My journey inwards...

10 guesses why Mohan came back :D

Mishra — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 10:53:47 +0000

Why did Mohan babu return really ?

Wanted to teach that skeptical panch, Munishwar , a lesson ( the one who said ‘Jaati kabhi nahi jati‘ )
He thought being gay was no longer an option- Vinod and John found someone else
Found that that recession is round the corner and its respectable to resign in advance than being thrown out
Found no other girl on the planet interested in him other than Githli
Kaveri Amma cooked better food than what he got in US
Cheeku failed twice in the same grade and wanted help
To kick postman’s ass who challenged him twice
To negotiate terms and conditions with Mela Ram who declined to come over for the Dhaba on freeways
Understood that the guy at village could make better forecast than his GPM and so its better to join him there than work for NASA
Wanted to torment the nation by making Ra.One !!

To ponder

Mishra — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 20:34:25 +0000

Mere sapno ka Bhaarat kaisa ho ?

Someday, I am going to write on that. Someday, when I am able enough.

Saying No

Mishra — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 20:22:15 +0000

One of my favourite seniors from college-who was into literature and drama- told me once, ” Mishra, you must learn to say No else you will end up just like me”. Did not make sense back then (was in 1st year and high on an achievement which seemed in excess of my abilities) but it does now. 6 year hence, I am yet to come to terms with the world which thrives on the passivity of youngsters like me. Saying No is standing up for something ( of course sometimes, it is also out of ignorance but lets skip that for the moment and stick with an informed No). It is either about making a choice or stopping oneself from making one- latter implying the former actually.

We were taught to answer with ‘yes sir’,'thank you’ and ‘please’ but we were not given basic courses in defiance. After studying a bit of psychology and observing the pathetic state of relationships in the world around me ( ~~including~~ especially marriages ) , I know now, what is missing. We are not assertive enough. We conform all our lives sticking with such etiquette – firstly to our parents and then to the society ( which always seems to have an elastic definition- selectively including those who conform with our belief system and excluding those who don’t ). We never say No.

That has to change.

So much to do

Mishra — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 22:22:47 +0000

Ok. So yes, it has been exactly 5 months since that happened. A lot of things have changed since then, including my conception of what was incorruptible back then. Now, I live in a world with no rules and absolutely no certainties. It is like playing in the stock market, only I was satisfied with savings bank account earlier. Seems closer to the real world ? It is

But it is good- in a non-sarcastic sense. We ( and when we say we, I mean us Indians ) have been fed on stories with three basic elements :

helplessness ( that everything is either pre-ordained or in the hands of God )
miracle ( that runs counter to the theory of continuous hard work )
just world hypothesis ( that if you are the good guy, you will always walk away with the girl )

Sadly, real world is about accidents and not-so-happily-ever-afters. This is a world where even the best of relationships lose flavour over time. Don’t think so ? Who has all the fun except the last 10 minutes and who laughs more- hero or the villain ? There you go ! The point is not that we should strive to be the bad guy, rather, be the guy who plays-as-it-comes rather than hoping for some grand scheme of things to manifest itself. There are no Aamir Khans for us who take away our pain ( as in Taare Zameen Par ). There is no God waiting to be pleased by our silly offerings and false prayers. If there is one, He knows what we truly are and we can not fool Him just like that. It is scary for sure- and I have myself not been able to come to terms with it- but I believe it will make us a better person

And, as I write this post, I know there is so much more that I have to do before I call it a day.

So much to do,so little done

Movies and social issues

Mishra — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 18:16:28 +0000

I like to believe that I am a movie buff. But there was this movie, Aakrosh, which I missed out on somehow- blame it on studies back in college, however scant that was . But, I got to watch it recently and I was more than impressed. Yes, issue based movies do not do very well on the Box office- unless there is some touch of reality in that ( remember Prakash Jha’s Gangajal ? ) and for that reason, there have not been many movies addressing real issues. Aarakshan was a fine effort except they got the title wrong and hence the differential expectations from viewers. But that apart, it was another fine movie. Then there was Peepli(Live) which lacked on-the-ground research and was ignored by intelligentsia.

