Poem: The funny 'reel' world...

Most reels are about the lead pair,

which take you to a rosy dreamy lair.

In real, hero would appear the villain

all valiant attempts ending in vain.

The heroine aloud in a room praying

the hero is touched 'accident'ly seeing

the hero does a socially good deed

and who hears of it but the heroine indeed!

When the villain makes plans to smear

rest assured, the heroine will overhear

her heart shattered she will shed a tear

and to comfort her the hero will be near.

The hero will have a dramatic flashback

which on reel will be a very touching track

The hero always has a clever knack

he wins the prize and even some snack.

On train the hero will find a girl suitable

who would eventually be acceptable

In real the train coach is full of elderly

whom the guy might help ably.

In reel every little thing is noticed

but in real major things are missed

In reel someone might whisper

but in real not even a whimper.

Like someone to help does a sacrifice

but no one else will know the price

person might have spent many a dime

or by spending a lot of their prime time.

In reel the lead pair may hate

but a common friend will help them mate

explaining hardships the sacrificer had to endure

and good feelings will soon start to nurture.

When you don't hear from someone

someone who you feel is a loved one

you spend hours at end engrossed in worry

no one ever knows ur concern, even 'accidentally!

The guy for hours will silently pray

for the girl to never have dismay

whatever the guy does with noble intention

the girl is suspicious, stranger than fiction

There will be less positive accidents

and rare indeed are any coincidents

but nothing lost, just keep yourself busy

and one day like in the reel u might get lucky!

- SS.

Poem: Qualms of a pretty girl

Qualms of a pretty girl

One might frequently envy

when seeing a girl pretty,

one who is tough and gritty

and cracks jokes witty.

Partner picking you think is easy,

they cud demand for anyone rosy.

People around them often flock,

and they r pretty in jeans and frock.

But life ain’t easy, she faces a flip side,

many guys propose her to be bride.

It happens for her all too often

with everyone trying to woo and soften.

And if she is one imbibed in traditions,

to her is important parents conditions.

Religion, region and caste to her will matter

coz she doesn't want her parents to shatter.

Every guy's proposal will cause her pain,

bcoz she knows a relationship is in vain.

With such a burden she will feel abject,

and even the right guy she might reject.

Guys pop daily, some serious some flirt,

she knows that a reject might cause hurt.

The hurt she caused brings her sorrow,

which she hides in her little heart in a burrow.

Some guys propose repeatedly like a lunatic,

makes her fear that they mit take steps drastic.

At some point it causes her irritation,

and she loses her charm in agitation.

If only the guys would have a little restrain,

and leave the decision to her to take without strain.

It would let her inner self blossom,

and help her shine bright and awesome.

For her it is a matter of moving ahead,

Along life’s interesting twisted thread.

Not feel bad about the things gray,

but smile for the things beautiful today.

Poem: The power and pain of silence

The power and pain of silence

When someone doesn't speak a word,

you kind of have a feeling weird

and wonder if you did some wrong

to make their mood go bong.

In anger you might see violence

the cause of concern makes sense

but nothing compares to silence

where the problem might be immense.

You wish they would utter something

else your mind thinks of everything

was it this or was it that

you wish u had an answer pat.

It hurts you deep within bad

you sink into an ocean sad

when someone u feel is a good friend

behaves strange in an odd trend.

A hundred times to the past you rewind,

straining to the limit your mind,

hoping to get a clue of some kind,

hoping the problem you will find.

Did you do wrong a particular moment

or was it a thoughtless comment

was it something you could've prevent

it keeps hurting you bad like a serpent.

If the person were to explode,

their mind becomes easy to decode.

You wish they'd loosen and unload,

so that they'd break out of moods sorrowed.

But all you can do is fervently pray

that they are soon out of dismay

and hopefully in future someday

their silence will give way.

Inflation - 6 (19 Feb)

Washington apples have gone up to Rs.150; on par with our Shimla apples. Fuji still holds at Rs.130

Brinjal rate remains the same, but almost the entire tray seemed to be infected by pests - I'm not from an agriculture background, but the holes and brown scars on all of them seemed to be signs that something was wrong.

Beans was in plenty; price has crashed. So I guess inflation might probably drop down - maybe the stock markets will get a boost but they have the problem of corruption and scams to digest! Bitter gourd doesn't seem to be in stock - price gone up to Rs.35/kg.

I have reduced the weightage for chillies and small onions since we don't use them in equal quantities compared to other vegetables.

