Happy New Year to all loyal readers and even more loyal spammers. I have had fun reading what you have to say, whether its genuine feelings on my uninterrupted thoughts or advertising the latest on the viagra market - yes yes, I read them all heartily. Don't mind if your comments didn't end up on the comments page, because well, not everyone can have their 15 minutes of fame right here.
For those of you who have made it a habit to visit my humble blog - thanks for keeping the faith and believing my evil little mind can actually produce readable substance.
Lets hope 2007 is a year full of more ramblings from my end, and more critique from yours. I look forward to a fruitful year and hope the very same for you.
Happy New Year!

While Indian audience have had enough of their daily doze of squabbling, bitching and monotony from the desi Big Brother - renamed Bigg Boss (numerology, anyone?), we hear of Shilpa Shetty joining the league of participants for the upcoming Celebrity Big Brother in U.K.
A little bird told us she's being paid a whopping sum for the same. I think its an intelligent decision for the altered-nose lady, considering her non-existent film career, after which she still prefers to be called an actress over anything else.
The last I've seen of Shilpa Shetty would be on one of the Nach Baliye 2 reruns flirting heartily with Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Well, it did work for Aishwarya once upon a time, maybe - it works for her as well. But while she's waiting for Sanjay to find a suitable role requiring a leggy model with a newly acquired surgery on her nose - this is an opportunity she couldn't resist to jump into.
Sources believe, she's been roped in to add 'steam' to the show and to attract the vast population of desis based in the U.K. I wonder if she oomphs much steam, would she have to face Shiv Sena back home? Whatever the case might be, Shilpa's sure to get some publicity from this show, and its better than sitting idle judging smalltime actors on how they dance.
Who knows, she might be able to afford more plastic surgeries from the inflow!

I wish I could keep a log of those endless conversations I had at her balcony when we weren't lovers..when we weren't friends..but when we still knew we needed to talk to each other. But I only have to stand in the open verandah, feeling the cool air evaporate the sweat on my arm, and close my eyes. And it all comes back to me, like it was right here, right now.
I remember everything - though I wish I didn't. She steps towards me delicately and stands by my side. We don't really talk for a long time, something tells us words can't express what we have to say. We just stand there, our shoulders rubbing occassionally, the space between us becoming smaller by the minute, the sky turning a bright orange as the sun goes down. She wants to leave back, its late - I know. I also know she'll return tomorrow and we'll envelope ourselves in the peaceful sunset again. But insecurity grips me, I have fears I wish to discuss with her, but when I want to - I don't know what to say anymore.
I wish I could ask her to be mine forever, to tell her she and me are for life. But what when I die? When I die emotionally, when she goes away, to be someone else's? How long is forever anymore, is it a year, a month, a week, a day, an hour, or this moment. Will I see her again - will we stand here and wait for our hearts to communicate to each other?
I think she knows what I feel, but she won't talk about it. I think she's looking for answers herself. But she has accepted it. She knows I would have to die. She wishes to commit the suicide herself. Was it not worth it, I want to scream. Was I not worth it? I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. I sigh, a long heaving sigh.
She looks at me and nods. I know she knows. I know she pines. I know she loves. She loved. As I had.
Its dark. The velvet sky has engulfed the light. The stars don't twinkle. There is an eerie black cloud that takes over everything we planned. She murmurs a soft bye before stepping away, and disappearing into the black. I wish I had stopped her. I had said goodbye. I had told her that years later, I would still wait for her, still wish she was happy - still know that she'd be happiest with me. But I don't. I can't. Its meaningless - just like everything in my life will be.
And I die, not waiting to be reborn again as someone else's. Not waiting for a life without her. Not knowing whether she would even cry on my funeral. Just knowing enough - that it was love and it was worth it.

Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan seem to be mooned by not Movie Producers or Fashion Designers - but by Tourism Boards, to be sponsored for their Honeymoon. From what we know, the Switzerland Tourism Board and the French are both battling against each other with the better offer to attract the soon to be husband-wife.
The Swiss are trying to lure them with a private Igloo amongst the Alps, priced otherwise at $1000 a night, with its own private Ice bathroom. I guess for the Ice Queen, and the obvious cold attraction between the two, this would be a metaphorically apt choice.
The French have used the charm of the Eiffel tower to make their honeymoon an elegant affair. From private dinners on the Tower to sponsored accommodation, their wish is to make the two the brand ambassadors for honeymooners around the globe.
While both the boards are outdoing each other in terms of promises made to the famous couple, they hope to make moolah from making this a pattern all honeymooners would wish to follow. 'Hey, did you know Ash-Abhi stayed in an Igloo for their honeymoon? Lets rent the same - and eat ice for dinner! How exciting!!!'
Have they considered, for a single moment - of where in the world are two going to spend their overflowing loads of money - when even the most expensive things in life come free?


Related:

Jhanvi claims Abhishek's her husband - well not anymore, honey!
See the pictures from the wedding.

An auto-rickshaw driver from Rajasthan is rumored to have had 125 tattoos on his body that say 'Sonia Gandhi'.
"I'm not a member of the Party, nor is it a political campaign - I just really respect her. Who would've given up the crown of Prime Minister for the welfare of the country? She's truly great!"
Greatness is now measured, then, by the number of tattoos on your fan's body? You wanna compete with Sonia, Angelina?!

The radio today had an interesting bit interview with some teenagers and freshly-turned adults about marrying at an early age. The RJ inquired their views of getting married at 18. What is that like? Is it like you have no goals in life, or is it because you just can't wait?
One of them said, for people who're not career-oriented and who want to settle in a family life quick, marrying early is a good option. Another said, she would prefer her career over getting married anyday, as she has worked so hard to come this far, and doesn't want to give it all up because of marriage.
At some point in the interview, the topic changed from marriage to career goals, and I turned it off. Retrospective time indeed. I got married when I was 18, and I don't agree it is even remotely related to your career goals in life or your need to settle down fast. People find it funny and they often question on the hilarity of it all - you could've done so much in your life, but why did you give it up and gotten married.
We have interpreted marriage as an inconclusive end to all our dreams and goals. It is a dead-end for some people, from where the only way ahead is having babies and settling down. I shake my head at their viewpoints, I feel bad for those who haven't been able to understand the meaning of a committment such as marriage. For me, marriage is about making a choice and sticking to it.
My dreams are still mine and my goals are still alive - and each day I get a step closer to them and my husband shares my happiness in the same. If I can stand strong on what I want from my life, the rest of it would follow - it is a belief that I have learnt from so far.
An old schoolmate once asked me - whats wrong with you!? Why did you get married at 18.
Well, my dear ignorant soul - the sooner you start to spend the rest of your life with the love of your life, the better...