Rock Paper Scissors...Situation I

Rock
In the midst of the dense jungles bearing the heat and the adventures coming its way...

Paper
Crumpled and torn...kept folded in an office diary...waiting to be recycled...

Scissors
Cutting the maps of the country...searching for new avenues to capture in its frame...

The Big Question...

F-R-I-E-N-D, the six letter word that means a lot to everyone. However a person is lonely or introvert, he/she has that special one in his/her life with whom he/she is comfortable. i feel it is the comfort zone which is actually the deciding factor of friendship. But, nobody ever knows what might click between two individuals which blooms into a friendship.
Ok! too much of generalisation...If I think of my friends, still the question that creeps in my mind is who is the one or who are the ones who I can consider my friends and what are the parameters of friendship?Do i really shared the comfort zone that is between two friends? What is it?


The one who wanted me to just do what she considers her friend should do, or, the one who gave me the assurance that she will be there for me always but turned her back just bacause I got better grades than her?


The ones who just included me in their 'solar system' group just because I was standing with them when they were planning to form it, or, the ones who fought for me with their block's puja authorities because I was not allowed to participate in that area's Durga Puja celebrations?


The one who considered me her best friend and was not ready to share me with any other person, or, the one with whom I used to go for long walks and talk about anything and everything until the point we discovered there was an 'unsaid silence' between us all this time?


The one who was my only friend in a class of 60 because everybody other than her took my reserved and introvert nature to be arrogance, or, the one who manages to call me despite living 2600 km away affording long hours of chatting?



The ones who miss me in Kolkata whenever there is a get-together, or, the ones who I meet only during festivals and special occasions?


The ones with whom I love to be with because of our foolish acts we often do, or, the ones who brought some fashion sense into me and shared their relationship diaries?


The ones who don't want to have any attachment with me except when it comes to borrowing accessories and clothes, or, the ones with whom nothing connects but still we share a strong bonding just like two magnets being attracted towards each other?

Delhi Belly

My internship in Delhi has led me to travel 3 hrs in public transport and not in the luxurious confines of my car. Its been 3 years that I have left Kolkata, the place where I have breathed the most wonderful times of my life but these 3 hrs has brought me closer to the city as ever. As in the morning bus no.717 covers the Qutub Minar which stands tall as the statue of liberty in US to the huge education centre Jawaharlal Nehru University. At times I take another route that leaves me to IIT, the dream college of millions of Indians. That’s a treat for the eyes early in the morning despite getting stuck in the traffic jams at office hours. Delhi traffic jams are very different from the usual ones. The car doesn’t stop at a point but keeps on moving and it is interesting to see how the vehicles move through the winding roads in spite of the diversions due to the construction work going on since time immemorial. Delhiites are used to it. I wonder what will happen when all these diversions will no more be there. Roads would seem like runways as the eyes are so used to the usual narrow lanes. In the evening while coming back home I experience the other side of Delhi, the beauty of Delhi which has often been talked about. Siri Fort Auditorium, Lodhi Gardens, Dilli Haat, Indian Heritage Centre, Humayun Tomb,India Gate, Rashtrapati Bhavan , Akashvani Bhavan till the point I reach Janpath where my Delhi darshan ends. What a sight it is!!! I marvel the wonderful city which I previously hated and think how wrong I was. One fine day after coming back from office I went to Old Delhi and explored the entire Delhi 6 area. Delhi 6, contrary to the modern and developed avenues of New Delhi breaks all the stereotypes of Delhi being hep and happening. The ancient buildings, the narrow lanes, wires spreading here and there as if scars made on the surface of the sky, markets bustling with people, the pandemonium of sounds of vehicle horns and the loudspeakers crying the verses recited by the Jama Masjid priest and the Red fort only spell of Delhi in historical times . No wonder despite so many malls and other commercial areas coming up and the government’s continuous efforts of changing Delhi into New York or Paris, filmmakers and authors capture this part of Delhi where development is only seen in the McDonalds outlet in Chandni Chowk (it does look very out of place). Old Delhi is the preserver of the heritage and the homogenous culture that is long lost in the web of changing times. Delhi is like a kaleidoscope, it may seem to be just a piece of glass but more you look deeper you can see its different colours and how they change from one part to another. Someone needs time to understand the complexities of this place although people are the easiest reflections that can be recognized in mirrors of time. Punjabis with their tales of show offs, Idli dosa and the chain of Annapurna hotels of the south Indians, Bengalis and their huge conversations in Bengali even if the third person cannot understand a word, UPites and their inclination towards hindi culture and literature, Northeasterns carrying all the latest fashion on the streets; Delhi has it all.