What's with the Wedding Bug?

“People go on marrying because they can't resist natural forces, although many of them may know perfectly well that they are possibly buying a month's pleasure with a life's discomfort.” 

― Thomas Hardy

Okay, so be it! How much ever you might want to disagree with me (Actually, Thomas Hardy) on this, you know somewhere deep down, it is true. Not in all cases, but in many cases. Marriage is not a gamble and it is funny how people gamble with their lives in the name of marriage. Well, not everyone, but there a few exceptions.

I am astonished! I open Facebook and scroll through my news-feed and see people getting married/engaged, school-mates inviting me to their weddings and all and it actually made me wonder, "Are we like SO old?" And I knocked myself out with a hammer and started pondering over this thingy. Is it like so darn easy for them to get hitched to a stranger? God! It is so creepy. 

On a serious note, I would want to shake you and drag you into senses. Hey, would you just want to be yoked to some stranger without even knowing him? What if he listens to Taylor Swift? What if she is an alien to cleanliness? What if he wears yellow socks? What if she acts indifferent in the later part of your marital life? What if he is so incompatible with you that you dread when he comes home from work? What if she makes fun of your dreams? What if he does not stand by your side in times of dire need? What if she is not the woman of your dreams? What if you have conflicting opinions all the time? What if? No, really, what if? Scary, right? And if you belong to the category who thinks these things are not the exact deal-breakers, then, let me just suggest you something, you know, you might just do yourself a favour and refrain yourself from reading any further. Mark my words, dear!

Practically, your wedding day, the D day is supposed to be the most important day in your life and if you are truly lucky enough, you don't have to go through this ordeal twice or more, or whatever. We all need to ask ourselves some major questions, and hey, it is a serious thing, you know, it ain't funny.

Do you want to be married just because your long lost cousin's mother wants you to be a married man? Do you want to wear those silk sarees and heavy jewelry just because your community (Haha!) demands it? Do you want to spend the rest of your life, fifty years, to be precise, with someone just because your freaking family wants you to? Frankly, your family just pays fat cash for your wedding. They obviously won't spend fifty years of their life with your life partner.

I digress.

Back to the story. So, yes, do you really want to sit on those red thrones and look like fools who'd be doomed for an eternity? Do you realize that they are so old school? Do you want to be with someone who is as incompatible as Billy Joe Armstrong and Miley Cyrus would be? Do you, for a moment, give it a serious thought and realize the gravity of the situation? Oh girl, you do know that this is like a once in a lifetime thingy, right? Why marry someone who does not care for you? Why marry someone just for the heck of settling down? Do you want to sigh every-time you look at that big rock on your finger? Twenty years down the line, do you want to regret that you have plainly wasted your life on a person who never deserved you? 

Goodness gracious! I know, I am freaking out but I need to let this out. It is your day, wear what you really want to wear. Yes, the diamonds. Yes, that dress by Sabyasachi Mukherji. Yes, get your hair done like a rock star. Yes, you are listening! You want a beach wedding? Just freaking have a beach wedding under the stars. No, don't listen to that aunt who does not give two cents about your life. Yes, get that photographer and go for fancy photo-shoots. Aren't you like really bored of the oh-so-yesterday poses? Trust me, this is your day! Your parents, your friends, your confidantes will suggest and advice a lot. Be wise and act sane. IT IS YOUR FREAKING DAY.

Be with someone who is ready to stand by your side no matter what, who holds your arm and assures you (Okay, you might find this so Jane Austenish or Sophie Kinsellish but would you just care to shut up? Yes, thank you!)  and someone who is perfect with all the above listed imperfections. They might not be such deal-breakers after all. You never know! ;-)

So What Makes Us a Better Writer?

“No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.” 

― Robert Frost

Truth to be told, we do not have any rules to turn into better (or say, awesome) writers overnight. But how I wish we had, you know, drink some magic potion and voila! You are a better writer. Unfortunately, it does not work out like that. Sigh! 

