Reading Week..Time to stock up and hibernate :D

Every Semester I look forward to this one week before exams called reading week. This is a highly sophisticated behavior modification trick used by my university to make naive undergraduates believe that the entire semester's work load can be "read" in the "reading" week. Pah! little do they know! Cramming all that into reading week is like asking bhajji to score back to back centuries, Wait he just did exactly that, I meant Sreesanth! :P So yeah I have my own ways of coping with this week, but i would need a little help from you guys! So I would be diving into my notes, but feel free to buzz, ping, poke or fb me only in the following situations

1) You have completed your syllabus and want to show off.

2) You know a way to get me on the dean's list.

3) You are the Dean.

4) PGP has announced free accommodation next year.

5) You are a girl and NOT like gossip girl, don't understand what xoxo means, and are grossed out by vampires or forever weeping doctors! :P

6) You are a guy who thinks am better than you :P (haha trap! )

7) If you have seen the guy serving at Anjappar smile like morning sunshine. (he nvr does!)

8) Obama loves India and decides to conquer it.

9) You are a bollywood director looking for a choreographer for you next.(ya am shallow)

10) If you are my batchmate you can buzz me in the following subcategories

a) You have a photo of Saba, Payodh and Shambhavi together willingly posing for photograph with all their eyes opened! :P

b) If ever Nidhi has a profile pic that isn't beautiful! :P

c) If you can help me get a job! :P

d) If you are secretly dating someone...pls pls pls tell me!

e) If you can convince 10 people to go watch golmaal 3 end of this week! :P

f) If Sahiba is waiting at the back gate for everyone! :P

g) If you are Paaritosh and not living with me nafter graduation! :P

h) If you are Swati and you want to tell me something like "You know how I say you suck..."

:D

i) If there is an A R rehman Song that Shruthi doesn't like! :P

moving on

11) If you can come to me with an idea and I have a better one :P

12) If your last name is jolie, fox, kardashian, bundchen and you want to "see my room" :P

13) If you have vouchers for "Diesel", "Armani" or "Desigual" to give away.

14) If you can hack into the main frame and give me As for all my subjects (special dedication to those from SOC)

15) Lastly If your name is khan and you are a terrorist. :D

Disclaimer: All those with names mentioned are dear friends who i love. No malice is intended whatsoever :)

From MLIA to FML and back.

The university is a great leveler. One moment it makes you wanna prance around proudly as a peacock in heat, while another moment it makes you wanna curl up into a ball and never get up. When they said these will be formative years of your life, no one said what form are we supposed to take. "I have no idea" takes its truest meaning in university. Your greatest highs and your deepest lows are a few days apart. Just when you feel like you have gotten hang of things, perceptions change, concepts change, the ability to change changes! You sit down and make a long list of all that you achieved in university, someone else's is longer. You think you made friends for life yet in your saddest moments you find yourself alone wishing it was raining and you could wash away all things sad. Control is overrated. We hardly control any aspect of our life. I know I don't. But being lost in the crowd is what I am afraid of the most! I am still scared of my weaknesses. Four years have not taught me to deal with them. They have taught me to hide it better. One moment I am dancing, almost in a trance! until reality hits you and you see nothing tangible. The world says you dance? so what! I have tried so hard to be unique that I succeeded, just like anybody else. Being special, is it really necessary? FML?

Do not listen to the pessimist in me, I have also learned to smile when I hit rock bottom because there is just one way and thats up. I have not only dared step out of my comfort zone, I have taken a maverick gypsy holiday far far away from my comfort zone. I have achieved most of what i set out for. Uni forces you to be your own person, I believe that is the best way to learn about yourself. Before I go about answering great mysteries of the people around me I like to solve the one within. Happiness is not subjective. It is definite. It is within. I have heard harsh words, I have had life changing conversations. All in uni. I have made someone cry with laughter, I have made someone laugh while crying. All in uni. I have learnt to hate selflessly and I have learnt to love selfishly. I can sleep peacefully most days thinking I touched someone's life. I find new ways to be happy. I find simpler ways to be happy. I can stop doing whatever I am doing and do something else just because I feet like. I am nerd, I am a noob, I am a jock, I am stud, I am a jerk, I am a gentleman, All in Uni. So if today was bad, tomorrow would be worse. So tomorrow I would say yesterday was great :) this i learnt in Uni. MLIA

cheers!

