Mixed bag of joys

“Tumhe aise kitne din yaad hai Roy, Your first job, pehla suit, pehli salary? Jab tumne ek ladki ko pehli baar chooa, pehli baar chooma? Jab pehli baar tumhara dil dhadka. 30 saal ki Zindagi mein aise kitne din hain jo tumhe yaad hain - 1, 2, 3 , 5 , 10 , 15, 30… 30 din hain na? 30 saal ki zindagi aur bas 30 din... baaki ke dino ka kya hua Roy?"



Sounds familiar? Yes, I got the same reaction when I heard these words three days back. But its not just a familiar dialogue to me, it holds special meaning in my life.

For those who are reading it for the first time, its from the movie Bluffmaster. Delivered by who other than the versatile Boman Irani at the Gateway of India to Abhishek Bachchan. I was down with viral fever a few days back and while I lay in bed listening to songs, this gateway theme suddenly popped up reminiscencing about the day it hit me like a bullet. I watched this movie the day that infamous IISC attack happened. Unaware of the turmoil outside, a different kind of unrest took place inside me.

"Tumhe aise kitne din yaad hai Roy?... 30 saal ki zindagi aur bas 30 din... baaki ke dino ka kya hua Roy?" And I asked the same question to myself, how many days do you remember Divs? What happened to the rest of the days? Simple words seeking a very simple answer yet powerful enough to drive home the message. As the words echoed louder, it made me think and rethink who am I, what am I doing in life and how am I doing it. I came back home struggling to count the number of such days but couldn't go past 30 as well. Man, what was I doing all these years? Was it a time for some introspection or was I just plain careless?

As someone rightly said, add life to your days instead of adding days to your life, the message did change my outlook in life. Thanks to whoever has written that, I'm glad my count is much above 30 now :-). Celebrating the same, I have compiled a list of some 50 such little joys in my life. Though the list was far from over, I just shortlisted 50 of them for sake of my poor readers. I have grouped a few together to mark different phases in my life. Some of them might sound weird at first but if you go through them again, you'll discover the lighter side of life that m trying to point to. Please add to this list by sharing your simple joys as well.

Ever felt the joy of.... ?

1) Rainy day holiday in school... used to love it to bits.
2) Playing sick in morning to avoid school bully.
3) Wondering if u can shrink back to fit in your favorite old dress.
4) Dad shaving you off for the first time (and u just can't help having that grown up feeling).
5) This one i want in hindi "Sardiyon ki dhoop".

6) Doing assignments in groups.
7) Stammering on u're first encounter with u're big time crush.
8) Getting caught while giving proxy attendence.
9) Dancing with two left feet on rose day, only because u feel someone's watching you (Reality is: She's busy counting the roses for her 'Rose Queen' race).
10) Buying a skin tight only to realise that u were never made for it.
11) Playing cool dude while trying u're first puff (and you end up coughing all day long).
12) Suddenly coming across a song u danced on your first 'Class Picnic'.
13) Playing the big brother (or shall i say 'Big Boss') to your juniors.
14) Learning the vehicle on test rides (With a scared attendent who don't even have an insurance).
15) Finding the same question in exam that u just mugged up 5 mins before outside the door.
16) Speaking whole night on even when u're cell batteries give in (remember those painful wails of nokia cells on discharge?).
17) Punching someone right in the face and feeling no regrets even when u're whole body aches as hell afterwards.
18) You get up after a night of examination nightmares only to find the paper too easy to crack.
19) Watching a movie the night before the exams.
20) Incidentally burning the tissue papers on the table on u're first candle night dinner (and later tipping extra for that).
21) Finding an old leaf in a book reminiscencing you of someone somewhere.
22) Trying a new hair cut with hairs boasting upto 5" and ending up with something weird at less than 1".
23) Discovering a 500 rupee note in your crumpled jeans at the end of a cash stripped month.
24) Deliberately losing the way just to spend some more time driving with your friend.
25) Getting rejected in a campus interview, And u shrug it off saying "When i'll open my own company, the same people will come to me asking for work."

26) Listening to u're friend all night long as he pours his heart out.
27) Crying with help of sad songs (Guys don know any other way to do so, unless its SRK himself).
28) Discovering u're zips Open upon reaching home (And you realize how brilliantly you roamed around the whole city with that ventilation On).
29) Kids waiving you from the sides of the railway track (not in early mornings for obvious reasons).
30) Sharing a private glance with a stranger in the middle of a crowded street (Believe me, at moments, u never share such understanding even with your best friends).
31) Chance upon an old friend on the street (Thats what chance encounters are all about, rt JALS?).
32) Long gone friends sharing a drink together after years.
33) Getting a call from someone u were just dialling to.
34) Walking miles alone in night following the moon.
35) Watching a needy face lit up when u drop a 50 rupee note in his lap (He was really needy, will share that story sometime later if possible).
36) Paying fine for entering one way road on wrong side. Reason: You were lost in talks with u're pillion.

37) Dressing up your dad for an important occassion.
38) Surprise visit to your parents on a festival (Really, thats the best gift you can give them).
39) Street dog licking you all over after a day of distress and rejection.
40) Buying a two way ticket just to sit back n enjoy the journey, not to reach anywhere.
41) Clicking someone in all possible poses by making him/her bend at all possible angles (Bakraa!!).
42) Watching a movie again coz someone wants to see that with you.
43) Running away from uncles trying to find a potential son-in-law in you.
44) Meeting the boyfriend of the girl u just fallen for (and u end up giving blessings to both, lol).
45) Dropping an unknown kid to his school on your way to work.
46) Suddenly hitting the road for an unknown trek at midnight (That included a goods train ride to the middle of the jungle as well).
47) Enjoying the day surfing out in the office when server/instance is down at the client site.
48) Taking a leave just to enjoy the first rain of the season (Hope my boss is not reading this one).
49) Laughing out loud when son of u're school crush suddenly address you as 'Maamu'!! (Okay, I was devastated but really had a good laugh over it).
50) Gajar ka halwa by my mom on new years eve :-)