Me Under The Microscope

I love the concept of blogging. It’s a great way to pour out your heart onto a paper (rather computer screen). Well! I never knew this when I started writing. But it turned out to be much more transperant than I thought it was. As more and more of my friends read what I scribbled, I realised they had finally found a secret passageway into my head. Well! After being tagged by Bugs, it’s probably high time I do it intentionally.
So here’s Namrata Kale, in 20 short sentences.....

--- People call me by various names.... Namya, Namu, Namy, Nams, Kale.... (my names at home are much more articulate though)

--- I am fed up of being described as “that TALL female!!” It seems like it was a crime I had too much Bournvita and I cycled a bit more in my growing age!

--- I take my own sweet time to break the ice with a person; which explains why people generally have the notion that I have an attitude or am just plain and simple arrogant. Gimme a break yaa... let me finish analyzing YOU first!!

--- I simply love to talk..... more precisely chat!! People who have passed the initial Acid Analysis Test (Read: my friends) will vouch for this. (So will the length of this piece!)

--- 80% of my being is wrapped around my friends..... 20% is equally divided among the following: my laptop, my cellphone, my diary.

--- I am a complete caffeine-addict. That one cup of coffee/tea literally switches on my brains (whenever required). Without that, donot expect brilliant ideas.

--- I do not have the gene in my gene pool that lets a person sit in one place for more than 15 minutes. It is a disease. I don’t know the clinical name. You can call it Hyper-energectima perhaps!! Of course, this condition prevails only when I am outside the house. The minute I cross the threshold of my home, I am the biggest slob that walked the planet!!

--- I am one stubborn a**. If I stick onto something, I can harp on it for the rest of my life. This also explains why I walk into class exactly 5 minutes late everyday. Some people never ever change!!

--- I am a workaholic – some call me insane, some call me a maniac, but that comes part and parcel with the stubborn a** syndrome!

--- I have a new found love – food. I seem to be hungry all the time these days. My mom has tried to stuff food into me all my life. So when I say this, she’d probably heave a sigh of relief; I guess I’m covering up for the last 22 years!

--- I am sinfully organized. If I get a well-deserved break on a Sunday, I just might celebrate this little vacation by cleaning my cupboard!

--- I want to, at least once in my life, see the Mona Lisa. I have always wondered, She’s just smiling damn it.....what’s the big fuss about??

--- I cannot stand guys who believe in their hearts and minds that they are reincarnations of Adonis. The tight T-shirts, the cigarette sticking out of the mouth, the “I-am-too-hot” look in the eyes..... Come on, not everyone can pull it off!!

--- Like Bugs, I cannot stand squeaky ultra-cute girls. This is also why I have spent a good portion of my life in the company of boys and tomboys (and I’m glad I fall under the second category). They are genuine, extremely dependable and very, very fuss-free.

--- I love to sketch, but never ask me to replicate the same sketch. Somehow.... I can never do it!!!

--- There are two things that I love in a guy – the way he carries himself off and his eyes. The former defines his character, the latter shows his innocence.

--- Dancing lives in my RBCs (blood for the scientifically uninitiated). Nothing cures better than losing myself on the dancefloor. Most people think I’m drunk when they see me there!!

--- I’ve always wondered why siblings are never supposed to get along. The old Marathi saying defines my relationship with my brother – enemies of a past life strategically take birth in the same house!! He hates me, and I hate him, but I would kill anyone who’d say a word against him!!

--- I make it a point to take out time to wonder about the Whys and Hows of life. Believe me when you sit back and let your mind wander, you seem to notice many more things in the world around you!

--- I have always wondered why nice guys come in such ridiculously small packages. (I guess I should’ve shared my Bournvita secret a little earlier!!)

To sum it all up in short, I’ll just say this,
I’m looking for a T-shirt that says: Crazy, and goddamn proud of it!!
(Funny how come no one’s made those yet!!)

