The innumerable wonders, among the many blunders. The already had it, blown it. The nothing to everything slot machines. The make it or break it dice rolls. The do or die roulette. Lucks parody. The Gambling Beat.
Vegas strip, Atlantic City and Life, all synonymous terms for the Great Gamble. Luck, struggle, bets, loan sharks, jackpots all variables; what makes you gamble? Its 3 a.m., I am sitting across the black jack table in one the biggest casinos on the strip. I am about to hit. The only thing I own, the only money I have, worthless green, sits on the table, in the form of chips, placed on high, the bet. There’s smoke in my face, as sweat rolls off my forehead.
The dealer across the table waiting for the words, knowing very well the house has won. Odds are against me, they are always against me. He grins.
“Hit” – I say. I have lost. There’s a smile on my face, wonder why? Maybe I knew. I borrow a cigarette from the valet and leave.
Why is it, what is it that makes me lose everything I have, why is that the crowds never learn? I am still smiling. I haven’t given up yet. I am a risky man, that inflates my ego to heights that no casino has ever reached, or a dealer has ever seen.
I head for my apartment, knowing very well that I am going to be back again. Where will I get the money from? The formidable question keeps nagging in my head. I already owe my life, worthless as it is, to three loan sharks, who, if not already, will want me dead as soon as the sun rises. That inflates my ego even more, I am a risky man. I smile.
I reach my apartment. The door is ajar. I enter.
He just shot me. My red blood is oozing out of my chest. He is gone. I have lost. This inflates my ego even higher. Why is it that you gamble?
Life’s parody.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Automatic Doors
So sterling opened up again. Much has changed, but mostly, nostalgically, something’s do remain the same, thanks to the ether man or the owner, how you perceive it. A few posts are ago, I mentioned how Mumbai never had the charm of Bombay, it seems, speaking of the ether man, he does exist.
I was yeh-small, I was 7, and the first movie I ever watched in sterling was ‘Home Alone’, ironically, with the entire lot of my family. I was thrilled. I still distinctly remember the whole movie experience. I was sitting in one of the top most rows, had clear field vision of the wide screen, and was enjoying watching Macaulay Culkin doing his thing. It was the first time the entire family had gone for a movie together, normally those selfish bastards used to leave us kids alone, and I would be on the receiving end, getting myself beaten up by my elder cousin, who I used to run behind with a bamboo in my hand and used to hit her (at this point I’d like to say, Kids do not try this at home, parents do not take this lightly and this will probably get you inside a can of whole new worms, trust me on this one), on the beck and call of my elder brother, sibling politics and rivalry at its best, but who is complaining we got to go for the movie next time around, surely they dint feel like leaving us all alone again, the bamboo stick had disappeared but there were brooms around the house. Deviant aren’t I? While watching this movie I felt something, some kind of a connection with the theatre I was watching it in (psychoanalysts and shrinks please excuse). Minute by minute, I was falling in love with the place. Minute by minute it was becoming home to me. The movie sure got over, but the feeling never went away, still feel the same about sterling. That’s what this theatre is all about, experiencing the feeling, the feeling of being at home, it engulfs you. I practically grew up in sterling, watched hundreds of movies, some with family most with friends. Crisis management days, I used to step in my office, steps of this wonderful theatre, and brood over solutions. Spent my puberty there, almost lost my virginity there. :D
Well, what is really changed is, its got 2 brand new screens as an addition to an already present one. Screen two is the most funniest, it is like a space ship. If you guys haven’t experienced sterling yet, get up, and experience the old Bombay charm. If you are from the over and the there and the that side of the border(s), whenever in town, do visit sterling. It’s worth it. It’s a monument reminding you of an era gone by.
PS: It's got new automatic doors, that open if you just stand anywhere close to the door, the best part is, stand below the door for a few minutes and dry off the heat.
I was yeh-small, I was 7, and the first movie I ever watched in sterling was ‘Home Alone’, ironically, with the entire lot of my family. I was thrilled. I still distinctly remember the whole movie experience. I was sitting in one of the top most rows, had clear field vision of the wide screen, and was enjoying watching Macaulay Culkin doing his thing. It was the first time the entire family had gone for a movie together, normally those selfish bastards used to leave us kids alone, and I would be on the receiving end, getting myself beaten up by my elder cousin, who I used to run behind with a bamboo in my hand and used to hit her (at this point I’d like to say, Kids do not try this at home, parents do not take this lightly and this will probably get you inside a can of whole new worms, trust me on this one), on the beck and call of my elder brother, sibling politics and rivalry at its best, but who is complaining we got to go for the movie next time around, surely they dint feel like leaving us all alone again, the bamboo stick had disappeared but there were brooms around the house. Deviant aren’t I? While watching this movie I felt something, some kind of a connection with the theatre I was watching it in (psychoanalysts and shrinks please excuse). Minute by minute, I was falling in love with the place. Minute by minute it was becoming home to me. The movie sure got over, but the feeling never went away, still feel the same about sterling. That’s what this theatre is all about, experiencing the feeling, the feeling of being at home, it engulfs you. I practically grew up in sterling, watched hundreds of movies, some with family most with friends. Crisis management days, I used to step in my office, steps of this wonderful theatre, and brood over solutions. Spent my puberty there, almost lost my virginity there. :D
Well, what is really changed is, its got 2 brand new screens as an addition to an already present one. Screen two is the most funniest, it is like a space ship. If you guys haven’t experienced sterling yet, get up, and experience the old Bombay charm. If you are from the over and the there and the that side of the border(s), whenever in town, do visit sterling. It’s worth it. It’s a monument reminding you of an era gone by.
PS: It's got new automatic doors, that open if you just stand anywhere close to the door, the best part is, stand below the door for a few minutes and dry off the heat.
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