Judgement Day- September 30 2010: My two cents about what it should be

Too much has been said anyway, so this is only about what I want. Wishful thinking yes,  but it stems from a hope for my country and for our generation.

This is the eve of the judgement day for the Ayodhya dispute. The Allahabad High Court decides tomorrow the fate of the issue that has been raging on for many decades now. An issue that shouldn't be an issue. Why should religion be such a big issue in the 21st century? Why should this supposed "dispute" be more important than any other issue, like say, education or poverty? Why should the parties involved get so much undeserved attention and publicity for something destructive? The reasons, also the reasons for halting India's progress in the modern world, is that people in India are too attached to religion, castes and what they call "tradition". 

If any of these fanatics or even what one could consider a "religious" civilian ever tried to understand history, they would know that traditions and religion have been very fluid and not one concrete entity. So what are they defending? A hollow and empty vessel- too much noise, little substance. In our country, most problems stem from people's attachment to these illogical beliefs, ideologies and self-imposed dogmas, from female infanticides, honor killings or even in the choice to be a vegetarian. The Ayodhya issue is created by politicians and jobless religious crazies bent upon trying to influence people on things that needn't be paid any attention. India has come far- the new generation is balanced in its beliefs and mostly knows how stupid these "issues" are. I hope this reflects tomorrow in the verdict. I hope religious fanatics lose on both sides and on the site, a school or hospital is ordered to come up instead.

Dont bother to comment if you want to teach me a lesson in "traditions"- 'cos that would mean that you have no idea what you are or I am talking about. Have fun living in your dark ages.

Losing yourself

Its a misnomer really, "to lose oneself". Or maybe it is more often than not, misconstrued. And therein begins the misery of trying to grapple with the multitude of its meanings- almost like being spoil for choice of candy at the store. We like a few of them, and some others not so much- which may be picked up someone else. However, does it matter? Perhaps it does.

Even when Eminem sang his song with the same name, I dont think he meant that we need to lose our true "self" but to lose ourselves in what we truly enjoy and what means most to us. However, we see too often that people will give up everything that defined them and choose a life that they would never have ever wanted or would ever be comfortable with. I say "never ever" only 'cos when a fish is taken out of water, to expect it to survive longer than its possible for it to survive is really very optimistic. It is always good to be optimistic, yes- but there's a fine line between being optimistic and being stupid. Maybe the line isn't that fine.

Humans are very interesting beings and what makes them more interesting is the fact that they can take such decisions which completely go against what is common sense and logic. Perhaps, humans are fond of torturing themselves physically and emotionally. It;s their life so I dont have a problem with people inflicting themselves with pain. However, what I have a problem with is that this self-hatred spills onto areas of their life which affects those who consider themselves close to them. Again, like my strand of individualism, I have a monstrous gargantuan problem for its one thing to hurt yourself but to hurt others for no fault of theirs isn't the mark of a true individualist. And then again, do we want people to care. Maybe they dont, but most often than not, we tend to care. A lot. A lot more than we would like to accept or believe.

So when friends lose themselves, cutting off everything they have done and everyone they have met and loved for a life that they never wanted or their souls would never want to breathe in, it calls for a serious rethink of who you let into your lives. Or who you want sympathise with. Or who you want to give importance in life. Well, we cannot do much when the people we meet and the the people they become seem two different people, but to try and keep them to who they really are is our job as their true friends. But then, do we ever know who they really are if they can get up one day and throw it all away? I guess, thats why we say, "all we have memories"- becomes a very significant line when peope do "lose" themselves. Perhaps it also means that we will always be waiting for them to come back...and that we will always be waiting for them- however late they are. Perhaps.

The "Made in China" Syndrome

"Its the economy stupid."- and it doesn't make any sense. I must make it outright clear I do not mean to offend any race/country/region/culture/etc by what I am about to say and also want to remind the reader that what I usually write about is not what it is actually about.

Ever wondered how many times people make choices governed not on quality and reliability but how cheap something is? And usually something is cheap if it is "made in China" or some other third-world developing nation. Lets see how many issues can come up with such products:

1. If its a well known brand using the cheap labor of China etc, you can be assured that you just paid 200 times more than what the labourer got paid in his sweatshop for making 2000 of those things. And despite that you are paying a dirt cheap price. Ouch! Was that your conscience that got hit in the eye?

