Countdown to Me!

Here’s a chance to know me better…

10 things I want to do before I die!

Ride a really really fast roller coaster

Own a Ferrari (a scarlet one at that)

Drive a Formula One car

Travel to so many places... read further for more on this!

Gift my parents a World Tour thingy ;-)

Learn a foreign language, and I mean learn and not bunk classes and still get a certificate (thank you Alliance Francaise)

Own a house in a meadow, close to a river with snow-capped mountains visible from the bedroom

Bungee jumping
Sky diving
Fly

9 places I would love to see!

Egypt - Pyramids, Sphynx

China - Great Wall, Forbidden City

Moscow - Red Square

Rajasthan - I've heard the Lake Palace in Udaipur is awesome! ;-)

California - Hollywood
Agra - Taj Mahal
Brazil – Christ, the Redeemer
Australia – Sydney Opera House, Sydney Harbor Bridge
Scotland – Loch Ness

8 things I am good at (and I don't mean career skills! :))
Cracking PJs
Being optimistic
Driving
Smiling

Acting dumb :-P

Jumping around and breaking stuff

Swimming

Cooking (I hope :-))

7 things which attract me to a girl :))
Long hair
Cute face
Self reliance
Intelligence
Happy-go-lucky nature
Slim body
A "never say die" attitude

6 things I just can't do!

Iron clothes

Be serious

Put a night-out

Fly (...not yet!)

Say "No" to a request

Plan things well in advance

5 of my favorite lyrics
"roke tujhko aandhiyan, ya zameen aur aasman...paayega jo lakshya hai tera" from the movie Lakshya
"Zindahi ki yahi reet hai...haar ke baad hi jeet hai, thode aansoo hain, thodi hansi...aaj ghum hai to kal hai khushi" from the movie Mr. India
I don't wanna miss a thing - Aerosmith
Nothing's gonna change my love for you - Glen Medeiros
Where is the love - Black Eyed Peas

4 things I say the most!
Waa….aaahhh
Sahi
Mujhe kya pata/Pata nahin
Dumass

3 things that pick me up
Sunlight - and mountains, cliffs, trees: for Mother Nature
Adventure
Challenges

2 most memorable trips
Eurotrip during exchange, Goa – something special!

1 person I dedicate this blog to
the King!!

Monkey Shines

How many times have you heard the phrase "Stop this monkey business!" and immediately stopped whatever naughty thing you were upto? Have you ever thought how such association of mischeavous behavior with the term "monkey bunsiness" can be degrading to us monkeys? Today, let me give you an insight into what monkey business is all about and then you might realize that it is not easy to be a monkey!

We monkeys have only a few syllables that constitute our entire language. They are hu,hoo; he, hee; ku koo and khe khee. Now imagine speaking to each other with just a combinations of these 8 syllables. No wonder half our days are spent trying to say what you humans can do in 1 minute. For certain sentences, by the time we reach the 20th syllable, we have lost track of the first ten. Oh, so you want us to improve our language! Why should we? It's not that we are running out of time or we will achieve something great by finishing all our chores by mid-day. What are our chores? Oh, I'm sorry, I should have started with that. We monkeys have only one ritual, hukukuhekhee, which you guys know as social grooming (I wonder, who translates monkey's into your language for you guys?). The good thing about it is that it runs 24X7, 365 days a year. Through it, we find out who is putting which tree's lotion in their ears, whose skin is the darkest, who has the highest hair density on her back or who attracts the most exotic of the bugs around. Afterall, we do not have Matrimonials on Sundays and this is how word about the most eligible bachelor and the most wanted damsel spreads in our community.

We are happy with the way things are going for us, although it seems you humans are not so happy. God gave you humans the sharpest brains (although only a little more than ours, thank you!) and colored vision, which you used to create buildings, work culture and invent so many things. God was not totally ufair; he gave us something that you guys don't have - a tail. When we see you watching television, we look at our tails. When we see you wearing all the nice clothes, we look at our tails. You can have your buildings, your games, your cars... we have our tails! Recently, a fellow monkey in our community was awarded the King Kong Prize for inventing yet another use of our prized posession - a 'tail' joke. It goes as follows:

Q: Why are we monkeys so much better than humans at telling stories?

A: It's because we are always ready with a 'tail'!

Q: Why is the most beautiful damsel's story more popluar?

