Am I stuck with writer’s
block? One may wonder, considering the dwindling number of blog posts I have
been churning up during the past couple of months. But the truth is that, my
mind has been shuttling between matters concerning something very important in my life- A milestone in itself.
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Read the rest of the post on my new wordpress domain - An excerpt and a list
Dreams form an inevitable part of a human's life. They inspire us, prompt us and ignite us with the much needed impetus to move forward surviving all odds to finally make the desire a reality. We don't always end up with what we dream, but at other times we do. We aren't offered opportunities in a platter most of the times, but at other times, we stumble upon opportunities while carousing our way through the life pathway. Life is such - weird, instinctive and purposeful - all rolled into one.
So coming to the purpose of this post, a lot has been happening in my life lately. Being someone who loves reading blog posts with thoughts detailed in an alluring manner, my heart nudges me to do the same, as I outline the incidents one by one.
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| Image source : Google |
The crimson sky had started spreading its wings . I cringed my eyes to check my watch . It was half past six . A rather cheesy music started blaring loudly from behind me . I glanced back , almost startled at the pitch of the sound ,only to be welcomed by a pan stained row of teeth jeering at me . Avoiding him, i adjusted my dupatta playing deftly in the wind and hovered over the group of people waiting impatiently for the bus .
' The Bus ' failed to prove worthless of the long wait . With barely 30 seats and double the need , i strived hard to strangle the cuss which was emanating from the crevices of my mind . Struggling as i might to balance myself , i fumbled inside my hand bag for the wallet ,when i heard the ticket collector exploring his way skilfully through the crowd . Paying for the ticket , i placed myself at a safe corner of the bus , not a tad bit interested in suffocating myself to death . I never noticed the man sailing his way towards his target until i felt a hand snuggling close to me . Revolt did i , as best as i could, throwing a deadly stare at him , and clutching my handbag close to me . I let out a sigh when he disappeared in a scurry behind the thick veil of bodies clinging onto each other .
Reaching my destination , my college , i strolled back unaware of the many cold eyes prying on me . Near the Indian Coffee House inside our campus , i stumbled upon Vinay , my batchmate .
" Hey ! . What is a female species doing outside the hostel at this time of the hour ?! Its past nine ! ." He asked , a dubious expression dancing on his face .
" You do realise right that a Paediatrics professor is staring at you coldly from inside the coffee house . Decent women never wander around once the daylight recedes " .He advised in between suppressed chuckles .
" Spare the nonsense Vinay . Nothing can matter to me today , though i do carry a pepper spray in my bag ! You know, i managed to grab a pass today to attend that Conference on Book Writing organised by ABC publications ! Such an evocative session it was ! " I beamed .
" Okay , now tell me you havent gone out of your mind , Neetha . I hope you are well aware of the Medicine PG sessional exam which is due next week . With such an important exam honking loud around the corner what were you thinking you while you went wasting your time on some silly book session ?! "
" Its not that i am not preparing for the exam. I am ,trust me . But does that mean i should sacrifice something close to my heart just because everybody else here is burying their head inside the textbooks day in and day out . Is it some kind of an unwritten rule that medical students should sit mugging up for ' twenty five ' hours a day ! "
" You do as you wish . I cant bother fighting with you at this eleventh hour of exams . See you later . Ciao " .
'Eleventh hour ?! There is still a week to go for the exam '. I buried that thought inside me as he raced away on his Pulsar scared of losing yet another minute of his precious study schedule .
Reaching my room i saw Kavya , one of my room mates , swelling up in resentment .
" Where were you all this time ! . Anita's marriage has been fixed and she took us on a huge treat today at Arcadia . Can you believe her luck . The guy is extremely rich and highly educated too . Oh, and to make things better , he is damn handsome as well . Can you imagine such a combination ! " . She seemed out of the world .
" You should be sharing this news with your husband . Dont forget to include the last sentence " . I teased Kavya while i settled down on my side of the bed , pressing my face deep into the hollow of the fluffy pillow .
" Yeah as if he would be bothered . Leave me , what about you ? . You have any idea how old you will be next March . 27 yrs ! ' Chee , you are a granny ! ' That is what we all are going to say on your birthday if you dont accept one of the proposals your poor mother begs you to accept , atleast by next year . " Kavya threatened in a playful tone .
" Kavya , dont you dare start on the subject again ok . If i am not bothered why would you guys be ! " . Also i am not simply sitting jobless and warming myself in the sun around here. I have big plans for myself . Will you be able to digest it if i say I managed to communicate with a publishing company today during the conference session . Finally the doors to my dreams are slowly opening their arms . Not that i am not planning to marry ever , but let us leave the marriage deal to God for the time being ok . " . I pretended to close my eyes as if in a trance . Seriously , i never got along well with Kavya .
" You dont belong here Neetha . Go , chase your destiny and all those crap you talk about usually . I, tonight , have a very important date with ' Harrison , The textbook of Medicine ' . Make it a point that you dont bug me more with your theories ".
