Eight

I have a weekend of doing absolutely nothing to look forward to

I am sitting at home on a friday night with no work to finish and no one to meet

So i copy paste a tag I came across on the blog of this senior from work whom I really admire

And then I write 900 words of crap

The tag is the number 8
Here goes

Eight Things I am Passionate About

1.    Indian Media – so many layers, so many sub-plots, so much money

2.    Indian Cinema – every era, every hero, every director

3.    Cricket – dreamt of becoming Sachin, then Harsha, now Neville Cardus

4.    Mumbai’s street food – yes its limited, but I am vegetarian and it serves me well

5.    Lyrics of songs – The beauty, simplicity and music of poetry

6.    Mumbai - as a city, as a muse

7.    Social sciences – it has opened up a new world to me, which my education had hitherto kept hidden from me

8.    Cars – I don’t enjoy driving them. I enjoy sitting in them. I want one for every mood, every occasion

Eight Things I Want To Do Before I Die

1.    Own a yacht

2.    Give autographs

3.    Give a speech to more than 1000 people at a time

4.    Make a movie with Shahrukh and Aamir together

5.    Find a way to capture the beauty and importance of Rahul Dravid and show it to my kids someday

6.    Appear in the primary school social science textbooks

7.    Become a Harvard scholar

8.    Spend my last years on an island owned by me

Eight Places I Want to Visit

1.    London – the city my Grandfather told me millions of stories about

2.    Pakistan – to ascertain how different/similar we really are

3.    Konya, Turkey – Prof Matthew used to talk about it. Find Rumi fascinating

4.    Andamans – I want to write a story set in the cellular jail there

5.    Iran – the home of some very courageous artists, film-makers, writers

6.    New Zealand – the unbelievably different flora and fauna that exists there

7.    Sydney – technically, I don’t want to visit the place. I want to live there. It is one of the most expensive and beautiful cities in the world

8.    New York – Well, because it is the media and marketing capital of the world. Also because it is such a crazy melting pot of cultures

Eight Things I Say Often

1.    Ok – in a very derogatory, superior sort of way. To end an argument which I feel uninterested in continuing

2.    Stranger things have happened – coz i really believe in it

3.    What The Fuck! – I work in media, I studied in MICA, I live in Mumbai. I obviously encounter wonder on a daily basis!

4.    Boss – Because ‘Bhaiyya’ is too Delhi thuggish and in Bombay, right from the autodriver to the domestic help to your actual senior, are truly, your boss

5.    Yo! – picked it up from the younger bro, makes me feel younger than I am

6.    Signal se right lena. Right hai nahi, par log le lete hain. Warna ekdum aage se u-turn maarke aana padega. Aapki marzi hai. – once everyday to the taxi driver on my way to office

7.    Boss, follow up chalu hai. Uska TOI ke saath exclusive deal hai. We will try our best – for every ad I have ever missed

8.    Kya kare boss, isse zyaada ka visibility nahi dikh raha iss month. We will try our best – for every time the boss wants to increase the target

Eight Books I Have Read Recently

1.    Chinaman by Shehan Karunatilaka – beautiful book on sport and life in Sri Lanka

2.    Hamlet’s Blackberry by William Powers – Awesome insights on how to not become a slave to technology in today’s world

3.    The Meaning of Sport by Simon Barnes – easily the best book I have read this year.

4.    Sea of Poppies by Amitava Ghosh – very imaginative, engaging story-telling

5.    The Fourth Estate by Jeffery Archer – coz I read it once every few months

6.    Lucknow Boy by Vinod Mehta – an insider’s look into the Indian media world

7.    Death in Mumbai by Meenal Baghel – the story of Maria Susairaj. Good journalistic work

8.    Adventures in a TV Nation – Micheal Moore’s inside look on a reality show that shook America

Eight Songs I Can Listen to Again and Again

1.    Subah Hone Na De from Desiboys – Sorry, but I am in love with this song

2.    Wahan kaun hai tera from Guide – SD Burman’s voice and a very melancholy mood makes this song very close to me

3.    Maaeri by Euphoria – too many memories, too many associations

4.    Somewhere only we know by Keane – MICA nostalgia song I

5.    Anjani raahon mein kya dhundta phire by Lucky Ali – MICA nostalgia song II

6.    Wicked Game by Chris Isaak – Doubles up as a great love as well as make-out song

7.    High Hopes by Pink Floyd – What lyrics, what guitar!

8.    Sultans of Swing Live at Alchemy by Dire Straits – What drums, what guitar, what a voice!

Eight Things That Attract Me to My Friends

1.    Open-mindedness

2.    Talkativeness

3.    Willingness to trust

4.    Willingness to argue your point till either one drops dead

5.    Sarcasm

6.    Looks

7.    Knowledge of things I have no clue of

8.    Artistic pursuit