Sun, Sand and Vomit

Some trips are not meant to be taken….this was one! But when I look back, I’m glad I did…I know that’s confusing, but hey…I am a confused person!! We decided to go to Digha on Saturday evening. No reservations, no bus tickets….this was gonna be one heck of a trip.

Digha is a rather popular beach destination in West Bengal …about 4 hrs from Kolkata. We decided to take a bus…I was rather reluctant…I hate long journeys in a bus and that too a local over crowded one. Add to it the fact that this was almost a night bus starting from Kolkata at about 6:30 in the evening. The seats in the bus, as expected were cramped….especially for a gigantic person like me! I was with Nitesh and Abdul….and decided to take the aisle seat. We stuffed our bags with Lays, biscuits and pepsies knowing rather well that the place that the buggers are gonna stop at would be rather sad and overpriced to say the least! WE started moving at about 6:45 and almost immediately got stuck in the famous Kolkata Traffic near the station. By the time we were out it was almost 7:45. I was prepared for the worst and the worst was just about ready for me!

The bus was super full with people standing in rows or fours in the centre almost. The guy standing next to me was sleeping … yes sleeping while he was standing and kept falling over on me until I jutted my elbow into his leg. Not even an hour and my behind started to hurt coz the seats were that bad! The guy played Himesh Reshamiya songs on the TV…I don’t know what it is with the kolkatans and Himesh Bhai Reshammiya!! Luckily he decided to switch after about half an hour of torture and put on “Prahaar”…it’s the Nana Patekar- commando movie if u remember!

He stopped midway after which I took the window seat. The biggest mistake…I was merrily enjoying the movie and the cool breeze when suddenly the guy in front of me started to vomit….and my window was open …unfortunately….the rest as they say is history!! I ended up swearing and shouting at the guy and all he did was offer a “sorry” which infuriated me further! A bad start indeed!

We reached Digha at about 1130…rather late by Bengali standards and started our hotel hunt. WE did finally locate one which looked reasonably ok for the amount that it was charging….The first thing I did as soon as I reached was to have a bath…..no hot water..!! It was rather cold that day….the first time I felt cold in and around Kolkata. The bed was rather inviting after the tiring and eventful journey and crashed on it. O yeah….we did switch on the TV at the hotel….Late night TV at its worst! We decide that the sunrise tomorrow would be better than what was on.

I decided to get up early ….Abdul got up with me too. It was still dark. The air was still chilly…we took the road to the beach…it was uncannily empty and we wondered if we were too early! The beach was a rather unpleasant surprise. Hoards of people….and I mean loadssssss of them….looked as though they had spent the night on the beach…A whole lot of them dressed as though it is -25 degrees with their mufflers, monkey caps and everything else brushing their teeth on the beach as though it was a private bathroom and spitting in the sea water. Talking and walking while u r brushing…..bengal never ceases to shock me! I even saw early morning droppings on the beach which gave me a rather icky feeling and we decided to walk to the corner of the beach which would be less crowded even though far.

The sunrise was a spectacular site…U gotta see it to believe it! It gave a sense of peace, calm , tranquility almost as though telling us that this day would be better! We just stood there and watched it come up from the rather dull red small sphere to the bright orange and rather warm one…WE walked back to the hotel room and ordered breakfast. We were rather hungry having not eaten the night before so we ordered parathas. What we got was anything but a paratha…Square shaped pieces made of maida and oil deep fried to the point of them becoming papads served with guess what???? Aaloo…what else!! Rather disappointing!!

We checked out of the hotel and decided that we need to head back when we suddenly remembered about Sankarpur. I’d read somewhere that the beach was rather serene and quiet and u can actually see the fisherman work out there. Not expecting too much we decided to head off to the place. We took yet another bus to a place called 14th mile…It’s a village of sorts….14 miles from Digha. The beach is another 5 kms from the village. Not locating any mode of transport we decided to walk. Suddenly we saw a person an a Thela rikshaw which had a motor attached. He drove to us and offered to drop us to the beach for 50 bucks. WE decided to take the hitch and as we were going, realized that this is a rather common mode of transport here. The roads were empty and almost non existent. It gave us hope…yet again of the place being clean. It looked rather clean. 15 bone shaking but extremely fun filled minutes later we reached the beach. WE had to walk for about had a km through the trees to reach the beach. And it was a wonderful sight….The beach was absolutely clean….pristine. Abdul and Nitesh got excited and decided to jump into the water. I was not up to it for reason best known to me and decided to sit and relax as my mind started to wander over the last few months of my life which’ve been a big learning experience for more reasons than one. I decided to pick up my book and start reading it. I’m reading this autobiography of Lance Armstrong… “It’s not about a Bike” for the second time in as many months. A very inspiring book...very simple and hard hitting!

I could see the fisherman at work….pulling the net, which they put earlier, back. Little by little they pulled it back…looked like a Herculean effort and the catch was rather small. Yet another reminded that good things come only if u work hard and even then there is no certainty.

After having spent about 2 hrs there we decided to have our lunch and head back. WE hiked for almost a km before we found something to eat. We took another motorized thela…this time to a place called Ramnagar from where we were to catch our bus back to Kolkata. It was a state bus and the seats were harder than the ones we came on. However, in a way I was glad I was coming back…4 hrs later the first thing that came outta my mouth was…” I’m glad, we are in Kolkata…!” I never thought I’d say that ever!!

Another reminder….Now is Not Forever!!!!

Let's do the Kansas City Shuffle!!

Very seldom does a movie inspire me to think…this one did.

Sunday mornings are usually lazy. While reading the newspaper on the Saturday before, I’d come across this movie with one heck of a star cast and I just had to see it. Ben Kingsley, Morgan Freeman, Bruce Willis, Josh Hartnett, Lucy Liu….had to be a great movie. We decided to catch the early morning show on Sunday….LUCKY NUMBER SLEVIN!

The movie turned out to be rather disappointing…more like a Quintin Tarantino without the suaveness and the punch. Maybe I was just expecting too much….the plot was weak and much too predictable. When the movie scores is the performances in spite of the insipid plot and the dialogues….some of the best one’s in a long time. There was this one dialogue which really got me thinking….but first, here’s what the movie was about ….

A good-looking dude with a broken nose is crashing at his bud’s apartment when a mob boss calls him in for a visit. It’s a case of mistaken identity, you see, and the good-looking dude is now forced to kill someone or else…he’s a dead man himself. And as if all that wasn’t enough, the other mob boss in town also calls him in for a visit and gives him (well, the person they think he is!) 48 hours to pay up on some hefty debts. What ensues is a whole lot of jabbering and killing.

The movie begins with a man in a wheelchair (Bruce Willis) telling an inexplicable story to a stranger in an airport lounge. The story involves the story of a fixed horse race, and there is mention of the Kansas City Shuffle… when the crown looks left u go right and do ur thing….

Josh Hartnett, playing Slevin, arriving at the New York apartment of his friend Nick, and being mistaken for Nick by hired goons working for The Boss (Morgan Freeman). The Boss, played by Freeman with his usual suave charm, tells Slevin (or Nick) he owes a lot of money, but the debt can be forgotten if he will kill the son of The Boss's rival crime kingpin, Shlomo ,The Rabbi (Ben Kingsley). In no time at all, Slevin/Nick is hauled by an alternative set of goons before The Rabbi, who makes him an alternative offer he can't refuse.

I ain’t giving out the end here coz if ur interested go catch it….Here’s the dialogue I was rather impressed by…

Slevin is taken in by Rabbi. This is almost immediately after the Boss takes him in and asks him to kill the Rabbi’s son. (Its not exactly the dialougues…but the meaning is what matters here)

Rabbi: You look worried
Slevin: Should I be worried?
Rabbi: U should. You owe me $33000.
Slevin: I do?! Boy…do I feel unlucky today!
Rabbi: That’s relative….don’t u think? If you don’t pay up in 48 hrs, you might end up thinking you were lucky today! You see, probably yesterday you thought that you were unlucky coz you got mugged, today u might think yesterday was better and today is unlucky for u. Man is never happy…is he?
Slevin: I guess not! So how do u justify urself being a Rabbi and doing what u do?
Rabbi: U see, the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. I live on both the sides…..So u see, I always have green grass!

I love what the Rabbi has to say… and it made me think. Why do we end up wasting today
thinking that we are not having the best of days…maybe its better than the days to come!! Why not enjoy the green grass that we have? And if u don’t…move to the other side!!

Let’s do the Kansas City Shuffle……… Why be ordinary when u can do more much more?

Thoughts…just thoughts!! Now is not forever!

Devilishly Delightful

They say things happen for a reason….I believed that things happen coz they have to happen…its like ‘things’ have nothing better to do but to happen. …..Not any more!!

