Imagine..

My dreams...
*naaaa...not the ones i indulge in during the day,at work..
or the dirty ones at nite :D*

Well..the general ones..at nite..they are kinda unusual..for one,they are horribly outdated...and..
I have noticed that they are of 2 types..both totally out of sync with reality and..my today..

1. The 'deja vu' types- Looking into the future..scene in my life..will not remember it ever after..
until that event actually happens in front of my eyes...and i realise.."Wacaw ! this is something i have seen before !"
wont remember what happens next..could be very innocuous..could be very detailed..but..very boringly usual..and..hota hai..kabhi kabhi..
:)

2. The other one..The history folder..
the people that feature in my dreams..are history items..
*recent events take some time to register at a sub-conscious level...with me,maybe..*
so..it's usually the tea-kadai in velachery outside iit,adda-marofying outside the girls hostel,
bangalore haunts,an 8 AM marketing class,noon lunch with the gang,etc..which still appear..nowadays..
:)

But..yesterday was unusual..
i woke up..as usual at 7 AM..stopped the beeping monstrosity..called a phone alarm..
Nasha and ritZ..had msgd me..read both msgs..gave one of those lazy smiles,we are capable of giving only when we wake up..
*No Nasha,you didnt wake me up,ha ! and ritZ,bombay,huh ? cool yaar ! aish kar !! :D*
and...promptly slept ! to wake up 10 mins before office-time..DAMN ! DAMN you both !!

But...instead of a hurried,hassled look..i had a stupid smile plastered on my face..all day !
cos of the dream in the ensuing 50 mins..
Featuring Parul..and the others..all,together..nonsensical,i know..but, they actually seemed to like each other..
almost group-photo-like-each-other..
:)

Parul..My first crush..<5>that 'east of kailash' house..that boundary wall b/w the 2 houses..and parul chanting "koodh ke aa jaaoo,ritesh..koodh ke aa jaaoo ! "
while i climbing on the old cooler,the tire on top of the cooler..and barely avoiding the glass pieces set in the concrete..love,the painfully blood-red types,at that..
:D
'Love story',the movie...was a rage,then..a time when Kumar gaurav was the female heart-throb and campa cola ruled..
and
"Tu aaayee aaayeee aayee aayee aaaja..
kitna haseen hai yeh ik sapana..
phoolon ke shehar mein hai ghar apana..
kya samaa hai..tuu kahaan hai..
mein aayee,aayee,aayee,aayee aajjaa..."
:D

We sang that,across the wall...whenever bored..and when our respective moms wouldnt allow us to go over to the others'...
:(
And 'ek duje ke liye'..seemed the perfect analogy..southie boy..northie girl..love..and the lift song..

"mere jeevunu saatheee..
pyaar kiye jaa.
jawaaaaneee dewaaaaaaaneee..
khoobusurat..ziddi padosan..
satyam shivam sundaram..." :D

In hindsight,i think it was more an infatuation..with...not her..but..her mom's...sandwiches...
those heavenly chutney-and-sauce-filled-morsels-of-pure-childish-delight..never before,never after..
:D
*My mom is God-level at veg.konk/dig/northie grub..but she doesnt know her sandwiches..or chinese..While parul's mom did..and wow !! did she ever !!*
Parul..and ritesh..even sounded rite ! DAMN !!

Well..i grew up..we moved on..to blore..parul was forgotten...except when reminded by mom,sometimes..abt my promise to her,apparently..
*I dont remember..my mom does tho..it seems :D*
"20 years later..when we are 'big',we will get married..." or something to that effect...

jabbu hum jawaa honge..
jaane kahaan honge,
lekin jahaan honge,wahaan
tujhe yaad karenge,tujhe yaad karenge..
:)
Kahaan hai yaar,parul ? tu aaayeee aaaayeee aayeee aayeee aajaa...
:D

Well..next up was pavitra..mini-love actually...
10th standard mean a lotta hormones..and a few things happened..very innocent..and an almost victorian love-affair..
Shakespeare..was considered ulti-cool..probably cos we had Julius Caesar as our English drama text..
"Ohmilady..Would thou be interested in an amorous affair with me ?"
"Your death-wish is granted,milord..."
:D
aashiqui..was a hit then..and people were being "inspired" - left,right and center ! so a few love songs later..
A 'best' friend who advised me to "focus on your grades..and stay out of this nonsense !"..*well,look where that got me !! damn you,venky !*
:)
And..Both parents' meeting up later..i was single again..
*she got married recently,is what i heard ..:)*

