Fropper.com - no one's a stranger
Already a member? Login here  | Tour | Help  
in


I type with all ten fingers!!!



Oct 23, '08




 

 





Lost and (not) Found!!!



I lost my precious golden pen
God knows where!
And started looking for it
Here and there;
Ah! What’s that gleaming  
Under the cupboard?
Gotcha! Phew! Oh!
Hang on; it’s not my pen
But my long-lost bracelet!

I lost my wallet, maybe just
Misplaced! Didn’t I pay the
‘dhoodhwala’ this morning?
Ah! I rushed into the hall,
Ran toward the window-sill!
Wow! I see it there! But------Oh!
It’s the note-pad I’d been missing
Since last Thursday!

I lost my two-wheeler keys; oh where
Could I have left them? Think, think,
My little beauty, your memory’s good
Though a bit rusty now and then!
I KNOW! It ought to be
Somewhere near the fridge!
Wasn’t I putting the veggies in?
Of course, it’s here! Right on top!
The ‘designer watch’ I thought I’d lost!

I lost my ring, the one mom gave
A lovely gift on my B’day last! Come on
Girl! You left it in the washroom; As you
Had to zoom in and out of the shower!    
Here I’m; now where is it? Wow! It’s shining
Reflection, in the mirror I see! But no,
It’s only the shirt button that went missing
Sometime ago!


Damn it! I couldn’t fall out of this habit; of losing
Odds and ends; As if it’s a routine, a ritual! And
I couldn’t do anything about this pattern, of
Finding something else each time!
God help me! I don’t lose my mind; lest
It never comes back in time! Sanity, may be
A different aspect; but sense? Oh! Is
A must-have; for how else will I know
Which part of me is the craziest?!!! 












 

 




Tags:





Oct 21, '08





 


Folks, I've should've probably titled my post       
'Ode to Love' as 'Ode to Life'! While most of my friends have got the thread, some, I realize have understood it as love between a man and woman; the love I've spoken of is not confined to a man-woman relationship; this is love at it's glory; love that's all encompassing; love that's been given to all of us to shower on everyone.

 You want the man-woman stuff? The 'pulling-your'heartstrings' kind of love? The Romeo-Juliet, Laila-Majnu variety? Love so genuine, pure and -----------------------mushy? 
 
 Well, what happens when cj thinks mushy? Oh, she does, at times! Here goes: read on--------- 

Mush    Unleashed!!!                   

                                  In the dark of the night,
                                    When the lurking nightmares haunted,
Your warmth was what I cried for,
Your hug, for what I wept!

In the dead of the night,
I woke up with a start,
Your hand was what I groped for,
Your touch for what I craved!

In the quiet of the morning,
As my eyes opened to the dawn,
Your smile was what I longed for,
Your kiss for what I yearned!

In the relentless heat of summer,
As I slogged through the day,
Your comforting presence was what
I wanted by my side!

In the chill of a rainy day,
As water splashed against the pane,
A blanket and a cup of tea,
With you I wanted to share!

When I log in at the net,
It’s your mail I need to read,
Whenever the telephone rings,
It’s your voice I pine to hear!

When I am on a bus or train,
Passing plains and pastures,
How I wish you were there,
Holding my hand and talking!

When I laugh with loving friends,
Or am merry with the family,
It’s you I always miss,
Your nearness what I wish!

As wearily I plod through,                  
An empty and lonely journey,
It’s you my heart bleeds for,
For you my soul pines!

Every moment that I live,
Wakeful or asleep,
In your arms I want to be,
Your love for what I ache!

Whatever the hurdles on my way,
Whatever the future holds,
You are my one and only,
For whom I’ll wait beyond time!

You may not be near me,
You may not even be mine,
But my love for you is my life,
And will be so forever! 






 

 


 





 



 




Tags:





Oct 19, '08





 Let's say that the 'poetry bug' running around fropper has caught up with me too------------



 An Ode to Love!!!  

 The first glimpse of life is through rose tinted glasses;
The image of which in the inward eye flashes;
Gaiety and joy are all for the taking;
Happiness and love are all in the making!


But this is not to be so, this euphoric whirl;
For ache or ecstasy, is merely ephemeral;
Comes the day then, when the sunshine goes out;
Life, Oh! You feel is doomed, to pain and doubt!


Yesterday was but a dream of vision;
And every morrow, an empty mission;
Life hangs in midair, limp and listless;
With feelings and emotions, all in a mess!

Drifting helpless, along the tide of time
Life has no more reason or rhyme!
With motions as that of an automaton
An effort of a smile merely put on!

Why this searing pain? Why  disillusions?
Looking for a purpose? Seeking salvations?
The length and breadth of heaven and earth you stroll,
Oh! Man, instead why don’t you just ask your soul?

Emptiness, loneliness, fulfillment, satiety,
Happiness, joy, contentment, felicity!
Be it this or that, here or there, my friend
You are the beginning, you are the end!

A smile never reaches you unbeknown to you
A teardrop doesn’t roll down unawares of you!
YOU are the creator, you the destroyer
Make or mar, you’re the perpetrator!


