Author: manuscrypts

  • Dance of Life

    ‘Cut’, yelled the choreographer, she winced at what she knew was about to come…. an avalanche of abuse and admonition from the choreographer… once upon a time, she was the most dependable of the ‘extra artists’, the one who would not take a step wrong…. she knew she still was getting it right, but things were different after she had strongly resisted the choreographer’s advances..
    he hadpromised her a prominent role in the movie he was about to make… but like she told him, if she had wanted that route to stardom, she would have done it long ago, instead of slogging out as an extra…a long time ago, she had come to this city of dreams to make it big in bollywood, along with her friend…
    but somewhere, she had missed the bus to stardom, so had her friend..and though she had become an extra, her friend had stated that she would go to a studio only as a star… and to make ends meet, she was now dancing at one of the big dance bars..
    these days, she felt envious of her friend… her friend danced in front of a crowd, who were extremely appreciative of her performances,maybe bordering on being lewd, but unlike choreographers and producers, kept their hands to themselves.. and literally showered money on her..
    she wondered who was better off -she or her friend.. while her friend danced in skimpy clothes in front of a crowd, that was at most a few dozens of people, she danced in skimpy clothes (albeit in the background)in screens that were viewed by millions of people..
    she decided that she would talk to her friend today, about getting work for her also in the place she worked in.. she didnt think it would be a problem, the dance bars always needed more girls..and so, she gave it right back to the choreographer, abused him, and spilled out his antics to everyone in hearing distance… when she was sure that he had lost tremendous face in front of everyone, she slapped him, a parting gift, she told him…
    back in the room, she waited for her friend to return, it would be morning, but she decided to wait up… as soon as her friend walked in, she told her friend that she needed a job…
    “so do i”, said her friend…
    “what do you mean?”, she asked, with a sick feeling..
    “haven’t you read the papers? they are planning to close all the dance bars. i was hoping you could speak to your choreographer..”
    until next time, sometimes getting the steps right aint enough..

  • Questions….. and answers

    Tomorrow would be the last day of his current life, he thought, as he finished his day of work and got ready to go home… his wife would be waiting for him, they had decided to celebrate the night, not by hosting a huge party, but in each other’s company.. before he left, he made sure he had passed on all his responsibilities to his colleagues…
    he drove slowly, as though savouring each moment, for he didnt know if he would be seeing these sights again… well, he could know if he chose to, but he liked it this way… he shifted his thoughts, for these thoughts were for later in the night…
    she was waiting for him, wearing the dress he loved to see her in… she smiled at him, a smile with a feeling he couldn’t place… strange, for though he couldn’t place it, he knew exactly what she was feeling.. no, it was not sadness, death was an inevitability they were all taught to accept… dinner was everything that he loved, and finally it was time for the one thing he had been postponing… he took out their box, the one branded ‘lifefiles’…
    it was programmed to accept only his and his wife’s unique codes, he adjusted the controls so he could see his life the next day…. as the images flicked across the screen, he got to know that he would be dying on the way to work.. he had always hated the turn in the tunnel just before his office.. his wife was watching too, and again he could sense the strange feeling in both of them…a lot of people saw these images early in their life, for the day of death was given to you on the day you were born, along with your unique code, so you could access ‘lifefiles’ anytime you wished…
    but to know your past and future lives, special permission was required from the authorities…a long time ago, people had tried to play around with their death situation, like not being at the place of death, but they realised that it led to unnecessary complications, and they died anyway,so gradually people stopped the fiddling and accepted the facts… the same way they had accepted the presence of a superior power a longer time ago… accepted it, when the power had started direct communication to them, at a time when humanity was its worst, with its continuous obsession for others, within the species and without..
    well, times were different now, for after getting convinced that humanity was behaving itself,the power had told them the secrets of life and death… he also told them that he had revealed it to their ancestors aeons ago, but the knowledge had got lost as time passed…he wondered about his ancestors, how would it have been to wonder about the cycles of life and death, not knowing when you would die… to wonder about your existence and its meaning… all of which was impossible these days, for you knew the answers and the questions already… he wondered what was better, not knowing the answers or knowing them and not being able to do anything about them…. both of them were strange feelings…
    until next time, whats the question??

  • Just a second…..anniversary special

    All this while, there’s been reason and no rhyme
    And to the rhymester within, thats been a crime
    So he thought, what better way to celebrate a blog birthday
    than rhyming about all the guys he’s met on the way….
    For all who think he’s better off keeping mum
    This is nothing, the verse is yet to come….

    Aqua wants us to remember
    that we have dreams in December …

    Here’s where we get elixir, but sadly, only a drop,
    coz as the line goes,’once you start, you can’t stop’

    then there’s the apple of newton’s eye
    ebony or ivory, wonder which is her favourite dye

    The bad man talking calls himself stone,
    But his notes to self always have a good tone..

    and though this one advertises herself as a ‘solitary cynic’
    she is an integral part of the AA clique…

    Vanilla writes on chocoalate cake,
    dilse bolo, a better combination, could anyone make?

    Until a jolt of reality, a potpourri of thoughts she used to fill,
    pallavi’s the name, and the blog that rocks is called jilmil…

    Unless you have gone totally blind
    a million light bulbs should help read the mind…

    For those who think eschewing obfuscation wouldn’t do
    Harneet has random ruminations too…

    Arunima has titled her blog “Silent Eloquence”
    and for once, she makes a a lot of sense

    Just a workshop?, nope, its not so simple,
    coz its owned by none other than the devil…

    And when you’re always sanguine,
    Celeb(be)rating life has to be in!!

    The view from the tower must be supreme,
    but then, being rapunzel itself is such a wonderful dream….