6 months seem like a drop in the ocean of a lifetime. Lifetime, which promises laughter & sadness, smiles & tears, joys & sorrows, hope & worthlessness. Emotions which make the lifetime worth living…Little was I to know that the ‘much acclaimed’ cheesy comment was to change my life…for the better.

A friend who listens, a friend who expects nothing, a friend who cares, a friend who bears the worst of my tantrums (and a lot of them at that), a friend who has seen and taken me through the highest of highs and lowest of lows, a friend who taught me the importance of being me and not to care about what others think ….This doesn’t even begin to describe Mann. She claims to be much older than her and somehow has made me believe her. She’s seen a lot more than I have, she is a lot wiser than I am… always has the right thing to say and has this uncanny knack of knowing what I am thinking.

Finally, it was to happen….after almost 6 months of talking to her and almost knowing her like the back of my hand, I was to meet her. “I was nervous” is an understatement. But I shouldn’t let it be known!! Coz, knowing her, I was sure that she would be too. So I pretended that I was the calmest person alive when we spoke on that fateful Friday afternoon. “We’ll meet at Barista…around 2 – 2:30. Don’t reach there until I call u abt me leaving from office.” My precise last words to her. As expected, she reached there at 2 and called me. I was still at office. Some 45 mins away!!! I took a cab and we spoke for almost about 30 mins about random things. I could sense her sense of nervousness as well and I wondered if she would sense mine too.

MD: You aren’t walking in t\with the phone in your hands. That’s would be funny!
Me: y would it be funny? I think that’d be rather appropriate!
MD: NO!
Me: Ok Ok….I’ll tell you when I’m abt 5 mins away from u……hey I can see the flyover. I am 5 mins away!!
MD: OK….
Me: Should I keep the phone down? Do you want 5 mins before the shock?
MD: Yes please….

I hung up and waited for the taxi to reach the new market. Those were one long 5 mins. I was walking towards Barista and suddenly something came over me and I stopped. I looked around, bought a mint and stood there for abt a minute and then walked past the Barista. Realizing suddenly that I’d missed it, I walked back towards the glass door …As I entered, I could see a rather squishy, cute bespectacled girl sitting rather edgily on the chair in her bright blue kurta reading on something. This has to be her!! I walked in and suddenly, the nervousness seemed to disappear in her aura. She still had not notices me or was she pretending not to have. . “Whack!!” I smacked (or so she says) on her head with the papers in my hand and she looked up…Suddenly a cold chill ran down my spine… “What if this isn’t her?” It was too late….!

Thankfully it was her! She smiled and we said our “customary” hi’s! The self proclaimed shy girl turned out to be a rather talkative person and very pleasantly so. We were at barista for almost an hour talking away to glory, still squabbling over petty things like her refusing to show her college I card. A cup of coffee and a blueberry muffin later we decided to get outta there. I suddenly remembered…. “You haven’t ever had a Gulab Jamun…Have u?” We started walking towards KC das when she grabbed hold of my hand for the first time and pulled me towards a shop or rather in front of it and pointed somewhere. I looked in to see 4-5 puppies sleeping at their cutest best. Zapp…she takes out her Motorola V3 and shows me a picture that she had taken earlier….

MD: Aren’t they really cute…?
Me: Yeah…very!! Those are street dogs….right?
MD: No…they are puppies…!!!
Me: Ok…can we go to KC das??
MD: look look…there are more of them….an entire litter…8 of them! I wish I had 8.
Me: You already have 4.
MD: I have 5. Don’t forget Gin! And another 20 at my farm house.
Me: Hmmm…Nice!! KC das?

We walked to KC Das after dodging through the Kolkata traffic. It took us ages to reach there. I made Mann have her first Gulab Jamun….and I’m so proud of myself for it. However, her face told a different story. She gulped it down….with an expression on her face that I’ll never forget. It was a cross between an expression that u make when you are made to eat something that u hate and one when u eat something u love. You had to see it to know it.

The plan next was to spend a lil time together…what better place than the banks of Ganges…Right? So off we went on to millennium park…took a ferry ride to and from howrah. The sun setting provided the most picturesque of all sights! She sat there, sitting on the wooden bench on the ferry dangling her feet in the air as though she was a 5 year old. The thing about Mann is that she never seizes to surprise u. One moment she’d be this really serious 17 yr old who’d seem like a 91 yr old and the other she’d do something which’d remind u of the kid in her which she tries so hard to hide.

All this while we kept talking …not a minute of uncomfortable silence. Never did it seem a first meeting. As the sun set out came the love birds…and plenty of them…hiding behind the trees….thinking they weren’t visible….Me and Mann had a laugh riot pointing at them and laughing at them. We decided to grab a quick bite at Bar-b-que and then head home coz it was getting rather late for her and uncle would’ve been waiting.

Here’s a list of what all I ate when we were together….one coffee, one blue berry muffin, 2 roshogullas, peanuts, Ice cream, soup and Prawns!! 4 hrs….lots of talking, food, fun…awesome time. I dropped her off at her hotel and we decided to meet the next day in the morning at flurry’s.

The second day… I’d heard a lot about breakfast at flury’s which is supposed to be one of the best confectionaries in Cal. I hadn’t ever had anything there except a glass of juice once. I was woken up in the morning by my phone ringing at the usual 8:00 am.
MD: “Get up!!! By when can u reach Flury’s?”
Me:…ehhhh…what time is it??? Umm….I’ll be there by 9:30…or maybe 10. I’ll call u when I get out.
MD: Ok…I’ll be there….Dad’s coming too!
Me: I know….
MD: Wish Dad…eat properly…joke around….dad likes funny people….Don’t be nervous!
Me: (to myself) Why would I be nervous….I’m just meeting a friend’s dad!! Its not like she is my GF…!!! He wouldn’t kill me….would he???!! Why did she have to say that??

I rolled out of the bed by abt 8:30 and got dressed….took the metro (which was supremely crowded) to Park street and walked to flury’s. We had breakfast …rather uneventfully..except me dropping the fork a couple of times . I wasn’t nervous….!!! I know someone who would tend to disagree. I had a cheese omelet and a couple of sausages. It provided for the strength I needed next to help move the luggage to a hotel. The hotel seemed pretty decent for the room. I couldn’t help but get a feeling that it was because of me that they had to stay where they had to….they deserved a better place though!!

I had an appointment with the dentist for Saturday morning. All I could think about sitting in the dentist’s chair is that I should get over with it soon. We were done by about noon. Mann and I decided to catch a movie. We got the tickets for casino Royale and decided to go eat something. Hakka was at the top of my mind for more than one reason. It’s a Chinese restaurant with great food. We had Hot and Sour soup which was the awesomest u’d get anywhere….I had crabmeat for the first time. Great food always makes me happy. More was to come. City center is an awesome place to spend time. We still had some time to kill so we decided to kill some time at Timezone….a videogame parlour. Yes …you read that right….We killed some dinosaurs and drove some cars and killed some more dinosaurs. The movie was ok….the ice cream and the coke kept me going. Saturday evening usually is rather crowded. And we were rather full…So we decided to keep it light . I left Mann with her dad at night. While coming back the only thing I remember thinking about is…. “Great company….I wonder why she wouldn’t accept!??” Had an awesome night’s sleep that day….the best day in Kolkata yet….Little did I know….there was more to come:)!

I for one am really scared of heights and that’s precisely I had to face the next day. We decided to go to an amusement park….the only one in cal….I was apprehensive at first. Little did I know that this was gonna be one of the best days yet….I decided not to have breakfast that day and popped in a coule of avomines fearing that I’ll end up puking on one of the rides. We reached Nicco Park at about 1130 which was rather early even by Calcutta standards. We decided to roam around for a while and then start of with the rides. The virtual simulator, the civilization boat ride, the water shoot, the ropeway….and more. This was the first time that I decided to get on to a roller coaster. To say that I was shit scared would be an understatement. My palms were sweaty and my heart was beating at the rate of knots!! I decided not to back out. As it began to move u grabbed on to the handle with all the force. It started to climb up and all I could think was “I wanna get outta here.” All I could say was…. “Oh ****!!” the next 2 mins of my life are a blur….the ups and the downs and the turns and more ups and more downs… As I got off it…I couldn’t help but feel proud of myself…My heart was willing for more, my mind said no. and the person who’d made me overcome this fear was right next to me…and I was glad she was there. I was glad I did this….

Once the rides were done, we decided to the next obvious thing….eat:D. Shared an egg roll of which I ended up eating the lions share. At the counter, Mann stood with her arms spread straight looking at the person making the juice with droopy eyes as though pleading him just like a 5 yr old would do to hurry up. Lunch done…Mann had this awesome idea that we should go to the science city….now I’d seen science city but I always thought it was a rather kiddish place to go. But we did end up goin there and believe me it was fun. I guess it’s got a lot to do with the company. Mann was almost like a child lost in a huge candy store…moving from one display to the other. I was there right behind her almost feeling like a guardian. Once I got into it, the roles reversed….!!! She became the guardian and I was the child in the candy store. The rather impressive Evolution zone, the rather sad 3D zone, the rather exciting time zone and the rather cozy space theatre, it was all a lot of fun! By the time we were done with all of this it was rather late…late evening and dark. And when the darkness comes, so do the coochie cooing couples. Unfortunately, we found ourselves walking out of an area infested….yes INFESTED by them. 1 couple per tree was the order of the day…and there were plenty of trees!! I always wonder why on earth do they need do what they do in public…?? Makes me icky..!!

