Writer's Block....

The best writers in the world encounter a stumbling block...i'm just a novice.....i edit/write for a living, but even Lord knows my writing is far below mediocre....so what happens when i face a writer's block? I had interviewed a renowned poet a few months ago, who told me how he encounters writer's block. Every writer faces it, i face it everyday when i'm on the lookout for a story idea. I just hope my grey cells are capable enough to cross the block sooner than later! No not hope, it's a sincere prayer really, lord! i need to save my job after all!
My boss tells me to write a story every week. And, i rummage for story ideas. They come to me anytime...and sometimes they don't come to me at all...i'm left clueless...what do i write about that's not already been written?
My boss tells me, features writing is all about "saying it differently"...everyone already knows what you're writing. The skill lies in presenting it differently, with a new facet, a novel approach. Yes, its true. Most of our news pages are filled with stuff you all have read before, yet we manage to tactfully lure you into reading our words everyday! That feels great,really, especially when we know in our hearts that it's merely a play of words packaged interestingly!

Old friends...

I just love catching up with old friends...its so great to pick up where you left off...find out about the latest occurences in their lives, and just have a good time reminiscing about the good old days as well. I am someone who is far too attached to her friends. So, even if my closest friends have left this city and moved elsewhere, i have tried to keep in touch with them, to the best of my ability. Of course, technology has certainly been great...friends are just a pushbutton or a click away with emails, cellphones and online networking websites.

Some of my closest buddies...who i enjoy "catching up with..."
Neeti: My oldest friend, one of my best friends - known her since i was 6 years old, and we became best buds in class 5. Her family moved to Pune when we were in Class 9...i was so sad when she left. But nothing changed. Anything that needed to be said, i knew my buddy was just a phone call away. We meet about once a year either when she visits Pune or i go to Mumbai. Everytime we'd meet our typical weekend would include go shopping, partying, staying up all night, chitchat, gossip about boys and bitch about girls ;) , playing silly boardgames, sharing joys & sorrows, get tipsy by spiking coke with alcohol from our respective dads' closets ;)...watching the sea waves lash the rocks at Bandstand from her balcony, playing darkroom, truth and dare, even planchit...aah....these are memories that will stay with me forever! Neeti was a crucial person who helped me during my data collection in mumbai - city that frankly overwhelms me - for my Masters dissertation. I havent met her for long as both of us are busy with our respective jobs....just cant wait to catch up with her again!

Ranjit: Met him in std 11...my best friend all through 7 years in college...he left for australia to pusue is PhD in July 2005. I havent seen him for 2 years. I us miss him so much. We speak occasionally on international calls for secial occasions like our respective birthdays. Life is jus not the same after he left. Ranjit was my shoulder to cry on for all my problems. always an eager ear, giving me the apt advice...but the best part about him is his incredibly wacky sense of humour....he can evn make Hitler guffaw! he's unbeatable! We've gone shopping, watched every aishwarya movie together (he's her biggest fan - currently sad cos she's mrs bachchan), had great music sessions, cooked, studied, even made a film together...thats' enjoying international viewership these days, and is highly acclaimed in Germany and Australia from what i hear!! Ranjit's home is like second home to me, his parents are the most adorable people i have known. His father is one of the leading professors in Media Studies, and his mom is just like a second mother for me. They stay alone here in Pune and i try to visit them as often as possible. Ranjit is doing very well for himsel in Australia...just wish he comes to Pune soon...i miss him so much!

[This post will be continued.....]

