My first DUCATI

:)

:)

OK, it's just a pair of shoes,but it's DUCATI! :) And I am happy for finally having bought them! I have been thinking of buying something nice from Puma Ducati series but was always confused if I should really do that for different reasons. Sometimes I found them in green or blue which is certainly not Ducati colour, the red ones were so red that i didn't know when will I use them, sometimes the ones I found in Ahmedabad stores were so 'too much' that I just wanted to take that Ducati logo off from them, and almost all the time the price was beyond my budget! Ohh and once I decided no to buy them ever, after I watched the movie 'Children of Heaven'! hahaha...

Anyway, so yesterday When I actualy wanted (almost = needed) to buy a pair of shoes and didnt like anything other than the 2 Puma Ducati ones, the only option was to buy one of them! Sid acted like catalyst (even offering to contribute as my b'day gift! :), and I ended up buying these! Thank you Sid!

:)

The funny thing about these DUCATI shoes is, the instruction inside says,'Not recommended for riding!' hahaha....

I think I can't write any more meaningless and purposeless....

So thats it, and now I have something in July 2011 archive of my blog too! hooshhhhhhh...

ohh and before I conclude here is the newest and best from the Puma DUCATI series, which I would still love to buy (or rather be gifted) if it becomes available in India, The 'DUCATI Testastretta II' riding shoes. Dont miss the aluminum sole rim below heel and below puma cat in front! coollll, isnt it? :)

9 months

This post (questionnaire) is dedicated to (aimed at) my expecting friends, wives of my colleagues and some relatives etc. Somehow there are many of them this time! (recession?) ;) Enlighten me.

How does it feel, to know that something is growing fast inside your body? Something that you WANT to grow, something that is completely dependent on you, your life, you breathing, your eating. Something that is as good as your own body part, something that will give you a new identity!
How does it feel, to know that when it is fully developed and ready to see the light, it will be the most painful time in your life! And you still want it to grow, the piece of your flesh, which is being nourished on 'your' food, blood, thoughts! How does it feel to wait for that day? The day when you will get the pain, life and identity!
How does it feel to know this, so much in advance? Something that is even slowing down the time, feeling each minute, kicking inside you slowly! Something that demands and gets all your attention, all the time!
How does it feel to know, this is the closest you can ever hold a life to yourself, your own life! Perhaps something much more precious than your own life, because you know, you had never touched your own belly with so much care and love before this! And you know how exactly it feels to exist and move around in an almost different body for few months!
What is that feeling, that you exerience till that day of 'light', amongst all those uncertainties and huge expectations? How does it feel to simultaneously know and not know something? How does it feel to know that only half the human beings can experience this? that is if you didn't consider a farmer's experience and situation worth comparing. The farmer who buries all his earnings in the soil and expects some life to emerge from there! The life that will probably save his life and few more!
How does it feel to end something good, expecting something better will start? And to be mentally ready, rather willing for it, 9 months in advance!

(update: Aakanksha gave me this link to a supposedly amazing video named 'in the womb'. Will watch it soon!)

TOUCH sensitive

when was the last time?

you dipped your fingers in a bottle of paint,

and left an almost alive trail on the white paper,

slowly feeling the dryness of paper

or may be of your finger!!

when was the last time?

you felt like biting into the chocolate-soft brick of clay you just made.

or almost licked the remains on your fingers!

and kept re-touching that still-wet vase infinitely,
just because you liked that touch so much!

when was the last time?

you tried cleaning that old antique brass bowl

with some dry coarse powder,

till it turned into a glossy yellow surface!

and smelled fascinating new!

when was the last time?

you made a bunglow of brand new playing cards,

with utmost careful breathing and your gentle hands,

or tried picking up the the glass jar broken into pieces

and learnt what 'careful' actually means!

when was the last time?

your touch gave some life to the material,

and brought a smile on your face,

and realised that sensitivity of your touch,

can do much more than the rectangle on your laptop!

Both images from 'Preschool Crafts' website

the child within us....

"The greatest gift you can give yourself is to retain the wonder of childhood and add that to adult experience" Because children have no preconceptions - their minds are blank and they fill them up. And that is a wonderful thing about watching them grow up. They are amazed at everything! And really, as you get older, and you add the discipline of being a designer, you add design skills, you add the skill of analysis, but if you retain that original child-like ability to be absolutely fascinated with new things, then you can maintain your curiosity, and your inventive, creative energy your whole life.

-Syd Mead (the great maestro of concept design world. He is 75 and still delivers his great hand sketches and renders to big manufacturing and entertainment industries))

'Salaam Bombay' by Mira Nair

This quite old (1988) movie is dedicated to the children on the streets of Bombay.

Everything (almost) in this movie feels so real, as if not even the smallest kid is 'acting'. Manju, the little daughter of a prostitute, krishna, the small boy struggling to earn Rs.500 so that he can go to his hometown, and those boys living life of roadside 'gundas' or 'mawalis'... all of them just fit perfectly in their own roles, very naturally. Reminds me of DoorDarshan (DD) TV serials in childhood. And why not, there are actors from DD!

This movie, unlike others shows a little different image of Bombay. That of more like a 'trap' and helplessness than 'attraction' or 'addiction' or 'wealthy and fascinating city'.

There are certain sequences which are very hard to forget for me.

e.g. the one in which manju's mother asks the lady authority ' Wo meri beti hai, government 'ma' kaise ban sakti hai?'

and the one in which krishna returns to his adda from remand home and finds a 'new' boy who calls himself 'chillam'. For everyone in and outside movie, chillam was a character who died some 20 minute back in the movie. Everyone is replaceable!!! individual doesn't matter to city, its just a personal matter!!!

Reminds me of many children singing songs and begging and selling something or the other inside local railway compartments...

The movie doesn't give any solution, but it does a better job, of making you think!!!

Somehow I am attracted towards 'Teach IndiA' campaign even more strongly.