We walked out with we making lewd remarks about what we just saw and Mann almost feeling embarrassed to the point of disowning me!! We took a taxi and decided to go get something to eat….The taxi broke down in the middle of nowhere and we had to walk almost half a km before we got another one to take us to where we had to go…the much acclaimed and awaited Honey da Dhaba…. I’d heard so much abt this place from mann that I soo wanted to go there. It was very unlike what I had pictured it to be…it was a proper restaurant with carved furniture, napkins, AC, an LCD TV and more. I was looking for a open air thing with charpais and manjas with onion and green chilly in glasses with trucks standing all around! I was a little disappointed; however, the disappointment vanished as soon as I started eating. Awesome food would be an understatement. I had butter chicken for the first time in Calcutta and enjoyed myself. I have this major weakness for food…. (As if it wasn’t already evident). Mann hardly ate anything in spite of me forcing her….Coming to think of it, of all the times we were together , I remember myself hogging everywhere and her…just pecking at food!! I always wondered, how anyone can manage to do that…my sister does that too! C’mon…its food…its there to be eaten!!! Mann said she was happy seeing me eat …. Ideally it should’ve made me conscious….I didn’t even notice it until she said that. Good foor, great company, great times….what else could I wish for??

Satiated, we took a cab and moved back to where uncle was. My cell played Goo Goo Dolls and Aerosmith while we drove back to Barista…where else? Funny how things come full circle…???!! I met uncle and we ended up having cold coffee ….rather yummy ….I guess it was the company again!!!

I went back thinking….What did I ever do to get such a friend? The answer I gave to myself…Ur just plain n simple lucky!!

The next day was a Monday…office time. Mann and uncle were to shift to Keshtopur. I was glad she was coming nearer. We decided to meet up at about 2 and I told her I would show her my flat. I know it was in a mess. She called at about 1:45 and said that she would be delayed….I fled to my house and cleaned it up a little. Made it just about presentable. At least what little I could do in the little time. Met her at about 2:30 and we walked about 10 mins to my house which I was rather proud of by now after cleaning it. She’d gotten her laptop…She was rather impressed to see my part of the house…I was glad that someone was…I always find it a lil too empty! Mann opened her laptop and all I could do was ogle at the huge collection of awesome songs. To my surprise she’d already burned most of them for me and she gave me 2 rather incredible CD’s which I just can’t stop listening to! We were there for almost an hour after which we decided to go grab something to eat. We went to the food court and had a kiwi shake which tasted rather bad but Mann still insisted on finishing it. And some Malaysian chicken curry. We had to go back to Time zone and kill a few more dinosaurs. This time we had a rather freaky idea…..let’s get a sketch thing done…. And we did…turned out rather well. We sat at CCD together and then she had to leave….We came back home…Mann did what she wanted to do for a long time….met Abdul…I wonder what makes her think that he is my househusband…..we just cook and clean…he ain’t my househusband. I did a rather stoopid thing by asking Abdul to come along for a walk to drop Mann off. She got yet another opportunity to pull my leg…I told Abdul that he should go home and I’ll drop Mann midway…which he did! I dropped Mann in front of her house…which was rather far (which I realized while coming back alone). While going all I was hoping for that it should be far….i didn’t wanna let the moment pass. I don’t remember looking at her eyes while saying a goodbye….nor do I remember her looking at mine….it was a goodbye in the hope of meeting again…yet again and having even more fun!

Mann was flying off next day morning….I reached the airport rather early. Almost about half an hour before her. … I was that eager to see her. It turns out that her flight was cancelled. She was rescheduled on an evening flight. I went back to office with a strange sense of happiness knowing that she’z still around. Even though I wasn’t able to take time off that day, I did manage to get out of office rather early and see her off at the airport for the second time….I had a feeling in my gut that this time, it was for real and I had to tighten up. I have never been good with bye’s ….. I always end up not looking at the person I am saying a bye to and start thinking of something else as soon as I leave. Mann, to her credit was a picture of composure. So was uncle…Neither of them cried, neither of them wanted to see the other person cry….! The inevitable was near. The byes were difficult, she flew kingfisher to delhi and then to pune…and I drove a ambassador taxi home. Things had come a full circle yet again….

Now is not for ever!!!

My Treasure!!

Mom-Dad I Wish they keep smiling like that .....Always!!

Family.... A large part thereof!

To Mumbai and Back!!

Long time no see....I've been procrastinating a lot lately..I've been thinking of writing something on this space for ages....but that’s about where it ends. Thought not transformed into actions....Is that me?? I hope not!!

I was in Mumbai recently and happened to attend a "wedding"...The quotes tell u that it was indeed a wedding with a difference...and i mean that in the best sense of the word!! It was by far the best planned wedding I've ever attended! And this is 25 years of experience speaking in attending drab and boring wedding parties! PK/KK....if you are reading this, take a bow...I know who are the exact people who're gonna be planning things for me!!!

The flight out from Calcutta to Mumbai was at about 0930 in the morning...I, much against my usual routine, had to get up rather early to catch the flight!! Early for me = 07:00 am!! I have grown to like Air Deccan after my initial harrowing experience...It is very cheap (if you book on time) and gives u an option to eat and drink what you want to...unlike other frill-full airlines! The flight took me to Bombay in about 3 hrs. As I landed there, the excitement grew along with a strange sorta apprehension! I called dad who made me speak to the 'father of the bride' who in turn wanted me to reach their residence. My cousin was staying there as well!! The bags took an eternity to come out. I could've gone back to Calcutta and come back in that time! I took the bag and stepped out into the world called Bombay...I'd heard a lot....I was finally there. Thinking of Calcutta gave me a lot of heart....If I can survive here, I can survive anywhere!! I took an auto who weaved through traffic as bad as the traffic in Calcutta and took me to the place. It took me all of 15 mins!

Walking into the house, I wondered if anyone indeed would know who I was...Luckily I met my cousin PK even before entering. He had just come back after yet another shopping trip with his wife to be, KSK and his B-I-L. I was proud of myself for the excellent timing. Now, KK belongs to a gujju family....it was all I'd ever imagined a gujju family to be like....and more....almost seemed a family right out of one of the regular hindi Sitcoms...obviously these were the happy times for our family. Chirpy....extremely chirpy.... concerned.....and extremely friendly!! Not for a moment did I feel outta place even though I didn't understand any gujarati! I guess my interactions with the bengali speaking janta in Calcutta helped me a lot.... The food that afternoon was divine...Maybe because it was my first decent home made meal after a long time. I stopped only coz I had to not because I wanted to!! I don't remember meeting my entire family together in a long long time. This was one such occasion was so glad seeing all of them together...

I had to meet this another friend of mine that evening....it'd been a longgg time since we'd met last...Cafe mocha, the pani puri at juhu, the sea side...it was all awesome!! Had a great evening. The night was meant to be even better....Dinner at my cousin's place...KM. KM is my bua's daughter...hadn't met her in a long long time as well. I was apprehensive yet again...I took an auto rikshaw to her place. Bombay traffic in evenings is horrendous! a distance of 5 kms took me around half an hr! The evening was more of a "family getting together remembering old times" event! Now I like hearing stories about me and my childhood....but not when they get embarrassing. DO all families like doing that? Add to it the fact that I was almost the youngest ...yes, youngest at 25...(my sis wasn't there). We had some awesome chicken and divine icecream! Naturals they tell me was the name of the brand...i loved the roasted almonds!! The stories, the whiskey, the chicken and the ice cream lasted till about 12 in the night when everyone realized that tomorrow was yet another big day!! So we split.....feeling dead tired!

Day 2 began rather early for me...one of my friends was to come down n meet me at the andheri station. I reached there well in time.....in spite of the early morning bombay traffic. The sheer number of people that I saw in Andheri that morning was extremely scary! I don't think I've ever seen so many people...totally unperturbed by each others' presence! It was almost a belittling experience. Mumbaikars for one are great with directions....I asked one person and was there...more often than not!! I had to meet my cousin and Family (CKF) at the airport and travel with him to Lonavala and meet up with everyone else who'd already gone there, the same morning. The drive to lonavala is the most beautiful one...awesome roads, beautiful surroundings, the ghats...its mesmerizing! Thank God for the expressway, we'd have been there in 2 hrs but for the traffic jam! It took us almost 4 hours to reach....the party was on. CKF looked visibly tired! They went straight to the room. And I to the venue. It was awesome to meet people after ages. And I mean after ages...I was surprised that so many people actually knew me even though I didn't remember too much about them. Almost a bit of a shocker!

