Coconut Cruncher

18th July 2016 It's been really long since I felt like writing about something! Bobby's list I have been really motivated by somethings Bobby Chiu said in the StoryboardArt interview. He is one of the most talented and respectable people I've followed. He said, figure out how you'd want your life to be, ideally. Paint a picture of that, or write about it, and work towards that. For a few moments I was pretty blank - what I want out of life keeps fluctuating. It was only later today I got down to putting it on paper. I made two columns - one with things I want, and one with things I don't want out of my life. It isn't very concrete, but it's something to work towards. I realized a few things that are missing which I can definitely work on - like making my environment more creative, striving towards being a better artist, and travelling even more. And I was happy to notice that I am following a few of the things on the list already, like leadin...

3rd Jan 2016 A very happy new year to you all! I hope 2016 is as exciting, fun, adventurous, happy, sad, and transformative as my whole life has been so far! ;) Today I had a exceptionally chilled out, yet awesome Sunday. We woke up late, had a hearty and wholesome home-cooked misal-pav - thick and creamy, and then watched ' The Hateful Eight ' by Quentin Tarantino. I had seen this trailer SO long ago, that I forgot it existed and didn't know when it came in and went out of theatres. Anywho, like any other Tarantino movie, it was AWESOME. I had this awesome storytelling like I was reading a book with all its cliff hanging chapters and gruesome yet eccentric and unpredictable characters. I love how in each of his films he makes sure the audience remembers the names of each of the characters and associates a personality to them. It reminded me to watch more films of atleast directors I already love; and made me want to draw out those characters - Jon Ruth, Daisy Domergue, M...

26th March 2015 Bad drawing. But drawing nonetheless. My grandfather, 'Deddy' was a very good man. I used to think in his old age that I barely know him. In my growing up years he was already bed ridden. Deddy was the only doctor in our family, n he was a great one. He was an orthopedic surgeon. It was sometime in 2000, that he had fully lost function of the right side of his body and was suddenly paralysed. The deddy I saw after that was a short tempered crabby demanding person, who only seemed to live for his love of food. He would need help to sit up on the bed, bathe and eat. He was like this for 12 years until I was in my 1st year of college and got the call. I wouldn't say I was very close to him, but he did talk to me a lot about his younger days of apprentice, his travels to Britain and his violin. He was very proud of me because I loved sports and he thought I was intelligent because I aced biology. But the reason I loved him was because I had flashes of m...

8 th May 2013 As Aakash and I rode to the theatre, we chatted about work and our personal growth. “Man, I spend about 8 hours on it. I don’t even know when it’s a weekend. I thought today was Saturday. ”  “That’s it? I easily spend 10 hours on work everyday” he said. “Well, I wouldn’t mind, it’s just that it’s a different pipeline, we’re going from pixel to vector based work, and I have to learn new softwares that I find so time consuming to learn and get accustomed to. Sometimes I feel like I’m that old senior in the studio who has a bunch of good skill sets, but the newbies have learnt to do the same thing in an hour’s time instead – and you do it great alright, but you’re slower. You could learn to use the new software by letting go of your comfort zone, but you’re too old now. I used to be that way, but I’m learning how to let go and shake my ground. It’s too early for me not to learn different methods and mediums.” I said. “Exactly. I’ve been completely shak...

9th November 2013       I approached the coconut seller and asked, "how much for one?" "30 for malai wala and 25 for paani wala" "Patli malai wale ke liye kitna?" "30 memsaab", he said.        I asked for one with the thin malai. It was delicious. The first sip from the straw, and images of coconut trees and paddy fields flashed in my mind. Narrow roads and clear skies, palms swaying in the breeze - it cut back to the straw. The water was over. I looked inside the coconut, hoping for more water. "Kahan se laate ho aap?" I asked. "Mysore se. Yaha toh koi nikaalta nahin hai pedh se. Pakh jaate hain." he said. "Aur aap kaha se ho?" "Main Allahabad se" he said, smiling. "Itni door se? Poori family yaha hai?" "Haan ji. Ek flat tha, lekin usme jagaha nahin thi, toh hum bhaade pe reh rahe hain." he said, "aap kaha se ho?" "Main Goa se hoon" I said. He smiled. "Toh a...

