Another Mortal Life

1. “Happiness is within.”
Maine dil se kahaa.. dhundh laana khushi..

2. “Wine, Women, and Song”
Thoda daru vich pyar mila de.. nashe diye band botlei.

3. “Rage against the life”:
Tang aa chuke hain kashmakash-e-zindagii se hum..

4. “Pen, paper and piles of trash.”
Pyar ka pehla khat likhne mein waqt to lagta hai..

5. “Far from the madding crowds”
Agar tum mil jaao.. zamaana chhod denge hum

6. “To-do list.”
Kuchh aisa jahaan hum banaayen..

7.“May the will to live never die.”
Jawaan ho yaaron.. ye tumko hua kya!

8. “She came. She knocked. I said “Shit!””
Kya karein kya naa karen ye kaisi mushkil hai..

9. "Actions. Not words.”
Hum labon se keh naa paaye unse haal-e-dil kabhi..

10. "Screw it."
Hai apna dil to awara na jaane kiskis pe aayega..


I tag..

Akshay
Chandni
Chetan
Divesh
Phoenix
Realistic me....
Tapasya
Vartika
vibhav


[Pick 5 phrases from the above list. Write another 5 yourself. Take a break. Then, try to relate each of them to some songs you like (or lines from the middle of such songs) ]

राह-ए-मंजिल पे मेरा हौसला देखकर हैरां ना होना ए दोस्त,
सीखा है बहुत कुछ मैंने आवारगी को मज़हब की तरह जीकर।

लब मुस्कुराए थे मेरे मगर आँखें छलक उठीं थीं
बड़ी कशमकश में था शायद खुदा कल रात।

There is a certain kind of poetry that requires you to have an ultimate hold on the vocabulary of a language.

Sample this..

"Nasha teri aankhon se seekha..
Aawaargi teri zulfon se.
If only I had learnt from your heels
How to walk a thin line..
Gir naa padta main itna joron se."


This shows how frustrating it can be to move ahead of the first two lines if words are not readily available in the database of your brain. But in a way, it's good. It represents head over heels kinda feeling symbolically(:P), and that's the epitome of the feeling. So I guess it will do for the time being. Meanwhile I'm on lookout for words I can use to speak, gentlemanly enough, about everything between the head and the heels too. You know, I can't afford to fall down so much in one single step.

Or, in one single post, for that matter. :P

"You suck at humor, you know.."
"Interesting.."
"That doesn't help, you really do."
"Well, to think of it, it ain't that bad a thing to suck at, you know ;)"
"What?"
"I mean academics in school were such non-sense thing.. how could anybody (like you) suck at them!"
"Now you see.. you're pissed.. I know you can't take it!"
"Pissed?! I just mean humor is such a wonderful thing even to suck at! Ain't it my sportsmanship?"
*no reply for 30 sec.*
"You're impossible! *pause* Btw, you meant only acads?"
"Yes."
"I thought you meant more ;)"
"Like...?"
"That's why I say you suck at humor!"
"Even at my own humor? Impossible, I must say! :P"
".................."
".................................."
.
.
"................................................."
"............."
.
.
"To each his own. Peace."

Yun to rakh sakta hoon shikwe main bahut magar-
Aasaa.n nahi khafa rehna, is jahaa.n khoobsoorati bhare mein

Kabhi laga ik pal mein maine dekhi saari kaarigari khuda ki
Dil kah utha mera- bhar aur na khushi mujh gubbaare mein

Leta hun sukoo.n ki saansen, jaane deta hun jaate lamhon ko
Bah jaate hain jaise baarish, karta hun unka shukriya main

Jaanta hoon ki tum aaj nahiin jaante meri baaton ka sabab
Jaan jaaoge tum bhi ek din zindagi ke safar mein.


[It is almost a translation of a movie dialogue. I really enjoyed this exercise.]

P.S.: If these lines make you feel you've heard them before, try digging up the name of the movie! Should be fun. I'll update this post with the original lines soon.


P.P.S.: The original lines (from 'American Beauty'):

I guess I could be pretty pissed off about what happened to me... but it's hard to stay mad, when there's so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I'm seeing it all at once, and it's too much, my heart fills up like a balloon that's about to burst...
And then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it, and then it flows through me like rain and I can't feel anything but gratitude.. for every single moment.. of my stupid little life...
You have no idea what I'm talking about, I'm sure. But don't worry... you will someday.

.. I'm rather comfortable with the stones I deserve. A masochist as I'm slowly turning into, I sometimes tend to even enjoy them. But whenever I try to come across as someone who appreciates the reasons for all these stones, people just get very liberal with the stoning. The thing is, when you cross the limits, the others might cross them too. Now, where is my bucket of stones?

.. You tell me that you think God exists. I say 'Ok!'. Then you tell me that this feeling has worked wonders for you. I say, 'Great! Happy for you!'. Then you tell me that this proves God exists. Are we kidding? No, seriously..are we?

.. Sometimes, it gets really difficult to get your point across. Sometimes even a simple smile can characterize you as a smart mouth. The worst thing you can offer to a person confused about your intentions is a misplaced smile.

Silly. This won't matter an iota in my life, but I really want to remember this moment. This 11:35 pm.

And nothing happened. I haven't stumbled upon some great song/article/news. Nor have I had any conversation in the last one hour. Nor has anybody descended from heaven or hell to cure or aggravate my problems.

Nothing, happened.


Update (the next day)
Physiologically, some muscles broke.
Cortically, some shock was registered.
Psychologically, some circles shrank.
Nonetheless, some stress was released.

Fact File:

"Got to spend one more semester here."

Reason 1: A semester withdrawal in first year.
Reason 2: Messing up with the only first-year course that was still left, in this semester. Bunked quizzes. Virtually zero studies.
Reason 3: An attendance F in an RDL course this semester.

If there wasn't the Reason 2, I'd have been the usual whiner you know me as. But now I can't even whine! Such is life.

I shouldn't have tried for a seven semester degree. That was too much burden for my meagre academic abilities (and interests). Could've had a chill-pill right from the first year. Everybody spends eight sems after all.

Read this on Phoenix's blog some time back:
"In the end, life is not a war that you have to win. Life is just this moment, this one-fist-joy, one-fist-sorrow, this flickering hope, this affectionate pain, this paradox. They say sometimes winning is the only thing. I would like to disagree...it never ever is everything. And thank God for that. I maybe a loser, but I have what really matters and what I really need, at the end of it all. It feels great. Thanks."

I liked these lines but I didn't know what was it that I liked about that post as a whole. Now I think it's not just about a written piece, it's also about how the reader interprets it for himself. (BTW, these lines gave me a feeling of deja vu that day, and so I googled like crazy and I didn't spare any 'memorable quotes' page on IMDb. All in vain though :P )

Another line that has been coming back to my mind often these days is from the old pages of my own blog:
"My worst fears never come true. Never ever. Must thank God for that."

As much as I kept quiet, I wanted to be a poet.

Chetan and I have started a new poetry blog. Looking forward to see you there.

IIM C awaits me with open arms. But I'm entangled in a lousy love affair with IITD that won't end anytime soon.

Song of the day: Mad World.
... And I find it kind of funny
I find it kind of sad
The dreams in which I'm dying
Are the best I've ever had.