‘Holi’day relapse

I don’t know why I hate it so much. Actually it’s not an ‘it’. It’s more like a group of ‘it’s. All have the tags ‘festival’ and ‘religion’ attached to them. On top of of the charts is ‘Holi’ and close contenders are the ‘Diwali’ and ‘Ganesh’ festivals. I’m sure I have forgotten others but I choose not to remember them because I don’t want to have nightmares. I posted about this issue on my FaceBook status message in the morning and I got a prompt, sarcastic remark.

‘Kris, I can’t believe that you are saying this. You are, after all, part of a band which is called ‘NOISE’ market. Happy happy happy Holi!’

I really don’t see the correlation. Why? Is it because I’m part of a Hindi band? Is it because the band’s name consists of the transliterated ‘NOISE’ word? Is it because I’m gay (and so is this friend who commented) and by being what we are, we are predisposed to liking ‘color’ful, festive things? Or is it because my real name, the God that I am named after, used to play pranks on the gopis during this festival? What is it that makes it necessary for a person like me to like festivals naturally? I don’t see any reason.

Of course, most festivals in India are commemorative of the victory of good over evil, or of gods over demons, or right over wrong. That IS such a noble cause. But that’s just about it. They have been shaped into something really more demonic than holy. Yes, in India, a festival means – loudspeakers and blaring music irrespective of the time of the day (or night) or the location (hospitals eg.), traffic jams due to processions, drunken people dancing to the latest blasphemous Bollywood tune being played on trucks carrying deities. Diwali adds to the mess with people getting the 'license' to cause mini-explosions which are harmful to the ears and minds of humans and animals alike.

‘Holi’ takes it to another level – invasion of personal privacy! People throw colors at each other in the form of powder or fluids without permission or provocation. Each and everyone is supposed to LIKE that and be happy at the end of it all. Hello? Have you heard of something called personal rights? Would you go up to someone and tell them ‘Hey, I thought it would be really cool to use your car as a graffiti canvas. Happy ‘Car Graffiti Day!’ So why are people doing this? If they want to celebrate among themselves, why don’t they stop bothering those people who are not interested in this?

For the last four years since I chose Mumbai as my home, I have been scared and intimidated by this holiday. I’m frightened to go out and be splattered with paint-balls. I don’t think that it’s right. I don’t think it is right for people to do whatever they want to with the excuse a ‘religious festival’. I’m sure there are many more people like me who are just shutting up because they think that it’s immoral to admit they don’t like festivals. Don’t do that. Speak up!

Scooter’s gone

Ever since I moved into my new apartment, I haven't my scooter. That’s like nine months. The reasons for not using the scooter started with me not feeling the need to have a vehicle. Since I had to always use the suburban railway system to get to any interesting place in Mumbai, my scooter’s use was gone. Then came the financial crunch and the non-affordability of fuel.

Since the building that I’m living in did not have a parking space, I had to keep it parked at the side of the road. Since I didn’t use it, it had grown dirty and dusty. Every day when I stepped out of the building, I would make sure that it’s there. A few times, when some other extraneous force had made it go off balance, I would go and put it back in its correct posture on the centre-stand.

Today, as I left for work, I didn’t see it there. I was scared. But since I needed to report to work, I couldn’t do anything then. I worried about it all day – one reason why I wasn’t bothered with the chatter at the workplace (I had taken my mp3 player along to ensure 100% auditory isolation) – and when I returned home, I took a look around to see if it was not moved to another parking space nearby.

I couldn’t find it. It was gone. I talked to the security guards at the building. First they denied having seen someone take it. Later, they confessed that the municipality people had come and asked if they knew whose scooter it was. Apparently nobody knew and they had towed it away.

I’m wondering what to do. I’d need to go over to the police chowky and then claim my vehicle. I think I won’t have a problem doing that. But how on earth do I bring it back home? It’s not in a working condition and to make it run smoothly, I will have to invest a lot of money. I can’t do that. I don’t know what to do.

First day at work

So I started working today. A totally new environment so alien that it felt really weird. Out of scrubs and lab coats, not standing at an operating table, not talking to the needy and not saving lives. Instead, in my jeans and tee shirt, sitting at a desk, talking to no-one and learning grammar. In came the world filled with deadlines and assignments and out went the world with intravenous lines and surgeries. That’s one helluva change.

