An apple for the 'evil' one

I bought this new pen today...  and i noticed something as I sat down to write with it.


I wanted to write.


Not because I had an inspiration. But because I had this new pen.

It is highly amusing to know however, that I do not enjoy writing on paper. I type. The keyboard is my best friend.

It would be interesting to create something like that. You know...something which makes people want to use it despite the fact that they don't really need it. It is fun to make it 'become' a need. A need that has no source, no reason but greed itself. Like a guilty pleasure. Something they can't explain. But make up reasons to explain.

Interesting it would be to watch someone do that. Fabulous, though, it will be to to create something that makes someone do something as interesting. I guess one needs to be as sadistic to be this creative. Its an interesting thought though. A perfectly naughty one too. I almost feel like sniggering as I type or no let me rephrase that: 'as I write this down.

You need to be sadist enough to want to see people do that... Or naughty enough to want to watch them pine for what you've made. Infact...be flabbergastingly disobedient enough to not care about customer treatment. Customers need to be treated like the greedy li'l monsters they are underneath that snooty, cool exterior that walks down the aisle, minding their manners.

Create somthing...to not satisfy but intensify the sweet tooth. Its funny what an interesting thought this pen generated. A sorry li'l pen...a so called Uniball Jetstream, sought out from yet another sad lot of Uniballs crowded together in one container, almost rudely; was actually destined to trigger this revelation for me. I certainly do believe in Fate now. : P

Its amazing what inspirations can do. I imagine these accidental inspirations, these bouts of greed, like my pen incident, are actually the mothers of fabulous ground breaking creations. For instance, The Harry Potter maybe...(I heard she thought of him in a train)...or the Nash theory perhaps...or even Isaac Newton's apple for heaven sake! I mean...an apple???? You have GOT to be kidding me. That dead old scientist fellow owes a mighty big one to that apple.

Greed...sadism...unruliness....no wonder creativity was once damned by religion. If we all followed the ten commandments a little too well....no apple would be generation no idea out of anybody's head. No offence to Jesus Christ of course.

All I'm saying is; it is necessary to have a little bit of greed, a li'l lust...a li'l twang of naughtiness to live that li'l peace of 'heaven' where YOU are the God and yours is the creation. The real one can go take care of the world for a change. (I'm definitely getting struck by lightning today...adios dear friends!)

I guess, disobedience doesn't come out to be such a bad thing after all. A hint of evil never hurt any one. It gave me another article for my blog...might just end up being even better for you... : D

Snippet

Nigel: "So quit"

Andy: "What?"

Nigel: "Quit. I know another girl who would take your job in 5 mins....one who really wants it."

Nigel:   "Oh Andy, be serious. You are not trying...you are whining. What is it that you want me to say to you, huh? Should I say: "Poor you..Miranda's picking on you. Poor you. Poor Andy. Hmm? Wake up! She is just doing her job. Don't you know that you're working at a place that published some of the greatest artists of the century? Walsten, Lagerfeld, Galerentta. What they did, what they.... created was greater than art. Because, you live you life in it....Well not YOU, obviously. You think this is just a magazine? hm? this is not just a magazine. This is a shining beacon of hope for, oh I don't know, lets say a yong boy growing up in Rhode Island with 6 brothers pretending to go to soccer practice when really going to sewing classes and reads 'Runway' under the covers with a flashlight. You have no idea how many legends have walked these doors and whats worse...you don't care. Coz this place, where so many people would die to work, you're only  staying to work. And you want to know why she doesn't kiss you on the forhead and give you a gold star on your homework at the end of the day. Wake up sweety."

                                                                                                                         ---"Devil wears Prada", when Andy complains to Nigel about Miranda giving her a hard time.

One of my favourite line from the movie. Well said! bald old homosexual guy... ;)

Scissors, paper and A NIFTian

Knowing you have the power to create. How does that feel? Hmmm....dam good I bet.

