Insomnia

Its 5 am the day after Valentine and I can't sleep anymore. Stirred out of deep slumber, I am once again privileged to listen to the Bohemian Rhapsody that neighbour Gowda dishes out daily and unfailingly as he indulges in clearing his throat, cleaning his tongue and divesting himself of all the filth as he readies himself for another day at the Mysore Paper Mill.. Please Mr Gowda, can u stifle that a tad bit ?? We neednt be privy to your ablutions.
You needn't herald the morning for us in such a pompous manner, let gently come the dawn. Besides, we have the mullahs in the mosque already beseeching Allah and not to be outdone,the nearby Manjunatha temple has already sounded its symbals. Edellu Manjunatha !

Yday was Valentine... WTH is all the fuss about I wonder.
Just an excuse for some ppl to goof off with members of the other sex, for others to get laid,yet for others to propose, maybe dispose... Whatever, I could care less.

But what stood out as a surprise was the marked absence of the vigilante in Lalbagh yesterday evening. Where there always used to be a whistle blower to drive away mollycoddlers, there was none. It was as if the authorities too had decided to recant and call a moratorium to their daily ritual. And so, ppl( read as couples) in Red milled around, fervent, unmindful of the voyeurs, the monkeys in the trees and the ubiquitous dogs. If someone were to sing Lady In Red, it would have caused a riot :)

I strapped on my MD player again and set the volume to max. Bonnie Tyler starts out crooning " A Total eclipse of the Heart" and though I dont really patronize the song a lot, it serves to rev me up on the first lap as I start my jog. The next track is what I wait for with a lot of zeal and I never seem to tire of it... 4 mins into the jog, the track changes and Mark Knopfler's arguably greatest opus "Dire Straits" is simply to die for. If Sultans of Swing sets ur adrenaline pumping, Romeo and Juliet soothes whatever frayed nerves I would have had.. A classic rendition I say...
"All I want to do is kiss you through the bars of a rhyme, Juliet I would do the stars with you anytime"

Halfway around the lake, and the sun has set in.. Lalbagh is superb in twilight, serene and tranquil,and a far cry from the early morning jog I usually detest, where ppl are seemingly everywhere, and jostling for space. The lights are on and the reflections in the water make a pretty sight. Lake Placid. Its a good thing they have cleaned up the lake and stopped the Ganesha immersions here. What they resort to in the name of God !
Whats needed is a litany for Lalbagh.

The sprinkers are on and douse me with fine spray as I turn the corner for the last lap, as if urging me on to complete the run.. Viji always says " Just when u reach break point, u need to gun on, unmindful of the body's beseeching, maybe disdainful even.. " I am aiming for the runner's high here, where the state of mind is such that it solely dictates everything and u tire only when it tires.. Need to up the ante..Phew 40 mins, thats a new one. Run Forrest, Run!
I couldnt have done it though without the music I feel. Eye of the Tiger and Peter Frampton, Men from Down Under, Eric Clapton, CCR, Led Zep, Cat Stevens,Beatles, Hungry Eyes (where Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey create celluloid magic in Dirty Dancing) the list goes on..

Gazing out at the lake, there's something with the finite aspect of the lake that I relate to. Solitude is nice, soliloquy usually is not far behind. Hakuna Matata, what a wonderful phrase.

" And the waitress is practising politics,
As the businessman slowly gets stoned,
They are sharing a dream called loneliness,
But Its better than drinking alone "

"Father Mckenzie, writing the words of a sermon that no one will hear, what does he care, All the Lonely People, where do they come from."

In the Occidental, there is something to loneliness thats always been a feature.Perhaps thats why they belt out these numbers.. and get stoned, attend rehab, file for divorce, smoke weed, pay alimony, hire lawyers et al..

I'll take India anyday.. As They say, " Come to India ,1 billion people can't be wrong' :)

So much so for a first blog.. For the uninitiated, its a novelty. What a cliche,that...!