So, this is how it all started, I look at my old (like, really old blog-posts) and go, eww! And the current posts seem to be doing better than the previous ones. And well, it works for all of us, nay? We keep getting better with every post/article. Though we do not have any rules, there are some practices that we can adopt. For instance, here we go:

1) Read a lot:

Reading is such an inspiration, isn't it? We all learn a lot from reading. You know, whenever we  write, we must take sometime to read a good book before that. The books by your favourite writer, perhaps? I read Austen, Ruskin Bond, or some random articles by Manu Joseph and oh boy, do they help me or do they help me? ;-)

2) Experience:

One must experience everything they do. I say, feel everything you do, feel the aroma and the taste of the food you eat, feel the places you visit, feel the emotions, the pain you go through and all. And put down those feelings on paper. The exact feelings!

3) Write everyday:

One of the best practices of writing is to write everyday. We should make it a habit to write five hundred words a day. The more, the better!

4) Meet different people:

Every person has a story to tell. Meet different people, communicate with them, share a tale or two and analyze everything. You have so many different stories now. And if you think this is plagiarizing, let me just tell you one thing-SHUT UP!

5) Imagine a lot:

Imagination is the driving force behind everything. Be it art or creativity, imagination is everything. At some point of time, we need to let go of our thought and surrender ourselves to the power and senses of imagination and you know what? It works all the time. Perfectly at that. 

6) Coffee, my love:

No coffee, no creativity! Repeat. No coffee, no creativity.

Your brain so works well when you drain down some coffee into your system.

7) And what about movies?

Of course, movies add so much. Yes, the crappy ones too. They teach you what a bad story is. But honestly, no story is bad. Every story is meant to be told.

And the good movies, your favourite movies inspire you SO much. No, really!

Now, I am done and if you guys have any ideas, do share them. Ciao!

It Is Not a Cake-walk, Baby!

"I love you. You complete me."

"Shut up. Just shut up. You had me at hello."

-Jerry Maguire

So, I sit down with a tub of ice-cream and watch Jerry Maguire. I love this movie for two reasons-Tom Cruise and the movie is epic, isn't it?

Basically, I am a sucker for romantic comedies. Of course, I do like the occasional superhero movies, horror and goth, and the like but the movie section of my laptop is majorly filled with romantic comedies. 

I am quite intrigued by the 90s movies..you know Pretty Woman, Jerry Maguire, When Harry Met Sally(1989 though), Before Sunrise and I wonder if things have massively changed in the 2000s. And frankly, they have! Things have changed from "It must have been love" in 'Pretty Woman' to "You spin my head right round" in 'The Ugly Truth' and it makes me go oww! 

That is the moment I started relating things with reality. Have the times changed too? Well, yes, they have. I mean, do we still have those people who say, "I will stick to you through dreadful misery and stand by your side in the gloomy times"? Or is it just that all I see are those who say, "Hey you know what? We held onto each other in all the joy and mirth. Why stick to each other during pain? Let us choose the easy way out and chuck out all the drama, trauma and yeah, whatever. So we done?"

Of course, it is not so simple, right? We all go through problems. Crappy problems, messy problems, problems that do not even come into the vicinity of problems, tiny problems, and the metaphors! The other day, my friend updated a huge Facebook status for her boy-friend. She was questioning his love for her on a social networking site for not recharging her damned mobile phone on time. DUH!!!! Really? Is that even a problem? Girl, do you actually know what a problem really is?

I don't know! We all live in this selfish, cynical world and we never give a thought about what is worth and what is not. Isn't it simple? I mean, seriously, would you want to lose someone so close to you just for a recharge card? It is not about the recharge card, actually. It is about letting minute things spoil our relationships. Not just with our partners or whatever but with our friends too. 

We all make mistakes. Isn't it? I have done tons of them and yes, I know, writing this post does not make me a saint. I jump to the worst conclusions in a matter of seconds and mess up with my head. And by the time, I realize what I have done, it is too late. The damage is already done, nay? What could you do about it? Honestly, nothing! But you do not stop cribbing either.

