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I'm an addict. There, I said it.

If I'm not looking through a website that offers free worldwide shipping, I'm looking at websites that offer cheap airfares. Between the two, I prefer the former because there is something incredible about knowing that a parcel with your name on it is leaving another country!  I'm ok with paying the custom duties because the stuff I end up getting is a lot nicer than anything that is available locally. Plus, then the chances of me running into five other people wearing the exact same thing are a whole lot lesser! A
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I'm not sure at what point in the last year I got addicted to it. I'm the usual, touch-feel-try-buy kinda guy. But since sizes are more or less universal and I know that I need to order a "small" whatever in any case , the fitting room becomes a wee bit redundant. I must confess though, every now and then I'll even visit a furniture, home decor kinda website and browse a while through pots, pans and household appliances before heading out to Hypercity. If there is such thing as online window shopping, my window...is fairly large!

Here's what I do end up ordering online very often though. iPad covers, phone covers, clothes, macbook sleeves, protein powders, protein bars, clothes, inner wear, specially designed business cards, clothes, pen drives, gadgets, digital kitchen appliances and oh, I forgot to mention ...clothes! I'm not sure why when I shop online I feel like I'm not really paying for it. Shipping time has shrunk massively over the years and most international sites I order from deliver within one working week. the Indian sites end up delivering within 24 hours! Couldn't get better honestly! Whatever be the timeline...when the package does arrive, it almost feels like its  a gift from someone else and I can't wait to tear open the bubble wrap!

Yes, I think I end up buying stuff I don't really need. I'm not sure why I'm looking through a website that'g gonna send me a "butterfly in a jar", a really cool gadget that mocks a trapped butterfly. Very geeky. From our friends at ebay , I've even ordered LED light strips and push button emergency lights that I have little or no use for. It's kinda like walking into a supermarket and picking that extra pack of gum that you didn't need, or those AAA batteries that you can always use or perhaps that snickers bar that seems to be calling your name for no apparent reason. The exact same seems to happen before "proceed to make payment" online. And then I find myself in the beautiful land of online retail where there are no queues, no annoying sales people and more importantly, where the website is open for me and only me at that time.

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#100happydays

Joy is essential.

That's been a mantra of mine for years. I find that it makes decisions for me in a heartbeat. The first instinct is often the right one, then logic steps in. "Is it fun?", If the answer to that is a "yes", I catch myself very often jumping on the boat even before I have time to strap on a life vest. Then again, sometimes to really enjoy the ride, you need to let yourself free. Leave the insurance at home. 

#100happydays is a brilliant lil' idea that a website began challenging readers, bloggers, face bookers and just about anyone with a gram of technology, to participate in something that seems fairly simple at first glance. "Can you stay happy for 100 days?". Even for an eternal optimist like me, it didn't seem fundamentally possible for a human being to be in a state of nothing but joy for 100 straight days. I haven't participated in this "challenge", but in my own lil way i think i've consciously begun to think of the little things that will make me, better still, keep me happy.

This isn't about just staying in a state of drug infused state of happiness per say. It's about acknowledging the fact that your boss may scream at you, your kids might talk back to you, you might suffer an injury, you wife might cheat on you...or worse...you might get caught when you're trying to take a #100happydays picture while you're the one cheating on your wife..! Whichever side of the fence you're on, the idea is to be able to find that one small thing in that day which does put a smile on your face. And that I think is very doable. 

In an internet movement where strangers share photos of embracing a friend after years, or catching up with someone over a cup of coffee, or if it's my silver shoes, I find that the hashtag directs me mostly to cakes, pasties and food! It's strange how much happiness seems to come to people around food! More often than not, the # is accompanied by #leavethediet #100happydays essentially pointing to the fact that its become part of our ecosystem to constantly put off doing something that we love because it has consequences we do not want. Diet-health-vanity you get the picture. If Delayed gratification had an era dedicated to it, this is probably it!

In a larger space of universal energy, I love that there are a billion or so people in the world EVERYDAY who go out and give the universe a slight signal of happiness. If the universe is listening, if even ever so slightly, i think we're in for a good year! 

Bahrain Musings!

I must confess, I came to Bahrain imagining the worst. Youtube, BBC and the international press didnt help comfort me when I saw only pictures of violence on the streets of the Kingdom nation. And yet somehow here I am now, having a ball.. loving the people we've met and COMPLETELY tripping on the Bahrain City Centre, the biggest mall in the country.

I'm not sure if a mall is the best way to experience the culture of an unfamiliar nation, yet somehow the mall was the one thing that shattered most of my pre-concieved notions.  I should know, I came with plenty!

One of my fellow shoppaholick friends was the first to point out mannequins with what can only be described as regular western clothing. "If they are selling it, I'm guessing they wear it also," she said. And rightly so. The only dress code directive we might be complying with is "wear pants to the ministry". In all fairness, I'd have settled for a lot less, given what I had read online. It's an easy country, with breezy people and dust storms that might give you a sore throat. Travel advisory: Carry Allegra

If you're someone who is a fan of jogging around in a new country, you might wanna keep your running shoes on hold. Pedestrians, and here I testify, are usually stared at from moving vehicles. Its probably the heat that makes indoors a preferred zone, or perhaps its the fact that fuel is mind numbbingly cheap that lets people yank air conditioners even if they drive to a destination that is one minute away! If you're walking, you must be an alien!

