Thursday, August 14, 2008

Eternal Ramblings of A Restless Mind

Just finished writing something. I was looking for an English equivalent for the word अमानत in some context, but after banging my head for almost an hour I wasn’t able to get /come up with a correct English word for अमानत. The closest I could get was ‘Safekeeping’. But I feel as a word ‘Safekeeping’ lacks the emotion and attachment, it sounds bit impersonal as compared to the charming अमानत. IMHO Englishmen never had that sort of feeling towards anything that was kept with them for 'safekeeping' and that's why their language also lacks such words. Do let me know if you already know/come across a word that is equivalent to अमानत . Anyway this isn’t the topic I wanted to talk about.


Before I start let me tell you right now I am….


Listening to: Dil Chahta Hai (Title Track)

Wondering: How somebody can pen an eternal dilemma so beautifully -

कैसा अजब ये सफ़र है..सोचो तो हर एक ही बेखबर है..

उसको जाना किधर है..जो वक़्त आए जाने क्या दिखाए…

Admiring : Javed Sahab

Thinking of: Random things in retrospect.


I still remember exact four years ago I was standing on NH 6 (in Orissa), waiting for a bus like everyday (I used to be an Accountant cum Hindi Tutor back then) and if I remember correctly 14th August 2004 was a Saturday. It feels bad, when you need a break and a national holiday like Independence Day cheats you by coming on Sunday. But on that very day, it was the last thing on my mind. I was worried about my future because everybody else seemed to be more worried about it than I was.

College days were over, I was a Graduate now! And this was the time when I realized how much this sadistic society loves nagging a fresh graduate. I was surrounded by people with their unsolicited suggestions and advice on what I should do next and like their moronic concern wasn’t enough I was also hounded by more than a dozen AMWAY Network Marketing guys everyday.

I was unable to understand why almost everybody was ‘so very concerned’ about my future! One thing I was dead sure about was, I am definitely not going to spend rest of my life correcting इ की मात्रा or tallying Balance Sheets.


The Bus was on time for a change (I have observed this strange thing about buses, they always arrive on time when you are not in one of your good moods). On my way back I kept thinking about the publishers I'd already sent submissions to, calculating the time they will take to say a final Yes or NO. Will they get back if its a NO, was the yaksha prashna!


On reaching home I found this white envelope waiting for me…


It was ‘THE’ Offer Letter from Gotham Comics.


My Precioussssssss…. The Gollum in me screamed!!!


Trust me no bestseller can match the excitement one gets while reading The First Offer Letter.


I had little more than a month in hand, so finished all my pending work, packed bags and read as many comics as I could and the day came when I started my journey with dreamy eyes. Never ever thought or imagined that this journey is going to be an unending journey of unlimited dreams. Every journey has its ups and downs and this one isn’t an exception.


I worked in Comic Books till Radio lured me. Got into Radio to find my calling in TV. Worked with TV Channels to realize some stories can only be told in animation...आगे जो वक़्त आए जाने क्या दिखाए!


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६२वे स्वतंत्रता दिवस की हार्दिक शुभकामनाएं ।
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P.S. My cell isn't working for past two days..those who know me offline and trying to reach me, please bear with me. I am trying to get a local number ASAP.

12 comments:

Vj Arumugam said...

my dear friend, i am not a good reader. and to be honest, i have read only a few books(you can finger count them) in my life till now. but honest and writing with the true feelings have always attracted me towards them. i thought i will just read a bit of your amanat stuff... and hey after starting with your "waiting for a bus scene" i stopped at the full stop of your thoughts. it felt fantastic and was a good ride :). and i truly feel that evoking such feelings are the best scripts in this world. stick to such beautiful truthful feelings in life buddy. loved it!!! :)

Vidooshak said...

bhidu, kya safar thha. even after so many years of friendship with so many people, i just realised i know the "first offer letter" story of maybe just two! or one. your safar transported me to a different era, imagining a Lakhvinder Singh from Orissa traveling to alien bangalore with dreams in his eyes... ending up as Lucky Singh.

good luck and believe me, waqt hamara hai (celebrating another genius, i believe he was called Samir)

Bubbly Vodka said...

Amanat - trustworthy possession? The best I could come up with.

Mama - Mia said...

:)

you remember i always kept telling you ki you are lucky simply because you KNOW what you wnat to do in your life!

and you have the determination to work towards!

way to go dude!! and keep rocking!!

cheers!

abha

Toonfactory said...

Hey Vijay- It's always great to have you here bro!

@Vidoo(Koi)Shak- Thanks a lot! Lagta hai Singh Is Kinng aapne dekh hi li...waiting for your review before going for the movie.

@ Bubbly Vodka- Thank you!

@ Mama-mia (sorry Abha this name reminds me of Sujeet Kumar from The Great Gambler)Yup I am really lucky to have great frnz like you guys..

Smrutz said...

very nice... finally got an insight into your career path....the emotion of peer pressure and the overwhelming feeling of entering into the rat race is subtly described ;)

btw is the word 'possession' for amanat??

Trinaa said...

love the dil chahta hai song too...

n amanat should be personal property i guess..

Unknown said...

sahi .. very interesting...
Is the word for amanat=treasured possession ?

Toonfactory said...

@ Carpe Diem - Thanks for the visit, Possession means having something and Amanat is something that you need to return back to the actual owner after sometime.

@ Trinaa - The song is my all time fav. too. Personal Property is Jaydaad/Sampatti.

@ Pea - Treasured Possession is a close option, but there is no mention of returning it to the actual owner in Treasured Possession.

Thanks again :)

squarecut.atul said...

Not just "amanat", there are many Hindi/Urdu words which are culture specific and one cannot find their appropriate equivalents in English.

For instance, what are the English equivalent for "wafa", "zulf", "Ada" etc. There are no such words in English to do justice to the above Hindi/Urdu words.

squarecut.atul said...

I loved your account of waiting on NH for a bus.I could visualise it all. And that is where the success of an author lies, in making the reader visualise what he mentins.

abhishek singh said...

well u really made me travel time with u ...almost like i was there in that bus .....
:)
ur journey n i'm up for more ....
awaitin for what happens next
:)

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