So, well, may be, we should all give a lot of thought before blowing up things, and you know, updating silly Facebook statuses that are nothing but cringe-worthy. As an after-thought, you can actually tweet about them. Ha! Anyway, we should just think and act. Like..like...umm...you know the way we act when we do Math? 

Relationships add so much to your life. Likewise, they pull a lot away. It is for us to decide if it worth it. Love does not need hard work but sustaining the complications and the plights need a lot of hard work and you should be ready to do it every freaking day. 

You do not have to open the pandora's box and say, "Hey, it is easy." Instead, say, "It is horrid but I shall find a way out" for relationships are not a cake-walk, baby!

Love a Guy who...

Love a guy who enjoys the little things in his life and makes a big deal about the joyous moments. Love a guy who loves the smell of the earth when it rains and enjoys an ice-cream with it. He will make sure that you experience all the little things in your life. Even better, he will make you appreciate all those little things. Love a guy who knows what you love to eat, love a guy who knows what you do when you are cross, love a guy who knows how to please you when you are down. That guy will do everything to bring a smile on your face.

Love a guy who takes you to interesting places to eat, love a guy who shares his yummy pasta with you and enjoys every spoon, love a guy who takes you for a long drive and treats you your favourite flavour of ice-cream, Belgian Dark Chocolate. Yummy! And yet, he makes sure that you eat his favourite flavour of ice cream. Love a guy with whom you can enjoy every moment including the fights and the arguments. Love a guy who loves pictures..he will make every moment amazing. Love a guy who makes your morning coffee time memorable.

Love a guy who fights with you for your time, love a guy who understands your mood swings and does not make a fuss about it, love a guy who gives you a bar of chocolate when your mood is taking a toll on you and smiles at you when you trip on that chocolate. Love a guy who takes you to his favourite places and makes you a part of his memories..that guy will make you a part of your life and that is the biggest step for him.

Love a guy who knows your favourite writer and understands it completely when you quote her, love a guy who takes an interest in the books you read and the things you do, love a guy who picks the clothes and shoes for you and honestly, it makes him very happy. Love a guy who acts paranoid when he cannot get that favourite piece of thing for you and see the disappointment on his face. Doesn't it make you go, OMG?

Love a guy who is creative, love a guy who takes a deep interest in art and of course, your hobbies. He is making an effort to be a part of your life. Love a guy who knows what he has to do with his life and he will make sure you are a part of it. Love a guy with whom you can cuddle on a lazy Sunday afternoon, love a guy who complains a lot while watching your favourite chic-lit yet watches it with you because it makes you happy. 

Love a guy who wakes you up early in the morning to show you his favourite sunrise spot and takes you to his favourite place to eat the breakfast, love a guy who holds your arm when he drives, love a guy who steals glances at you when you are doing your work. 

Love a guy who loves food and you know what to do when is angry at you, love a guy who takes his time to read a book to enjoy the plot...

In short, love a guy who loves you for what you are. Love a guy who cries for you for he will love no one the way he loves you. Love a guy with whom you can share your darkest secrets and feel good about it. Love that guy for what he is and embrace his negative traits for we all know he is worth it! :)

25 Things that Every Person Should Do!

1. Read. Read a lot.

2. Write. Write everything. Write about every moment that you experience, write about every memory that is awesome, write about every moment that is not-so-awesome, write till you are lost in your words. Write till you are exhausted. Write till you know you cannot write anymore

Or even better, write a book.

3. Travel. Maintain a journal. Write down everything. Take pictures. Make memories.

4. Fall in love. 

5. Get hurt. Fall apart. Cry out loud. Push everything away. Make yourself numb and immune to all the crap happening around you.

Experience the pain. And write down how it feels! No, really.

6. Write a song. Compose it. Refrain from singing it out loud. Or may be, you should just sing. You never know!

7. Go on a sabbatical.

8. Take a break from Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Quora, Whatsapp, and of course, your mobile phone. It is easy. Try it.