Saanson ki zaroorat hai jaise..X2
bekhudi ke liye..
bas ek sanamuuu chahiye..aashiqui ke liye..
*taun taun taun taun taunnnn tauunn taun taun :D*
haan ek sanamuuu chahiye..aashiqui ke liye..
*Othi shuddho,Sanuda,Othi shuddho..Khoob bhaalo :D *

Third..
Falling in love with your best friend's 'ex'-"girlfriend"...happens..all the time..in college..
From time immemorial..the following has happened..and will continue to do so..
girl B likes guy A..guy A knows so..
girl B approaches chilled-out-dude C..to help her talk to A..
A is C's good friend..ever since 4th standard,in school..
A is a hero..plays hard to get..his ego is boosted...and testosterone levels are high...thats why..
C sets it up,somehow..A and B go to a movie..
They hit it off really well..C is thanked profusely..and told that his wish his granted
"yes ! our kid if we get married,will be named ritesh ! happy now !!??"
And one day..C realises..he likes B..doesnt know why..just does..you need reasons to fall in love ??
*yeah..we do now..but then..it didnt really need reasons..:)*
cos of the many conversations hanging out in the same gang ? maybe..maybe not..but..C said so to B..and B kinda reciprocated..before..
Well..B went abroad to finish college..A went to BITS,Pilani..C's grades sucked...and he just about managed to make it to engineering college..

C grew up into 'kini' ..finished college..with zero love-interests..bcos of zero girls in class..it was mechanical engg..so..
:)
Worked for over a year..had the odd dinner/lunch with odd girls..never taking it any further..cos most of them were colleagues..
this was blore..word got home even before he thot abt something..lightning-quick..so..
and his principles on mixing business and pleasure...are unfortunately for him,solidly rock-solid..
:(

Later...Quit his job one day..joined PG..and fell in love...madly..1st year !

Kanda Naal Mudhalai
Kaadhal perugudhu di..X3
kayyinil vel piddithu,
karunisilal valaney,
Kanda Naal Mudhalai
Kaadhal perugudhu di..

and for the first time really meant it..when he said
"yaar,deebs..kuch kar yaar..M se meri baat chalaa na..teri toh us se acchi banti bhi hai !"
Deebs did try..her bestest...god bless her gult soul :D
simultaneous efforts from the rest of the gang members were also on..surd..and rohit...to whom i will be eternally grateful..
for having listened to me everyday when i called from my internship company and whined..
"Macha..i dunno what you do..fix up someplace to go out to,today..with her...i cant,sitting 25 kms away..i dunno..kuch kar yaar..please !"
Well a coupla dinners happened...one where i explained to her,"The history of the dravidian movement in tamilnadu"..over a walk in the besantnagar beach..
:-/ I know !
and another..when she said "F$#% you !" in the middle of the road..cos,i was way out of line joking about her gult roots..
*That made me like her every bit more ! cos,i am that fascinated by a girl,who speaks her mind !*
shubham..chipped in..by saying to her..
"hi..meet kini..accha ladka hai..bahut chup rehta hai..magar ek number ka haraami-badmaash hai.."
Thanks yaar..with friends like you guys,i will never ever need enemies ! :D
and kelya..who popped in...exactly,whenever...not needed...
*he was not 'in' on the happenings..and therefore was not to blame..but DAMN you,man !*
:D

Kini..well...suffered a minor heart-break..when she refused..to even get to know him..
she had 'other priorities'...apparently...
and so..he did what most other guys do...drank a lot..doped much more...partied so much more..
learnt his lesson..and tried to get some 'focus'..in life...which he tries to..to this day..

*Thanks to her,i changed..for the better..a lot !*

In the interim..temporarily 'wild interests' like Hema..sandal socks..and that saarang girl...aaye gaye..

Hema.. iit btech..tam-bram..
met her outside sharav's pattiserie..helped her feed a dog..
*Thanks,yaar..whistling didnt get you close to me..the food did..both dog..and girl ! :D*
borrowed money from rohit..borrowed the sakooter from surd ..took her out to dinner..
end of meal..end of relationship..just didnt gel..
*yeah..I survived on borrowed stuff..in college :D
hell,one of my bathroom slippers belonged to krishna..and the other to Vinayak Rao ! :D*

