Playing Tag...

The tagging frenzy has finally caught up with me, courtesy Goofy Mumma, forcing me to halt all activities on this blog. All right, GM, that was an exaggeration. And yes, I know I should have done this sooner. But really, what a way to start this chase!

GM asked me (and I thank her for it) to enlist 25 random facts about myself, including weird quirks and lofty dreams. Here I am, rediscovering myself, introspecting and talking aloud. Much as I tried, I couldn't come up with anything cynical/hypercritical (like me on "The XX Factor") or preachy/patronising (like me on "Hate, Actually")! Nevertheless, here's me described best by who else but ME!

1. I believe it takes one person to show the world how change can happen. One person, really. And nothing better than that one person being me.

2. I believe in the power of love, which I think can do miracles when nothing seems to work. I believe a child's love is the best and the purest - it is unconditional. I love babies and children for that very reason. I also believe in the power of positive touch - a pat, a hug, a kiss, a caress, a handshake. I believe a touch can communicate much more than words, and equal if not more than eyes can.

3. I am a sentimental fool. I have preserved letters and greeting cards and non-perishable gifts from friends and family, even those I no longer talk to. I just can't throw them away. Ditto for my old/torn/damaged possessions - I feel such pain throwing or giving stuff I've used/owned away.

4. I am a gab, but I am a great listener as well. I love it when my friends share their problems with me. If I can't offer them help or support or advice, I simply listen to them; it does as much.

5. I sign off all my mails (except official or those to unknown people) with the word 'Cheers!'. And I have 350+ people in my 'Friends' list on Orkut - not all of them are friends now, though; they are classmates or coaching-class-mates or people I met through people. No strangers, though.

6. I have huge crushes on Hrithik Roshan, Arjun Rampal, John Abraham, Farhan Akhtar and Dhoni. And I call Dhoni as Mahi, not as MSD or whatever else he is called. If I were a man, I'd have the hots for Preity Zinta, Juhi Chawla, Priyanka Chopra and Bipasha Basu. My favourite directors are Satyajit Ray and Ingmar Bergman. My favourite musician is A R Rahman. My favourite lyricists are Gulzar, Javed Akhtar and Prasoon Joshi. My favorite films/ actors/ actresses/ books/ authors/ singers are too many to list here.

7. If I love someone truly, I love them with all I have. If I hate someone truly, I hate them with all I have. For all the others, I'm a pretty nice person to be with. I love making friends, and if I can, keeping them.

8. I believe friendship overrides all relationships - even those we call love. Friends bare their souls to each other, and know each other inside out.

9. The foundation of any relationship on this planet, trust is, without a doubt, the single most important element in any of my relationships. There are many relationships that are equally important to me, and I expect each of them to trust me with the others.

10. I believe no person can survive without respect for the self. That is the first step. If you don't respect yourself, you'll never respect anything or anyone.

11. I am fiercely protective of my personal space, and no one - I repeat, no one - can encroach over it.

12. I expect a lot of my friends, and sometimes get hurt in the process. I have taken to limiting myself to a very few chosen friends who are mirrors to my soul, and I to theirs. One of them I spent two memorable years of hostel life with, and he is like the elder bro I never had.

13. There are only two other people, apart from my Mom and Dad, who I can talk about anything and everything with. They are my best friends from school.

14. I am a reasonably good singer, though I think myself to be better than I actually am. I love to sing; it makes me happy and content. I sing both inside the bathroom and outside it. I can write and tell good stories, and have a reasonably good command over both the languages I know - Hindi and English. I love to act, and am a big drama queen when I want to be. I also nurture a secret ambition of being a teacher some day.

15. Music to me is my religion, my chicken-soup for the soul, my escape, my haven. Music is to me what God may be to you. I especially love classical and Sufi. My favorite bands include Indian Ocean and Mekaal Hasan Band (the most talented band ever from Pakistan). I revere classical music (Hindustani and Carnatic, vocal and instrumental), Sufi music and ghazals.

16. I am an atheist. I believe in no religion, though I respect others' right to believe in their respective faiths. I love listening to religious songs (bhajans, sufi music, carols) but they fail to arouse any reliious instincts in me; they are simply another beautiful form of music.

17. I abhor superstitions and the gender-bias inherent in each religion of the world. It simply makes me so mad. I hate religious fundamentalists and bigots to the core - they are the worst thing to ever happen to the world. All the world needs is rational thought and common sense. Is that too much to ask?

18. I cannot stand or accept discrimination or injustice of any kind. I hate it with my core. I see all people as humans, regardless of their gender or name or appearance or lifestyle or religion or nationality. We are the same race - homo sapiens.

19. It is essential for me to have fun in life, to laugh and smile without inhibition, to do what I love doing.

20. I have only cried in only three movies so far - Titanic, Taare Zameen Par and Matrubhoomi. One of my favorite films in recent times has been "Chak De India", especially for the dialogue "... agar ladkiyan kisi ko paida kar sakti hain, to wo kuch bhi kar sakti hain ..." Also, the only two books I ever wept (and even threw up) reading are both penned by Khaled Hosseini - The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns. I threw up when Laila has her Caesarean without anaesthetics.

21. I am a big fan of the Harry Potter books and Robin Cook. I own the entire respective series and have read them multiple times. I also love to read Enid Blyton, Roald Dahl, Charles Dickens and P G Wodehouse. I would want nothing more than Wonka's chocolate factory to be real, and me to be let loose in it. Ah, heaven!

22. I nurture a secret desire to travel to Pakistan and meet the people I share common roots and a common history with. I would wish to understand and end the hostility between us and them, seeing as we are essentially the same people.

23. I love to eat most things, especially salads and desserts of all kinds. Chocolate is a necessity. I hate to shop, especially for routine stuff. I even hate to shop for clothes or shoes or accesories, though I love having as many of them as I can. I love buying gifts for my closest friends and immediate family. I absolutely detest jewellery (esp. if gold) and make-up (except moisturiser and lip balm/gloss).

24. I value humility greatly, and abhor arrogance especially if it comes from someone not worthy of it. I hate hypocrisy and double standards with all my heart - there are very very few things I hate more than that.

25. Delhi and Noida are home to me, and I love them despite all the associated evils and issues.

Errr... 26. I can never love anyone more than my Mom-Dad and Bro, my kid(s) in future, and my bestest friends. No one. Can't say about my partner coz I haven't met him yet.

Whoa! I could have said so much more about myself, but my 25 points are over. I did try to fit in as much as I could, though, and one extra point too.

I now bequeath the said responsibility on to the following worthy souls (if someone else didn't already beat me to them):

Goofy Mumma (returning the favour), IHM, Solilo, Chandni, Roopie, RK, Mad Momma, Chikki, 1conoclast, Yaamyn, Rakesh, Usha, Monika, Indyeah, Tarun, Madhu, freespirit. Okay, maybe Prashant too, but I know all about him.

Happy tagging!