The reigns of your life, in your hands lie
YOU decide to hover low or fly high!
Give all it takes, don’t offer resistance
For it’s life you desire, not just existence!

Love is the panacea, the only magic potion,
And love is not meted out in portions!
When in the folds of love, the world you embrace
Life is a joyful journey of peace and grace!

Love! Is it an expression? Or a meaning? Or a word?
Is it tangible, intangible? Or just an often heard?
Love is life’s fragrance, its flavour, it’s essence,
Love is life’s aromatic effervescence!

Love offers, never accepts; gives never takes;
Love has no form, no figure; it never fakes;
Said the maestro, the one and only Shakespeare
Love sought is sweet, but given unsought is sweeter! 


 













           

 
 
 



Tags:





Oct 17, '08



 

 

 Well----------all presentations are followed by Q and A sessions! So, here's it folks! 

 Tks a ton to all your comments; tks to all my friends who shared it with others; after all, a story on Fropper City should be read by all fropperites! I've been basking in all the glory of your love and enthusiasm! 

 But now it's time I addressed a few questions
:

 1. A question I expected, but wasn't asked by anyone: Where is madhumithaCAP? She has been mentioned under the 'Cast of Characters, but is nowhere to be seen in the play.

 A: mmm------------she's not here buddies; she's in dreamland; weaving silken strands of sweet sweet dreams for all of us. plz   visit this link: http://www.fropper.com/zones/madhumitaCAP2000
A wonderful, must read poem! 

 2. Is there a message for someone here?

 A: Well! A piece of writing reads well, when it doens't sound didactic or morlalistic! But no piece of writing is worth it's ink, unless there's a message, not for anyONE, but for everyone! And isn't the message in this obvious; self explanatory? There's no hidden stuff here. It's a message to each of us that we're here to 'live and let live'! And when there's threat to the clan, yes, we have our bulls and bears to take care of us! 

 3. Who are Fropper Spirit, A S Fropperite and Mr. Fropper?

 A: No one! Everyone! Depends on who you are and what you have been here. All these characters are not necessarily ficitious, but does not point at anyone. Everyone here is a Fropper Spirit, under circumstances; everyone here could be an A S Fropperite, under circumstances; AND the circumstances are not external; they are what we ourselves bring into our lives, fropper or otherwise! We are what we portray, what we write! We are how we interact; how we respond (or react)! 

 There! That takes care of the questions. But doesn't comprehensively conclude what I wanted to share with you all. First of all, A S Fropperite, does NOT have any reference to hydeofjaykal; by no means. This 4-part play was just a creative spurt of the die-hard blogger chithrajust; an attempt to liven fropper with a bit of satire and humour---period! Maybe, the timing sucks! ooooooohps! Trust her to do something like this; after all, she does suffer from the 'foot in the mouth' syndrome; even her shoutout, 'a closed mouth gathers no foot' hasn't been able to cure her of this; you see, this is not a disease; it's a condition! And conditions remain so till 'death do them part'! ha haaaaaaaaaaaaa

 But then, many of our friends, and the jackal himself seem to think so. I think the time has come for us to be candid about the entire 'paparazzi'! Well! First of all, I'd like to announce that our jackal has sent a note of apology to all of us----------the sistahs; whether he did it on his own or by advice, is not our concern. 

 I wanted to say here that we'd accept the apology, if not for anything else, at least for his age; coz he's quite a few sundays than most of us here. But I don't find him here anymore. He was on my friend's list; his zone and all his comments on my posts have disappeared. So, my dear friends, le'ts not rake it up anymore. Maybe, there's a message for all of us from the 'jackal episode'. As asylum has said, 'what good will good be, if everyone is good'? And tks to alllllllllllll of you who showed real time solidarity to the sistahs! We luv you all.

 I was amused by notjustart's comment; hi buddy,  the 'vastra yojana' (not just patra yojana) sounds GREAT! LOL And 'your highness, the duke', all this loaded on to your computer? Maybe, I should give you a test on this now! ha haaaaaaa--------

 yo ratty! HOW can you say I haven't given any lines to you? You the limerick contest winner, has come up with yet another! Read the comments dude; everyone enjoyed your lines! Hi friends out there, rat_race is suf1fering from mid-life crisis--------------shower some love on him, plz! ROFL

 And solar baby--------sorry! We really couldn't let you carry saz away! We need her soooooooo badly over here! Smart sonikudi has noticed that your horse is in a frozen stat(u)e! 

 A lot of my friends visited my inbox saying that I haven't left some loose-ends untied! Well, a writer HAS to leave something for the reader's imagination! So, if you find  a loose-end or two, tied them the way your want-----tie-knot, lace-knot, sailor's knot, 'noodle ball' knot-----------whatever-----ha haaaaaaaaaaaa

 Tks again; lots more to come----------------

 





 

 

 

 

 
  

 

 

r


Tags:





Oct 14, '08





 
Merchant of Venice in the Fropper Court of Law!!! – Part IV


Scene: IV

Dagny’s house:

Dagny and Asylum are discussing in low tones

Dagny: We’ve been discussing this for a long time asylum. What do you think is the best thing to do under the circumstances? Trust these dumb males to get into such situations.