Things I learnt in university..

Okay so I am in year four and since I tend to reflect a lot so here are certain valuable lessons that university taught me outside the classroom (where i was mostly present! ). As i keep learning i will keep updating it!

1. Engineering is not for me. :D

2. I am at my most productive in the afternoons academically and at nights creativity-wise. ;)

3. The gossips I hear are way better than xoxo gossip girl. (no i dont watch it! i swear!) :P

4. Doing something stupid is not optional!

5. Retail therapy begins at nanyang!

6. Friendships change, friends change even faster.

7. Webcasts are false assurances at best.

8. Experience the feeling of walking into an exam hall completely unprepared and still manage a smile.

9. Making innuendos out of thin air IS a talent.

10. Being nice to everybody earns you friends, but doesn't bring you close to anyone.

11. It takes courage to not pass on gossip

12. The words "swear you will not tell to anybody" means you can tell it to your BFF, and they will tell it to theirs and so on so forth.

13. Nothing scandalous you do will remain hidden, nothing!

14. Say something nice to someone random atleast once a day, helps your karma!

15. Do not talk about delhi to delhi ppl (not even praise) or about AR Rehman to ppl from chennai! both get physically violent! :P

16. Everyone has "bahut kaam" whenever you are making plans.

17. Everyone wants you to make plans!

18. No matter how we talk to ladies in our batch, we guys will still form a protective circle around them in clubs when strange men dance too close! :)

19. We talk. A lot

20. Your batchmates get prettier. Every year!

21. Girls do not go to clementi for "shopping" :D

22. You must decide ur preference between buttocks or breasts and defend it vehemently for all four years! :P

23. Very few things excite me as much as dance. Very few

24. Whenever you ask your friends for an outing be prepared with a namelist of ppl who are confirmed coming, everyone will ask "who all coming?"

25. Enjoy dinners at pgp canteens, they are known to bring people closer.

26. Facebook stalking is not only allowed, its encouraged.

27. It is a mutual agreement between both sexes that there are no good looking guys or girls in our batch! :P

28. Couples are socially self sufficient.

29. Singles generally take away food. :P

30. Nobody can be 100% nice.

31. When you meet people and hit it off instantly, hold on to them. They might become special.

32. Everyone needs a hug one time or another.

33. A heart to heart conversation never goes out of fashion.

34. I have grown to love myself. With all my flaws.

PS: These are based on personal experiences. You are free to agree or disagree. :)

The freedom of movement...each heartbeat booming.

Okay dance fever hits again! :P Just when I was trying to catch a wink for practice tomorrow. Where is a stage when you need one? :P

My entire passion for dance culminates to these moments, where i feel dizzy with something shaping up in my mind. The feeling of being trapped within your walls, while your mind and soul enjoy the freedom of infinite space. You are helpless, you try and enjoy the process that goes on in your head. But it is never enough. Not when you don't get up and move, move as if your life depends on it. Stand, jump, crouch, turn, twist do something. But alas. I wish to break free now. i want to feel my heartbeat echo inside me. I want to land the step in my mind and when i try i want to fail, i want to get hurt, because it hurts so good. I want to get up and try again. All because I want to dance now and I can't.

