Converted and Relocated

I have converted, they kept telling me it was better. I finally succumbed and converted. My conversion has led to my relocation to avoid the persecution. I have also tweaked my name a bit due to the conversion.

I'm no longer http://jollygabrielogs.blogspot.com,

I'm now http://jollygabriel.wordpress.com.

See you all at my new location but conversion or not its still going to be Mutterings that Matter.

So long...Farewell!

An Excerpt from the song by the late Roy Orbison and KD Lang - Crying...

I was all right for a while
I could smile for a while
then I saw you last night
You held my hand so tight
when you stopped to say hello
You wished me well, You
couldn't tell that
I've been crying over you,
Crying over you and you said "So long"
Left me standing all alone,
Alone and crying, crying, crying, crying

My love just left me and I probably can’t love anymore. I feel numb, cheated, hurt, let down, stunned, depressed and god knows what else. All my fantasies are up in smoke. I'm ashamed to interact with my neighbors; I was always their big brother, but now they tower over me. I can't switch channels lest I am reminded of my love. They will talk about it as if there is no tomorrow. They will analyze and dissect every decision. I want to stay away from all this; I hope I’m not helped by that kid I beat up so badly the other day – I’ll have no face to show after that. I’m hoping this too will pass and I’ll have a chance to make amends another day.

So long then…I would like to be left alone…farewell!

The City of Hope

For those who haven't yet been to Mumbai, have definitely seen this long shot of Victoria Terminus Station (VT Station previously now Chattrapati Shivaji Terminus) in most movies that have the protagonist first steps in this city he/she will soon call home. A city that they come in search of hope to making a living, to be successful and to live in this never say die spirit of this city.

There is something about this city that its residents will never go hungry if they have the will to do something with their lives. This is a city that rewards the entrepreneurial spirit of the individual without the bias of race, religion, caste, creed and sex.

Just today on my way to work, I saw the guy who supplies newspapers and magazines to the office pass by my rickshaw on his bike. He saw me and raised his hand in acknowledgement. Having recognized him I reciprocated as well. He passed by again and asked me if I remembered him. I remembered him as someone who had started selling newspapers when we had just moved into our new office three years back. No prior experience but with a will to do something with his life, he has requested to supply newspapers to our office. He was a migrant from one of the northern states in India then, today he seems more like a Mumbaikar (citizen of Mumbai). I’m a sucker for the underdogs so I was obviously pleased with his success.

I’m sure he too had come to this city in search of hope and he found it. Maybe this story will not make it to the movies but there are many others who do. And then there are the cynics who complain about this city.

This is for me the city of hope like it is for the millions in this city. Thank you Mumbai for giving us hope; Me Mumbaikar!

Web - The second coming

I, who has grown up in a generation of snail mails, Video and Audio Cassettes, 1 TV channel, pen pals, telephone etc., some of which the new generation hasn't even heard of or experienced.

I, who is lucky enough to be associated with areas that have allowed me to have the best of both 'worlds'. To be able to make this transition - to share my thoughts, views, photos, videos to people other than 'friends'. Making friends with people I don't know.

It's been sometime now for those who haven't noticed as yet - a silent revolution is taking us over. Collaboration is the new thing, collation is the by product, knowledge is the new economy and all you users of anything Web 2.0 is a part of it. All you Bloggers, Orkutters, YouTubes, Flickrs, are a part of this revolution - you are making it happen with your participation.

A video that a colleague pointed me to makes one aware of Web 2.0. Welcome to the new world for those who just clicked in.

Basics basically

basically the
basis of this is
based on the
basis that the
base is
basically
baseless and thus
based on this
basis the
basics are
basically
based.

Predicting the future...?

Sleepless night are about to begin within the next 5 days. Productivity and attendance will suffer. You will use up all your leaves calling in sick to office. If you are already droopy eyed and groggy you will be part of the fashion movement.

Sitting on armchairs will make you look intelligent especially when you give opinions. Your analytical and strategic skills will improve. You will be a master of the most important topic being discussed. If you were poor in geography your time to make amends is now.

