Dear Jake

I won't ever forget how you played and sang it.

The upside is, there's no more imagining for you.

You leave behind much love,

we carry yours in our hearts.

Make sure you miss us lesser beings now, once in a while.

'Cause we most certainly will miss you.

We're so silly for thinking that time is on our side, sometimes.

For all the times we shared, whether it was jamming at Furtados, or practicing for duets to sing on stage, or getting fat on your awesome lemon pie, just to name a few... I'm thankful.

I'm just glad I knew you.

You won't ever be forgotten.

 Love you, Jakey.

"LA!!"

Funny, the way it is.

Lying in the park on a beautiful day 

Sunshine in the grass, and the children play 

Siren's passing, fire engine red 

Someone's house is burning down on a day like this 

The evening comes and we're hanging out 

On the front step and a car rolls by with the windows rolled down 

And that war song is playing, "why can't we be friends?" 

Someone is screaming and crying in the apartment upstairs 

Funny the way it is, if you think about it 

Somebody's going hungry and someone else is eating out 

Funny the way it is, not right or wrong 

Somebody's heart is broken and it becomes your favorite song 

The way your mouth feels in your lovers kiss 

Like a pretty bird on a breeze or water to a fish 

A bomb blast brings a building crashing to the floor 

You hear the laughter while the children play war 

Funny the way it is, if you think about it 

One kid walks 10 miles to school, another's dropping out 

Funny the way it is, not right or wrong 

On a soldier's last breath his baby's being born 

Standing on a bridge, watch the water passing under me 

It must've been much harder when there was no bridge, just water 

Now the world is small, remember how it used to be 

With mountains and oceans and winters and rivers and stars 

Watch the sky, the jet planes, so far out of my reach 

Is there someone up there looking down on me? 

Boy chase a bird, so close but every time 

He'll never catch her, but he can't stop trying 

Funny the way it is, if you think about it.

-Dave Matthews Band-

Five days left of 2010. 

So, obviously it's that time you start to look back and think about the year gone by.

I don't have much to say about it. Not here, anyway.

But, it was big. Freakin' fast. But, big.

Ironic. Greater the mass, slower the speed?

Well, I've heard elephants are fast when they want to be.

Ok, that has nothing to do with my point. 

I started the year out (on blogspot) tripping on the Kinks, Shaggy and Jimmy Eat World! :)

I just didn't feel like letting my last post be a random re-post game I saw on The Mraz's page.

So, I was thinking about what to write. 

I don't usually have to "think" about what to post. 

When I feel like, I do.

This time the only feeling I had was, "MANIA will not be my last post. JUST."

I'm probably going to bore some of you with the randomness of this post. 

I apologize.

But, it's my blog. And, I have to admit, even after over a year, it's still mostly for me. 

When I started to force myself to "think" about 2010, it was amusing how the words "Funny, the way it is" just kept coming to mind. You know, I never have, still don't and probably never will understand any of the things I WISH to understand. And there are so many. To sum it up for you, I want to understand why things are the way they are. I don't.

OK. That just sounds stupid in retrospect. 

No one does.

(I really hate this. You know, when you think you've thought of something superbly profound and then you write it down or think about it again and all it does is sound "stupid" for you. I don't like it. It happens too often.)

Ok, well anyway.. moving on (or back-- to the point?) 

'Funny, the way it is' is one of my personal favourtie Dave Matthews Band songs. 

And it's all that came to mind.

Have you ever experienced loving a song, listening to it (many times), loving it every time you've listened to it, but overall, you've never really taken it all in. For instance, I think today was the first time I really paid attention to this song. Lyrics. Beats. Rhythm. Music. Video. Everything. 

I saw what it was really saying. 

It's pretty brilliant. And it IS funny, the way it is. It's ironic too, but it's definitely funny.

2010 has been pretty epic. It's been quite the close to a decade or start to a decade. 

Yes, I'm still confused about how to count decades!

I'm not going to recount the year, for those of you who're still reading, for whatever reason you're still reading!

I'm just going to say that it was every adjective, colour and song you can think of.

