things we could do. It had been a week since he had met Jenny. Her parents had grounded her. Ramesh was desperate; he couldn’t live without her. He had to do it. They wanted Jenny married off. That’s what happens in this society, a society that is built on the worlds weirdest morals. Yes, the times have changed. Even ‘arranged marriages,’ nowadays have become, sophisticated. Nowadays there are a few blind dates and a few get to know sessions after which they go ahead with the decision to marry the person, whom you know only for a few weeks. There was no such thing done in her case. Jenny was to be married to a person whom she had never known nor had she met. She did not know what to do. She loved Ramesh and couldn’t marry anyone, just like that. Her own house felt like a dungeon of darkness, in which, she was locked up. Her memories with Ramesh and her solitude helped her to survive so far. Her mom kept a close eye on her. They took her cell phone away, she was completely disconnected. Disconnected from the world and left on her own, to face a future, a future that she never knew.

• 
  
  “Let’s go to her place and take her away.” Ramesh said.

• 
  
  “Are you crazy man? What if her mom calls the cops? You could get into trouble.” I told him.

• 
  
  “So f**K it… I don’t care.

• 
  
  “If you go tonight, you will have to deal with some tight security and her brother has contacts with the local MLA. Before the night is over, her brother and his friends will hunt you down and hand you over to the cops.”

• 
  
  “So what do you want me to do? Sit here and do nothing?”

• 
  
  No, Ramesh, we got to think of a practical solution.”

• 
  
  We thought a lot, to think of the easiest way out. That’s when I thought of this brilliant idea.

• 
  
  “She will be married the day after tomorrow, right?”

• 
  
  “Yes. We have to do something soon!”

• 
  
  “We will. Before she gets married we have to go to the church and whisk her away even before the wedding happens and get you guys married in the court. It’s near the church. The bridesmaid is a friend of mine. She knows about you guys and I’m sure she would help us in this situation. Besides her parents don’t know me and they haven’t seen me right?”

• 
  
  “No, they have not seen you. You can go to her and tell them about our plan”

• 
  
  “Great, I’ll also register for you guys and call my friends who can be witnesses at the court. I’ll make all the arrangements there. Once you are married, there isn’t much anyone can do.” So, we decided to wait for that ‘right time.’

• 
  
  Finally, the day arrived and we decided to go to the church. When we reached the church, we were surprised that there was nobody, no decorations, absolutely nothing that would indicate a wedding. We asked the church authorities, they said that the wedding was cancelled. We were surprised. 'Cancelled?' What on earth had happened?

• 
  
  “Why is the wedding cancelled?” Ramesh asked

• 
  
  “Something’s going on.”

• 
  
  “What happened, what about your friend? Did she do something? What am I going to do now? Did she tell on us?”

• 
  
  “Relax, it’s not her. I spoke to her last night she said she would go this morning to Jenny’s place to tell her about our plan.”

• 
  
  “Damn, man why didn’t she tell her yesterday?”

• 
  
  “I don’t know okay. Just let me think for a second here.”

• 
  
  “Then have they cancelled the wedding because they found out about us? Or it must be that brother of hers. He must have come to know through his spy friends.”

• 
  
  “If he’d have known, you and I won’t be sitting here, so chill.”

• 
  
  “Do you think Jenny must have done something?”

• 
  
  “Done something? What do you mean? What are you saying?”

• 
  
  “I mean, do you think she had any plans that would make her parents cancel the wedding?”

• 
  
  “I don’t know man. I don’t think that she would do anything like that. She is not that type of a girl.”

• 
  
  “Hmm. I tried to call my friend but she’s not answering, I don’t think she’s home.”

• 
  
  “What do we do now Srini? I’m worried.”

• 
  
  “Have faith dude. It’ll be all right.”

• 
  
  We thought a lot, with moments of silence we thought of what to do. There were many questions that came to our minds. Ramesh got restless as each minute passed by. Finally we gathered courage and decided to go to her house and try to find out what the deal was. That was our only option. We drove to her place which was quite a few miles away from the church. I decided to drive his car as he was not in the right frame of mind at that time. Her house was a small row-house on the outskirts of the city. While we drove to her place, there were many thoughts that raced into our minds as we wanted to find out what would have happened. It was something we had to know.

