Tag: Relationships

  • Some secondary thoughts

    A few days back, i was reading a discussion online on the evolution of what is popularly called Web 2.0, in an Indian context… No, dont go away, this is not becoming a business blog , not yet 😀
    Anyway, the discussion was about what kind of web 2.0 models would succeed in India.. And Orkut being one of the top ten sites accessed by Indians (according to Alexa), it, alongwith the others in the ‘me too’ category like yaari, minglebox, desimartini etc became one of the topics of discussion…
    And that set me wondering..the succcess of orkut in an american context is not surprising… the absence of a ‘real’ social network with relatives and family, at least as compared to India, makes it a very interesting concept… but even with the increasing nmbr of da txt drvn generation which is born with a technological silver spoon, and the omnipresent guys who want to do friendships,it seems way too popular to be just a passing fad..
    so, if i have to put the too and too together, are we seeing the start of a new generation whose dependency on real life relatives will be much lesser than their dependence on the virtual life.. with second life becoming primary and real life beoming secondary..
    until next time, does second life give second chances?

  • Art of Live in

    Like i commented on Stone’s post sometime ago, the makers of Salaam Namaste indeed did some pathbreaking stuff,as they have (apparently) made an entire Bollywood movie about live in relationships..whether or not it is a good movie is not within the scope of this post, but what is within the scope are live in relationships…of course, it goes without saying that the views are personal..
    Without marriage there wouldnt be LIR (Live In Relationships, its a long phrase, cant keep typing it always).. the classification happened because of the institution called marriage.. Somewhere down the line, the wise men of the age recognised that society needs to be arranged in some patterns for it to survive, and the immediate higher unit after individual became the family, which (also)involved two individuals living together with the blessings of the law of the land…..
    we are now in an age where convenience is the mantra.. from credit cards to communication through handhelds and home deliveries to old age homes, its all about how easy it can be made.. and therefore an LIR fits the bill perfectly, because from sex to apartment rentals, most of everything gets convenient… and i do agree, but with one lil reservation about an antique thing that does not have much relevance today – emotions…
    we are perhaps seeing the first generation with an actual choice about relationships- live in or marriage.. i am wondering what a ‘no emotional strings attached’ relationship now would evolve into/result in, 30 years down the line when love and companionship might make a lot more sense… as with most other things in life, theres no second chance…
    until next time, do we pass on live in genes to the next generation??

  • The calling…

    thats a good band, but this post aint about them, its about us..
    virtual acquaintances- to each other, thats mostly what we are..
    my tryst with yahoo messenger began during my post grad days, i think it was the place where ‘manuscrypts’ as a term originated… all my yahoo friends were people who were known to me ‘really’.. so there was no question of ‘virtual personalities’..it’s only blogging where most of the people i know are ‘virtual personalities’.. to a certain extent, they are only as virtual as their photos online.. but then again,i think i’ve seen only simon’s, pradeep’s and wings’. to be fair, images helped me find a cousin who blogs, but that, i think, was only an aberration…i have never been too fond of blogmeets, simply because i love the anonymity and the’someone, somewhere’ feeling (no, not the ‘made for you’ one, a little more ordinary)..
    more importantly, to maintain a forum where judgements are made only based on thoughts and words, not the physical manifestations… to put it a lil more bluntly acne, dandruff, body odour etc dont matter on the net.. at a similarly superficial level, nor do complexion, looks etc… personalities are what they write…but, increasingly, i find that more friends are being made on blogs than in real life,maybe because, there is no compulsion, i can read someone’s writings, if i like what i read, i’ll be back, else i wont.. simple, and no baggage.. and people take hints much better online..hehe..
    maybe its easier to reach a comfort level this way, without the regular constraints… the next step in evolution, is to find out whether once the comfort level is achieved, can it be scaled upto the real friends level? times have changed, havent they? from building friendships in the real world and facing the challenge of maintaining them online to building friendships online and facing the challenge of maintaining them in the real world?
    someone in the list is coming to bangalore, so here’s calling all creatures of the web, what about a meet over coffee??
    until next time, virtually yours…