2. If its a local brand and if its trying to mimic/imitate a established big name, you know the quality is going to stink because you know that they can have such cheap prices mainly because they are not employing state of the art technology and defintely not the safest or best quality raw materials. Maybe its time to get yourself checked for lead poisoning or cancer?

3. Oh, and I think you may need a replacement soon because the low quality product broke down. It did not come with warranties and now you have to spend some more to get the new one. And when that breaks you may go in for a new one again. And if this one breaks, you will probably realize that you should just buy the original/real deal because you just spent more than double of what it should have cost you in the first place- while all this while you were trying to save some valuable money.

4. In this weird economy, it is hard for Americans to buy American because American produced goods are unafforadable but if they buy Made-in-China goods, they would be hurting their nation's economy while trying to save the money that is immediately available to them. Its a tough choice- but if they consider points 1 to 3, maybe it isnt so hard.

Quality always comes first and companies that provide quality without being overpriced are the ones that will do best. Its the economy stupid, its not rocket science! In this chaotic uncertain times people tend to make too many mistakes and miscalculated financial decisions which they regret later on. People become myopic in their financial visions but it is not entirely their fault- there is all the media hype, the prophecies of economic doom and generally a tendency for bad judgement in times of crisis.

The solution may lay in improving the standards of manufacture in China including better pay, providing safer work environments and generally educating the people of the need to choose good quality. Till people do not realize this, the "Made-in-China" syndrome is going to be a big big problem for those who produce quality products leading to them increasing their prices further to break even or lower their prices obscenely to meet competition and face losses-in the end, the possibility of their extinction is a very near possibility.

Rebranding revisited

This is going to be one of those few posts where I put forward an objective observation of a subjective topic related to my profession. And it would be something strong that would have provoked me do such a thing- and it was. To put it mildly, it was the plan eyesore of the most recent rebranding that has really ticked me off.

It is the already widely discussed rebranding of Pepsi & company. I was never a big fan of Pepsi as a occasional consumer of carbonated belch-inducing colored water and even less of their marketing campaigns which were tacky, poor in taste and seemed like coming from the mind of a teenager who has smoked way too much pot. It seems like that teenager has just entered college and is getting wasted in every conceivable party he can get to- and Pepsi has hired him again.

First of all I wouldn't call it a full rebrand as it fails in the way it transformed the whole company as a unit- its early days but by what we have seen so far, it doesn't seem to go more beyond this. But lets discuss what damage Arnell has done to the second most popular soft-drinks brand.

The circular Pepsi logo was quite likable and had a million possibilities to be redeveloped- its reinterpretations before this redesign has been quite nice and imaginative. I think they thought that the new design is fun and imaginative. To be fair it is. No, it truly is. For a fifth grader! Smileys? Really? I already thought that Pepsi marketed itself as some wannabe teenage brand and now they are just stepping back even more! The first time I saw the logo, I thought it was a cheap knockoff or something. And then the truth dawned on me. Pepsi screwed up. Big time. It could have made itself more "cool" and "sophisticated" at the same time by employing better sensibilities- for instance the way at&t was rebranded. The two-dimensional logo transformed into a three dimensional globe, lower case, softer colors and addiotion of the color orange- to give a friendlier image and it looks like it will live for the next 10 years. I can understand that Pepsi did not want to look like it copied their rebranding from at&t (expert perhaps the lower case type) but I wish they did. I am also guessing this was probably the decision that Arnell did not make but the Pepsi executives- or I am just hoping, for the sake of design studios everywhere.
The xerox rebrand was similar- the globish-button is not particularly to my liking but I think the whole project was still in better taste and it was sort of a more 'true' rebrand.


One of the more tasteful and complete rebrands-

























Pepsi was always associated with blue, white and red (Americana anyone?) but I don't think they ever used it to the full effect or consistently. Look at Coca Cola- u see the bright red and sweeping white letters or forms and you instantly think of them- even if it is not Coke itself! The new redesigned packages Now the new redesign takes pages from Coke's branding- look at the package redesigns- the plain blue, silver and black backs- sure they mean different things but come on, who are you kidding? Its a direct lift off- more or less. Losing some more imagination here Arnell?

Spot the similarities?























Some saving grace comes from the redesign of Mountain Dew but still how much the brand values have changed is really questionable.

