The Potato and me

Well... one look at my photo speaks of the intimate relationship that I share with the round, attractive, omnipotent, fattening, tasty, enemy of dietitian and friend of all erstwhile Adnan Sami's , the grand POTATO. Before I move on to the epilogue of praise for my dear friend, let me try to elucidate a little on the etymology of our story's protagonist ( i m in the second lead role :)).

Potato, or AALOO as it is called in hindi... ALLOO in maithili.... BATATA in marathi... is a name whose genesis is not known but the fact that it's an integral part of one or the other dish of all major countries speaks of the 'epic'ness of the name. It's used in various forms, but is preferred boiled, meshed and fried... mostly referred to as BHARTA or CHOKHA....

now this animal called chokha is the one that has given potato a world-class fame... used in making a range of food items... from aaloo tikki (used even by McD) to samosa...and from aaloo paratha to masala dosa.... it has been used across territories and across the barriers of human boundaries...

My acquaintance with this friend is as old as my first attempt to eat anything solid... there are several family tales (often embarrassingly narrated by my mom) talk about my early fascination with this thing.... when i was a kid... i used to keep crying for potatoes in my veg curry... and would keep fishing for all the potatoes in the bowl to consume them with utmost pleasure... when i started munching living beings like chicken and mutton, the potato never got neglected... my dad (he is the cook when it comes to non-veg food in house) made it a point to put in enough potatoes to keep me satiated with the meal... he would have hardly realized it then that this little infant infatuation of mine would turn out into a militant romance by adolescence...

Time went by and my love and admiration for the round thing increased by leaps and bounds... i did not realize that gradually i had also started acquiring the shape of my romantic hero....round and attractive.... my passion grew with aaloo parathas cooked by mom ...so much so ...that if i would have 3-4 normal chappatis... i could effortlessly have 6-8 parathas in a single meal... the effect was more than just visible... i witnessed a gradual bulge beneath my chest...and few months later my sister enlightened me to the fact that i own a tummy now....

"I own a tummy!!!" .... i was thrilled... i was getting completely in the shape of my hero...my friend..my love.... i went to college where i got introduced to French Fries served in the mess... the love got a new angle... and the bulge a new circumference... job took me to punjab...and then the aaloo kulchas... job transferred me to mumbai ...and then Vada Pav....

Oh god!!! with every passing day...my love and passion for my darling potato is increasing.... it's so heartening to see it present in some or the other form all over the country... i hope it enjoys an equally respectable status abroad also....

O dear Potato...
Come what may..i'll never leave you...
Curse on all the Gyms and VLCC's
Damn all the Sauna belts and slimming machines...

Potato..thou rule... and shall ever do...
Amen Amen....

चंदू लाल के हसीन सपने

चंदू, यानी कि मैं जब छोटा था तो अपने घर के सामने बने उन बडे बडे मकानों को देखकर यही सोचा करता था कि कब हम भी इस छोटे से घर से निकल कर उस बडे से घर में जायेंगे। बडे घर में तो नहीं जा सका पर बडे शहर में ज़रूर ला पटका जिन्दगी ने।
बिहार के एक छोटे से शहर में जब मैंने अपने बचपन कि शुरुवात की तो ये देख कर अक्सर दंग रह जाता कि कैसे लोग इतनी बड़ी जगह में खोते नहीं। कैसे लोग मकानों के बीच से रास्ते ढूँढ लेते हैं यारों से मिलने के लिए। पर मुझे नहीं मालूम था कि जो शहर मुझे बचपन में इतना विशाल लगता था वोह दरअसल बहुत छोटा था। १८ साल की उम्र में मैंने वो शहर छोड़ दिया, आगे पढ़ाई करने के लिए। कानपुर नाम के एक बडे शहर में मेरे चरण पडे और जीवन के चार महत्वपूर्ण वर्ष मैंने उस शहर में बिताए जिसे हम चाहें तो देश का सबसे बड़ा गाँव भी कह सकते हैं। उन चार सालों तक मैं इसी भ्रम में रहा कि मैं अब एक बडे शहर में रहना सीख गया हूँ।