• 
  
  We saw a huge crowd outside her house. People in the courtyard talked quiet. Everyone wore black clothes. We looked at each other, aghast. Our hearts started beating fast. This was something we had never imagined before. When I said earlier, I was sure even she would go to great lengths to restore their faith and belief in the love they had for each other this definitely proved it for sure. Something I had never imagined to have happened. This was an event that moved me immensely, something that changed our lives forever. When we went inside, we saw a coffin. Lay inside, with a smile on her face, there was a smile that told us something. Something we probably knew all along but never brought it up all this while...

• 
  
  “How could she do this? How?.” I asked Ramesh”

• 
  
  “She loved me...” He said

• 
  
  “I guess our time was not right."

• 
  
  “There is no such thing as a ‘right time’”

• 
  
  He told me as he snatched the car keys from me and walked past all the madness to his car and went for away in search of his solitude.

• 
  
  © Copyright 2009 Srini. All rights reserved

Free Writing 8 - words

1. Fatigue
2. Dread
3. Bridge
4. Vermillion
5. Excellence
6. Concern

1. Fatigue: Death is imminent I have no choice but to go on. Belief is lost; darkness is bellowing inside my brain and surrounding my nerves with fear. The fear of loss. It took a lot of courage for me to do what I did. Years of hard work put into this. I have struggled with many skirmishes. I have had a dream of winning this one event that I cherished up until today. Running 800 miles is no piece of cake. That too without a stopover is the worst challenge that I could ever imagine taking up. Now that I am here, today is the day. Forgiven are all the woes of the past, for today fatigue is just a word. I chose to live for today, for death is imminent. Today is the day worth living for, shadows of weakness entangles me so strong. They cast upon me their chains, ones that tie me down so fast that getting up is not an option. Yet I choose to fight, fight this monster inside me and I want to survive. “Survive to see the finish line, go past that mark, and feel the accomplishment that will push me to the end of glory,” I say to myself. I have no choice. Today is the day. I must go on…
2. Dread: I feel the pain and the heat today. Misery is something I wish I would have felt forever. Dreams are something that wont leave me that easy. I have to understand what comes so easy won’t stay for long. I have many choices to make and I can’t go back on my word. I really hope that this works out but what if it doesn’t. I don’t know how to imagine a life without this dream of mine. I hope for some respite but don’t know if that would work out. I feel the breath under my wings as I struggle to fly. I imagine the sky beautiful, deep blue but I see the dark clouds every day. I despise the darkness yet I live with it in a glimmer of hope that someday it would change. I feel like I’m falling from the sky and every bone in my body would splatter once I touch the ground. I can sense the danger as each time I think of this dream of mine. But all I do is hold on to the world that I have built for myself and hope for a change… A change for better tomorrow.
3. Bridge: I wait for her at the top. I look around and I see many more images of girls just like her. I think of her deeply and imagine how much love I had for her. I wait thinking that she would come back. I don’t know if she will ever be back. But I know for a fact that if it wasn’t for the distance, this never would have happened. I would not have let this happen. But then I think about the past and try to dream and imagine how this belief I had in love has changed. I still try to have the same belief but the mind does not let me to. I give it a thought many times and try to be optimistic but that one thing sets me back. Any thing I want is something I would get, but this is something I never got and this is the worst loss I would have had in my life. Something that I would regret losing for quite a while. But I still wait for her at the top, wait to see if she’s coming…
4. Vermillion: I look out of the window and the sky is beautiful. Sunsets are more enjoyable than sunrise as they give me a reason to wait for. The dark night is coming but the darkness is a battle. A battle I hope to win for tomorrow my war would be won. The sunset gives me joy more than the sunrise for it brings the struggles of my life in a shade of glory. A color that preaches me to bring about some justice to life shattered without any glory. The dusk is my winner. I feel every little tincture in that sky is enchanting my life’s canvas. I hope for the night to come so that I could dream away to glory and live for a tomorrow that I know will go back into the vermillion yet again. The clouds don’t scare me anymore for this color is my glory.
5. Excellence: Glory awaits at the end of the line. Dreams fulfilled tomorrow at your success. Nothing more satisfying than a dream come true. Nothing more sweet than the sweet joy of victory. Imagine the world without excellence. No one at the top, no winners no losers. Can’t do that. Reach out to build an image to take you to no. 1. Work hard and fight to achieve the goal that you been dreaming of. One shot and you are there. One wrong move and you are on the other end of the world hoping you’d excelled. Great victories don’t come by just like that. Excellence is mixture of real hard work and a little bit of luck, they say. I really hope that is true for that little bit of luck sometimes runs away and then what would you do?
6. Concern: I don’t know what to do about her. I feel sorry for her but I still don’t know what to do. She has no idea what she’s done. I feel bad for her but I still hope for the best. I hope she realizes what she has done and does something to set things right. I dream for the best to happen to her, but in the end, it’s not in my hands. I hope that things work out for her and it’s not as bad as it may seem to be.

