How to flip a Parotta and make a fool of yourself in the process.

My first and last YouTube video. Was totally unintentional. But what the hell!

Flowers and bricks welcome! :) 

My Bucket List!

Having a bucket list is really exciting. Like really. But you've got to want to do them before you go poof. It’s not a grocery list ya! So since school days, I've been accumulating some things I want to do in life. The ones stroked out are ones I've done. Duh! 

1) Learn to play an instrument. Anything. At least a triangle! 
2) Go on a road trip. 
3) Run a marathon. 
4) Get a tattoo.  Finally got an Om tattoo. It might sound clichéd. But it’s something I believe in and it gives me immense strength. 
5) Visit The Louvre. Honeymoon should be to France only I think. God, give me a rich wife no? 
6) Sky Diving. 
7) Cook a three course meal for someone special. 
8) Scuba Diving. Honestly, I was inspired by ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’.
9) Bungee Jump. 
10) Buy a car with my own money. 
11) Visit the Golden Temple, Amritsar.
12) Meet someone famous. I consider Anil Kumble famous okay!
13) Have a pet dog. 
14) Have a recreation room in my house. With a pool table and a bar in the corner. 
15) Buy a drink for a random stranger. I’m not quite sure if I did this or not. :P

Why am I writing this? I'd like to believe that it keeps me motivated. Hope it inspired you in some way. 

Cheers! 

Dear 2013..

Dear 2013,

Let me tell you why this is the worst year of my life as far as I can remember.

I made lots of friends but I also lost many. There were many misunderstandings which could’ve been solved over a bottle of whiskey, but that didn’t happen. Some I never know when I’d see them ever again.

I found love, lost it, found it, lost it and so on. Maybe it wasn’t love in the first place. Maybe it wasn’t meant to be.

I learnt it the hard way that I should not trust everyone in life. I have trust issues now and I’m very insecure about sharing my innermost feelings with anyone.

I’ve never missed an exam in my life and it didn’t feel nice. Lucky for me, I cleared it later.

I missed so many close friends’ engagements and weddings.

There were unforeseen circumstances because of which my stay in the UK was cut short. I also missed my graduation. You sucked, 2013. Big time!

I've been job hunting for three months now. So many false hopes happened along the way.

I’ve been indoors throughout December, the most exciting month of the year. 

You still have 4 days left and I’m pretty sure I’ll be indoors. So there’s no chance of a truck running over me and making it worse.

So 2013, you were a bitch and a half. I wish 2014 will be better than you in every sense possible.

Sincerely,

Raj Bhargav

P.S.  Not meant to offend anyone, living or dead. Apologies if it did! 

Paranoia..

“Good Night madam!”, said the doorman opening the door for her. She gave him a customary nod. She could sense him staring at her as she hurriedly left the building. It was late. She checked the time..it was 15 minutes past midnight. Not a cab in sight. 

The roads were eerily silent at this time of the night. She decided to walk towards her home..maybe an auto or a cab would pass by and she could take a ride from there. There was not much street light as well. She walked in the little light which fell on the footpath. Her mobile torch was useless. There was no battery anyway. 

She wanted to distract herself from all the thoughts in her mind. Ever since she left office, the fear of being kidnapped, raped or hit-run cases filled her mind. Her pace quickened as these thoughts took control of her mind. ‘This is crazy. I’m being paranoid. Just a few blocks and I’ll be home in no time’ she said to herself in an effort to calm herself. The only sound she could hear, was from her own jewellery. Her bangles made the clanging sound as she swung her arms to walk. She removed the bangles and kept them in her handbag because she didn’t want to scare herself with it nor did she want unwanted attention from the people who were sleeping on the footpath. 

She could hear a dog bark at a distance. She liked dogs she thought, trying to distract herself. She had to turn left at a corner. When she did, she felt strange. She thought she saw someone at a distance behind her. She took a few steps back and look around the corner to see only an empty street barring the few people on the footpath. ‘I’m imagining things now. Great. Or am I?’ , she was literally jogging now. Just one more block and she would reach. 

She heard a bike at a distance behind her. She took out her phone and began talking. The bike slowed down next to her, and then sped away. ‘Phew. That was close’, she said to herself. There were two guys on the bike and both stared at her thinking maybe she was a call girl. Her thoughts have now become assumptions. She knew she was losing it. 

She reached her apartments. The watchman was asleep. She pressed the button for the elevator. As soon as she entered, she pressed the close button. The doors were closing, when suddenly an arm came in between to stop the doors from closing. She let out a deafening scream that echoed the ground floor. She closed her eyes and swung her arms around so that the person could not get a grip on her. She knew she lost the battle when someone had held her hands firmly.

 “Pooja !! Stop screaming.. it’s me, Varun !”. It was her husband. She hugged him and began sobbing. “I was worried” she said, now crying heavily. “I know. I know”, he said brushing her hair. They reached their flat. She took a sleeping pill and lied down, watching her husband close the door. Soon she was asleep. 

Varun closed the door and took out his phone and dialled a number. 

Varun : “Doctor, it’s me, Varun. Sorry to disturb you at this hour.”

Doctor : “Its okay Varun. Tell me.. is Pooja okay ?”

V : I am afraid not Doctor. Its happened again.

D : What do you mean ? Its almost a year since she had a breakdown. She takes her medicines on time, doesn’t she ? 

V : Yes Doctor. I left the apartment to have a smoke. She left the apartment in the meantime. I didn’t realize the building had a new watchman as well. The previous one knew about Pooja’s disorder. He wouldn’t let her out. Luckily she came back into the building.

D : *sigh* Okay. I guess we have to start the treatment all over again tomorrow. Bring her in tomorrow. Take care then. Good Night Varun. 