The night was supposed to be an ice breaker night for the 2 families with the idea being that everyone should know everyone else...and it went off well. KSK and family showed how good a dancers they were by performing awesomely well choreographed sequences and we on the other side showed that dancing need not be choreographed as long as u enjoy the music and let go of urself!! (Psst: We were pathetic though...I have a video;)!)

Day 3 started off with me getting up early to see the sunrise....It was beautiful even though I was rather late. Standing in the balcony and looking at the sun coming up behind the hill infront, I couldn't help but feel lucky to be there...The place we stayed at, Fariyas, is a resort- a weekend getaway for a lot of mumbaikars. they have an awesome pool and even though I'd forgotten to carry my swimming trunks I managed to convert one of my shorts into swim wear and enjoyed the pool for almost an hr before the sumptuous breakfast. I had made quite a good appetite for it till then. I hogged on the salamis, the sausages, the eggs, the fruits and the juices. I probably looked like a person straight outta a food starved place.

The wedding was at 11. It was an Arya Samaj Wedding with most of the rituals in Hindi. It was a small affair- ended in about 1 hr. It was the best ceremony I’d ever attended. Short, simple and understandable. I slept the rest of the afternoon and the evening was just a formal dinner. By the end of the day I was soo sleepy that keeping my eyes open was proving to be difficult.

Sunday was when we came back to Mumbai. Mom came back early and caught a flight back to Delhi whereas me and dad came back later. We were with KM and family and had lunch with them at Ruchita’s wonderfully cozy one bedroom appt. Home food after such a long time tasted divine and I had to force myself not to hog ...yet again!!! I dropped dad at the railway station and took my flight back home the same night.

The 3 days did a lot of good to me. I was a little bogged down with work or maybe the lack of it …. This acted as such a welcome break! I was looking forward to meeting people..a lot of people after a longgg time….and I wasn’t disappointed. I met long lost family members, had great grub to eat and all this at a wonderful place. I was left craving for more by the time it ended. As they say….all good things have to come to an end for them to become memories….this sure would rank tight up there!!

Looking forward to “more” memories…….Nowz not forever……is it?

Problem....NO Problem!!

The past few days have been crazily hectic. I go to work at 9 and come back at 9 ( ok i'm exagerrating...i come back by 7.30-8) and still end each day with a feeling of being wasted; as though i've done nothing...achieved zero! I wonder why is that happening to me??

Was in Delhi this past week....quite an enjoyable 7 days. Home food was the best part of it all. Met a few friends of mine from back home and also some MBA days classmates. Everyone has a story to tell about their work and I have nothing....am I doing nothing for real or am I not a good story teller??

The little work that i did these past 4 months....not a whole lot of people seem to be interested in wht I did. Is it me at fault for not being able to sit up and take notice or is it them who're at fault??

Questions questions......I shouldn've been in a pensive mood, especially in the situation i am in. I am not....I am happy. I really don't care as to what future holds for me...I wanna live for the now.I wanna enjoy the friends around, the late night talks on my free cell phone, the loud poojo happening right next to my house, the whiff of fresh air, the food I eat, my sleep...I wanna enjoy it all!

Enjoyment....this reminds me of Indian cricket team loosing the match to australia recently shattering all my plans for november TV viewing. I decided to pull off TV for a while and start reading. I managed to convince myself to purchase a book on my fifth visit to a book-shop. This was in October when i was in delhi.....I still haven't picked it up and started reading it. Books have a strange effect on me.....They make my eyes close for some reason.

And then I received another mail today... which i absolutely adored...It puts a lot of things which I often end up thinking about into perspective.....here is it.its dilbert whackiness at its best!!

Some of the one-liners from Dilbert...

1. I can only please one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow is not looking good either.

2. I love deadlines. I especially like the whooshing sound they make as they go flying by.

3. Tell me what you need, and I'll tell you how to get along without it.

4. Accept that some days you are the pigeon and some days the statue.

5. Needing someone is like needing a parachute. If he isn't there the first time, chances are you won't be needing him again.

6. I DON'T HAVE AN ATTITUDE PROBLEM, YOU HAVE A PERCEPTION PROBLEM.

7. Last night I lay in bed looking up at the stars in the sky, and I thoughtto myself, "where the heck is the ceiling?"

8. My reality cheque bounced.

9. On the keyboard of life, always keep one finger on the escape key.

10. I don't suffer from stress. I am a carrier.

11. You are slower than a herd of turtles stampeding through peanut butter. (awesome abuse)

12. Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, because you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.

13. Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.

14. Never argue with idiots. They drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience.

15. A pat on the back is only a few inches from a kick in the butt.

16. Don't be irreplaceable. If you can't be replaced, you can't be promoted.

17. After any salary raise, you will have less money at the end of the month than you did before. 18. The more crap you put up with, the more crap you are going to get.

19. You can go anywhere you want if you look serious and carry a clipboard.

20. Eat one live toad the first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.

21. If it wasn't for the last minute, nothing would get done.

22. When you don't know what to do, walk fast and look worried.

23. Following the rules will not get the job done.

24. When confronted by a difficult problem, you can solve it more easily by reducing it to the question, "How would the Lone Ranger handle this?"

25. Only the mediocre are at their best all the time.

26. There's a fine line between genius and insanity. I have erased this line.

27. Bring ideas in and entertain them royally, for one of them may be the king.

28. If at first you don't succeed......skydiving isn't for you.

29. Life is a waste of time; time is a waste of life, so get wasted all of the time and have the time of your life.

30. When everything is coming your way......you're in the wrong lane

Doesn't it all start to make sense....suddenly:). Now is not for ever..ENJOY!!!

Of Kolks..

Ancient building, yellow cabs, busses that look like boats from inside, laid back individuals, murderous mobs, horrendous traffic, cheap food in variety, shoppers paradise....that Kolkata for you. You ain't seen it till u've SEEN it!

When I came to kolkata, I was told I would hate it and sure enough I did hate it. But Kolkata for what it is, grows on u. You suddenly realise that its not that bad....is it?? I would have loved this place was i not alone out here. There's something ...something that u just can't pin point. I'd like to call it the soul of the city.

The City : You want your cities clean and green; stick to Delhi. You want your cities, rich and impersonal; go to Bombay. You want them high-tech and full of draught beer; Bangalore's your place. But if you want a city with a soul: come to Kolkata.

The Kolkatan: Kolkata bong's are a more informed lot than anyone. The bus stops have notice boards where newspapers are put up everyday and people actually read them and not steal them. A kolkata bong is proud of his culture, which a lot of communities are not.Each morning, he will read at least two newspapers and develop sharply etched views on the state of the world. Each evening, there will be fresh (ideally, fresh-water or river) fish on his table. His children will be encouraged to learn to dance or sing. His family will appreciate the power of poetry. And for him, religion and culture will be in inextricably bound together.

The Traffic: The one scary thing about kolkata is the traffic.....heres a picture....

And this is usual here. So whenever u get out of ur house u gotta be patient and have time on hand.The taxis are jittery as though they were built without the shock absorbers so be sure that u haven't had a heavy meal when u sit in it lest u want it all to come out. The autos are a league apart. Blaring music!!! Yess....they'll have the best of the music systems in the autos and put it on full blast. Nights make the autos prettier or shud i say weirder. Small blinking lights...red, blue, green, yellow reminding u of Christmas or Diwali. It goes from one side to the other squeezing in between vehicles until there is absolutely no space to pass.The traffic jams last for hours.....they will move but at a snails pace.

The language: The city will make u familiar with bengali to the extent of u starting to atleast understand it....or atleast as my boss says....pretent to understand it. I do not understand anything...yet I speak with the guard at my office as though I am understanding all of wht he blurts out in bengali. and he does it day in and day out without realising it. You will not understand a kolkatans english either...you gotta pay real close attention.

Here's a comical mail that i received which explains a lot.I just had to put it here. (The following content has explicit language and requires parental guidance...)

"The Bonglomeration has risen in the past to fend of attacks from such savage races as the British and the Punjabis, who made the mistake of underestimating the capacity for violence in the Bengali, thanks probably to impressions formed based on Bengalis they personally knew. The following are transcripts of historic conversations.

Conversation 1: circa 1858
Lord Canning: Well, your Majesty, we now have to worry about ruling that bloody country.

Queen Victoria: Indeed, Lord Canning. I have no idea how we are to go about it. First of all, where in bblazes are we going to have a new capital?

LC: Don't worry m'lady. I have the perfect spot. Remember that town Cahl-cah-taa. The one that old Charnock stumbled on. I think it will be just marvellous.

QV: Why that place in particular.

