Wednesday 12 January 2011

Five of a feather

Have you ever looked at people around you?
I mean, have you ever really looked at the entire mass of humanity that surrounds you?
It is a really disturbing sight sometimes. The air is rank with the stench of negativity. If I was asked what the mood of the average Indian was, I would answer "Unhappy and Bored".
When was the last time a stranger smiled at you? When was the last time you smiled at a stranger? The next time you are out on the road, just look around at people who are alone. Ignore the ones with the cell phones glued to their faces. Look at everyone else. I usually see infinitely bored guys just staring. Staring aimlessly at anything even remotely interesting to their forever bored brains. I see people walking around with an detached look that'll turn into a frown every few seconds for no reason.

Anyway, getting to the point now, a week or so ago, I was dreaming about a perfect world where we could do anything we wanted (Hopefully I'll detail this in a post later sometime) and I was wondering if people have forgotten what fun is all about.
Yes, you get together with your friends once in a while, you cosy up with your boy/girl friend and have a good time, but there has got to be more. There's got to be this element of randomness. Some craziness. Nothing drastic, just something fun.

So here's the idea. It's nothing earth shattering, nothing very new, but it's just a little something I'd like to try. A social experiment, if you will.

I'm going to make a list of five things I plan to do. The thing about these things is that it needn't be something I've wanted to do forever, it needn't be something that will change my life or anyone else's, it needn't be something that will cost a lot of money or take a lot of time or jeopardize anything that is important to me.
Just five simple, possibly silly, hopefully random things that would be fun to do with some close friends, and would be something you can talk about over a nice cup of coffee with said close friends forever and ever after.

Oh, I'm not sure why this post is titled 'five of a feather', but if you can think of something clever, I'm going to say that was what I thought of.

1. Ride aimlessly through the city very, very early in the morning, watch the sun rise from a place with a view.
2. Catch a train to an unknown small town. Play tourist for an entire day.
3. Make a list of all my favourite eateries (not the restaurants) in the city and visit them all in one day.
4. Pack a picnic hamper and a frisbee and find some nice field on the outskirts to spend an afternoon.
5. Spend 24 hours awake with a bunch of friends. Do stuff. Monopoly, darts, hog, etc.

Now this is stuff best done with people. Not alone. I'm going to ask friends to join me for each of these. Except, perhaps, for #1. That's too romantic (kanth, rahul and all my other male suitors, I'm off the market. I hope you understand. I found someone so much hotter than you guys. That includes you, NPH. I'm sorry.)

The list took about 20 minutes to make. Not too long for what might lead to some really awesome times.
Okay, so now to the important bit. I want you (yes, you. I know who you are. I will annoy the crap out of you if you don't do this.) to take 20 minutes and write up a rough list like this. It doesn't have to be perfect, you can edit the fine details later, but I want a rough list. Post it here as a comment. We can do something interactive later if this catches on.
You can think of me as someone who'll bring joy to your lives. Like God, yes. You may refer to me henceforth as 'Him' (or 'He', if the sentence needs it).

Kanth, Mary, tsp, Sudarshana, Aarti, Abhi, Rahul, Sameer, Shambhavi, Venkat, anyone else I've missed...I want lists!! Give me lists!
LISTS!!!!
(You too, hon. First thing in the morn.)

I shall now retire to my private quarters, where my fluffy mattress and pillow await me anxiously.
G'night fellows. Remember, lists!

9 comments:

Shudu said...

yayyyy! New post.

I have a list too btw, 25 things to be done this year. Will ping you the details :D

and, some stuff on our lists do match...

Srikanth said...

#1 Knock and wait for your door to open or Beat your door down to the floor if you don't..

I will think of the rest a little later.. :P

But I am in for your randomness..

venkata raghavan said...

