The World of Sanely Insane (old blog)

The last of the...

2009-05-27T12:20:00.002+05:30

I believe the time has come...

Hope to see you guys in a new avtaar someday soon

and thanks for all the fish :)

We are Muscat-ing baby

2009-05-24T11:51:00.001+05:30

dear blog ppl...havent posted in a bit...coz we're here in Oman on a project and the net hasn't been set up yet at the guest house...

will keep ya updated

In the search for

2009-05-17T14:58:00.005+05:30

True sophistication...

for highly evolved people like moi (this attribute having being bestowed by Still Thinking)....

it gets difficult finding a person to sync up with.....that close intimate syncing up with...because for us then the true test of sophistication isn't met by 'oh u've read this book'...or 'this wine comes from there' or 'what's the latest in perfumes'...'oh i watched an kurosawa movie'....

while these do represent sophistication in terms of knowledge...they don't represent the sophistication in terms of understanding and wisdom

that kind of sophistication manifests itself as simplicity of thoughts and feelings...

that is what we are searching for

Simplicity...to relate to

caveat: this is a brief statement to a very big line of thought hence in being brief understates and overlooks many subtle discussions that accompany this statement

an uneasy vaccum

2009-05-12T15:12:00.004+05:30

a light shimmered
and a hope rose
that when i showed you my heart
you would rise up and claim it to be yours

you took an interest
but didn't lock it in
left it out alone
as it always had been

friends point out a promising future
caught firmly in the heaven's grip
its an uneasy vaccum
and i'm living it...

The 'I'

2009-05-10T11:03:00.003+05:30

I am...the good guy

I am also...the naughty guy

I have just one moral....to not do something that will hurt others

I can...cook, play racquet games, write and try my hand at a whole lot of stuff

I am...intelligent...but my intelligence is not the pride of the extent of my knowledge but rather an indication of the extent of my curiosity

I do not...believe in hiding to gain an advantage...i believe growth comes from collaborative development which works to everybody's benefit

I do not...believe in capitalism...i don't agree with socialism either...

I am.....a pervert

I am.....extremely spiritual

I have....a sense of humor which is extremely smart assy and sarcastic...i will not hesitate to make fun of you, your pop, your religion or anything about u...I will not feel shy of making fun of anything related to me either

I have no vileness in me...I will not try and hurt you (maybe cockroaches but that too only if they make an appearance when I'm in the shower)

I get.....weak in the knees seeing a pretty pair of feet in pretty shoes (only belonging to the opposite gender)...ofcourse if a smart brain and friendly nature accompanies it...Its like a dream come true

I have.....complimented girls on their assets and left them smiling and feeling good about it...ofcourse its never easy to get through with this kind of thing and thats why I try it so rarely

I feel..... comfortable having cutting chai and vada pav on a mumbai roadside stall....as I am at home ordering for sizzling brownie flambed in Cointreau at some of the finest restaurants

If I want to pee....I just walk into the closest five star around. If you gotta do it for free, go to the best I say

I have also..... stopped and pee'd by the roadside

I am....not one who If you catch with his towel down will get embarassed. I'll probably say Hi and ask you to have a seat while I go get dressed (ofcourse wrapping my towel around in a jiffy, I'm no voyeur either)

I can....easily get nervous...and I know that

I can...and will talk you down if you dare cross me...and I don't even need to raise my voice for that

I am not....comfortable receiving compliments...till date I get awkward If i recieve any

I can...barely dance....I believe every one has their own inner beat to which they must move...but I'll guide you well...gently but firmly...and I'll sync up with you...if you will, with me

I like....kids, chick flicks, I even tried my hand at knitting....but I dream of setting up my own workshop....making things of steel and wood, turning them over the lathe, robots, machines, engines...those are the things that really get me

I am....not sure If i am a slut or not...but I have never lied to get into anybody's pants...I have however used quite a bit of charm

I can be.... crude but never rude, have panache but never the stiff upper lip

I am.... emotional, I like hugs, in real time

I am....a momma's boy

I am also..... a self made man

I may speak..... to my friends as 'tu' but never the hotel guard...he will always be 'aap'

I believe....'balance' is a virtue most people are unaware off

I have....been taught by life the hard way to be...'patient'

I like...working, adding value to the world...however most of what we do...I don't see that as value add

I cannot...be impressed by what you achieved, how smart you are, how hard working, or how big a victim of life....only by how many smiles you added to this world

I like speaking to...strangers...men or women...pretty and not so pretty....anybody interesting...I have made conversation with people in buses, trains, flights, in the lift, at the bar, outside a restroom, inside the restroom, waiting in a queue

I am....strongly opinionated....I take a dislike to people who I get wrong vibes off

I don't understand...how people find it so easy to get angry, raise their voice or pick up a fight...which religion did they study???

I am...an open book...yet within the simple plain cover, hidden in the depths are meanings...most people can never reach...

stick it to the man - part 1 - getting a move on

2009-05-07T09:11:00.005+05:30

for those wondering what this story is gonna be about...a minor correction to their line of thought...this is a political commentary...but u can read it like a story...after all...we are a democrazy aren't we :P

So todays diatribe on the handling of the recession by the government and how we should get a move on and get out of this situation.

But first a few basic lessons in economics for the un-initiated. If I print a Rs 100 note and u do some work for me for that amount, that money passes on to u...u spend that money buying apples, ordering some garden work etc etc and that same money passes on to those people who in turn spend that money forward. This is called the multiplier effect.

What happens in a recession is that someone stopped spending (for whatever reason) and the multiplier effect works the opposite way reducing everybody's spending power and the cycle goes on.

Hence in such times when people are shy of spending, it falls to the government to spend and put money into the market. It needs to spend. The last boom was in a great deal spurned by the govt spending massively on the golden quadrilateral project.

Now look why our governments hands are tied. It spent 60k crore on waving of farm loans, it spent another huge chunk of money on NREGS and it'll be spending more money on tax sops further on. I won't just as of now comment on the merits/de-merits of these spendings
just that other than the NREGS none of them have even a remote chance at helping anybody get out of recession.

So what would I have done if I were in the hot seat.

(stolen all the money and gone to the carribeans :P )

I would have spent my money on two key things

1. Greening the industries
2. Development of sports as an industry

When we were growing at 9% nobody had time to think about how to do things in a better, cleaner way. Now would be the time to say...hey we are destroying the earth the way we are going...lets see how we can reduce the damage, lets spend on green energy. Millions of dollars would need to be spent on this over many years. Technology would need to be brought in from abroad, developed indigenously etc etc. We would achieve the dual purpose of getting money back into circulation and improving earth's sustainability

Now the second avenue for spending money. You know the tally of medals (gold or otherwise) we got in the olympics? Ok thats a rhetoric question, dont answer it please, it hurts. Other than the fact that we have absolutely hideous sports facilities for the size of the nation we are (what would you expect given that we have worse educational facilities), but what's even worse is that a 'career in sports' is not something you'd hear a parent talk about usually. There are no sports scholarships, no high school or college level leagues, dirth of playable stadiums. And that is why there is so much opportunity in sports as an industry we haven't even begun to tap into it yet.

So as MGM says when one episode ends...That's all Folks :)

p.s. don't go by the date on the pic...that's only cause i didnt set the camera settings before shooting

God Oh God

2009-05-05T14:54:00.002+05:30

Little personal blabbering...was sitting down in the pooja in the morning after my shower. Usually get about 5 minutes in the morning before i have to rush again to get ready for office.

and i realized how cherishable those 5 minutes are, I really don't know if I pray to a God or just talk to myself or just be silent but in those five minutes I find a lot of peace. So many questions get answered, so many wants disappear, u let the world escape from your grasp and let it go...and end up being just you...silent, empty...at peace

and then u get up and rush for office :P

The Slut - part 6 - Literally 'the end'

2009-05-03T18:30:00.003+05:30

The Slut - part 1 - the meetup

The Slut - part 2 - the tennis whacking

The Slut - part 3 - James Bond

The Slut - part 4 - the Kennel

The Slut - part 5 - the slut gets to know his position

He got discharged from the hospital after three weeks, still in casts and bandages she brought him home. She took good care of her slut. She took a month off, she cooked, she fed, she was took care. Some days she wondered what she was doing, she looked at herself in the mirror and all she could see was a glow, a happy glow.

"Lets go some place" she suggested "change of air will do you good"

"How about Ireland?"

It was as if lightning struck her, she looked at him shocked, did he know, how could he know

"I saw the ad in the paper today, sounds like a nice happy place, lets go there"

She smiled, her baby.

By next week they were in the highlands, most of his bandages were off, they were doing it three times a day, that was her measure of whether he was back in the pink of his health or not. They went on long walks, they went to the pubs, they went to the castles and clicked pictures.

"Tell me about the others" he asked her

She clasped his hand tightly, that was a different time, a different her. She still had her Beretta about her, but could she use it, was her hand still icy cold still?

"Let it be, I don't want to talk about that time, not just yet"

"Ok" he hugged her.

The next morning he was looking through the newspaper "hey it says here there's a nice cemetry nearby, just a couple of hours drive. They say its a spooky kind, i've never been to one before, lets go?"

