Monday, April 25, 2011

Beyond Dimensions...

This is the story of a room, actually a one room set...

Meet Aryan, he is a twenty something painter who just moved into this little one room set. There's a translucent white curtain fluttering in the window, some oil paint tubes thrown around the old newspaper and a whiff of fresh paint that fills the air.

He's been at this painting for a while now, he keeps staring at the canvas as if there's something not quite right.It's the eyes, he just can't seem to get the expression right.

He'd first seen her at the flea market and it was like the moment had frozen in time. There was something about her eyes,he knew he had been enslaved. He knew he wanted to keep that expression alive even if it meant only on canvas.

He'd seen how her husband had dragged her by her hand and how she looked everywhere for help, but he knew that he was more helpless than her.There was so much colour around him yet he could see only the black of faint shadows.

Here he was, in control of the brush trying to capture what he had failed to at that time and once again he felt he was failing. His tears still stain the walls of the one room set.

The curtain is still fluttering in the window, there are lots of bouquets on the table next to it.
A newly married couple has just moved into this one room set.

She hasn't stopped glowing from the sweet nothings he whispers into her ears and he has a spring in his step. His friends from work are coming over for dinner and the whiff of roast she's making adds so much more warmth to their already cozy home. She's even put a bright wall paper on one of the walls and decorated the dining table with her mum's hand knit table cloth.

It's been a few years since they moved in here and are soon expecting an addition to the family, the one room set is too small.

Someone has changed the curtain, there are some modern venetian blinds there now. She's a single girl who is new in town and is all set for success. She's got all the new age straight lined furniture and the attitude to go with it. The evenings are usually filled with aromas of scented candles, the best wines and ofcourse the sound of meaningless gossip. She is soon off on her way to the big city, the neon lights have caught her fancy.

There's a gang of teenagers who've rented the place. They have all sorts of gadgets and gizmos. They say they want to be the next Zuckerburg. They work all night sleep all day and seem to treat the one room set as some sort of quarantined planet. The window has no curtain and is never opened.

These were just a few of the stories that have carried themselves in and out of the one room set. The one room set however has defined dimensions and yet has moulded itself to allow these stories to unfold.

It is after all one big room - who or what enters it can change even concrete with fixed dimensions :)

It never really is the story of only a room ;)

Sanchita Johri

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Bowled Over


So the World Cup is over and you are all set for the IPL to begin. Ummm what? Did I say the World Cup was over? Oh! I meant the match is over, the cup is ours and the hangover of the win…well that’s here to stay :)


The country is proud, the players happy and the sponsors gloating, this WC will always be special for reasons which go far beyond the victory.


I never thought I’d ever love the game, I mean love watching it. If you’ve spent even a bit of your childhood in this country like I have, you have definitely played the game in some colony park or street ;) I could however never have imagined that I would actually take a day off to watch the match live at Mohali, cheer till my throat hurt, get upset everytime Nehra dropped a catch and even sadder when they dropped Nehra due to his fracture in the finals (Need I mention replace him with Sreesanth?).


The fact that everyone prayed Sachin would make his century but wished harder that the team would win ( Usually both happening isn’t seen very often),the sigh of disbelief in the stadium when Yuvi got out for 0 in the semis and screams of joy evertime he took a wicket when bowling, are sounds that reverberate far beyond the walls of that stadium.


Most lunch breaks at office leading to the semis were like a Math class where everyone was trying to hone their permutation and combination skills and some had even started sporting the role of the soothsayer. Who would win and who would lose for India to play in the semis or who should win and who should lose for India to play against Mr. Afridi who is upset over the heart ,it’s size and other matters!


Well the Cup is ours, Sachin’s collection is complete, Dhoni’s captaincy acknowledged and the disappointments and achievements all leveled with the sound of the nations applause ( read as dancing on streets, fire crackers, parties (personal and political), bollywood glitz, etc, etc).


Speaking of Bollywood Glitz how can we forget Aamir sporting a moustache and a certain Miss. Pandey being in the limelight for plans of sporting nothing at all ;)


Well I don’t know if we managed to change the game but what I do know is that we managed something bigger…keeping the faith.


Here’s to a nation that has it all to achieve anything, most importantly achieve anything as a team.

Sanchita Johri