Friday, February 12, 2010

Guide to Life!

Life, if you stop to inspect, is a series of incidents strategically following each other. I say strategically because I am being optimistic. If they are not strategic, they can be just as random as a roll of dice, so I would rather have someone knowing something about what the hell is happening all around us.

The only thing to remember is it is too short.

Dream, because dreams dont cost anything. Dont forget your dreams, never give up on them. On a day, when you are lying in dirt, beaten and bruised, and you can still remember your brightest dream and know its gonna happen, you will be alright. Either that, or well you have completely lost it.

Make friends. That is the only thing you earn in your life. Rest means nothing. Stand by your best friends, mostly. Take that extra drink, spill your guts! literally!

Remember your family. Be nice to your siblings. Forget grudges old and new with your parents. They will be gone before you know it. You will be glad if u do, or well extremely pissed!

Take that chance. If you want something go after it. Dont drift with the flow. If you know what you want, you are one of the few lucky ones. Even if you miss out, it is always better to take that chance! Although missing out can be hazardous to health. And I said take a chance, not roll a dice at some casino!

Travel. Reach out, expand your horizons. Remember the story of the nest bird.

Get drunk every once in a while. It clears your head. It shows you (and others!) what you really want, and what you really think. Do that tequila shot every now and then. (Its a shame nothing much can be done about the others.)

Be logical. Logic drives pretty much everything in this universe. It explains everything and it usually leads to a happy safe life. And it even drives the robots, so there you go!

Fall in love. It is one of the few times in life, where you can bear to be vulnerable. If you ever feel like defying logic, do it for the person you fall in love with. It is an experience you dont want to miss out on. Truly agonizing! :P

The only thing to remember is life is too short, so get busy living!

Yours Truly,
The Void

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Blast from the past

I am sort of lost again. It is surprising how often does that happen! Anyway, I found an old diary of mine, with a lot of stuff I had written, some of it live as it happened. This is bits and pieces from the darkest part of my mind, intensely personal. And therefore it is obvious, why it must be censored!

(Most of the following I wrote when I was passing time on the last bench in a class)

..... I am a horrible student, always been a last bencher unless coerced by forces of evil towards otherwise. And surely you dont expect me to listen....

... You see the things you dream about all of your life and you finally get them, dont always turn out to be the way you intend them to be...

............And I met my treacherous past, there was a lot that was to be said and should have been said and yet I didnt.....

..... There comes a time for everyone when they feel completely, utterly alone. This happens when you are forsaken by your best friends, the people you trust. And first you drift into a sea of nothingness and before you realize it, you get hit by a rock that you didnt knew exist.....

(And a particularly disturbing entry,)

August 29, 2006
Today looks like another long day. It is particularly difficult to spend the whole day surrounded by people and the days..... (unreadable)..... I dont know what the cure is, I am upto my head in crap. (Wonder what triggered this entry)

"The point Arpit, is to remember you must never give up on a friend."(This I believe is the best spur of the moment thing anybody ever said to me, I keep it close to my heart)

You critics or whatever else you may call yourself, are ashamed or frightened of the momentary and transient extravagance which are to be found in all creative minds and whose longer and shorter duration distinguishes thinking artists from the dreamer. You complain of your unfruitfulness because you reject too soon and discriminate too severely.
(A paragraph from a letter some author wrote to his critics, reproduced by Sigmund Freud in his book Dream Interpretation)

My head is on the verge of an explosion. A battle rages inside, a decision made subconsciously conflicts with the desires of the heart. What heart desires is often complex and more often is impragmatic. What heart desires is not always attainable, but the brain impregnated with power to reason and loaded with logic figures out a course of action less prone to failure. But the brain is incapable of power beyond all, a power that is both great and terrible. Dreams. Dreams can wake a man from grave and yet the same can drive him insane. Brain is also without the driving force that makes silver linings in the darkest of clouds. Its called hope. Hope is omnipresent, and its the one thing that nobody can ever take away from you. Courage can fail, hard work comes to naught but hopes and dreams retain the power to vanquish the darkest hour.
( July 13th, 2006, I remember the day, and things werent well when I wrote this. This somehow brought me peace, and has done so many times since.)

........ I just wish I could put all this behind me and close my eyes and fucking go to sleep.....
(A hard bout of insomnia catching up with me)

......... The body is full of hyper energy which is going to waste more than use.......
(One of the days trying to put TIRC together)

.... Its 1.35am and my hair are progressively greying by the thought of the magnitude of this event.....
(from the letter inviting people to join TIRC)

There are times in life when you encounter things beyond your capability. These are perhaps the most testing times anybody can face or the easiest. The difference lies in the attitude, broadly divided into go-getter or happy-go-lucky person. Go getter is the better human being, while the happy-go-lucky person is well, happier. Period!