I met new people. New colleagues, new trainers, new bosses. Apart from the trainer, I couldn’t really talk to anyone there. It really seemed like an invasion of privacy. They were doing jobs and had to meet deadlines. I can’t talk to them and disturb their work. That’s not civil. Not only that, I was given a computer and some lessons and exercises about English grammar and punctuation. I had to work on that as well.

I tried to concentrate on what I was doing. I found it extremely hard because I could hear everyone talking, gossiping, laughing. I could also hear filtered music leaking out of the earphones of a colleague sitting next to me (so clearly that I could identify the artist!). I have never been diagnosed as ADHD. But I think I’m a subclinical ADHD person. The only resort was to get lost in my own music despite it being an impediment to the functioning of my brain which is trying to solve complicated grammatical problems.

I’m sure things will get better and more ‘relaxed’, but not in a jiffy.

A new job, a new beginning

I’m starting a new job tomorrow. It is a very weird feeling to be saying that word ‘job’ itself as I am used to the phrase ‘working in a hospital’ ever since I became an adult. A vast majority of my friends and well-wishers think that it’s a bad move that I’m making – giving away my medical career and jumping into something new. I can relate with all of them. How I wish I could carry on what I did. If only it could also allow me some time and space to work at my music!

I am starting work as an Academic Editor in the Medicine and Biosciences department of a Knowledge Processing Outsourcing (KPO) organization. I’m looking forward to starting to work there. Why? Mainly because it will let me do what I love doing – being at the keyboard and working on text documents, editing them and making them readable and attractive. Apart from that aspect, this job would give me the financial stability that I have been looking forward to.

To all my friends who don’t want to see me put to waste my 13 years of medical training, all I have to say is this. I understand the risk that I’m taking. But my aim in life is to achieve what I want and to be happy. And I think you have to make a few sacrifices for achieving that. This is a humongous sacrifice and I might regret it in the future. That’s when I’m going to need all of you – my friends. Please stand by me.

'Straight' out of nowhere

I was one of the few invitees to the screening of 'Straight' yesterday at Fun Republic preview theatre (Parvati Balagopalan, Vinay Pathak, Anuj Chaudhary are just a few names from the attendees of the screening). I was skeptical because of a lot of reasons - a cynic by my side, a 'gay-friendly' movie from Bollywood on the screen and a theatre full of people whose natural instincts are to scream and holler on instinct at the slightest of jokes and faintest of hints of positive gay-vibe. The 'Dostana' nightmare still lingers on, you see. The first few minutes of the movie added to my wariness as some unexpected and cheap animation tricks to 'charter' down a family tree were unfurled on the screen.

Thankfully, that was just about it. The movie had me forget about all the things that could go wrong. It was fast paced, witty, clever and intelligent. The character development was just at the right pace leaving scope for the plot to become really interesting. It's funny how performances simply become good when you get rid of all the 'stars' and get some real actors into the mix. It is not at all surprising that I'm itching to add an 'unlike Dostana' tag to each and every sentence in this little post. But I'm not a movie-critic and I'm not writing because I needed to feel like one. Let's get to the point here.

This movie is so positive with regards to gays and their rights that it pales everything else that has come before it - 'Fashion', 'Dostana' you name it. There is NO gay stereo-typing. There are no banal jokes about homosexuals. Homophobia was dealt with classy treatment which would make even the homophobes enjoy the movie and possibly change their mindset. There are so many instances in the movie which stress about gays being regular people, about gays being not obsessed with sex and only sex, about arranged marriages destroying lives in the gay-context and finally about gay relationships being simply like any other relationship; with all it's virtues and fallacies.

We have campaigned for 'Milk' and we have cheered for 'Dostana'. I think 'Straight' is the movie that we should really promote as the judgment at the court is around the corner. I applaud the efforts of all the people who were part of the movie! Please go watch it!

Aarohi ‘09 experience – Noise Market blog post

Noise market had a gig at Aarohi ‘09, the annual college function at VNIT, Nagpur. I wrote about the experience at the Noise Market blog. Click here to read that post.  Here are a couple of videos from the same event. Do comment on them! Watch out for the guy wearing the hat on the extreme left of your video window!

Daddy’s WindSong Wednesdays’ experience – Noise Market blog post

Noise market had a marquee gig at il terrazzo, del italia. It was an important step forward for us, we thought as it was one of the first times that we got to play in front of an intelligent, musically literate audience. Amongst the friends that I blog about Dr. R. and Dr. J came.  The gora from the Gora for a dinner/movie combo also turned up with his date. Love you guys and thanks for the support! To read the entire gig review, please click here.