V : Will do. Good Night Doctor. 

Varun kept the phone on the table and went to bed. He saw his wife sleep peacefully. Poor Pooja has been suffering from paranoia ever since our son was killed by a truck right before her eyes. He kissed her on her forehead. He closed his eyes and went to sleep knowing tomorrow was a big day.

The End.

The Wake Up Call..

“There is no other option”, he said to himself after gulping down the hard whiskey. Abhi‘s mind was all over the place. He had the perfect family, a good job and a good apartment. He had it all, he thought. He picked up the pile of papers on the table. The words ‘Expired’, ‘Debt’, ‘Due’, “mortgage’ were flashing in big bold letters before him. 

He slumped down on his chair. He knew he had to end it all because there was no escape from what may happen. He’ll lose his beautiful flat, his friends and soon he would not be able to provide for his family and they too would eventually leave him. He lost all hope.There was no way out except one.

He was scared. He’s heard of people who’ve done it. But never in his wildest dreams did he think that he’d be in this situation. He thought of ways to do it. There was nothing in the house which could help him. He didn’t want to make it messy either. With a grim smile, he thought ‘Maybe taking an apartment on the 9^th floor was not a bad idea after all’ surprised at his little sense of humour even in his last few minutes. Just a leap, and that should end it.

He poured another glass of whiskey, because he needed the extra courage. Drank it all in one gulp.  Time to put an end to all the misery and let his family live in peace.  ‘Varsha and the kids would be sad. But they’ll understand why their father did it. Varsha will hate me for it. But I couldn’t tell her. I didn’t want to ask her father for money, it wasn’t fair. I’m sure she’ll understand too’. He knew it was time. He never really did have a choice. With that he closed his eyes to picture his family one last time who were sound asleep in the bedroom.

.

.

.

.

.

“...up Abhi! Its 8’o clock! Don’t you have office today’? Get up. Again you fell asleep on the couch!” yelled Varsha. “Sorry..had some work” murmured Abhi who was in a confused state of mind. He rubbed his eyes and began recollecting the events of the previous night. He fell asleep...on the night he thought he would end his.. “Bye papa” screamed two kids who gave a kiss each, on either of his cheeks and ran out the door with their school bags, breaking his flow of thought. There was a sudden rush of happiness in him. The kind he never felt before. He went to Varsha, hugged her and gave her a peck on the cheek and headed to the shower to get ready for work. “What’s goten into you ?” she asked, surprised at her husband’s sudden sign of affection. 

“You have no idea! Get ready..we’re going to meet your dad” he replied with profound enthusiasm. He knew what’s been given to him. A second chance...to live with his perfect family!

Walk down memory lane..

In the silence of the night, I walked alone..

Headphones plugged in, my mind was blown,

With emotions so heavy, I could not carry..

I could never forget her, she was such a fairy.

I often wondered, how life would have been,

If our differences and problems were not seen. 

Perhaps my life would have had more colour,

If only I could tell her once more, how much I loved her. 

I could not have altered, what happened on that day,

I did what I could, but HE had his say. 

Hanging on our memories, I managed to pull through..

Flooded with an emptiness , I somehow grew. 

My walk came to an end, when I looked at the moon.

I knew she was waiting..I knew I'd meet her soon.


- Raj.A.B

Kahaani Ki Kahaani.. *No spoilers*

Kahaani

Director : Sujoy Ghosh
Cast : Vidya Balan , Parambrata Chatterjee , Nawazuddin Siddiqui.

Just like any other morning, I read the Metro Plus (you-know-where) , when I noticed the ad of Kahaani below the comic strips. It said that Kahaani was "the most anticipated bollywood movie of the year", even when 3/4th of the year is still pending. *Quickly does the math*
Frankly, a lot of people were looking forward to the movie, adding to the hype set ablaze on Twitter. I decided to watch the movie as soon as I could. Because lets face it, most of the movies you look forward to,these days,are ruined because of a few stupid jackasses who cannot keep their trap shut. So thanks to *PVR's brilliant android app, I booked tickets for the first day, first show which was at 4.45pm ! Had it been a Kamal/Rajini starrer, it would have been 6am. Sigh !

The movie starts off with a good pace involving a gas leak in a subway train. So now we know what we're dealing with. Enters Vidya Bagchi, a pregnant woman from London, in search of her husband who comes to Kolkata and goes missing. With a bit of help from the local police, she digs deeper and deeper only to find herself trapped in a secret government operation. This probably is the only way I could summarize the movie without giving away any spoilers. In my opinion, Kahaani has the best climax scene I've ever seen in Bollywood cinema. It leaves you awestruck,dumbfounded, Mind-f****d..whatever you wish to call it. I needed a good ten seconds to digest it.

Gripping from the start, the movie progresses with a steady pace with no dull moments in the movie.Since the story is set in Kolkata, there are bits and pieces of Bengali, but it'll all fall in place. Vidya Balan continues to dazzle the audience after The Dirty Picture whose extra-weight was probably an added advantage for this role. She could not have done more justice to it. Parambrata and Nawazuddin, also deliver good performances as local police, who to an extend, do the good cop/bad cop routine. Overall, the casting was perfect.

The ending could not have been better. especially with Amitabh Bachan's Godly voice singing 'Ekla Cholo Re'. no idea what it means though. The movie does leave you in peace. But most likely, you would still be fixing the jigsaw puzzle, even while walking out of the theatre. An intense movie you do not want to miss !

Rating : 4/5

Free advice : Watch it before the spoilers are out or there is NO fun in watching. None. Zilch. Nada.
You get the point.

*Was not paid to advertise