LC: A little bit of research on my part, ma'am. The people who live in that god-forsaken place - Bungawlees I think they're called - are a bunch of spineless wimps. Wouldn't say boo to a goose. They'll give us no trouble at all, so its the safest spot on earth.

QV: How can you be so certain?

LC: I know a few of these Bungawlees myself. There's this chap Bonnerjee who takes shorthand at one of our offices - most subservient goose I ever met. Then there's Bose who practices law. Always gets shouted down by the judge and never says a word. Then there's...

QV: You've made your point, Lord Canning. Cahlcahtaa will be the new capital. I can see us ruling the bloody place for another millenium now.

Conversation 2: circa 1974
Gen. Yahya Khan: OYE! These bloody Bangalees have won! Oh meri maa ki ******. Abhi us Mujib ke bachhe ko dikhata hoon, behen****.

(Mujib answers phone)

Mujib: Hallo. Who eej thees?

YK: Oye, who eej thees ke aulad! Saale, mein tera baap bol raha hoon, madar****. You bloody phool. Just bikaz you er winning leckshun, you think we will allow you bh***********s into Slambad. Teri to...

M: Mishtar General Shaar. Pleej do not shwear like that. I am a bhadralok and I am bhery upshet at hearing shuch languages.

YK: Abbey ****. Abhi tujhe dikhata hoon. You bloody Bangalees will never be aybull to faarm a gvernmant.

M: Thish ij outrageoush. Bhe bhill oppoj thish infrigement on our bashic democratic rightsh. Bhee bhill phight on the shtreetsh. Cholbe naa, cholbe naa... (cut off)

YK: Dekh loonga, madar****.

Aide: Sir, agar woh bagawat shuru karein to mushkil ho sakta hai.

YK: Oh behen****. Woh kya kar lenge? Bahut behen**** Bangalee dekhein hai maine. Tu meri gaari nikal, Shahi Mohalla jaana hai.

"The rest, as they say, is history."

And in case I have given you the impression by the above extract, that Bengali men are as gentle as the Punjabis, you are right.......They are actually a race of well-bred intellectuals interested in art, culture and the finer things of life as mentioned previously. Gentlemen who watch and enjoy football, cricket and... What's that you say? Dravid is a better captain!?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN??? DAD WAS WAYY BETTER....REMOVE CHAAPAIL!! BOKA*****, KH***** CH****, LA****** B***! MAAR SHALA KE! KAALO HAATH BHENGE DAO,etc etc....

P.s. I'm goin homeeee on the 19th....The abode of Punjabi brashness... here I come!!

Cartoon Cartooons

Cartoons...I just love them. They help you forget everything, often passing on the subtlest of messages in the funniest of ways! Here are a list of cartoon strips that I admire in order of preference!!

1) Garfield- (Jim Davis) - the cool cat....lazy, hungry, cunning and lovable. Reminds me of me!!

2) Calvin and Hobbes -(Bill Watterson)- Explains life in the simplest of ways and makes u realise that life ain't as tough as u make it out to be.

3) Dilbert- (Scott Adams)- Makes complete sense of corporate life.Infact makes a mockery of it. A recent favourite!

Here's to the excellence of the 3 maestro's- Jim, Bill and Scott! Let the smiles flow forever.....

Its a Dog's Life!!!

The other day, I was just talking to a friend and we got talking about dogs....yes dogs of all the things....just goes to show how much(read:little) work I do out here. Anyway, the person was a big dog lover and mentioned a few things which stuck! A dog's life they say...I guess we stand to learn a lot from it.... This one is for Dinky(she was my dog for the uninitiated)!! Might I say, 'Jump around' in peace!

IF A DOG WERE YOUR TEACHER You would learn stuff like.....

• When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.(when was the last time you did that?)
• Never pass up the opportunity to go for a ride. (Get out!!)
• Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy. ( Ok I admit...I do that)
• When it's in your best interest -- practice obedience.(When it is in your best interest)
• Let others know when they've invaded your territory. (Do not take shit from anyone)
• Take naps and stretch before rising. (Naps are good)
• Run, romp, and play daily. (U'll end up happier...trust me)
• Thrive on attention and let people touch you. (U would stop getting it if u don't bask in the glory of it)
• Avoid biting, when a simple growl will do. ( Bite when u have to... & Bite Hard!!)
• On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass. (Take time out)
• On hot days, drink lots of water and never get out of an AC room. (I already do that too)
• When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body. ( Let everyone know that ur happy and the happiness doubles)
• No matter how often you're scolded, don't buy into the guilt thing and pout... run right back and make friends. (Friends & Family are all u have)
• Delight in the simple joy of a long walk. (Don't forget to smell for new things when on the long journey...try them if u have to)
• Be loyal to your loved ones. (No matter what...)
• If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it. (Heck.... Dig even if you don't know what lies beneath!)
• When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by and nuzzle them gently.
• Eat with gusto and enthusiasm. Stop when you have had enough. (This is my favourite)

Ooh Baby....Its heaven on earth!!!

Statutory Warning:
1) This is gonna be long so brace yourself……:).
2) I haven’t read it over…so E&OE. Please to Bear…

I had been dreading the Pooja vacations we were to get. I’d heard people say that that’s one time when no one….NOONE in Calcutta stays at home. Now, anyone who has been to Calcutta would know that this is a crowded place… (And that’s an understatement). The prospect of facing scores of people isn’t exactly my concept of a holiday. So we thought of getting out of here……and get out we did. They say when you do something do it big. We planned a 3 day trip to Sikkim. The idea being to run away from the maddening rush. Here’s a small travelogue….

September 28th, 2006- We had booked ourselves on a Volvo bus which was to leave Calcutta at abt 6 pm and take us to Siliguri (I love the name of this place for some reason….Silly Guri). They said that normally it took about 12 hrs and a Volvo would get us there in about 10. So we decided to shell out those extra 500 bucks. I packed my stuff in my favorite blue adidas bag. (Its been places with me…). First look at the bus and I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow….It was a huge bus with rather uncomfortable seats and to top it all, it was pink in color....rather jazzy. 28th is the pre pooja day in Calcutta. We hoped that we’ll beat the traffic. It wasn’t to happen. We got stuck in the Cal traffic….2 hrs!I used the opportunity to make a few calls…I called my mom, dad, Mann(shez a very good friend...hails from siliguri) and a couple of other friends trying to make them jealous! It gave me a sadistic pleasure: D.

The lesser I talk abt the journey, the better it is…..It was horrendously uncomfortable…..!!! And to top it all the bus wala put on Himesh Reshamiya’s numbers…..yes an entire cassette……..TWICE! The bus stopped at abt 11 for dinner. Bhaat with dal and aaloo dom is the only thing they were serving…..I decided to skip and instead munched on a big bag of Lays which I bought for myself……I forced myself to doze off at about 12……

September 29th, 2006- Its 5 am and the bus stops again for morning tea. I wash my face at a hand pump and ask someone how long it’d take…. "5hrs at least!” came the answer. I walked up to the shop and bought a Tropicana litchi swirl for myself….I do not drink tea! The bus moved again and I dozed off. An hour later I thought I heard someone cry in pain…..I got up only to realize Mr. Reshamiya at his nasal best yet again……6 in the morning…!! I looked out and it was sunny…..I smiled to myself and started enjoying the songs for the first time. I was on a vacation!!

About 3 hrs later I could see tea gardens…small green bushes spreading the expanse. I thought it was a pretty sight…..there was more to come….a few minutes later I could also see hills on the background. I had to talk to someone…I called up Mann and spoke to her for a while till I could see a snow capped mountain….People said it was the Kanchanjunga….I asked Mann if it was….she should know…she is from here…and I got the weirdest response….” Oh yeah…..if it is white….so white that it hurts your eyes….You should carry sunglasses!!”

We reached Siliguri at about 11 am….after the 16 hr journey through the single laned potholed road or rather the “roady potholes”! The minute we got off a bus we were mobbed by touts….”Sir Gangtok…sir Gangtok??”, “Bolo Darjeeling, bolo Darjeeling”, “ Pelling Pelling……??”. I almost felt like a foreign tourist…. We decided to ignore everyone and passed through the sea of touts into a small dhaba and eat something. We ordered for aaloo paratha and what we got was a poori stuffed with something which was supposedly aaloo….15 bucks for each poori. I ate two and told myself that I was full! Then started the epic battle to get to Gangtok.

We jumped back into the sea of touts and struck a deal with one of the agents….A hotel in Gangtok @ 600 bucks a night + food for all three of us plus a drop to Gangtok at a hundred bucks. And this was after 1 hr of bargaining…..and I’m not kidding when I say 1 hour. We felt a sense of accomplishment.

