So said the song by Joni Mitchel. Here are some of the clouds I saw last week. Some of them are on a cloudy day here in Hyderabad and the others are from Kolkata.

Hyderabad, by the Waterfront

Kolkota, the other side

-Rigged /-

It has been months since i’ve had an opportunity to write about anything blog-worthy.* (For example, That’s all folks - An institution shuts shop! A post worthy of many comments, even though, mostly inconsequential). It has been rough sailing for the last few months and the weather is finally clearing up, by which, I mean, I finally found a flight back from Nizwa.

As a part of get-to-know-your-folks-better program, mostly self-imposed, I have, yes you are reading this correctly, moved in with my parents to experience the acicular effects of heightened temporary insanity.

While living with my mother is not exactly a difficult proposition, my dad is the founding member of Formal Thought Disorder and Lack of Insight and enjoys barbiturates and psilocybin mushrooms with his daily meals. Forgive me if I am over exaggerating but I think, he is borderline Autogynephiliac, by which, I mean, it was my foolish notion to move in with my folks.

Living arrangement: 4 bedrooms. My folks sleep in one room, my brother in another, one room has been converted into a study and the fourth bedroom, originally my bedroom pre-haste, houses their dog, fifi bags, Wartenberg wheels, prostrate massagers, genital jewellery and other BDSM apparatuses. Well okay, I was lying about the Wartenberg wheels.

Current reads: Banging the Hard-bound Librarian

Over the next few weeks, I intend to write regularly about my experiences at home. Please watch this space for more updates.

And hey, Ugly and Rigged, its about time, eh?

The good, the bad and the ugly all starred at last Thursday Night Karaoke’s final song. If Bob Geldof and Quincy Jones ever heard this, I’m assuming some serious Live Aid would be needed by all those who you will see here.

Heh heh.

Was sitting at a pal’s house the other evening and was
subjected to a fantastic view. Lucky for me there was
a camera around.

I want that house!!

Go Away.
No, Stay.
Please. Stay.
With me.
Stay. So we can share our dreams.
No, so we can share our fears.
Our songs and our hopes.
Yes, let’s do that.
Let’s share our fears.
Tell me.
Of memories.
No, don’t. Let’s make new ones.
Yes, new memories. Surreal.
No. Concrete.
Yes, real, I think.
Concrete, yes.
Cement our moments in time.
Slow down.
It’s about to pass.
Slow down so we can deceive time.
Yes, let’s pull a con job. On time.
Yes, on reality. On life.
Yes, that will be great.
It will make for quaint memories.
Will serve us in time.
Don’t laugh.
Time will never find out.
Yes, that’s the plan then.
It might work and time will never find us out.
Now will be forever. And we’ll make memories.
Forever will be now.
So we can look back.
Yes, at time. That never passed.
Yes.
Go Away.
Now.

This poem is by a friend. She does not like the fame.
I like it because it’s a silly poem that makes you sad.

-Bart

On the drive back from Bangalore, I got a little shutterbuggy. There would have been more but the Chevy was so comfortable that I slept most of the way.

Enjoy!

All the world’s a highway and we overtake from stage left

Tailgating!

The man in the mirror

….is what a lot of people felt after they exited Palace Grounds in Bangalore last night.

For one, it was nasty hot. For two, it was terribly crowded. For three, they (other event managers who don’t always remember everything) forgot to sprinkle water on the ground and it was dusty as the Sahara in the throes of a dust-storm. For four, all mobile networks were jammed and one could not touch base with all of one’s friends who had converged ‘pon the very same venue.

All that however, didn’t matter once Steven Tyler strut his stuff on stage.

That old cat can rock the joint like no one else. Having watched Aerosmith videos for years, watching him prance about in his tight pants and do his deverish dance with the mike was unreal! When he sang Love in an elevator, Dream On and Living on the edge, I would have danced like a madman if only there had been space to do so.

No Smoking Inside The Venue said the big bold sign, I must have missed the fine print that said ‘Smoking Up Allowed’ because the smell of weed was strong enough to bottle. Heh heh.

The trip was also made worthwhile because I caught up with some old friends, some whom I hadn’t seen in years, spent long hours at Opus pre and post the show and drove back home in a car with two other Rediff amigos! Fun Fun.

Still can’t get over the fact I watched Aerosmith perform live from twenty feet away last night. WhooHooo!

It opened its doors when most Indians had no idea that you could use the internet for things other than porn and email.

It started way back in 1997 but I discovered it only in 1998. (I was discovering email and porn for a year, see)

Like breakfast and biryani, it became a part of my life.

Through it I discovered many wonderful things like Private Messages, Private rooms and words like Feck, BRB and ROTFLSHTCCOMNEWIWDA*.

Through it I made many wonderful friends. I looked at making female friends but some of them turned out to be male heh heh …. that besides, I made friends all over the world. In the US, the UK, Oz and The United States of Hyderabad! While most of my ‘offline’ pals went ahead and moved out of town and out of touch, most of my online pals still remain and I guess will continue to do so. And we have only one thing to thank for that.

