Day 4: 7 Wants
3 down 7 more to go. Who doesn’t want more in life? Today’s about 7 wants of my life. Well, a couple of years back I did start putting together a bucket list – a list of 100 things to do before I die, only penned down about 56 and I looked at it again this afternoon, quite a few of those have been fulfilled. But when I had to pick 7 of those, it set me thinking and I actually ended up adding a few to that list ! Some of these as always are practical and some of them are whimsical !
1. Be an Author someday !
A friend of mine recently said I need to start putting my writing skills to better use (in his words: Contribute to the company’s newsletter) and my reaction was “Thats it? I want to do something bigger !” and again, the other day I was talking to another friend of mine about alternate careers, doing something you really “want” to do, not just thinking about it but taking the plunge and doing it ! This is something I truly want to do one day. The most I have done is contribute a couple of short stories to a publication. Sometimes I think of eventually penning down a whole novel and yet other days I feel like I want to write a childrens book.
2. Visit Greece
When I told Mom about this, she told me Greece is now the most debt-ridden and bankrupt nation in the world. Well bankrupt or not, I still want to visit Greece. I admit I have only seen the Santorini in pictures, but to me standing on the rooftop of the highest villa and looking out over the ocean on a beautiful day has to be the most romantic sight. Pati ko Patao mission is in progress !
3. Teach basic English to 11th/12th grade students at C
Mom used to teach Economics at this college in Mumbai that I’ll just refer to as C. I once attended a lecture a couple of years back just to get a feel and I was appalled at the level of English these kids knew. Even though Mom was teaching Economics, she had to sometimes pause, spell out basic English words, explain the meaning and then proceed. So many of those kids were from Non-English medium schools and struggled to grasp basic concepts when they were thrown headlong into an English medium Junior College. It continues to be a roadblock when such kids try to make it at a global level. The incident left a very deep impression on my mind that day and this continues to be a serious “want” in my life. When I return back to India, I plan to atleast start with a bunch of 4-5 kids. Why C? Because of having spent so much time there due to my Mom, being a part of the annual activities, knowing the teachers, I feel like there’s an inner connection. Its the least I can do. Mom has retired since but this connection has become a legacy.
4. Play the Bin Tere – The slow version on the guitar
Tee hee ! Giggle. A mix of real and fanciful. Ever since I have heard that song being strummed on the guitar I have fallen in love with it and there’s no other song I would love to play. I will be the first admit that I know not a thing about strumming. I did attempt to learn once and borrowed a “Guitar for dummies” video from the local library and promptly returned it unused after 3 weeks. Lethargic me ! But ah, someday ! For folks unfamiliar with the song: Its from the movie “I Hate Luv Stories” – well, the movie is a big bore, but the song is beautiful. I didn’t like it the first time but the more I heard it, the more I started to fall in love !
5. Churn butter in an authentic village setting in Punjab
LOL ! Deepa’s been watching too many Hindi serials or she’s completely smitten by Bollywood. Well, maybe not so much, but this is definitely one “want” which has come out of those. A completely chimerical want. But wouldn’t that be fun. Churning butter, drinking lassi, makki de roti, sarson da saag, running in the fields .. oooh fairy-talish ! Don’t you dare laugh !
6. Eat gracefully with chopsticks.
Whenever I try this, I probably look all funny. I have attempted this n number of times yet everytime I do, I get so conscious I feel clumsy even though am not. I do not spill yet I feel like the world around me is watching me and just waiting with bated breath to see my next goofy act !! Someday I want to be able to eat without feeling all that unseen weight !!
7. Swim the length of a pool and back !
Yet another activity where my psychological fears get the better of me. Swimming is a very important skill I feel every human should know. You never know when it could come handy. I wish I had learnt this when I was young and a quick learner. Learning is so much easier as a kid. I tried to learn when I had joined work, but the only all-female courses in the gymkhana were at 10:00 AM so that was that. I have since learned some from friends, now I can confidently swim the breadth of the pool, I know to float, yet the minute I sense like I have crossed the 5.5 ft mark to the deeper end, I lose confidence in myself and swim back. One day I want to be able to swim laps and this one I will !
My 58 item so-far bucket list is still a living document and will continue to grow and hopefully I would be able to mark items off that list in good time !!!! 6 places to follow !
I would love to hear your views!
Pradeep: Just realized that I never responded to your comment. Yep, I agree, e-book medium has become a huge seller now. So many authors are writing specifically for it nowadays !
Makki d Roti n Sarson d Saag .. really? I have to reconsider then ! LOL 🙂 Will let you know how it goes !
I will have to youtube the Amru way of handling chopsticks. Never knew there were 2 different ways ! 🙂
Pt1 is something in my wants too. And emra bhi wahi dilemma hain–adult novel ya childrens book.