लेकिन फिर मुझे एहसास कराया गया कि मैं तो बेहद सीधा सादा और छोटे शहर कि मानसिकता वाला आदमी हूँ। मैंने अभी तक जिन्दगी के वो चकाचौंध कर देने वाले नज़ारे देखे ही नहीं हैं। ऐसे नज़ारे तो केवल दिल्ली और मुम्बई जैसी जगह पर ही दिखेंगे। किस्मत से मेरी नौकरी ने जल्दी ही मुझे ऐसे शहरों के दर्शन भी करा दिए। दिल्ली में पूरे दो महीने बिताने के बाद अब मैं पिछले एक महीने से मुम्बई में रह रहा हूँ। धीरे धीरे यहाँ के तौर तरीके सीख गया हूँ। अब मैं भी ऐसी पतलून पहनने लगा हूँ जिसमें घुटने पर भी जेब होती है। मैं भी अब चार-पांच सौ रुपये के पकवान खा लेता हूँ। दो सौ रुपये का सिनेमा देख लेता हूँ। पाव रोटी को जब बर्गर और पिज्ज़ा को नाम पर बेचा जाता है तो मैं अब घबराता नही। दौड़ती भागती सडकों को पार करने में मैं अब डरता नहीं। एक रुमाल खरीदने के लिए एक घंटा सड़क पर चलना अब मुझे बुरा नहीं लगता।

पर कहीँ ना कहीँ वो छोटे शहर का 'बिहारी' चंदू डरता है। वो वापस जाना चाहता है उस शहर में जहाँ पन्द्रह मिनट कि दूरी पर सब कुछ मिल जाया करता था। जहाँ अगर एक शाम में एक सौ रुपये सिर्फ खाने पर खर्च हो जाते थे तो इसका मतलब होता था कि कम से कम पांच लोग तो खाने ज़रूर गए होंगे। वो शहर जहाँ लडकियां तो लड़के भी बिना बांह के कपडे पहनने में शर्माते थे। वो शहर जहाँ अभी भी हर छोटी चीज़ के लिए बेटा बाप से इजाज़त लेता है। जहाँ अगर किसी के बगीचे में पांच पपीते उगे होँ तो उसमें से तीन पडोसियों को बाँट दिए जाते हैं। जहाँ गरमी में पंखा चलता है, ए सी नहीं। जहाँ पिता क पास दिन भर के थकान के बाद भी बच्चों के साथ सब्जी कि दुकान जाने कि फुर्सत होती है। जहाँ लोग रात के दस बजे खाना खा कर सोने चले जाते हैं। जहाँ जिन्दगी आज भी इतने धीमे चलती है कि सबके पास सबके लिए वक़्त होता है। काश कि कुछ ऐसा हो जाये कि हसीन सपने देखने वाले इस चंदू लाल को वापस कोई उस असलियत कि नगरी में पहुँचा दे। काश....काश.....काश.....

मातृभाषा मे कुछ..

ख़ुशी हो रही है देख कर कि मैं अब हिंदी में भी ब्लोग्गिंग कर सकता हूँ। वैसे ये मेरा पहला प्रयास नहीं है हिंदी में लिखने का, इससे पहले मैंने कुछ हिंदी फोंट्स का इस्तेमाल करके अपनी काफी कवितायेँ लिखी हैं और उनमें से काफी प्रकाशित भी हुई हैं। लेकिन हिंदी लिखना इतना सरल तो कभी भी नही था एक इंग्लिश कीबोर्ड पर। सचमुच मज़ा आ रहा है। जल्द ही मुझे अपनी कवितायेँ यहाँ लिखने का मौका मिलेगा। वैसे अच्छा यही रहेगा कि हिंदी लिखने के लिए एक अलग ब्लोग खोल लिया जाये। जब तक कुछ नए विचार नहीं आते है दिमाग में तब तक इन चार पंक्तियों से काम चलाता हूँ।