Asylum: (thinks deeply and then speaks): Oh well! Maybe you should disguise yourself as a lawyer and go to the court tomorrow.

Dagny: And do what?

Asylum: (comes near dagny and whispers something in her ear); Dagny smiles ear to ear; the expression on her face priceless.

Dagny: Oh well! That’s a good idea. And then, I’ll just take it forward from there. I’m sure my ‘clever brains’ will come up with something extempore!

Scene: V

The Duke’s Court; . Duke KB is sitting on his throne, with a scepter in his hand, a crown on his head and a kind smile on his intent face:

The Duke: Goodmorning ladies and gentlement. Let the case be heard!

Fropper Spirit takes one witness stand; A S Fropperite takes the other.

After the oath taking the trial follows. The witnesses are heard. Fropper Spirit is heard. A S Fropperite is heard.

Duke: (with a sad countenance): I see that there’s every bit of evidence in favour of A S Fropperite. Though the court doesn’t want to inflict pain on anyone or abet injustice, the Court finds no way out of this. So, I pass the bond of agreement between the two gentlemen.

He turns and looks at Fropper Spirit and speaks in a voice laced with tears: Well, Fropper Spirit; You know as well as I do, how much I want to save you. But I’m helpless. The only thing I can ask you is for you to choose your option. Which punishment do you prefer?

Fropper Spirit: I’m NOT going to read his inane drivel; stuff.and nonsense! I’m NOT going to quit fropper. I’ll NOT give him that satisfaction. He can have his pound of flesh.

Duke: (smiles through his tears, happy that though the gentleman is paying the penalty, the spirit of Fropper is still strong!)

Enter Dagny, disguised as a lawyer, followed by asylum, acting as her clerk

Dagny: Goodmorning your highness. I’m here to defend Fropper Spirit.

The Duke and all the others present in the court turn towards her in amazement. They are all happy as they realize that a new lease of life may still be found for Fropper Spirit.

The Duke grants permission.

Once again, after all the formalities and interrogations, Dagny faces the Duke and starts her argument.

Dagny: Your highness, the Duke. We agree to all the conditions, because we don’t have any other option. But I’d like to be heard before the bond is honoured.

Duke: So be it. May you be heard.

Dagny: We agree to any of the three conditions. Condition no:1: Well, we agree to all the clauses in it, provided, A S Fropperite, writes error-free English on his blog. Absolutely error-free; no spelling errors; no grammatical errors; no room for error anywhere.

Duke: Yes, but who’ll be the judge of it?

Dagny: Well, haven’t you heard of this insufferable, UNjust woman on fropper, who calls herself just? Chithrajust; known as cj! She thinks too much of her love for the language. But I guess she’s the best for this, considering too, that she’s not in the business of being liked. She calls a spade a spade, and she’ll surely put this guy in place!

Duke: Oh yes; I know cj. She’s my rakhi sister! (he beams at dagny)

Dagny: Condition no:2. Fropper Spirit will quit Fropper city if all the fropperites poll against him.

Duke: You mean the open polls the three sistahs carry out in all their stupid competitions? Oh yes. Good idea. No one will vote against Fropper Spirit; Everyone loves him dearly.

Dagny: And finally. Condition no: 3: He can cut off the pound of flesh off Fropper Spirit’s body, provided he uses Dagny’s Rampuri for it.

A S Fropperite: (who was listening quietly all this while, shouts out loud): WHAAAAAAAAAAAT! Dagny’s Rampuri! (he looks like a movie heroine that has seen a ghost!) Nooooooooooooo. I don’t dare go anywhere near that woman! She’s dynamite! I’m scared shit of her!

Dagny flashes a triumphant look at him and with a nasty smile says: That’s the idea, you nasty piece of the earth!

She then turns to the Duke with a sweet, hundred watt smile and says: That’s all your highness. I rest my case!

And the rest is history folks!!!

Epilogue:

Needless to say who won. Of course, the invincible Fropper Spirit! And rumours said that a lost and lonely mad man was found roaming the streets of Fropper City in rags. He was also heard mumbling repeatedly, ‘rampuri, rampuri, rampuri’--------------

Dagny posted a note to all the friends on her blog saying that her rampuri is dangerous only to the anti social elements. When it comes to the near and dear ones, it was just a butter-knife! ha haaaaaaaa

Mr. Fropper, heartened after reading the note, asked Dagny if he may propose to her. Dagny said, ‘oh yes, you may, june, july, august, sep------------------, but I may refuse-----------LOL It took him long to realize that no one proposes to the spirit of independence!

And so there they are; all of them bound by love and friendship, living in the Fropper City as one big happy family. All are welcome to join the bandwagon. After all, no one’s a stranger!!!

Good always wins over evil; this has been the pivotal force of the world and humanity since Adam and Eve! And Venice was no exception! And Fropper City was no exception either!!! 
























