Sheer Ecstasy

It was round and was lying just in front of me, waiting for me to have a go at it. The long cherished dream of holding it around my waist made my energy levels soar high. I touched it for the first time and could sense the thump of excitement running in my body. It was nice, round and had a big black spot on its centre on either side, marking the area for it to be hit upon. Its only sight used to make me touch it, feel it and quixotic.

I got a pump when the moment was nearing, when it was going to be tied to me around my waist.

A burning desire to hold it around me and enjoy its presence around me made me like a restless kid and suddenly when I realized that it is going to be close around me, my joy new no bounds.

Before anyone comes up with any vivid imaginations regarding what I am mentioning, let me make it clear that the ‘it’ that I am referring to is the dhol.

I always dreamt of playing the dhol during the much awaited Ganesh festival. I used to be a joyful spectator listening to the beats of the dhol and its echoing sounds used to fill vigor in me.

And the moment had arrived when ‘the dhol’ was tied around my waist. My romance with it was about to start. Lot of anxiety, curiosity and adrenalin pumped in my body as I was about to play the dhol for the first time in my life. Mixed feelings of whether I would be able to play it right, whether I can match up with my fellow counterparts, the fact that the dhol would be tied to me for long were running in my mind. But as soon as the first beat of other dhols hit me, the oomph flowed and I slowly transcended into a new world. A world of music, of vibrancy, of passion, of sheer bliss. I followed suit and could surprisingly match the beats of my comrades instilling the confidence in me that i can be a good drummer ( given a chance though).

The vibrations that the dhol created when it is hit hard rushed into my body and took me into a trance for a whole one hour. This was the state I made myself enter into for an hour for the entire week which was of 'sheer ecstasy'.

The Mask Effect

Come August and the terms H1N1, influenza, swine flu which are otherwise ‘medical’ terms ring the ears and eyes of many in the ‘market’. These have suddenly become a part of everyday lingo of the people. Otherwise used as medical terms are looked as terms to scarify the populace. A virus started somewhere in Mexico , traveled all the way to US, UK, several parts of the world has now arrived in India, that too in a big way. As the news reports suggests, it is gripping the country and taking it by storm.

As in case of the normal flu, this one proves even deadly as not a full fledged vaccine / cure has been derived yet. Moreover, only ‘American’ company based tablets??? (read Tamiflu) can prevent the virus. On one hand, there is a shortage for the same tablet and on the other the municipal corporation plans to make these compulsory for all the citizens.

Another preventive measure is wearing masks / handkerchief’s to cover up the faces, especially. It’s funny to see everybody turning out to be a Jim Carey with their version of ‘the mask’. Wonder if this mask too does the same tricks as what Jim’s could do??? (Carry on ‘mask’ing) . I see all the people around with those surgical masks as if they are about to operate someone or the other. ‘An operative mission’ perhaps?

Really funny are the shapes and sizes of these masks. Eventually these have become a ‘fashion statement’ for the people. The day is not far when we will have some designer masks donning the rounds of the market with various colours, cuts and laces. Otherwise neglected ‘mouth coverings’ have abruptly gained importance in the daily attire of people.

The measures subscribed by ‘Baba Ramdev’ too are doing the rounds with mixtures of some jadi-buti and asanas to cure the alien body, thus proving an Indian version of the cure.

Numerous text messages, mails, brochures, pamphlets, banners, posters are making their present felt in the lives of the people. The otherwise crowded spaces of the city are having a totally deserted look. An ideal time to really enjoy these places sans the crowd, perhaps?

The imperceptible germ has seized the city and slowly marching to clutch the country at large (hope that doesn’t happen). Was a surprise to get to know that the city like Pune is getting affected drastically from an international pandemic? A positive aspect to look at is the presence the locales have in the international market. All public places are shut and talks of accepting the ‘Mexico’ model are on. This will create a shunted image to the city. But if closing down the city because of the deadly virus is going to help then let’s go for it. Let us enjoy the walls of our homes, let us enjoy being at home at long, and let us enjoy the frustration of not going out in the city.

I was just wondering – strange are the ways of the world where an invisible bug can have such a ‘visible’ catastrophic effects on the mankind that can ultimately lead to ‘the mask effect’.

Ring tone-d

The dawn of the year 2000 brought in an invention which revolutionized the whole way the world perceives communication - the mobile. Of course, it was known as an invention since long before, but with the new century, its popularity and reach amongst the masses gained momentum. With time, this invention slowly became necessity and now has become as equal as a ‘family member’ in almost all houses. It is like a tail following the owner leaving behind a trail in the form of a ‘ring tone’.

The tunes with which one uses to ‘reach’ his mobile became the ‘face’ of that particular person. Ring tones, the new identity of the person in a crowd evidently become an inevitable part of a person and his image in the society at large. Everyone thereby, wanted to make a mark in the public with his / her ‘voice’ of the ring tone. Slowly, this small invisible craze made such an impact in the day to day life that it has become a usual affair for the human being.

Changing ring tones, exchanging ring tones, setting unique ring tones is a trend of sorts amongst the youth and the mobile users in general. In addition, the money ensnarers ‘sell’ this invisible product in the market. It proves to be an interesting and an unsual marketing gimmick that a product not visible to the eyes is being marketed so extensively.