Maybe passion is overrated maybe because passionate people are the unhappy ones. They chase sparkling dreams, and go after things they believe in, things they love. They are the ones who proudly wear their hearts on their sleeves and are not afraid of getting hurt. But a passionate guy is bound to be miserable as he comes to terms with his own limitations or the cavalier manner of his comrade/colleague/companions. But the passionate people will give you everything they got, till long after they can afford to.............

..... Maybe passion is overrated, but all it requires is two passionate people madly in love with each other to make an exciting life out of nothing............ I may not be much, but sure as hell know that I am passionate!

There unfortunately is no end to this diary, and I believe I will stop now, to be continued on a later date. Till then,

love
Void

Monday, September 7, 2009

The Nasty Post

As I fight a fresh bout of depression/self-pity, I feel this is no reason to ruin my blog with pathetic and self deprecating mumblings. So I decided to go nasty instead... Welcome to the Nasty Post, and I hereby announce opening of a whole new tag and category-- The Nasty Ones!

I should begin by explaining what I mean by nasty. The first requisite for a post to be categorized as nasty is it should be "dripping" with sarcasm. It is a blatant attack on a system, person, idea, or basically any social crap that we have to put up with. Although not necessary, but I will try to put as much dark (or shallow) humor as possible to make it an excellent read.

To begin with the post..

I have been quoted as saying relationships are important because they help you grow and become a better person. Although I am starting doubt that, cuz walking down that lane again, I only have horrible ideas. But still, lets give being good a chance. There are many things that come as dowry in a relationship, even if it is 5 minutes of making out with a stranger or 10 mins of it, with a dear old friend while you are drunk. Whether its long distance or short, doesnt matter. This dowry is sometimes good, sometimes bad, just like everything in life. So what I will do is, take the 10 best items of the dowry and tell you why its good to be in a relationship. Next time you feel strained by a relationship or feel like dumping your significant other, come back and read this. Not that it will solve any of your problems, but I do hope it will give you one solid laugh.

So in perfectly random order

* You have a standing excuse to bail on stupid/boring plans your friends made or if you have to help them with something that you dont want to do

* Every guy has a feminine side, what better opportunity to do those things that you always wanted to do but cant because they are feminine. Your gf will love you for it.

* Increasing your visibility in the girl sororities

* Now that you are unavailable, it increases your rating with your dreamgirl, the one that you were always afraid to ask out. A recent study showed, people are always interested in what they cant have.

* If you play it cool and well enough, your parents dont bother you as much because they are curious about the long hours you spend talking on the phone, and they start being nice to you.

* It is one up on the brothers without girlfriends, and in those mean circles any sort of advantage is cool.

* Your kid cousins dont try to fix you up with their kid friends.

* My personal favorite: Its nice to have someone who can list all your shortcomings in under a minute, if you ever decide to strive to be a better person.

* It increases your cool quotient. In many circles it is considered lame to be single, and well cool to have a girlfriend. Like disc, for example, many wont let you enter without a female friend.

* And of course, the unmentionables! After all it is one step closer to the booty town thing we talked about earlier. ;)

I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I seriously hope certain people will not suddenly find out about the existence of this webspace and log on to it, that can turn awkward. But if they do, let me just say, its all in good fun and nothing personal.

As always, with love

Yours Truly
Void

Thursday, August 20, 2009

An Iota of Inspiration

Last time I started writing, I wanted to write something that would inspire me and get my deepest thoughts out. Instead I ended up bitching about a failed romance. I hope to go better this time.

It has been a rough couple of months for yours truly, the Void. I have lost so much, seen so much come to naught, that I am beginning to doubt myself. Well actually, I started doubting myself, a long time ago, right now I am starting to give up on myself. Everywhere things are like coming to no conclusion, and as much as I am trying to move forward I cant. Its the deep alley I described two years ago, I am back there again. (Click here to read that post)

And real life and dreams are colliding, big time. I keep trying to assure myself its going to be ok, and trying to keep positive, and not get frustrated by it, but it aint happening. I am cold, and as much as I hate to admit this, I am rattled.
"A decison that went wrong in the past, misfortune and misery piled up and one strike and crash..."