Mother

The most beautiful creation of the Lord... she is the life giver. She is my caretaker, my sculptor, i am who i am because of my mother, my maa, the most beautiful human being on earth. She is the person i tuly love, respect and cherish...simply because she is my unassuming mom. I feel happy when she is happy, i feel lucky and worthwhile if i happen to make her proud, if i am able to make her smile it makes my day. I am lucky to have a mother who understands me, respects me, gives me my own space and loves me unconditionally. I don't think i can honestly say there is anyone else who loves me and cares for me the way my maa does. In fact, i must confess i do take her for granted many a time....throw my weight around the house, argue with her, don't obey her instructions, misbehave - the spoilt rotten child that i am! But she puts up with all my flaws, and that just makes me love her even more.
Why just my maa, i think all mothers are incredible. I hope all of us cherish our mothers, never hurt them or cause them any pain. We are who we are because of our moms. So even if the're not in the same house as us, lets care for them, talk to them, spend time with them and not just on mother's day.
My maa's face lights up just with simple things like music and flowers...i love giving her flowers. She is the best cook in the world...my pallate is so used to the food made by her, that i fall ill whenever she's nota round i dont get maa's food! What would i do without you maa, i just love you a little more than too much!
My biggest fear is that, someday, i have to leave her....it may sound really silly, but i will put off marriage for as long as i can because i'm so attached to my parents, especially my maa, and dread the thought of not being able to see her everyday! I also fear death. One of my closest friends lost her mother on December 26, 2004, i can never forget that day, and the fear i felt that someday i may have to deal with this loss as well. I have had nightmares at that time, maybe becuase i just cannot imagine my life without my mom.
Aparna Mukhopadhay, her maiden name, is now Aparna Das. She wed my baba at the tender age of 18. A briliant student, an awesome singer, a lover of art, nature and music. She has been the best homemaker -- i hope i am half as good as her someday! She was right there at the doorstep whenevr i'd come home from school, college and now from work...smiling, welcoming me,,, always asking "Khidey pechey, ki khabi?"
Her constant presence gives me strenght, it reassures me. She corrects me when i go wrong. She supports me and gives me strenght when i'm frail. She is my friend, philosopher and guide. She is my everything, i am who i am solely because of her. I love you so much, Maa

Promises

It bothers me when people make promises and then they aren't kept... i mean why make a promise when you know you will break it? Don't make a false promise, don't say things you don't mean. There are so many of us who just say frivolous things for the heck of it, what's the point in this anyway? You hurt the other person, let him/her down, even though he/she expects something from you.

Is it ok to express the way i feel?

That's a question i ask myself often...is it ok to express myself? Or is it just smarter to maintain a diplomatic silence?
Whether in my personal or professional life, very often i see things, or see people do things i don't adhere to or like....so should i voice my opinion about what exactly i feel? How about if what's going on doesn't really affect me directly then what? should i just observe as a silent spectator, or voice my opinions?
Sometimes, i feel i shouldnt express honestly and entirely the way i feel, beacuse i fear hurting others. For example, my friends are very busy, sometimes to busy to even ask how i am doing, so should i tell my friend/s that this behaviour dissapoints me, or should i just "understand" that they have reasons to be busy and be stoic towards me?

Inspiration

I don't idolise anyone... but Life in all its manifestations inspires me to be a better person. People i've known and meet everyday inspire me. I guess life and people around me are the best teachers, rather than any curriculum i may have studied. Many pitfals have made me a stronger person. My mother inspires me to love and care for all. My father inspires me to be honest, hard working and have integrity. Some of my closest friends inspirwe me to be a strong willed and more practical person. My superiors at work inspire me to improve my language and be a better journalist and editor. Birds inspire me to have a free spirit. Nature inspires me to appreciate beauty. Breath inspires me to cherish every nanosecond of life. Everyday i strive to be a better person, learn something new, be inspired to lead a better day than yesterday.

My mind

Why name this blog mindscape? It's simple. I wish to make this an outlet for my mind, my thoughts...some of which are so complex, i fail to decipher them myself! Why is it that i am relatively more successful in understanding other's minds than my own, is a mystery i hope to solve someday! I truly fail to understand myself sometimes...that doesn't mean i'm confused, but perhaps a little clueless about my own mind, the way it thinks....i fail to see any logic!
Just yesterday, one of my dear friends pointed out to me that "Ipsita, you're far too emotional", but hey! is being emotional a bad thing? hmm...so many of my confidantes wish to transform me into a "pratical" person...but pardon me, i am still an emotional fool...someone who lets her heart rule her head.
Most of my decisions...my academics, the career i chose, my friends are all emotional decisions rather than practical. Why else would a high school topper go against the mainstream and pursue Arts (which in my college days was a stream for the 'less worthy')...why would i forsake a cushy IT Job to be a lesser payed journo? Well, because these decisions made me happy.
All of us want to be happy, i choose to be happy. I may be fat, i may be ugly...but atleast I'M HAPPY!!! truly happy!