A: Because it's a fairy tail!

Q: Why is the story of Rapunzel so popular amogst the best groomers in our community?

A: Because it's a hairy tail!

Funny, aren't they? It might be tough for you to understand the true meaning of the creation. If you were unable to understand it, I will help you out - you were supposed to laugh. I know, it can be tough as you need to have an undestanding of art to appreciate such a masterpiece. I have also heard that the term "copy cats" has been catching on in your literature while it is actually we monkeys who are the true imitators in this world. There are few things left in this world that we do to spend our time and without it, we will stop having a purpose, and what is life without purpose? (Oh yes, we have watched Matrix as well). Why don't you spend some more time to try and comprehend the inner beauty of the 'tail' jokes while I devise a plan to protect our birth-right to imitate from the cats. Until then, goodbye, sayonara, au revoir, tschus, hukukoo!

My Tryst with Objectivism

The first time I heard about it, it was from my brother - " If you think this is fat, check out Ayn Rand's books!". Then there was a long break before it resurfaced in the form of recommendations from two of my very close (and even more literary) friends. Still, the sheer size of the book managed to dissuade me from lifting it (you can't pick up an Ayn Rand, you have to lift it) till very recently. Then Mr. Greenspan joined my friends in praising the lady through his book, The Age of Turbulence, but my friends' (yes, the same literary ones') attempts to stop me from reading it later on, saying it would change me forever and they did not want me to change, served as the final nail in the coffin. As luck would have it, I found Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged in my dad's old worn out closet (that he so lovingly calls his library), and I started the process of discovering objectivism. Should I be scared? Books can't change me...or can they?
Today, a very dear friend of mine said she was confused and I volunteered to help her clear her doubts. Actaully, I know I could not have helped her much, as she is one of the most level-headed persons I have ever met, but I know she loves to talk about things like these - afterall, these are matters of Love! Now, I can't discuss the thing we actually talked about, but in the end, I gave her a suggestion which sounded very selfish to me then. Even my friend agreed that it was not a very nice thing to do (she actually used a much stronger word ;-) ) but I said that when the next 50 years of your life are at stake, it is okay to be a little selfish!
Rewind a couple of weeks - a friend of mine was very sad because his close friend's marriage had been called off, just weeks before he was supposed to tie the knot. The girl had found someone else. Back then, I don't think any of us approved of what had happened, but was there a better way out? Didn't the girl save her and the guy's future by not entering into a relationship which she knew had lost its foundation... and she had the right to ensure her happiness before the guy's, didn't she? Or did she? At such a price? But then, is there a price for happiness? Before a week had passed, I heard that both of them were actually doing much better than expected (thank God!).
Tonight, I think the girl had done the right thing. Instead of living a lie for the rest of her life, she had the courage to face the truth and come clean without the fear of society, friends and relatives. She was selfish in leaving her earlier boyfriend for someone else, weeks before their marriage , but was it wrong?
One week back, I would have said Yes; today I say No. Is this Ayn Rand's doing? Can she really influence the minds of young, educated people, even after her death? Is this the strength of books and thoughts? Am I better person now than I was a week back? Will I be more successful in life now? Just 100 pages into the book and it has my head reeling with these thoughts. But I am not the one to give up, to get scared and hide myself from radical ideas. I am a free bird, which knows where its home is, but doesn't mind migrating to places where the wind might take it. Bring it on Ms. Rand, I am ready for you!

The Day That Was!

Today is April Fool's Day...a double edged sword! I don't know if you have felt it or not, but if all your attempts to make a fool of others are constantly thwarted, you tend to get the feeling that you are yourself the biggest fool around. Oh no, it wasn't me! I was speaking generally, voicing the emotions of those numerous poor souls who have been through this experience. I, on the other hand, am an expert in this art. So what if my pranks lack the creativity of a genius? Atleast my "Mom, dash dash is on fire!" got my mom to take a look at dash dash more than once. My mom got so tired of my numerous pranks today that she actually locked me outside my house. Ofcourse, later she tried to explain that she had locked the door and had gone to sleep but I, the smart one, am not so easily fooled, eh! Still, it is not the end of the day yet and I will have the last laugh. Here it comes... MuHuHahahaaa. What were you expecting - that I would pull a better prank than that? Lol! That's funny! ;-)