The Sane Lunatic

It is difficult, it is painful, it is fun, it is amazing, it is beautiful...it is life. It is not often that I get time to reflect upon how wonderful a life I lead, but then you witness certain miracles that were born through life, animals, plants and humans alike, you find yourself in awe of life. The institute where I am currently learning the French language, plays French movies with English subtitles, every Friday, and this time, it was a film on two young girls, depressed, suicidal and void of purpose or joy in their lives. 'Des filles en noir' is an interesting movie, but clearly not popular as the 'villain' of the story survives, and an innocent dies. For the complete story, I suggest you look up the movie on the net, and watch it. It compelled me to retrospect on how the good in my life, I have a functional family, place to live, good food to eat, proper education, luxuries of comfort and safety, friends, loved ones, assets and technology...I have s...

The last post I wrote, was about killing the conductor when you travel by bus in Delhi and NCR. Well, recent events have reminded me of the troubles when travelling by metro on days that the service isn't working quite as well. In this case, my stand is 'educate the passenger and kill the idiots'. Last two days, the yellow line of the Delhi Metro, the one towards Jahangirpuri, has not been working as efficiently with the time span between trains extending beyond 5-6 minutes. This situation is worsened during rush hours, and is confusing, because the frequency of trains towards the other end of this line(HUDA City Center)  seems unaffected, so where IS the delay happening? Anyway, the point that I'd like to shed my hatred and anger on is the behaviour of the casual or occasional metro traveller during such troubled times. The early morning and late night office crowd, or the pro-metros as I call them, have over time learned the appropriate mannerisms and pat...

You live in New Delhi, the capital city of the great nation of India. You use public transport whenever possible, either for financial reasons or simply because you are trying to reduce your carbon footprint. You have the auto-rickshaw if you are in a hurry or traveling to poorly connected areas or carrying a large package. You have the metro to travel across the city in a delay-free, air-conditioned environment, with the assurance of reaching your designated metro station. Last but the most important, you have the bus service, and here you will re-read the title and probably nod your head in agreement. For those of you not in or from New Delhi, allow me to share. The Delhi Transport Corporation has deployed about 3106 CNG buses for service in the City and National Capital Region. There are plying on about 773 routes to cover as much of the city and towns as possible by road. On top of this you have the private chartered bus services and feeder buses at metro stations. Mi...

People usually define friends as those whom they can trust, confide in, be understood by and look towards in dire times. But if you fail in any one or all of those categories, would you still be considered a friend by that person? There are many many instances in life, where each individual faces certain situations and problems and is beyond the help of any of their friends or trusted loved ones. Problems at home, with family, confusion about themselves and their life, private issues and such. When someone you care about, faces certain issues, they confide in you, sharing their sorrows, seeking some guidance or help, and there is little to nothing that you can do for them. In case of a family problem, as an outsider, there is little you can do, without invading their privacy at times, or be seen as rude and intrusive by the elder members. Relationship problems, where the partner of the person who is your dear friend sees you as a threat at times, and while you have the be...

I think it would be redundant to ask if you have ever been in a situation that you had a lot of important work to do, but you're too frustrated to be bothered with it, who hasn't been? One of those days, where almost nothing seems to go in your favor. It's not going against you as such, but life isn't being smooth either. I got up pretty early, almost early enough to reach college in time, but then my digestive track seemed to be working on a different time schedule, hence I got delayed. When I got out of the metro, the bus I took, the entire window frame across my seat, was missing. Finally reaching my institutional destination, I learn that the remaining classes of the day are all theoretical and require my full attention, which is difficult when you feel feverish and unmotivated. I have to leave class in the middle of a juicy debate in order to reach in time for French class, and I'm still curious as to what all was said in class. When I do  reach there...

I have often heard people whine about how they want 'stability' in their lives, something to fall back on, to depend on after a long hectic day of work. if I were to speak in terms of defining relationships in the same way, marriage is nothing but a way to find some stability in an otherwise hectic life, to be reassured that while all else may come and go, that person who we love and loves us will be there for us. I don't quite feel the same way. I find that over time, stability and routine can become painfully boring and dull, the person you love and depend on becomes just a person you care enough about to tolerate and live with, this is especially true if either or both persons in a relationship don't have a busy enough life of their own or long distance relationships and such. Phrases like, 'I will love you forever', 'love you always', 'together for eternity', a few years ago would have made me feel all warm and tingly with love and a...

You know how when you're stuck in a traffic jam or in a crowded means of public transport, the sheer number of people present there makes you wonder just how many people live in your city. Delhi currently has a population of over 17 million people,  more than 7 million cars on its roads, and is ever expanding in area. In order to accommodate  these large numbers, the Delhi government has been constantly investing in development of infrastructure yet cannot keep up with the growing mass of people. Flyovers, underpasses, flyways, elevated roads, bridges, a thriving underground and overhead metro rail system, giant fleet of public buses and auto-rickshaws, this is what we Delhiites have with us, and yet every morning and evening, during rush hour, you find yourself jostling for space in the giant blob of people. If you are in a car, a sea of red tail-lights greets you as you join the mess. Travelling by bus? Better find a way to get in and out and hold on without ge...

Ever noticed how sleep deprivation turns you into a temporary cynic? Being in a small college has many drawbacks, and getting vital information at the last minute is one of those constantly annoying ones. In this instance, near the end of the last class yesterday, before 1 pm, we were informed that our teachers have organized for an 'industrial visit' tomorrow, on 16th January 2014, to the film festival at Siri Fort Auditorium. They did however, as always, forget to mention any more details as to what the film festival was about, just that it was on 'films about disability'. Checked my friend and Class Representative's facebook later that night to find out that we had to reach college by 8:30 am, the bus will leave from college at 9 and that those who came by the venue later at personal leisure will not be entertained. With that information, I decided I would sleep early and get up early to leave early and hence reach on time, it takes me a minimum of 90 min...