Category — Personal

Finally got to watch Dasvidaniya. I know that people say it’s very similar to The Bucket List, but it is a wonderful film with Vinay Pathak at his best. It is really is a charming film charming tale of a man spending his final few months – doing what he always wanted to do. If you had missed it on the big screen, try getting a copy of the DVD which is out now.

But Dasvidaniya makes me think – if I knew I had just three more months to live – thanks to illness, an astrologer or the Big Bang Experiment – what are the three things I would like to do – before I finally retire.

For the moment, I really can’t make up my mind – because the list seems to be endless. So I might put the question to you:

What are the three things you would like to do, if you knew that you have just a few months to go before you say Dasvidaniya?

My personal congratulations to President George W. Bush for managing to avoid the pair of size 10 shoes in Baghdad.

Let me assure you – avoiding two shoes hurled at you at quick succession is no easy task. I have been trained to avoid shoes, belans and every other kitchen weapon hurled at me for the past eight years. And the success ratio – after so many years of rigorous practice is just around 35%.

GWB did well – very well in fact. I don’t remember many times when I have avoided two projectiles in quick succession.

But that reminds of the times when my neighbours ask me – why do you and your wife keep laughing at the middle of the night?

And I tell them the truth – when she hits, she laughs. When she misses, I laugh. Hysterically.

It is school admission time of the year in many parts of India – and this is the time when school officials conduct interviews of children and parents. The interviews, to be honest, have little to do with gauging abilities of children, and more to do with figuring out the paying capabilities of parents. But here’s one incident I have just heard.

A doctor couple – who are a bit stricter than usual with their 5 year old son, took him to the customary school admission interview.

The interviewer kept asking question after question to the 5 year old genius – but the child simply didn’t utter a word in answer. Even routine questions like “what is your name” came up with no response. He simply kept mum throughout the session – and that prompted the interviewer to ask if the child had speech problems. The parents answered in the negative an swore that the child was a very talkative kind – and knew answers to all the questions asked. Maybe he was just overwhelmed by the scenario, they said.

The parents returned home with the child – feeling extremely embarrassed at their son’s performance in his first ever interview. They let off steam at the kid – shouted at him for letting him down.

When everything settled down after a while, the father politely and gently asked him – beta, why didn’t you answer the questions there – especially when you knew the answers.

The kid, grinned and shot back – Kaise band bajaa dee maine aap dono ki?

My name is Manish. And I have little idea on why people call me Manishwa. But I get called names that are a lot more worse.

This is an experimental blog. I have no idea on what to blog about. So I might end up writing about everything I like, dislike and am indifferent to. And given the fact that I am a mega-megalomaniac like most bloggers are, I might write a lot more about myself than anything else. Hope you can tolerate that.

For those who have read me on other blogs, I would like to do things a bit differently for now – at least for a few days till I make up my mind on what this blog is going to be all about. Most posts will not be long-lengthy columns. This has two advantages. It saves my time. And it saves your troubles as well – as you don’t have to waste a lot of time out here.

I am not even sure how long this site would run. For, I have lately aborted a number of projects I have started – all because I easily get bored.

So, till Manishwa.com lasts, enjoy the blogwa.

- Manish