But it is not enough to just dance. You want to create magic. Franco Dragone from Cirque du Soleil says "If you don't find one moment of magic in a rehearsal, you have lost an entire day". But the magic doesn't have to be the steps or technique. It could be from a the tiniest events around that could spark something genius. It could be a tired dancer fighting fatigue to land the next step. It could be a perfect dancer giving up. It could be the fear of being lifted. It could be the pain of lifting. It could be stepping up. It could be walking away. All you need is the eye to capture movement from unusual and inexplicable sources. I remember thinking hard about a step which i couldn't quite picture. But then i saw a centipede crawling away. I observed. The fluidity of the motion, they sync of thousand legs, the wave travelling through the body. An idea erupted. and when it does there is again....the rush.

The very nature of progression is to evolve, sometimes to adapt, sometime to overcome. But always always to move forward. Stagnation is indeed the death of an artist. I seek inspiration to create ideas, project images, tell stories and build castles but all through the beauty of dance. I am in as much in love with my ugliness as with my beauty. May I be strong enough to find inspiration even from what i disgust, even from a corroding, dirty, gut churning reality. May I be strong enough to reject the obvious. May I be strong enough to surrender. May I be weak enough to chase victory. Let me not move if each bone, muscle and sinew doesn't force me to move. And let me fall down content, when the time is up.

"With each idea you place on the floor, walk away moved, changed and transformed, but never the same, never conform."

ciao!

The Relationship Paradox

The University experience consists of 4 (in some cases 5 and in some freak cases 3.5 years :P ) turbulent years where we fight everything from teenage angst, generation gaps, "old" age (like mastering physics in year four!) and believe it or not attainment of "puberty" for some! :P In all likelihood the people who were standing with you at the starting line and those who promised would be your BFF for HEA(thats happily ever after!) would disappear somewhere in between. It often makes me wonder how forever is reduced to the time taken by the other person to bore/irritate/annoy/cheat on/lie to you. Interpersonal relationships become a matter of convenience. Sometimes the drift is so gradual, so painfully slow that when it hits you that you have lost a friend, you can only gasp for breathe and kick with all force to stay afloat. In some cases that i have witnessed other people go through, it is almost like while hurling down at breakneck speed you lose your parachute. and then there is the black, disgusting, corroding void. You try and fill it with others, try and keep yourself occupied. Call it alone time/self realization/recovery/enlightenment or any other fancy word your vocabulary can churn up. But it doesn't help.

The beauty of the human psyche is that it is programmed to adapt and recover. We wail, sob, complain, crib and do whatever we can to take the load off. We even go through five stages of university grief. 1) It's all his/her fault. 2) Why should I make the first move? 3)Add random new people on FB 4) Try like crazy to get another BFF 5) Move on like nothing happened. So yeah we pick up the pieces and mend it the best way we can and give it's responsibility to another person and hope with all our might that this time it stays. But we know better don't we. In this melee we will encounter various shades of a person. How many of us can remember our equation with a friend being the same all through university? Lucky if you do. You were spared the horror. So yeah we see our happy endings wither away eroded by time while new promises of forever emerge almost when you least expect it. Is it how life is going to be? A series of trysts and try outs because we need to belong? and then there is the thought. Could I have held on a little longer, a little tighter? I guess relationships are meant to be fluid. Sometimes you might lose out on who you thought would last. But in some other strange, balancing way you last with someone who you never thought would. So let me leave you tonight with a thought

"I do not promise to be friends for ever, I can only make your memories last"

ciao

I heart Conversations...

You know the thing about words is, they are very very tangible. Sometimes they hit you hard, where it hurts the most. They bring even the giants among men to their knees and create a small but incriminating spasm of self doubt within. But sometimes, which we fondly remember, we all have pleasantly preserved little words strung together by another person, said to us by means of either purpose or jest, passion or emotion which leaves us with an indelible mark on our psyche. Words that fill us with a warm glow from the inside , and some even leave behind a smile long after those words were said. So words are very very tangible indeed.

