Best phase of life?

A few years back, during my first summer vacation in college, I visited my eldest cousin sister and brother-in-law (jijaji). In the midst of our chit-chat, my jijaji asked us: "What do you think is the best phase of your life?". Pat came my reply that school days were the best part. You are a kid and you are pampered and life is so carefree. To this, another cousin, who had been working for a couple of years replied "No - definitely college days are better. You don't HAVE TO attend classes and plus it is so much more fun". Jijaji smiled and said that we answered just the way he had anticipated. We always look back at our past life and think that was so much better than what we currently have when the best phase is always the current one and we should realize that when we are living it.

To this day, whenever I get nostalgic about the past and complain about the present, I am hit by a flashback from that lazy summer afternoon.  I am then humbled into a realization that instead of yearning for the past, I need to live my present to the fullest. The best phase of my life is NOW because I still have it!

My advice on marriage

Recently a friend of mine got married. A couple of weeks back, he and his wife invited us for dinner. I wrote this poem for that occasion.

They say if love is like a dream

Then marriage is a wake up call

Take my advice: turn on the snooze

And let the dream go on...

They say if love makes the world go round

Then marriage gives you motion sickness

Take my advice: fasten your seat belt

And get ready for this roller coaster pace...

They say a marriage is a promise

Of a lifetime of togetherness

Take my advice: get away often

And stick to each other a lil less..

They say in a marriage

Never go to bed mad at night

Take my advice: stay up till dawn

And finish up your fight..

They say marriage is easy

But housekeeping is hard

Take my advice: hire a maid

And a billion quarrels will retard..

I've been married for some time now

And it's still a big mystery

Take my advice: do what you enjoy together

And don't listen to me!

My Generation Desi

I completed my HSC (or 12th grade) in the late 1990's and I consider anyone plus or minus 2-3 years from my batch to be a "My Generation Desi" - hereafter referred to as MGD. [By the way, I am aware that I've now managed to disclose my age - you can do the math I guess.]

I can easily detect a MGD when I meet one. Following are the top traits:

Disclaimer: I've met more Pune/Mumbai MGDs that any others, so this may be skewed :-)

The Andaz Apna Apna effect

Andaz Apna Apna for MGDs released at a time when we were old enough to watch movies on our own, but young enough to have all the time in the world to watch it a million times and mug up every single dialogue. So MGDs cannot help but connect every real life situation to a dialogue from the movie. Whenever I go to birthday parties and someone comments: "Tumhari b'day hain... tum lo", I know I've spotted a true MGD.  Fellow MGDs will invariably laugh at the same joke every year, leaving all the non-MGDs with a confused look.

The Friends syndrome

Again, NBC's Friends hit Indian TV channels at a time when most MGDs were getting their graduate degree and hence had all the time in the world to first watch Friends and then discuss it repeatedly with fellow MGDs. Every single one of us relates to atleast one of the Friends' character. We hence in a bid to emulate, like hanging out with our friends doing nothing but chatting and plus, if we are doing that at a coffee place, that's the icing on the cake!

Laughter is the best medicine and laughing at someone else's expense is panacea

So, we all enjoy laughing at others - but I believe this trait is heightened in MGDs.  A true MGD would not be found laughing harder than when he is laughing at someone else. I have no explanations as to why this is more evident in MGDs - but I do know that it is something that has caught on with the whole generation.

To be continued..