Words that make you smile :)

Those old message archives containing those smile-inducing conversations, always have their place in your heart.

An invisible hand hits the Rewind button in your head.

You go back to the time, place and situation when that particular conversation took place. You compare it with the situation now. A wave of nostalgia washes over you. You laugh if it's funny. But you become sober, once you realise you are not in touch with the person anymore. The reason for that could be anything. Academics. Job. Misunderstandings. New friends. Changes, in general.

I chance upon a year old chat conversation on the Yahoo message archive.

I smile. I laugh. I smile again, because I know in this case, nothing has changed. It's the same situation. I hope it remains the same. I hope we stay in touch for a long time to come.

Cheers to our friendship.

This I dedicate to one of my really close friends, Saif. :)

Goodbye 2011

With only a few more days left for the year to end, I'm confused. Do I feel glad that this year is finally coming to an end? Or do I feel depressed and plead it to rewind, in order to undo all those instances of foolishness and probably change some decisions too? Not that it's gonna ever happen. Just wishful thinking after all.

Cliched but true, you can't really dwell on the past. I'd prefer keeping a backup of all the good memories and overwrite on the bad ones. :)

THE AWESOME HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR

• The twelfth grade farewell party (the after party technically speaking :P), in February. The eagerness to adorn a saree, the overwhelming compliments, the excitement that hung about the air that evening, escaping the school grounds right under the teachers' nose, dancing to Sheila Ki Jawani over and over again, hooting, screaming, going hysterical, clicking photographs, tears and goodbyes .I realised I would miss school, especially Junior College, my friends, the campus and the teachers (to some extent :P). The sudden pang of sadness I felt after it ended, was unforgettable.
  
  
• Of love, hearts and the like.  February, 3 A.M in the morning, a phone call and an extremely sweet message which will always remain in my head. The beginning of rosy days :).
  
  
• Bye Bye BOARDS! The sense of freedom I felt once the gloomy cloud of Board examinations had cleared, was awesome. Sunshiny days of April. :)
  
  
• Watching India win the world cup! Oye Balle Balle Shava Shava!
  
  
• Discovering my writing skills. Credit goes to Akoustik! :)
  
  
•  Sàwàtdi Thailand!
  A well deserved, week long getaway to Pattaya and Bangkok, in May. Family time, para sailing, underwater sea walk, safari, SHOPPING and Tom Yum soup.
  
  
• Madness with Sammy and Vedant! I had fun babysitting my extremely cute cousins who flew down to India from Seattle this June. I love you both! :)
  
  
• A successful treatment :). Nothing could more relieving than seeing my grandfather respond well to Chemotherapy. Less stress, more smiles and gratitude to God's grace.
  
  
• New friendship and the craziness that lasted from June to August. Adding the Buge twins on Facebook, actually meeting them when they flew down to Pune from Minnesota, was a great experience :). More friends, more fun, Coffee, Pictionary, prank calls, hysterics, clicking pictures and other random stuff.
  I miss you both!
  
  
• Turning Eighteen!
  The most memorable birthday ever. I can't thank my family and friends enough, for making my day so special.
  
  
•  Dio :D
  My biggest birthday present was my bike (scooty sounds lame), Dio. I feel relieved to be freed from the dependance on rickshaws and buses. Whew!
  
  
• Friendship
  I found a best friend in Saudamini Oke, my school buddy. Ironically, we got to know each other after school ended. College hunting, late night chats, jamming, singing, coffee, writing, break ups and other such ups and downs, played a major role. We found comfort in each other's company and all I have to say to her is, I love you Sodapops! :)
   
• The Weekender!
  November 18th. Amazing-paisa-vasool-rocking experience which ensured that everyone, from the artists and audience to the volunteers, had a blast. Check out my post on this one. :)
  http://ak-ou-stik.blogspot.com/2011/12/live-gig-at-last.html
  
  
• The Girl from Australia
  My best friend is back! Well at least for two months. Hello happy days! :)
  
  
• The best Christmas weekend
  I don't celebrate Christmas, but, the festive air, a house packed with relatives, movies, shopping, wine, cake and delicious food was indeed some sort of celebration. :)
  
  The year isn't over yet. New year's eve is yet to come. Another addition to the happy list. :)
  
  P.S : 2012. The year when the world comes to an end. Gaah to Roland Emmerich. Let me graduate before that happens.
  