It was a Sumo which had to take us all the way up to Gangtok…..120 odd kms and 5 hrs. I popped in an avomine and I was all set. Siliguri was hot…but then I am used to hot. Abdul, being from Bangalore was loosing it and fought with the Sumo driver for not moving. We started at about 1:30 pm. As we moved through the plains towards the hills, I caught myself smiling a lot of times. My first “unplanned” trip….I could sense that it was going to be a whole lot of fun….There had been a few landslides and the roads were bad…..It took us almost 6 hrs….the thing that first struck me as soon as we entered sikkim was a board which read… “Forget your worries, you’re in Sikkim!” I could see the teesta flow along all the way and it was really flowing…. Flowing water, Green mountains, Fresh air, Small towns….stuff that dreams are often made of!!

Another bone jerking, bum hurting journey came to an end at abt 6 in the evening and I could hear my bones crack as I got out of the sumo. It was dark already…..we walked up the main road and enquired about trips to Yumthang. We had already lost a day. The hotel, which was supposed to be 5 minutes from to city turned out to be 20 minutes but it was a neat hotel. We were so dead tired by then that we just dumped our bags in the room, had a bath and hit the sacks at 9…..next day was a big one.

Sikkimese are a happy bunch of people. I haven’t seen so many smiles at a time…ever.

September 30th 2006- I had a rather early morning….I woke up early and looked out of the window…..I was awestruck and felt insignificant looking at the mountains. We got dressed and went out for an early morning walk and went camera crazy. Little were we to know that the beauty which we saw then was not even a fourth of what lay ahead for us.

We left for Yumthang at about 11. It’s a 130 km…7 hr journey to the “Mini Switzerland of India”… (YES…that’s how the travel agent sold it to us…). We had a 10 seater waiting for us …..We got the back seats again. The drive is awesome…mountain after mountain….each one looking similar to the last one….the roads almost non existent…..but we dint seem to mind. The path weaves around the mountains in an almost serpentine manner…..the mountains are rich green with hardly a brown patch visible….Water drops down from the tops of these mountains from places which you’ll never get to see and leaves you wondering where it comes from…And u cross many such waterfalls…..each flowing down into the stream way down below which joins the mighty Teesta river. Every now and then one of these waterfalls gets furious and overflows onto the road making it difficult to cross. But the machine proves stronger and we splash across it. It’s almost as though the nature is daring man…. “This is it……one more step and you’ll see the fury…!” I’m glad I did not…Sikkim is almost like a forbidden land and I hope it remains that way.

We stopped en route on seven sister falls which is by far the biggest waterfalls I’ve seen off a mountain top. It was awe inspiring. Lunch was at a small place called Phodong. Guess what…? Bhaat and daal…By now I was sick of eating bhaat and I promised myself never to eat rice again for the entire length of the trip. By the time we reached Lachung,( that’s where we had to stay for the night) it was night……and the drive on those roads and at those heights was scary. It was cold and I felt it for the first time…..The houses and lodges around were rather snug…made of wood. The silence was bliss. You could hear the stream flowing right behind the room. The bathroom window opened to a view which no bathroom had ever seen….U could sit on the shit pot and actually enjoy the view to the extent of not wanting to get up….( I was on the 3rd and the top most floor). Dinner was a nice homely meal….aaloo and egg curry with Roti….bliss!! I don’t think I’ve had a sounder sleep than the one I had that night……

Sikkim as a state is divided into 4 parts…..North Sikkim is renowned for its untouched natural beauty. East Sikkim is the more touristy part and this is where we have the Nathula pass opening into China…South Sikkim is heavily under the Buddhist influence and has all the monasteries. West is the place to go if u are an adventure seeker. They’ve got trekking and river rafting…..people often trek upto the base camp of the Kanchunjunga.

October 1st, 2006- Another early morning. We were ready for a long day yet again. The Jeep drove us all the way up a mountain and then down to Yumthang which is a valley….often called the valley of flowers. We dint get to see any but April is when you get lots of them. The distance is about 24 kms and takes all of an hour and a half. The pictures say it all……Surrounded by mountains which are in turn enveloped by clouds….the green grass…the yaks feeding on them..the stream flowing right through the middle of the valley…..You can even see a snow capped mountain as u look into distance…..All this…12000 feet closer to heaven …..Dream!

We were told that the zero point (that’s where the vegetation ends….thats where the roads end as well…..)is about another 35 kms and a 2 hr drive…..straight up. As we drove up we could see the vegetation around change….from huge pine trees to green bushes which changed to red and then brown growing shorter and shorter in height and finally nothing but rocks....The view up there was breath taking….it looked a replica of the Yumthang Valley sans the greenery. It was as though it was the replica of it but someone had forgotten to put in the colors….only brown…and white as well….White for the snow.

Wwe were at 20000 feet above the sea and it was COLD. The breeze hit against our faces and it actually hurt….but we had snow around….the breeze was the least of our worries. We started making snowballs and started a fight…..we’d thrown about 5 alls and we started to pant……Nature taking over….the lack of oxygen!! “Enjoy the beauty I have …..Don’t fight!” It was time to go……we had a long journey back to Gangtok and it was getting cloudy….We started to barrel down the steep roads as it started to drizzle….shower….rain….pour…..It just kept getting harder and harder. Just when we thought that it couldn’t get any worse, it did! We had a flat tire….We parked the car at a corner and waited for it to stop raining…and waited…the memories of the journey back are rather hazy except the fact that we stopped for lunch at a place called Chungthang. This place had the awesomest movie hall ever…( I’m sure u’d have loved to watch a movie here…..@Gunjan). I slept through the rest of the way… We reached Gangtok at abt 8 and it was still drizzling. The next day we were supposed to come back…..Dead tired by now we decided we needed one more day of Sikkim…so we added October 2nd to the length of our vacation and I am glad we did.

October 2nd, 2006- We decided that since we’d come all this way, we couldn’t go back without going to the much hyped Nathula Pass. We found out that the same is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays…..2nd happened to be a Monday. Even on a regular day you need a personal as well as a vehicular permit to go there…..and only about 30vehicles are allowed each day. We decided to go around for some local sight seeing around Gangtok We booked a cab. The driver was a sikkimese name MikMah… (a as in “at”). He was with us for an entire day. He urged us to go to a place called Changu Lake… (Also spelt Tsomgo Lake). It was a lake up above in the mountains which got its waters from the melting snow….It is the most picturesque lake you’ll ever come across….While we were there we saw the clouds come in over the lake and engulf it. It was the most amazing sight ever. One minute you are looking at this beautiful lake….within a minute it was engulfed by a large white cloud. You could be forgiven to mistake it for smoke…..It was as though nature was reminding you again that it has the power of protecting its beauty from you. It was the most belittling moment in more ways than one.

We moved from there towards a place called “Baba mandir”. A legend goes which says that there was a sikh soldier who slipped and fell into a stream while on a patrol. His body wasn’t recovered. One night, one of his mates had a dream and saw this guy who told him to make a “Samadhi” at a particular place. So this mandir for him at his request. Every night, it is believed, that his soul comes alive and guards the area surrounding the mandir. The legend itself is enough to amaze you…Add to it the beauty of the place and the surroundings that it’s built in. Words or pictures can’t describe it.

We saw some yak wala’s around and Abdul and Nitesh tried sitting on them. They looked funny….!

We drove back all the way to Gangtok. It took us about another 2 hrs. It was lunch time till then. We had momos (10 bucks for a plate….can u beat that???) for lunch and moved on to Rumtek monastery. I had been specifically told that the monastery is exceptionaly beautiful by Mann….And I wasn’t disappointed. It is one of the most peaceful places I’ve ever been to.

I walked around the entire monastry…got a picture clicked with two monks…even got to see a small prayer happening. It was just two monks sitting and praying. I saw the young monks sitting and reciting their lessons. Just an amazing feeling walking around there!!! I sat there for a good 1 hour looking at people move about. Gave me a strange sense of inner peace and calm.

We came back to gangtok by 7. Decided to have an early dinner….we went into this hotel called the Tashi Delek. It had the most awesome of roof tops restaurant that I’ve ever seen….Just imagine….Night sky littered with millions of stars…a half moon….dark shadowy huge mountains in front tittered with yellow lights in front. As you look to the right…all you see is specks of lights as though fireflies…..it was infact the lights of Gangtok.. The realization dawned then….the trip's coming to an end….An awesome 72 hrs….!!

