Yeh Raat....

Another long day at office and pretty tiring! Started with ‘fire-fighting’ in the day and finally was able to dissolve the ‘fire’ by the evening, which meant the rest of the tasks on my schedule found my eyes only in the evening. So, in that sense, the day began only in the evening!

Last bus from office leaves at 10 PM. I have ‘managed’ to miss it yet again! My boss wants me to do some work but it is more of giving ‘finishing touches’. So, I have to wait for my colleagues to finish cutting their ‘diamonds’ which I can polish later! It has been a few hours and I am still waiting! The ‘necklace’ has to go today so I can’t go home!

I have had a very very hectic schedule last few days! Besides, it makes no sense to wait 3 hours (late in the night) for a half an hour work! I have been feeling sleepy since evening and now with no work, I am sleepier. I generally don’t take a nap in the office but I give it a try anyhow! Doesn’t work for more than 10 minutes. Too awkward for me!

I get up and joke with some of my busier colleagues, just to beat the sleep. Doesn’t help! As it is, one’s sense of humor is so down at midnight and there are only so many jokes one can crack! I walk around. That doesn’t help either since I feel more tired and hence sleepier!

Someone has biscuits. I eat them, less out of hunger and more out of the desperation to stay awake. So funny, they are called ‘Good Day’! Anyhow, one packet is too small. I am back to battling with my eyelids! Oh God, when will this night end?

Drowsily, I go back to my desk and put on the FM Radio. In the quiet, cool night, Rabbi Shergill sings, ‘Tere Bin Sanu Sohnia’...

My ‘Good Day’ begins!

I'm tagged!

Alright! So I have been tagged. My first. Thanks Sigma ! I have been asked to share my dreams. I am having a tough time deciding my top three dreams. Hazaaron khwahishein aisi….

Here’s my list:

1) I dream to be physically and mentally fit after I retire:
Yup, I can’t wait to be 60! I have too many plans for life after I retire. It’s a long way to go but the thought that I will have 24 hours to myself everyday is so captivating. I dream of going on long, early morning walks with wife, writing as much as I want, listen to all those CDs that I am collecting now but haven’t got the time to listen to, visit my favorite temples too often, have enough money to plan a travel once every year, Far too many dreams……..

2) I dream to be able to sing a good song well:
Not possible in this lifetime but may be someday, I will at least be able to sing ‘Happy Birthday to you’ in rhythm! :-)

3) I dream to be able to write in pure Urdu
Don’t know when this will happen. May be along with dream number 1! :-)

….Bahut nikale mere armaan, lekin phir bhi kam nikale! One is generally full of dreams but it is quite a task to actually list them down!

It is late in the night while I write this! Truly, Yeh Raat hai khwaab ki…

Rozaana!

Mr Bachchan is showing his heroics at singing now! The more I listen to this song from ‘Nishabd’, the more I realize that he has sung it well, very well! In fact, thanks largely to the Radio channels playing few select songs over and over again, I get to hear this song a lot of times and the more I listen to it, the more I like it.

It is not a catchy song! The first time I heard it, I thought it was unconventional to the point of being repulsive! There is something too disturbing about the song that I am not able to identify, but still, this song has slowly grown on me! I am listening to it for the fourth time in about 24 hours and I tell myself that I can listen to it a few more times and every time I will find something new in it! And every single time, half-way through the song, I have wandered to identify that oddity, that disturbing element which probably is the soul of the song! The same has happened this time. I am so into my thoughts that I haven’t realized that the song is over! I don’t really care because I think I am getting closer to finding that elusive, nasty element and….

And just then, breaking my chain of thought, the radio plays this commercial ‘Aab nimbu ki taazgi aapke baniyan main bhi…’ .

I am left so ‘Nishabd’! May be next time…..

Tandoori hopes!

My host has a Tandoor in his backyard. I am happy just at the sight of it since Tandoors are such a rarity in Mumbai. (Well, for that matter, even backyards are!!!)

I can’t keep my eyes off the Tandoor. With burning wood at its heart, this little earthen edifice is like a sculpture to me!

I watch intently while the cook makes Fresh, thick rotis! I see the flames running wild. They are trying to get to the brim of the ‘Tawa’ and over it, as if to see what is taking their heat! On the ‘tawa’, a calm, steadfast round of dough is sitting pretty while trying to hold its own against the effervescent flames!

It is a worthy contest to watch. With a little bit of moderation from the cook, the dough takes the heat- and how! What was a cold, staid, sticky piece of dough is now hot, delectable, tandoori roti! It looks great, smells great and of course is great to eat! And while it rests a little more on my plate (so that I can take in the ‘earthy’ aroma a little more), I reckon it is looking at the tandoor and giving a proud smile back to the flames!

I indulge into this pure magic and silently hope that whenever my life is put on fire, it emerges like a well-cooked Tandoori Roti!