It seemed to her that life had finally caught up to her, now there was no escaping, she had to tell him, she jst had to "yes lets go"

he smiled, there was something else in his eyes today, something that made her wary, but today, she had no power left in her to guard herself.

They were walking in the cemetry, it was in small cove, on the back of a hill. It was eerily beautiful.

"You know, this cemetery has a story behind it. They say a contract killer owns it, and created it as a memorial to some of her best adversaries"

He stopped at a grave "wow this is exquisite, look at the this tombstone"

"Yes he was the best" she said lost in the thoughts of the past

"They called him the wind whisperer"

"Yes he was that fast and that silent"...and then she looked up...from panic, to fear, to anger, to appreciation.

She had lost, finally found her match, a worth adversary who had defeated her.

She took out her beretta but he didn't even try and stop her and she knew why. He just looked at her, "you wanna have a sandwich"

"And What do they call you?"

"The soul stealer"

"Suits you...rascal"

"Can I ask you something"

"Sure, shoot" and then she laughed, funny time to be saying shoot

"I heard stories, that you ate them, did you really?"

"Yes" she said sheepishly "those were younger days, I was into reading about vampires and werewolves, i tried it, i liked it"

"Man you awe me"

"Coming from you, thats really a compliment, you beat me with a tool i didn't even know existed...simplicity"

He smiled

"So who are you, who sent you after me?"

"I am the whisperer's son"

"Holy Schimoly...how did you tolerate me, I mean aren't you bursting with hate?"

"Hate? its called admiration, anybody who could bring down the whisperer...imagine bringing him down"

"I know, it was the biggest challenge of my life and he almost got me, I think the only reason I could get him, was because he chose to let me get him"

"So who sent you after me, The Greeks? I really created some trouble for them the last time around, we have mutual hatred for each other"

"The consortium of elders"

"The old man at the bus, oh god, how could i not recognize him, you know as a child he actually has fed me on his lap...so when does it happen, here? now? that would be nemesis"

"Tomorrow, early morning, before dawn"

"What if i kill you"

"That gun is loaded right"

She smiled, she knew there was nothing she could do agaisnt him 'fuck he was good'

They had dinner, roast chicken, curried meat, all that she liked. Then he left her alone, he had to prepare

Morning she woke up, there was a note for her by the bedside "Come to me, naked, as I came to you"

She understood what she meant, she took of her clothes, her fears, her ego, her pride...she was naked and she looked at herself in the mirror and she saw the look in her eyes, the saintly look, she smiled

He was sitting in the middle of the room...She approached him

"Maneater, you have been adjudged by the consortium of elders, as having gone outside the fold and their decreed code of conduct. While they appreciate your skills, they don't appreciate your ego...

And as such they have sentenced, the only sentence our world carries, death"

Finally and she was happy, it was going to be at his hands, now she really understood why the whisperer had let her kill him, why he had smiled as he died.

"Bend over"

"Huh"

The birch cane came out..."bend over"

"No, just kill me, get done, not this"

"Bend over, didn't I say, come to me naked"

"Yes" she hated being caned, the elders had caned her in their school and ever since then she was afraid of the cane

The cane fell on her ass as she bent over the table, one after another, painful strokes, bleeding her ass, ripping apart whatever dignity was left in her.

She collapsed into his arms "Finish me now"

"You are finished"

"The elders will kill you also, if you don't follow their orders"

"These were their orders, the bugger are probably rolling on the floor dying of laughter, right now"

"Oh sheesh" she managed a sheepish smile

"You are their child again"

"When i wake up, slut, I want you between my legs"

"Yes ma'am"

"Naked"

"No other way"

The Slut - part 5 - the slut gets to know his position

2009-05-03T00:22:00.004+05:30

The Slut - part 1 - the meetup

The Slut - part 2 - the tennis whacking

The Slut - part 3 - James Bond

The Slut - part 4 - the Kennel

She had spaced out again, second meeting she had done this and now even her team was begining to notice. She felt weak, she felt vulnerable. He was not only on her mind, but some place else. Some place else in her line of business was like asking for a death sentence.

She needed to get a grip on herself, she went home, but when she had put in her key, she realized where the driver had brought her...to the studio apartment.

She banged the door and fixed herself a drink and then another and another.

He walked in when she was on her fifth. "Hi love, didn't you have a meeting today"

Shouldn't have used those words, not today, but how was he to know

"I'm your fucking owner, not your love, your owner you paid fucking slut, get that" she had him by his collar

Today it was his turn to get caught off guard. He knew how easily he could go the way the others had gone, she wouldn't even know what she had done, till she did, like an old reflex action, and by the time she realized, it would be too late.

But she just left, in her anger.

Next day he received a note "you've been rented out to Miss K, be at her place sharp at 5"

He did as he was told. Miss K was one of her business acquaintances, won't call her a cougar, but she was always hungry. She liked the hunks more though, spent a lot of her diamond trading husband's money on them. He knew why she had chosen her, she was fat, crude and ugly from the depths of her soul. If there was one punishment she could have given him that would hurt him, she had made her mark very accurately.

The next day Ambica called up Miss K, so how did you like my slut.

"Oeee, behna tune yeh gehna kahaan chupaa ke rakhaa thaa ab tak" [Oh sister where had you hidden this jewel till now]

She almost puked when she heard her crude poetically gaudy description

"isne to saare hunks ki aisi taisi kar ke rakh dee, main aese aaee aese aeee, oh main to soch soch kar, mujhe lag raha hai, main abhi phir se aaee" [the hunks i was used to are nothing compared to him, i came like...oh god just thinking about yesterday makes me feel i'm gonna cum again]

She banged the phone in disgust.

This time she went home first, she needed to pick up something. Then to find him at the apartment, He was there lying on the couch wearing his shorts, just shorts.

The sight of him got her angry "so i heard you and Miss K hit it off rather well"

"Oh she was a delight"

The pun didn't get to her.

"You bastard, you men, you fucking men"

'Well so this how it ends' he thought, as she dug into her bag to pull out something. He wondered, a gun, or a knife.

What came out, was a bull whip. 'Oh fuck' he thought, he hated pain.

What happened after that was a blur, the whip lashed his body, her kicks and punches fell everywhere. He must've fallen unconscious before her anger completely vented out.

He came to life in the hospital, tubes here and there, bandages all around. He had broken ribs, bloodied face and body.

But underneath the bandages he was smiling, even though he couldnt move his swollen lips, she had left him alive, she loved him.

He filed his statement with the police, four armed robbers had managed to break in, they were wearing ski masks. He tried to fight them off and this is how it ended.

She came in the night, he was almost asleep but he could feel her presence, he couldn't speak loud, but his fingers could move, he curled his index finger in an action telling her to come closer.

She stepped out from the dark and stood near him "I'm sorry" she said, tears welling up her eyes

He further pointe her to bring her face closer to his "Make me you slut" he mumbled into her ear.

She looked at him, those saintly eyes, she finally gave up, she had lost to him "You are mine, you slut, only mine"

Much Ado over relationships - 2

2009-05-02T09:11:00.002+05:30

Ok so the last part we talked abt how the evolving work life has affected relationships.

In this part we shall talk about the relationships themselves and the caveat still remains the same...i'm no expert here...just throwing darts blindly like everybody else

Communication...for those who seen Omkara or Othello...you'll know how communication or rather 'mis-communication' can mess up relationships.

We all have our unstated fears and desires...and typically when we make an assumption like the other person will understand we overlook the fact that we may not have factored in some fear or desire of the other person.

The problem with these fears and desires is that mostly even we haven't told ourselves about them...foregt about being able to tell someone else about them

the only tool that i see to work around this is, to listen to the other person try and put yourself in their shoes, heart n mind, if you care for them, some of their unstated fears and desires will become more apparent. They may not gell with you though in which case i'm not sure where the relationship goes...

but imagine how silly it would be...if you cared for someone...but never really understood them or they you and that puts a rift between two caring hearts

how tragically silly

Much ado over relationships - 1 - the evolving context

2009-04-30T08:05:00.003+05:30

A friend had this link to a post on infidelity recently, where the lady was preaching about a whole lot of things. And that got me thinking, coz wat that lady said sounded almost trite to me.

Hence a minor deviation from our usual story roundup, to talk about, well not infidelity per se but relationships in general.

A caveat however before we start, i'm only a single 26 going on 27 chap, not someone who can claim to have that marriage which lasted 50 golden years of happiness...so do take what i say with a pinch of salt, probably your understanding of relationships is better than mine.

So the way I see it, the world has evolved from the time the definition of relationships like 'family' and 'marriage' were formed.

In a marriage for one...'interdependence' is a strong linkage making both the parties need each other. While traditionally 'men' used to go out and earn food and money 'women' were the emotional providers.

Cut to the present shot...both 'men' and 'women' go out there to earn money and hence 'both' require emotional support and more so require to be emotional providers.

Now point two, earlier work used to be (and i'm talking really early times)...go out in the morning, water the fields and rest of the day chat under the banyan tree. Ok in more recent times, it was go do your work and be back by 5. Now...8-8 is the usual timings for a lot of people and that at the junior level, as you go higher its usually 7-11. You fit in meetings, reviews, office talks, con-calls, pre-work, post-work and all that and you barely have time to breathe....and lesser time for relationships...so while you may have the need for emotional support...you end up not having time to either consume or provide it.