October 3rd, 2006- We decided to get up late….it was raining again. We took a 12 o’ clock cab back down to siliguri. The driver was a maniac. He drove at speeds of 60 on the mountain curves….While coming it’d taken us abt 5 hrs ….we reached the siliguri bus stand in 3and half hrs flat. The bus was at 7…..we had time on our hands…we had a little something to eat at one of the dhabas. We had 3 hrs and nothing to do……I remembered Mann telling me that in Siliguri we have to visit the Hong Kong Market….We asked someone and we reached the place…and all I could see was shops which were selling cloth. I was wondering why would she send me to a cloth market…..I called her up and demanded that she tells me a better place. She sounded taken aback and directed me to A place called Millennium Paradise. It was supposedly a bowling alley. We asked around and were promptly directed and ended up in front of a shop called millennium sports. The three of us with our back packs on our shoulders looking at each other as though we’re fools. Called Mann up for directions again and finally reached a place with a huge board….”MILLENIUM PARADISE”….we walked closer and saw a smaller one… “to let for sale”. Limits…..the auto wala took pity on us and dropped us to the ISKON temple where we managed to somehow spend 2 hrs. We happened to go in for a light and sound show which started with a girl dancing to the tune of a bhajan sang in the tune which reminded you of “ Kajraare”!! But it was fun…time pass…..

The 7 o’ clock bus waited for us and as we sat in it….we knew it was all over. We hardly spoke for about half an hour. Passed on our camera and gazed at the pictures. I suddenly commented…..” The pictures aren’t half as pretty as the place…!” Abdul and Nitesh just smiled in agreement.

Food for Thought

This is something which I thought of while on my way back from siliguri on the 16 hr long "irritatingly bum-hurting" bus ride......

Given an opportunity;........ would you change anything in the life you've had??????

If YES.....why haven't you made the changes yet.....??
If No.....why do you say you're unhappy??

DNA, Dor and More!!!!

Martina hingis V/s Sania Mirza turned out to be quite a dampner. I was glad that there were other matches scheduled for the same day. How can anyone loose so tamely?? Well I guess thats Indian sports for you....Hockey, Cricket, Tennis...ummm (do we play any other sport?? Shooting is hardly a sport....!!). There's something majorly wrong in our very DNA. We, as a race, give in easily where we need to be aggressive. The aggression is saved for people we least need to be fighting against.....eachother! And we end up feeling proud of ourselves. ......A sense of false achievement!

Talking about achievement, the other day I got appreciated by my bosses...apparantly for the "contingency planning" I was supposed to do for the renovation of one of the Airtel Showrooms in calcutta. It felt nice....but the corrupted DNA played up again and I ended up telling them that i took a lot of help from a person in the Delhi Office; when the truth of the matter was that I did it all on my own.....with some very vital help from vikram, who happens to be one of my bestest friends. I wonder why is it so difficult to accept appreciation. I almost turned red when I heard the words "Good Job!"

Sunday was lazy. I happened to go watch a movie with Abdul which otherwise I wouldn't ever go for. Abdul wanted to see it and I had nothing better to do...so we went. "DOR". A rather intelligent movie. Its got a lot of massages which come out in a very subtle manner. Gul Panag and Ayesha Takia are pretty good. Shreyas Talpade stands out and shines. I have not seen any movie lately without any male actors in lead role. I just love the song "Yeh Honsala". A must watch for a real movie lover...... trust me you'll not regret this!

I received a mail today. Well...I do receive a lot of mails but this one made me think. I usually just delete the fwds I get but I just happened to read this and found it very familiar. It was the exact same mail which I'd gotten about 4 years back and I'd taken a print out of it then and put it up in front of my desk....I just have to post is here.

1) Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.

2) Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.

3) Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.

4) Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.

5) When you say, "I love you", mean it.

6) When you say, "I'm sorry", look the person in the eye.

7) Be engaged at least six months before you get married.

8) Believe in love at first sight.

9) Never laugh at anyone's dreams. People who don't have dreams don't have much

10) Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.

11) Don't judge people by their relatives.

12) Talk slowly but think quickly

13) When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, "Why do you want to know?"

14) Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

15) Say "bless you" when you hear someone sneeze.

16) When you lose, don't lose the lesson.

17) Remember the three R's:

Respect for self;

Respect for others;

Responsibility for all your actions.

18) Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

19) When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

20) Spend some time alone.

Read all of them if you've skipped it....I'm absolutely in love with it...It goes in front of my desk yet again....4 years and I still loved each and every point it has. Some things just get better with time!

Smiles all around...Now is not forever!!!

Raindrops keep falling on my Head....

Thurday Morning....I woke up to the pleasant sound rain pelting down on my window. I got up and opened it. It was pouring heavy. A gust of wind and I got a faceful of rain water bringing a smile onto my face. "This is gonna be a good day!!" I jut love rain. I can sit and watch it rain for hours but I hate to get wet. I did watch it rain today, but it wasn't for hours coz I realized that if I didn't get moving I'd be late for work.

Abdul, my roomate, was already up and ready and doing something which I didn't bother to pay attention to. 30 mins is what I take to get ready in the morning. (I don't time myself but its almost a routine....brushing my teeth, a daily shave, going through Calcutta Times while doing "other" work and finally the bath...I guessif it weren't for Calcutta tilmes i'd manage the routine sooner.....but thats not the point!!) The smell of curry leaves being fried greeted me as I stepped out in my towel. Abdul was infact, preparing Lemon Rice for breakfast. I smiled again at the prospect of having something other than those godforsaken 12 buck "veg sandwiches". We get that at the Monginis, close to our office. We got our gas rolling a couple of days. Ghar ka khaana is soo much better! I'm done with eating out everyday.

Its Pooja time!! And I'm in Cal.....all I can hear people around me talk is how do we decorate, how do we organize, what do we wear, what do we eat, where do we go. Pooja is still a week and half away!! And its not just the people....its the radio stations as well....I heard a radio station give out tips to the listeners to ensure that their kids don't get lost during Pooja!! Made me realize the enormity of the celebrations I am in for..... If this is the build up, I can't wait to see what the real thing would be like.

Which reminds me....there are a lot of things I am looking forward to. Life's suddenly goten better.. we have the tickets for the Sunfeast Open in Cal. I'm gonna watch Sania Mirza play Martina Hingis if all goes well! and I have baseline seats...anyone coming? My presentation for my project happens next week as well. I usually wouldn't be this excited for it but for some reason I am looking forward to it. Here's the big one.... next thurday evening, we leave for the much awaited vacation to Sikkim. We've been planning this ever since we came here and its finally happening. I already have the tickets done for siliguri and we'll backpack from there....anyone coming? Hey october starts with me moving into sales which I am agian lookin forward to.....A real good friend comes down in mid october ...I hope we get time off to meet up! Come Diwali, I am back in Delhi....saddi dilli!! I can't wait for that either....

Life suddenly doesn't look like the negro's left ball!!!!! It was still drizzling when we left for work and for a change I did not mind getting wet.....

But Then I'm reminded...Now is not forever!! I better get back to enjoying my now..My coffee waits....:)

Zindagi Rocks...

"Expecting life to treat you well because you are a good person is like expecting an angry bull not to charge because you are a vegetarian"

I get back to my favourite topic....understanding life as we are.I read the above quote somewhere and I just fell in love with it!! You can't ever be sure of what is in store for you on the next corner.More often than not, what meets you is not what you expected. One tends to....well on second thoughts let me change it....I tend to associate this unexpectency with a certain degree of discomfort. And this in turn, makes my life seem rather tragic. Tragedy...half of which is self created and self inflicted!!

Lets take for example my desire to get back to Delhi. If I ask me why do I want to go back...I have no concrete answers! Yes it is my family....but haven't I stayed without them earlier?? Don't a lot of others stay without them?? Yes there are my friends....but are they a reason good enough??? I think it is the comfort....but am I uncomfortabale here?? A perfect example of self inflicted misery!! I could be happy for the fact that I've gotten to be independant...i have an opportunity to learn and grow.....i have an opportunity to discover new places...But I choose not to look at it and feel miserable abt being in kolkata!

I received a forward the other day which made me laugh and think at the same time....It was just a one liner and read:

Life is like a negro's left ball.....Its neither fair nor right!

True...wouldn't u say too?

Its almost end september......time for me to wrap up my project in CSD here..CSD=Custer Service Delivery!! I was with my boss the other day and we were talking abt work stuff. He just happened to mention at the end of the meeting a simple line which has energized me into taking up newer things before finishing off. A Simple line like...."Don't leave HR...U'll be an excellent HR person!!" I'm actually proud of myself...! 3 months in kolkata....time for a bit of reflection and learning....

• Being happy does not mean that everything is perfect, It means that you have decided to look beyond imperfections.
• Unhappiness is directly propotional to the difference between your self concept and the expectation from you. The greater difference the more the unhappiness.
• Question the status quo. If everything seems ok, there is something wrong!!!
• Expect the unexpected and u'll never be shocked!
• In order to get your work done, you have to make the other person feel important.
• Hard work always gets appreciation.....but looks matter! You need to do things which make others feel that you have worked hard!!!
• Confidence is important. It is the key to success.
• Proactiveness works wonders!
• Greet everyone ...irrespective of who he/she is and do it with a smile.It pays!!
• If you wanna succeed, enjoy what you do else start looking around!!
• If you think you've got it all figured.....think again and wait for the next corner!!!