One of the most fascinatng things about being here though, is my belief in the fact that the media projects what it chooses to. I dont think I can pick sides in this clash between the two muslim sects in this country. It's a conflict that I dont' understand. What I do understand however is the projection of what a day in Bahrain is like, and what it's made to look like. Images of little boys burning tyres in sheer rebellion of the monarchy are what seem to dominate the international perspective on Bahrain. Clearly images that seem orchastrated for broadcast. We've driven around the country several times now, it's size making travel very easy...and we're yet to see a |fight" as youtube videos has me believe.

I'm not sure which side of the story might be true. Then again, everyone believes their version is the right one. I've been told that little boys earn as much as twenty Bahraini Dinar ( roughly $2.5) for every staged tyre burning. Some insists its agenda that comes from neighnbouring Iran, others are convinced the fight is a legit plee for equal status to different sects of the religion. From an outsiders perspecrtive, it's something that doesnt come in the way of daily life if you're visinting the country. The murmurs of violence fade when you're enjoying a quiet evening in the beautiful setting of Amwaj, and the country's political issue shows no trace when you're shopping at the many 24 hour stores and diners all across the Bahrainian landscape.

While it's tempting to pick sides and take a moral high ground on who's right and who isnt, its important to realise its a fight that isn't mine. Like I said, It's one that I don't understand either. I'm here to enjoy a beautiful county, and nothing has come in the way of that intention what so ever!

That's not my name!

If cliches are anything to go by, a guy who addresses another guy with a "dude" or "man" or "mate" or "dawg" is in theory wearing low slung jeans, visible boxer shorts in a contrasting color, dr. dre headphones and sports a few tattoos on his arms. And yet somehow, here i am... not your everyday guy from the hood, finding it increasingly difficult to have a conversation with another guy without using "dude" and "man". When did I becomes one of those guys?!

I've never really understood the "mate" bit..and thats still a word that remains unused in my vocabulary. Is it supposed to somehow imply that the other person is your, well mate?! And while some of the above mentioned words come in handy when you a) don't know the person's name b) don't remember it c) dont want to say a name that's either too long, too complicated or too....well whatever the reason maybe.... "dude" comes in handy and usually never goes out of style. Well not until a new friend from the gym says his own name repeatedly in a conversation and clearly says "Paras, my friend..don't call me dude!"

# paras is stumped.

I blame the street talk on one of my recent best friends who not only introduced the "brodaaaaa" talk to me but also made it a very part of my DNA. My usual way of addressing just about all my friends was either too formal or very personal. There really was nothing between Mr... and adressing someone by their first name. The "dude" however, is something i've fallen so in love with that I find myself even addressing some of my more adventurous female friends with the same word. They only laugh.

Ghetto, street, fun..slightly impersonal it may be..but some part of it is me. I might even have gone to the extent of calling it "wannabe" a few years ago.. although now that i think about it... if something is you, it's just you..even if it means NEVER saying your friends names in a conversation..which I'm increasingly noticing!

P!

Bollywood's eccentricities!

I do what I do with mild amusement. 

Amongst a host of travel, youth and trend shows..the one's I love anchoring, , are bollywood shows. And with good reason.This is a country that loves it's movie stars. I do too. I just don't care about the movies, i never have.

Most people are shocked, and some are convinced that I'm fibbing when I say... "I don't watch bollywood movies". But that's perhaps why i've been able to tirelessly do these shows for a few years now, because the films never excited me. The actors did.

I mean no disrespect to our cinema. It's our biggest cultural export, and perhaps our most entertaining one at that. Images of the Indian parliament and ministers hurling shoes at each other may rarely make it to the top of international headlines, but when Aishwarya Rai walks the red carpet at Cannes, the world sits up to take notice. Such is the power of our celebrities. Beauty over politically- flung footwear.

At the moment, we're shooting for episodes for a Bollywood show for the Zee network. We interview stars about their films. It's perhaps the first show , where I'm forced (by the show's format) to ask questions about the script,film,scenes (yawn!) and other things related directly to the movie making process. And yet somehow actors tirelessly repeat amusing stories about the process of putting together that film interview after interview. The very latest was a story about how a scene had to stop because a cow began giving birth on set! The film in question being My friend Pinto, the actors in question....were very amused!

I like that i have access to some of the most coveted people in this country. And i like that, I know some of them really well. Because the nicest moments are when the camera isn't rolling. Then it's just a bunch of young people having fun... and that's always a super thing!

P! :)

Air hostess, air hostiles!

“They’re not air hostesses, they’re air hostiles!”

And so it began. The journey from Mumbai to Toronto for IIFA 2011.

