I Believe I Can Fly

I used to think that I could not go on

And life was nothing but an awful song

But now I know the meaning of true love

I'm leaning on the everlasting arms

If I can see it, then I can do it

If I just believe it, there's nothing to it

I believe I can fly

I believe I can touch the sky

I think about it every night and day
Spread my wings and fly away

I believe I can soar

I see me running through that open door

I believe I can fly

I believe I can fly

I believe I can fly

See I was on the verge of breaking down

Sometimes silence can seem so loud

There are miracles in life I must achieve

But first I know it starts inside of me, oh

If I can see it, then I can do it

If I just believe it, there's nothing to it

I believe I can fly...

Hey, cuz I believe in me, oh

If I can see it, then I can be it

If I just believe it, there's nothing to it

I believe I can fly...

Hey, if I just spread my wings

I can fly

I can fly

I can fly, hey

If I just spread my wings

I can fly

By R Kelly. To listen to the song click here

We visited Kathmandu this summer and were mesmerised with the scenery there. Like all tourists, we visited the temples and I saw something I had never seen before. At the foothills of the temple, there was a guy with hundreds of birds in a few cages (see pic above). You could hear them chirping from far away. Cute looking birds of all sizes and colours.

I wondered who would buy birds in a tourist spot! Out of curiosity I went up to him and he started selling me the birds.

"Nahi bhaiya hum yaha nahi rehtey to hum ye chidiya nahi le saktey"

"Madam ye chidiya paltu banane ke liye nahi hai. Aap jitni khareedengey mein utni chidiyaon ko azad kar dunga"

At first I loved the idea but then I thought - is this ransom money he is charging me to release the birds? After all he only would've caught them in the first place right? Moreover what's the guarantee it's not his own pet birds who will fly back to him after some time?

"Madam bahut sabab ka kaam hai. Bahut punya milega aapko"

"To tum sab ko aisi hii kyon nahi chod dete. Sara punya tumhey mil jayega"

"Hum gareeb aadmi hain, rozi ke liye kuch to karna padta hai"

"Acchaa ye bahar reh payengi? Aakhir itney time se pinjre mein rahi hain to bahar kaise reh paengi, apney liye khana kaise dhund payengi"

"Aap chinta mat karo, yahan itney ped hain, ye araam se bahar reh sakengy"

"Ye tumhari paltu to nahi, ki jab hum jaye tum inhey vapas apne pinjre mein daal do?"

"Nahi madam, isse to bahut paap lagega. Kasam hai. Aisa kaam main kabhi nahi karunga"

By now I was too tempted and no amount of reasoning would work for me. I was itching to see the birds fly out in the open. I looked at H and he looked convinced too. So we told him to release 2 birds. BTW each bird was priced differently! The "joda"(pair) was more expensive, bulk of 6 was cheaper and so on.

We relased the couple and they instantly flew out and went on sat on a branch of a tree. They looked so happy and free. I looked at my hubby again and he nodded.

"Bhaiya char aur ko chod do"

4 more were released and they seemed to be loving their independance.

By now H was charged up and he said "Do aur chodo"

We were getting addicted to this and needed to stop before we went overboard. The guy insisted we relase more, but we were not sure. By now a few passersby were stopping to see the spectacle as well.

Another man started the same conversation with him...and we noticed the birds were sitting in nearby trees only. Somehow they seemed to be his pets. As if accustomed to this act, they were his friend and accomplice.

We quitely walked out. Hoping and praying that the birds were not put back in that cage...but then we will never know...

Classified Nuisance

Classified is a cheap and easy way to get two intersted parties together. Many websites provide a platform to place adverts of services offered for free. But what happens if this website is not designed properly?

There is a site called www.dubaiclassified.com where one can easily set up an account and place ads. Now you will ask - so what's the problem? Well the problem is that anyone - yes anyone, can set up and account on your behalf - with your email id, and start posting adverts - in your name. And well you start recieving all the enquiries on your phone!

What we thought was a prank by someone has become a permanent nuisance for us 6 months later. I clearly rememebr it started on our anniversary in Feb this year and till date we (read my H) recieves numerous calls for sharing bed space, car pool, house rent, car sale, and many other possibilities. He gets calls in the middle of the night asking for such services which are being changed by the impostor everyday.