    This one calls himself no hair brain
    and his ruminations are far from insane…

    From the oaf to pleo, he has a split personality of sorts
    blot of thoughts, thought of blots, he calls it ‘bloughts’…

    The Goan Sri Sri, white is one of his favourite hues
    but he still calls his blog ‘saltwater blues’.

    Finding a vanilla field is easier than i thought
    but i hope this stays, and no new beginnings are sought…

    The spirituality and the name -blokesablogin
    got me confused, thought it was yang, turned out to be yin…

    Arvind Iyer is the ‘lean dude with attitude’
    hey, its trademarked, unauthorised use could get you sued…

    A lot of ideas are forged by the ideasmith
    and most of them are the kind you’ll agree with..

    Ashweeta has got herself some pages at typepad,
    and here, even the PJs aren’t that bad…

    The crackpot calls her blog ‘inkspillz’
    and though she’s not a goddess now,it certainly sizzlez!!

    The chipmonster speaks, but she blogz as coolcat,
    but whatever the name, this one’s cool and thats that!!

    Whats an erratic soul that can dance?
    That folks, is what we call an errantrance

    The fish called goonda thinks she’s a fishy fiend,
    but after sad-turn kidnapped her, she’s taken a long time to mend….

    Austere she is, and a seeker too,
    wonder what she seeks, or should it be who??

    The Grinch may call it ‘grinchscrumpit’ or ‘my dump pit’,
    but the content is as good as any floyd hit…

    Nupur writes about what even she doesnt know,
    but mate, she does have a template whiter than snow..

    Chaotic daze and enthu knights,
    gump does have some great insights

    Garfy has got herself a diary
    and her antics are anything but dreary…

    Amidst all the middle east’s troubles
    ashi sips coffee and continues her virtual scribbles..

    Kraz calls his place wrecktangle
    and to every tale, he adds a unique angle…


    Pompy’s blog is “off the cuff”
    but you wouldnt realise, judging from the stuff


    Imagine a blog by satchit haridas,
    actually dont, he already has….

    Crabbie likes to call it goofiness personified
    but pretty soon it could become a classic food guide 🙂

    one of the best templates you can find – thats “pradeeps’s mindspace”
    he posts every bluemoon, and in spite of my taunts, he wont mend his ways!!

    Once she used to be a bug, she is now an angel with wings
    and from budhhism to winterwear, she can write on a zillion things!!

    He’s the blogger who whacks the talk,
    but when he gets verse, i go “what the f***”!!

    There’s someone who goes by the name of J
    she has a warped mind, and thats all she’ll say..:)

    Anubhas world has a lot of scribblings
    and an attitude, among other things…

    And from the days of rediff, i’ve been getting some pearls of wisdom,
    She’s not on the list, but she’s as good as they come..

    The journey that began on a boring tuesday,
    has continued for 2 years, to this day…
    for better or verse, this one is for all the bloggers i know
    and the ones i dont, but who are still part of the show…

  • The making of……

    A was addicted to the object of his attention and A was tired of everyone but him getting to say ‘be my lover’ to it in the latest commercial.. it would have been okay if he had nothing else to worry about… but he was in bollywood, where you were only as good as your last hit. and he had taken more than a dozen films to deliver his first one. it didnt help that he was compared to his dad,whose status was kind of legendary..and even after the first hit, there was no respite, coz he had still not followed it up with another…
    it would have been okay if he had been given at least a chance.. but alas, he had to sit and watch not just one, but at least three bollywood stars in the commercial.. one was the current shah of bollywood, whose very name meant success.. the second was another actor, who was also the safe choice of lots of filmmakers, who had recently changed his image and with that, his fortune. also, he had recently left his wife of many years, and was therefore ready to mingle… last, but not the least was a star, who many considered was the only superstar that bollywood ever had.. he was still a force to reckon with, many directors still wrote scripts tailormade for him, as far as A was concerned, his role in the commercial was exactly like his last film – Black!!
    For he was A’s dad, and since A’s dad knew about the extent of his addiction, he should have suggested A’s name instead of him, but he had not. A was dismayed, for the products you endorsed spoke about you… and these days, he was not even endorsing one…
    just when he thought that all was lost with everyone screaming ‘be my lover, bubbly’, A had a brilliant idea to prove a point to bollywood and everyone concerned…. he went back to the people who gave him his first hit.
    and thus, though his character had a funny name and due to the numerologist’s insistence, his lover’s name in the movie was spelt differently from ‘bubbly’, he hoped he could prove a point with ‘bunty aur babli’….
    until next time abhi, shake well before use to get really bubbly….

  • The walk of life……

    His parents had an arranged marriage, so they had little option but to marry each other..
    He was born in 1964, because that was when his parents decided to have him…..
    He did not spend his initial life in a big city, because his dad didnt like big cities…
    He didnt get educated in any big reputed school, his small town didnt have any…
    He wanted to study a particular subject in the famous university in the big city, but he didnt get it because they had a massive quota for locals… so went to a lesser university…
    He wanted to go abroad for his masters degree, but realised they laid a big emphasis on his educational pedigree.
    He started teaching at the famous university he had wanted to study in, and felt a small victory.
    It turned sweeter when he met the woman he wanted to marry, she also taught there…
    And more sweeter when she gave birth to their son….
    a few months later, the child fell sick, because of food poisoning in his baby food!!
    he took leave, but she decided to go because she had already used up a whole lot of hers…since she was in a hurry, he decided to get breakfast from the hotel across the road…… and got killed while crossing the road……….
    if he had a different set of parents, who decided to have him earlier, and live in a big city,and send him to an international school there, he might have studied the subject of his choice in the big university, gone abroad, not taught at the big university, nor met his wife, nor had the son who had the bout of food poisoning, and so he wouldnt have to cross the road….
    and they say you make your own destiny…
    until next time, just enjoy the walk, while it lasts….