I wonder at the smooth strokes of the pencil in my hand as it moves over the canvas. Just listen to the subtle crunch of the scratches. The way the lead crumbles over paper...a delicious way of marking territory. Or maybe take notice of the cracking of scissors against fabric. Crumb. Crumb. Crumb.

Reassemble your thought. Bring it to focus. Adjust your eyes to a new world. I am a student of second year, fashion design, at 'The' National Institute of Fashion Technology, Delhi.

And today I look at fabric like never before. I see how it drapes itself seductively over a woman's bust. I see it enhancing every curve...every move...centering closer and closer to one thing; Not an everyday necessity...but this wild, aching, itching need to be downright irresistable.

Clothes don't cover you...they just uncover you at the right places. I close my fists around the fabric and let it loose again. It slips down my skin and falls obediently. It lingers before it falls. Registering the smooth, silken texture on my senses. And I'm taken. I pick it up again and I know I've found my best friend.

Tailoring can, to an outsider, seem painfully vile. You bet I thought so too some few months ago, when I dreaded sitting in front of a sewing machine and dreamt countlessly of getting my nails sewed to the fabric. Ouch.

But when those stitches popping up on the fabric, glueing it together...to finally. finally become a garment. A garment of your own. Your creation. Yours alone. I won't take a million dollars to let go of that feeling. Or maybe... *wink*

However, a month or so ago, I dare say I would've also given anything to never feel it too. It hasn't exactly been a rosy ride. In NIFT, it never is. Like I say, aspirers be warned. You are entering one of the best and the toughest years of your student life. In this college, the professors have this amazing knack of throwing you into something entirely alien with the ease of a perfectly cruel sadist. They watch you writhe and struggle before suddenly interrupting and squishing you all over again.

Scary? Believe me, it is. I have struggled with 11 redos for basic bodices and literally walked the Nift Corridors, jumpy and agitated, almost on the peak of a panic attack. Every class began with a small prayer and ended with a mighty curse. Or maybe a cruel smack on the back of a friend in excuse for a hi. They stomp all over you, don't give attendance if you're a painful 2 minutes late, and make sure they remind you what a pathetic batch of kids you are. They will ridicule you, never acknowledge the fact that you work, and call you dull and unmotivated. In short, your self belief plummets down to the depths of non recovery. Mine did. All I did was work like a donkey, praying for a perfect fit, even in my dreams(literally).

I would spend countless minutes everyday wondering if I made the wrong choice. If this was the field for me? If fabric would ever behave when I was around? Or if my sewing machine was jinxed.

I watch "the Devil Wears Prada" and sympathise with Anne Hathaway as Meryl Streep walks all over her in her Prada pumps, making sure they pierce hard enough.

But then I also hear Nigel reminding Anne wear she is.

And then I wonder. If this is all part of the game? If it was never meant to be easy after all? This is after all "The" National Institute Of Fashion technology. They're not here to make it easier for you. NIFT is something you have to survive. Something you have to worship. It is your worst enemy and your best friend. Something you have to learn to admire. The sadist professors you have to learn to see with different eyes. Because, in the end it  makes you want to love fabric too. Tailoring seems like a perfectly admirable skill and draping cloth on a body seems like the best feeling in the world.

It gives you the power to create. What could be better than that? Nothing, I bet.

City Of Dreams..

Whether it was the impact of Jodhaa Akbar or maybe I really did have a fascination for palaces, kings and queens... I don’t remember anymore. But I do know that I’m in love with them now. Jaipur has exceeded my fantasies. It’s funny how I never thought about visiting Rajasthan before. NIFT has certainly changed the way I look at the world now. The passion to explore has grown into us. The visual arts have become more fascinating than ever. It’s weird how much a mere painting holds. In fact it’s funny how much the small smile of Mona Lisa says. The world is full of textures and colour...every song has the ability to be converted into a profound artwork. The power we hold! The power to express...to think...to see...humans are truly blessed.

18th December, 2008, I scoot down beside my friend from Jaipur in the bus...rather unsure of whether it was a good idea to come along. I’m half tempted to step off and get on the first bus to Chandigarh that I see. Maybe they are just goose-bumps...my first travelling experience without family. The engine roars and we’re off. I hold tight on my guts and take a deep breath. Bon Voyage.