Point three, farmers really didn't care if his neighbour produced a few more bushels of wheat...what was he gonna do...smoke a better hooka? As the number of materialistic choices increase, our focus is progressively on getting a better house, a bigger car, a bigger tv, a smaller cell. The need to prove to the worl that i'm no. 1, higher increments, faster promotion, respect at work...as it is about 70% of my time is getting devoted to the office...hence most of the 'needs' also shift towards the office...and so office relationships and dynamics and achievements get highlighted more than personal relationships.

Office becomes less as a place to earn bread for the family but more like a family in itself, except that it has no place for your emotions, which are left orphaned.

Hence as a summary what is hurting modern day relationships is three key things
1. Reducing 'interdependence' in traditional terms and not yet evolved contemporary interdependence
2. Reduced time availability for personal life
3. Increasing importance of work place achievements over personal achievements

So is it doomsday for relationships?

I wouldn't believe so, like always humans are evolving to the new conditions around them. The interdependence is evolving, men are learning to be the emotional providers also, women are finding their own place in the corporate envt.

Having seen others fail, people are realizing to pull back and give time to family and slowly people are beginning to question the importance of materialistic achievements...cause they find, hey whats the fun with that new promotion, if i'm gonna be divorced and there's no one whose gonna be cheering me up and feeling happy over my success.

Though the point is, those of us who don't evolve, or evolve slowly will find the process of evolution very very hard to bear. Cause thats how evolution works, when the sun is burning down on your head, you either learn to build a shelter against it very quick or you well, have u seen sun dried tomatoes :P

The Slut - part 4 - the Kennel

2009-04-26T11:30:00.003+05:30

The Slut - part 1 - the meetup

The Slut - part 2 - the tennis whacking

The Slut - part 3 - James Bond

"What are these?"

"Keys, for the kennel, where I'm gonna keep my toyboy" The kennel turned out to be studio apartment

"Nice toyboy likes his kennel"

She smiled "I've never kept one before, so I thought I'll go out of the way to pamper this one, my god, now I can order you around"

"Like you didn't before" he said with a smirk

"You'd better learn to wipe that smirk and those eyes, get those eyes simmered down, don't ya dare look into your owners eyes" He grabbed her by the waist and kissed her deeply

"Thanks" he said later as they lay on the carpet, their clothes strewn all over the place "I really like this place, I always wanted to live in a Studio apartment"

She went out of town for that week, she would see him on cam, talk to him, play with him. Her new entertainment was growing on her.

Her flight landed early in the morning by the time she reached the apartment it was almost 8 a.m. She stepped inside, where was he, why wasn't he at the door, the anger was back, she hadn't kept a toyboy to find him not pampering her.

She went around the house, first the kitchen which was his favorite hang out place, the foodie he was, then the tv cum video game room, aargh this was becoming irritating. She finally found him, in the bathroom, sitting on a low stool, beating the clothes like they show in old indian movies

"What the..."

He turned his head on hearing her voice, surprised, pleasantly surprised. "You don't need to sleep?"

"I want you, for breakfast" she said with a hungry smile "but what the hell, why are you washing clothes like this, what do you think washing machines are made for?"

"Try it" he said

"Try it, why would I try it" she saidn irritated with her jet lag and him

"Try it for me and I'll do any one thing you say"

She thought for a second, "hmm ok"

She took of her skirt and blouse and squatted down on the stool and repeated the swinging action of beating the soaped t-shirt onto the floor.

After two or three clothes she said "Man this can be tiring"

"Thats why" he said in his mocking tone

She swung the wet t-shirt at his balls. His instinct made him raise his leg and wrap the cloth around his shin, before he even realized what he was doing.

"Wow, where did that come from" she said surprised.

"I jst saw karate kid, man and it seems, I caught some of it" he chuckled as he made a mental note to himself, if he wanted to keep his balls, and other parts of his body, next time he'd rather let her get her shot.

She got back up and dried her self, puttin on her blouse and skirt.

"Ok now your part of the deal"

"Sure, you want me to make you a lemonade?"

"I want you to kiss my shoes"

"You sure, those look like an expensive pink pair, i may get them dirty or something with my lips" again that mocking tone

"They are expensive, mary janes, they are called, and they await your lips, probably i'll get you to clean them also afterwards, since you rightly pointed out that you'd dirty them with your lips" Oh she felt nice, she had finally scored in wit against him, now look who was mocking.

"Ok raise your leg a little" he said as he got down on one knee

"why, you think you're my knight in shining armour, down on one knee, kneel down properly and get down there and kiss my shoes"

He gave her his trademark smiled and kissed her pink mary janes, the way a lover would, the way a toyboy would

She looked at him down there kissing her shoes "and always remember who your owner is"

"I guess same as the one I worship the ground she walks on"

She smiled, in his smart ass wit, she felt a tinge of a something else, a something else she had never thought she'd ever want.

The Slut - part 3 - James Bond

2009-04-26T10:30:00.002+05:30

The Slut - part 1 - the meetup

The Slut - part 2 - the tennis whacking

"On good days i make 10 grand off you on bad days you still give me 3k and you've been demanding my services like almost whole week, why almost, the whole week!!! Why don't you simply buy me out?"

"Hmm, now thats an interesting thought, i think probably cause I'll get bored of you soon and more so look at your shoes, all this money and you can't wear polished shoes, mud caked soles, yikes!!! and you want to be my keep.

"So you think, the class, the style is in the shoes? You women!!! you really think a spy ever looks like James Bond? If they were, they'd be shot, probably by their own colleagues lest they become a safety hazard for everybody else, paah!!!"

He had never spoken to her like that, the saintly eyes were glowing red. For the first time in her life, she was caught off guard, she hadn't seen this coming and she didn't like she was in control.

"Come, we're in luck, there's still time" He said taking her by her hand

"Where are we going?"

"To a bus stand" was all that he said.

They parked their car a close distance from the bus stop, got out and stood under a tree closer to the stop.

"And what are we looking at" she asked bemusedly

"Can you see that old man, reading the newspaper, him"

"Him!!!" see said almost in shock, he had dragged her all this way to show an old gentleman, no not gentleman, an old, tramp, yes tramp was the closest approximation she could think off

"This is your icon for panache?"

"Yes, now sssh, observe, look at his clothes"

"Patched up, worn shoes, torn, no just worn"

"But notice the clothes look freshly washed and the shoes are you are right torn, he has gotten them sewed back to last a while longer"

She saw his face, the concentration with which he was seeing the old man, man he musn't have looked at her that adoringly when he was fucking her, the way he was looking at this man now.

The bus was coming, she was finally thankful that this circus ride would get over soon

"Ok now watch and since you don't really see that well" now he was crossing his limits, her hand was in her handbag gripping her Beretta, maybe she should right now and here, first the old man, then him, she felt wet.

"Stop fantasizing with your Beretta and see, see him fold the newspaper, see him get onto the bus"

She jolted back into reality and she saw, she remembered and she remembered her youthful days, the quick three step action, the light jump of the basketballer, what had he called it, the langoor jump, she smiled, yes he was right, this old man, had unknowingly done it really well

"Lets go back to the car, i've seen" He smiled at her. Once in she held his hand "wait don't start the car, I need to slap you first"

"It's no fun if you're gonna tell before doing it, but how may I ask did I earn the reward"

"You read my mind too much" and with that she hit him across the face

This time he didn't reply back, no smart assy comments.

"The cat got your tongue" she asked

"Wow, thats like the best slap ever, where had you been hiding it?"

And she again went back fifteen years, when she had been first complimented for her slap "you have a slap to die for he had said" and he had died

"I'm thinking I may keep you as my toyboy"

"toyboy, hmm, aspirational career" he said laughingly

The Slut - part 2 - the tennis whacking

2009-04-21T15:13:00.003+05:30

The Slut - part 1 - the meetup

She woke in his arms and looked at him, for a long time, unsure as to what to do with this one. Would she send him the others way, no not just yet. He had that something in him, she wanted to keep him a bit longer. She pushed him by the head down between her legs and enjoyed another hour of orgasmic pleasure.

"You did well today"

"Thanks" he smiled

she handed him four thousand bucks. "That should cover it I believe"

"Oh you won't cut TDS then, thats kind of you"

She could have almost killed him.

"Out"

"Good night" he smiled

A couple of days later, another meeting, same hotel. But today was bad. She almost took out her Beretta, but then if she did that everytime with a bad opponent, she'd be in the jailhouse arena not the corporate arena. So she tactically excused herself from the meeting. And got out. These guys had spoilt 4 hours of hers. It was 6 p.m. She was again in the lobby and she was hungry, but today there was no-one she found likeable. She took out her cell to call up a few friends for drinks but it was only when she dialled did she realize who it was she was dialling, it was him, Kartik.

She cut the phone as soon as she realized then smiled and dialled it again.