9. Sleep a lot. Take a break from work and sleep for 48 hours straight. You know how awesome it feels?

10. Eat.A.Lot.

11. Sleep under the stars with your friends.

12. Wake up early in the morning and let the sun-rays play on the face of your loved one. Well, do you need anything more than such a beautiful sight? No, you do not!

13. Make a difference.

14. Spend a day eating a yummy chocolate cake and try not to feel guilty about the calories and all.

15. Go back-packing. Alone! Yes.

16. Quit your job. Find a job you love the most.

17. Spend all your money. Be broke.

18. Learn something new each day.

19. Slap all those idiots who ask you to 'move on.' It is so easy for people to say that. Obviously! They do not put themselves in your shoes and think, right? And if you have ever asked someone to move on..well, you know whom to slap first!

20. Talk about yourself to a stranger and let him judge you. Brutally!

And accept the criticism. Or the good stuff. ;)

21. Make promises. And promise yourself that you will fulfill every promise. After all, promises are meant to be fulfilled, isn't it?

22. Take a leap of faith and do the things that you badly want to do in spite of knowing and sensing the repercussions.

23. Shop till you drop.

24. Figure out what you need. Figure out what you want. Make a plan and make sure that everything happens according to your plan.

Make every effort to get what you want. What is the use of making plans and all when you cannot fight to achieve them?

25. Make some friends who love you. Love them back and do everything to make them happy.

Five Indian Cinema Cliches!

There are times when few movies make me lose faith in Indian Cinema. Do not start judging me there, I totally love Indian movies but there are few movies and at times, parts of some movies that make me slap myself. I roll my eyes and say out loud, "Really?" And when we talk about such cliches, 90s movies have set a trademark for such lameness. Or well, most of the movies made in the 90s. I mean, you know DDLJ came out in the 90s and I consider it as one of the epic movies. (Drifts into the dreams where there is only Shahrukh Khan)

1. The all new, glittery student:

There is a new student. Always! A new student who walks into the college at the end of the sophomore year and makes the entire college swoon over him/her. And there is always a guy who is treated as a demigod till then and all the attention is shifted from him to the new kid. How awesome!

The sad part is the female protagonist too dumps the old kid and goes for the new kid. I weep for humanity. 

2. Women are always portrayed as dumb creatures:

Hmmph! Not all women are dumb and not all women are as dumb as the ones shown in the movies. And no, women do not write letters with their blood. Though I know few idiots who write letters with ketchup and pass it on as blood. But hey, that is reality and oops! It is supposed to be a secret.

I am so glad that Vidya Balan is coming out with meaningful movies and well, you see the difference now?

3. The Natural Calamities:

Those wild, frightening thunder storms and lightening and these are the scenes when the female protagonist is scared out of her wits, and runs into the jungle and meets the hero there. And they realize their love for each other. How convenient! 

People do not fall in love like that, duh! :-@

4. Sadness brings a major transformation in the woman's wardrobe:

You know I have observed this is almost every movie. The girl goes through a trauma or a rough phase. She gives up all her awesome clothes and wears salwar kameez only. I mean there is nothing so creepy about salwar kameez but why in the world does her dressing sense change so drastically? Are they like her mourning clothes or what?

You don't believe me? Go, watch Kaho Na Pyaar Hain. There is a pattern in Ameesha Patel's dressing sense. No, really!

5. The Paranormal Activities:

I somehow believe that we, Indians are not very good when it comes to paranormal movies. Of course, there are very few exceptional ones that are pretty kickass but you know most of them are duds.

The arrival of ghosts is always done with such gung ho--the gentle breeze and at times, the not-so-gentle breeze, the sudden ignition of the fire-places, the thunder storms, the scary lightening (sometimes, they are really scary), the overlapping of the branches of the trees, the power cuts, the dogs and the wolves barking in the distance, kids crying, furniture falling apart, shadows of creepy things on the floors, images of I-don't-know-what in the mirrors, fog and a lot. 

And then, there is dead silence. Well, no surprises there, the ghost has already possessed someone. Awesome! :-|