Kavya retreated back to her study table . I too snatched a flourescent marker from my table and settled on my chair to devour the textbook .
The next morning , while i was straining as i might to make out the kind of murmer humming through the stethescope , with an extremely confused patient sitting across me , Anita , my other room mate , nudged me softly from behind .
" Come here , i need to ask you something " . She whispered in my ears .
I glanced at the disheartened face of the patient and passed the stethescope to Naveen , my junior unit mate . " Try if you are able to make out the Ejection click . I hear just the Murmer " .
Anita almost dragged me to the classroom and having closed the door behing she pounced on me , literally,with a question , " Are You involved with Vinay ?! "
" Oh my God , where did that come from now ! . Why would i be doing that ?! " I retorted almost shouting at the top of my voice .
" I knew they would be lying . You know that Abhay right . The one who keeps a grudge against you for not being part of his college union . He saw you yesterday night outside the coffee house with Vinay . He and his friends have come to the conclusion that you are having an affair with him . What else would a girl be doing with a guy at that time of the hour ! See how imaginations fly !"
" Well, so that is the reason behind Abhay smiling at me with a ' i - have - won - over - you ' scoff when i met him at the Procedure Room today . Anita ,You trust me for who i am right . Thats more than i could ask for . Yesterday , on my way back here i could sense the stone cold eyes of the people trying hard to make me feel bad for being out there on the streets alone . And then Vinay came . He was showering me with preaches in his usual self worthy tone saying i was stupid to be chasing my passion while i could utilise that time to score better in my exams . And then Kavya tried to irk me with her mention of the ' Get - married - if you are 26 ' motto . And now that spineless Abhay with his sleazy conclusion ! To all these prancing minds i say , " Not to judge me through their eyes such that they could cleanse my soul free of its specks . I can very well manage myself and definitely no , i am not treading a lost path as they must be hoping . Maybe i am not practical , but then ,heeding to my heart has always been inevitable for my peaceful existence ".
" Oh well i know you , my dear CHE ! " Anita punched me on my shoulder and passed a big grin .
Right then , Naveen barged open the door and shouted frantically at me .
" Neetha , the HOD himself has come to take the class ! Cant he just sit in his room and sign the ledgers . I was scared to the core that he might ask more about the case we were examining . Do have any idea what an Ejection click actually is ?! "
I looked at his sullen face , " Ofcourse i know . Remember i am your senior ! Dont worry . I will explain on our way to the ward " .
Naveen gave me a smile of relief . " No wonder i like you so much ! " . He stated .
A momentary murmer of joy fleeted through my heart . I did have friends who loved me for what i was , absolutely .
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This post finds its inception in a random comment by a friend . He put forth a statement which goes by " The movies were so much more enticing and deep a decade back ; so was music ". I agreed , not for the sake of avoiding a debate , but because I truly felt so . But the same passing comment by that person sent my mind whirring last day while I was travelling by train to my home town . Is it really so ? Can we simply go around bracketting the newer generation talents to be unworthy just because it doesnt please us ? The other side of the coin deserves to be analysed isnt ?
On further pondering I came to the conclusion that I find palatable music and movies in the recent years as well , a few of them exceptionally good and pleasing . So why do we tend to generalise the talent from the past to be golden hits while eye the fresh talents cynically most of the times ?
Last day while I was in the hospital OPD ,packed these days with fever cases ( blame the weather ), the cell phone of a bystander started beeping , rather screaming . The ringtone happened to be a song from the movie ' Aashique ' . Had it been any other occasion I wouldnt have had second thoughts on throwing a cold glance at that person . But interestingly , not this time around . For a second I wished the song would just keep playing !
So what is this all about ? Nostalgia ? To an extent it can be reasoned so right ? Something from the past , be it a movie , a song or an incident recalled instantly sends a refreshing shower down our hearts . Can that be the psychological basis for the tendency to generalise talents from the past to be better than the present , just because they make us feel good ?
Listening to some of the latest songs i am left with little option but to wonder whether they are even based on the ragas and rules using which they are supposed to have been created . ( pardon me , i am not trained in classical music . But an opinion about the same from a veteran would be most welcome ) . most of them sound catchy . But then, is it just me or does everybody feel that the tunes rarely manage to linger longer in our minds ? Maybe we should give the fresh talents the privilege of time to establish and prove their space . Accepting them for the time being seems the most plausible .
On the other hand , I have seen an equal number of youngsters who almost start throwing up when a golden song or movie is mentioned . They stare mockingly at you with an implicit message depicted in the same ' Dude , move on ! '. Accepted that taste for art varies from person to person , but then blatant respite for those which we find less insatiable is sheer hippocrisy .
Everyone is entitled to one's opinion . There is no hard and fast rule when it comes to judging the quality of art . There is so much talent now as there was before , only if its more , with the growing technologies serving their share . Talent wherever you spot it deserves to be acknowledged . Accept what pleases you , reject the others.