To solve this issue, we have written to the website people numerous number of times but have recieved no response whatsoever from them. The site displays people's email ids freely, so any tom dick and harry can come and lift your email id and start sending you junk mails daily. So that's another set of junk we recieve daily. We are now seriously contemplating on approaching a newspaper and get this nuisance sorted out.

How can the site not have a way of verifying the user's email when signing up? To make matters worse, when you use their passwrod reminder feature(which means they send you the password on your email) also doesn't work. So what does one do?

Do you have any suggestions for me? We are sick and tired of answering people that we are not offering any rooms for sharing, no car pools, no bed space, no fridge and furniture on sale@!!@!

I was Tagged!

Yesterday I wrote this entire post and just a click before publishing it, somehow the whole thing got deleted (I am surprised I could not undo the process!!@#@@!). It annoyed me so much that I did'nt want to write it all over again. I am now once again going to attampt writing what I did yesterday. So here I go.

Just as I recovered from a dilemma on an award I recieved on my other blog Styalogue, I was tagged by MySpace! In fact MySpace says she loves putting me in a spot. Since I am new in blogosphere, I am still trying to figure out stuff here and do not have a robust list of friends. So when I recieved another tag which I needed to pass on to 6 of my friends I paniced once again. But this time as well, I will reserve a few names to be sent out at a later stage. BTW MySpace soon the tables would turn and I will send a tag/award etc to all your friends and have you panicing the same way...hahaha*devilish laugh*

Here comes the tag and my answers to the questions:

The rules for the tag are:

RULE #1 People who have been tagged must write their answers on their blogs and replace any question that they dislike with a new question formulated by themselves.

RULE #2 Tag 6 people to do this quiz and those who are tagged cannot refuse. These people must state who they were tagged by and cannot tag the person whom they were tagged by continue this game by sending it to other people.

1. If your lover betrayed you, what will your reaction be?

Anger and hatred

2. If you can have a dream come true, what would it be.

They keep changing for me, so for now I would want my company to be the best and most recknoned one in its industry

3. Whose butt would you like to kick?

Right now it's the police and the terrorists attacking India

4. What would do with a billion dollars?

Wohoo!! I'll be jumping with joy. I would def invest the money carfeully so that we can retire and spend the rets of our lives luxuriously, travelling and doing stuff what we enjoy doing.

5. Will you fall in love with your best friend?

Is love deliberate? Can I make myself fall in love with someone? If it is meant to be it will be. In any case we love our friends right?

6. Which is more blessed: loving someone or being loved by someone?

There is nothing more blessed than loving someone and being loved back. But if that doesn't happen then surely being loved is way better than loving someone.

7. How long do you intend to wait for someone you love?

Again is there a time frame in love? Can WE decide how long we intend to wait? I would assume if that were the case with me, it would be forever.

8. If the person you secretly like is attached, what will you do?

Crib and curse my illuck! And well wish the guy and his lover all the best!

9. If you could root for one social cause, what would it be?

Education for every child. There is no better way to allievate an economy and help a person. It's like teach a man to fish and he will eat forever, rather than fish For him and he will depend on you forever.

10. What takes you down the fastest?

False flattery

11. Where do you see yourself in 10 years time?

I hate time bound questions! It's so difficult to predict the future. But I think I would be successul, happy, alive and kicking in 10 years time :)

12. What’s your fear?

Just the thought of lizards and snakes makes me tremble!

13. What kind of person do you think the person who tagged you is?

Indecisive, creative, thoughtful and a constant learner!

14. Would you rather be single and rich or married and poor?

Now this is a catch 22 situation! I would def want to be married and have money too. Having said that, money is something that can follow but it's the relationship that's more important. So once I am married, we make sure we become rich too ;)

15. If you fall in love with two people simultaneously who will you pick?

Can that be possible? Hypothetically if that happens, I guess I would choose the one I am more happy with

16. Would you give all in a relationship?

Yes ofcourse. Why else are we in a relationship?

17. Would you forgive and forget someone no matter how horrible a thing he has done?

I may or may not forgive. But forget I never will.