But, shit happens all the time. And you have to look above all of that, and be good. I always say, Failure is when your best wasnt good enough, but what does a failure mean? Does it mean your life is over? Or that none of your dreams will ever come true? Some failures are more obvious, like failing a test, now u can always reappear in that test, so not such a big deal. Unfortunately, not all failures are that simple.

But you know, I am disappointed too. Because, I did put in an effort towards everything, I have worked hard for four years, and I expected some rewards right about now. I am just trying to convince myself, that I dont deserve anything, but I cant make myself believe it. Simply because I have put in too much fucking effort, to see it come to naught. Its all so screwed up that I am left wondering where would I be right now, if I had slacked off like many of my friends. Down a sewer maybe?


And maybe I have some other purpose, maybe I am meant to do something else. But most likely, my dues aint paid yet. It looks like, I still have some battles to fight before I can get my life back on track. I am prepared to start at the bottom again, and I am excited about it too. I know I will make something out of it. Right now, hope has really deserted me and there is no light coming in from anywhere, but well, things will change. They have to, I wont give up. After twenty two years of fighting life trying to screw me (at least last 10 years of it), I can easily take a few more years. No problems. I will fight back, its like that U2 song, "There is nothing you can throw at me, that I havent already had(heard)". I may be down, but I am not out. Noway!



Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Farewell, Baba... May the stars watch over you

"The distance was just over 150 km, but in our hearts it was more."

How do you say your final goodbyes? What do you say to a dying man? What do you say to your person who has loved you since the day you were born, changed your diapers, read you bed time stories, let you win at cards, smiled at your jokes even if they hurt him, what do you say?

What do you say to someone who is much older than you are, seen the life about four times as much as you have, someone who made his life himself, and in all probability made the difference between you being born on a farm or in the city. A person who has contributed to what you are today and what you will be tomorrow. Your first teacher.

What do you say to a person you love so deeply, but standing besides his deathbed you feel awkward. What do you say to a person, you have known your entire life and dont know a single thought running inside his head. What do you say to a person who wont speak back. What do you say to a person, who loves you so much that he cried everytime he saw you, but today with eyes wide open cant summon up a smile on his face.

What do you say to a dying man, how do you tell him it is over. How do you decide when to stop the oxygen and when to bring him home, where he want to close his eyes. How do you play the executioner of God's will. How do you decide when to kill, the one responsible for your presence in the world.

What do you say to his wife, whose tears are uncontrollable, how do you reason with her. How do you reason with yourself, how do you tell yourself to move on and to forget the past. How do you not remember the differences of opinion, and how do you wish for them to go away, how do you turn back time and wipe away those memories of anger and folly. How do you reason with yourself, it wasnt your fault.

How do you control the deep sorrow welling up your heart, how do you wipe away unshed tears or for that matter how do you cry for one who helped shape what you are today. How do you go downstairs and find the will to sit beside his dead body and chant mantras, how do you go to sleep. What do you tell his brother, who expects you to sit next to him and help him through the night with chanting of mantras. How do you switch on your faith in God, and how do you believe there are better things in store for him.

How do you say goodbye to your grandpa?

"The distance was just over 150 km, but in our hearts it was more."

How do I make it untrue?

In all of my glory, and self confidence... this is Void... confused and defeated... hoping the non cynics will fare better than I have.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

20 things to do before graduating

We are graduating in june(or nearabouts) this year, and we all will soon be one of those 9-5 job guys... or if considering recession... unemployed. Both are depressing, each one more than the other. This is the last fun part of your entire life. So what is the craziest thing you wanted to do but never had the balls to do... or thought insensible to do?

Here is my list... I have already done many of them.. but still

20) Tell a lecturer how stupid he is, when he confidently suggests a wrong thing.

19) Slap the stupid blighter in case he disagrees.

18) Tell my hod how gay he is.

17) Try drinking desi tharra (alcohol)

16) Get into a really nasty fight.

15) Get really drunk and sneak into girl's hostel!

14) Return of Bajrang Dal... (enough said!)

13) kill all biharis except kinetic bihari of corse... TI rules!

12) Start singing "you are not alone" by tears for fears loudly in examination hall.

11) Kill my old quarterback's "sister"!

10) Find the principal, grab him by both arms and shout "engines can't be made of plastic you fool"

9) Find our chairman, and say "You are fucking blind man... and so are your close circuit cameras"

8)Convince the english professor to attend english speaking classes.

7) Walk out of a lecture on the grounds that the lecturer is too stupid and even I can't teach him!