Then the other change I saw on the shelves was of Tropicana and realized that it was part of the bigger exercise by Pepsi! Again, the first reaction to the new package was that it looked like a cheap knock off- a new brand that did not seem so confident inspiring in its dull (unripe?) orange with a glass wrapped around the corner. I am sorry but it does not look appetizing one tiny bit- it reminds me more of what happens after you mix too many drinks and do not eat a ounce of solid food. The old package was so much better and friendly- and no, its not one of those random cases where it's hard to accept the new. I love redesigns but this, I am sorry to say, is a step backward.

The entire (supposed) attempted progression to a supposed simplicity seems incomplete and the work- well, lets just say a sophomore could probably pull out a better one out of his/her hat. I don't think that enough research or concept building was done for this whole exercise and perhaps only focus groups were relied upon (if at all) for feedback and study. I think the biggest positive out of this huge miscalculation is that it can be taught as a valuable lesson about how not to go about rebranding something that is already so big in the market. The only reason that the brand will live on and not be affected much is because it is already so big and familiar- and that is the problem. A rebranding exercise is to excite and entice more people but it probably may put off more than few- like me and apparently a big chunk of the design fraternity. If you prefer Pepsi over coke, you probably will still have Pepsi regardless- and that's how it is going to be. The status quo has not been disturbed and that is where the whole exercise fails. And why is that such a big problem? It makes young designers like me disillusioned about what all crap can make it to final production and how much money companies will pay for it! It is, I repeat, not an outrage over something new, but a reflection on the mockery of the values that designers have been told to inculcate every single day of their lives.

And again, I hope it was just the suits who chose the designs though I shudder to think, like my brother pointed out, that if this was considered the best set of designs, how bad were the other designs?

Onions in design.

Onions have layers and hardly anyone uses the outermost one. Corns have a covering but I don't see anyone eating that. The sweet taste of apples is judged by the white inside rather than the red outside. I have never seen anyone eat the shells of peanuts either. Its the inside that counts - and I like to believe that it holds true for design.
Yes, when one thinks of design, our mind instantly thinks of improving how something looks. However, it is not completely disassociated from its concept, its inner soul. Design briefs are always convoluted and to simplify all that into one symbol, one layout or one design is a very challenging task. The problem is that quite often the solutions strive to make something 'pretty' and end up looking identical to earlier solutions to completely different jobs. Without a concept, most designs will end up having no individuality of their own. This is a problem especially in an atmosphere of intense competition between companies who want to stand apart from each other. And yet designers keep trying to make just pretty things. It could work once, twice, maybe thrice but really, if there has hardly been any thought into it, it will die out 99 out of 100 times. Among the many things that i have learnt from design school and design studios, one of them is to never ever kill the soul.
Lets take logos for example. Especially the typographic ones, especially in the fashion sphere. They look so similar to each other. Heck I saw a upmarket grocery store which had a type treatment that reminded me of some fashion labels- and sadly, the rest of the branding inside that supermarket/grocery was not at all related to the main logo. And then there are some amazing marks you remember- like the coke logo which you just never forget. The saddest part is that every designer remembers to make their design stand apart but ends up not really doing so. Some think that they need to reinvent the wheel but it really is not possible unless you are a genius or god himself! And the fact that most design solutions may have been used should not mean that we cannot create more solutions from these either. All the time staying true to the spirit of what we are making.
What I am saying is that we should desist from making grungy designs for upscale projects or polished ones for 'street' projects. "Relevance"- that should be the operative word while deciding the USP of our designs. NOT "pretty". After all, a banana's peel stays as fresh as the banana itself.

Burnt toasts and favorite seats

A few of us may have received one of those forwards about life's unsolved mysteries which actually asks some interesting questions like "Does pushing the elevator button more than once make it arrive faster?" or "Why do banks charge a fee on "insufficient funds" when they know there isn't enough?" or "Why do they used sterilized needles for death by lethal injection?" or what I am going to answer here- "Why do toasters always have setting so high that could burn a toast to a horrible crisp, which no decent human being would eat?" Why indeed? And one day at the labs, while I was mulling on this idiosyncrasy of all toaster companies, I saw a bunch of new students troop into class and I wondered about how often it has happened that we sit on the one seat on the first day of class and that seat becomes 'our seat' for the rest of the semester from that moment on. Why do we do that I asked myself. The answer led me back to the toaster!

