Q & A

The very first moment this idea came to mind I thought, ‘Damn! It’s cool.’ Believe me, it’s like a great therapy which unless tried is not well understood. It’s not obviously a quiz or a reality show from the TV soaps which has made the life of many a one remarkably miserable recently where people haplessly spend their valuable time and money not knowing what to do in a hope to make it to way too big in life. But this is much bigger than that and also much simpler which works with magical effects. Actually it does not take more than a moment to realize that it’s indeed a wonderfully fun filled little game that you can play anytime and then die laughing while holding your stomach in your hands. Now before any more bullshit craps you need to know what is this first of all, haan? Well, this is a list of few questions that you got to ask yourself. Now the questions can literally relate to any topic that you can think of - wired, goofy or sloppy. The uglier the sexier, the creepier the better. Depends completely on you, how screwed up your thoughts can be!

Now that’s not all. Once you have found a question to ask yourself please note it down in a piece of paper. Now comes the better part. Human mind works faster, faster than even our thoughts. The moment you found a question your mind will also prompt an answer to it at that very moment and it will be associated to a certain outbreak of expression and emotion that would come out as a result of that question which you would have felt that moment. So what you have to do next is put a single character like %,@,!,?,* as a result of that expression for the question and then note down the answer also that your mind prompted to you that very moment. Now remember, Don’t really start thinking a lot in a way that you know, you want to find the best answer to that question. To make it really interesting just take the first impression that you had about the question. Now ask yourself another question, may be on the same lines or something that will make you feel crazier. Follow this process and try to find a few more questions and answers to those. Once you have done this keep that piece of paper away for sometime. Go, take a walk. Come back and now read out the questions and those answers that you just finished a moment back. How does it work? You will start wondering that could you really ask yourself those questions in a normal situation and more surprisingly if that would have been the same answers you would have given if someone else had asked those questions where you don’t get much time to think about. Now this can be a very funny experience at times. Other times you might not feel very good but remember, hey! That could have been a real awkward situation when faced in front of others. Now at least you have a second thought over it. How does it help? This helps because it brings out the questions those haunt us mostly, questions that we find to address most difficult or question that we really don’t want to deal with in a fear to let others know about it. But your subconscious mind will surface only those questions that really worry you all the time. Normally you will find it tough to voice them but this way you might just end up finding it much easier. And as we said, mind is spontaneous. So it will always tell you what actually you want to do in such a situation. Guess the better part of this; if you can share this with someone very close who knows you well will appreciate this and make you feel better. He might laugh at it, but isn’t it the best part of this whole thing?

To give a small example I will list down few questions that I asked myself one fine day. To have an idea why those questions came to my mind that day you need to know only this much. After fighting with some real life problems at home and at work recently life seemed very monotonous that day, not that it was better earlier. The feeling was always there, ‘Man. This is not working! To hell with this life. I need a change.’ So I said, Well since you need a change what can you do to make it feel more exiting and adventurous. Now after that, the questions or thoughts that came to my mind, I would have never though of ever considering them. But they came because all the time they are there somewhere at the back of my mind and which were to be answered in near future. May be in a different way but at that moment the answers looked like these.

- Q: (Do you want to) Get married - (`? `– initial reaction) A: What? Have you gone nuts? That’s what scares you most and now you want to get married! Moron. Don’t even think about it. Moreover, go first find a girl who knows you truly.

- Q: (How about) Buy a House – (`!` ) A: He he he! You ***, you don’t have enough dough to buy a plot now and you want to have a House. Holy shit! But, but I always wanted to have a big house of mine. Yeah, yeah all that dreams and all, long way to go boy!

- Q: (Can you) Change the job – (*) A: Now you have really proven that you are big time mad! People don’t have a job these days and roaming around the streets to make some money. You want to switch your job! Go die in hell.

- Q: (Finally) Leave everything and leave – (` `) A: That’s the last you could have asked man. Yes, I know, but I always wanted to do something else. This is not where I want to be. What is that something else? You don’t know what you want to do. You don’t even try to do those things that interest you. Where will you go and what will you do leaving all these?

Note: What kind of an opinion you develop of me from these questions and answers that I leave up to you. But that’s what exactly my mind told me when I asked those questions and it could not have felt better at that moment. :-)

The End; And the Beginning

What a Season? What a Drama? What High Adrenalin driven action? What a way to end the season? And what a finish line all the way to the last two minutes and then the dying five seconds? Need any more? Yeah, this was the end to the 2008 F1 racing season at Interlagos at Brazil.

Every looser becomes a better Hero than the winner. Lewis was the winner, but Massa was not the looser. He was the champ for the 90 thousand people present in the circuit yesterday and he was the champ of thousands of Ferrari fans across the world and I thought, yeah, bet he is the CHAMP.