My Pune...my city

I have been born and brought up in this city, so i love Pune from the bottom of my heart...i have so many memories about the city...and i truly miss the old pune, the pune that many of you may have missed. While growing up here, all pune was famous for was for being a quiet hillstation. The temperatures barely rose over 30 degrees.Ahh...The good old daysPune was known as a pensioners' paradise…today it's a burgeoning mini metropolis. It was considered as a preferred holiday destination for so many Mumbaiites, who came here to take a breather from their hectic schedules and the fast pace of life. The weather resembled that of a hill station. Pune was the ultimate holiday destination to get a respite from the sveltering heat. Today, the mercury levels are rising with every passing year. University circle had a large and marvelous fountain. People of all age groups came to sit on the periphery of this fountain. The splash of cool water refreshed so many of us. Children were happy playing in the water while their parents watched them and chit chatted with friends. Today, the same University Circle witnesses choc-a- bloc traffic everyday, and a huge flyover is being constructed at the same junction and all you get now is smoke from the plying vehicles. Many of the old Puneites still remember the beauty of the old University fountain and yearn for that splash of cool water while driving past itWadas were the soul of the city. The typical Puneri patriarchal and joint families resided in these wadas that were built centuries ago. Stone walls, and exquisite architecture, huge open spaces…those who have lived in wadas have truly experienced a touch of royalty. Today, these wadas are a rarity. Very few still remain in the city. The famous Vishrambaugwada is a mini museum of sorts to let contemporary Punekars get a feel of the wada era.
Deccan Gymkhana had quaint houses, with ancient architecture. Tiled roofs, wooden doors, miniature gardens, stone walls were the unique features of most of these homes. Today, these old homes are making way for high rises and new commercial apartments with modern architecture. Ganeshkhind Road was lined with huge banyan trees and peepal trees on each side. Now, the trees have been chopped to widen the roads so that more vehicles may ply on them. Fergusson College Road, used to be a quiet street. Fergusson College was on one side and hotels Vaishali, Roopali and the erstwhile Deepa was on the other. Today, the same street has undergone a remarkable transformation. There are countless stores, restaurants, coffee shops and it's buzzing with people at very hour of the day. Aundh, Baner, Kothrud, Bavdhan has changed so much...these were desolate areas.The city of the Peshwas has its unmissable landmarks that boast of our rich heritage – a must-see for everyone in the city – Shaniwarwada, in the heart of the city, is a picturesque monument symbolic of the rich Peshwa era. The adjoining Lal Mahal, the house of Jijabai, boasts of Shivaji's valour when he masterminded a plan to foil Shaistekhan's attack on his life. Kelkar Museum houses remarkable artifacts such as weapons, textiles, palenquines, architectural and interior items from every era in Indian History The Aga Khan Palace has the memorial for Kasturba Gandhi, it was here that she breathed her last. The Parnakuti, was where Gandhiji was placed under house arrest in 1942. The Film and Television Institute of Pune (FTII) is the numero uno institute for everyone who aspires to be in the prolific film or television industry. NFAI Parvati Temple is one of the ancient and beautiful temples in the city. Lal Deval is the Jewish Synagogue.


since 2000, after the education and IT boom, Pune has changed..... the pune you guys see today is difeerent from the old pune i have seen while growing up. Today, pune is cursed for traffic, bad roads, pollution.... but i guess this has happened mainly due to influx of outsiders.Pune will always be known as the Oxford of the easst, i am so proud to have studied in the best institutions in this city. I owe what i am today to Pune.I dont think any pukka puneri, like me, ever wnats to leave this city, cause our soul lies right here, there's no place like Pune!