Adult fiction likhne ka patience nahin hain, isliye childrens novel se start kar sakthe hain.
U shd write yaar, u write very well.
Pt3 is something I want to do when I return to India, teach poor kids, had joined an NGO when in mumbai but could not go regularly.
pt 5 padke hansi aayi- truly filmi style
I too tried learning guitar now it's at my home catching dust.
Abhi Anand said pe aa gaya? Isse accha to anonymickeymouse hi tha ! 🙂 I know, I kind of figured the Chetan Bhagat thing was a co-incidence 🙂
Bet ke liye circumstances to maine hi create kiya na, waise bhi you owe me so many pani puris now, ek aur se tera kya jaayega 🙂
Nice to meet u Sonzzzz..(kuch toh zzzz karke sone jaisa hai :D)
Abb tuneh naam bolke poora anonymity ka poptesh kar diya..
and even before i read ur example of chetan bhagat, i commented the same!
and bet tere se nahi lagaya tha- toh kaahe paani poori doon bhai?
and main yeh sab likh nahi sakta yaar-mera writing skills really suck… so please, do not embarrass me in public forums..it doesnt make a good introduction 😛
BTW, Chetan Bhagat likh sakta hain to koi bhi likh sakta hain. I am not saying he's not good, but its absolutely simple English, simple stories, down to earth saada writing ! Famous ho gaya yeh uska good luck hain ! Its just that he had the guts to kick a well paying job and go into what he wanted to do !
Oye hero ! Want does not have to be realistic ! Its just something I want ! Useless ! Khudh hi bol raha tha alternate career bs ! Ab kya farak padta hain successful hota hain ki nahi, try maarne mein kya jaayega !
And places is places I have already visited 😛
Tujhe yeh sab karne bola to ho gaya bas phir to ! Saare posts ek jaise hi honge !
Sonali meet Anand (Andy) – Andy meet Sonali (Sonz) ! Waise Andy, kitne match honge karke bet lagaya tha? BTW, even though we agrees on each other's, we didnt really match on any this mine 😛 To tu saare paise haar gaya, add one more plate of paani puri to the stuff you owe me !
I want 1 too .. lets write something together 🙂
I tried guitar for 2 months and left it coz my fingers started paining(just an excuse) then I bought a casio and its enjoying a non visited corner in a room .
Tried so hard to learn swimming and finally gave up … but I yearn to swim too !!
Where is this 'Sonz'…?? More than your blog i look forward to 'sonz's comments'…
This time i have bet some money on how many out of 7 would be a match for Sonz… 😛 😀 :))
Cheers!
Ano ni mouse mingymouse
Author- wah! This so much sounds like all the guys coming to bambai to become hero heroin! Bhidu, mehnat lagta hai author bann ne…jee tod mehnat and lagan (like Aamir Khan did for IPS in Sarfarosh)…(lagaan nahi-lagan) sing chana khaane jaisa nahi hai!
There are a million (Mn is an understatement) people who write blogs, logs etc..and with the internet medium being a big enabler, being an author looks tough…Igate Patni tak theek hai, ho jaega:)
Have you read Roald Dahl? One of the best ‘horror’ genre author who also wrote brilliant children books! Does that solve the dilemma of novel ya children’s book?
Greece debt ridden hai!! Yeehh!! Khareed loh!!
On 3- Yinglish yis naat yevarything… Europeans still survive, right?! But ya, the thought of getting them to a global level is good!
I read 5- before 4- so am laughin and cant comment on either!
6- try eating one bowl full of – what you south Indian guys call ‘Rasam rice’!
And please- 6 places mein Greece include kar dey copy paste karke- work smart and not hard 😛
Cheers!
Ano minus
Abt 1. Maybe everyone knows this, but Jyothi was telling me her English sir from school still publishes books..not for sale, you just pay and get it published..and he gifts it to students who are interested..why don't you Deepa..I think now I might, even to get the feel of something I've written, and donate it to the library and keep checking how many borrowed it hehe. But thinking about it, in today's world less and less people will buy a book..and people have less time or attention spans..short stories and light-reading, garnered to the e-book or internet reader might be smart…plus Deepa, you have a knack for these mediums per your writing style..
Makki d Roti n Sarson d Saag..believe me, it only tastes good to the actors in Bollyfilms..I had once in an authentic place and it was yuck (no offense to those who do)..no wonder its not served in regular north indian joints…just go for paratha and palak when u live out your fantasy 😛
Chopsticks..start with how the Amrus do it..handling it as fork/spoon..my wife does it super..while I struggled to do as the Orients do, and have given up..