But words by themselves mean much less, it is their collective strength that make meaningful conversations. Your ability to converse is the most important social asset that you might posses. Unfortunately if you are a (pardon the language but nothing fits better) dumb-fuck, then it is self- damaging! In a day we make a bunch of conversations. Most of them are mundane and routine even. While some might involve some wit, a little bit of repartee, some flirtation even. Or on some popular lists, Sex or Shit. (I believe shit is easy to guess because its universal, i guess sex is too!). But what i enjoy the most are the memorable and striking ones, that make you laugh genuinely and that is usually replayed again and again once we are away from the scenario to search for subtle hints from where we make up scenarios and live happily ever after :D. The beauty of it is that these conversations generally make you feel good about yourselves. Its not flattery but a generous appreciation. I can recall the most favourites of my conversations, (and some silences as well ;) ) and from all those moments, i can recall an adorable vulnerability that sweeps over us. We become more open as if we want to fuel the conversation with carefully crafted words. We are equally willing to give as receive. That my dear friend is a rarity.

So tonight I want to urge all of you to recall or better still, have a conversation, that will make you smile, that you will remember for a long long time, or say something kind, generous or ultimately uplifting. That is a gift we all have the ability to give. Because we never know who might be in need of it. If you sense someone nursing a heart-break, tell them they are still precious. If someone is defeated, pick them up and say "you could be defeated alone, together we shall conquer". If you see someone unsure, hold their hands and say "individually you are alone, together we are a crowd". If you see someone at their worst, unkempt and deflated and you feel for them , look them in the eye and tell them "you are beautiful" with a twinkle. If you see a friend getting into trouble, tell them "chances are you will get screwed, we will laugh it off over some beer and peanuts. and If you see someone who has given up on love, tell them "I love you, now let's try and make you love you :) "

cheers :)

Chivalry isn't dead, it is just out of fashion :)

I now knight thee Sir Akash IV the Amazing.

That would have been my name had I been born in medieval times where chivalry was still in fashion. (although i wouldn't last a week you know given that i am so used to certain comforts like you know ipod, internet and boxers!). But the point being chivalry, and its definition in our times. It is super difficult to be chivalrous in our times. Don't believe me? Let us take a simple gesture and project it in different cases.

Case I: You are at a door and there is a girl with you. You push the door to let her through first. Chivalrous enough? Nope the door said pull and you end up looking like an ass.

Case II: You are at a door and there is a girl with you. You pull open the door to let her through first. This must be it, right? Wrong! She pushes the other door and walks in herself. Needless to say you still end up looking like an ass. :P

Case III: You are at a door and another girl is coming through. You open the door for her with your best smile, she walks off as if you are supposed to do that! OUCH!

Hence my friends, lets break those god damn doors! :D

But although the scope of embarrassing ourselves is immense I still believe in chivalry! Don't the women in our lives deserve some royal treatment? So here are a few simple steps to make you a knight in whatever armour you prefer, in our times. ;)

1. Open the door for a lady, and with confidence. (chances are she might be holding a handbag or handphone :P )

2. Offer them your seat if you can. (they take so much pain to look good for us men in heels! This is the least we can do for them)

3. Dress well while going out with them. (They appreciate the effort and it is disrespectful to dress up shabbily when with them! I know right! :P )

4. When you come across someone who is a feminist, respect her decision to carry her own stuff herself. (Usually they come with a temper..so avoid unplesant mother-sister abuses ;) )

5. It is not chivalrous to ogle at hot women, walk up to them and say it instead. (i kno i kno ogling is fun, but we are learning here so go do it!)

6. Avoid crude/toilet humour. (If you look like a prince (or a knight in this context!) and speak like dehati, somewhere in her mind the girl is saying, "you! yes you! keep quiet and just look pretty! :P)

7. Also try and not call your friends "bitch", "moti" , "pepsodent", "baal ki dukaan" you get the idea!

I realize almost all of us including myself do not follow these always. If you do then may be you might miss out on some fun. But hey! We all are gentlemen here. Let us try and behave like one!

and Ladies! next time a guy opens the door for you, graciously accept! Please do not burst into giggles! call them "pagal", or "abe hatt na"! :P after all we love you as girls, let us treat you like women! ;)

cheers!