In middle school, some teachers implemented the policy of seat-rotation where every week, students on each row would move back one row and the one in the last row would have to come up front. This basically meant that noone could change their seats (the row or the columns) or their seat partners no matter how obnoxious they may have been. Plus, the future 'back-benchers" would always dread the week that they would have to come to the front- right in the line of fire of the teacher! What was worse that sometimes, people were actually assigned seat partners by the teacher and in the event of any indiscipline, only she/he had the authority to change the seats!
The situation got better in higher grades as there was no seat roattion and students could change seats and partners - somewhat like the first experiment with promiscuity. However, it did not mean that everyone did it. Me, and almost everyone else, had their "reserved" seats- and quite often people would guard their seats fiercely and any encroachment was not taken kindly. I did not really face this problem as my seat was right upfront (though with the quickest exit to the door in the unlikely event of a fire or natural disaster inside class). The whole idea of back-benchers came about eveolving through college. However, loyalties to seats were less intense in college as students realized that they could get by with coming in late into class. The loyalties were directed more to the side of the room and a certain group of seats which were automatcally cycled between the group.

It's kind of the same in design school as well- where even if students cannot manage the same seat, it will be more or less on the same side of the room with the same group of people around them. Unless ofcourse the teacher kept changing her seat every class- but it was rare. I have sometimes been in the need to venture to new sides of the room if someone took away my seat or there wasn't any space left on my side. The experience can be a mix of anxiety and isolation- to talk to my new neighbors meant that I would have to know what they were talking about or start a whole new conversation- otherwise it is akin to becoming a social outcast (which could also be 'cos of other reasons like my personality! :P).
All said and done, I think it is a experience which serves well in the long run- one gets to know a different bunch of people and realize that the air on the other side of the room is not all that different. We can learn how to adapt to diferent people or better still, which people we do not have to adapt to - you know, people who gel with our personalities, people who we would like to hang out with. Its a good exercise but an excess could mean that you end up not hanging out with anyone and you feel like you really are a outcast and cannot fit anywhere and want to go commit suicide. Okay, not so extreme but I hope you get my point- if you drink too much water and just sit in a cold room, you will want to pee all the time.

So anyway, what does a toaster have to do with all this? Everything. I don't know anyone who really tried the highest setting but I am guessing the result would be a waste of some valuable source of fatty carbs. One could always try it but I am guessing everyone becomes aware of the consequences once they reach near-burnt status on the toaster while testing it out for the first few times. It is after that they end up having a favorite setting - 2 or 3 or even 4 in some toasters. But I doubt anyone will go for 'max'. Different toasters have different heat values- plus a toast is not the same everytime as it depends on other actors like how fresh the bread is and how hot the toaster-coils are. But it takes a bit of experimentation to know what suits us best. I hope you are getting my point. Like on a new toaster we need to find which setting suits our tastes best, we need to move around in the four walls on life and find out if there is a corner we belong to- otherwise, if we don't, there are chances that we may miss our chance to get that perfect crust.

Design School- bittersweet symphony

Two semesters in design school and I am just getting my feet wet- through inspiration persistence and the inescapable aggravation. The whole experience can be either enhanced or mitigated by the instructor that one has and like any group, they tend to vary. The best ones that I have found are those who ask the best out of us by letting us go wild, by being open to new ways and actually paying heed to our suggestions- 'cos they are mature enough to realize that we bring in certain experiences that they themselves may not always be aware of. But mostly, what makes these instructors good is that they do not necessarily teach what they know but what they have learnt. I am grateful to every single of my instructors who asked us to go crazy and think out of the box, to play to our strengths, make our projects 'special' and even develop what would normally sound ridiculous to them.

Often, in my life, I have seen that the best teachers are those who actually learn from their students and even accept when they are wrong even if they initially thought they were right. In a field like design, we can often get myopic and stop thinking like "regular" people- almost developing a sense of arrogance and a superiority complex about how things should look and feel. The best designers are those who are humble and I try my best to be so but it surely isn't as easy as it sounds- yes, despite having spent only a year in design school!

However, coming to the dark side of design school we have the teachers who are cocky, super-arrogant, stuck up and with absolutely myopic visions- and I feel that they are the ones who are a super bad influence o budding designers like me- and it works in two ways. Either students become like them or they become very aggravated- both injurious to the design process which calls for inspirational and exceptional thinking.

Sometimes, since we are students, we tend to look up to our faculty and oddly enough, I have seen people even gravitate to these dark Severus Snapes- and so far I have seen them to be either men or "programmers". Don't get me wrong, I have had some awesome male teachers but the others are the ones who should never be teaching in the first place- with their narrow outlooks or raging hormones. And it is even sadder when i see girls/women going all soft on them- reminds me of how even dirty old artists have women swooning over them despite the shit and filth that is coming out of their mouths and minds- kind of makes me question their sense of perception and intelligence. Also makes me think that I could get away with so much as a teacher! Sad. But, mind you, not all women are like that and those who are not get the rough end of the stick- but of course.