Sandal socks..she wore sandals..over socks,thats why..the name..
A marketing game..a product brand-recall campaign..a personalized T-shirt bizplan..
almost donating Kelya's attitude-quote t-shirt..and a "remember ME!" later..
she was history..
*ME= Mutually exclusive..signifying individuality,an attitude,'different',unique..
thanks,BFIC,nits and somu..we won second place :D*
*I saw her during this saarang...and almost told her,that i had a crush on her,once upon a time..surd stopped me,DAMN ! :-/*

Penultimate..That saarang girl..with the most beautiful eyes i have ever set my beautiful eyes on..
:D
But..Before I could come up with a line..
i came up with a feeling..to take a leak ! kya timing hai,nahi !?
:-/
And before i got back..she was gone..we searched..abhi...the surd..and I..no avail..
Later..
"Of course i need to come up with an idea/line to be able to chat with her..
for which i needed 2 mins to think !! alone !
else what would the difference be between a me and a you talking to her !??
uff..she would smile at the lame attempt..politely decline and..leave..and where does that get you !?
Results mangta hai !! har effort ke liye,results mangta hai !!! got that ?!"
:D

All those were present..in the dream..but...one was missing..the most important..nowadays..
Me..myself...I....tche..tche..how could that happen !?
2 reasons :

1. I am so self-involved nowadays..that all that matters to me today..is well..me..only !
My likes..my dislikes..the people i like..the people i dislike..no extra load..just me..
I dont think there's any other way of keeping life uncomplicated,rite now..
focus on the 'I'..and what makes you happy..and everything falls in place...beautifully..

And..

2. It would have been my dream come true to be with all of them..at the same time !!
My history 'items'..thats why !
:D

And they say I'm a dreamer,
but I'm not the only one,
I hope someday,you'll join us,
and the world will live as one...
:)

Update:
Somu, a good friend..and an even more obedient junior,msgd me..saying she read the post..and that I forgot to mention a certain somebody..
My fascination for the tam-bram girls..further fuelled by a certain Prof's daughter..my god ! was she ulti-cool ! Played the guitar,was a HR exec..quit it all..to join a yoga centre..why ?cos,she wanted to !
:)
My attempts will continue,once i get back to chennai..and this time in earnest !
And..No Somu,i dont give up on a few things..atleast not to a loser..like Ashwin !
:D
She knows i am a good student of her Dad..and her Dad's friend's son,too..
She doesnt even know of ashwin's existence..but then...most people dont..
:D
Thanks for the reminder..
:)
She's getting married in may..just saw the invite..i think i should shut up,now..

WSD adoption,sale mela..9th April..
*Mumbaiwaasiyon...for you..*

Verbatim mail..from a good soul..and good friend..
(there are very few with that combo,that i know of..:)

Do spread the word around about our Adoption Mela on Sunday , April 9, 2006. It will also be great if you can drop in to support the dogs who are up for adoption.
thanks and regards
Abodh Aras
CEO
Welfare of Stray Dogs

The Welfare of Stray Dogs (WSD) will be hosting the WSD ADOPTION MELA at Dhanraj Mahal, Apollo Bunder, Near Cottage Industries Emporium, Colaba on Sunday, April 9, 2006 between 5 pm and 7 pm.

There would be around 10 dogs put up for adoption. These dogs are either abandoned pets or pariahs brought from the Mumbai Airport area. All these dogs require a good and loving home. All the dogs have been temperamentally tested to ensure that they would make good house pets. They are all sterilised and immunized.The WSD veterinary physician and volunteers trained in dog behaviour will guide the prospective adopters to make the correct choice, and advice the new adopters about dog care, diet, behaviour, vaccinations and grooming.

Prospective adopters would be screened and interviewed by WSD adoption counsellors to ensure that the dog goes to a loving and responsible home. If found suitable,they would be allowed to adopt the dog. The new adopters will be given vaccination certificates, leaflets on Dog Care. The adoption counsellors will also accompany the new owners with their pets to their residence.

The objective of this ADOPTION MELA is to encourage people to adopt dogs that really require a home instead of going and buying one. Hundreds of dogs (abandonded pets and pariahs) have been adopted by people from The Welfare Of Stray Dogs (WSD) in the past and have made wonderful pets. WSD has organized two Adoption Mela’s in the past through which 13 out of 15 and 8 out of 10 dogs had been adopted.

There will also be a SALE OF WSD PRODUCTS for doggies and people
For the Doggies – Tags, Ruffs, Pillows, Mattresses, Scarves
For the Owners – T-Shirts, Mugs, Trays, Jute & Cloth Bags, Notepads, Towels & Caps.WSD contact nos: 23733433/23891070
E-mail : wsd@wsdindia.org