  

A stupid conscience

Why can't I be mean to anybody without experiencing this gnawing sense of GUILT, post meanness?

Random person X doesn't entertain lengthy conversations and cuts me off midway.

I try to induce some dryness in my response. Some rudeness. Try to give X a taste of his/her own medicine.

Later, I feel

Guilty.

A letter to my blog

Dear Akoustik,
The year is drawing to close. Every year brings with it, some new elements, that maybe pleasant or unpleasant. As I contemplate over the elements that have surfaced this year, I realise you have been one major element, one that has helped in encouraging my skills at writing. Thank you :)

You are a significant part of Me. My first ever stint at writing. You instilled some confidence in me and helped me vent out a potpourri of emotions, be it delight, nostalgia, sadness, excitement, anger or frustration. My close friends admire you. You are special. A loyalist. I know you are going to be there for me irrespective of other changes that will take place in this much-hyped turbulent journey called Life. (unless Blogger decides to shut down, which will be the most unfortunate day of my life.).

I hope my posts get better as time passes. So that you become a better entity. :)

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year in advance.

All I have to say is,

I love you

Cheers,
A.K. :)

Deja Vu.

हर साल वोही कहानी ...

It's been happening since the past three years. Ever since 2008, to be precise.

Enter Mr.X.

Not necessarily a guy over whom I end up having a major crush on.

Friend's friend. Friend's brother. Friend's boyfriend.

He seems to find me interesting.

Initially he associates me with words like Sensible.Smart.Sweet.Pretty.Cute.Fun-loving.

No one's perfect. A very cliched line I know.

Soon he realises that I have flaws. That I don't put up with bull****.

Scene change.

Now he associates me with words like Annoying.Short-tempered.A wee bit frank.Abrasive.Nagging.

Leaves Mr.X.

A live gig at last!

An air of excitement.
An ever-increasing crowd swarming around the heavily lit stag like fireflies attracted to a glowing lantern.
Getting mobbed and elbowed by people.
Claustrophobia coupled with anticipation.
Screaming oneself hoarse as the band members/ artistes make their entry.
Hooting and cheering that would split your eardrums.
Craning your neck to a get at least a glimpse of your favorite artiste or band.
Jumping up and down, swaying to the tunes.
Bellowing loudspeakers that make your heart bounce up and down.
Dancing in drunken stupor.
The smell of weed and tobacco hanging heavily in the air.
When beer breath fans on your face.
Oblivious couples getting cozy and romantic, in the midst of Imogen's performance.
ENCORE!
Headbanging!
Exclaiming, "That was the SHIZ dude!", as the show comes to an end.

Summed it up pretty well I guess.

I have never watched any band perform live. I experienced it for the first time at the 'Nh7 Weekender' music festival, a fortnight ago. It was brilliant. Unfortunately I couldn't attend all three days of the festival; ended up missing out on gigs performed by 'Indian Ocean', 'Scribe', 'Swarathma' and the likes. Boy, was that disappointing. However, watching Imogen Heap, 'Raghu Dixit Project', 'Advaita' and 'Soulmate' perform was great and we did enjoy ourselves thoroughly.

One gets to see all sorts of characters at such events.

The ardent music lovers who definitely know what fusion, folk, alternative, electronica, metal and jazz is about. Then you find the wannabe music lovers who pretend to lip sync Imogen's 'Speeding Cars' and have a fake-mesmerized look plastered on their faces when Advaita's Ujjwal Nagar sings his 'aalaaps'. You see the mindless hooters, who yell "ONCE MORE!" after every song. The crazy drunks who head bang to jazz tunes. Also those, whose faces are covered by a cloud of cigarette smoke. The poor souls who have been dragged to this show by their friends, openly show their lack of interest, by fiddling with their cellphones whilst the frenzied crowd jumps to Raghu Dixit's 'Mysore se aayi'. Amidst all the various sounds, you also hear the passionate cynics' annoying buzz. "Haha, do you call that singing? Imogen sucks bigtime!".  I have mentioned the romantic couples who make themselves conspicuous by indulging in passionate embraces and kisses.

Ah! these shows are not as unadulterated as they seem to be at first.

I wasn't a big fan of indie music earlier, but now I definitely am. Also, I can confidently say that I belong to the category of ardent music lovers. Yes. Yes.

First.When you experience anything for the first time, it never fades from your mind . The most memorable. Be it good or bad.

It really was the SHIZ.