All Things Money can(t) Buy


Ok this might sound like a Mastercard advert. But I will try my best to not make it sound like one.


This somebody I'd like to call pseudo Kate Middleton has been bragging about her rather grand wedding plans. I have been forced to absorb a lot, we share our bay (quite a bit of luck there), my poor ears and subsequently senses have been tortured quite a bit. My brain feels like scrambled egg at the verge of getting totally charred due to overheating.  Why did I choose Kate Middleton,
well first she was Not a blue blood, second several thousand people watched her getting married, third, there was such a fuss about her marriage, it was made out to be THE wedding of the decade.  


I don't plan to give you a download of the sensory overdose I was subjected to, but it sure got me thinking. All things money can or cannot buy:


A real nice top of the line car, the most latest model in a color of your choice. It has to have the best music system fitted in, cause whats a drive without music. What about a wonderfully company who hums along with the music in the car, in a voice so good that it makes your heart take flight.


A princess like well planned trousseau, grand celebrations, swarovskis and diamonds, a pricey photographer, exotic locations, guests being flown from beyond the pacific, and the works. What about the knight in shining armour all those classic literature books would have us believe? Forget the shining armour, but at least just the right guy. 


A villa to call home, fill it with some staff members to maintain the property and a dog to keep the staff busy. What about some people in it, to drown the deafening silence?


Wonderful holiday destinations, breathtakingly beautiful photographs, picture perfect moments captured to a T, what about the priceless memories with some loved ones, which are beyond SLR abilities?


Gadgets, places, things and more...... I wanna be a billionaire so freaking bad, buy all of the things I never had!

The most fragile 'F' word

It wavers more than a dried leaf on a dead branch. The leaf has the excuse of being almost at the brink of dear life. It has lived its time, it has seen its spring and in the winter of life it gives away slowly the color and charm of youth. In the winter of its life, it withers away when the wind tugs at its base. 


But what about us or is it just me?  


Faith, I find is more fragile than that leaf. More delicate than the petal of a flower. Difficult to have, tough to hold on to, very very easy to let go. They say its about the choices you make, the decisions you take. Whats there to choose? Everything... I know. To be or not be, to keep the faith or just let it go. 


Doubts are like raging bulls, hovering clouds, in your head, or all around. Grey, dark, relentless. Then how do you keep them at bay? Find an anchor, God help you with that. Its easy to write off people, relations, situations and intent.

I try a bit everyday, almost invariably unsuccessfully, but I hope to get there someday, to keep the faith from shaking, to keep the belief from breaking. Faith not just in the divine, but in those I know, in the ones to keep, in the ones to let go, in all things pure, in the human heart...

Complete disregard for courtesies... 

We (urban lot, earning from the MNC's which have opened shops in India for cheap labour {yea thats us :P}) happen to meet and greet people of all shapes, dimensions, backgrounds and what not. Of course there is that constant visible attempt of fitting in and matching up. Every other person seems to be a clone of their neighbour, their work colleague who defines their peer group. But again, I'm digressing here. Lets just say I wanted to set the mood and give some background and context, before I start off, on what I intended to write about in the first place.  


So, like I meant to say, increasingly everyone seems to have completely done away with basic courtesies of English language. When I refer to courtesies, all I mean are simple pleasantries like 'Hello,' 'Hi,' 'Hey,' or even 'how are you,'. All these work for me just fine. These would largely be considered about okay pleasantries to be exchanged, when meeting anyone at anyplace. But, the most recent addition to this list is 'whats up,' 'wassup,' etc etc.  I have never quite figured what is the expected response to this one. On most occasions, the wassup is replaced by an upward jerk of the head. I mean it won't Kill you to say hello while greeting someone. Oh, this is my 'Frasier,' moment... bragging about proper usage of language and everything with it. 


Well if this doesn't irk you enough, there's more. I have been noticing rather keenly my conversations with colleagues and friends. There are those who stand out with their regard for good manners and their adherence to the same. And then there are those who just 'cut to the chase,' should I say. You take the call, and their monologue starts of how life's been treating them, and where do you fit in the picture, how you can make yourself useful. Thats with friends. Okay, we can assume that with friends, its all fair, and you can do away with the formality. Now about professional acquaintances, I have been fortunate enough to communicate with people, whose opening sentence is 'yea tell me,' irrespective of who's calling me or they. 


If yo're reading this, and you fall in any of the above mentioned variety, then time to alter that a bit. Don't you think? I mean we are super busy and all that, but we can certainly afford to be a little less mechanical in our interactions, in person or otherwise....