Love is the answer, and we know it

Apparently John Lennon said (the title) that but I didn’t hear him say that. I heard it in the “Four weddings and a funeral” and I think I agree (not arguing for and against may spoil the fun for the argumentatively minded but it remains that way). Reading somebody’s post finally enlightened me as to what a blog is supposed to be and I really liked the idea of letting go. Letting go of what was a completely different question and I must say it took me quite a while to figure out and I am not quite sure I have got it right anyway. I once promised myself and others (I flatter myself: others read my blog) that I would be blogging once a week. That I think would remain a dream. Somebody told me I am predictable, I wonder if anybody can be.

For a long time I tried to delude myself into thinking that love and companionship (oh! I love these phrases from classical English texts) are not as important as career. It seems that I was incorrect. I have been watching Hollywood romantic comedies a lot this past semester and they have made one distinct impression. It seems the right thing to do is to say it when you feel it. The whole thing may seem as out worldly as anything conceivably can, but what the heck. The lady in question might have hordes of admirers while you might struggle to produce even detesters. She might speak fluent French while you struggle between ‘compulsion’ and ‘desperation’. The only question worth asking and answering is, “Do you love her?”

To the lady in question I would say, “You might have a lot of things to consider. You might believe that you have the family to answer, a career to make, whatever.” Believe that the guy has said what he has said because he means it. Again the only question worth asking and answering is, “Do you love him?”

Otherwise a life time would be spent asking oneself “what if’s”. Nothing can be sadder than that. There is a word of caution however and that is that the one question that needs to be considered should be considered with all possible sincerity.

It has often been remarked that I have an infinite capacity for sermonizing and I think I have proved it once again. However this is a blog and I can let go of myself, right :d.

Aside: Is it possible to, in real life, say the same thing twice with equal effect or better still can one better once delivery by practice? In make believe, in plays and movies, it is known to be possible but I suspect something of the spontaneity is taken away when bad actors try to rehearse what they are going to say.

Dining under spotlights

I have decided to make this blog of mine a weekly endeavour, mainly because it is only in a week's time that a blogful of writable ( I don't think 'writable' is quite correct, but then I don't particularly care to be correct) events befall me. On thursday I went to a new restaurent here in Delhi with my friends on the proprietor's invitation who happened to be a friend's ( ranaji for the knowledgeable) cousin. The name of the restaurent is 'Days of the Raj' and it seeks to bring to us, modern day uncouth Delhites, the fusion cuisine of the British in India. The food is very original, tastes good, the rates are higher than Punjabi by Nature. The service is eager and the decor is classy. Overall a good place if you have the money. However, publicity of the place is not my intention, rather the publicity of myself. Why I am writing about the place at all is that we were eating, so to say, 'in the spotlight'. It transpired that a television crew had come to report on the place and there were glaring lights everywhere. There was a suitably pan-caked reporter, some very technical looking crew, a television van downstairs and plenty of equipment in the restaurent itself. The reporter memorised her lines for 10 minutes and in about 90 seconds in three go's presented a 'complete picture' to the 'curious' masses. As to my experience, I was conscious of not staring into the camera when it turned towards us and eating with propah table manners (Do we have smileys on blogs? Why don't we? I think they should be made a part of the language. They improve communication so much.).

There is a sports fest going on in my college and for the first time, after five years of attending fests I understood why people like fests. People forget their worries and get sucked in to surrounding gaiety in a kind of suspended reality. it happened to me yesterday and I must say that for three hours last evening I had the best time in many many weeks (since this blog is to be a weekly thing, time, on this blog would be measured in weeks unless it becomes excessively tedious, which basically means that we won't be using one-seventh of a week ago for yesterday.). And this when I wasn't playing but only watching. Granted a part of the spectacle was girl's basketball but I also enjoyed men's football (seriously and no comments on my sexuality, I am straight and in more than one manners of speaking.).

I finished reading the book, 'The name of the Rose', during the week. Nice book. The story is well told and in a very interesting story are woven many important points which the author wanted to make. It is a multi-murder mystery on the surface, with the intrigues of the middle age christian church as the background. The main protagonist is a light of reason in a world in the grips of darkness where the majority believe that all that was good is gone and the world only awaits its end and so nothing more is to be done! Somebody said that its very similar to that current rage, 'Da vinci Code' but I haven't read 'Da vinci Code'.

Until next week, bye.

In the past few months I have been regularly urged by various men and forced by one to read various blogs. I don't yet understand the utility of blogs but have started blogging lest I miss an important socio-cultural phenomena of my times. Which makes me wonder. What percentage of our actions are dictated by the logic , "Everyone does it"?

I was trying to think of a tone for my blogs. As in most things I am undecided. There are too many things. Project, job search, MBA entrance exams preparation, things imperative to final year undergrad education at IIT.

I saw a flower fall from a tree right outside my hostel room window today. This is a champa (Plumera alba) tree, and champa flowers are divinely fragrant. It is nothing special but its the first time I noticed. the fall was simple, very quite. It was not caused by a gust of wind, there wasn't even a breeze. And no bird had flown off or settled onto the tree. There was no rain and the october sun in Delhi is unusally mellow this time around. simply the flowers time had come. My time too has come, it seems, to get away from IIT, I no longer find joy in the various events of IIT life and wish to get away even in the knowledge that most who go away wish they never had to.

I have been reading a book, 'The Name of the Rose' by Umberto Eco. I have often heard vaguely about the dark ages in europe when there was no learning, a great deal of superstition, fights between the church and kings, inquisitions. It is the first time that I have come across a novel that is set in the dark ages. It fleshes out the vague impressions. Another thing, the book doesn't feel like it has been written in the late twentieth century. The descriptions are so long, the language is winding. A church entrace is described in four pages. It seems more like a victorian novel. I am enjoying it thouroughly though. More about it when I finish.

This would be it for my first post. To Anant who has forced me into, what Mann has just called an extremely "vela" activity.

Achal