फिरोज़ी रंग में डूबा हुआ है आसमान
फिरोज़ी हो रहा है रंग मेरे इश्क का
फिरोज़ी रंग कि साडी में लिपटा ये बदन
फिरोज़ी कर रहा है जैसे पूरी शाम को

The BALD and the beautiful

people say that a woman's beauty lies in her beautiful hair... in the same manner, i feel the 'beauty' (or the 'handsomeness', if you want to call it that way :)) of a man lies in a bald head...

well ...well... i can see all those shaggy John Abrahams giving me that look..but dude...you got to get bald to realize the charm of it... i was also apprehensive of my baldness initially but now i know that it's the IN thing today....Needless to mention the immediate benefits of baldness, regarding the time and money saved in hair care.... It also gives you a fresher look when you get up in the morning... you do not feel dull in the morning coz of crumbled hair... but instead always feel 'light-headed'

In addition to the physiological benefits that it has..there are several styling possibilities that baldness offers you...you become more comfortable using various kinds of caps and hats...coz you aren't worried of them crumbling your hair style.... a bald head also gives a very modern and fashionable look with all the contemporary beard styles, like french, italian, goatey etc... (remember that Dil Chahta Hai looks.....!!!!) ...the traditional indian beard also looks great on bald faces though....

how can i miss stating the charm that it creates among women... in the 40's and 50's...politicians were the hot thing..and Nehru, Patel, Gandhi, Bose..all bald-headed politicians were doing wonders... then came the time of the corporates in the late nineties...and the likes of Mittal (Airtel Fame), Harsha Bhogle,Doug Bailie (HLL) are rocking the markets....

Come to sports with the likes of Ronaldo... ( i can't recall anymore right now) ..and in media... Pranav (NDTV Head)..Akshay Khanna etc..have also made their presence felt... Above all..you can find most of the college guys actually trimming their hair to the last inch in order to get that bald look...coz they know... it's considered hot by women... after all ...all the American Playboy male models are mostly bald....( i think this became a little too explicit now)..

but ...never mind..the whole point is.... that BALD is the new fad... and i am a proud memebr of the emerging fraternity....

from a kid.... to a man..... to a manager

life can run so fast..that it sometimes becomes utterly difficult to match the pace.... i can still remember how i used to cry for not getting the batting and was always sent to do fielding near the boundary...when i was in class 5... and how i was madly in love with that girl who sat on the 3rd bench to the side of the window...when i was in class 7...

and now... i am already a sales manager...have even started earning....managing teams of people who have kids of my age... they call me boss... and i call them by first name... i make decisions worth lakhs of rupees when only a few years ago..i couldn't buy a 5-rupee pen without my dad accompanying me...

from Tinku ...to Chandra Mohan...to CMT....to Mr. Thakur ..the journey has really been fast... i want to go back to that school where i topped and all girls thought that i was cute.... i want to go back to that small town of mine ...where afternoons meant playing in the sun and not slogging to earn livelihood... the times when a ten rupee note from dad used to look as big as the World Bank or something.... when getting four cream biscuits meant achieving the final goal of life.... i hope my mom never comes to know how did that Amulya powder can emptied so soon...and where did all the gulab jamuns from the fridge vanished....or may be she always knew... and i thought i was just next to james bond or sherlock holmes... the way i used to plan all my moves for getting those gulab jamuns....

oh boy !!! can i just steal a few gulab jamuns again from that fridge..just to give it to that girl sitting on the 3rd bench to the side of the window....

first post

finally i succumb to the charm of blogs... diary has anyways starved for some ink of my pen for about ten months.... and finally when words came... they preferred to appear as a blog rather than a diary page.....

don't know what all i will be scribbling in here.... might not talk about my personal life in details but would obviously pen down my views about the various issues that surround our life... be it career...society...politics...films... or something else....

let things start flowing out of my pen ...oooppss..i mean keyboard....