Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Some of my favourite quotations/words/dialogues

Frodo : I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.
Gandalf : So do all who live to see such times but that is not for us to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.

-Excerpt from Lord of the Rings – Fellowship of the Ring.


IF you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think – and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you have spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to be broken,
Amd stoop and build'em up with worn-out tools.

(Excerpts from the poem IF – by Rudyard Kipling)


Shahid : Sirf hasi, khel, mazak zindagi nahi hota. Life mein serious bhi hona padta hai.
Kareena : Tum to life mein bahut serious the na. Kya hua. Bahut bade problem mein tum bhi to fas gaye. Aage kya hone vala hai, is par kisi ka control to hai nahi. To aise mein main vohi karti hoon jo mera dil kehta hai. Kal ko main kisiko blame nahi karna chahati. Meri vajah se hoga jo bhi hoga..... Funda jyada hogaya na.

-From the movie Jab We Met


Dumbledore : Do you see, Harry? Do you see the flaw in my brilliant plan now? I had fallen into the trap I had foreseen, that I had told myself I could avoid, I must avoid.
Harry : I don't -
Dumbledore : I cared about you too much. I cared more about your happiness than your knowing the truth, more for your peace of mind than my plan, more for your life than the lives that might be lost if the plan failed. In other words, I acted exactly as Voldemort expects we fools who love to act.

-Excerpt from Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix


"Well, it is clear to me that he has done a very good job on you," said Scrimgeour, his eyes cold and hard behind his wire-rimmed glasses, "Dumbledore’s man through and through, aren't you, Potter?"
"Yeah, I am," said Harry. "Glad we straightened that out."
And turning his back on the Minister of Magic, he strode back toward the house.

-Excerpt from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince


Some people are too tired
to give you a smile.
Give them one of yours,
as none needs a smile so much as he
who has none to give.

-Unknown

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Ghonchu plays football

One night, Ghonchu had a dream. He was playing a football match (something he hadn't done since ninth standard) in IISc and scored a magnificent goal which earned him a tumultuous applause from girls (importantly) and boys alike. Usually Ghonchu used to forget his dreams by the time he woke up but this time was an exception. He remembered his dream. So, he decided to go and play football in the Gymkhana.

During breakfast at the mess, he announced his intentions to his friends. His audience consisted of Peechu, Cuteu, Buddhu, Kemchu and a cat which had come in by the mess window in search of breakfast. Their reactions were as follows :-
Peechu : 'Don't be a fool, Ghonchu! Do you even know the rules?'
Cuteu : 'You will get hurt.'
Buddhu, Kemchu and the cat were indifferent to Ghonchu's desire to play football. The three were more interested in their breakfasts or the lack of it (as in the cat's case).

Undaunted by the curtness and indifference of his friends, Ghonchu decided to go and buy a football jersey before venturing out to the Gymkhana. After some search and bargaining, Ghonchu bought a football jersey of his favorite player, Steven Gerrard.

In the evening, Ghonchu strutted out to the football ground wearing his brand new red-colored jersey. To his pleasant surprise, he was easily accepted and inducted into one of the teams and asked to play in defense. The first time the ball came close to him was when the opposition forward dribbled past him with total ease and scored. After earning the wrath of his team-mates, Ghonchu resolved to defend better. The next time the same player came along, Ghonchu kicked him on the shin while attempting to touch the ball. This time he earned the wrath of everyone, with his captain lecturing him not to play violently. Harried and perplexed, Ghonchu finally touched the ball on his third attempt which was a pass by a fellow defender. Delighted and relieved, Ghonchu decided to indulge in some fancy footwork. Determined to show his Ronaldo-like skills, he dribbled past one of the opposition. Then he decided to do a step-over. That in essence was where he made his mistake. His friends, though curt and indifferent, had they been watching, would have shaken their heads sadly. Even the cat would have miaowed mournfully had it known Ghonchu was going to try a step-over.

For those pitiable and ignoramus readers who don't know what a step-over is; a step-over is when a player steps over the ball. Quite elementary, isn't it.

