down 'n' out in London...

It’s been relatively pretty long. Dindu kept bombing me with the mails and messages about my whereabouts. He is always in anxiety of me reaching the caves of Himalayas before him. ‘Don’t worry man! I am not going anywhere!’

Nothing special happened during this period, only a few twists and turns. First thing – I am not going for the Masters. So, the singular episode of UoU ends with a happy note but a sad twist. Reasons, of course, were less financial and more personal. Then I had a memorable four day journey all the way from London to Scotland - memorable because I drove 500 miles of those 1600 miles of journey on a seven seater KIA on the highways of this country which are truly awesome. Maximum speed reached was 100 mph. Yeah – 160 kmph. Waterfalls, greenery, mountains, ocean, snow, clouds and lakes – everything in a single journey – Scotland is unmatchable. The cities visited – Edinburgh, Inverness, Kyle, Isle of Skye, Glasgow and Blackpool.

Since return from Scotland I have been dreaming of the next long drives. All other times, I try to kill the time watching movies.

Kilt Rock Waterfalls in Skye

In last two weeks I have watched some very disturbing and intense emotional movies - ‘Requiem for a Dream’ & ‘Trainspotting’, some Oscar level drama - ‘There will be Blood’, ‘Schindler’s List’ & ‘Le Scaphandre et le Papillon (The Diving bell & Butterfly)’ and one Bollywood flick ‘Mithya’. All of them are excellent movies within their own genres but now I am getting saturated with the celluloid. Caution: If you are weak hearted or like happy endings then first two (especially first) movies are not for you.

Let me just wrap up with some of the non sequitur observations/quotes I came across during this period of intense decisive, chaotic times:

Still, I can point to one or two things I have definitely learned by being hard up. I shall never again think that all tramps are drunken scoundrels, nor expect a beggar to be grateful when I give him a penny, nor be surprised if men out of work lack energy, nor subscribe to the Salvation Army, nor pawn my clothes, nor refuse a handbill, nor enjoy a meal at a smart restaurant. That is a beginning. George Orwell in Down and Out in London and Paris
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Sometimes you already know everything, but still you need a small voice, a person other than you to tell you that ‘Yes! That is right! You can do it!’
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Comparing oneself with others is very easy. More you compare with others, more you lose your own identity.
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When you are walking in a crowd to which you do not belong, it is no surprise that you will eventually become claustrophobic.
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Making choices is really difficult - especially when situation is something similar to choosing between your left hand and right hand, or left eye and right eye. No matter how difficult these moments are, they really define the character of a person. What a person is capable of letting go and what a person is ready to embrace.
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Every person was once small and that smallness never leaves that person even after that person has become big. Fears, obsessions, addictions – these are all related to that smallness.