However, Aakrosh was as good as any movie can get on Honour killings. Supreme court has repeatedly criticised heinous acts such as this to no avail as such crimes against humanity go unreported. Moreover, there is little that Government can do as far as such social menace is concerned. I hope Bollywood does its bit…

Wondering …

Mishra — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 05:29:15 +0000

Don’t know about others, but I miss the company of children. The little ones ,who are annoying yet addictive. Not just for the fun of playing and laughing with them on their questions- often ranging from ‘Why do you have to go every time’ , ‘ I don’t like studying at all ‘ and like, but also for reminding me what we should strive be as a person. Pure and simple. But I have quoted on several occasions that there are no innocents in the world, only foolish- because if you do not know what you are supposed to know, then you are foolish and not innocent, right ? Quite understandably, children are not an exception to this hypothesis either.

I wonder why they are so unarguably lovable irrespective of species they belong to ( its fun looking at puppies and piglets moving around in groups as well right ? ). Is it the Universal Language of love or something – something talked about by Coelho in one of my favourite books “The Alchemist” ? Ofcourse , I can not go with that more so because I have a background in basic sciences and can not just abandon the scientific way of looking at things. But I do, however, take it as one of the propositions. Fair enough ?

I wonder what is it about babies that makes us appreciate life more when we are around them? Some unadulterated life force which we can only hope to conserve over years as we grow up? Possibly. Every time I get to be with babies, I return as someone with a renewd positive outlook – often debating the obvious negativity which encapsulates us all.

My dear niece once bestowed upon my late maternal grandfather the best compliment he ever got in his entire life span of 85 years- Gandhi baba and quite visibly, he was so very happy. No one could have told him that even though he always had that bent. The validity of such a comparison apart, but what made it was remarkable was the ease with which this happened, almost obviating it in the process. As if no one could question it. I wonder whether we can be as irrefutable in our propositions like them- the certainty and infallibility of it all ?

I have countless experiences and observations like these but the problem is I do not have the explanations to convince…myself . But, I must keep looking for one

Finally, god :)

Mishra — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 20:24:08 +0000

So yes, I am depressed atleast according to this link. I sleep a lot less than I used to- which ,as a matter of fact, was a lot . But this all med-nonsense apart, things have been going rather well. This table, where I sit down for 10 hours a day and slog my asses off for these awesome subjects of study, is the center of my universe. And around this center, the world is so much in chaos- Inflation, Anna Hazare, Sudan, Libya, Occupy Wall Street- everything is turning upside down. But, I am at peace,relatively !

I do wish ,however, I were a little richer than I currently am( with my account balance plummeting to single digit every month ). Rich enough to afford pizzas and weekend trips to my favourite movie halls. And maybe join a gym or something or go home once in a while. But… that all is nothing in comparison to the satisfaction which I derive from the fact that I am doing precisely what I wanted to do.

So,Thank you God !

In the end…

Mishra — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 15:55:24 +0000

In the end, I’ve come to believe in something I call “The Physics of the Quest.” A force in nature governed by laws as real as the laws of gravity. The rule of Quest Physics goes something like this: If you’re brave enough to leave behind everything familiar and comforting, which can be anything from your house to bitter, old resentments, and set out on a truth-seeking journey, either externally or internally, and if you are truly willing to regard everything that happens to you on that journey as a clue and if you accept everyone you meet along the way as a teacher and if you are prepared, most of all, to face and forgive some very difficult realities about yourself, then the truth will not be withheld from you.

You are right !

Reference- here

Opportunity !

Mishra — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 15:44:14 +0000

Ok. So a lot depends on how the next 4 months go. And ofcourse, if I am not my usual lethargic self, things might just start getting better. This might be the last chance to put things in order. Lets see…

Something IS cooking

Mishra — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 19:48:19 +0000

Yes. There has been a development of sorts as far as plans are concerned. Not getting into details but thanks to recent ‘happenings’, I think I just got myself new targets- long term ofcourse Looks challenging looks right

Thank God because it was getting kind of easy !

And oh, yes- I am making amazing Poha these days. Better than anyone I have ever known