Rediff chat finally comes to an end.

After 9 years of making us laugh, cry, tear our hair out and showing us how to make rooms like ‘Unhook my tight bra’ we are told that we must move on. There are some who still know how to get in and still do. Me included. I know in the last couple of years I haven’t been on Rediff in the manner I used to but knowing now that its going, I know I shall miss it like anyone would miss their favourite pub or hangout when it goes away.

I go now, thinking about people. In no particular order. By their handles or Yahoo IDs or their given names. Hippogriff, Hosannah, AcuteRapier, SantaNudeAss, Ghost Rider (heavens, so close together heh heh), Bleu, Pitbull, LilMermaid, Champagne, CrazyCoco, Charu, TheIdiot, SinSmittenCyberKitten, NecroAsh, HestaDaMolesta, Danielle, Kaybabe, Suparn, Kanurite, Hexa, Nehausa, Zoonyspaz, Martian, The Sorceress, GhostWhoSpoke, Ego, Dapps, Smilin Angel, Mesmeriser, UglyDuckly, Anjelica, Chikks, Cereal Killa, Moonie, Tianna, TiaKitty, CountryGurl, ADitty, CapnNemo, Hydeous, Poiuy, Rebelle, InsaneJane, Fang, Cactus, TheDiva@Num, Cube3, Weedie, Sapphire Lady, J Guv, LambChops, NS, Nescafe, HRH, Tia Maria, Blondesca, Dinkoo, Fax, CatWoman, VampireSlayer, Natalie, Eyros, WHY, GirlInBlue, SirCaustic, Azzman, Kunal, Oriflame, Pesty, Suave, SimplyBlack, Belledonna, Alfie, Kaluha, Shaz, WudHut, Swanky, Moksha, Hacking, Promises & Lies, Bella, Percival, Cherie, MannatG, Mocha Chocolatta , Gorgish, Indian, Knobby, Cleo, Ex Ex, Le Quack, NorthernLights, PChica, Phaedrus, Sadhs, PravinVermin, RKR, Ace, Ahnooie, AlPac, Ballz, Heath, Zomb, Reindrop, Rico, NangaSadhu, SheFlu….. etc… etc… and if you’re name isn’t here you can be sure it’s because old age has caught up with me.

Thank you all for the laughs and all the memories.

Riggy … Rigger Mortisse…. The Nizam /-

* - Rolling on the floor laughing so hard that Coke came out of my nose even when I wasn’t drinking any

PS - you can still get on @ http://www.rediff.com/chat/chathom.htm

The Bangladeshis might be forgiven for thinking they are starring in an porn movie called Chitty Chitty Gang Bang post Day2 of the 2nd Test.

For the first time ever in the history of Test cricket have the top four batsman of a side scored hundreds in the same innings. It was all a bit much if you ask me, Jaffer cemented his place in the side post his last test pair, a wicket-keeper who is now a batsman scored his first test hundred while our most capped player got his 37th and in the midst of all this the man Ugly loves to hate brought up his 24th.

After all this Zaheer got his act together and lopped the head of the Bangladeshi batting leaving them half gone for 50 or so. Looks like this one might finish on Day 3 unless the Bongs pick themselves up and play a bit like they played in the World Cup.

Oh, while I think Sachin should have retired post the World Cup, I see that he as added 2 more test hundreds to his kitty in a week. How much more can he go on? I shudder to think he’ll want to go to 40. (Not in test hundreds but in age). Some said this was perhaps his most laborious and unattractive hundred ever, all I can do is doff my hat in admiration. He’s no spring chicken but if could bat his way to 129 without having to crumble with cramps like the much younger Kartik and Jaffer, his fitness levels have to be way up high. Good on yer, old man - it’s nice when you show the young bucks a thing or two.

There’s one more test left. One more chance for Sachin to come out there and bat with the abandon of the 21 year old blaster he once was. I watched him pummel Mike Whitney and Craig McDermott on a blinder of a wicket at the WACA many moons ago - will we see one more or is that asking for too much?

Rigged/-

Last week I spent 5 extra hours at the Delhi Airport.

This week Bangalore decides to treat me to a few extra hours at their at the moment empty and terribly cold airport. I don’t even have an extra shirt, let alone something that will keep me warm. An Indian Airlines flight that was to have left at 3 am will now depart at 5:20am (if I’m lucky) and I will get home at the grand hour of 7 am. Sheesh.

A quick trip to Bangalore ended with a bunch of colleagues first hitting TGIF and then shifting over to Athena. Having finished with that a large gathering of us went to Empire and pigged out like we hadn’t seen food for a week.

Here I am now. Cold. Not So Hungry. Alone. Sleepy. Cold. Sweaterless. Check-In Baggage-less. Coffeeless.

*Sigh*

Rigged/-