Love Post: Missing

I’ve come to learn a lot this past week and I have rediscovered some childish desires (dancing for no apparent reason and swimming during pouring rain, to name a few) and fulfilled them. The most important thing I learnt is the amount of people I missed because they are far away from me; through distance and through communication.

Communication is so important nowadays. We latch onto our ‘friends’ on social media like leeches in order to feel loved. But what about those who aren’t on these social networking platforms? It’s not difficult for anybody today. We are connected through ways more than one. Then why did I miss people far away from me? I missed people because even though I could “ping”, “poke”, “like” or dislike (which I don’t see very often), subscribe to or E-mail to their accounts, I was talking to their photos on their profile pictures rather than talking to THEM. The human connection was missing. Well then, a video call should do the trick, right? But then I have to deal with frozen faces and a lapse in audio and video. You know that annoying part during a video chat when they look more like a photograph on your screen? To top it off, it’s always when they’re talking something important or they’re stuck on a weird face they made while talking, which kind of scares you (also when there is bad lighting and their face looks entirely black but only the screen light reflects in their eyes). At times, I can hear them ramble on while they are frozen with this weird face.

I love technology, don’t get me wrong. This isn’t about the disadvantages of technology or to preach about us being addicted to it, this post is to make those people away from me know that I miss cracking jokes with them that make absolutely no sense to anybody else (with or without context), miss laughing at something you misheard as they spoke, miss receiving hugs from them that make you feel that the world is a happy place, miss having to hear life stories from them with such excitement that you smile seeing them talk like that, miss having to have an intellectual discourse with them where there is a constant smile across their face (the “I told you so”, “You’re so naive” or “I know, right?” kind of smiles), miss fighting over games, where one person tries to show off or try to cheat and miss having to be a shoulder to cry on during times of need.

For all those away from me, whether it’s a step away or continents away, I miss your company…

Kolkata II

I forgot to add some more photos. I saw Trams in Kolkatta too! They were really great to watch and the traffic flows smoothly along with the trams.

I was excited to see the trams like a kid excited about seeing candy!

Kolkata

We (my parents, TJQD and I) went to Kolkata last week for two IPL matches and it was excruciating for me. I hate cricket, in case no one knows. Luckily, we went for just one match; KKR vs RCB. Woo hoo! But I wish I could go to more places to click photographs of. Anyways, I got nice pictures of places I did visit during my week there.

First, we just roamed around the streets of Kolkata and I saw these beautiful, cute, yellow taxis that were hard to not look at:

Yellow taxis across Kolkata

We then went to an Oxford Book Store on Park Street:

We saw the Howrah bridges (old and new):

Old Howrah Bridge –

 

The New Howrah Bridge:

Punjabi Wedding Songs

I don’t know how many have realised this but I am surprised at the amount of Punjabi rap songs in Bollywood. Punjabi Rap is a new trend and “Punjabi Wedding Song”s are even more. Most rom-coms now have at least ONE Punjabi-Hindi song. It’s catchy and makes you dance, keeping in mind the enthusiasm and gregariousness most North Indians exhibit.

These songs become a hit at weddings; even if its a Goan Hindu Wedding. Christian weddings mostly have funky, trending songs for the bachelors and spinsters and slow, romantic classics for the couples so the possibility of Punjabi Rap creeping in there is less, which I am thankful for.

Yet, my mind can’t stop thinking about the possibility of Konkani Rap. There was an instance of it in the song “Aunty ji” from Ek Main Aur Ek Tu, though it wasn’t rap per se. Sounded more like a Lorna chorus there but what if there was actual rap?

That would be amazingly hilarious… like “Gangnam Style”! Maybe it wouldn’t be worldwide, but would be a hit in Goa at least. Words that would definitely be there are:
1. Patrao.
2. Feni or beer or any alcohol, depending on the rhyme.
3. Names like Parrikar, Alemao and Monserrate would be used as satire (I hope so).
4. Common names, along with Uncle and Aunty. If they make a rap using Pandu and Maria then I won’t be surprised but I will love it.
5. If there isn’t a mention of any of the beaches of Goa in any one of the songs, then what’s the use of making Konkani Rap?

I would write the lyrics but considering not many people know Konkani well (including me), I’ll refrain.

Recent songs I’ve heard having North Indian party songs (I’m saying North Indian because the first song is sung with a Haryanvi dialect):
1. Dhup chik from Fugly (releasing on 13th June, 2014).
2. Whistle Baja from Heropanti (has Punjabi Rap in it).
3. Iski Uski from 2 States (based on the traits of Punjabis and its a wedding song).
4. Punjabi Wedding Song from Hasee Toh Phasee (Yes, there is actually a song called Punjabi Wedding Song).
5. Tooh from Gori Tere Pyaar Mein (has rap and is a wedding song).
And so on and so forth…

A warning to all; these songs may sound ridiculous, but they get stuck in your head. Do listen to them when you get the chance. 😀

Coco Cola

This post is divide into two parts:

1. Dedicated to my late kitten; Coco (one and a half years of age), who passed away yesterday due to unforeseen circumstances. He was a grey Persian who loved to play with string so much that it became his prized possession! Protecting it with all his might was his aim in life and anybody stealing it away from him became a part of the chase. Except for the ability to bark and his extensive grooming routine, like all cats have, he was more of a dog. Have you seen dogs who bring the leashes in their mouth when they want to be taken for a walk? Coco used to bring the string in his mouth the same way and jump upon my bed to indicate that he wanted to play. He would eat and scratch my homework and get fired for it so much. Would greet us everyday with a warm and purring nuzzle and would sleep on my shoulder like a baby. He would get his way with puppy dog eyes, not kitten eyes, but puppy dog eyes (I know it is an exaggeration but you would think the same after seeing this):

Rest In Peace you cricket loving, string playing, key dropping, homework eating and friendly yet mischievous little prankster. We miss you…

2. The second part of the post is for those people who ask questions like these:

In case you don’t know Hindi, the man in spectacles asked the husband, “What are you doing here? Come to see a movie?”

This is a Mentos Cola advertisement in India. Aren’t there those questions that make you think, “What do you think, smarty-pants?”

So I have compiled some of the obvious questions I have come across and the thoughts that run in my head and I feel half the nerve to say when asked such questions:

1. Taking the above question; “What are you doing here? Come to see a movie?”, when I am at a movie theatre.

My reply in my mind: “No, I thought this was a club. Came to dance upon that stage there while people throw popcorn at each other. I even ordered a rum and cola. Want a sip?”

2. When your friend calls on the cell phone (where the friend knows that his/her number is saved on the phone) and asks, “Guess who?” If it’s a man…

My reply in my mind: “President Obama? No, no! Madhuri Dixit. Wait, your voice is too manly to be Madhuri Dixit. Ummm… the electricity guy! How are you? I’m pretty sure I paid the bill.”

3. Relating to the phone, here’s another. The person has called on the land-line. The LAND-line. After you pick up he/she asks “Hello, are you at home right now?”

My reply in my mind: “You know what? You’re right! You just won the right to scream out to the world that you know the obvious.”

4. When you are in a shoe store, trying them out, your friend comes up to you and says, “Come to buy shoes, huh?”

My reply in my mind: “Oh no no! The owner of this shop makes lovely feet moisturizers in the shape of shoes. They get absorbed in your skin if you wear them after your bath. But you have to remove it after five minutes. Too much moisture isn’t good either, right?”

Matches Made in Heaven

I have been really busy for the past month, but with Valentine’s Day now over, I have come up with a new series of illustrations I would like to call the Matches Made in Heaven Series.

I’m back!

Happy New Year 2014 everybody! Hope this year will make me use my creative abilities to the maximum. Speaking of creative abilities, I’m back from South Africa and this post is devoted only to photography. Here are my best pictures from our trip.

These are photographs from Johannesburg:

Lion and Cheetah cubs sleeping side by side: Lion Park; Johannesburg

Meerkat

 

 

 

 

These photographs are from Durban:

 

 

 

The lightning strikes!

Well, I was going to write a post when I get back from South Africa, but… Yes! I’m in South Africa. That’s why I should first say that our team won Pegasus! That news was due a long time ago. I won four prizes! Two first place, two second place. The movie poster competition that I was upset about in my previous post: won second place for it!

Talking about South Africa, here are a few pics I’ve clicked on the day, rather the night we arrived. The weather changed drastically and I want to show you certain pictures that came out amazing! This is not from a professional camera so bear with the quality;

The sky before

 

The sky changed and thunder showers appeared and poured.

One of the many lightning shots I got

The flash of the lightning was so bright and powerful that;

 

The flash caused by the lightning

It lit up half of my picture and half of the town I guess. It actually looks like evening and night together.

The horror, the horror

Well my exams are over but I have a bigger crisis! I am participating for an inter-collegiate event and I cannot find a horror short story / drama / novel that hasn’t been made into a movie. The event is to make a vintage movie poster. For example; like the poster of Creature from the Blue Lagoon.

I thought about Strawberry Spring by Stephen King and it would be perfect but there is a student movie based on it already. Then I thought about a classic: Beyond the Wall by Ambrose Bierce, but it would be difficult to illustrate tapping through the walls.

Its crazy how many Stephen King stories have bee made into movies! I really cannot figure out which story to choose. The hardest part: there should be absolutely no movies made on the story. In today’s age of plagiarism, how can anybody not make a movie based on a book?

I would prefer a short story rather than a novel to illustrate but then novels give you the extra information to draw more details relating to the scene of horror. Relying on my worldwide friend; the internet, I have been checking up on horror fiction. Turns out there’s a wide range of works and less time to know the plots of all. I wish I could narrow it down to something that could be drawn, is something really horrifying and yet brilliant in its way.

Introducing… Num Num!

My first try at animation!

I know that it’s very small and very amateur but I finally made a basic GIF. The original is an actual flash file and would have worked best if I could upload it. The above animation is based on the evergreen, ever-irritating “Why did the chicken cross the road?” riddle, with my local twist! Thanks to Adobe Flash Professional CC^©, I could make this possible. I just introduced Num Num through this (people normally have puppets as companions for their sketches, I have doodles), and if he gets a good response, well, he’ll live on through my blog.