A little nostalgia @work!

It's 10.30 in the morn & I'm just a little nostalgic,
Was it the coffee or your dream that did the trick?
I stare blankly at my screen as some old memories run through my head,
I can still picture us in the quad, eating sugar sprinkled toasted bread...

T'is an early morning lecture, and obviously we're running late,
I'm lost in some thoughts, playing with the food in my plate,
I look up, see you walk in, your swagger holding my gaze,
You flash your smile at me, and i know it's gonna be a wonderful day...

We sit, we talk and we know neither wants to go to class,
And we know we're goin to a movie as soon as we're through with the
coffees in our glass...
And then the phone buzzes bringing me back to where I dont wanna be,
And i'm wishing so much you were here, there's this movie that with
you I really wanna see!

Revisiting the Quad

Once again I come back to this place,
Familiar paths, my footsteps trace,
I sit down, taking in the sights one more time,
And the memories begin to flow, like a beautiful old rhyme,
The sound of footsteps and I raise my head,
My eyes seek out those faces but I see strangers instead,
I wish they’d walk in, those two beautiful girls,
The one with the flowing long hair and the one with those lovable curls,
Can’t see my friend ‘Patlu’ walking in,
Nor hear her say ‘Motu’ and then exchange a grin,
No more do I hear those pathetic, sarcastic jokes,
That left me in splits and stumped the other blokes,
All the swearing and shouting and histrionics now amiss,
Those inuendos, those puns, those word games back I wish,
The abandoned coffee shop that we occupied for hours,
In the 15-minute breaks, yeah I know, you’re wondering ‘15’ and ‘hours?’
But that was college life, the way we did live,
To have it all back, an arm and a leg I’d give,
The love that was given but more that was had,
The kind that’d pick you up, if ever you were sad,
And I miss my two loves, with their over-sized handbags,
How I long to hear ‘I love you Biks!’ now that my heart sags,
I wanna be embarrassed with one more hug,
I don’t wanna let go of this moment with just a shrug,
‘Patlu,’ 'Flowery language,' 'Punny guy,' ‘Curls’ & ‘Straight long hair,’
I’m sitting in the quad, wishing you were here…

Reminiscing the Life gone by...

Under the desk, a hidden paper plane,

As the teacher looks this way, innocence is feigned,

And as she walks out, the plane takes flight,

Then ensues again, the great paper fight!

Those hours in class spent seeking her gaze out,

Disappointed at those days that went by without,

A smile on the lips everytime she'd look my way,

Was for the teach in school and that cute gal in college days!

Flowers from pencil sharpenings held up proudly in craft,

Those red roses on valentines, hidden away cause it felt daft,

From riding bicycles real fast to race with friends,

To cruising real slow, cause the pillions a girlfriend!

Last pages of books filled with chats and games,

School or college, this always remained the same,

Written by us, on those last pages,

Tales of friendship and love, forged for the ages!

Lunches n tiffins, books and pens,

That the boys always borrowed and the girls always lent,

And somehow, none of them were ever returned,

And just like them, those days, now to the pages of memories have turned...

THE FAREWELL...

Etched forever in the sands of time,

Stories of a careless life of mine,

A tale of two years spent in Bombay,

Shades of black, white and grey…

The pursuit of ambition in hopeless hope,

MBA, NM and this useless bloke,

And it began with new friends that soon became old,

As we did fight, did love and just occasionally did scold…

If it weren’t needed to pass, I’d never open a book,

I’d walk the beach every cranny and nook,

The lectures that always seemed to begin too soon,

The mornings that inevitably began at noon…

Sessions outside class that were always so much fun,

Filled with games, innuendos and a whole lotta pun,

Movies and coffees that soon defined life,

Those wonderful women that were reasons for joy and strife…

Forever the dreamer, even in class,

Professors forgotten, in my eyes that beautiful lass,

College life spent socializing in the quad,

Attendance that was a matter of proxies and fraud…

Bakar that went on through the night,

Economics that made it heavy and gossip that made it light,

Through jokes that the best lessons were learnt,

In the chats of our dreams that the midnight oil was burnt…

As another phase now draws to an end,

The present into the realm of memories does transcend,

When it’d begun, I’d thought I’d walk on ahead without a blink,

But things are so much different here at the brink…

Now at the farewell dance, I close my eyes to gather strength,

I lose it instead as all the images come rushing back at length,

I console myself of a better future to allay my fears,

I don’t believe myself though and there’s nothing I can do to stop my tears…

A LIBRARY???