While you watch 240 guys display their individual skill and as part of the 16 tribes fighting for glory you better watch your weight due to your sedentary life. Your concentration will improve though but you will undergo moments of depression and ecstasy so better stay cool. You will finally thank your Math teacher and forgive him/her for that caning you got. Oh by the way you will remember the almighty more often well in that sense yes you will become religious too.

And if you are someone for whom the above prediction doesn’t hold true – why haven’t you figured it out yet what I’m talking about. If you had put in the time taken to read this post to embrace and accept the religion I’m talking about our mission would have had one more soul.

Repent and ask for forgiveness now and catch the fever that’s spreading like an epidemic.

.....YAAAWN!!! (Oops sorry...that was net practice)

Belief!

Belief!

Does it ever matter if someone is made to believe the truth or the untruth? Both ways the end objective remains the same – getting someone to believe. A lot of people believe that there is someone who will come and redeem them of their sins. Others believe that the elected representative is going to take care of their needs. Parents believe that their sacrifices are going to give them a happy old age with their children. Etc etc.

We are all gullible people!

We need that sense of security – we need that cocoon to protect us from harm.

On a different note a dialog from one of my favorite movies “The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist”. - Verbal Kint (Kevin Spacey) in The Usual Suspects.

While this dialog per se may not be directly linked to our lives – let’s look at our daily lives, we read the newspapers, watch the news, listen to people – politicians, celebrities etc. They tell us something as we believe or do not believe. We classify them, worship them, ridicule them, adore them – setting for ourselves perceptions of what they really are.

Some political parties for instance, and this came up while I was discussing with a colleague, promote their agenda of being religion based, caste based etc., and we choose to hate them or follow them. Incidentally we do not realize that those who do not promote themselves live off the remaining flock who do not owe allegiance to any agenda based party. But for most of us we believe that they are nationalist parties. Well they made you believe that, didn’t they?

The list goes on – at the bottom of it one thing comes out clear, we are gullible to the concept of belief – I wonder what would happen if we didn’t believe at all?

Back in the good old days

Ganga tagged me to do this, and as promised and with my enthusiasm to do the tags here I am. This one is about those childhood memories of the times gone by (long ago for some I must say). Memories those are both sad and happy. So I will go with the sad ones first...have to get the bad taste out quickly.

Sad memories were...
1. Missing out at my grandparents’ funeral (Just managed to be there for one out of four)
2. Getting lost when I was three and watching my parents all worried and in tears
3. Watching a toy seller being beaten up for no fault of his and his wares destroyed
4. 1984 riots
5. Watching Amitabh Bachchan die in Sholay and Deewar – I cried in both movies
6. My first red mark on my report card
7. Missing an Xmas party because of a burn injury

Happy memories were...
1. An exotic meat feast mom prepared after my bout with chicken pox...I can still slurp to the memory of it, imagine what it was to eat it
2. Being complimented by the Class teacher in Standard 4th for impressing the School Inspector and making her proud. (Oh btw she was my school boy crush)
3. My Dad’s daily stories (He would tell me a new one everyday)
4. The two times that I came first in Class and every time I got a rank that was in the top 3, other students used to clap for them
5. Winning the Class Monitor elections in Std 3, my first time as class monitor
6. When my sister was born, at last I was not alone and of course my prayers were heard
7. Visiting Mangalore in my vacations and meeting my extended family

I'm not really tagging anyone on this...feel free to try it...huge memory refresher I promise.

Celebration?

Is there a reason to celebrate? Another year has gone by and in routine fashion we have welcomed another new year. I have both knowingly and unknowingly welcomed 32 years already. Maybe many more to come, but i fail to see purpose. Do I welcome every new day or every new week or new month with the same enthusiasm...I do not. Maybe there is no great hype abt it, nothing to celebrate.

Most of us were lucky enough to see the turn of a century and also the coming of a new millenium. But did it make a diffence. I for one remember that day alone stranded between two sets of friends I got separated from in the sea of people on the sands of Goa. So many people wishing each other, and being all alone in that multitude of people is something to be experienced at your own risk.