Lewis deserved it. No question about that. He was unlucky last year, like Massa this time. This season also he dominated most of the time and was a way ahead of others by the third quarter of the season. But it was meant to be a High Dramatic, never ending breath taking finale. And there was twists, turns in every lap, every corner of the 4.3km lap at Interlagos this Sunday. However, in the end Lewis seemed to be the triumphed one above all the possibilities and become the new youngest champion of the world.

But Hail Massa! What determination, what a character. He was sitting in the pole no doubt and had the best start with a flying lap. But there was always a chance with rain playing the spoiled child. And then Sebastian Vettel was always pushing him from the back with less than 2 seconds delay. Hamilton was always hovering around fourth to sixth position. The last pit stop of five and half seconds was just perfect a strategy to put him back in front of others with five laps to go. Still it needed a miracle for him to see to the very end, to the finish which thousands of people were expecting to see. A joint but individual effort from Kubica and Vettel saw Hamilton down to sixth position with just two laps to finish. The stadium roared and my heart beat tripled at night 12.30 sitting in front of the TV alone. Massa cruised and followed him from behind Alonso and Raikkonen. Hamilton pushed and pushed but Vettel was now in fourth position and Glock was between them driving dangerously on a rainy wet last lap. As Massa crossed the finish line a volcano erupted in the stadium and I pumped the fist. Vettel crossed and then in the last corner of the finish line unfolded the most unwanted drama of the season. Glock ran out of air for the last few meters and Hamilton crossed him to touch the line fifth, just what he needed. And the history was overwritten twice in a period of three minutes.

I think Massa wished he could cry out loud with a scream from his heart. But how could he? It was his home ground and he was in front of his own people. And he was the winner for that day. Luck was not quite his side but he had his share of glory and gave Ferrari its precious constructor’s trophy. He is the Champ.

* * *

Thousands of Hearts cried with Massa today. They have their right to do so being a true Ferrari or Massa fan. But I found some kind of wired and interesting similarity between him and me today. I too lost not one but quite a few races of my life today. I lost more in last few days. But today at 12.30 in the night all these has just added up to a few more new dimensions to my life. There is a long race ahead and a very important one. It has been quite dull and down till now, but now its time to wake up, burn brightly and illuminate all the way along.

* * *

A Few Drops from the afternoon …

It’s been one of those bad days, from the morning. In fact hell of a bad day it was. It's that kind of a day when nothing seems to happening well or anything is working out for you. A moments lack in concentration, a small mistake made the life difficult. The mind freezes and the brain is damaged. Moreover, the hang over from yesterday’s workout is also taking a toll till now. Both mornings the eyes opened with a little hope of finding new meanings to life and laugh. But it did not turn out to be quite that way.

After enough of mind and soul ripping through the afternoon finally I decided to go out and do something else. The first step out of the building brought with it the freshness and the soft touch of the wind for which the hunt was on since some time. The sky was dark and ready to soak me in the late afternoon. Initially I hesitated; unnecessary troubles and an irritating cold will surely follow that. Looks like the day is going to end on the same tunes of the early morning blues.

But a few more steps and it felt good. I could not remember when was the last time I got wet in the rain in the afternoon. Surely may be one of those school days. It felt pretty and warm though the cold drops of late July seems to be penetrating the skin right through. It felt better because suddenly I saw people around me running for a little shed. A little boy almost stumbled upon me, a middle aged gentleman made an inspired attempt to beak the 100 meter record and a young good looking lady parked her scooty hurriedly to get a place in the next shop which was already packed. But I felt like keeping my umbrella folded in the hand and still take few more steps. A few passing by gave a wildered look. Hmmn, no one likes rain these days then. Before I could savor the moment little more I was already where I had to be. Bad luck was never to be off me today. It was already closed and the plan was a complete flop. But then again it was still raining. And now it rained quite heavily and I finally took out my umbrella which was lifted in a matter of second by the strong wind blowing from South. After a minutes struggle I was able to fold it back and by then I was half soaked. While I took an auto on my way back it was still raining amazingly and beautifully. After all, it was not such a bad idea to take a small break in the afternoon and take a few steps. At least I managed to take a few deep breaths in the fresh air and the rain rejuvenated the lost mind and the dead brain.

Reflection

Three men, three lives, one dream. One Chaat shop. One Kulphi bicycle. One man with few pirated CDs. 5, 10 and 50 rupees. A few buyers, more onlookers. And a little girl; a bright red frock, sipping the salty water, lying near the shop. Suddenly she stands up and jumps to her mother’s lap blushing; seeing the kulphi guy approach. Another bright young boy, with his Mom and Dad, holding the new packet of jeans they bought him from the factory outlet. He too wants a chat, a Kulphi and a Disney cartoon movie. ‘No! Baby, you don’t take those. I will get you a better one’. I stand quite ... see the reflection of life – now and then.