  • The Apple Tree

    just a lil story i picked up from somewhere…..
    A long time ago, there was a huge apple tree. A little boy loved to come and play around it everyday. He climbed to the treetop, ate the apples, took a nap under the shadow…he loved the tree and the tree loved to play with him.
    Time went by…the little boy had grown up and he no longer played around the tree every day.
    One day, the boy came back to the tree and he looked sad. “Come and play with me” the tree asked the boy. “I am no longer a kid, I do not play around trees any more” the boy replied.”I want toys. I need money to buy them.”
    “Sorry, but I do not have money… but you can pick all my apples and sell them. So, you will have money.” The boy was so excited. He grabbed all the apples on the tree and left happily. The boy never came back after he picked the apples. The tree was sad.
    One day, the boy who now turned into a man returned and the tree was excited “Come and play with me” the tree said. “I do not have time to play. I have to work for my family. We need a house for shelter. Can you help me?”
    “Sorry, but I do not have any house. But you can chop off my branches to build your house.” So the man cut all the branches of the tree and left happily. The tree was glad to see him happy but the man never came back since then. The tree was again lonely and sad.
    One hot summer day, the man returned and the tree was delighted. “Come and play with me!” the tree said. “I am getting old. I want to go sailing to relax myself. Can you give me a boat?” said the man.
    “Use my trunk to build your boat. You can sail far away and be happy.” So the man cut the tree trunk to make a boat. He went sailing and never showed up for a long time.
    Finally, the man returned after many years. “Sorry, my boy. But I do not have anything for you anymore. No more apples for you …” the tree said. “No problem, I do not have any teeth to bite” the man replied. “No more trunk for you to climb on””I am too old for that
    now” the man said. “I really cannot give you anything… the only thing left is my dying roots” the tree said with tears. “I do not need much now, just a place to rest. I am tired after all these years” the man replied. “Good! Old tree roots are the best place to lean on and rest, Come, come sit down with me and rest.” The man sat down and the tree was glad and smiled with tears…
    This is a story of everyone.
    Father, mother, brother, sister, friend, it could have been anyone…….. all of us have wronged someone at some stage in our life, this is my way of saying sorry. i might not be able to correct what i have done, but at least i can pass the message.
    manuscrypts trivia
    an answer to one comment on a post sometime back….
    “The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity.”~ Albert Einstein
    “The answer to any problem “pre-exists.” We need to ask the right question to reveal the answer.”~ Jonas Salk
    this is a must read, and did you know they actually had a petition online against sonia becoming PM…. as for our sardarji, FM 91 to PM 2004, not bad at all!!

  • Of Vows, Woes and Wows

    At the outset, lemme state that i am experiencing all the wows, touchwood. if you are wondering what i am talking about, its marriage!! something that is increasingly becoming out of fashion.
    i saw a malayalam movie this weekend, an old one, where the protagonist climbs the ladder of success by using women , promising them marriage etc. at that time, there were rare occurences of this happening. the poor scriptwriter would have had a tough time, if he had to write it now, coz its more of a norm. there are at least 5 movies either made or in the process of being made exploring various facets of infidelity, both by husband and by wives.movies are reflections of society, so it is only fair to assume that this is the way it is.
    after one year of being married, i simply cant think of a reason why anyone would want to chuck the comforts of a long married life for a few pleasures once in a while. but i guess, lots dont agree. but i guess if they are being inundated with semi clad images of mallika sherawats, meghna naidus, beyonces (names changed to protect privacy ; -) )etc, one cant really blame them.
    but is society driving to a point where marriages would become rare occurences as opposed to being a norm?? we’ll wait for events to unfold, but meanwhile, your dose of
    manuscrypts trivia
    So you see, imagination needs moodling – long, inefficient, happy idling, dawdling and puttering.~ Brenda Ueland
    Creativity is…seeing something that doesn’t exist already. You need to find out how you can bring it into being and that way be a playmate with God.~ Michele Shea