18. Do you prefer being single or in a relationship?

A relationship. Who wants to be single?

19. List of 6 people to tag: (3 in my case)

Nisha

Aneri_Masi

Princess Diary

Din Kuch Aise Guzarta Hai Koi

I came across this poem by Gulzar and thought I'd share it with you all. You might have heard it before, but it's still a good read.

दिन कुछ ऐसे गुजारता है कोई
जैसे एहसान उतारता है कोई

आईना देख के तसल्ली हुई हमको
इस घर में जानता है कोई

पक गया है शजर पे फल शायद
फिर से पत्थर उछालता है कोई

फिर नजर में लहू के छींटे हैं
तुम को शायद मुघालता है कोई

देर से गूँजतें हैं सन्नाटे
जैसे हम को पुकारता है कोई ।

Wednesday on a Saturday

This weekend was once again packed with dinners and tents and well a hangover! Now that we had missed a movie(and my popcorn...hehe) on the weekend, we decided to go for one on saturday (If you are wondering that saturday IS a weekend then let me remind you I live in Dubai, where the weekend is Friday and only some lucky souls get Saturday off as well).

A Wednesday is based on the rampant bomb blasts taking place in various parts of India in the last couple of years. A great screenplay, great acting and good direction. The best part is that there are no songs - you see the situation does not demand one :). If you still have'nt seen the movie then I recommend you watch it soon. Thanks Nisha for the recommending it to me.

Loved the monolgue by Naseeruddin about pests infesting our house. I couldn't help but remember a post written by Reflections on a rat attacking her house and how she got rid of it. The movie makes you think and maybe believe that we can actually make a difference if we want to.

May all those who died in yesterday's blasts in Delhi, rest in peace. And we hope once again that the Police can nab the real culprits - maybe this time they will?

Hum Tum

Today I'll tell you a story of a boy and a girl. Let's call the boy "Tum" and the girl "Hum". (I know I know it's not very innovative, but what the heck! What's in a name? I want to be a bit filmy too!) The story is about how Hum Tum met and fell in love - and not in a trditional way where boy sees girl, falls in love at first sight - but boy messages girl and love at first type! Yes the story of love on the internet.

It dates back to the early times when internet and chatting had just started in India. Hum had just discovered the world of chatting and dabbled her way into creating conversations with strangers. With friends spread across India and abroad, she loved being in touch with strangers and connecting with them in some way - just like we make friends on blogoshere now a days! A small picture which may/may not show how a person looks, but their writings tell a lot about them - how they think, what they like, dislike etc.

One day while chatting with her usual set of friends on the net:

Tum: Hi!

Hum: Hi

Tum: Will you marry me?

Hum(amused by the line): What?

Tum(happy to get the attention and reply of a girl): Hi, I know you

Hum(now even more attentive and curious): Really? Who are you?

Tum:(happy to get undivided attention and rapid replies): I know where you live and well you are cute!

Hum(happy to hear the comment, no matter how silly it may be): Ya right. My location is mentioned right here. And if you know me then tell me who are you?

Tum: I was just joking. We don't know each other. But you sound intelligent.

Hum(smiling at the compliment): haa, I'm not so sure

Tum: Why?

Hum: Coz I am talking to you?

Tum: Smart woman! Marry me!

And so the conversation started. An hour into the conversation, the two discussed everything under the sun from food to movies to music and books. Not to mention their love interests. It's easy to guess they were both single and ready to mingle and Tum left no stone unturned by proposing Hum to marry him after every second line typed to her!

Things were going good between the two of them. They were loving the attention each got from the other and the non-committment factor in the relationship. Each lived their lives the way they wanted, but end of the day had someone to share their thoughts, anger and emotions with. Someone - who understood them well. This continued for a while and the two got closer to each other. Unlike most internet relations, they had found a connection which confirmed the other was telling the truth about themself. This took care of a lot of worries but there was still no reason why the family would recognise such a relationship. But then who is thinking of tying the knot here? It's just timepass!

Then one fine day on their usual chat this is how the converstaion went:

Tum: Hi

Hum: Hi! how are you? What's up?