Well, no more dilly-dallying, let the unhappy sequence of events be laid down before the reader.
The sequence of events were as follows :-
- Ghonchu tried a step-over.
- Instead of stepping over the ball, he stepped on the ball.
- He lost his balance, and flayed his arms wildly.
- His direction of movement then became downwards.
- He desperately used his left hand to get some leverage while falling down.
- When he finally landed, his left wrist took his entire body weight.
- Ghonchu lay on the ground clutching his left wrist in agony.
- His red jersey was now red-and-brown.
- He got up and left the football ground with all thoughts of scoring a goal discarded.
- Thus ended Ghonchu's brief foray into playing football.
- The next day he went to the Health Center where it was discovered that he had fractured his wrist.
- Now Ghonchu wears a cast.

Ghonchu told his story to his friends hoping for sympathy. His friends' reactions were as follows :-
Peechu said, “I won't say I told you so, but I told you so.”
Cuteu said, “I said you might be injured but even I didn't imagine you would injure your hand while playing football. This must be something unique.”
Buddhu and Kemchu were yet again indifferent, they were busy gobbling their dinner.
The cat (not sure if it was the same one as the previous) miaowed pitifully, which Ghonchu took to be a gesture of sympathy.

Henceforth, Ghonchu decided that it is advisable not to place any trust on dreams.


Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Ghonchu travels by train

Ghonchu had traveled by train many times in the past. Having seen the movie ‘Jab We Met’, he was always hopeful of meeting a ‘Kareena’ to whom he could be a ‘Shahid’. But as luck would have it, he had drawn a total blank in all his previous journeys. On prior occasions the closest he had come to a ‘Kareena’ was the girl in the next compartment who had refused to talk to him since he was in another compartment. Ghonchu resented compartmentalization. Why was it that only people from the same compartment could talk to each other?

However, another opportunity had presented itself. This time he was going from Bangalore to Bombay and back. Being an incurable optimist, he went to Yeswantpur station with a smile on his face humming the tune ‘hum jo chalne lage’. He reached the station fifteen minutes before departure. On entering his coach and after finding his seat, Ghonchu was pleasantly taken aback. There were not one, but three Kareenas’ sitting there and gossiping. No one else was there. Ghonchu kept his luggage and thought to himself, “jab Bhagwan deta hai, to koi kanjoosi nahi karta”.

After sitting opposite to them, he observed some other people passing by and lingering in front of their compartment. Ghonchu glared at them and developed a fierce liking for the compartmentalization concept. After getting rid of the undesirables, he sat back trying to decide which one he liked the most. After some thought, he chose the middle ‘Kareena’. But then suddenly the left ‘Kareena’ smiled and the right ‘Kareena’ laughed in quick succession causing Ghonchu to become dizzy and murmur “left, no right”. Suddenly, he realized the three were looking at him maybe because he had been staring at them for too long. To avert embarrassment, Ghonchu showed great presence of mind and asked, “Are you all going to Bombay?” The middle ‘Kareena’ replied yes causing Ghonchu to switch loyalties again.

However after this ‘breaking-of-ice’ conversation the three of them studiously ignored him. Ghonchu wasn’t perturbed; he felt 24 hours was a long enough time for a person of his capabilities.

The train now started moving. Suddenly, three ‘Shahids’ entered their compartment and sat down pushing Ghonchu to the corner. The six of them chatted freely while Ghonchu looked at them with a sinking heart. Suddenly one ‘Shahid’ (looked more like Amrish Puri to Ghonchu) turned to him and asked, “Hey, we are a group but my seat is two compartments away. Would you mind switching seats with me?” Ghonchu, even though an incurable optimist knew that he was beaten. “Too many ‘Shahids’ spoil the broth”. He accepted defeat and said yes to Amrish Puri. After all, there was still the return journey to come.

PS: During the return journey, his compartment consisted of an elderly couple and three fat men in their forties who kept chewing paan.

Ghonchu

Some twenty-three years ago, Ghonchu was born although not known by that name until now. From now on, his reminiscences will be occasionally published on this blog.

"But what of his earlier life details?", you might ask. Well, fortunately the loss to literature is not irretrievable as who knows one day, like all the other great people in this world, Ghonchu may bring out his biography. Until that time, the public will have to be patient and satisfy themselves with his occasional narrations on this blog.