And, I know there's a huge possibility 2011 is going to be similar. 

If it is. I can't wait.

If it's better. I hope I can take it!

If it's worse. It too shall pass.

For what has been, I'm (mostly) thankful.

For the parts I'm not so thankful for, I've accepted.

For what is, I'm happy and gathering courage.

For what will be, I'm willing. (ish)

Here's to just another year gone by.
In itself, an entire lifetime.

MANIA

My Underground

My underground is a strange, confusing place
Nonetheless, my constant retreat
I still can't seem to give it a face
Or define for you, what it means to me

Beyond the realms of comprehension

Sometimes, too hard to understand

A sanctuary amidst the tension

A war-zone when I've lost command

With The Underground that is your own

You could possibly relate

Your safety net when you're falling... alone

In a cold world, that warm embrace

Exclusively mine for none to see

Where everything's said and anything goes

A carefree space... just to be

Where my secrets hide and my spirit grows

To know me well, I'd tell you all

If my trust in you is sound

But, to see my soul you'd need the gall

to take me on, in my Underground

Bucket Listing Everyday!

So many random things to say.
I love 'The Buried Life'. And I've watched only one episode. I don't even know when I'll catch another!
But I caught this one at the right time.
I needed something positive.
I'm generally positive without any help.
But today I needed help.
Waali is always the first to a rescue on most days;
This time only second to this show.
Now I'm not about to become an ardent follower, simply because I don't think I'm capable of ardently following ANYthing, but that's not going to keep me from loving the philosophy.
It's very "Pay It Forward"-like and THAT was one of the few movies that moved me so much, I cried and everything!


I used to think about what I wanted to do with my life "in the big picture" a lot. I still do.
But a couple of years ago (when I was more active in the SSU-our youth group), I used to think a lot about how I wanted to 'change lives' ultimately, one way or another.
I credit that mostly to my parents.
I still know that that's what I want to do, but along the way, it's been pretty easy getting self-involved and distracted with the everyday happy/sad nonsense life serves on it's messy platter.
I just realized, I haven't thought about or envisioned hypothetical situations of that dream coming true often enough lately. I used to have movies play out in my head before!
In some intense conversations in the past, I was faced repeatedly with the same question: 
"Why are you studying THIS? 
OR 
Why are you pursuing THAT."
I still am.


And of course the answers might seem selfish at first.
The answers are simple, after all.
I'm doing the things I do because they interest ME,
Because 'I' want to be able to,
Because they offer me the opportunity to stand out with whatever skills I develop in the process,
but above all, and most importantly, learning things or being the best version of yourself only renders YOU that much more capable of making an impact or a change, first hand.
It makes it that much 'easier' (as inappropriate as the word 'easy' may be) to make a difference.
I'm an architecture student and I joke about how I'm a work in progress, like most of us.
Under construction.
I have a long way to go.
But I believe in getting there.


I think everyone has a right to be different and be sure about it.
Bring something unique to the table.
Your chances of making an unforgettable, 'sizable' mark, are better that way.
All this remains entirely relative to your perception of size.
Changing one life is as big as changing a million, when it's for the better.
In the end, I maintain,
to each his/her own.
Another reason I love the concept of "The Buried Life" is 'cause there's really nothing 'holier than thou' about it. In fact, it's about fulfilling your own dreams (however ridiculous they may be) to help others do exactly that for themselves. 
And if you think about it, it's pretty fundamental in every way isn't it?
How can you make anyone happy unless you're happy yourself!


So, positivity struck. 
And that's good.
And while the bigger picture is still a while away, there's Random Acts of Kindness (RAK) for now.
RAK is a little something that we all do without realizing.
When you buy that beggar on the road a meal or help a struggling stranger with their bags or take the trouble to tell the lady riding pillion on the bike that her dupatta is dangerously close to the back wheel or just smile (not creepily) at a passer by - to quote the average, everyday, most common RAKs - 
you're making a difference.
So why not just consciously make a bigger effort? =)

No I don't claim to be a wise-man, a poet or a saint 

I'm just another man who's searching for a better way 

But my heart beats loud as thunder 

For the things that I believe 

Sometimes I wanna run for cover 

Sometimes I want to scream!