"where are you"

"Tennis court"

She took the address and got to the court. It was a singles game. She eyed the opponent, nice muscles he had, powerful shots he was sending Kartik's way. She saw the scoreboard. Kartik was trailing by a game. hmm, so he wasn't that hot a player she thought. But as the game progressed she felt wet again. Kartik was losing but he was also winning. His serves were brilliant and the hottie had a tough time picking them up. Oh she liked his serves. But what she liked more was the way he was toying with the hottie. This was like right out of Ayn Rand's book. Kartik was smiling all throughout, complimenting the hottie every time he scored a point over him, being calm about the points he himself scored. He didn't play power shots, he placed his shots, he made the hottie run hether skether and the that slowly and increasingly made the hottie loose his cool. Slowly Kartik gained the lead back, but then the hottie came back with a vengeance and won the last two games. He congratulated the hottie and walked towards her.

"You like sweat, cause if you do, you can have a lot of it today"

"Hmm, i think i like your racquet too"

They had sweaty sex, she enjoyed that smell, his lanky body felt like a bronze piece, hot on her skin. Then she pushed him down between her legs. He gave a knowing smile and got down to his work.

She knew he'd do something like that. She picked up his racquet and whacked his bum with it.

"Ouch!!! that hurts" he looked up at her.

"I know" and pushed his head back in and scissored it with her legs and got back to whacking him...hard enough to hurt not so hard that he couldn't do his work.

As they lay exhausted she felt up his hot bum "you know if you cut down on your smart remarks, you'd not have to go through all the pain"

"You know I wouldn't be alive if I did"

She smiled and kissed him on the lips, he was a good kisser. She hadn't enjoyed kissing someone so much in a long time.

The Slut - part 1 - the meetup

2009-04-18T15:22:00.004+05:30

A new story, a different kind of story. Enjoy the journey with me :) [The story of Rehaana continues, will keep you all updated on that too :) ]

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Click clack, click clack. Her high heels left a classy impact on the marble flooring of the hotel lobby. She was 5'8" and she wore 4" heels. Always. She was a deal maker. Hundreds of negotiations through, her satisfaction rate for her clients was 99%. There were always a few cases where not even god could help broker a deal. CEOs knew her personally and even they, when they called, talked in a subdued tone. She was the talk of legends. At the age of 40 no other person had ever ever worked on so many PE deals, M&A deals as she. She was single, successful, featured on the times, and recokened as the among the top ten most powerful women of our era.

She was also hungry. She had just finished hearing out the other party for two hours and she felt like she could do with some sangria and maybe a light roast or maybe what the heck she could do an Indian meal today, butter chicken, Dal Makhani, Butter Naan and JD with coke. The debacle of choosing between foods is what she thought about a lot, those were tough choices.

Another thing that bothered her was that she didn't have company for lunch. Her team was still inside and they'd take another hour to get done with rest of the work and she wasn't going to wait that long. She liked having lunch with her team though, they were young energetic kids, being amongst them, she couldn't feel her age.

Not that she had to worry, right down till girls in their twenties felt jealous of her. She was naturally beautiful, plus two hours of gym everyday and spa every week didn't allow age to catch up with her.

She thought she'd sit down in the lobby and call up a few friends in the vicinity. There were always friends to call, even though she was a tough businesswoman she was a very socially amicable person, a combination rarely found together. However this was not to be. Something caught her eye. There was a young chap sitting in the lobby, an overworn shirt, hair cut cheaply but formally, nice shoes though, worn, but polished to a gleam. He didn't belong to this environment. He was showing things on his bulky laptop to another chap more senior to him. She knew the situation. Another aspirational entrepreneur, venture capitalist meeting. She was quite certain of this, she knew the venture captialist and by his expressions she knew the lad was not going to cut it.

But there was something else that interested her, his eyes. Even he knew he wasn't cutting it, but his eyes were like what the heck, you'll see one day. He was lanky, cute but not handsome. But whatever he was he had this air of saintly superiority to him. She could feel the wetness between her legs, just a hint, just to let her know that they were on her side. She had to have him, she had to have those eyes. She was a cougar.

She waited for the VC to leave. It would have been easy for her to say hi to him and then get introduced to the young lad, but that wasn't the way she hunted. She walked over to him as he was packing up.

"Hi"

He looked up at her 6'2" in her heels she towered over him. There wasn't enough space for him to get up, he didn't want to either for the moment, he would let the seating standing combinationg take the responsibility for the height difference. He offered his hand. "Kartik" he said

"Ambica" she shook his hand, "lunch?"

"Are we having continentatl?"

"No Indian"

"Ok"

She smiled, she could've slapped him, he had just played her and won, not many people especially men played her and live to tell the tale. He just looked at her, again that air of saintly superiority, she could kill him, her smile was gone, she could really kill him, like right now. She could feel her wetness growing, just at the thought.

They had as you would have believe, butter chicken, dal makhani, butter naan and JD with coke. He could eat as much as she did, inface he ate more. He enjoyed his food, thoroughly. She smiled again.

They talked over lunch, in between ripping the chicken of its bones. He had absolutely no idea who she was, how unaware was he, or was he playing her again. Anyways there was enough time to rip his brains apart later, right now she wanted to know about him. He came from a middle class background, had done his engineering, didn't like it. Had a few b-plans was seeing if anybody would like to put their money behind his word. Had a job, was ok with it but really wanted to do varied stuff.

They finished lunch.

"I am done with meetings today, howz your day looking" she asked

"No one else is willing to give me a meeting, so I guess am free too, God bless these public holidays in the middle of the week"

"Wanna continue with the JD at my place? I'm staying in this hotel only"

"Sure but could we keep of the JD, i'm not really feeling like getting wasted."

"Sure" like JD was on her mind.

"Nice room" he said as they entered.

She took of her business jacket.

He looked at her "Are you just drunk, or do you really wanna eat me up" he could see the hunger in her eyes

He knew what was coming next and to save his clothes from getting ripped off he started to undo his shirt before she closed in. She caught his face with a kiss, he caught her back deepening it.

Her nails dug into his back, his teeth into her nipples. She eased up, so did he.

"Enter me" she said.

"No foreplay?"

"No"..."Wait stand up, i want to see you first"

He got of the bed. He wasn't particulary chiseled like a greek

"You're as lanky down there as you are everywhere else"

He just looked back at her, that air of saintly superiority, she almos threw the knife at him. "I do hope you're not excusing yourself for a loose pussy"

"Come here and find out"

He entered her. They didn't kiss, they didn't talk, they just looked at each other. Something about each other made them very horny. He had never felt so hard for anyone, and by god was she squeezing him, it was almost hurting, a little more and he'd have to beg her to ease off. And she squeezed more.

"If you wanna keep the cock, it might be simpler to ask"

She laughed, and ruffled her hand through his hair. The competition was off, they were friends, he kissed her navel. He climaxed. Only a few men had climaxed after her, only one of them was still alive.

He lay exhausted next to her. She got up, he looked questioningly, "stay" she said.

"woof woof" he replied

She smiled. She went into the washroom and cleaned herself up. She made herself a large JD and enjoyed it there in the washroom, talking to herself in the mirror. Admiring her own beauty, taking in her victory.

She returned back to the bed "now for the foreplay"

She straddled his chest and looked down at him and then she moved ahead, upto his face.

She didn't need to tell him what he had to do, she by now trusted him to know and he did. His tongue went deep into her pussy. She liked the foreplay after the sex. Guys lose interest in being nice after they are done. She liked making them be nice to her after they were. He ate her to an orgasm, she moaned as loudly as the room could bear.

She got of him. She was done. She went to fix herself anohter drink "lock the door behind you when you leave"

He caught hold of her hand "there is one move, i'm sure you haven't experienced yet, its gonna blow u away"

She raised and eyebrow, there wasn't much she hadn't done. he pulled her into his arms and kissed her on the forehead.

She could've killed him, the trouble was he seemed to know that and ingored it totally. She hugged him back and fell asleep.

Rehaana - part 15 - 'the book'

2009-04-14T15:37:00.003+05:30

Rehaana - Is this the End?

2009-04-14T00:11:00.006+05:30

Rehaana - the beginning

Rehaana - part 2 - the twilight

Rehaana - part 3 - the phone call

Rehaana - part 4 - the first period

Rehaana - part 5 - the dreamer waits

Rehaana - part 6 - the homecoming

Rehaana - part 7 - Popcorn Confessions

Rehaana - part 8 - Buon giorno Pr incipessa

Rehaana - part 9 - The Mojito

Rehaana - part 10 - The fort falls

Rehaana - part 11 - The conversation

Rehaana - part 12 - her fear

Rehaana - part 13 - not wanting to be found

He saw her text, he didn't know whether to smile or to cry. They had been so close, the next step had seemed so simply real. Yeah it would have been a little messy, but he was there for her, why was it so difficult for her, why.

The other he in the story, the husband came into the picture now, and not in a pleasant way. He had decided to settle down in the US, wanted his parents to also shift. He didn't see himself in the leather business. He wanted to sell it off.

Fights day in and day out. Half the time she was trying to get the business done rest half she was convincing him to not sell out. She was tired, so very tired. She just fell asleep one Wednesday, didn't go to office. Maybe that is what she had needed, cause when she woke up, she knew who to call.

But our author had something else on his mind

"Hi"

[Silence]

"How've you been? I am so sorry, scream at me as much as you may, but I just needed some time"

"Grandpa passed away...I needed you"

"I am so sorry"

"Yeah neways, how've you been"

But she knew she had lost him, he wasn't his usual self...

