Romantic Cemetary

till death do us part

People go lengths to prove their love. Death is as far as it gets. Ask Romeo, Juliet, Pyramus and Thisbe, Laila, Majnu (Indian Context), and many others whom history and modernity has forgotten mercilessly. But lately, with practicality creeping in, romanticism has taken the back seat. Not that I thought that death was romantic anyway.
Talking of the length lovers go to, here is one recent incident. This one is not to be remembered for the extremity of the incident, but for the tinge of humour in it, if you can find it at all.

A colleague of mine, Amit - an art director, is getting married in a month or two. His fiancée is a news reporter with one of the channels. A cute young couple – made for each other kinds. One fine evening, in the middle of the campaign he gets a call. He jumps up, rushes towards the television and switches it on. “Guys, she is anchoring an exclusive.” Okay. All eyes turned towards the television. The title appeared, “Corpse Robbers.”
What on earth? We watched it, whether we liked it or not we did. That was how much excited the guy was about it. And why shouldn’t he be? It is his girlfriend on television. Even if it wasn’t the most romantic of places you would like to see your girlfriend, a rugged graveyard of all the places, it was his fiancée.

The programme, in contrast to the name, was really interesting. It was about a bunch of thugs who made a living out of selling fresh bones dug out of the graves, to medical students. A little bit of controversy lingered. Nice feature.

After half an hour of stand still, the office came back to life.( Obviously because we were literally buried in a cemetery.) Amit’s phone rang. It was her. What would she have asked? “Darling, did you check my dress out,” “Were I any good,” or “Which one of the corpses did you like,” or “Did you see that long dirty femur? It still had rotting flesh on it.” Not one of them thought the way I thought and made fun of Amit who was busy appreciating his fiancée’s effort and bravery in the grave. I broke into a laugh while every one looked at me as if I was laughing at my grandfather’s funeral. Well, what was so funny anyway?

There are lot of ways to express one’s love. Whatever way it might be, it should never go unexpressed. If it can be expressed by commenting about a corpse, so be it.

Note: This is completely senseless. I think it is black humour or maybe it is blank humour or maybe it is just because I felt like writing on it. It is like a movie which has three scripts, each by a writer of a different genre or something like that. Who wants to know?

Democrazy!

walking the line called bias...

“And the winner is…,” screams the television anchor. Who is he trying to kid anyway? Why should he engage in all the histrionics and try and create suspense when the tale has already been told. Let me introduce you to the latest trend in the entertainment industry – Interactive Television. Game shows, music competitions, quiz shows and even beauty pageants, the audience has a say in them all. Let me not understate. The audiences give the final word.

The moment I switch on my television to watch my favourite show, a plethora of ads greet me. Vote for your best singer, the best quizzer, the most beautiful woman and so on.
Participants themselves shed out a bag of well rehearsed emotions in an attempt to reach the heart of the millions watching and en route maximise the number of votes. Tales of a lost childhood, fulfilling the wishes of one’s parents, a dream that never came true, a handicapped brother, charity funds you have never heard of(fund for homeless aliens from Glitula) and in some cases, more than a little skin show – a few of the tactics employed by the participants to grab their share of sympathy and votes. It won’t be long before a butcher who thinks that the notes in music are printed by the reserve bank of India will have the final say in deciding the best young singer of the country.

‘Sa re ga ma’ until recently staged the platform for exciting young singers to display their trade. Talented musicians rated them and eliminated the relatively lesser performers. Till the final round, everything was fine. And then there was interactive television. Presumably, a male oriented audience voted out the best of the male singers keeping the charming, voluptuous one on the stage. The butcher I mentioned earlier is quite certainly one of them. Quite sad! This is not an event to be singled out. This is just one of the instances among many.

Where are the channels headed? If the channels are planning to hike their TRP in the process, they might be very successful. But in the process they are losing the little credibility left in them. If they are doing it under the pretext of democracy, giving people the power, let them remember that power corrupts. Democracy may not be achieved, but democrazy definitely has been.

Sundance

the cabin on the hill

Let me take you out for a date with nature. Let me take you to a place where you can get away from life and still be at the heart of it. A place straight out of one of those fantasy movies. Where streaks of the sun creep in through the morning fog; where the clouds kiss the lakes; where the mountains cuddle beneath a yellow carpet of blossoms.

Let me take you to Sundance – the cabin on the hill

Getting to Sundance: All journeys to the cabin are by the Wildacres 4-wheel drive vehicles that have proved themselves in negotiating the rugged terrain for years. The trail to Sundance is not for the faint-hearted; but you will know that the risk was more than worth taking once you reach there. The alternative is to hire a Deccan chopper(for once who burn money for firewood); a helipad zone has been demarcated for this. YOur jeep won't take you to the door. It will just drop you a few metres away. Trudge through the jungle for a few yards and there you are.

Sundance - The Cabin on the hill: The experience welcomes you right from the veranda (the only place in the cabin where you will find more glass than wood). 3 steps from the ground shall take you to the cabin’s veranda, turn around and your eyes will take you for a breathtaking ride over the lakes and the hills.

You enter into a large hall to face a fireplace right in the center. The neatly furnished living room and the dining area lie on either side. If the smell of fresh wood hasn’t tickled your nostrils yet, it will now. You will walk down into the coziest bedroom, with windows just large enuff to let in the light to awaken you from the slumber. Right next to it is the kitchen. That is strictly if you think your cooking is much better than the wonderful delicacies provided by your caretaker. Let me remind you that the caretaker and his wife are rare sightings who appear only at your beckoning.

Neighborhood: The occasional conversations you strike with a fish too close to the lake shore, eavesdropping on what the wind has to say or what the birds are chirping about, or shaking hands with a Sambhar which has decided to drop is as much a neighborhood experience you will have here. If you can’t wait a minute before seeing a fellow human being, which is seldom the case as you are mesmerized by the sights, you can either summon your caretakers to visibility or go on a 30-minute drive to the Wildacre farm.

Cabin Dwelling: The blissful solitude of the cabin can be enjoyed to the fullest by a couple. But up to six is never a crowd at this delightful place. The couch and the dining area will obediently turn themselves into bedrooms.

Dos and a few Donts:

Dos: You can do almost everything you’d do in a place where there is more wilderness than anything else in company. Fishing, lazing around the woods, catching the cool breeze at the lakeside or you can just take the telescope tucked in the corner of your veranda and lose yourself into nature. You have a cabin to come back to after the journey! If you have a mate, you need no reason to come back.

The few Donts:
Don’t bring your pets. Leopards love little dogs for breakfast, lunch n dinner.
It’s a great place for children to get a complete experience of nature, although I would advise against it as well. Leopards are fond of anything little. If you know what I mean.


NOW THE FUNNY PART:

I have never been to this place. I have seen plenty of photographs and also heard a little about it from my boss.

What are you waiting for? Indulge.