That not really being the point, I felt the same on 31st or on 1st, maybe more inebriate, coz i'm 'celebrating' something that I can't feel. It's just a habit now, I'll do the same this new years eve as well. Nothing has changed, nothing will as another year will pass by and I'll be back celebrating.

Probably celebrating each day will help...maybe every minute every second. Tough task eh!

Searching for a Resolution!

Tis the time of the year when the season is greeting you with joy and happiness.
Tis the season to be jolly, even though I have been jolly from birth.
Tis the time to 'give to' and 'give up'.
Tis the time to find a resolution.

I tried and tried and I'm still searching for a resolution. Should I give up this, or should I give up that. Should I be like this or should I be like that. This That...That This... I'm going around in circles searching for a resolution.

After a lot of searching I have got a resolution...I will not have a resolution.

Seasons Greetings and a Happy New Year 2007 y'all.

Unraveling the past

It's circa 2107, this young Blogeologist* is browsing through the blogs by Jolvin Rodrigues looking to unravel his personality and his relationships. She has been commissioned by publisher to write a biography on a famous personality who died years ago. Jolvin just happened to be on the blogroll of this famous personality of the 21st century, which is why she is here.

She is meticulous in her approach. Each post is clinically dissected to build a psychological profile of the blogrolled blogger. Every comment, each word and punctuation mark including the odd smiley is a clue. Opinions and lack of them are noted. Hidden and open secrets have been identified. Some are rich some are difficult to find, but the search continues. Relationships - closeness and strains between the two is being assessed. There is too much to do, yet everything is there to be unraveled.

I'm curious what she found eventually in our blogs (that famous blogger friend and mine) and whose blog did she visit later. Was there a possibility that she was able to find some unsung heroes amongst us? It's obvious most of us tend to reveal elements of our personality knowingly and unknowingly unaware what and how they will get used in the future. Maybe there is a purpose...just maybe.

*One who investigates blogs and unravels the personality of the blogger and makes money out of the findings

Gon blanc!

No thoughts, no creative outputs, nothing, absolutely zilch! As you can see nothing has happened for a month now. I have been out of action - rather i've gon blanc. Obviously I tried but you see 'trying' doesn't get you anywhere, you always fall short of 'doing'. So having tried to write a post and not being able to do it, in this gon blanc state of mind and in my early morning stupor I came up with this post. Alright that's it the post is done. :)

P.S.
Why gon blanc? Early morning stupor did'nt I say - rhymes with mont blanc I just liked the sound and tone of that. Gone blank is just so LS.

Why in white text? Shows that I've gon blanc visually, besides if I can take the effort to write a post in the morning, you guys can do a little more than just reading it. Right?

Shedding light through lit up thoughts

These are thoughts that have finally translated to words. There are thoughts that haven't. Maybe someday they will too. If they don't maybe I'm not thinking enough. Ofcourse, unless they are 'Mutterings that Matter' they will not show up here.

That's my introduction of this blog, these are basically thoughts that I have had, thoughts that appeared one fine day from no where and then coax me to pen them down, in the present context type them out. Better...my handwriting is not that great. I'm not a writer I must admit and it will not take a literary genius to figure that out. That is however not the purpose anyways. These are thoughts that have been expressed simply because they have been deserving enough in my mind to make them bloggable.

This is my 77th post so I have come a decently long way in the space of a little under 2 years in the blogarena. I have had fun writing whenever I could – though that has not been frequent enough – maybe I'm not thinking enough or maybe I've a tube light fixed in my head rather than a regular bulb. Time for a change methinks.

The bloginning… was good and nid-less to say I decided to give my Thoughts the Freedom and the Courtesy of Choice to Think Different – Make it happen as and when it said ‘Hey! I have an Idea'. I have been Attempting not to fail my thoughts in expressing the internal Conversation I have had. In this new Walk of life I have questioned myself often ‘Are you Competent?’ or is my fledgling talent ‘Used’ Less or ‘Use’ less. What if…in my inch by inch progress I would be traveling without moving and instead of being a celebrity blogger I would be a celeb-oddity. Yet I decided to take the same journey yet again and again till I was able to answer the question of Who am I?. I know I have miles to go…I’m still at 77…my tryst with destiny in blogspace still going north, reminiscing the remains of the taste of my favourite blog posts. Like they say if music be the food of life, play on…it's like that for blogs.