She got back to her work, her work that she loved, her work that didn't ask her questions, her work that rewarded her back. she had made the biggest comeback with her firm, her employees were happy and engaged and together they had made a big splash on the European scene.

He messaged her a week later, and then again the next day, followed by calls. The more he would call, the less she wanted to talk to him, she wanted to pull back. She was afraid, he would also break her heart.

And he wondered. what about his love did she find deficient. Why couldn't she love him back. Why did Abhyut weigh more on her mind than he did, why did her work matter to her more than he did. He knew about her friends, he knew she was talking to them, meeting them, but she was too busy to even sms him. She wanted to take the effort to make everything else in this world work, but his smile, who would worry about putting a smile on his face.

He was shaken to his root, what more could he do, he knew love needn't be all that simple, but did it have to be so damn tough. He remembered his conversation with the author, he looked up at him, the author just shrugged his shoulders, like he didn't know either.

He realized it was finally upto her, whether she chose to love him, give her life to his happiness or to choose something else as her priority. Not everyone was a dreamer. He just wished she knew what she wanted, what a waste playing pennies and dimes, life should be a game where you are all in or all out. Ever since she had lost a hundred bucks, she had been playing safe, just pennies and dimes.

One week before the final data had to be submitted, she had been busy getting an order from a presitigious fashion house. This would be the clincher. She was so excited she had to tell someone. She called him "Dude, I am gonna get this one, I am gonna so get this one and then I'm gonna nail Abhyut's ass, he won't even know what him. This is the sign I was waiting for"

"Damn you, damn your fucking Abhyut, and damn your prize. When in the night you come back home have a nice lovely dinner with your fucking trophy"

She cried that night, she had never heard him that angry, she had never heard him that mean. Didn't he know how much this meant to her. She wiped her tears, she liked her work and nobody was going to talk to her like that. They were all the same, in the end, they were all the same. Why couldn't he have waited a few weeks, in a few weeks the trophy would be hers, then the happy times would come, no but he couldn't, he was a man, he just didn't understand her.

He was driving back from Gurgaon to Noida, his daily routine. Tired and alone. He had been unsuccesfully been trying to keep her thoughts away while at work, in the car it was impossible. Just him, and her thoughts. He tried to think why he loved her so much. It was because when she talked to him, words would jst flow, it was like the buddy he had always been looking for, but ofcourse when she talked to him, which was rather infrequent.

He blamed himself for some part of what had happened. Maybe he had given her too much to soon and she never really got a chance to know how much she wanted him. Its only when you are hungry you enjoy your meal. The moment she had opened her mouth he had filled it with everything in his kitchen.

Something was wrong up ahead. He heard the screech of tyres, the cars ahead of him looked ok, further down he heard a big crash, with that sound the landcruiser in front of him jammed his breaks fully.

"don't pull your hand brake, don't" he could almost hear himself shout "you're gonna be fine, just don't pull your hand brake"

They did, the landcruiser spun almost 90 degrees as soon as the handbrake was applied and came to a stop bang in the middle. His own breaks were fully jammed. 100 feet, 90 feet...he knew it was gonna be ok. He would bang into the landcruiser but he wouldn't hit it with much impact, his front would get smashed a little, but it was gonna be ok. He didn't want to pull his handbrake lest the guy from behind come and get him from the side.

60 feet, 50...what the $%$#%. A woman stepped out of the back door of the car, evidently dazed, she was holding something in her arms, shucks it was a baby. Her back was towards him.

"Crazy, idiotic woman" he thought

25 feet. The baby looked up at him and smiled. Such a cute baby, he smiled back.

He knew what had to be done, in such situations where most people get frigid, his mind went into an auto analysis mode.

He waved at the baby one last time. 15 feet, he wished, someday he would have a baby like that, and then with his left hand he yanked the wheel left and with his right he went for the cell.

Even at the low speed the car went over the railing. Ask any of the engineers and they would be ruffled as to how it was possible, the railing was so designed that cars would not topple over, well they didn't know that our author had seen a few bollywood films with Dharam paaji beating a whole stadium full of people with a handpump.

The car hit the road below bumper first, the height from which it fell and the fact that it was a maruti car with no airbags, didn't help the his cause much. However he was fast, he knew what the author was upto and he wanted to warn her

"believe in the happy story" he typed out in almost milliseconds, if somebody had been recording it he would have gotten the Guiness record for this act.

But the author got to him before he could press send as the steering wheel came crashing into his chest. His ribs broke and punctured his lungs and his heart. the cell fell from his hands. He didn't go immediately, he thought about his mom, he thought about her, he thought about the little Rehaana whose story he hadn't been able to complete, "now you're just acting like a bouncer" he joked witht the author, he made his peace with him. Five minutes after his car hit the ground his heart stopped beating.

It took them another half an hour to get his body out of the mangled mess

"This year's entrepreneur of the year can be none other that Rehaana, she took a small loss making leather garment unit and has made it an icon of shining India, and the also and indesputable part of the World's fashion industry.

She was on the stage, the trophy beautifully carfted by the house of Cartier itself in her hands. Abhyut was there, in the first row, she could see that it burnt him, that he couldn't look her in the eye today. But she didn't feel happy.

At that time everything seemed to be clear to her. What she wanted was to be in his arms, he giving her a foot massage, she feeding him french toast that she made. She could almost feel him, nothing was complete without him.

She was caught in the cocktail party, she wanted to run, she wanted to scream, she wanted to be free. She kept trying his number, but his cell was unreachable.

She cried that night, she was alone, she wanted him, today she knew so clearly that she wanted him.

It took her a week to find out about him. She thought it was a joke. He couldn't leave her like that could he. A few months wasn't too long for someone to wait was it. This wasn't a movie damm it, this wasn't city of angels, this was her life.

She went to his grave. He was a hindu, but he had always wanted to be buried. Not because he liked the earth so much, but because he wanted to have the last word.

She wasn't sure what flowers to take for him, she didn't know, she had never asked. She took orchids, she liked them the most, she knew he'd anyways like whatever she liked, he was that types.

His tombstone was blank, she sat in awe...he had had the last word and it was so beautiful.

"You weren't supposed to leave me, you promised me a happy story, remember?"

"It is a happy story. You just haven't decided its yours or the author's...."

she turned around, there he stood like always, holding out his comforting hand to her...outside the book

Rehaana - part 13 - not wanting to be found

2009-04-13T16:23:00.005+05:30

Rehaana - part 12 - her fear

2009-04-11T15:09:00.002+05:30

Rehaana - part 11 - The conversation

2009-04-06T22:06:00.004+05:30

Rehaana - part 10 - the fort falls

2009-04-05T12:38:00.003+05:30

Rehaana - part 9 - The Mojito

2009-04-04T11:56:00.004+05:30

Rehaana - part 8 - Buon giorno Principessa

2009-04-01T22:41:00.002+05:30

Rehaana - the beginning

Rehaana - part 2 - the twilight

Rehaana - part 3 - the phone call

Rehaana - part 4 - the first period

Rehaana - part 5 - the dreamer waits

Rehaana - part 6 - the homecoming

Rehaana - part 7 - Popcorn Confessions

"I hope you remember your promise"

"Errr?"

"Of being a gentleman"

"Oh that, any other obvious statements you'd like to make" taking a light offence at her remark

"Hopefully not, just as long as you remember this one" She said with a smile, she knew her smile would take away any of the

hundred smart assy remarks he could come up with. She was a girl and she knew her powers.

It was a cosy room, a big cozy room, with its own LCD TV...gosh the rich had it nice he thought. They said their good nights.
Of course it would be too much to assume either of them slept, funnily though out of the ten movies playing on tv both ended

up watching 'about a boy', albeit in their own rooms.

Half an hour into the movie, he got an sms, "You awake? am watching this movie, 'About a Boy' on HBO"

"So am I, man now if only my pop had written a jingle"

"Imagine, getting up when you feel like, doing what you feel like, every day would be a new day"

"Yeah, though you know right now what I wish for"

"What?"

"Roasted Peanuts"

"Hmm...ok then say 'fairy princess, grant me a wish, fix me a snack, let there be roasted peanuts"

He smiled

"Buon giorno, Principessa! make my wish come true...let me have..." his fingers paused, he almost wrote something, "roasted

peanuts"

"The right side closet is a mini bar with a snack shelf, help yourself"

He could see her smile as she would have texted that message

they texted much into the night, lord only know who fell asleep first, but both had half written texts on their cells when

their lights went out.

His alarm went off at 5:30, Sunday. While he went for a jog every day of the week, Sunday's were different. On Sunday's there

were no deadlines. Sunday the jog was was more leasurly, he could soak in life and sunshine.

He passed by her bedroom. He slowed down and felt the door....smiled. He made his way to the kitchen, made her some

coffee...black. He left it at the newspaper table outside her door, covered in a tea-cozy.

He jogged easy that day, thinking about the previous night and smiling. The cup was still there when he came back...the door

was still closed. He took the cup back, emptied it into the sink, washed the cup and kept it back.

She woke up at 11, a lazy Sunday morning. She took the morning paper and sat down on the dining table. She smelt something

that made her realize that she was hungry, really hungry. It was something roasting, it was something rich, it was something

sweet.