6) Have an unlimited booze party with strippers!

5) Spray paint "HOD('s name) is a loser all over the campus.

4) Give a seminar on lovelogy and the proper way to smooch... really the kids have it all wrong!

3) Have an ONS..

2) Find a job (with the market situation as it is, that actually is a crazy thing)

1)---CLASSIFIED---

I hope you enjoyed it, I will be back with more soon. Keep watching this space.

Luv
Void

Saturday, February 28, 2009

The Three Months


People sometimes ask me why I dont publicise my blog? Its simply because then my blog will be public and I wont be able to get in all personal and stuff. Still I figure I need to write something really cool and nasty, that sounds more like me to get over all the stupid things I wrote in the last part.

One of the things about being twenty one and waiting on your real life to begin is, it is the best time to get into a relationship. The equation is really simple, you have three months left on college. So you try and find someone, have the fun part and get out. Thats like a normal relationship, right? Wrong, basically you have an exit coming up on the highway, and you know it is coming up three months down the line! You have it all planned, three months later you will move, definitely move to a new place and into new dynamics. The dynamics shift is what we are looking for.

To understand what I really mean, lets go back three and a half years. You are a young eighteen year old, walking in, the world is your oyster and all that crap teens believe in. You develop a crush in your first month, ask her out in the second, date her in the third, tolerate her in the fourth, fight her in the fifth and you dump her in the sixth. You still have three and a half years left at the place where you are stuck with the people you never want to see in your life! A lot can go wrong in the three and a half years! You can end up in same friend circle, your best friend can end up dating her, you can end up dating her best friend. That is not to mention all the jokes your friends are going to throw at your face when you two bump in a very public place (like the cafeteria!) It has crisis written all over it. You suddenly find out the life is a bytch, and you get four years training on exactly what kind of bytch the life is!

Or you can choose to skip that training. Believe me life being a bytch is a lesson you will learn without even trying. Life tries to screw you so bad and so much, that by the time four years are over your ass resembles the surface of a golf ball!

Now if you are dating outside your college, let us hope you are suitably located for that kind of thing. That you are living in the heart of the city, and your college workload allows you considerable freedom, then you can date someone who is not remotely connected to your college.
Or there is the LDRs, I am personally prejudiced against LDRs simply because they are lame and is basically not at all like being in a relationship but yeah, there is the LDR. Especially if the chick is in your hometown, your hometown is hundred miles from college and attendance is not so much compulsary. Otherwise they dont work.

But there is a downside to this, what happens is when you are dating someone outside the college that means you are not interested in girls in your vicinity. So what happens is the girls in your vicinity assume you are gay or DC. Now if you break up with the LDR or the gal outside college you get stuck in a no-women's-land zone, which is basically opposite of lesbian booty town. Comparing it with stats, there is 87% chance you will break up before you are 20 and 98% chance you will break up before 21. (Did you know 42% of all stats are made up on the spot?)

So how the three month period works.... In the forst month you locate a girl, calculate the stability and probability (forget the crush part). In the second month you date her, in the third month you create the distance. In the fourth month, but wait... there is no fourth month! You are out of college, just change sims, block her from facebook and orkut and you are done. Or if you dont want to be nasty, you can just keep on increasing the distance, using the shifting dynamics as an excuse, till the elastic limit is reached, plastic deformation occurs and yield point is reached (sorry I am a mechanical engineer!)

Now, why the three month period is crucial. First and foremost WE LIVE IN INDIA, by the time the girl is finishing her four year course their is a eighty percent likelihood her parents are trying to get her married! Even if they are not, the marriage is not distant at all. The girls are looking for freedom and life saviors. Second reason is well, near the end, ends happen! Lot of vulnerable people out there! Third reason is you are stepping into a grownup world, younger chicks dig that. Vulnerability is not just about relationships being over, people also get scared before any new beginnings, like first day of school, first day of college, the first day of real life is approaching!! Run! Run for your lives!!

But the most important reason is people go crazy near graduation. There is simply too much fun that was there in your college life, so in the dying moments you want to have as much of it as possible. You have dreams (not the academic ones you idiot), thoughts, you wanted to accomplish! I shit you not, girls have fantasies about things they want to do before leaving college that will make your head spin! If you get inside it is very close to lesbian booty town! ;)

Have fun and please hook up!

Love
Void

P.S. I humbly dedicate this post to awesome and "legen.... wait for it..... dary (legendary)" Barney Stinson. Go read the Barney's Blog for more wisdom!