 

 

 


Tags:





Oct 14, '08





 
Merchant of Venice in the Fropper Court of Law!!! – Part III

Scene 1:

A park in Fropper City.

Enter Mr. Fropper and his friends, inktank, whirlwind and swiftmove

Mr. Fropper: Hi inky, whirly and swifty. Good morning. Maybe not! Nothing’s good about the morning!

Inktank: Why Frop? Wassup?

Whirlwind and Swiftmove: (in unison): You haven’t heard of it? Yet?

Mr. Fropper: Surely inky, don’t tell me you haven’t caught up with today’s news. It’s all over the world. The market has crashed. Which means, Fropper Spirit couldn’t loan the dough man! And bindas corner wouldn’t do the job unless you pay him!

All together: OMG!

Enters a cheerful Fropper Spirit:

Fropper Spirit: My! My! What sour puss expressions! Come on guys. I’ve got the answer!

Everyone looks at him askance.

Fropper Spirit: I’m going to borrow from Anti-Social Fropperite!

All four friends: WHAT! ARE YOU MAD?

Fropper Spirit: If I’m, so be it! Come on. Don’t wait for Shakira to move and shake. We’ll move a bit ourselves. Come on guys; fast!

All follow Fropper Spirit except inktank; he falls behind because the mention of Shakira sends his adrenalin soaring and dysfunctions his legs; whirlwind looks back; runs back; grabs him and drags him along!



Scene II:

Anti_Social Fropperite’s Office

Enter all the friends. Anti-Social Fropperite’s daughter sazzyme receives them with a smile. You couldn’t find a sweeter soul than her; even sugar fails miserably, competing with her!

Sazzyme: Hi guys! Howdy? Watcha doing in my devil dad’s office?

Fropper Spirit: Oh sweet sazzyme. We’ve come to take a loan from him.

Sazzyme: Darn; darn; darn! That would be the darn-edest thing to do! Plz don’t. You know him, don’t you?

Mr. Fropper: Yes we do. But then, What to do?

Enters Solarflare busy with a book and pencil. Of course; he was at his ‘sudoku’!

Solarflare: Hi guys; hi baby. What’s everyone doing?

Sazzyme: Hi solar. These guys are here to take a loan from dad. Plz tell them not to.

Solarflare: Look here guys! Don’t do it. He’s bad even to his daughter. I’m planning to abduct her one of these days; maybe take her away on my horse, like Prithviraj did! That’s why I’ve always had that horse as my display picture; do you understand?

Sazzyme: Oh! Here comes dad.

Enters Anti-Social Fropperite:

Anti-Social Fropperite: Well, well! What a fucking morning. All the dudes of Fropper city are here! What can I do for you guys? Am I right in assuming that you’re here to ask for a loan? (has an evil grin on his face!)

Fropper Spirit: Yes, Mr. A S Fropperite. I’d like to borrow some dough from you.

A S Fropperite: I’m not going to ask how much. But all I want to know is, when will you return it?

Fropper Spirit: Oh! I’ll give it back to you in three months. I expect to recover some of my shares and stocks by then.

A S Fropperite: Well! What happens if you’re not able to return it within three months?

Fropper Spirit: mmmm------------------whatever you say, sir!

A S Fropperite: I’ll part with the money, but conditions apply!

Fropper Spirit: ----whatever you say sir!

Exeunt A S Fropperite and after a while returns with a stamp paper. He tosses it carelessly on to the table. He asks his daughter to read it aloud for everyone.

Sazzyme: (Reads aloud):


Conditions for repay of loan by Fropper Spirit: I, Fropper Spirit has taken a loan of amount ----------------, from A S Fropperite, in the presence of my friends, Mr. Fropper, inktank, swiftmove; and A S Fropperite’s daughter sazzyme; and the gentleman solarflare, witnesses as signed under. I agree to repay the entire sum of principle and interest by the end of three months, failing which, I agree to meet the following conditions:

1. If I don’t repay the loan within the period of three months from today, I agree to read every single word A S Fropperite writes in his zone; his blogposts, his shoutouts, his scraps and his messages. I also agree to leave comments on each of the above mentioned. I agree to scrap him every hour and hit him evey half-hour.
2. If I don’t agree to all the above-mentioned conditions, I agree to be ostracized from Fropper City.
3. If I don’t agree to either condition no:1 or no:2, then as a last resort, I agree for A S Fropperite to cut off a pound of flesh from any part of my body as he wishes.

I’m of 18 plus years of age; I’m healthy of mind and body. I hereby agree and sign this bond of conditions on my own free will and under no compulsion or force by anyone.

By the time she finished reading, tears were pouring down sazzyme’s cheeks. Solarflare was missing; perhaps he left to fetch his horse!

Sazzyme: How could ya dude? Sorry dad?

A S Fropperite just gives his evil grin and leaves the place.

Mr. Fropper: Don’t do this Fropper Spirit. Plz don’t. It’s alright if I don’t have the money. I’ll find courage enough to propose to Dagny with her rampuri.

Fropper Spirit: What nonsesce. I will. And I have!.