Though these are not all my blog posts I have loved everyone of them even those not mentioned here. Waiting to get to the 3 figure mark and be part of an elite club of some of my other blogmates.

Cheers!

Diwali Mubarak!

A while ago I read this anecdote in the Mumbai Mirror and it talked about a young man who had basically done better than his father did in the same business. When quizzed how did he manage that he said, "In life, it doesn’t matter how many Diwalis you’ve seen (Diwali being the start of a new financial year). It matters how many crackers you’ve burst."

Experience is obviously important but more important than that is the attitude it takes to be a go getter. Maybe someone has seen more sunrises than someone else - the only people who are successful are those who make the most of it till the next sunrise.

Happy Diwali and Idd Mubarak! May you burst more crackers and eat more sheerkurma than anyone else!

Attempting not to fail

I have this quote by Robert H Schuller on my desktop now. He is a born again preacher who has written books that are essentially self help. I have read some in the days that I needed self help.I found this on Acqyr which has some inspirational quotes on desktop backgrounds.

Mind you this is not on my desktop because I am in dire need of self help again. The question fascinated me. A call to attempting something different or difficult or unimaginative or great and have no fear of failing. I tried hard to answer this question and I couldn't think of anything without having the fear aspect lurking at the back. There is a lot of unlearning that has to be infused in my system to think of attempting something without the fear of failing.

As I trackback to my early days the concept of failing came way back in school. Less than 35 marks was the dreaded number - I would be a failure. More than 35 marks and I had just scraped through yet still a failure because I didn't top the class or wasn't amongst the brilliant students who were upwards of 80.

I wouldn't want to be a failure and be ridiculed by teachers, family, and friends - Would I? Yet we forget so quickly that in the early years we spoke clearly after failing to utter them a million times, we walked after falling and hurting ourselves and we were able to read what looked like pictures a while ago.

Now to answer the question that I put to all of you - I would attempt to be a child - because only then will I attempt to do things that I think off.

Awaiting the Messiah

I was blogtised on Jan 20th 2005. Before that I was a pagan aimlessly shooting my thoughts anywhere. Till a friend who was a blogtian showed me the way. I wondered how he did it and I guess that is what impressed me. Along the way I met other blogtians who I shared my faith. It took me some time to be a staunch blogtian, but now I think I am pretty much there.

Recently some of my blogtian friends decided to move to another faith. They had been such staunch blogtians that it shook my foundation. They had become members of Wordism. Not very different from the blogtian faith but different for sure. I'm sure they are happy there.

Anyways not that I'm planning to leave my blogtian faith, still waiting for the messiah. Apparently in the beta phase! Keep the faith...

Sing Song Tag

Atul tagged me to do this, another tag. This time it's about music. Someone once said, "If Music Be the Food of Life, Play On", I can't imagine a world without music, maybe then it would be better for all of us to be deaf.

Moving to the tag, I think it is difficult to really be able to do this tag as effortlessly that I have done others. This is like an open book test. I have preferred to stay within Bollywood so that my open book test is limited to some chapters. I'm not so much of a lyrics person as much I'm a tune person so these songs are all that I have loved the tunes off and by the way have great lyrics.