• © Copyright 2008 Srini. All rights reserved

Free Writing 7 - around the corner - 1st Person POV

• I was working late that night and had to go home at around midnight. I decided to take a cab from the taxi stand which was just around the corner. I got down from my office and I was walking towards the taxi stand. It was dark that night. Pitch black I could say. I could see a few people going towards the highway and thinking about what a bad day they had had. I could see a few bikes parked near the alley where there is a no parking zone and if it was daylight these bikes would have been towed away. If I would have finished my work, at least fifteen minutes earlier I would have been able to catch the last train to my place. Unfortunately, that did not happen. Since I had to catch a cab, I needed cash. So I decided to stop by and withdraw some money from the ATM. I was nearing the ATM and that’s when I saw something happen. A young lean boy with strong forearms and jaws was hurling abuses at the cops who were sitting at the railway station. He was short and slim. He had slender thighs and seemed like an athlete ready to sprint his way towards glory if the cops came to catch him. I did not know what they had done to him but he was standing at a fair distance away from the cops and yelling out to them. Challenging them to catch him. He was deeply disturbed and very abusive. He just wanted to vent out every bit of frustration that he had inside of him. That’s when one of the cops hurled a lathi at him. He ducked and evaded it. Another cop came running to him and this guy just ran like crazy.

• He stumbled a bit but got back onto his feet and escaped in darkness. Later as I would know he was arrested and taken to police station, but it certainly took a police jeep to get hold of him as our pot bellied cops were no match to his pace and were just a bunch of spectators in this escapade of his.

© Copyright 2009 Srini. All rights reserved

Free Writing 6 - Around the corner - 3rd person POV

• Samir was walking in the lane beyond the 3rd cross of Hosur. He loked around and could see the dark shadows of dogs beside the garbage bin. The dogs were lurking around the bin, trying to scavenge for leftovers. He could see the rugged men and women sleeping on the footpath, with ragged clothes and patched shawls.

• Beneath the dimness he saw a young boy digging his teeth into half a piece of leftover corn, savoring whatever he could. Samir could feel the cold wind hit below his knees. He had got down to buy some pav for his grandmother at dawn. The bakery was just around the corner and it was around 5:00 AM on a cold winter morning. He was looking at the dogs as they were struggling scampily to dish out whatever they could find. He could also see a few vans up on the highway, which were out to deliver milk to all the people of that small town. Suddenly he sawa a black scorpio, zipping past in the crazed madness and dashed into the lamp post over the footpath. In a split second, the groggy drunk driver ran over the people who were in a deep slumber on a Sunday morning.

• © Copyright 2009 Srini. All rights reserved

Free Writing 5 - search of a character

• I scanned my pockets thoroughly. It was not there. I looked behind the drawer, tossed all the files out, removed all books in there, and threw them out. I looked inside the shirt and pant pockets of all the trousers that were in the clothesbasket. Alas, it was not there. I was wondering where I kept it. I was ruffling up the closet with anxiety and felt like I could give anything to anyone who helped me find this all-important digital device, my USB flash drive.

• It contained all the writing and documents that I had saved. I had decided to reformat my laptop. If I lost the pen drive as well, then years of hard work and creativity would go to drain. I was thinking hard, trying to recollect where I had kept the pen drive. I was trying to retrace my steps and with a great deal of desperation, I tried to focus and concentrate on the task. I looked beneath the sofa, behind the television stand, below the study table, the bed but to my disappointment, I could not find it anywhere. I was cursing myself that I forgot to keep the pen drive back into my bag that I carry to office every day. I had no idea where I kept it. I felt helpless and exhausted after this extensive search. I did not know what I would do. I was almost in tears, for this meant a lot to me. With a heavy heart, I decided to call it night and go to sleep when the phone rang.


• “Hello”


• “Srini, Neha here.”


• “Yes Neha tell me.”


• “You forgot your pen drive in the computer. I have it with me, I’ll give it tomorrow.”