28th Oct 2013 I had a wonderful time in Ahmedabad. The first day we got there, we settled in Athithi hotel. It was such a dirty looking place, but we cleaned it up and made ourselves comfortable. We used to have breakfast at this south indian restaurant called 'Udipi Palace'. It had pretty decent breakfast but it smelled so badly of cockroaches and phinyl that it got really unpleasant. Everyday we started waking up a little later, often talking in the morning or trying to convince the others that it would be a great day. I was busy trying to keep everyone positive - somehow it was upto me to satisfy everyone's wants. When I failed at that, I'd fall into the pit and pull myself out. I told myself there was something more important happening at NID than people's eating preferences or personal problems - I had come here for inspiration and I'd decided to take it under any circumstance. By day 3 everything started getting better, and that's how it had happene...

2nd October 2013 – Nashik It’s the second day of work at Regh animation, and it has been tough. I feel mentally exhausted and overly emotional. The small sign of home, a thought of comparison can bring a huge lump, an uncomfortable swelling in my throat. I feel my heart ache in pain, and my eyes start watering uncontrollably for no reason. I don’t feel weak, but tested, really. My heart gives up, but my mind tells me to fight and be stronger. It’s a new place, with new people. A new language and a new culture. Fitting in has never been easy, but I always end up finding the right people and getting comfortable; that – has been exceptionally difficult here. Marathi is not my forte, and whether I wear a loose Tshirt, or a spaghetti, I still have a few eyes on me. Maybe it’s my fair skin, or my ‘different’ features, but one look, and the locals know that I’m not from this part of town. My roommate Rekha is really nice. She must be about 25 and reminds me an awful lot of my old housekee...

9th April 2013 Major update!! I am now a GRADUATE!!! :D :D Since that day, my life's not been pretty. But I'm glad it's over. I'm already missing college terribly, and I thought that day would never come, but it did. Now I am home, relaxing, and trying to enjoy a much deserved break. Today I decided to turn my life around at home. I don't want these vacations to be useless and lazy, but they are proving more and more to be so. So, after reading my dear friend Krithika's wonderful letter about how she's turning things around in MIT, I decided to set some goals for myself too. Coming back home has not been easy. I feel lethargic and heavy and I have only been eating and sleeping and watching TV. I feel lonely because throughtout the week my only friend who's available (Aakash) has college on weekdays and my parents are practically never home. I miss college so much. I miss being busy already, even though I had asked nature to give me a huge br...

4th Nov 2012 Wow, it's been a really long time since I wrote. But a lot has happened today. Firstly Pris started talkin to me again. An old friend who I thought had suddenly decided to not have anything to do with me for no reason. :| And then I went to meet Rhutu in the evening. Spent an hour alone on the beach, happily talking to myself, splashing water in the sea, drawing on the wet sand. It was getting darker. Rhutu came an hour later, with his brother and his friend. (Another joke happened. I had earlier been introduced to his brother as 'Upaashi', which in Marathi/Konkani means - Hungry/Starved. Rhutu and his funny psychological experiments. I should try some too!) I remember the first time I actually spoke to Rhutu. I saw him when Shivani was talking to him in NID, during the first Chitrakatha. I didn't pay much attention to him, because I was too busy soaking in the environment. There's so much energy in NID, it was overwhelming. I had a wonder...

22nd Oct 2012 How wonderful to login my google account and find this!!! It's totally made my day. I'm already teary! Here's another photo which really touched me by my fellow HP fan mamta. :) This is absolutely 'wunnerful'! :)

I see people and their photos of things and experiences of their life. They are living, they are happy. You know how you get a cold, and then fever, and it hurts, and you realize how wonderful it feels to be well? Like you just ignored it all this time, when you were just fine, physically and mentally. And when you recover you feel wholesome, you appreciate being.. 'well'. It's that phase in my life that's less than perfect. Perfect is never perfect. Perfect is when you're happy, even though things - didn't really turn out the way you wanted them to. Even though you don't have what you really wanted, but you're okay. You've nothing to worry about. Nothing to face. Someone to talk to. And things are ordinary, but you're goin' on. That's perfect, and if we realize that perfection, we are grateful, and hence - happy. We are happy with what we have, because we are not facing anything difficult. We haven't lost anything, or anyone, and lif...

29th Dec '11 "You're waiting for a train.. A train - that will take you far away.. You know where you hope this train will take you, but you can't know for sure.." We discuss a lot of things with our friends, our families.. What we hear from each other and the experiences we share creates an impression upon us. We hear stories, stories that sometimes entertain us, surprise us, make us laugh or cry, or feel for a character. Some generate phobias, and some instill courage in our hearts. Stories that make us think of a 'what if'. 'What if I was in that position? What if I had to make that decision? What if I had a few months to live?' Stories define us, and change the way we percieve the world, and of-course, life, as we know it. When I think back about the choices I've made, and the friends I have, I feel glad. I saw a short on child abuse, and I felt grateful for great parents. I heard a story of two people who didn...