He came out, tousled sweaty hair, red face, shorts, tee and apron. He had a plate in his hand. He set it in front of her.

Toast with thin layer of fresh cream, thinly sliced strawberry and strawberry crush.

She smiled, it was a wondeful Sunday morning.

Rehaana - part 7 - Popcorn Confessions

2009-03-31T23:41:00.002+05:30

Rehaana - the beginning

Rehaana - part 2 - the twilight

Rehaana - part 3 - the phone call

Rehaana - part 4 - the first period

Rehaana - part 5 - the dreamer waits

Rehaana - part 6 - the homecoming

"Pass the popcorns, stop hogging the bag, will ya" He tried to reach across to the bag of popcorns she was holding as tightly as she would hold her clutch bag

"Jaa naee deti, tang mat kar, movie dekh" [No won't give, stop troubling, watch the movie, will ya]

"Grrr...pass the bag"

"No"

"Ok then, I guess you don't want these samosas either"

She looked at the popcorn bag in her hand, she looked at the samosas in his hand

"Ok here you can have the popcorns"

"Stupid dry kernels, who wants those"

She cursed herself...he had been setting her up, damn

"Aww comeon,be nice to a lady"

"Yeah yeah"

"Come on, be nice, please...pretty please"

He smiled, couldn't say no to the missy when she was doing this now could he, he held out a little longer, let her do a little bit more of the pleading...then saw her as she gulped them down...she had won...cause he would never let her loose

"How was the movie" she asked afterwards

"Better than i expected" She saw the glint in his eyes, and knew what he was talking about. It sent a shiver down her spine, a chill of fear and excitement. It was a dangerous path she was treading, one that she was not sure about, where winning was a dim chance and so many ways she could lose.

"I would love to have a scarf like that"

"Its out of stock"

"How would you know?"

"Coz i checked, and half a dozen other boutiques in the local market, but give me time, I'll figure something out and get it for you"

"I didn't ask you to"

"Thats the sad part" he chuckled, a half chuckle "when its so easy, that is all you had to do"

"Its not easy"

"I know, sometimes even the most simplest things can be tough" He looked at her face and cursed himself...the smile had gone. He knew that if only she would fold into his arms, he could make sure that the smile would not leave those lips even for a moment, but then that if only was the biggest if only he had ever seen in any story

Rehaana - part 6 - the homecoming

2009-03-31T08:54:00.002+05:30

Rehaana - the beginning

Rehaana - part 2 - the twilight

Rehaana - part 3 - the phone call

Rehaana - part 4 - the first period

Rehaana - part 5 - the dreamer waits

"Wow, you live in a big house" he said as he entered the bungalow...

"Yes, It is one of the few things that gives me space"

"Where are your in-laws"

"They've gone visiting him in the US"

"Oh hmm"

"Tea or Coffee"

"Tea, i like coffee more but burnt my lining with it few years back, ever since my system won't let me get near it"

"You like it milky?"

"No, not really, just a little bit of the milk; i like milk as it is, so when i feel like milk, i have milk" he grinned

She looked at him like that, the raised eyebrow, just the way he had imagined it

"You make nice tea, even though I can cook, I can't make decent tea"

"Thanks, used to make tea as a kid, I make superb tea" she said with a proud smile

"Wow I wish I was living in a pretty house like this instead of the stupid hotel"

"Why don't you?" She wasn't sure why she said that, but she didn't regret saying it either. "Though, only if you promise to be a gentleman"

"What!!! here?"

"Not if you don't want to, geez"

"No it's not that, it seems you caught the author off guard with this"

"He didn't imagine me doing this, did he"

"Does it look like, he could've"

She smiled. He moved in saturday morning into the guest room. He wasn't sure how this was gonna work out, but sometimes you don't think, you don't ponder you just do.

"Let's go watch a movie" she was looking chirpy, tired from the whole week of work,but still chirpy, there was a hidden energy in her that came out in bursts, when she let it

"Cool, which one?"

"Confessions of a Shopaholic good for you?"

"You really trying to stump the author today no" he chuckled "but I don't mind chickflicks, infact i dont mind anything except sad films if they are made well...sad films are a no no...so yes sounds good"

Rehaana - part 5 - the dreamer waits

2009-03-29T12:41:00.003+05:30

Rehaana - the beginning

Rehaana - part 2 - the twilight

Rehaana - part 3 - the phone call

Rehaana - part 4 - the first period

"I used to be horrible at cricket as a kid, the only activity which I could do well, was running, and I've thats what I've been doing all my life"

"Like Forest Gump"

"he he, yeah like him"

Another day another call

"I used to be good at chemistry too"

"Who else is good at Chemistry?" He could feel her raised eyebrow across the phone "Oh my Rehaana...he he, not a bad writer am I then...moulding the real with the fictional"

"I like to read what you write, you write so well"

He smiled, a lot of people had told him that before, but it meant so much more coming from her

Another day, no call; another week no call;

SMS "been busy, haven't had time to breathe, will call you"

Its funny how the radio seems to be able to read your mind

She can kill with a smile
She can wound with her eyes
She can ruin your faith with her casual lies
And she only reveals what she wants you to see
She hides like a child,
But she's always a woman to me

She can lead you to love
She can take you or leave you
She can ask for the truth
But she'll never believe
And she'll take what you give her, as long as it's free
Yeah, she steals like a thief
But she's always a woman to me

CHORUS:
Oh--she takes care of herself
She can wait if she wants
She's ahead of her time
Oh--and she never gives out
And she never gives in
She just changes her mind

And she'll promise you more
Than the Garden of Eden
Then she'll carelessly cut you
And laugh while you're bleedin'
But she'll bring out the best
And the worst you can be
Blame it all on yourself
Cause she's always a woman to me

Three weeks after their last call, she called again..."come over"

He wasn't sure if he was happy or angry. Probably a mix of both...She had been through so much, she was going through so much, but the way she'd make him feel a part of her life and then isolate herself again...didn't she know how the wait was killing him...

Rehaana - part 4 - the first period

2009-03-25T10:22:00.002+05:30

Rehaana - the beginning

Rehaana - part 2 - the twilight

Rehaana - part 3 - the phone call

He texted her "Rehaana had her first period"

"What!!!" she called back, half a shout, half a wonder as to what he meant...

"Rehaana, my 11 year old Rehaana, she had her first period"

"Awww"

"Her granparents were out and the the cramps started and blood, she got scared and went and hid in her garden house. Around lunch time when her grandparents came back and couldn't find her granma went about the back and found her there all curled up and crying."

"Then?"

"Well firstly she hugged her so that the little one would calm down and then told her it was ok, that now she was turning into a woman, and all about the menstrual cycle. Rehaana for everything else is a very inquisitive kid, loves her books, loves her questions, even in that pain i think she asked granma so many questions that granma felt like maybe she should call a gynaec and get her to explain everything to this little kid"

"He he he, so sweet" ...He liked her giggly laugh...it was a mesmerizing sound, funnily he wondered, how it mesmerized only him.

"But I am not sure if I wrote this episode well enough, not like I've been having periods all my life."

"He he he, I can help you with this one, will help you redraft it"

"Will you?"

"Sure" she smiled

he smiled back...and over the phone they saw each other smile

"hmm so when are we meeting next"

"Don't know been busy, got a few presentations to make to prospective clients, will let you know"

"Sure, but eh, do say, how'd Gauri Pradhaan become Rehaana"

"Ooh thats gonna take some time to tell, let me work now, will call you later, ok?"

"sure, have a nice day at work"

she smiled

Three nights later she called

"After the scandal, life became very difficult in Bombay, I was fired, and snickered at everywhere I would go, suddenly I had become an untouchable. But there were still a few people who believed in me. A senior colleague who had left our firm much earlier to start his own consulting business in the US told me to pack my bags and come and stay at his place for a month.

I needed the change and I went there for a long two month vacation. I wasn't happy, I used to spend most of my time brooding about what had happened, in one go my whole life had been ruined by that man, I was angry as hell, but a new place, so many things to do did help take my mind of the whole incident, even if for a few hours.

I needed a new identity, and I quite liked the songs that "Rihaana" was belting out, but I wanted something more Indian. Also I thought that maybe it was time for me to settle down and do some family stuff. I knew this colleague had a crush on me, he always had, had proposed to me earlier also. This time I said yes and became Rehaana Pradhaan. I wanted to keep my surname and he was cool with it but I didn't want to be Gauri anymore.

We came back to India got married, things were ok but there wasn't really anything common between us, we were friends who got married, not lovers. The marriage only strained our friendship. Anyways his parents had a leather export business from Chennai, their native town and it wasn't doing well. They were high on debt and low on profitability. I knew what I had to do, it was the least I could do for all that he had done for me. So I got involved in the business and started turning it around. He had to go back to the US, his work was there, it also gave us the space we needed, I was tired of the random fights that were happening between us.

So this is why a girl like me is found in Chennai and not Bombay"

He chuckled at her half humor, what could he say, he suddenly realize that the reason he found her voice so mesmerizing was, because he had started liking her, liking her in that romantic way, guess it was the mention of her marriage that forced him to that reality, she had already gone through so much, he wondered where the author was taking this story cause he had absolutely no idea what he was supposed to do.