Bang a drum for tomorrow 

Bang a drum for the past 

Bang a drum for the heroes that won't come back 

Bang a drum for the promise 

Bang a drum for the lies 

Bang a drum for the lovers and the tears they've cried 

Bang a drum, bang it loudly 

Or as soft as you need 

But as long as my heart keeps on bangin' 

I got a reason to believe.

- Bon Jovi

My Light Fascination

Such a beautiful mess,

Intertwined and overrun

Cause baby you're a Firework!

Come on let you colours burst!

Tell me can you hear my voice, 
loud and clear above the noise 

May all your troubles soon be gone.

Those Christmas lights, keep shining on.

Though the words sound steady, 

Something empty's within 'em 

I don't know where we're going 
I don't know who we are 

"We do everything"

"Hello! We do everything!! Haan."


That's a comment Toi, one of my friends, made in response to a remark Raa, another friend, made in jest about how we need to find something better to do with our time, than take silly pictures.
(Of course he was kidding. =) I know that. But I LOVE that response!....)


WE DO EVERYTHING!


Ok, It's not the complete truth. But when I think about it, it's not entirely false either.
And when I think of "WE", I think of the everyday, young person out there, struggling with this roller-coaster ride we call life!
I had an intense weekend, in more ways than one.
It was eventful; involved meeting lots of people and doing lots of different kinds of things.
Hectic.
Educational.
Frustrating.
Inspiring.
Tiring.
Supremely FUN.


I've spent Monday pretty much just recuperating!
For once, don't tell me why I don't like Mondays. =)
But in the course of this weekend,
I've learnt a little more about technology. Another step in the right direction to overcoming Software on the battlefield of submissions. I've come to terms with the fact that flat tyres usually happen in pairs. It's happened before. It happened again. And if it doesn't happen again? Hey! I'll be pleasantly surprised.
It's probably better that way, to expect that everything has the potential to be worse.
I bonded over cakes and coffee with people I'd missed and sat at a crowded table in a coffee shop, catching up, laughing and bickering with old friends I don't get to see often enough, minus the holidays.
I watched action packed movies with star casts and hardly slept. And I realize how much I value sleep.
I know, "I'll live while I'm alive and sleep when I'm dead" is even an anthem of sorts. But really, sleep is just a very important part of life. MY life, anyway.
I drove more than I'd drive in 5 days put together. But, I love driving. I just wish the roads we're subjected to in this wonderful country were all maintained 'military style'.
The highlight of the weekend would be discovering Swami Chinmayananda, his philosophy and visiting the Vibhooti ashram in Mulshi. I'd still want to read more on his take on things before I blog about it or anything. But it's nice to expose yourself to what seems like "enlightened thinking" once in a while. It makes you think beyond the realms of our tiny minds that are very often easily trapped in the monotony we coast through, day in and out. The visit may have been for dissertation-al purposes, but coupled with good company and an epic personality with a funky accent, it didn't feel the slightest bit like work.
All of that, with good music in the background at all times, many silly games AND a bunch of sillier photographs, if not for the memories, just to prove it all happened.


Life isn't always this interesting. I'm glad even! I haven't built the stamina for it to be like this everyday.
Besides, I love not doing anything just as much as I love being busy.
It's my judgement in when I choose to do what that could probably use a little fine tuning!
But things are interesting enough.
As for life?
Taking it as it comes is a good way to do it, I've found.


November's been quite the month. I've felt everything.
I've done some of the things I planned and successfully avoided some.
If you read my first post this month,
I still stand by the fact that the wind in my hair on this crazy ride feels really good.
And I feel like someone gifted me a navigation system for the car I'm steering through space as well.
It's preset, obviously.
It's taking me somewhere for certain. I trust it.
But I'm not about to mess with the settings.


Technology!!
LOVE it. But,
ONE step at a time.

December. Show me what you've got.