• A sigh of relief and the heavy heart eased out. I slept with peace that night.

• © Copyright 2009 Srini. All rights reserved

Free Writing 4 - Mannerism

• I look at him every day through those grills. The bars of the cage makes me flounder to get a picture of him. He is very timid and most of the times he just sits around in the cage staring at the television which I keep watching everyday not knowing whether he really understands what I am watching. Mostly, World Movies. He blinks his eyes just sways his neck and his claws perched on a swing inside the cage. He gets down as soon as he sees that there are chilies, chapattis or fruits tossed inside his cage. Slowly he pecks at the food inside the cage, with relish enjoys the few bites and drinks the water on the other tray in his cage and goes back to his sweet spot, the swing on which he perches himself gracefully and goes back and forth with the swaying of his neck. In the evening, I open the doors of the cage and let him out so that he can play outside take a walk in the room and play around. But he prefers to struggle his way up and climb on top of the cage and jump around on the cage.

• When I call his name, he looks at me but does not respond much except for a timid crawl back and forth on top of the cage and again he wanders off in his own world. Sometimes inside the cage, he pecks at himself, scratching his wings and trying to get rid of the fleas probably. After he has had a bath, he shakes his body vigorously to get rid of all the water that his body has soaked. I guess he doesn’t’ enjoy his showers much. When he is asleep, he seems like a peaceful bird perched on the swing in his tranquil, the most content creature in this entire universe. Meet Sam, my newest pal and my pet parrot!

• © Copyright 2009 Srini. All rights reserved

Free Writing 3 - Character Description

• 
  
  As I walk past the door, I look at her before I realize what I saw I take a peek at her one more time. A tiny glance and I could not believe what I saw. She was there onstage in a blue chiffon saree draped in the most adorable way; I could hear her walk as her beautiful feet with red nail paint clinked with the sound of payal. She looks stunning with her long hair let loose and decorated with the gajra with a fragrance that enchants my sensations to a wild trip to paradise. Her eyes are brown with a tinge of black as she looks at the sunset across the window. She has beautiful eyelashes, which curve nicely and make her eyes look amazingly vibrant. One of the most amazing features she has is her beautiful lips that tell so many stories and one could just be lost in them forever.

• 
  
  Her lips need no gloss or any cosmetics for they are so beautiful that you would lose yourself in wilderness watching them sway as she sings to the beautiful melody of the Veena that she plays in the room. While she strums the strings, there is music to our ears not only through the beautiful instrument but also through the clink of the chunk of bangles that she is wearing. A beautiful gold necklace with an Iranian design bought by her uncle from Persia stunningly compliments her innocent smile that shines across the entire room as all of us hear her sing. As I watch her, I fall deeper into her eyes and I look at her nicely tanned skin which makes her look so smooth that I keep falling deeper into a dream, one that takes me to a different world altogether. Her long earrings seen while she nods her head to the sur Taal and make them dance to the rhythm of the tablaa playing in the background. They add to her look and take you back to the pristine palaces of the great Maharajas where apsaras and nritkis used to royally enchant the courtrooms of our monarchs. When I took a glance, her aura was so staggeringly bright that I just got lost in the immense beauty, felt like it was nothing but a dream…

• 
  
  © Copyright 2009 Srini. All rights reserved
  
  
  
  

Free Writing 2 - Outside the Window

• Otherwise a very hectic Monday and really tiring day at work I was thinking of unwinding before I left all my problems at work. Melancholy Monday is better described than a manic one. Sometimes I lose track of this time and think of so many things and I really want that experience to give me joy on an otherwise heavy day to start off my week. Viola, Mr. Thomas Edison’s light bulb and I decided to gaze across the star-studded view outside my office on an extended shift post 7:30 PM. I thought of free writing and here I am writing about something that is at present giving me a lot of solace. Airplanes in the sky, huge towers and little gateways of lights making my view from the enormous window right in front of my desk is really amazing. Gives me the feeling of real ecstasy. Feels like growing wings and taking a tour right across the window. Yes this is something I want to write. Sometimes I wonder there are so many things in life that trouble you.