DISCLAIMER: These incidents have NOT been lifted from my personal experiences but rather from observations.

I will dance for you...

This song always inspires me to get up and dance, create something inspiring every time and feel lucky for each single day I can dance because I am blessed. :)

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder
You get your fill to eat
But always keep that hunger
May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love ever leave you empty handed
I hope you still feel small
When you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Living might mean taking chances
But they're worth taking
Lovin' might be a mistake
But it's worth making
Don't let some hell bent heart
Leave you bitter
When you come close to selling out
Reconsider
Give the heavens above
More than just a passing glance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
(Time is a real and constant motion always)
I hope you dance
(Rolling us along)
I hope you dance
(Tell me who)
I hope you dance
(Wants to look back on their youth and wonder)
(Where those years have gone)

I hope you still feel small
When you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
Dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance
(Time is a real and constant motion always)
I hope you dance
(Rolling us along)
I hope you dance
(Tell me who)
(Wants to look back on their youth and wonder)
I hope you dance
(Where those years have gone)

(Tell me who)
I hope you dance
(Wants to look back on their youth and wonder)
(Where those years have gone)

Flaws...

Flaws

I am comfortable with flaws. They exist in every one of us. We all believe it is an innate human trait to be flawed. Sometimes we hide our flaws, sometimes we embrace them and sometimes we even boast about them. What I fail to understand tonight is how far would I go to correct my flaws and in some cases those of my loved ones? It is human to be flawed, but the very basis of evolution says otherwise. We were designed to be the peak of evolutionary hierarchy through millions of years of trial and error. Therefore I sit and ponder tonight, It should be my prerogative to improve and be the best I can be. Right? However what if these are the very flaws that are constituent of me as a person. What if these flaws have endeared me to my loved ones? Now, for a role reversal! What if I want to get rid of the flaws of my friends? But that is the very flaw that defines them? What should I do? It’s a popular adage that “If you love someone, you love them with their flaws” I am wondering, what if I do not buy that, what if I want to love someone despite their flaws and then want to help them overcome their flaws? Is it logical? Or is it a sign of my “God Complex”? Given that I myself am not perfect, then is this a sign of hypocrisy if I want to make my friend the best he/she can be? Is it because advice given is easier than advice taken?

I have tried sometimes to point out flaws and almost always met with resistance. This confuses me. Aren’t my loved ones supposed to be their optimum with me? Is it not part of my job as a son/brother/boyfriend/friend to push them to be more? Or am I just taking the choreographer in me everywhere and he wants to get the perfection out of people? After much pondering I put myself in their shoes. Would I want anyone to constantly point out my flaws and push me to be better? Frankly I do not know. A control freak like me giving control to someone else.!! Alarms start going off everywhere. But then again have I found someone that I would like to give my reigns and allow myself to be vulnerable? That is surely not going to be easy for me. But one thing I will accept is I will aim to be better, even if it is pointed out by someone else. Because in spite of my flaws I cannot accept not making the effort to overcome them. Isn’t this the way it should be? Acceptance of flaws is human, it is noble even. But why stop there? I believe that is the first step. But for our own sake let it not be the last. We owe ourselves more than that, don’t we? Let’s take pride in being us. Yes flaws will always be there because man in not meant to be perfect. But he is almost bound to try. Hence I will keep trying. And I most definitely will be a little better than yesterday and a little flawed than tomorrow. I hope you do the same too.

:)

Those cheap assed, foul mouthed, irritating pieces of my soul called friends ;)

I hate friends.

They make me a part of their lives and hardly ever expect anything back. They make me feel small with their generosity. They will comfort me when i am broken and make it seem like it is okay to be vulnerable in front of them. They just simply walk in pick me from pieces and put me back together. I hate being wrong and they come and show me what i did wrong but in a way that gives hope. They share their joys and sorrows with equal zest. They make me feel bad for not being able to share my sorrows with them because i think they shall be burdened. They make me smile and make me burst into laughter, that is good. But I hate it when they make me wanna cry if i am not there in their time of need. On top of that they make me burst into laughter when i am crying! so unglam! Why this brutality?

