Status, Status everywhere and lots of lines to think..

The title is inspired from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s classic poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.

Status messages have become such an integral part of our lives. A substantial part of our time daily is spent on updating our 'Status’ on Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, Buzz, Orkut and what not?? We humans are social by nature (as I read in textbooks during school days J ) and not so long ago people were complaining that the internet is isolating people and killing the very social fiber itself. But, like all great things, internet did its own thing, evolved its own solution to the problem - the Social Media (SM) tools and right now is flooded by them. And at the very core of this SM phenomenon is the ‘Status’. People update their status, look for other person’s status, comment on it and love being commented upon. So everybody has something to say and everybody has a 'Status' message.

You'll find lyrics of popular songs, lines from some poem or famous quotes from somebody as the status for most people. I, myself often, use them to share the links to the new posts on my blogs apart from sharing other messages which can at times be "just utter nonsense". Then there are status messages that want you to listen to a song, watch a video or read some interesting article on some random website. Well, I like most of them, but what I find interesting is the way people use the status messages to share the mood or the state of mind they are in. I am pretty sure that most of the times the status reflects the mind frame of that person, even if it is not in plain words. The more artistic ones choose a line from a song or quote or poem while others just mention a few words and leave the rest to your imagination. With due respect to all my friends, sample a few status messages on Gmail chat for some of my friends at this time:

"On iPhone with IM+"

“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A38LH9JvkiI&feature=related”

“Time and Tide waits for none”

"RANJHA RANJHA kardi ve main aape ranjha hoyi" –lines from a popular Hindi film number.

"I believe I can fly....I believe I can touch the sky..."

"Work, work n more work"

"where the hell is my status message.........."

"There is no point in living if you cannot feel alive!!"

"ek simple si coffee bhi kick deti thi, tere sang..." –lines from a popular Hindi film number.

"Why is God after my life????"

Note: For all my friends whose status I have mentioned here, I took the liberty of using these without permission because most of them are not original in the first place J. And for the ones which are originals, they are meant to be shared.. right?? I just shared them with a few more people, knowing that you all are my good friends and won’t mind the "free publicity" a bit ;)

In my personal opinion and with all due respect and love, I like the bottom half in the list more for the simple reason that they generate a curiosity and prompt the readers to initiate a conversation. Conversation is what we crave for; the need to vent out the feelings. Just go through each of the status messages once again and try and figure out the state of mind of the person, I am sure you will make many interesting observations J

OK..so how many times has it happened that a simple status message on your Gmail chat window or your Facebook homepage has lead to an interesting conversation with a friend? In fact, most of the times I start the conversation by saying something relevant to the status message of the person. Recently I had one such conversation, most conversations are interesting but this one took an unexpected turn. It was simply innocuous and never intended to go in the direction it went and even ended abruptly but I wish we can pick up the threads someday and continue from where we left J. It has been mentioned below; I hope you find it interesting too. Also, please do share any incidents where you had a similar experience; I am sure it happens a lot of times to each one of us.

DearFriend’s Status: I am what I am.

me: I know  what u are J

DearFriend: you know me as **********. I am more than that

me: hmm.. for example

DearFriend: To you My “ I” could not be more than a friend. My "I" or close buddy but My “I” cannot be more to you

me: see there is nothing kept in these topics close your eye(I) and just remember God ;)

DearFriend: if ever get a chance i would like to recommend a book "I am That"

me: aur main kehta hun ki “that is me”. its all perception :)

DearFriend: perception is a term when we tend to look at others and compare...there is nothing more than I. so where this perception could exist

me: wrong! perception is what we perceive, it's “my” vision it has 'I' written all over it that's why i said that is me :)

DearFriend: :) so whats your me ?

me: The world is how I see it what I see is what I am :)

DearFriend: thats so true

me: If all I can see is wrong then something is wrong in me If I see good there is something good in me :)

DearFriend: but there is something beyond  that as well. who is judging ... right or wrong. to you .. drinking may be bad.. for me its good

me: there is no judging everything is relative, relative to what I am :)

DearFriend: i live by one word.. experience..whatever comes

me: correct!! when a child comes to this world he is blank, he has no sense of right or wrong, his experiences make him draw his line of reference from which he measures right or wrong

DearFriend: i asked a prostitute.. what is love.. she said. its fucking Rs 1000 per hour.

correct ? right or wrong??

me: depends who is deciding. what his/her line of reference

DearFriend: you just use experience to avoid what you have already faced and didnt like.  but accepting that its all experience and keep on moving, that is what brings you closer to your SELF

me: sorry..I am enjoying the conversation ..but need to take a break..getting a call

DearFriend: same here. need to take offshore call :( cya later

me: tc bye :)

Note: Due permission has been taken from the person involved in the conversation before mentioning it here.