5 hours later we’re sore from the continuous sitting. We’re on the outskirts of Jaipur and I get my first glimpse of the Pink City. It’s love at first sight. We cross loads of palaces which have been converted to hotels. My friend, who incidentally got through the first phase of NID with me, had researched a lot about her city before the interview. So she was my personal guide to her hometown. It’s amazing how much she knew! I got queasy again...only this time it was inferiority complex. :-) The first night went fairly well. New faces...awkward ‘namastez’...great malwari food...and then sleep. I sleep like everything around doesn’t exist. It’s just me and my black void. Sleep at home is indeed the sweetest of all. Though I do end up having a weird dream of meeting my EOD (Elements of Design) teacher’s kids...but that’s about it.


NAARGARH
Remember Rang De Basanti? The ever famous jumping into the water? Naargarh is the same place the shooting took place. The view from there is breathtaking. Jaipur is actually enclosed within the Arawali hills. One can just keep sitting there...and stare. Stare like a lecher if you have to. But in front of such beauty...manners don’t really come into the picture. It is one of the major hangout zones of the Jaipur youth. I envy them. Most intensely.



RAMGARH
Can you imagine this whole space filled up with water? If you can, good for you...if not, you better. Ramgarh was originally a dam that supplied water to a lot of parts in Jaipur. Now its all dried up and kilometres of land stretches out as far as the eye can see. You sit on the steps stacked up neatly on the banks of the original water body and I tell you it is breathtaking...The land just keeps on and on stretching and on account of the distant fogginess...i couldn’t even make out the horizon properly. So seemingly, it was never ending. That was exactly what I wanted to do. I wanted to be alone, just me and the vast expanse ahead of me. And i didn’t want it to end. Have always wanted to be in a place like that somehow... Nobody else just me and myself.But practically it couldn’t be...we had to get going....there was a lot of Jaipur waiting to be seen.


GAITOR KI CHATTRIYAN
Gaitor...this was my favourite destination after Naargarh; A small area which were probably constructed by kings as resting grounds for their queens. A very serene, quiet location....an excellent place for photography. I was so badly regretting not having a decent camera with me. Yet the feeling that you get just sitting there staring out at the Arawalis is one of its kind. Thankfully, cameras can’t completely grasp emotions. Otherwise people would stop going places. No one would want to move their asses for a first-hand experience. Sometimes imperfection itself is a blessing.

Thats why I sometimes don’t like the idea of making movies out of books. It just somehow steals the essence of the book itself. The first hand experience is lost since we’re too lazy to go through the entire thing. Short-cuts everywhere. Though I can’t entirely blame movies adapted from novels...as a self proclaimed harry potter fan in my early teens, I never would’ve known the books existed, had it not been for the first movie.

Anyway steering back to the main point... This is the view of Garh Ganesh, on whose foot lies Gaitor. One has to climb hundreds...maybe a thousand stairs to climb all the way up to the highest point of the mountain where the temple is situated.





Besides these major spots....I went around the city and saw the birla temple, the Art Centre, the fave hangout zone, Saras parlour. Dined at one of jaipur’s famous dhabas...Sharma dhaba. Visited the exquisite jal mahal and hawa mahal. But thanks to all my Jaipur buddies...Neha, Dhwaj, Abhinav, Sagar, Tanay, Pragya and Rajul for making it an excellent trip! The jalmahal icecream was a really amazing experience! I’m never gonna forget my icebreaker hot-seat and the dhwaj’s excellent driving skills. Neha you have inspired me to learn driving this very winter by hook or by crook! And ofcourse I’ve just realised there is still so much of Chandigarh that i myself haven’t seen. Funny, how we want to roam the world instead! I still have more than half of delhi to discover by the way... hehe. But I’m definitely going back to Jaipur. I haven’t had enough of it yet. In neha’s words: my journey stands “to be continued...”