So saying, he signs the paper and thrusts it to the others for witness signatures. (Well, solarflare’s name had to be deleted. He’d gone for his horse, remember?)

Scene III:


Three months later; Fropper Spirit’s House. Fropper Spirit wasn’t able to get his money on time. So, the case was going to be taken to court the following day:

All the friends are gathered in the drawing hall. GloomScene III: 
hangs over the place like a tangible canopy!

Mr. Fropper: Do something na. Why don’t you think of an idea?

Inktank: I’ll dry up my tanks. If he doesn’t find ink, he can’t write anything.

Whirlwind: I’ll blow hard and sweep him off the city. I’ll carry him somewhere and dump him on a far off, deserted island.

Swiftmove: Don’t be dumb guys. He’s a scaly-whally rascal! He’s capable of surviving the worst tsunami; and he’s clever enough to invent an inkless mode of writing; you know, how the cordless gadgets were invented? Maybe like that!

Inktank: (jumps up like a jack in the box): Idea!!! Why not try some ‘sonimagic’? She always talks about it, doesn’t she?

Whirlwind: Yes; but have you forgotten? She’s traveling. She’s not available for sometime. And the trial is scheduled for tomorrow!

Inktank: Oh! We’ll ask manisha then; she’ll be able to find a way from her ‘old and wise biscuit baba’.

Swiftmove: No go! Biscuit baba has gone to the Himalayas. He’ll be back only when manisha decides to write her next post.

Enter MyZoneCAN and rat-race:

Mutual greetings were exchanged. Hi guys; Hi guys.

Rat_race: well, well! What a gloomy lot! Myzone. Maybe you can entertain them with your first kiss. Come on buddy. Time for a demonstration.

Myzone: oh yes. I’d love to. But whom do I kiss? Surely not you. I’m straight! Thanks

Rat_race: Well! What a relief! I’m straight too! But damn it! What to do? After all, we ARE the entertainers. And we need to do something to make this lot smile!

Myzone: How about some limericks? You won the contest! Come on ratty; reel out some sarasm na?

Rat_race: there once was a fropper named anti-social
He went to the parlour for a facial;
The beautician was scared of him
And went and hid herself in the gym
The crisis, after all was not financial!

The made a feeble attempt to lift their lips in a smile, that looked like a cross between an ‘ouch my tummy hurts’ and an ‘ouch my ass hurts’!!!

Myzone and rat-race crack jokes, dances, sings funny songs, but to no avail. Finally, they leave the others to mop and brood! 





 

 

 


Tags:





Oct 14, '08





 Merchant of Venice in the Fropper Court of Law!!! – Part II

Call it daydream; or fantasy; or a writer’s imagination -------- the expression doesn’t matter; semantics!!! ha haaaaaaaaaa I just happened upon this schoolbook of the girl next door; and the book was titled, ‘Shakespeare’s plays, retold’. I borrowed the book and read it for old times’ sake! And I had just devoured ‘The Twelfth Night’, ‘The Midsummer Night’s Dream’ and ‘The Merchant of Venice’, when the lights were out!!! Thanks to the ‘announced and enforced’ power cuts. I just remained on the chair, engulfed in darkness, too lazy to move a limb; and I’d have had to move more than a limb to switch on the charge light, which was nowhere near me! And in that state of stupor, when my mind too was on a limbo, this seed of an idea walked into my mind --- and it grew; and grew; and grew; till it was a tree the size of the one in ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’! And I thought I’d do a J K Rowling!

What if there was a similar situation on fropper? Oh boy! I could almost see the characters; they walked across; acted out their parts; they WERE the parts! And soon as power was restored, here I’m; sharing it with all of you!

Cast of Characters! 

Antonio – The Fropper Spirit
(the main cast)
Bassanio – Mr. Fropper
(Antonio’s friend,
in love with Dagny)
Portia - Dagny Sharma
(the pride of womanhood)
Shylock – Anti-Social Fropperite
(a money lender, the
villain of the piece)
Nerrissa – Asylum
(Portia’s attendant; a
very wise friend)
Jessica - Sazzyme
(the good daughter
of the bad Shylock)
Lorenzo Solarflare
(A gentleman who wanted
to save Jessica from Shylock)

Gratiano, Solario, Salerio – Inktank, whirlwind, swiftmove
(friends of Antonio and
Bassanio)
Launcelot – rat_race
(the clown)
Gobbo – MyZoneCAN
(the clown)

***Never underestimate or degrade a clown; they are the chief entertainers; ask the event management consultants of today; they’ll tell you***

The Duke of Venice – KB of King-Bull’s –Ring fame!!!
(the most fair and
sincere Duke Venice ever
had)

Other characters who do not feature in the play, but are present behind the scenes:

manisha bhattacharya
And her biscuit baba - as ‘idea bank’ 1
sonikudi - as ‘idea bank’ 2
madhumithaCAP - as ‘idea bank’ 3
bindas Corner- as ‘don’
chithrajust - as chithra UNjust

ANDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD---------

Dagny’s RAMPURI- as----Dagny’s rampuri!!!

