This one was even more enjoyable since it came at the end of a 7 mile run.

… It’s is about learning to dance in the rain”.

With all due respect to Vivian Greene, I am not really down with the getting down thing… but I am totally up for getting out in the rains with a glass of wine and enjoy the feel of the cold sharp drops on the skin and the bald pate… as I get soaked to the skin…

She came in to the music room saying she would listen to some music with me…

… and landed up stealing the only one audience member I used to have.

I should have known better, for…

… this is exactly what she had done to my heart too twenty five years back …

I had just finished my tenth exams and my NTSE (National Talent Search Exam – a standardized test in India for earning scholarships for higher education) tests. On a whim, decided to visit Swarup-da in Bishnupur. Swarup-da was my teacher who helped me to appear for my NTSE tests.

I recollect vividly sitting outside his parents’ house in some dim light with his sister Shikha-di, his close friend – Lalmohan Agarwal and of course, himself. We were all sitting out in the open and listening to some unbelievable songs from the movie “Nikaah”. Helped by Lalmohan, we unraveled the meaning of the lyrics that evening. (Hindi was not the forte of any of the other three).

This is one of those great numbers that I listened to again this evening … from the haunting voice of Salma Agha.

“Dil ke armaan aansuon mein bahe gaye
Hum wafaa kar ke bhi tanha rahe gaye
Zindagi ek pyaas ban kar rahe gaye
Pyaar ke kisse adhoore rahe gaye
Shaayad unka aakhri ho yeh sitam
Har sitam, yeh soch kar ham sahe gaye
Khud ko bhi humne mita daala magar
Faasle jo darmiyaan the rahe gaye”

Roughly translated… (improvements welcome)

“My heart’s desires flowed down thru my tears
I was left alone even after putting my faith in you
Life remained for me as as an unquenched thirst
And my story of love remained incomplete for life
Hoping it would be the last blow (suffering) from him
I endured every last blow (suffering) from him
I obliterated my own self; and yet
The distance between us remained as unfathomable as ever”

1.
The Top ten countries are Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Switzerland, Finland, Netherlands, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Sweden.

Apparently, to be very happy, you need to live in shivering cold 🙂

2.
India (my birth country) is at rank #122. Its arch nemesis Pakistan is #80 and every other (much smaller) neighbor – Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and get this – Myanmar – has outranked it. Upon reading this, India slipped further 3 ranks this morning 🙂

3.
Finally, there is a curious correlation between per capita alcohol consumption and happiness index. I am not suggesting any causality. Just saying 🙂

For serious readers who want to read the article and how the indices are measured… here it is… http://s3.amazonaws.com/sdsn-whr2017/HR17_3-20-17.pdf

Looks like due to a bug in a plugin, all my personal posts were getting cross posted to LinkedIn!!!

…check out my Fitbit report of this Tuesday!!

Yeah! I have no idea either why Fitbit thinks I covered over 116 miles by foot that day!! Anybody else has had this experience?

I am talking about buggy reports not actually covering 116 miles in a day 🙂

There I was. Sitting down near my gate quietly in a chair watching people go by – causing no harm nor foul to anybody. Then I lifted my head to look at the blaring TV screen and Boom! it hit me! A full show going on about “Kissenger”. Apparently an app that lets you kiss somebody without they being there with you!! (http://www.mirror.co.uk/all-about/kissinger)

And I shook my head thinking…

First, they gave me social media and told me that I do not need to talk to any real human being…

Then they gave me Amazon and said I really do not need to talk to anybody to buy anything.

Even in my stores, I got “Self Checkout”. Apparently there is no need for me to meet a human being to pay for my stuff.

Then I got XBox. I was told I was wrong in assuming that I need a human being to play tennis against…

Even at the airport today, the machine printed out my luggage tags. No need to greet any of their agents. I can tag the luggage myself and throw it in.

And now this? I do not even need a human being to kiss any more?

In my next birth, can I just send my emoji to this world in my place and fast forward thru this automated life?