Tum was silent for 10 seconds

Hum: What happened? Did you have a fight with someone

Tum: Yes

Hum: Was it that colleague again?

Tum: Yes. I wish I had a way to deal with him. He doesn't seem to understand anything...

Even silence spoke millions of words between them. And time went by with the two of them chatting and emailing everyday for a long time. Ultimately the two got married and lived happily ever after.

Now I know you'll ask - why such a long kahaani with no twist? Why such a Sooraj Barjatiya diabetically (I wonder if that's a word!) sweet story? Aisa bhi hota hai kya? Bina dekhey shaadi et all! The guy might be fooling the girl - after all you only said that it was timepass! He might be an old harried man and she a teenager just discovering a new phase in life! Maybe they were both guys! ;) Maybe everything was fine, but what when they saw each other upfront?

But well I wrote the story coz I felt like writing something positive, something nice and yes something diabetically sweet today! Hope this post can kindle some mushiness and some romance into your life. I am now off to call my husband! :)

Weekender

The weekend has been a busy one with a dinner, movie ramadan tent and outings packed in.

Booked a ticket for the movie Hijack. In my haste I hit the wrong button and boom - I had bought the tickets for the furthest cinema from our house! Great this is what I need on a weekend - a cribbing husband who hates long drives, to take me to a distant cinema for a flop movie. Anyways my motive of heading the cinemas usually is the caramel popcorn ;) So as long as I get my fix, I can bear his cribbings and I am ready to go watch any movie!

So we reach the cinema just in time for the show and are told by the lady at the counter that our tickets have already been picked up! We wasted 20 minutes trying to fugure out what the problem was. It so happened that another couple came in before us, and the lady at the counter heard the booking number wrong and instead gave them our seats!

We insisted on taking the same seats as we booked, coz there is a reason we pay online and reserve a seat right?! So the staff came in with us and tried to move the other couple to their original seat. They refused to budge. The movie has just started and they created a scene by blaming the staff. They were right in their own way. Luckily for us the row behind our orignal seat was empty and we got to sit there. After 10 minutes into the movie, guess the couple realised their mistake and shifted, but then we were well settled in our 'new better' seats.

The movie was a big let down with hardly any emotions, or story line. Shiney and Esha gave a dismal performance. And can you imagine - a song in the midst of a hikjack!! I mean there has to be some sense of direction here. One one side you are showing innocent passengers being killed, and then suddenly a song starts! They show a scene where the Indian Anti Terror Unit is sending an email to the hijacker (an email when you are already speaking to them on the phone?! And an email in an emergency situation?!) and the screen shows "Indian Mail" with the Ashoka emblem on top! Now I haven't seen any Indian email system personally but am pretty sure this is not how they look!

The movie finishes and we heave a sigh of relief. We were begining to feel empty and hopeless in our lives. Didn't we have anything better in life to do than watch this movie?? ;)

Then we headed to Mai Tai Lounge at JBR. A branch of Trader Vics, the place was buzzing with people. So much so that we had to wait for 30 minutes before we got a table. The guys got lucky as the table next to us was full of girls ;). The menu had limited choice and almost nothing to offer to vegetarians. But again, Trader Vics is known for it's Tiki puka pukas rather than food.

This was followed by a visit to a Ramadan Tent which is a unique thing they do in Dubai. Every Ramadan, all major hotels build a marquee/tent, which now a days is air conditioned because of the heat, with majlis/lounge eating, sheesha etc. It's nice to chill out with a bunch of friends, play cards, puff away some sheesha and enjoy some lebanese sweets. How we got to sit in this busy tent is another story!

Think About It

आज मुझे घर जल्दी आना है...कल पार्टी पर क्या सर्वे करना है? मुझे नही लगता यह बंदी अच्छा काम कर सकेगी...शायद येही करना सही है...

All sorts of thoughts going on in my mind. And they all speak the same language - Hindi.

Having met people who speak various languages, it is surprising to know that we all talk to ourselves and think in only one language. The language we are most comfortable in. The language that we can express the most in. And the language that comes naturally to us.

For me it's hindi all the way. No matter how fluent I am in English or my mother tongue, or that my first instance of initiating a conversation is in English, I am always thinking in Hindi.

What is your "thinking" language?