And then, there are those who don't want to stand up to these dictators-in-disguise teachers just 'cos they don't want to get into trouble and wreck their chances of a good grade. I think that often people forget that we are not here for good grades but to learn and create good design- even if it means going against what the 'teacher' thinks is the "correct" way to do something- and that can happen only if we have done our homework thoroughly, have faith in what we what researched and made. here is where we have to shed our own myopic outlook and over-dependence on our instructors.

And now, those people who spent a good part of their life learning the ropes of programming stuff, they have more often than not killed their chances of having good visual design because they start working within the strict constraints that they know and impose on themselves- and when they pretend that they are geniuses of visual design- its really pathetic. That said, I have been fortunate to have teachers who are programmers but who do not pretend to be great visual sense- honesty, a virtue I truly admire in everyone, especially designers and teachers. Here it is apt to remind people of the popular fact- you cannot do two things well at the same time. That should suffice for this argument.

I know that I probably have ended up sounding conceited, pretentious, arrogant, full of myself and very opinionated. I think the truth does make on sound like that. And all I am really saying is that the teacher-student equation is of equals to a certain extent especially when it comes to what each can offer the other. As students we have to be open to experimentation and realize that design is not just about making pretty things and that certain processes are important but they should never be something that dictates our own personal processes that works for us in individual capacities. Also, we need to always remember that we were once the "general public" and that we are still talking to them- and that we have to be humble about it and not become smaller versions of the little man from the 1940s with the short mustache and who wore a red band on his arm (yes, Hitler). Intelligent design comes from the acceptance of varied aesthetics, the individuality of projects, shedding dependence on familiar processes and the synergy of processes.

The worst phrases you can possibly hear in design school -
"I am not convinced"
"Stay within the grid"
"This is the only way to do it"
"There are some rules in design you have to stick to"
'We have to teach people good design"
'Sketching is archaic"

The best lines that I will always treasure -
"you can do it"
"Break the grid"
"Go crazy"
"Its possible"
"There are no rules in design"
"Everything is project specific"
"Sketching is important and fun at the same time"
"You are never done"
"Play to your strengths"
"Do not copy anyone else- you can always make your style work"

And that's why I still love design school despite the occasional speed-bumps. The bad guys are everywhere but it just means that we are being tested to be superheroes.

Duality-cruelity

The duality of things bugs me though that is the only thing that exists in universality and uniformly. It exists in so many forms that it makes one feel almost helpless. However, it shouldn't mean that it is "right".
There are different types of people- those who do not care what happens to other people's stuff and those who do not care to what happens to their stuff. For example- a person may use their exacto knife only on cutting mats to preserve the blade but will go ahead and use someone else's exacto on metal surfaces. Then another person will be so afraid of spoiling it, that he wud rather not use the exacto at all! I guess, if one has to use that exacto, they should and do exactly what they would with their own exactos- but ofcourse, respect the exacto if they borrowed it from someone else. The line that divides is rather thin but who decides it? The person him/her self.
What is this fuss over a exacto? No, noone used my exacto on a steel table- in fact I dont even have a exacto and dont use one! But consider this, if we were really liked milk chocolate and did not eat in front of someone else for you did not want to seem silly, would that be being true to who we are? Or if we like to eat at macD but you never went there with your friends for they think it is cheesy, would that be honest to yourself? What happens to that craving to eat that big juicy big mac with fries and a large coke? It ends up just being a craving, which starts to fade eventually and you end up going to Le Pain pussy ass watever cafe even if you hate the food there! Don't be the person who does not eat chocolate for fear of putting weight and still have all the bread in the world, with coke. I suggest large servings of chocolate and ice cream every single time- and reward yourself with a cake if you may! Though be cautioned, what I am NOT suggesting is eating everything at once!

The edge I lived on now lives within me- the gripes

(from December 27 2007)

Its been long but in essence nothing has really changed in my world. I still think the same way but with a different perspective and from a different place. And all the while time has been moving on. Life has been running away too. It is the end of this year and it still feels like it was yesterday that i was making my way here from home.

