So goes Hotel California somewhere in the middle of its (oc)cult lyrics. I was reading a discussion board some place where they were discussing what the lyrics mean to you. A common theme in people's explanations dealt with drugs. For eg.
"Some dance to remember, some dance to forget."
(People use drugs to remember, others to forget.)
"We are all just prisoners here, of our own device."
(Drugs are initially taken by choice but quickly become addictive.)
Cut focus to India and Hotel California may well be Hotel Calicut or some such rhyming place. Alibhai, our fictional drug dealer, must be cursing Rahul Mahajan. Suddenly, there is a big focus on the 'partying' crowd and the snort club, as India Today calls it. Imagine if there would be a public uproar and people can't do their favorite brand of drugs anymore. Where would Alibhai go? How will he afford his shanty in Alibag?
Several reams of press have been devoted to the reasons behind Rahul Mahajan's drug orgy. Does it matter frankly? Be it stress or depression or plain pleasure as the reason behind his step, if he got caught with a rolled up paper stuck up his nose digging into white powder, he has every reason to be in trouble. My heart doesn't go out to the Rahul Mahajans of the world. If having money gives you the license to throw responsibility out the window, then I am glad that not all those who have that license exercise it. Speaking of license, wait till someone decides to make a movie on the Pramod Mahajan's death and Rahul's self-destruct mode. Its just a matter of time. While on Bollywood, the only brand of drugs that was smuggled and used extensively in the early 80's movies was brown sugar. I can't help but grin every time I see brown sugar in my trip to Starbucks for my trusted latte. Oops, I am self-destructing with caffeine :-)
Friday, June 16, 2006
Monday, June 05, 2006
Wired for Weird
Got tagged by Aparna to come up with six weird things about myself, so going along with it. Skipping the tagging part though. Here goes the list of weirdness that I can come up with (including a bonus one at the end)
· I like to cross lanes without stepping on the lane markers (this will be familiar to those who have driven in the US). It interrupts the smoothness of my drive :-)
· I remember the lyrics of each song of a movie that I am going to watch in the theater so I can sing it out loud. I always do.
· I like to get a sense of deja vu when I visit a place a second time round, especially if that place is one I am unlikely to visit regularly. For eg. a spot en route to Crater lake, a random STD/ISD call booth en route to Sion. And yes, I like smiling at the little triumph of having made that connection
· Punctuality is (I wish it still were, but it used to be) an obsession. I used to reach before time on most places, and prided myself on readjusting my time accurately to accomodate traffic delays in Bombay.
· I was superstitious of about it raining every year on my birthday. If it didn't happen (and I can't recall a single year in India that it didn't), it probably wouldn't be a good year. Given that my birthday is in July, it would almost always happen in Bombay. There would at least be a very small drizzle. If I go by what happens in the US, I have been having six bad years in a row :-)
· Oh, and taking a cue from Aparna, here's an interesting one. My board exams: physics I paper. At the fag end of the two hour time, I went up to the supervisor to get a supplement sheet. When I got back, my main paper was missing!!!! Turns out I forgot to put a weight on it and it had flown. I traced my eyes upto the window. There it was, hanging gingerly on the grill, just a few inches between it flying out and my entire career down the drain. I just smiled, took ten steps to the window, took the paper, sat down and finished what I was doing. Result was 39/40 and the weirdness was that I didn't panic.
· I have vivid and detailed memories of the cricket matches I have played. With my brother in Surat in summer vacations, to my school games to the current matches I play in Seattle. I remember specific shots I have played, wickets I have taken, catches I have caught (and dropped), my scores and how I got out. While on the subject, I am always playing shadow cricket in the house (you know, no bat, no ball, no ground, no players ... just actions)
· I like to cross lanes without stepping on the lane markers (this will be familiar to those who have driven in the US). It interrupts the smoothness of my drive :-)
· I remember the lyrics of each song of a movie that I am going to watch in the theater so I can sing it out loud. I always do.
· I like to get a sense of deja vu when I visit a place a second time round, especially if that place is one I am unlikely to visit regularly. For eg. a spot en route to Crater lake, a random STD/ISD call booth en route to Sion. And yes, I like smiling at the little triumph of having made that connection
· Punctuality is (I wish it still were, but it used to be) an obsession. I used to reach before time on most places, and prided myself on readjusting my time accurately to accomodate traffic delays in Bombay.
· I was superstitious of about it raining every year on my birthday. If it didn't happen (and I can't recall a single year in India that it didn't), it probably wouldn't be a good year. Given that my birthday is in July, it would almost always happen in Bombay. There would at least be a very small drizzle. If I go by what happens in the US, I have been having six bad years in a row :-)
· Oh, and taking a cue from Aparna, here's an interesting one. My board exams: physics I paper. At the fag end of the two hour time, I went up to the supervisor to get a supplement sheet. When I got back, my main paper was missing!!!! Turns out I forgot to put a weight on it and it had flown. I traced my eyes upto the window. There it was, hanging gingerly on the grill, just a few inches between it flying out and my entire career down the drain. I just smiled, took ten steps to the window, took the paper, sat down and finished what I was doing. Result was 39/40 and the weirdness was that I didn't panic.
· I have vivid and detailed memories of the cricket matches I have played. With my brother in Surat in summer vacations, to my school games to the current matches I play in Seattle. I remember specific shots I have played, wickets I have taken, catches I have caught (and dropped), my scores and how I got out. While on the subject, I am always playing shadow cricket in the house (you know, no bat, no ball, no ground, no players ... just actions)
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