Prologue: 

 In the beautiful city of Fropper, there lived many happy, carefree Fropperites. Fropper spirit was the most sought after gentleman. He was so sprightly, vivacious, transparent, loving, caring, kind, gentle, fun-loving; he was here, there and everywhere on fropper; kind of omnipresent! And true to his name, HE was the real Fropper Spirit!

And now comes the real story; read attentively all of you; don’t miss a word of it!

Fropper Spirit’s best buddy was Mr.Fropper. As all other fropperites, he too was passionately in love with the most wonderful woman in the block; who else, but Dagny Sharma. But as every other fropperite, he was in perennial dread of her blasted ‘Rampuri’! He sooooooo wanted to propose to her, but trembled in his shoes when he thought of that ‘shining steel’ of hers! If dagny loved her ‘blade’, the underworld dons lusted it; the Louvre in Paris offered her a fortune for it; they wanted to hang it beside Mona Lisa; the antic lovers all over the world coveted it! But our Dagny wouldn’t part with it; not on her life; not till she’s got ‘mischief’ left in her blessed soul; the brat!

So, Mr. Fropper decided to hire bindas corner, to steal the ‘rampuri’; he figured that a ‘disarmed dagny’ would be a lot less to tackle than a ‘dagny with her rampuri’! Now, bindas corner was the most cruel and ruthless underworld guy! Even the other dons steered clear of him! But boy! He came with a price tag! And so Mr.Fropper asked his best buddy Fropper Spirit to loan him the dough. Of course, Fropper Spirit, being the most benevolent soul, agreed heartily. But just as the time came to write out the cheque, bang, crash, boom! The world market hit an all-time rock bottom; and all his shares and investments were----------were? -----No, weren’t!!! Not anymore!!!

And this is where evil entered ! The anti-social fropperite! He was said to be the devil’s incarnation; he did nothing but brew trouble; he never lacked in anything except a ‘normal beating human heart’! He had money; loads of it; he had hoarded for the rainy day; not to help others, but to harm them; torment them; torture them! As he knew and expected, it was time for the tribe to take notice of him; because he was the only one left with ‘vitamin M’; those green paper notes, without which the world would stop spinning!

And as expected, Fropper Spirit approached him!

Now Read on!!! 










 


Tags:





Oct 14, '08





 
Merchant of Venice in the Fropper Court of Law!!! – Part I

For those of you who haven’t read and for those of you who needs a ‘re-read’ of Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice; here’s your bedtime story! Read on; of course, the retold version!

Cast of Characters:

Antonio – The poor lamb (gentleman)
Bassanio – Antonio’s friend
Portia - Bassanio’s love
Shylock – The villain of the piece, a money-lender
Nerrissa – Portia’s attendant, but more of a wise friend
Jessica - The good daughter of the bad Shylock
Lorenzo – A gentleman interested in rescuing Jessica from her father
Gratiano, Solario, Salerio – Friends of Antonio and Bassanio
Launcelot – The clown
Gobbo – The clown
The Duke of Venice – It is to his court the case comes to trial


In the beautiful city of Venice, lived a beautiful soul named Antonio; always found with a helping hand, the personification of kindness! And in the same beautiful city of Venice, lived a not so beautiful soul, named Shylock; his favourite pastime was to spite anyone and everyone-well, the virtue of it being that he never discriminated! Every human being who’s name was not Shylock, wasn’t worth his salt; wasn’t worth the world; wasn’t worth living---these were his non-sovereign, non-democratic principles!

Bassanio, who was in love with Portia, planned to propose to her. But he needed money, big money. He sought Antonio, his best friend. Antonio readily agreed to help, but his ships that were at sea, din’t reach shore on time. But as he had promised Bassanio, he didn’t want to go back on his word. So, he decided to take a loan from Shylock. All his friends warned him against it, but he wouldn’t listen. Shylock was gleeful, as he was waiting for such an opportunity, for he hated Antonio for his popularity among the citizens of Venice.

Shylock agreed to lend the money, but of course, there were ‘terms and conditions applied’! He said that if Antonio failed to repay the loan in three months’ time, he’d have to pay a fine; and the fine was a pound of flesh off Antonio’s body! Antonio was sure his ships would arrive before the dead line; and in the same faith, he agreed to the conditions, took the loan and signed a bond!

Lo! Behold! The ships never arrived, but the deadline did! The case was brought to trial. The Duke was helpless; he didn’t want or like injustice; but the case was strong in favour of Shylock; and the witnesses were in place. As he was wringing his hands in despair, Portia, disguised as a male lawyer, walked in to the courtroom. She was a very clever and ingenious woman; cleverer than all the other women put together and cleverer than most men.

She gained permission to argue in favour of Antonio. She interrogated Antonio, Shylock and the witnesses. She then declared, ‘I have no choice, but to agree to the condition; Shylock may have his pound of flesh’! The courtroom fell silent; everyone’s heart sank into their shoes! And suddenly she turned to Shylock and said, ‘But remember; you have only asked for a pound of flesh; you may proceed to cut it off Antonio, but be mindful that not a drop of blood is shed’! It was now Shylock’s turn to lose his tongue; he didn’t know what to say! He argued that it was not possible to cut a pound of flesh without loss of blood; but the delighted duke, who was mentally doing a jig with Portia, clung to the point. And so it ended that a disappointed, disgruntled, ranting and raving Shylock walked out of the courtroom .