In the library today, I happened to chance,

Upon innumerable instances of mushy romance!

I swear there are only two reasons that in our library guys enter,

It’s either for a woman or completely useless and idle banter!

There might well be a million books on myriad topics on the racks,

But the racks guys seem to check are on completely different tracks!

I thought libraries were where geeks always dwelled,

And read fat books as in hushed tones their ideas swelled!

But not at NM that doesn’t happen,

Library is where your social skills sharpen!

Silly little giggles and love are always in the air,

Stepping in to study, well that was an impossible dare!

At the End of College Light...

Days spent dreaming in class,

Of times to spend with that beautiful lass,

Of a future yet to come,

When my empty pockets might be filled with a significant sum,

When these lectures will be replaced by board meetings,

When high-fives will be replaced by formal greetings,

When the nearest people in sight,

Are colleagues who want to bog you down, pick a fight,

When there are no hot women around,

When you are conscious about your every move, your every sound,

A world of pressures, targets and tensions,

A world with no value for honest intentions,

To think these days of careless fun,

Rolling laughter and seasons in the sun,

Will be soon a part of us as old stories,

And what we carry from here will be sweet memories,

I’ll trade those filled pockets for being broke,

Those orderly offices for these corridors with a chaotic stroke,

Those corporate coffees for rotten food in the canteen,

I don’t want that world of glitzy professional sheen,

They wont be able to take me outta here without a fight,

Cause I don’t wanna enter the corporate tunnel at the end of college light!!!

The foolhardy LEGEND!

I saw a movie alone the other day. It was called I AM LEGEND and starred the very talented Mr. Will Smith. Admittedly, I am a huge fan of his works. His ability to portray a host of emotions on screen is astounding and in a movie where he is supposedly the last surviving human, those skills were brought to the fore and although I am not a movie critic nor do I hold a keen eye for the same, I must say, it was perhaps the most stellar performance I have seen after Tom Hanks’ performance in CAST AWAY. You are welcome to differ if you must but the movie was wholesome in the facts that the story line was powerful, the concept almost brilliant and the graphics were phenomenal. I do hope the movie will accumulate atleast a few academy awards this time around.

But ofcourse you know well I do not write movie reviews so neither is this one. This one is another tale of my fool-hardy ways. (One of several you are thinking, I am sure and I would not dispute that.) so there I was, bored on a Monday evening with nothing more than mugging up Laws Regulating Capital Markets in India to look forward to. As has been the case since graduation, I decided I could afford a movie and hence proceeded to the theatre to catch this movie. I had seen the trailers some time ago and I was looking forward to it since long. I had been expecting a tad bit of suspense and had steeled myself to it. So in an almost empty theatre, I decided to sit in the centre to enjoy the movie to the fullest with no one around me for the next 7 rows on either side. The movie began well and I was truly enjoying the experience, that until the zombies came along! Damn, I confess for the first time ever, a movie scared the living daylights outta me! (Not that it was all that scary although if you caught me talking about it, I wouldn’t accept it. I have my foolish pride to safe-guard too!) Honestly, I was petrified when Will Smith stepped into the nest to save his dog. Even worse because when I looked around to see some nice human faces to comfort me, all I saw were empty red seats! Red of all colours! Damn those people at PVR’s design team!

Jokes apart, the experience was quite something. I recommend the movie, if you are anywhere as adventurous on life as me, you oughta experience it the way I did. The movie totally rocks… (and I so do not!)

P.S.:
Rahul and Sharoon: guys I really miss you. Cant find anybody as crazy to head for movies with me these days the way we did! Those were the days… Ah well, looking forward to catching up with you guys again! Wish I were back in RSCOE with you folks… Damn… I am getting all nostalgic again! Tears in the eyes and all… (Metaphorically of course…)