Smile...you're on candid camera!

8

i love it...love going out with a camera and speaking to people i've never met. And while ..you can't just walk up to just about anyone you find interesting....without any reason..the camera and the 'hi...we're shooting...can i talk to you.." is the perfect excuse to get to know people! And whats best is that...when you make you motive clear..that you're out there to have a good time...they join in quickly! and that's when it all begins...they begin laughing, teasing...joking..and then evenn forgettig that there is a camera rolling! But i was most surprised when i was shooting with this lot of teenage girls (wink wink!)..who were all trying to be cover girls...i remember when we first started shooting...they kept asking me.."what should i say...what should i say"..and by the end of it all....she'd be the one who'd ask the camera dude..."hope you're rolling!" So even when people....

Hello Buffalo!

8

I dont' think I recall actually visiting a village...as in a village village ever. And although at first I didnt think Ahmedabad was going to be a village escapade....things changes when buffalos and dung and peoople in pagdis were all around! They were sweet these people...and it's funny how warm and inquisitive...and how enthusiastic they are. Never mind the fact that they make doing a live link a near impossible task. And the fact that they crowd around the camera lens so badly that it looks like just a huge mass of heads staring straight into the camera. The funnest part though is that if you share their excitement and coax them into doing things while you're doing a live they nod agreeingly....but just as the live begins and they realise they're on TV..all those instructions seem to disappear into thin air! Boy did we get raped.....and my camera....

There...I confess...I'm gross!

9

Alright i'm not proud of this...but the one thing life has taught me is..when you really dont want something to get out...someone's always watching! And before you hear it from someone else...might as well confess.. Yess I did it...yes..I used a plate that had been already used by a starnger...yes I used a plate to eat that had been left by a total...just about anybody..and he could have licked the damn thing twice over...and I have no way of knowing...but I used it...There I said it! I was at this party for yet another path breaking live...and by the time we finished with our work...the hotel ran out of plates....So there i was hungry....very hungry. If things were different, maybe I wouldnt have done it. IF this office was considerate enough to have food for people who work nights..I would not have dont it..and if I didn't....

Wanna be my messenger?

10

Life was good...the one fateful day, the techies decided the CNN gang was having way too much fun....and they for some bizzare reason decided it was best that they block the MSN messenger in the office..... So for about three hours the online flirting had to be on pause...the "hey 'ssup" quick lines had to wait....and the only internet activity one could indulge in...was to go to google and check out search results under "BORED"...! What is it with corporte setups and this inane universal idea of wanting to block the messenger...and why...I mean why is it that no matter which office you go to...the message windows are just deemed taboo! I'd like to narrate times when my colleagues and me would be sitting right next to each other chattin, exchanging notes....discussing world politics...and talking about something that are better left unsaid..better types of course.. Now don't....

Travel mania!

8

So you head out of the city, on one of those long endless drives to goa....and as soon as you set out of the city, the buildings fade away, the sky clears out...and you begin to gather your thoughts for this postcard moment...seems straight out of a calender..the trees around, the moutains...and the winding road. While it's great to think about stuff and reflect on life............the fact is...you run out of thoughts faster than you'd think you would! and then you have endless trees pass you by, every other bend in the road looks the same...and the fact that you have only altaaf raja..and altaaf raja on the CD player...makes life that muchh more challenging! But trips are always fun, especially when you're on one of those work holidays..err...work trips. But the Car was the funniest. ...and the identity crisis...while we were travelling to goa for this New year....