Your favourite lyricist and the lyrics you remember the most:
Gulzar; Chhod aaye hum wo galiyan (Suresh Wadkar, Hariharan, Vinod Sehgal); Maachis, 1996

Your favourite song on friendship
Yaari hai imaan mera yaar meri zindagi (Manna Dey), Zanjeer, 1973

Best song portraying life’s emotions; about life, full of life
Neele Neele Ambar Par (Kishore Kumar); Kalakaar, 1983

Which song are you humming today?
Bheegi Bheegi (James); Gangster, 2006

One song which brings tears to your eyes?
Roothkar Hamse (Jatin Pandit), Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar, 1992

A song which gives you hope, reason to try again and again, a reason to say that life is beautiful
Chale Chalo (A R Rahman, Srinivas); Lagaan, 2001

When you want to be with yourself, silent and content but with music, with song would that be?
Aye Zindagi gale laga le (Suresh Wadkar); Sadma, 1983

If you have to express your love for someone with a song which would that be?
Kya Yehi Pyar Hai (Lata Mangeshkar and Kishore Kumar); Rocky, 1981

Five songs which you listen to/love the most
Aaya Hai Raja (S P Balasubramanium), Appu Raja, 1989
Surmayee Ankhiyon Mein (Yesudas), Sadma, 1983
Kuch Mere dil ne kaha, Tere Mere Sapne, 1996
Manzilen Apni jagah hai (Kishore Kumar), Sharaabi, 1984
Jaag darde ishq jaag (Hemant Kumar), Anarkali, 1953

Work Life balance II

A continuation to the Work Life Balance post. While that gave you a Proper life, success at managing and balancing both well will let you...

(PROFESSIONAL : SUCCESS : PERSONAL)

Else there is no need for work life balance. Go ahead succeed at the balancing...if you don't or can't... get back to work or life.

Work Life balance

People are becoming more and more informed on the issues of work life balance globally. Here is my simple recipe for work life balance.

Take a part of your professional life in a bowl.
Take an equal part of your personal life.
Stir with a dedication spoon, till both parts mix well till you have a proper mix for life. That's your recipe for work life balance.

Didn't get it? Let's look at it visually.

(PROFESSIONAL + PERSONAL) LIFE

:) - Need to put my free time to better use. tsk tsk.

I 'eight' it up.

Tags are sometimes difficult sometimes simple, like most things in life. Alright I'm stating the obvious, but that's an important trait. Maybe I can make money out of it someday. Commentators make a lot of moolah doing that if you have not noticed. I have the gift of the gab, so much so that I was born with a name as well that went with it. Check my blog address if you don't believe me.

Actually tags that make me talk about myself are the most difficult. I'm not a shy guy but they are difficult to write and talk about.

I have been blogging for a while now, though I think I am either lazy or less creative than most others I know. Maybe I suffer from chronic writer's block. If you don't believe me check out my blog on poems Mi Poemas that I have written and my other blogs listed here, Myopic Lens and My Take on the Movies. Unfortunately I am neither a writer nor a poet so I cannot pass on the writers block as an excuse, besides neither do I live there.

I wished however that I lived on rock street. I'm like the Clark Kent who never wore the Superman suit when it came to being a rock superstar.

I think I have said a lot and if it doesn't meet specifications (I've been tagged you know - by Atul) then read between the lines you'll find a lot more. When will you bloggers read between the lines. Just Kidding.

Now this is the the best part, reminds me of the game we used to play in school, hit someone and say pass it on no return. So Viral, Ganga, Vicky, Cynnocent, Mihir & Sushma, you have been tagged.

All you need to do is this.
1. Name the person who tagged you.
2. Eight things about you.
3. Tag six more people.

Play the game - this is fun.

Miles to go...

`Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?' `That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,' said the Cat. `I don't much care where--' said Alice. `Then it doesn't matter which way you go,' said the Cat.
- Alice In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.

This milestone in the post is ofcourse not from Alice's Wonderland, but from Calangute in Goa. As a blogger pictures inspire a lot of thoughts, and this one sure did. When I first saw this milestone my first reaction was 'Oh! what a direction to follow'. Obviously as you can see there is nothing written on the milestone or rather the paint has peeled off. A lot of times in life this is our state of mind. We know we have to go somewhere, but we don't know where. Because unlike most milestones that have been put up because of someone else's experience of having gone through that before, we don't neccessarily have that access like this milestone.

On a positive note, there is ofcourse the option of defining what that milestone will say. That is upto the person who now paints it afresh. What that reads defines how far that person is going to go or rather willing to go.