• On a troubled day as such how do we find respite? There are so many things that can actually be your savior. Something as beautiful as the view outside my office never was an eye catcher until today. Only because Renu gave us this assignment that I thought of really paying attention to the fine details of the view, a breathtaking one I must admit. Something that is so serene and joyous that makes me forget about my worries. Something like this if it becomes the focal point of yours for even a few minutes really refreshes your mind and as I watch the cars whizz across the signal, hawkers selling gas balloons, candy floss, youngsters finishing endless number of rounds of an interview probably waiting anxiously for their results which they won’t know until they haven’t had a sleepless night, people waiting to get on to a bus to head towards their homes after a tiring day of work and the taxi drivers smoking bidi’s down below and waiting for their fares I get a sense of observation that gives me a broader perspective of people who face deeper and bigger issues that they have to deal with.

• I look at so many lights across the window on towers which are constructed within a span of six to seven months in this rush of the concrete jungle that is engulfing the entire city and rapidly spreading like wildfire. I wonder sometimes where we will end up being in this jungle town of ours. I only hope that this peaceful silence that is about to begin with my journey back home never ends as I shield myself inside a soundproof window pane on looking the troubled and disdained people who, to make their living without knowing what they have in store for them…

© Copyright 2009 Srini. All rights reserved

Free Writing 1 - Shoe

• Silver is what I always loved. Somewhere at the back of my mind I imagined if the craving for the colour would be as much as it’s worthier counterpart, ‘Gold.’ Whoever decided to make gold more valuable than silver must have never understood what this colour stood for. But who cares. I have this silver shoe kept on a chair and I'm still wondering where my 'princess' is? The beauty that I had ever dreamt of as my beautiful partner, my soul. She's out there somewhere. She's lost her shoe but I really want to find out where she's gone?

• The shine this shoe sheds on my face is something that makes me wonder if that's what Im looking for in my dull and otherwise gloomy life. I ponder across the hall and dream of the beautiful things that have taken place in this life of mine. Does this shoe and the search depict my journey to find my Cinderella? Will it be a triumphant one or would she just be lost in the lonliness of her own...

© Copyright 2009 Srini. All rights reserved

Illusion

• When I felt the need to do this I didn’t think twice


• I was so stoned that it was too hard to imagine,


• Yet I felt I had to do this for something I had to realize,


• Time has come for me to break free and bask in sunshine

• It’s a thought, a thought ones mind has to capture


• It feels unreal and yet it gets to my head so fast.


• In this feeling I drift away and I can’t help but rapture,


• It has all come back to me once again this life of my past.

• So how did I decide to do what I did? Why did I choose to think about whatever I wanted to do? After a lot of introspection I came to a conclusion. A conclusion that made me go back to square one and ask myself a million other questions. Questions that always scraped my mind several times, made me think even more, think harder than before. I started to realize a lot of things had happened in a certain way that I never imagined them to. It turned out that my belief in myself had strengthened but I had lost the passion to dream. A passion which had been the secret of survival throughout my life. This passion was the only thing I had had up until now.

• So let me rethink what I want to do now. I want to figure out a whole lot of things which I believe I should have done long ago. A fresh perspective is what I’m looking for. I also believed in my inner strength, to help me through situations that I had never come across. Sometimes it becomes so difficult for you to trust that inner self of yours and it is so overwhelming that the fear, the insecurity that lies inside of you, casts a huge shadow over your achievements till now. It questions your ability, your belief and your hunger for everything you had so far. This lack of trust compels you to sell yourself short most of the times. Then comes a time when you think, how? How do I break out of this thought?

• A lot of times we have every reason to believe certain abilities that we have, yet a lot of times we are faced with reasonable doubt. A doubt that does not let you break away, let loose or fight the inner self. These are times when we start thinking, start telling ourselves to look for a comfortable place for ourselves. With these myriad feelings inside of us, we have this confusion that seeks to destroy every little ounce of faith inside our hearts.

• So when I do break out of this I know what will help me is that question. A question that I need to ask myself. Am I where I want to be? So how did I decide to do what I did? Why did I choose to think about whatever I wanted to do? Then just let loose….

• © Copyright 2008 Srini. All rights reserved

What is the truth after all?

• She is not real, she is so surreal


• Without my dreams I can't think of anything,


• That I believe in this world is so unreal,


• Without a true sense of world a dream is untold

• One has gone towards the unholiness of the mind,


• One has beleieved that she has gripped all of a kind.


• I can't be wrong if the world is in a dream of it's own,


• That it can't see the myth of the past is yet unknown.

• Who beleives that she will come to rescue us today?


• Beauty is not to be beleived, in words I can't say.


• The touch she has is the best in the world,


• I feel there are no dreams that are untold.