Radio One interview/performance

Another post from the Noise Market blog. This one also gives you a chance for you to listen to Noise Market. Check us out here!

Procrastination

When Vinokur came to visit me in India, we already had blue-prints for plans to live with each other for the rest of our lives in Mumbai. Despite his obvious health problems, which we hoped would get better, we decided to invest in a few things - a new desk for his computer, a new monitor, a printer etc.

Sadly, things didn’t pan out the way they should have and I found myself with such accessories after he left for NYC. Out of these, I could immediately use the monitor (we had bought a fantastic, big LCD one) and the desk for my personal use. Somehow, the printer was still kept in the box. It’s still in the box. I dare not take it out.

The reason for my hesitation is multifold. First of all, I am hopeful that sooner than later my living conditions will improve to a standard when I won’t need to worry about dust accumulating everywhere. Lame excuse, I know. But even more intimidating is the prospect of it not working properly and I needing to invest some money to make the necessary changes for it to work.

I know it would be wonderful to have a working printer on my computer. I could make printouts of lyrics and other things as and when I want to. But how can I knowingly add another variable to my life which is already struggling to balance itself on the loosest of tightropes?

Similarly, another problem lay packed in a box - my brand new, big, bass amplifier. The reason for its hibernation is weirder. It was originally intended to be our practice-place amplifier when we had the dream of having a decent jamming pad arranged by our record label. That, obviously, didn’t work out. Instead we are practicing at E-boi’s apartment these days.

That, my friends, is something close to the present day Afghanistan. It’s a fucking mess. It’s a disaster waiting to happen. There are electrical shortcircuits, leaks from the overhead tank, flooding of the apartment due to faucets left open, and the possibility of pan-spit/food/beverage soakage at any given time. I can’t possibly keep my new amp there and hope to have a good night’s sleep.

But what’s keeping me from using it at my apartment? I don’t want to let it get dusty and dirty. I want to be able to be in a position where I could guarantee that I can take care of it properly. And, until then, such things will be kept in their boxes. At least I feel more comfortable that way.

The postponement of the job

I was supposed to start my new ‘desk-job’ on the 2^nd of this month. I got a call from the firm where I’m going to be working in the last week of January informing me that they are not recruiting freshers until mid-February as they want to get a few others as a ‘batch’. More efficient training, you see. My immediate reaction was normal.

A conversation with my sister this evening added some suspicion to this new development. She was wondering if they would finally end up saying that they are not hiring any more personnel citing the recession as the reason. After the conversation, even I started wondering if there was something more than just an inefficient training situation.

But it has given me the ‘breathing space’ that I required. Now that the third active band has also surfaced, I was struggling to find time to incorporate another set of songs to my set-lists of songs to play. Besides, I needed more time to run around for certificates. Thinking positively about unexpected developments in life is a good way to deal with the ordeal. I guess!

Mobile Internet craze

My ISP has been shitty lately. I haven’t had ‘real’ Internet for over a week now. This post, when I’m typing it, is pre-dated and is being posted over ‘real’ Internet of course. Otherwise, the paucity of the updates to the blog can be attributed to the ISP situation.

The faithful readers of my blog might remember some of the tales about mice infestation in my building. This is one more anecdote. Eat this! I’m not getting Internet because mice have chewed away parts of the internet data cable on top of my building. The technicians from my ISP weren’t aware of the magnitude of the problem until yesterday. Now, they are trying to find the extent of the damage so that they can plan on relaying the cables. Incredible, isn’t it? I’m talking in 2009 from Mumbai!

During such outages, because I have GPRS and also because I’m a bit of an Internet addict, I manage to carry out most of my tasks on my PDA. Because I’m the internet PR person for the bands that I play with, and because the other band members are kinda lazy, I end up needing to do it a lot. Obviously, I can’t say to someone that I didn’t read their e-mail for ‘n’ number of days because I didn’t have internet. That, in this age of advanced of communications, is unacceptable.

Ironically, it’s more fun to do the social networking thing (and by that term I refer to FaceBook and only FaceBook) on the phone. The designers of FaceBook know perfectly well that is the case and they seem to be developing even more features for mobile phone users. At the same time, Orkut  (despite it’s wonderful affiliations with Google, it doesn’t even load properly on mobile phone browsers like Opera mini) is dying. Apart from social networking and e-mail, when you also have the wonderful option of using Wikipedia and Google Maps on your phone, it’s very tempting to overuse/abuse it!

The only problem though, is the price that  I have to pay for my Vodafone bill!