I have been asked a question so often but for a change, now I know the answer.
I have been made to do things that I didn't think I would ever do. I did them and did a good job.
I was asked to think differently like everyone else- so I thought like everyone else but differently.
I am in the city of lights but I realize that is what makes the dark spots even more scarier.
I find that people can have opinions which do not correspond to them but to what they want to live as.
I find that to make someone love something you feel strongly about, you need to love that very thing yourself just as much.
I have learnt that if I have to learn something, I have to be able to teach that thing to myself.
I have been taught that there is never one way of doing things and yet I find those who think there is.
I tried to do the things most outsiders don't do- and realized many insiders also do not do it!
I thought I knew very little and I learnt that I know even less.
I have deduced that it is not always hard work that will pay off- it is the chances that I take that will.
The biggest thing that I have learnt is that taste is relative and the stubby snobs will always exist.

They try to drag me to the abyss.
To the orifice I pull them.
They try to show a light that leads to the dark.
To the day I forced myself.
They will always stay the they and I will stay me.
And no matter how they change, I never will.
I am stubborn, I am incorrigible, I am unyielding
but most of all, I know the essence of me
and I care less for the gaps that need to be bridged.

The edge I lived on now lives within me- the prologue

(from June 12)

I was tested and measured and often found wanting
And there were times when I could sweep through situations like a pro
I would exceed expectations in things I hardly had any expectations from
I would struggle to meet the hopes I would pin on things I expected a lot from
Things would never be normal for me and to me it was the mythical horse I'd never seen
Never was the road I chose a straight one and yet I never seemed to turn any other way
I knew the mirror on the wall lied but that was what the world saw
It showed that I could be caught in a moment whenever anyone glanced upon it
but I knew I was not even standing there when that happened.

When I answered to them, I was posing questions without asking
When I picked up the pen, it was to erase the lines on the page
When I got up to walk, it was to find a more comfortable place to sit
When I ran inside during the rains, I just wanted to watch


I am still tested but I dont measure anymore
I have no expectations and yet exceed them
I love the unusual for its tomorrow's regular
And the mirror only shows a light even when I am in front of it

I am the question
I am the blank page
I am shade in the sun
and I am the rain

Trample I dont on your feet
walk away I might
but to come back again
its not a unresolved fight
And we are fighting no more
'cos the sun kisses on a winter day
but burns if you get too close
and yet we try 'cos we're here to stay.
They call me a fool and so do you
I would rather be one than not
for that's what I call home
those few inches, thats all I got.

Bikers v/s motorcyle riders

I outran a dude riding a more powerful bike in a short drag race. So what?

It emphasises what I have been talking abt the past couple of posts.

As soon as the lights turned green, he started accelerating like crazy. I pulled at my throttle too and while I passed him, I could take a look at him then at his bike and then him again and shook my head at him and pulled away as if he was on a small bicycle- all he became was a speck on my bike's mirrors. He pottered along at a civilized pace after I slowed down a little distance away.

I normally dont drag anymore but it does diss me off that sm ppl thnk that just 'cos they have a powerful machine with them, they need to show off and especially when they dont respect their machines. This guy had a more powerful bike but he did not know how to ride it.

He doesn't seem to have maintained the bike well. He ddidn't seem to have any idea about the the correct shift points. He did not take out time to learn about his machine nor accord it the treatment and care it deserved. He obviously had no respect for his bike. He is just another guy with a motorcycle, not a "biker".

Just before we both had got the red, two cars zoomed by like madmen, jumping the light and into oncoming traffic! This must have pumped up the motorcycle guy and I guess I thought I should just tame him a little bit. But ever so often I have to come terms with the fact that people have to realise a lot of things themselves and that no matter how much u try to fix them, help them or tell them things they need to know (even if they wont believe you), they will only learn when they screw up real bad. "Luck" is relative- many people escape a dozen cars coming their way, while some die by just jumping a light. The trick is to keep our eyes & ears open for traffic and lights. And ofcourse, have respect for our machines.

Why you like cars.

I discussed biker boys in the last post and what separates from those who prefer 4 wheels to two. I am not sure how deep anyone got in that complex network of metaphors, but I will try to make it easier here while explaining why people prefer cars.

The biggest reason why people like cars is because everyone is “okay” with cars. Have you ever heard anyone protest when you announce that you will buy yourself a car? But if you announce that you are buying a bike, the reaction could range from excitement to warnings of biking being unsafe and long lecture about accidents happening and the inevitable comparison with cars, and the latter being safer!