Rehaana - part 3 - the phone call

2009-03-24T09:39:00.005+05:30

Rehaana - the beginning

Rehaana - part 2 - the twilight

Three days later the call came, he was working on a presentation, while writing were his bread and butter he was not making either of them from the writing so he donned his corporate hat and worked. There was stuff he had to finish...but then

"you busy"

"not very"

"i can call later"

"or you could just talk now" he smiled, he wondered if she could imagine him smile, cause he could see her smile over the phone

she didnt talk about her pain, she spoke about her childhood, a fiesty childhood, an adventurous childhood, she spoke of things she liked, the gol gappas she could guzzle, the books she read...and he talked about his childhood; father being in the army, playing at the banks of saryu river.

They both talked of the nice things they did, the silly things they did, the bad things they did. The whole thing about talking is quite simple, someone who can understand what you are saying, someone who you can speak freely and not having to worry about being judged, and someone who is interested in what you have to say, not because the topic is interesting, but because you are.

"Tell me something will ya"

"what" her voice took a deep and soft tone when there was hidden excitement in her.

"Whats a girl like you doing in Chennai"

"As in"

"As in, you are bigger than this city, you dont belong here, you belong to Bombay or Delhi, not Chennai"

"Someday" she said

He wanted to push her, ask, get to know, but he left it at that, he had felt her pain, he wanted to soothe it out, but not just yet...patience, when the heart is bursting with passion, patience

Another time they were talking of starting a business and he said "check out the latest business today, they have a feature on these young guns...i quite like this chap Abhyut Saxena, smart, dashing, team player and what a cracker of an idea he came up with, that new product category of meat flavored namkeens to be had with drinks. Think i'll go do a feature of him on my blog"

"Ya isn't it, i gotta go now, got some work to do"

She called later in the day.

"I used to work for a firm in Bombay, new products division. It was pretty interesting work and I was good at it. I had a nice boss who gave me the support I required and trusted in me. There was a radically new idea I had which required a lot of change in the way we made our product and preserved it. The company was not doing so well at that point of time so my boss to keep the project alive made it a classified incubator project. Only me and him worked on it along with the technicians, the management was not to be told until we had perfected the production technique and had done the basic market research. Both his and my neck were on the line. But we did it, we finally got the technique right and in the closed group market trials it was a huge hit.

We were to present it to the management on the 20th. I was there waiting outside the boardroom, the meeting was to begin at 9 a.m. It was 8:45 but there was no him, he should've been there at 8:30 only. I tried calling him but his cell was unreachable...8:57 a.m. The heads of various product categories started rushing about, somthing was amiss, they were all worried. Slowly all of them started surrounding me asking questions; they, the senior management. It was an inquistions...my boss had jumped ships, taking with him our product, my product. He stole my baby and left me in a lurch. I was accussed of being his accomplice, of selling out, of sleeping with him and what not...

You may have heard of the scandal at Amantra Foods..."

"Ya i did, in passing only but i did, so?"

"I am Gauri Pradhaan"

"Errr"

"The Gauri Pradhaan scandal at Amantra Foods..."

"I'm so sorry..."

"My boss was Abhyut Saxena...

[dead silence]

I just wanted you to know"

"Thanks.............for trusting me with this..."

*****to be continued

Rehaana - part 2 - the twilight

2009-03-22T11:16:00.004+05:30

Rehaana - the beginning

"Aww, so sweet such an idyllic story" he could hear the mockery in her tone

"Sweet?" he said in a unbelieving voice "she finds puberty this year and takes a loving to chemistry that takes her to the city" Believe me the story turns out to be anything but sweet till the fifth chapter which is where it takes another turn.

"Fifth chapter...didn't you just start writing this?...read my name and thats how it became the story of Rehaana, isn't it..."

"ha ha ha, well i was actually writing a kiddy story about how the girl participates in a science exhibition and the challenges she faces...but then you made me conscious with that mocking tone so i thought and the story changed in my mind...i got a different picture with a little more than just the competition to it

ofcoure nothing as dangerous as vampires and werewolves eh?" he said looking at third part of twilight in her hand"

"Ofcourse not, they have a mystery to them, a thrill of danger, an impossibility about them that draws us to them"

"So tell me, have you ever seen a vampire or werewolf in real"

"Oh come on" she said in a condascending tone signifying that it was just a romantic concept, it was like asking if you had really seen superman!!!

"no no humor me, play along, believe me i have point to it"

"Ok, i don't know why i'm indulging you but here goes...no never met either a vampire or werewolf in real life"

"But for some reason you believe that a person who feasts on others blood, or turns into a wolf has a romantic conotation to them, the nice hearted person who turns into half evil by no choice of his, the pain they suffer, the charm they have and oh yes the mystique to them

Never for a moment does it occur to you that a vampire in a real life would probably be a ruthless thing that wants blood and is willing to cause pain for it; a rude, crude, blood thirsty vermin

Because if it did, then how will the author further write his book, only romantic notions can lead to chapter 2"

"Now you're just killing a very interesting book"

"ha ha ha...yeah i am, ain't i...bad of me especially since writing is my bread and butter...but think...the way i approached you, if this had been in real life, what are the chances of me being seated on this table now, coming up with a line you'd think wasnt corny, to you reacting to it in a welcoming way...would it really have happened?"

"eh, what do you mean...if this were in real life"

"well don't you thing the way we met, is so bookishly romantic, that we would have to be in a book for it to be true, not that it can't happen in real life, but its only an author who will make it sound so bloody hunky dory

so the thing is whether you'll believe the author notions of romantic or your own"

"so what you're saying is that we are in a book"

"yes"

"that we are characters created by some author"

"yes"

"so what kind of a story is this?"

"a happy one"

"how do you know"

"i don't know, but i believe in happy stories, not the fairy ones, not the easy ones, i don't believe in cinderellas with glass slippers, i believe in cute specy girls, with calf leather peep-toes in a book shop"

she giggled back..."but i'm not a happy story"

"i know, if you were, what role would my character play"

"hmmm"

"so then what is your story"

"doesn't the author already know, after all he wrote me...didn't he"

"ha ha ha...yeah but the story has to still be told"

"but why would i tell it to you"

"that is a question, only you can answer, but probably for the same reason you let me sit down at this table in the first place"

"hmm, maybe...i don't feel like it now"

"sure thing, i'll also get going...but do take down my number"

"don't think so, i'm not gonna call, we'll see each other when we do"

"ha ha ha...the author making us meet, that was serendipity, not exchanging numbers, will be our idiocy"...he jotted down his number on the napkin and took her leave

*****to be continued...

Rehaana: part 1

2009-03-20T17:37:00.003+05:30

He had been observing her for a while now, she was sitting alone at the table, a thick book in hand, specs on her eyes, a grey shwal over her, blue jeans and a pair of 3" heeled peep toe pumps in calf leather. A big mug of coffee, black and he hadnt seen her put any sugar in.

the Barista was still busy with another customer's order and so he stood there patiently waiting for his and observing her. There was a serenity to her which drew him towards her, and there was a pain to her that held his thoughts. He had seen many women sit alone at coffee shops, not that he hadn't felt the need to accost them, but then you don't randomly go and say hi to a stranger of the opposite sex do you, heck you don't even do it to one of the same sex. With the number of wierdos around it would take lots of guts for someone to be friendly with a stranger who comes up and says hi, not in the city, it's a jungle.

The first line that came to his mind was "buy me a coffee?" upon which he imagined her looking up towards him taking out a fifty note, putting it on the table and going back to her reading...maybe then something like...no not that either. It was like the movie Next where Nicholas Cage thinks of ways of approaching the girl at the table and sees the possibilities not working out.

So this time he just got up, he had no idea what he was going to say to the girl, but those eyes, that face...they just drew him to her. Luckily for him she looked up from her book just as he reached the table, he wouldn't atleast have to do that part. There was a question in her eyes...wtf!!! they asked, so many empty tables in the shop why are you here.

He kept his coffee mug at the table...i need to do some writing, and i feel uncomfortable sitting alone, makes me self conscious...would it be alright if i sat at this table, i promise i won't tell you the ending of the that book or disturb you.

She hadn't expected this...never in her imagination had she expected this...she didn't even realize that she had nodded him a yes...who the hell uses a line like that...it almost felt real...little did she know it was real...

but she gathered back her senses as he sat down and brought out his pen and a thick wad of loosely held papers...

but why me? she asked

i liked your shoes he said plainly and got down to inking whatever it was that he was inking.

She got back to her reading, sipping her coffee...but the stranger made her uncomfortable, but not in a way that she'd want to shoo him off or get up herself and leave. Somehow she felt the stranger understood her in an uncanny way, that is what made her uncomfortable.

She finally realized that she had to find out, all instincts in her told that this accidental meet was no accident that someone somewhere had planned this. That someone somewhere wouldn't let her be, not even after all the pain she had gone through, they were still after her.

What are you writing about she asked

"Rehaana" he said

Her eyes grew wide, "but I am Rehaana"

"I know", he looked up, he handed her a crumpled piece of paper..."you left your bill at the counter"..."its a beautiful name, my fingers twitched and I had to write about Rehaana".