Full circle moment

So, I happened to catch an episode of How I Met Your Mother this afternoon.
If you know me, you'd know I don't really follow anything on TV religiously...
But I've always liked this show.
It's funny, which goes without saying.
And also, 'cause of Neil Patrick Harris, who I feel in love with as Doogie Howser!
This was just one of those awesome moments where I got unnecessarily extra happy to have something so current bring back some really old memories. =D
It's strange how these things become so much more than JUST TV shows or movies or songs or videos. Very strange.

The show ended like this...

I know, I'm silly.

But, Oh Doogie!

Randy Pausch: Really achieving your childhood dreams | Video on TED.com

Randy Pausch: Really achieving your childhood dreams | Video on TED.com

The single most inspiring talk on TED that I've seen, yet.

This man was phenomenal.

Better than this.

I AM.

(Who invented bubblegum pop?!
They should probably be sued.
But they're GENIUSES.
I confess,
Toy-Box has made this afternoon!)

KUNE: It MUST be magic

 2008 

2009

2010

There's a place on a hill, somewhere between two bustling cities. It's a simple place. The air is clean and it overlooks a valley, where you feel like if you made the plunge you'd probably start to fly. If the weather is right, there's the waterfall to add to your view and if the rain is heavy it'd probably be alive enough to spray you with some of it's water. 
There's something about this place.
It's captured our hearts and always leaves us wanting more or planning to go back.

This place is Kune.

Sometimes you wonder what really makes a place special.
As a student of architecture, I'm into studying and designing places and spaces.
There are so many parameters we have to consider. From function and form to the colours and textures.
As someone who's done a fair share of travelling, I'm familiar with different kinds of places.
From simple minus one star hotels in some obscure part of the country with bad roads, where there happens to be a beautiful specimen of historical Indian architecture to what could easily be considered a five star cruise ship.
My point being, for a place to become really special to you, none of that matters. 
What matters is your experience there.
What happened to you while you were there.
The natural, human or spiritual encounters you have at the place.
The interaction with other people, known to you or not.
The relationships you develop. 
The bonds you make. The ones you tighten.


In the pictures above, two things are common.
i- The place. Kune.
ii- The apparent, unmistakable joy in the faces of the people there.


It's strange not to be a part of the 2010 crowd. In fact it's what's gotten me all nostalgic.
It's reassuring and slightly saddening to see how things continue. 
How all we can really do is enjoy where we are right now and give it ALL we've got.
Because before us, someone did just that. And is probably better for it.
And after us, many more will come along and do the same.


We've made golden memories at Kune, and we're not even close to done yet.
It's the place we planned amazing races and pushed our creative limits (and watched some of our ideas literally burst into flames while we prayed- anyone remember the famous cellophane lanterns?).
The place we took charge and became leaders.
The place we fought on the playing field and sometimes bled, till we won.
The place we enjoyed ministering angels and cross-dressed way beyond what would be considered 'scandalously'. 
Where we conned people into washing our plates and where we told ghost-stories that weren't scary at all.
Where everyone was brave enough to bet on the girls in a boys vs. girls wrestling match and we lost. (We left our marks though!)
The place where monkey's attended sessions and a black dog would chase them around.
Where long afternoon treks under a blazing sun were totally worth it just 'cause of the waterfall reward in the end.
Where every night we'd sit in silence around a candle's flame listening to the gentle strumming of a guitar and we'd sing under stars.
Where dancing and football were at loggerheads for the 11 to 1 session.
The place we even brought in a new year while burning quite a good looking old man.

The place we went to escape from everything, and somehow found more of what we were looking for than we expected.

The place where broken friendships healed and new ones formed.

The place where some of our aching hearts found comfort and strength.

The place where friends fell in love. Where they still do. 
Where one even went on to propose sharing his life with the one he loved.
And she said yes.

Words couldn't be enough to describe what Kune means to us. But I urge YOU (yes, YOU reader.) to leave behind your memories of this place in a comment on this post, if Kune meant anything to you. 
Who knows! Maybe when we're all old and grey, I'll use this at some re-union and we'll laugh with the joy of it all. But it's an awesome feeling just reminiscing the times right now too!

To the memories,

being alive, alert, awake, enthusiastic!

To Kune. 

Our's forever.