Inflation - 5 (12th Feb)

(click on the image to see it full size)

I just realized I missed bitter gourd - that costs Rs.22/kg. Will keep a watch on that - not sure if I find it in the store regularly.

It was amusing to see a couple of people trying to pick vegetables in exact amounts - one lady was looking for a perfect 1kg tomato and a guy was try to pick something for an exact 100grams; there was an unmanned weighing machine that customers could use.

The ladies finger today seemed to have some sort of damage - most of them had black holes; in fact 2 out of the 3 trays were filled with them. Rates have gone down a little but the veggies didn't seem that fresh. Shimla apples continue to be at 150 while Washington apples have gone up to 140; Fuji still stays at 130. Indian black seedless grapes are Rs.100 per kg and they were very sweet today.

Guys on bike, with pretty girls sitting behind don't seem to care about traffic signs or rules - they just criss cross without looking at anything and without helmets. One slight bump by a car and their lives could change drastically - but they hardly seem to be worried about it; risk their lives and their partner's life as well.

I've added the food inflation that is declared every week - this reflects the inflation 2 weeks back. So the inflation figure released in the 3rd week of Jan is actually inflation rate at the 1st week of Jan.

Inflation - 4 (Feb 5)

(you can click on the image to view it in a larger format)

Nothing major this week - just a few major changes; peas, bottle gourd, small onions and brinjal. Lot of kids in the veggie shop along with their dads! Yes - more dads with kids compared to moms - times are changing :-)

I heard that the rates in the central market (which is quite a long drive from the heart of the city) have fallen heavily. But the effect hasn't yet reflected in the veggie shops in the main part of the city. Same was the case of onions - it took a week for the price to dip here. An example of 'price stickiness' perhaps - it is easier for a shop to raise prices, but lowering prices doesn't happen that easily.

Imported apple still stays the same 130. Funny thing is that Shimla apples are 150 but apples coming from far away lands cost 130 - yeah; some would argue that Washington apples have that wax to make them shiny and so it is not good to buy them. And to counter that argument Washington apples have put up notices saying that the wax they use is just a tiny amount and it is approved by some agency and all. But there are Fuji apples which are not waxed that also cost 130 - so imported apples still seem better than domestic ones, price wise.

And just a note - none of the veggies listed above are prepacked veggies; prepacked veggies sometimes cost more.

I've got figure out a way of creating a nice index based on this - for now i've just put an average cost taking into account all the vegetables listed.

Inflation - 3 (Jan 29)

Finally some respite!

Some good improvement on prices or should I say some good decrease in prices - most notable is onion, tomato and drumsticks! Perhaps the measures taken by the Government are taking effect - let's wait and watch.

I haven't added green leave items (like Palak/spinach) since these don't appear in the market regularly; and also green chillies and garlic has been left out since we don't use them regularly. The list of 27 items I think should be good.

Inflation - 2 (22nd Jan)

After two weeks I think I pretty much have the list of veggies that one would typically buy. I had to make a second round to note down prices I missed on my first trip!

Seems interesting - there did seem to be plenty of beans and capsicums in the shop and the prices reflect it. Onions still seem to be pretty high though I thought measures were taken specifically to control onion prices in the last week; hasn't worked yet!

Inflation - 1 (17th Jan)

Buying some food items (or commodities as they are called) for home I just had this thought, "Why not keep track of the prices?" We hear about inflation almost daily; so I just thought of keep track of my own inflation and comparing with what is reported. Is it really 18% or something lower or something even higher?

So here goes the first one:

Once we have some good amount of data collected we could make our own inflation index!

Sold? Uh...

The news was flashed repeatedly on the bottom of the screen:

"Ganguly and Lara unsold at end of Day 1".

And then it went on, "Gambhir sold for Rs. 11 crore"

Doesn't it sound odd? No, not that Lara was still up for grabs but the very use of the word "sold"? Buying people and they selling themselves to the teams?

It just sounds so unprofessional and unethical to hear that a person was sold for some amount of money. It reminds of something that existed once upon a time and is even now existing in different forms across the globe - slavery. People used to be put up for sale and could be bought by a process of bidding - pretty much what happens in an auction. The more able the person, the more price to be paid. The only difference now is that the money goes to the player whereas in those days it went to the slave dealer.

I still don't get it as to how everyone in the system accepts this concept of "being sold"; couldn't they think of better words? You buy and sell commodities, not people. And you aren't buying a player; it's similar to just paying the player for their service for the team. Couldn't they say, "Gambhir signs a contract for 11 crores" or "Gambhir strikes a deal for 11 crores"? I'm sure they have enough people who could come up with better alternatives than saying "sold".