It is this easy acceptability that works for cars. However, the charm of buying a bike is not about rebelling and going against popular opinion. It is in who we are inside and what these set of two wheels mean to us. We know people would come around- it is not always easy but I tell you, it’s more fulfilling.

Cars also provide an escape from the weather outside. In the summer heat, the ac is the biggest friend. In the rains, the roof is much welcome. You see, cars won’t let you smudge your make up and keep your face clean. Your clothes will stay ironed and your hair in place - no need to run to the washroom to fix yourself up before you present yourself to others. Who’s got time to do all that after all? Bikes will only let you be with the elements and make you aware of what is happening around you. And at the end of the ride, you are pumped up even more. That’s all.

People also like cars because they can get away with mistakes. When driving, if you over steer or run over a bump, nothing much will happen. On the other hand, on a bike, every small mistake is magnified a 100 times over and something small like braking too hard can throw you off the bike. The good news is that with every fall we become smarter. We become more aware of what we need to do and when. We usually will not repeat the same mistakes. We learn to respect our bikes because we learn that it is only then that we will we earn their’s – this is what will make us real bikers.

I have nothing against cars really. It’s a good vehicle if a lady companion needs to wear a dress to the ball. The problem is actually with the car lovers who are bike skeptics. They sneer down on bikes and refuse to take their polished heeled shoes out of their ass. Bikers can easily be car lovers but those who like only cars; they are just a speck on the biker’s mirrors.

Biker Boy explained: The concise version

“Biker boy”. To most these two words mean someone crazy about bikes, non serious about life and generally a very casual person. They wouldn’t be too wrong and they couldn’t be way off the mark either!

A biker, as everything else, is highly misunderstood. In fact, the very notion of a biker is understood by very few, including those who ride bikes! I will be putting across very very briefly who a real biker is and what differentiates bikers from those who prefer cars over bikes. For this particular piece, “bikes” = motorcycles. And what is the evidence? My experiences and my life.

A biker is not just someone who rides a bike. He/she rides a bike, respects it and is passionate about just being astride on it. A biker is NOT someone who rides fast, zips through traffic, drinks beer, smokes, curses, has tattoos- basically a real biker is NOT irresponsible nor is he immature.

Bikes are huge responsibility. A real biker always keeps his bike clean, knows how to enjoy the ride even within speed limits, follows traffic rules, wears his attitude on his lid, keeps the engine running clean and always has a steady head every time he/she’s on the bike. In short, a biker respects his bike because he knows that only then will his bike respect him back.

So what separates the bikers from car lovers? The “edge”.
The foremost excuse for any person who prefers cars over bikes is the “safety” factor. I know more people who have been killed in car crashes and in any case, nothing’s really safe if you have to get statistical.

I know more people who really drive their cars like dogs and think its safer speeding in their tin boxes. There is hardly any love, let alone respect for their cars. It’s just the comfort factor you see. Comfort- ah, because one doesn’t have to shift their butts every time a corner comes and not get “scorched” by the summer sun or “frozen” in the winter winds or “drenched” in the rains.

Life isn’t really comfortable but bikers enjoy any type of weather as long as they get to ride their machines. They dont care if they have dirt across their faces or bugs crushed on their visors. They don’t need anything else in the world as long as they can do this. And that is reason enough for them to have a stupid smile plastered across their face. Nothing less, nothing more.

Isn’t that what contentment is about?


Life is the biggest metaphor. That’s why it’s never simple.

Lose yourself?