Good always wins over evil; this has been the pivotal force of the world and humanity since Adam and Eve! And Venice was no exception! 



 

 

 


Tags:





Oct 12, '08







 
I Can’t or I Won’t?

An American scientist experimented with five monkeys. He put them all in a specially constructed room that had neither windows nor door. The only escape route was a small, round ventilator at the top corner of the high- roofed room. The minute they were in, the monkeys tried escaping. And as soon as they went near the ventilator, there was a spurt of water, which got the monkeys wet; and monkeys as a species, don’t like to get wet. But every once, a monkey wanted to escape; and whenever he went near the opening, the other monkeys pulled him down and beat him up; of course, they did not fancy getting wet!

After a few days, the scientist removed one monkey and put in a new monkey; and you can imagine what must have happened; the new monkey, took a look around at the old ones; a look which said, ‘you idiots; there’s the escape; can’t you see?’; and with a litheness that could only be a monkey’s, shinned up in a trice to the opening; and of course our long-tailed friends didn’t want to get wet, did they? Boy, how they hated water! So, the new monkey was pulled down and beat up. Soon, the scientist had removed all the old monkeys one by one and put in five new monkeys; and still the ‘pull-down-beat-up’ game continued; and these five new monkeys did not know WHY they were doing it!

Well! This is what is called ‘mind set’. This is what most of us do too! We, the tail-less, two-legged variety! More often than not, we do things, without having a clue as to why we are doing it; because we have been told; because that’s what everyone else does; because we love to ‘follow the mob’; and that’s how the ‘mind set’ has been!

Recently, I was training a batch of freshers at Infosys, Mysore. On that Friday, when we were back for the post-lunch session, I noticed woe-begone faces around me. The ‘agony aunt’ that I was, I asked them the reason for their agony! And they told me that they had had their postings announced, some in Pune and some in Bangalore. The Bangalore lot was beaming with smiles; the Pune lot was down in the dumps. And what was their case? Well, their parents didn’t like them going to Pune. Fair enough; but why? Oh well, who knows? Pune was to their ‘cocooned’ existence, a ‘timbuktoo’; and their imagination worked overtime, visualizing two-headed monsters and dark Lords, walking the corridors of the Pune campus! Well! I asked them, ‘have you ever been there?’ No. Do you know anything about Pune? No!

So what’s your problem? If you had lived there for a while, and you have the pluses on the one hand and the minuses on the other, then your objections would hold some water; but this apprehension, this fear of the unknown----------------------------!!!

We as a race, is happy to hide behind a cloak of familiarity. If I don’t want to do something because I don’t like it, it’s fine; but if I so want to do it, but hesitant because I’m worried about the ‘moral policing’------well, I’m just refusing to come out of the ‘conditioning’! Every revolution we’ve had was an attempt at breaking free of the shackles; breaking out of ‘conditionings. It doesn’t always mean losing culture; it brings in new cultures; widening the horizon, broadening the vision, lengthening the road ahead.

And again, breaking traditions doesn’t mean ‘bad’ or ‘obnoxious’! It takes gumption of the highest order to put your foot down and be heard; it takes character of a certain class to stand up and fight for a cause; a cause of upgrading the human race; of elevating the soul; of moving up to a higher plane; of doing away with superstitions that is the greatest hindrance to progress!

I’m not advocating rebellion; I’m egging on revolution. A friend of mine suggested that I do something, but I refused. He didn’t waste time, smart that he was; and pounced on me saying, ‘well, you say you’re a rule breaker; so why don’t you’? I patiently said, ‘I don’t go by a book of rules, yes; but I do have values’! There is a lot of difference between the two. Breaking rules does not mean going against the sacrosanct; for a while it may be termed ‘scandalous’, but that’s about all!

It’s time we did things that proved we are of a higher species than the ‘chained elephant’ and the ‘salivating dog’(mind set); time we justified the possession of a ‘multi-faceted’ organ called brain; time we thanked the almighty for bestowing us with that extra-special bit that we’ve termed ‘sixth sense’! And yes; thanksgiving is as good a time to say, ‘GO’; only it’s not ‘ready, get set, go; it’s ‘ready, DON’T get set, goooooooooooo------!!! 



 

 
 




Tags:





Oct 11, '08





 
Firsts!!!

‘Firsts’! Nostalgic, interesting, amusing, any-time-thinkable, intangible memorabilia! First pen, first watch, first wallet, first party wear, first mobile, first love, first kiss, first night------------------each of these lifts up the corners of your lips and your spirits------and there you are, a replica of the smiley emoticon!