I do not make a great friend, i just try really really hard to be one. But I know many of my friends have become like my family. That gives me something to be proud of I guess. But what about the kind souls who made my day unknowingly. Do i call them friends? They do make me calm or satisfied or elated even in those brief moments of interactions I have with them. Why can't i keep them as friends? 570 friends on facebook! Is it too much to ask that we make all friends best friends! And who is that ass who said there is no sorry or thank you in friendship. In fact we should be using these two words more often in friendship. Being thankful for your wonderful friends is not rude, it is celebration. How often we go to our friends and say, thanks, you know, for everything! I tell my best friend, "shut up bitch! thanks for being my best friend", he replies "thank you too, fuck off!" Sweetest words ever. ain't it!

So if i screw up again, is it because someone will come and tell me "dude WE are so screwed". So many people hate me, i will take that any day if i know there are a handful who will say "you are better that them!" I am blessed because I found my friends who weren't afraid to get their hands dirty with me. I am also blessed because I found friends who would be close to me everytime they say, "You suck!" or "You are bad!" or "You know i hate you right" :D

So on this friendship day, whoever, is , was or will ever become my friend, i thank you for rescuing me. For pushing me to be better than my fears. For just being you!

I love friends

:)

A beautiful smile :)

Nothing kills me like a cute smile! ;)

I am a stickler for a few things. Everytime I have a chance to meet someone new there are a few things i look out for. It is just like a mental exercise to assess a person. As the say "eyes are the window to the soul of a person", but I being a shallow person ;) do not dive in to the matters of the soul. I look for the smile instead. Also you are being rude if u stare too long into the eyes! :P

Over the course of my life i have had the privilege of meeting some wonderful people, strangers at first, part of my life now. When I sit back and think, why is it that some people become life long friends and with some it does not work out? I realize all my special people have either a beautiful smile or a full throated laughter. Over the years this had developed as one of the preliminary checks to find out how we might click as time rolls on :) (No, it is not fool proof yet! :P ) . A smile tells me a lot about the person. Firstly we all been through times where our eyes meet another person's and instead of smiling we turn our gaze. I find it too awkward at times. But if we smile regardless of whether the smile is returned it makes the situation a little better, doesn't it! A smile gives me that positive vibe from the person, sometimes warms my heart, and in some cases our worst days are made better by their smile. Check 1 complete!

Secondly, for me smiling is a sign of courage. It is surprisingly very hard to smile these days. Far too many people say there is no one there to make them smile. I feel for them. If we all wait for someone else to make us smile, what will become of us. I learnt from one of my lovely friends (no points for guessing, with a lovely smile) that "in whatever you do, celebrate you". Such a simple yet beautiful message. And yes it did make me smile. In life I am sure we all are bogged down by circumstances, but i believe the very first step starts with a smile, it makes you feel yes may be it is not that bad after all. If you can find the courage to make yourselves smile through the mess, you can certainly find the courage to overcome as well. So smile your blues away :) Check 2 complete!

Smile and Laughter make me feel alive. When you are in the company of your loved ones, we are all programmed to remember the happy times. I make it a point to remember and cherish my happy smiley times with each and every person i know at the university. That is why i love batch outings and batch dinners at PGP canteens, everyone with a smile on their faces. For those 10 15 minutes I thank all of you. A beautiful smile tells me you are a beautiful person. Few years ahead when i remember my friends and loved one's with fond memories, i want to able to exactly how their smile was, a chuckle, a giggle, a throaty laugh or just a silent vibration. Smiles heal you of anger, sorrow and envy. So all my beautiful people smile for me :) Check 3 complete!

I shall end this piece with one of my favourite quotes and a personal belief!

"I cannot make you smile if you do not wish to, but if you wish to, I can promise to make you wish you never stop laughing!"