She took a large sip of coffee, there are days very few of them that a holiday falls on a wednesday and you realize that you don't have to go to office, that you don't have to slog 20 hours today, and that its midweek. when you get up at 9 a.m., don't shower, slip into some clothes, take your book along and head out to your favorite coffee joint, where the people know you and know that you want to be left alone to read.

And then this happens. She wasn't very sure what to make out of it all...

so what about this Rehaana, whats she like in your writing. Rehaana is a small kid he said, she's 11 years old and lives with her grandparents in a hill station. She's a dreamy little kid but she's a prankster, likes chemistry and loves flowers, she grows them by the in her own garden that her grandpa marked out for her, and she spends her time there playing, reading.

*****to be continued

the saga of a scarf

2009-03-18T18:50:00.003+05:30

When the girl you like, likes a scarf, what do you do?

Well you try and get it for her (unless you are one of those who don't treat their girls nice in which case try jump off the next cliff please). With these very thoughts and only three days in my hand i tried to wear the red underwear on top of my gay stretchpants and fly like superman across the markets of South Delhi.

Realized on Saturday that she likes the scarf, was caught in bounds on Sunday and Monday was office. Yet still with a brave heart i ventured forth into South Ex at the princely time of 8:30 p.m. despite knowing that South Ex is closed on Mondays hoping that some shop must be open.

Wills Lifestyle lived up to those expectations but alas only those ones cause they didn't have a scarf...not to mention definitely not anything resembling 'the scarf'

But i still had one more day to me...Tuesday left office early...5:30 p.m. (i usually leave by 7:30)...hit South Ex by 6:20...found parking (miracles happen). Started with Mango...as expected no scarves, what i didn't expect was the Sales Manager (not the sales girl mind you) had any idea where i could get one...talk about knowledge. Proceeded down the road to the main market, Levis...Indian, Indian, Shoes, Indian and the whole round was done and none of the shop windows gave a glimmer of hope. So then i took the subway and emerged onto the other side (did I mention the laptop bag on my back). This time i boldly went into almost each shop and asked...cause this side had more western wear stuff than Indian (Globus, Pall Mall) and other boutiques which i can't remember the name of. I was shone silly material scarves, stoles, cotton scarves, woolen scarves...Bizarre actually had stuff in green, with thick wrinkles which almost looked like pleats ( there is a relevance to the pleats...will come to it...patience...i've only been walking 30 minutes now). I was back on this side of the road so I went back to the shops that I had just walked by in the first round, the Indian ones, and asked for guidance and they guided me to BGs...I did buy something from there...cause it had a nice print but thats not what I was looking for and I don't believe in consolation prizes...but still nice it was to finally buy something. Any how then came the Giovanis and their neighbours proudly claiming western wear...aarghh...

By this time I had been given decent route descriptions to reach GK - M block market. and so I did...8:15 p.m. too early for the shops to be closed isn't it...when the sinking truth hit me..though i still confirmed it from a sardarji whose shop was open....Tuesday's closed!!! (ok I must have done sins in past life and this outcome clearly indicates this)...Three stood Miss Jo...the shop I was told was most certain to have party wear including scarves. But I never got to find out.

Today was the day I had hoped to give her the scarf and tell her that i'll get her the real one as soon as it comes in stock (oh ya will come to that too)...but since that would be flying in and I wanted to giver her something she could hold onto this one in the meanwhile...but alas timings and work schedules...and here I am telling you a saga when all of me wants to be at the airport seeing her off...if only she had said come just wave me goodbye...

Ok now to the scarf...Its a pretty little thing...the personality signature of the protagonist of Confessions of a shopaholic. Its 80 inches long, semi-synthetic, pleated, bottle green (i'm color blind so please excuse if i get the shade wrong) with roughed edges. To most men what I said may not sound anything fancy...but its absolutely chic (i hope you get it by seeing the pic)...plus it signifies a lot more than just a fashion statement and if you can understand that then you have just begun to understand women (but don't claim it...otherwise they'll prove you long)

Oh Btw...since its an absolute rage the designer(Patricia Greenfield) who took it from the original Dolce and Gabbana design also put it on her website for sale for $50 (http://www.patriciafield.com/cheapchicgreenscarf.aspx) however its out of stock...wtf!!!

so here I am with a two hour saga to narrate, a scarf in my bag that is missing an owner, a scarf that I still want to buy for a girl...

and destiny that still holds out the distance between her and me...

btw if you're still wondering why...why all this effort...then you probably don't understand what it means to be able to bring a smile on her face

Job Available

2009-03-16T08:36:00.005+05:30

in these times of recession aren't those like the two best words only topped by the other two words 'you're hired'...gone are the days when three worded phrases meant all in life...

this is the age of career people and workaholics...

and that is exactly what we are looking for...

WANTED

a 'hot momma' for a 26 year old mama's boy...pampered since birth...fed breakfast in the morning...lunch packed for office...comes back from gym get freshly squeezed juice...weekend gets nice oil massage...u get the picture.

The original mama has done enough for the young 'laadla' and now its time for the baton to be passed on to a young, energetic woman...who is foucssed about her career and won't leave a stone unturned to pamper the chap in question...its a 24/7 into a lifetime job and we are looking for dedicated workaholics...

This is hard work and hard work calls for top notch compensation...for all your pampering and care...we promise to....ermm...love you back...in these times of devaluing currency the only currency that still holds good (equivalent to cash in hand)...and to pamper you more than you pamper us (equivalent to CTC...hope u know what this means :P )...and to treat you like a princess...

plus to keep you engaged and provide you variety (and some oopar ki kamaee)...you can also work in the industry of your choice...

When i was born my mama said...I'll love you so much that no woman will ever be good enough for you

(ok my mom didn't say that...i borrowed that line from friends, when monica gets her adopted baby)

So 'Do you Have it in You...

... to be the Hot Momma'

(Inspired by Anu Malik...i've been taking inspiration from other people's quotes...in this case the Indian Army)

p.s. for the feminists who are about to blow their lid off...this post is only in good humor, we appreciate women in the boardroom, other than bringing some smart wit, hardwork and a different perspective, they also bring some life to the dreary place.

It is inspired from a friend who is actually a 'workaholic' and a highly succesfull career woman...i just wanted to see how we could take the word and twist it around in another context...

as a personal opinion...i always believe in a balance between the home and work place...a full dedication to both the work and the family...and like everyone else...i'm striving to reach that golden balance

Dev D

2009-03-07T23:47:00.002+05:30

an abso-fucking-lutely brilliant movie...despite the fact that i saw a horrible downloaded print (long live piracy)...

the movie has so many parts to appreciate about...the way the pain is portrayed...the shots of the eyes...the blend of fotografy and music lending credibility to the expression...

the way the stories go about...the way the story has been modified to include contemporary issues...though ofcourse one or two cliches were there

what i like about the story is the underlying discussion about self destructive tendencies of the overly intelligent sort...what absence of trust...and ego can do to a relationship...how one silly mistake can suddenly rip apart your world...how its easy to judge someone...but really if u look at it...all the characters are innocent...they did what they did as they understood the world

and oh man the music...the music brings the whole story to life...the songs for a hindi film are not a movie pauser...but a flow enhancer

thesanelyinsane say....whacaccaacacaaaa....we want more

Women's Day

2009-03-06T13:28:00.002+05:30

Ok first...please don't get unnecessarily ruffled by the presence of Invader Zim...he can be overwhelming...but he's the life of the blog...and even if he means harm...am sure u won't mind getting a little bit infected by craziness...

now where was i...well nowhere actually...except that the other day these client people celebrated Women's day...how nice of them...except that they didn't offer the customary samsosas that one gets accustomed to with such events...classy people...buggers...no samosas...

neways they did get good speakers...there was a lady Joy Deshmukh who works in the field of microfinance for women and is an economics researcher...she spoke on the 'care' economy and the 'market economy' and one of the few people who i believe have sane ideas on women's liberalization...her idea of gender sensitivity went beyond empowering the woman but to how both men and women need to break away from ingrained socializations and develop a new world order...

then later in the day and to my dismay no samosas (not even classy pizzas) again...damn them....they had Barkha dutt have come and give a talk...mostly about her own experiences...

btw the buggers were very enthusiastic about asking questions....didnt have many back benchers...good show i must say...btw this client really puts its money where its words lie...they have been on an aggressive diverification drive...and have been hiring women like crazy since the last two years...am sure the men in the organization appreciate it...

so now to why i blogged abt the damn event...one to lament the lack of food items...two because its a reality that our society hasn't woken up to in full extent...that the changing role of women in the society has to be treated on a broader perspective and unless we do that...the rate of divorces or latch key kids won't go down...its not just about women in the work place...its also about men in the home...and a whole lot more rebalancing of how things work

actually things dont work...now i think of it...damn but thats another post....

that reminds me...its almost two...lunch time.... :)

The Chai-waala

2009-02-15T10:31:00.004+05:30

for those who manage to knock of their slumber early in the day
and take to stalking the roads for early prey
will find that people from various walks of life
the polciya, the auto waala, the florist
bond together at the chai-waala
well they may not really bond that much
but still i think the chai-waala
adds more value to their lives
than u, me or the prime minister of india
no definitely not the prime minister of india
u and i atleast add to his day of sales
so cheers for the chai-waala