An interesting fact or a field of study is what drives a person to choose a particular ring tone. Has it to do with his psyche or with the mental condition? With the changing moods, one prefers to change his/her ring tones. Some like to keep it aloud, some keep unusual unheard songs as their uniqueness, some prefer to keep it on silent, perhaps like to keep a low profile in the crowd?

This indiscernible ‘item for consumption’ is up for grabs and has made such a presence felt in the market at large that now movies are coming up with tunes which can be promote along with the music. Several movies come up with these ‘forced’ tunes/hymns to target the aficionado.

I have these unusual experiences as far as these ringtones are concerned and have come across several ‘matchless’ choices as ringtones.

I have met people with really good taste in selecting a ring tone, which are really soothing to hear and also can stun you several times with the way it sounds. Some like to keep it as professional as possible and can be boring sometimes. Some like to have a really absurd choices for the music that I wonder how can someone keep ring tones like ‘pardesi pardesi’ (par-desi hoon???). Some people are bizarrely patriotic and their ‘patriotism’ in the form of ring tones suddenly springs up from no where , ‘Mere Desh ki Dharti’ and ‘Vande Mataram’ suddenly bounces up from nowhere and that too at some strange situations . Devotional people are the best of the lot. I attended one meeting, a professional meet and everyone was discussing an issue. Suddenly in the middle of a heated discussion, someone’s devotional trait jumped up and that too aloud.’ Tum hi ho mere swami’ and ‘ Jai mata’ ringtones abruptly changes the ambience into a devotional nature. But the ringtone ‘nature’ of one office boy in my workplace takes the cake for me. He possesses this uncanny knack of getting weirdest, wackiest and extremely unheard ( read useless) tracks as ring tones. I refer to those ones as ‘bang’ tones. ’tujhe pyar kaise' and some really unheard songs are part of his daily identity. Moreover, he boasts of these hit songs by keeping maximum volume, thus the whole office gets to know of his hard hitting presence.

Same ‘ring tone theory’ applies to the other facet the mobile carries i.e the text messages. The same funda of eerie message tones also make a mark of the person’s messagial identity. Ringtone like sound of a coin dropping, a click, a gun shot, a rising alarm are just some of the message tones that alerts the person of a message. Lot of ‘innovative’ message tones too has gained popularity in the general masses.

Ultimately, whatever tone a person’s carries, one thing is for sure – we all are inevitably ‘ring-toned’.

Happy and gay

The Delhi High Court’s verdict of de-criminalization of the homosexuality brought in a wave of innumerable discussions, viewpoints and a revolution of sorts. It was an anti-Indian verdict given by the law and not many abide to it. Promoting gayism, lesbianism in a culturally rich country like India comes like a shock to a large number of people.

In a way, the law is portraying that India is on a developable path and being progressive by accepting such alien issues. India has always followed a rich heritage and even with the tabooed issue of sexuality had Khajuraho and kamasutrian stands to fortify that the reproductive act of the nature should be between human species of opposite sex. Though, it is the sole choice of the individual to choose his sexual tendency. But just a peep into the future where we can envisage a young male adult coming and telling his parents that he has selected a boy for marriage would be ‘natural’? This reminds me of the Virgin mobile ad which addresses the same issue in a comical manner- the girl wants to go out with her boyfriend, but addresses the parents that she prefers company of girls rather than guys, and the father immediately lets her go with her boyfriend to save her from the unnatural behavior towards girls. Think hatke! as the punchline goes, but the court verdict has not just thought hatke…but in my opinion has thought of the Indian culture in a ‘hatke’ manner.

Introducing such aberrant sexual behavior in the name of democracy is not what will lead India to the path of ‘progression’. It will make India ‘just like any other country’ where..sab kuch chalta hai kind of attitude will be prevalent. This decision will bring in an attitude of no restriction, no limitations and no hold in the nascent stages of understanding one’s sexual behavior.

The positive dimension of this verdict is that it will help reduce rate of population in a miniscule proportion. With same sex marriages, same sex live in relationships such species when ‘plan’ to start a family will have to adopt a child, thus giving a ‘home’ for the orphan. Taking this situation further, one can imagine how such a child is brought up….what kind of strange influences will be imbibed in him/her in the early stages of life. My ‘mother’ / ‘father’ is of the same sex as opposed to other normal parents are astonishing values which will be absorbed by the innocent mind. One wonders what kind of sexual orientation such a child will respond to. His/her parents might give him/her the ‘forced freedom’ to choose his bed partner.

India has always looked towards the ‘west’ for clues for development. Practices like homosexuality have become an inevitable part of their culture. This unwelcome choice of de-criminalization of ‘loving’ same sex species in India is a ‘waste’ influence. While I am of the opinion that accepting this gayish attitude for a country like India will lead India to a rise in attitudinal confusion where India might loose its identity of a democracy with certain limitations. Where are all those so called moral police when India is celebrating such a revolutionary judgment? They can raise petty issues like girls going to pubs, celebrating certain days then why this radical verdict not being questioned?

No agitation means acceptance of the judgment and welcoming the change the country is never accustomed to. One can sense India in the recent future with the ‘implied’ meaning of the term Happy and gay