Flight, Clouds and Rainier

Yet another flight .. Check-in, security, boarding announcements, boarding.. slow..the line moves at a snail’s pace .. Smiling attendants.. I wonder if their cheeks hurt from those smiles all day long.. Window seat yippee!! Flight takes off.. all regular procedures .. then the Captain announces.. "Flight time is 3 hours 18 minutes .. we are expecting a lot of storms on the way .. so wear your seat belts and sit tight (giggitty!!)".. you listen with disdain and then turn your gaze outside the window.


There is something special about flying. Up above hundreds of feet in the air a layer of clouds separates you from the reality of life down under and you fly in a cocoon safe sound cutoff from all that is below. A layer of white serene clouds with shades of gray, crimson thrown in small measure and the blue endless sky above .. As you go higher distances diminish, things get closer and differences decimate. There is something nice about these white clouds that you see below, lumps of soft fluffy cotton thrown sometimes in patches against a blue horizon and sometimes stretching for miles trying to cut you off from the world below as if you are in paradise. I sometimes feel like getting out and jumping like a mad man in those clouds .. of course that is impossible but a fantasy :)

That reminds me that the topmost point up to which you can drive up on Mt. Rainier is also called Paradise. We got a chance to visit the place again this weekend and when we reached there the first thought crossing my mind was .."No doubt this is Paradise".. everything that you see around is white (snow!!).. the grand Rainier (Uncle Rainier as I call it), the surrounding mountains, the trees, the lonely visitor center which never seems to open .. Everything!!. What is it about white color that makes it look so divine and heavenly?? Maybe because it is an amalgamation of all the colors brought together, blends and encompasses all the colors and the emotions that we relate to them or because it resembles cleanliness, purity, peace, happiness, all good things...

Anyways that brings me back to the flight and the clouds, so looking from above they form a blanket over the earth, you at times get glimpses of the snowcapped mountains but not much and then appears Uncle Rainier in full glory standing up and above the clouds with head held high and no other mountain daring to match the splendor and the royalty that the Rainier enjoys. Those of you who have lived in Seattle know what I am talking about. It's not Rainier’s height that makes it standout that much but there are no other mountains around it that dare match it so it appears like a huge giant always overlooking Seattle maybe guarding it or who knows keeping an eye on it…

You are still lost in thoughts when sleep takes over and you doze off ..only to wakeup to the announcement that you are approaching landing unexpectedly much ahead of time with no storms encountered just minor turbulences… C’mon get your stuff and get out!!

A Tribute to my Hero...

I read…felt overwhelmed…guilty about my behavior…tweeted about it…. but couldn't just stop at that.


So I sat down to pen.. rather key in.. my thoughts about this phenomenon - Big B as we fondly have grown to call him. We have held him in high esteem.. have greatly respected him, have been entertained by him for years and years now. Yet the era lives on .. the legacy continues.. having immitated him as a child.. doing mock fights with friends..aah..dhishoom!! aah…dhishoom!! Having lived his angry young man avatar in those teen years..Having his famous screen name as my real life name have prompted people to call me "Don", "Inspector Vijay" (some even promoted me to SP), "Vijay Dinanath Chauhan" over my growing years... Having adored…loved..his style, his cool demeanor, the wiseness on his face , the grace of his age...He's always been an eternal hero..while others have come and gone ..He has stayed ..solid as a rock!!!

(Image Coutesy:Chakpak.com)

I had heard/read a lot about his accident during the shooting of Coolie, of how the whole of India prayed for his well being, of how hundreds of fans used to gather outside Breach Candy to pray for his health.. But having read his account of the medical ailments he has been facing over the years (http://bit.ly/d5rHmp), how he has been transforming some of the disabilities into 'Styles' in his films; I am overwhelmed and the respect has grown a thousand times.

How many times do we complain about the problems that we face everyday and forget to count our blessings..Here is a man who has been fighting his health but never complaining (atleast in public) and going about his duties of entertaining us and keeping us in good spirits..

And I thought I was in a mess and had all the problems in the world and that God has been unfair with me of late. Thank you again, Big B, for being my hero, for inspiring hope in me, giving me the resolve to stand up against odds, for opening my eyes to the blessings I have and for letting me know how trivial are problems bothering me. Thank you!!