Some time back we had a training in office called Goal Setting.At the end of the session we were asked to make a list of things we wish to complete in the next 10 years. I made it very diligently but lost that paper while shifting our house. Lite mama. new list.
1. Ride out on Vidya early in the morning. Stop for tea a small shacks along the rode. If hungry eat only Anna-Sambar (rice and sambar) or Ragi mudde (ball made from ragi served with some curry or chutney) or whatever is available. Stop at a suitable place at sunset and just stare into infinity (and beyond) while absorbing the dying rays.
2. On a clear night get as far as possible from the city, find a nice stop, lie down and look at the stars. In the city we can't see many stars because of the pollution. This I will do in winter preferably since I know the winter a bit better and I can indentify the constellations and stars. Oh! Take tea in a flask.
3. Take a daily pass on the city bus service and just roam around they city in it. Get a bus to anywhere, get down anywhere, roam around and then get a bus to anywhere else. We neglect the sights our own city has to offer us and often seek small-unknown towns or villages. Moreover, we get to see really queer people in the bus (including ourselves). tsp will concur if he remembers the trips to Matursri or IIT coaching.
4. Photograph a Bhraminy Kite.
5. Stand in front of a girls college in the morning when it starts or in evening when "they" are coming out. I don't know whether this can be classified as a "fun activity". It sounds more frust than fun. Lite, this is my list.
6. Visit the Tanjore Big Temple.
7. Last, see a tiger in the wild (Bannergatta national park doesn't count). This is something I have wanted to do for all time now.

Aarti Durvasula said...

Yayyyyy.... New post!!!

I've just realised that the fact about your life revolving around food is no joke! three of the 5 things include food :P

1. have to go to Goa with 'the phrends'

2. Quit my job and waste someone's hard earned money. Seriously.

Will ping you when i think of the rest. :)

Loved this one. :)

Abhirama said...

Is this some new idea of yours where you take all these lists and make fun of them in your next posts? :P

Relativity Princess said...

So, here's mine.

- Spend an entire night out at Narsapur watching the stars and listening to music. A messier marathon of sorts.
- Play an entire evening of basketball. Play till I faint.
- Jog around KBR park early in the morning and finish it with a glassful of their famous herbal juice.
- In all the three years I've been in Hyd, I've never once gone inside KBR. Would like to go bird watching there. The park, apparently, also has peacocks and civets.
- Pick up a conversation with a complete stranger.

And oh, the mouse over stuff in the blog title is super cool :P

tsp said...

Here are simple things that anyone can do without a whole lot of planning and having to involve too many people.

1. Wear your T-shirt backwards the whole day at work and act like you don't care. If anyone complains too much, tell them you're wearing your undies backwards too.

2. Go to a restaurant. ALONE. Sit with the waiter. Order food and eat with him. Pay for it too. Best done when the restaurant is closing up and the waiter is getting off work.

3. Choose the two numbers that occur before and after your cellphone's number, dial them and introduce yourself as a cellphone neighbour to the other side. You might just strike up a special friendship with the person.

4. Try out clothes that don't fit you and ask strangers if it looks good on you. Best results obtained with the opposite sex.

5. Deliver all your old paper to the people in your neighbourhood on the next day. Best done on the morning of April Fools' Day

hydeous said...

Never had to reply to each comment before! :D

Sudarshana, Kanth, should be fun to do this stuff together. Kanth, stop being so lazy and think of something for a change.

Venkat, Vidya is a lovely name for your new bullet. I've done numbers 1, 2, 3, 6 from your list. Amazing memories, each of them.

Aarti, small things. Things that you can do without too much planning and money. Goa and things like that are brilliant things to do, but that isn't this. This is supposed to be about everyday fun.

Abhi, you'll know that only after you submit your list! :P

My little princess, how about doing each of those things by the end of this month. Driving to the narsapur forest was one of the first things we thought of doing together, remember?
KBR park this week, basketball next week, I'm afraid I can't do too much about the stranger thing though. Unless you want to role play. :P
Thanks for noticing the blog header. Will add more episodes when I can.

tsp, some really brilliant stuff there! Not things you can do with friends, but brilliant anyway. I'm going to add some of them to my todo for later! Maybe not the phone thing though. Slightly creepy, no? :P

Aditya Varma said...

1. dye my hair white
2. camping in mountains
3. a long long road trip
4. get a tattoo
5. skydiving