:)

Passion

"If you have ever felt such tremendous enthusiasm and desire for something that you would gladly spend all your waking hours working on it, that you would happily do without pay, then you have found your passion."
-- Sharon Cook & Graciela Sholander

Passion, often used in vocabulary, seldom found in reality. I am fortunate to have found the means and the strength to surrender completely to my passion. But I have seen too many people giving up on what they are passionate about for a want of time, energy, means or even a lack of character. I feel sorry for them. I believe everyone should have that one thing in their lives that consumes them entirely, possesses them, gives them the push to stretch beyond their capability and the intoxication that comes with it! Found some of these quotes online for inspiration, i hope it helps you as it has helped me

Great dancers are not great because of their technique; they are great because of their passion.
-- Martha Graham

If there is no passion in your life, then have you really lived? Find your passion, whatever it may be. Become it, and let it become you and you will find great things happen FOR you, TO you and BECAUSE of you.
-- T. Alan Armstrong

If you have ever felt such tremendous enthusiasm and desire for something that you would gladly spend all your waking hours working on it, that you would happily do without pay, then you have found your passion.
-- Sharon Cook & Graciela Sholander

It is the soul's duty to be loyal to its own desires. It must abandon itself to its master passion.
-- Rebecca West

Making sure our goals are properly aligned with our passions only makes sense.
-- Josh Hinds

Never underestimate the power of passion.
-- Eve Sawyer

Nothing great in the world has been accomplished without passion.
-- Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

Only passions, great passions, can elevate the soul to great things.
-- Denis Diderot

Passion is in all great searches and is necessary to all creative endeavors.
-- W. Eugene

Passion, it lies in all of us, sleeping... waiting... and though unwanted... unbidden... it will stir... open its jaws and howl. It speaks to us... guides us... passion rules us all, and we obey. What other choice do we have? Passion is the source of our finest moments. The joy of love... the clarity of hatred... and the ecstasy of grief. It hurts sometimes more than we can bear. If we could live without passion maybe we'd know some kind of peace... but we would be hollow... Empty rooms shuttered and dank. Without passion we'd be truly dead.
-- Joss Whedon

Passion that is so deep within that all we need to do is release the passion inside so that we become energized with a newness that all will want to share in.
-- M. Lee

So try to pursue the very things that you are passionate about- that is the difference between good and great!
-- Shawn Doyle

The greatest gift is a passion for reading. It is cheap, it consoles, it distracts, it excites, it gives you knowledge of the world and experience of a wide kind. It is a moral illumination.
-- Elizabeth Hardwick

The more intensely we feel about an idea or a goal, the more assuredly the idea, buried deep in our subconscious, will direct us along the path to its fulfillment.
-- Earl Nightingale

The most beautiful make-up of a woman is passion. But cosmetics are easier to buy.
-- Yves Saint Laurent

We all need to look into the dark side of our nature - that's where the energy is, the passion. People are afraid of that because it holds pieces of us we're busy denying.
-- Sue Grafton

With out passion you don't have energy, with out energy you have nothing.
-- Donald Trump

When work, commitment, and pleasure all become one and you reach that deep well where passion lives, nothing is impossible.
-- Nancy Coey

All of them want Choreography ;)

Well I have always struggled with the concept, what do i love more, is it dancing? or is it choreographing? Well frankly i still can't decide.

For me its the creation, an idea that suddenly erupts in your mind which forces your body to move, that gives me the high! Something new, something original, or something downright quirky! It is in the mind that my ideal dancer is flawless and doing all the movements. He is not bounded by technique nor fear nor shame. He stretches the boundaries of what the human body can do on the dance floor and then some. He is his own canvas and his own paintbrush. Each part of the body moving in unison, or in rebellion it is a high very few people get i believe.