Just the other day I bumped into one of my old classmates; and need I say we took a trip down memory lane? We did; and so it was that we ended up talking about Mohan Krishnaswami! Now, who’s Mohan whatzisname? psssssssst ------the roly-poly, exuberant classmate of ours, who has the honour of having given me, my first love letter; and honestly I don’t know if it were his first too; quite possible though, that I was his guinea pig! Even as way back as then, ppl knew that gentle, friend-loving Chithra made the best experimental material! LOL

We were in the 9th std then; and we were a boisterous (and girlsterous too!) class of 27; and the girls were outnumbered by the macho lot in an unfair proportion; we were just one-third!

Well, that far into life, we were well informed about the ‘birds and bees’ stuff; thanks to the movies, smuggled and sneaked-in books and to an entire chapter in biology on ‘ Human Reproduction’! But it all fell under the ‘meant only for ears’ category; a typical age and stage, when one was aware of the attraction between opposite sexes, but felt awkwardly conscious when someone threw a glance at one; when each time someone mentioned the word love, one went red all over; when one actually BLUSHED!
And sex? Oh my, it was a bad word; and anyone who dared to use it, was nothing less than a ‘hooligan’! The socio-cultural scenario too was far different then from what it is today. But not me! I was a born rebel. And I didn’t blush! ha haaaaaaaaaaa


There were a few stories going on; but the ‘Romeo and Juliet’ of the era were my best friend and a boy in the 10th std; they were an ‘item’; and even some teachers were said to have ‘smelt a rat’! But I was blissfully happy; no ‘heart burning issues’; my blood pumping machine was in tact and I was a peppy, enthusiastic school goer, who loved each and every minute of life; even the exams did not throw huge monkey wrenches into my state of oblivion! LOL

I firmly believed that ‘love’ and ‘love affairs’ were to be kept at bay till I cleared school and was adult enough to handle them! Well, that was as ‘boring’ as I could have got! Dawned a day when I was tried and tested!

My friend and Mohan Whatzisname travelled on the same route; so they were ‘bus buddies’; and knowing that we were bosom friends, he confided in her after a lot of hemming and hawing! She felt elated; of course when you have company, especially in the ‘forbidden arena’, you do feel elated! She encouraged him, promised  him  unstinted support and offered to serve as the ‘postman’!

The minute I saw her I knew she had something up her sleeve; but little did I expect that she would fish a love letter out of her school bag, with the flourish of a magician pulling  rabbits out of a hat! She then spoke to me, very much in his favour and handed over the piece of paper to me. Unfortunately I don’t remember the contents of the letter verbatim; but it wasn’t one of those poetic renderings; there was just a mere expression of love and an appeal that it be requited!

And what did I do? Of course I had to be the ‘elevated soul’ that I was! I had to prove that I’m beyond the mundane! I had to ‘stand out’ and be noticed! I had to be that obsessively boring 9th standard goer, who could read the ‘reproductive system’ aloud in class and ask questions to ‘sir’ without feeling embarrassed; and who didn’t have a romantic bone in her body-nowhere in all those few extra pounds!

I walked right upto him, waved the ‘billet doux’ in front of his face, and asked him, ‘Is this what you come to school for? Don’t you have anything better to do? Well, look here; you want to be my friend, you are welcome; you want all this love and nonsense, you better stop talking to me’; and !$@#%^&()__&%%%%@%%^!&(@)@)_)*&^#&&! ---------------------And that was it! One short, non-stop tirade! Poor guy; he least expected such a non-Sunday sermon! ha haaaaaaaaaaaa And there it ended too! My first love affair that never was! 

p.s:  ------------that's the devil in me raring to go! Well, Dags has just given me a power of attorney that I could play a tag-game in her stead, least suspecting that it's going to boomerang on her! ha haaaaaaaaa So here goes buddies! I TAG my friends (listed below); but me being the friendliest soul on the planet, I give you a multiple choice; the options are, first love letter, first love or first kiss!!! 

 1. My sistahs sazzyme and dagny (well sweethearts, i KNOW you're already at it?)
 2. solarflare(come on chintu, you can, you must and you will)
 3. asylum (come on girl, you're the unparalled limerick queen)
 4. KB (forget the jackals KB; time to talk about nightingales!)
 5.inktank(no dream weaving buddy; move away from the armchair and write your real life story!)
 6. whirlwind(whirlwind is the milder version buddy; come on; let's hear the tornadoes)
 7. swiftmove(did you befit this name then? how swift was your first thingy?)
 8.  tenjade_destiny(the serpent of desire can come out with more such wonderful posts, surely)
 9. novacaine (well, tune your violin baby, and out with the first thingy)
 10. rollercoaster(wax poetic buddy; romance and poetry go hand in hand)
 11.manisha_bhattacharya (ahhhhhhh the goan queen; and let's hear biscuit baba on this)
 12. myzonecan(oh well; YOU can spin gold from straw man! rumplestiltskin!)

 The list is in no particular order; and no one has been left out intentionally; anyone who wants to jump into the ring, plz, you're most welcome to join us; and friends, this can be a tag-relay; so tag your friends too------------
 
 
 

 

 


 
 














 

 

 


Tags:









Categories




ezBlog Archives