Air India might not be your airline of choice for the terrible word-of-mouth they’ve got over the years. You almost imagine air hostiles (kinda love that term) flinging shoes at you, refusing as much as a glass of water and pretty much threatening to throwing you out , should you ask them to get you anything. God forbid, THAT’S not their job.

Oh wait, it is! Only no one’s told them.

No such drama on this flight though. I hate to admit it, but this Air India flight is a revelation. But I’ll get to the good part in a bit. Gotta check-in first.

I am greeted by a woman at the counter. Mid forties, usual grumpy -ground staff demeanor with a I-can’t-believe-I’m-still-doing-this written all over her face kinda thing. You get the picture.

“Put your bag with handle upside..so it is easy for me to put tag”

I don’t comply. Quite frankly coz it’s hard to understand someone who’s juggling (what I imagine) to be around half a gallon of spit with a pen, all in the same deep cavity called the human mouth.

“Handle up,” she frowns at this point. Enough to let me know that this woman isn’t going to take too kindly to me listening to Colin Hay while I check in. Ear phones out, she has my full attention by this point.

*indescribable mumble

I now have someone from the IIFA team who’s come to my rescue, put the handle in a position that finds the approval of the check- in lady, who as I now understand must have been am army general in a previous life. She certainly has the talent to say “Here’s your boarding pass” with just about the same ferocity as “I’m gonna kill you, you mother F$%^#ng twat”

“Yes Ma’am”, I say. Partly obeying orders, partly smiling. Partly scared I’ve overstepped rank.

Oddly enough I see a sight most travelers may conclude is mythical. She smiles... and asks me to have a good flight. (it’s still an order, of course.)

And I really do!

I’m unsure of why Air India has such bad press. The flight is great. Service is wonderful. The air hostesses are anything but hostile, in fact if anything at all I might break out into a hugging spree when I’m getting off the plane!They’ve been fantastic. Sure there’s Sridevi (minus make up) walking around with hubby Boney in tow…but I can’t blame Air India for that. Can I now?

I’m lucky to be traveling with someone I’ve known for years but never hung out with. I ran into him literally five and three quarter steps away from the plane and then realized on boarding we’re sitting next to each other. In theory he has potential to be a friend. In practice I wouldn’t know because talking to someone who’s asleep 12 out of 16 hours on a flight usually yields very little result. Believe me, I’ve tried!

Anyway, to a happy trip now. Will keep you guys posted on what’s happening at IIFA 2011. You know where to look for that information.

Why I'm not a political mastermind..

To say that my interest in politics is limited, may only be an understatement. To say that my understanding of politics isn't up to par, might be spot on though.

I find myself mildly amused when I read headlines about Rahul Gandhi being arrested and rumors of Shilpa Shetty being pregnant, all on the same web page. It might strike you as being ironic, but if news pages aren't talking about the fact that Aishwarya got her Cannes fashion right (finally!), they're talking about the fact that Ratan Tata is taking potshots at Anil Ambani for being in a billion dollar mansion in the heart of a slum infested city. Can you blame me then for not paying too much attention to the other news items about the farmer's of Bhatta Parsaul? 

Like many of my peers from Bombay (and I insist on calling it that because that's how I've ever known this city) I might be largely disconnected from the world of Indian politics. When I meet my cousins in Simla, they're a lil more inclined towards knowing which party might come to power in their state. In Maharastra however, as long as political goons aren't ransacking a stadium or a pub or beating up autowallas for some strange agenda that makes them only increasingly unpopular, it's hard to find traces of politics in daily life. Thank god. 

The spectrum scam has dominated headlines for months now. And while many hundred crores may have exchanged hands during the 2G scam that landed several in trouble while some others continue to hide ...I don't understand why I'm STILL unable to make 3G video calls from my vodafone number. If you call THAT  a political question, then I probably ask a lot more of those everyday. 

I'm not sure if politics disinterests me or the fact that politics in this country simply equates corruption, is what has put me off altogether. I admit, when the American elections are on, I'm glued to CNN for absolutely no apparent reason. I'm sure they have their political filth, but that usually comes in the form of stained underwear and glamourous vice presidential candidates who make for great reality tv when not elected to office. I don't see Mamta Banerjee being half as exciting if a crew from TLC decided to follow her on a  reality show, like they did  Sarah Palin. It's a good thing we're not about to find out .

It was only last year that we were shooting in Gandhinagar during Dandiya that I had a brief encounter with Narendra Modi. In my head he's everything that's wrong with Indian politics. The fact that he's not only glorified, but also in power in a state that's possibly suffered the most because of religion in this country is what completely baffles me. I have to admit though, the man's got style. A state function in Gujarat might resemble something that Wizcraft may have planned. And you can call him anti secular all you want, the fact is Gujarat is planned, cleaner and the infrastructure is to be envied. I can see how people are willing to put the past behind.

I'm glad I don't need to understand politics in this country. And I'm glad I live in a city which is largely self governing. If my life depended on making sense of politics, I'd be in heaven by now , far from politicians who'd be in a whole different sphere! 

If however someone deconstructs it and makes a cartoon strip of the whole mess and emails it to me, I'd gladly read. It is the best reality tv after all.

Paras!