Thrills

Yesterday I went shopping. (Yes, I know…I shop a lot!) And as usual, picked up a whole bunch of things I had no intention of buying before I saw them; and then ran around trying to find the things that I HAD gone to buy. Finally, after 2 hours, I found them and thankfully headed back home.
On the way back, for some reason, I was feeling on top of the world, (I guess its true; shopping does give you a high!) and I pressed down on the accelerator a little more than necessary. I was racing. The windows were rolled down and the wind was hitting my face. I felt great! Great, that is, until sanity made its presence felt, and asked me what exactly I thought I was up to. Slowly the foot eased off the accelerator and I was driving at a decent speed again.
When I got home, I received a call from a friend of mine, who is a rally driver. We decided to go for a drive in his rally car. Now I could sit back and enjoy the speed without the responsibility of control. That is bliss! So we drove around on the outskirts of the city, creating a racket and going at an insane speed that I would never have attempted if I were in the driver’s seat! After the drive, I got out of the car; my legs shaky, strands of hair blown loose from my hairclip, and adrenaline pumping through my veins. And a huge grin on my face!
Maybe next time I’ll drive that car!!

Blast from the past!

Yesterday I went to this adorable little place for dinner. It’s called “Not Just Paranthas” and is in GK II M-Block Market. Its décor talks of times I have never seen and places I have never seen. It’s set in the past (with a few modern variations, of course), with the old doors and windows, a rendering of the famous “Paranthe waali gali” covering a whole wall, bolsters for those who want them, the old red and black streetlights set in the corners of the room, and old film posters on the walls! Their waiters are dressed like postmen, complete with jholas. The music they play is from the yesteryears. Not even remixes of old numbers are entertained.
One of the modern variations includes a chuski bar. And the chuskis aren’t the usual blobs of ice that you dip into your glass; they’re more like slushes. But pretty good stuff. And the food…! Oh, it was to die for! There’s a catch, however; No alcohol and no smoking. I thought that this might take the edge off the place, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. It’s definitely worth the abstinence for a few hours.
While sitting there, I found myself floating back into the past and wondering what life used to be like then…did people really fly kites all evening for entertainment? Did they wander around paranthe waali gali and make an outing of it? The old streetlights are my personal favorite. Imagine a road lit only by these little dim black and red lights. It’s straight out of Fairyland! These are things that I have never seen, but would have loved to. Hell, I don’t even remember the old televisions that came in wooden cabinets! Am I missing out because I don’t know about these things? Or am I privileged because I know about other things? Is emailing an adequate substitute for evenings of socializing on people’s terraces?
I guess I’ll never know; but yes, I do wish I could go back in time and take a look at what life used to be like for people then. And yes, I am a romantic!

Statutory Warning: Cigarette Smoking is Injurious to Health

Sure it is; we all know that. Just as the generation before us did, and the generation after us does. Yet many of us continue to smoke, well knowing that by doing so we are putting our lives at risk. Who is to blame for this? The smokers for not caring about their lives? Their parents for not bringing them up properly? Well, the government seems to think the Media is (like it is for every conceivable and inconceivable ill in society). So it undertakes a preventive measure; it decides to ban all smoking scenes on the silver screen.
What a great idea! Now, supposedly, the youth will magically wisen up and kick the habit. After all, the premise is that if you don’t expose someone to something, they won’t take to it. Of course, what was conveniently missed was the fact that the public is not stupid! It is automatically assumed that the public is at large, an unthinking group of people who aren’t intelligent enough to make their own decisions, and have to be continually “steered in the right direction”.
And of course, the body to do it must be the government; which consists primarily of thieves, murderers, former convicts, and other such select individuals. They are the ones who decide for the rest of us what we may or may not do, what we may or may not watch, and in some countries, what they may or may not wear. Not only is this a violation of the freedom of choice, but is also an insult to the average man’s intelligence.
And this in the world’s largest democracy!