Life throws at us problems of undefinable magnitude and credence. And it is often said that difficult circumstances demand difficult decisions. But letting the circumstances mould us just doesnt seem right. It has happened quite often that people have changed and they cite the impossibility of the situation around them as the major factor. I have done it many times myself. And then I have realised that people can never really change, no matter what they do. Not when they have grown up to certain point, which I say is the point of no return. For some this might be at the age of 20, and for some it could be even 10- one can never tell. We have grown up in certain circumstances and possibly dealt with them in various ways, avoiding repitition in our methods 'cos I know I was more fearless at the age of 12 than I am now. Its kind of funny when we actually grow up and are more afraid of more things mainly because we have been "educated"- yes, education usually does take away something while giving us other things. Anyway, we finally choose, consciously & unconsciously in tandem, what way is the best for us to draw our plans for the road ahead. And possibly thats why we become more hesitant to do something 'new' or 'different'. And that's not always a bad thing.
Usually our 'self' will go through a lot of phases...where it is comfortable with what it is, and then question if it is really comfortable in itself, and then think that maybe it should try something new and try to 'fit in' with the rest and so on. In the end, the 'self' realises that it is a unique entity designed to not be similar to anything or anyone else.
Life will bring us face to face with a lot of situations where we have to hold our own and still dont. We let the whole situation overwhelm us. And that happens usually when we feel we are not strong enough. and that's why the situation will overwhelm us and make us make the apparently "necessary" and "required" changes in ourselves. The changes are very diverse and vary from person to person and situation to situation. The new 'personality' soon starts to get into conflict with the original 'us'. And the whole thing starts to become what we didnt want it to become. We belive we are doing fine in the changed scenario this way but we are never really comfortable because, the soul feels stifled. 'cos we have already crossed the point of no return. And 'cos we have let the circumstances dictate its terms to us, which if we dont agree with fundamentally, we will never be in agreement with it ever.
How often so many of us want to be someone else 'cos we feel that its going to make life easier for us. Eventually we will realise that we can never be anyone else but ourselves. Rather than cheat ourselves, it would save a lot of time & effort, if we focus on what we can do with what we have in hand.
How often I have wished I could say things just the way it is. That I could tell people exactly what I think they should know. However, I always feel that since we all are designed to know and feel, they will know eventually through symbols, messages and what have you. And then I do often come across a big wall- made of impatience, ego, dormancy, objectivity, objections, refusals, and everything that will blind one's third eye. And that is when I either say it bluntly or let it go if its not that important. And I have accepted that, not 'cos thats what is expected or 'cos its the most efficient (not even close!) way, but 'cos thats who I am.
The third-person is always very important in any situation...the way out of a maze is best seen when you are over it and not inside. When one is inside the maze, he/she has the opportunity to keep stumbling to dead ends and finally getting out OR they could make their own way out by pulling down the walls. The ways to do things are many and the choice is always ours. And the choice depends on what we can do best. In life, I wish we never lose ourselves 'cos thats all that is really ours. And more so 'cos sometimes it is others also who lose someone when you change yourself, but yeah, they will always be waiting for you.

~Good luck y'all

You

You.

You could twist words to your lies
you coud fake your smile
and still keep a straight face
you wouldnt care what they felt
you wouldnt even think about it
you wanted to but still couldnt
cos the chains of bondage restrained you
you were always ina world of your own
and one that you know u hadnt won
you believed it could be good
but couldnt do much to make it better
you said things u didnt mean
but inside you wished that you did
you pampered yourself with delusions
and fed us your fatal illusions
and in the end you didnt want to follow
for you faded away into the horizon
carrying a heart so hollow

You couldnt believe anything you did
You couldnt fall back to who you were
it was a fine breeze that pushed you
and it was a storm that pulled you away
You couldnt let go what was haunting you
but you could still step up to the light
You couldnt trust with ur eyes closed
but kept the strings tied real tight
You fed your imagination truths that never were
but let the facts hide between them
You didnt believe in forever for all
but lived a dreaded eternity
You were afraid of the dark walls
but you were the one who painted them black
You were afraid to fly away
and yet you did
You were too shocked to step forward
that you couldnt go back either
You couldnt row any further
but floating didnt seem an option
Fly you did finally, and far away
the chains were never really that strong
and now you live free...

You swept the night with light
and brought in the new day
You hammered your point well
but somehow left some loose
You gave it all as much you wanted to
but kept back nothing like you intended to
You felt you could hide in the shadows
but it is the shadows that hunted you
You wanted to be sure till the very end
but its the end that you only saw
You thought you knew yourself
but still asked me who you were
You believed you had scaled the walls
but you really had built a fort around u
You knew you had flowered into the tree
but were vague about who plucked the flowers
You cared nothing for what the world felt
but still you let them have their say
You were born to fight the odds
but with you they broke even
And as your steps often faltered
cared you not for yourself, or anyone
tripped often to oblivion to be called out again
the sea swallows you whole
and swimming is not all you need.

Gibberish

"Is it safe?"
"Seems like it"
"So, should I do it?"
"Maybe"
"But I heard that it is very dangerous"
"Then dont do it"
"But i want it"
"If you want it, do it"
"I havent had it for weeks now"
"Whats stopping you?"
"How can I be sure that it is safe?"
"You cant"
"I really want it"
"Your call completely"
"So you saying it is dangerous"
"No"
"So it is safe you mean?"
"I cant say"
"What should I do?"
"Find someone else."



I hope the paranoia about bird flu dies soon.