• She is sweet and adorable. She is a beautiful angel who decided to come by my life and give me some solace that I longed forever and sometimes I don’t know where I need to go, yet she knows what I want to say and how I want to express myself. Her every little smile tells me a lot about her belief in every little word that I have to express. She has a beautiful smile, a smile that she knows is deadly yet she knows that I long for her thoughts and dreams that I want to share with her. I don’t believe in something that is untrue and something that is not possible, for I know that the connection we have is much pure and above all the rest. I know she believes in something that is true to both of us. I know we both have a lot in common, yet we don’t want to go to an extent where we start realizing almost everything about ourselves and then lose all the charm of our bond, a bond that I believe is made for a reason.

• Certainly, I know that there is a reason why we have this connection and why we have a certain charm that flows between the both of us. I just don’t understand why life is designed in such a way where all this existence has to be written down in a certain manner where one would clearly understand why this exists and a belief that everyone would want to accept in their own little ways. I don’t realise a bit of this. Why does this happen anyways? Why in such a stage of life where you think you know a little about yourselves, however it feels so difficult to express that knowledge in a way where we believe that this is meant to be, yet it doesn’t happen. Why? Why?

• I know why, for it doesn’t matter what the whole belief and feeling comes by, all that matters is the truth. A truth that changes the entire feeling and entire story. Yet, the most important thing is that she is with me and I feel comfortable with her, most importantly, we know each other so well and we are the best of friends.

© Copyright 2008 Srini. All rights reserved

Where do you want to go?

• Sometimes I wonder, I have never thought of myself as an insightful person. There have been a lot of times where I dream about so many things. I feel there are things out there which no one can explain.

• “Why do I dream?”


• “Who tells me to dream?”


• “Do I know if my dreams will ever be fulfilled?”

• I know these are the questions all of us might have asked ourselves time and again. A lot of time we never find the answers to these questions. There was a time when we were all young, in our mind in our soul. But there are times when we feel lost, and our mind starts ageing. These are the times when we forget our dreams.

• John Lennon was a dreamer and he said all of us can be dreamers too. There was a time when I was a child, my dreams were big. Bigger than my life. That is how I thought life should be and that is how I have always realized life to be. Sometimes I feel when we grow up we forget to live life the way it should be. We get caught in a rut. We stop thinking about the beauty in our heart. We stop getting those butterflies in our stomach. We all grow up to become something we never should have.

• I remember the time when I dreamt of flying airplanes, traveling across different countries, becoming a Prince somewhere in a lost land of the eternity. All these dreams are so long gone. Forgotten for a cause that has no meaning. Forgotten in the hope of achieving something in this ‘New Age.’ An age of material pursuits and sickness. There was a time when I knew I wanted to be free and happy. I knew I had to play all my life. There was a time when I was lost, yet was clear in my thought.

• All that is lost now, for the time has come to sit and think once again.


• “Where do you want to go?”


• “Where do you want to go, Srini, where do you want to go?”

© Copyright 2007 Srini. All rights reserved

The Search continues...

• 9:6 Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.

• True to this century, what is really amazing is the fact that in this world we still don’t care about the possible consequences of shedding a man’s blood. Even today people are willing to shed blood of the brethren for the sake of power, pride, lust, revenge and all that God knew to be the elements within his universe. How is it that there is no remorse? Why is it that there is no choice? What has become of today’s world?

• 9:7 And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.

• God gave us the liberty, a choice a freedom to do him proud. He chose to give us the power, pride, lust and all the elements and asked us to use it at will to bring forth abundantly in the earth. He gave us the ability to multiply and spread the joy and his name throughout the entire earth. But the real question is, what did we choose to do with this power we had?

• 11:4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

• We dreamt of reaching the heaven, where the almighty lived in peace and we still dream of that every one of us. We are not satisfied at what we have and what the Lord has given us. We just want to have it all. We feel shame for being on the very own soil that he gave us with so much of heart. We want to ignore our present and move into a future where we seek higher joys. The real question is, will we find what is most important when we reach that height.

• 11:5 And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.

• The most ironic thing about this is that when we wanted to go to the heights and conquer the world above. God bowed down to his creation and showed his humility and decided to look upon his sons and their creation.

• 11:7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.

• The today’s world may not understand each other’s language yet there are so many things that reach out to each other in this universe. The music, the love, the sports, the knowledge and God himself.

© Copyright 2007 Srini. All rights reserved