Namy.

P.S.: Im going to tag Ramit and Rajesh...

Out with it fellas!! 20 sentences about urself!!

Its Probably Me

I happened to bump into a blog a few days back. I don’t quite remember the author’s name but he seemed to be huge fan of Sting. He’d written about him and especially mentioned his hit song ‘It’s probably me’. The way he described the feelings that this song generated in him, I was shocked. He had described what I felt word-for-word when I heard it too. It is so fascinating to see how music works on the human psyche, how a tune and a few rhyming lines can bind the sensibilities of so many people across the globe.

I first heard this song on a friend’s disc. Not deciphering a single word Sting mumbled, I was lost as to why my two buddies made such a big fuss about the song. “You have to hear it, you have to hear it”, they went on and on all day. When I was done, they went, “liked it? It’s awesome na??” I just nodded in agreement. The next thing I did was to get my hands on the lyrics. ‘There probably must be something there!’ I wondered. And there it was; the thing that makes this song timeless (besides Eric Clapton’s fabulous guitaring). As I read on, I was more and more gripped by the words on that page. How simply and casually these words conveyed such a powerful emotion.
It spoke about a man who would be there by your side no matter what; a man who doesn’t call himself your husband, lover, brother, father or any other specific. His love has no name, no religion, no sex; he just calls himself your friend; he could be anyone. He is will not ask you how, when or why you did something; whether it was right or wrong; he will never condition, judge or demand.
He will just be there; your pillar, your rock, your friend.

Unquestionable. Unconditional. Unending. That’s how love should be.

I now hear this song atleast once everyday. If you haven’t heard it yet, I suggest you should. Of course, download the lyrics while you’re at it; it makes a world of a difference. Long live Sting!!!

Chao!!

The Classic Mumbai Monsoon

I was on my way home last evening. With pedestrians running for dear life lest they miss their “6:45 Borivali Local”, vendors shouting out their last price and fat aunties bargaining to the last rupee, Dadar was the place where the entire world seemed to have come to that evening. As my blessed BEST bus tried to crawl its way out of this mess, little drops began to pitter-patter on the battered old window I was sitting against. The crowded street suddenly shrank to the sides as every person ran for a shed to keep him from getting wet. I am pretty sure each one of them secretly wanted to grab this opportunity to enjoy the cool breeze that this gentle shower had brought with it. I would call it the “2-minute pleasure” that could smoothen out the roughest of days. But here, we never seem to have the time to stop.

Living in the city, we seldom get the chance to notice the true drama of nature. For that, Mumbaiites have to take leaves (real or fake ones), stuff their families into Sumos and Safaris, and rush off to the nearest hill stations. There is no such thing as lush green slopes, mountains with little tufts of clouds, trickling water falls and rivulets and the mucky ‘kachchi sadaks’. These are absolutely vague concepts for our so-called concrete jungles. But Nature doesn’t totally deprive us of her beauty. At this time of the year, even our darkest greys get patched with all the possible shades of green. We may not have fresh water frogs, but little crawlies start surfacing from every hole in the ground. And even though every square inch is covered with concrete, the smell of ‘geeli mitti’ after the first shower is impossible to miss.

And then a unique celebration begins. In true desi-style, bhuttawalahs and chai-stalls start mushrooming out of every nook and corner. The regular party animals cuddle up into their beds or make the local coffee shop their favourite hangout. The romantics hook up at the beaches, sea-faces and Marine Drive. And in the classroom, even the most interesting professor seems to be singing a lullaby. Every morning begins with a drowsy mist over the grey skyline foretelling a rainy day ahead and the whole place is like it is covered with a dreamy blanket. Besides that of course there are the trenches and open manholes and the traffic and the smelly stuffy trains and the mosquitoes and …… but I think we can live with that!!

So come June, roll up your pants and bring out those umbrellas coz’ Mumbai city, the monsoons are on their way!!!