For me its also the dancing, the idea of trying to be that flawless dancer in my mind, failing everytime, sometimes even disappointing myself. But that is the beauty of an unrealistic target. You never cease to grow. When you land a step like its supposed to, you sit back sated and say , "my ideal dancer would be proud"! Its a process to improve upon past flaws. Perhaps it is the same reasons i never enjoy my old dances. because everytime i look back i only see flaws. Yes It may not be the most thankful thing to say about my art, But i would rather keep trying to achieve what i seek than rest on what i always have.

I guess, creating and dancing are both intertwined, with one i see my brain child in front of me, tangible. But while dancing I am my creation. And the joy of being the creator and the creation, is more potent than the most intoxicating of liquors :)

I hope i never ever have to choose what i like more !

Motion Pictures Inc.

Lights, Camera, Action! (O directors of the world, I envy you, You Inspire Me)

Movies! Yes that brilliantly crafted story that is projected on to the 70 mm reel, but almost always finds its trajectory to our hearts. That three odd hours of a canvas littered with various colours and hues of action, comedy, romance, horror, passion and valour. I am a fan, but more importantly I live my life through movies. Trust me I am not exaggerating! There are little bits and parts about the movies that we see that become ingrained in our minds, something almost like a second nature. Think bout it, which one of us secretly hasn't desired to be suave with the ladies like a certain Mr Bond, James Bond. or be your own underdog winner like Rocky Balboa of Philadelphia. Heck I have looked at my reflection again and again and said, "I will be back" like the Terminator. (No I have never said to my reflection that "Mere Karan Arjun Aayenge!") But yeah the point being we all want to be heroes, heroines, even some cool villian like Marlon Brando and make offers that no one can refuse! It is from the movies that i gain the inspiration to perform and create and choreograph. It fascinates me how a single idea in the writers mind ultimately comes to life on to our screens. Sometimes the result is fascinating like "A Beautiful Mind" or as awe inspiring as "The Gladiator" or "Brave Heart". But lets not fool any body here. Not all movies are great, at least commercially, but even among these unsuccessful ones littered with bad acting even is that interesting phenomenon called creating. I am amazed by how we sometimes become our own cynic and it takes something as fictitious as movie to make us believe. No self respecting Indian would have sat down quietly and not let out a small sense of jubilation when Captain Russel lost and our Lagaans were forgotten!

I , personally am always moved by the movies. I know how to love, movies show me how to express it like Jack and Rose. I know how to fight, movies teach me how to get up after each fall like Mr Rocky Balboa. I know how to dance, Movies teach me to feel lucky because there are millions out there who want to dance but never get a chance. I know how to be a cynic, movies give me hope that happy endings do exist. I know how to make you laugh, Movies teach me how to make you laugh till you cry like Charlie Chaplin :)

I hope someday I find my Titanic, because from there on shall begin the journey to my Avatar!

Pack Up!

Why do i dance?

Rhythm

Pulse

Chaos

Clarity

Why do i dance?

The rush

The freedom

The risk

The elation

Why do i dance?

To live

To breathe

To be breathless

To kill

Why do i dance?

Love

Lust

Greed

Vanity

Why do i dance?

I would never know. :)

Me, Myself, Moi :D

My First Blog...

Writing is natural, but words do fail me at this point of time. The showman in me wants to explode on the blogosphere as the next big thing. The shy, insecure kid in me urges me to keep it private and not let anyone know how vulnerable I can be. The funny one says screw it all, start with some inappropriate joke, like something funny about sex, or women or in-laws. Gosh this is hard, how much do i want to tell people. Thinking of ridiculously difficult dance routine comes to my head like snap, but writing this blog, even Critical Writing and Thinking module in university didn,t prepare me for this. Oh snap, blog fail! Wait!! Think what do I love doing...erm...talking bout myself...see thats a start! :D

Ok This is me. Akash Abhishek

Eternal Dreamer, part romantic, part realist.

Striving real hard to bring somethings back into fashion, like , chivalry & oh cuff-links!

Has a real hard time conforming

Dancer...story-teller

Lover...Fighter

I am Akash