Nowz not forever:)

Lets Talk Food Baby!!

Here's the deal...the previous post...A very dear friend of me who tagged me promptly informs me that I had to do it differently....Missy not doing it firse...too much effort!!

Too much effort reminds me of "eating fish"!! Trust me....the calories you burn searching for the bones in a piece are more than what the godforsaken piece will give you! No wonder it's "The recommended Meat"!! This last sunday my landlord happened to call me to his house for this feast that he had organized. One of my roommate's hates bengali food to the extent that he refused.. sayin that he had an upset tummy.

Now me and this other room mate of mine were left looking at eachother with no option but to go. Come Sunday we dressed in our smartest best clothes and reached his house only to realise that everyone else whas in Kurta pajama's....white one's!!And I was there...in my orange T shirt and blue jeans..."standing out" in the crowd. If there's one place where i didn't want to stand out...This was it!!

We were ushered in by some bengali speaking servants of his and taken to a room where we saw 3 old ladies sitting on the bed. We were asked to sit on the bed....The 3 ladies looked as lost as us. It was yet another awkward moment...i looked around and could only see females(read aunties) running around. I couldn't see a single male member....!! I wondered if we were supposed to stay on the ground floor as well....We moved out to the balcony before the ladies started bombarding us with questions which we half understood...

**THe bad part - Noone except my landlord speaks hindi in his house, or was that the good part???**

Luckily I did see the landlord's son standing there. He is an adorable 8 yr old ...extremely mild mannered for an 8 yr old. He wanted to play "catch-catch" with us...we were more than glad to entertain him. 5 minutes in and me having dropped 2 catches, a person comes out and tells us ....in bengali....that we need to go up and we complied.We saw people sitting in a line on huge tables waiting eagerly to be fed. We were duly alloted seats in the center of the room which made us the objects of attention!! If we were lost before, this almost scared us. All we could hear was people chattering away to glory and shouts to "jhol" and "lucchi" reverberating the room. I guess those are the only two words we could understand! Don't worry...you will too if u come to calcutta....the two most famous dishes in Calcutta!

The first thing we were served was salt and lemon...yes in the plate that i was supposed to eat. Next came some kinda red colored chutney made of some weird vegetable..I'll never know, it tasted pretty ok though! I for one am not a big rice eater...and thats exactly what i was served next. And then there was nothing for a while...I looked at my friend and then around and saw all these people mixing the red thing with the rice....Not knowing what to do i did it as well.. . the feeling was almost that of me in a foregn land eating foreign food. What followed wsa typical bong food....dal, aaloo "dom", "maach"(without bones), "maach"(with bones) and more "maach"(with lots of bones). O ya...did I forget to mention...there were no spoons!!!!

After all was done, there were "mishti". Had I known we'd be getting so much of it, I'd have skipped the "maches"!! I love Cal for its sweets and only its sweets. Awesomest rosogulla....divine sandesh.....yumm ...slurpppp. Okay, lets move away from food!

Its been 3 months and a lil more in Cal for me.....Howsoever much I might crib about the place it does have its own charm. The people are always friendly, the taxi walas don't try and cheat you, the food is awesome, the city is cheap and there is soo much to explore. It ain't that bad a place....but I still miss Delhi! 3 months compared to 9 YEARS...and you still wonder why, you still ask me why....!!?? :)

More lataaa...Nowz not for ever!

Grrrr....tagged!!! I hate answering questions about myself which make me think.....

1. How does the world see you?
See...??? The world sees a 5'10" tall guy who happens to be uncannily bulky. Someone who has his priorities clear and someone who'd like to see everyone around him smile.

2. Will I have a happy life?
I sure will...I'll make sure that I end up having one....come what may...I'm a strong beleiver in living the life in just one way....with a smile on your face.

3. What do my friends think of me?
I wish I could get into their minds and find that out....stoopid question!!

4. Do people secretly lust after me?
errr...I wish they do:). do you ...do you??? this is stoopid question no. 2

5. How can I make myself happy?
loll....there can be interpretations to this question!!! I would say its got to do with your attitude...and how you look at things..!

6.What should I do with my life?
Live it up....!!!

7. Will I ever have children?
I hope I will....! But this is another stoopid question....no. 3

8. What is some good advice for me?
Loosen up!!

9. How will I be remembered?
Kisi ki muskurahaton pe ho nisaar
Kisi ka dard le sako to le udhaar
Kisi ke vaste jo tere dil mein pyar
...Jeena isi ka naam hai!!

10. What’s my signature dancing song?
Shamur- Let the Music Play

11. What’s my current theme song?

I love this one...You gotta read and understand the lyrics!!!

Aerosmith --- Dream on!

Every Time I look in the mirror

All the lines on my face getting clearer
the past is goneIt went like dust to dawn
Isn't that the way
Everybody's got their dues to pay

I know what nobody knows
Where it comes and where it goes
I know its everybodys sin
You got to lose to know how to win

Half my life is in books written pages
Live and learn from fools and from sages
You know its true
All the things come back to you

Sing with me, sing for the years
Sing for the laughter, sing for the tears
Sing with me, if its just for today
Maybe tomorrow the good lord will take you away

Dream on, Dream on
Dream yourself a dream come true
Dream on, Dream on
Dream until your dreams come true
Dream on ...Dream on....Dream on...

Sing with me, sing for the years
Sing for the laughter, sing for the tears
Sing with me, if its just for today
Maybe tomorrow the good lord will take you away

12. What do others think is my current theme song?
Knocking on Heavens doors...Coz its mah Hullo tune!!:P

13. What shall they play at my funeral?
Rote hue ...aate hain sab
Hasta hua jo jayega
Woh Muqqadart ka sikandar....Jaaneman Kehlaayega

Oh yea....I'm gonna die laughing!

14. What type of men/women do I like?
I dont even understand this question....Stoopid question no. 4

15. How’s my love life?
Errr...non existent.... dare I say!?

HATE IT...LOVE IT...CAN'T IGNORE IT

Weird thing….I’m actually starting to enjoy my stay in Calcutta. Crib as much as I may, but I am glad that I came here*. This statement however comes with a star if you look closely.

* This however, does not mean that I do not want to go back to Delhi. Delhi is much better any day.

Getting back to the point, Kolkata’s never short of action. If it’s not anything else, it’ll be the rains which will bring the action into your life. Torrential is the word…I haven’t seen as heavy a downpour in my life ever. Just when u think it can’t get heavier it does…and just when you think it wouldn’t stop it does. It rains for 20 mins half an hour and then abruptly stops.

I’ve found this really cool bowling joint in Kolkata**. Not very expensive and it has beer too. (Not that I am a beer guzzler, but it always helps to increase the fun you’re having). So I usually spend my saturday evenings there.

** Cool by Kolkata standards, which as a matter of fact aren’t very high.

Talking about action…Rakhi Sawant was in Kol this past weekend. Now that’s some serious action for people here. The tickets were going for 600 bucks a person***!!! They were serving drinks too....

***(Okay…I admit I did ask for the price….but it was more because of me getting bored than anything else! I AM NOT A RAKHI SAWANT FAN!!)

Watched Ahista Ahista this weekend as well….decent flick…a lil slow!! But I guess, I should’ve understood that by the name …..Soha Ali looks good and acts well! I think shez the prettiest thing to happen after Preity Zinta… You gotta see it….its different….realistic :).

I also managed to get stuck in the rain a couple of days back. As a matter of pride, I refuse to carry an umbrella with me. I used to hate it in school and I hate it now. Then I had no option….now I do. However, all who’ve been in Kolkata would consider me stoopid after reading the statement that I just made. I don’t care….I wouldn’t be seen dead with an umbrella in my hand….not now…not ever! I guess I have something against umbrella’s!

Now…. Kolkata is dirty….and rains make it dirtier….The roads give in, there’s water logging everywhere and there are cars still driving at 60 kmph splashing the muddy rain water on you.

Here are a few facts…rather laws regarding Kolkata …!

• The probability of a passing by car/bus splashing muddy water on you is directly proportional to the importance of the occasion you are dressed up for.
• Between any two potholes there is always a road.
• If matters get worse, one pothole is always bigger than the other
• The depth of the pothole is inversely proportional to the product of its visibility and the speed you are driving at.
• No matter what you wear….No matter where you go….No matter what you do…you WILL get wet.
• No matter what you do, you cannot avoid a pothole. Avoiding one will lead you into another.
  Always be ready to take your shoes off and walk it. When it rains, there will be waterlogging and you will have to do it.
• No matter what you do, your clothes will never dry!!

Hey did I mention that I tried crab soup?? It looked more like a normal sweet corn with egg in it….I had to search for the crab in it with a magnifying glass which I forgot to carry with me….! The pieces were so small that they dint even have a taste….Disappointing crab!

Works going ok…september’s the D-month. Gotta finish my work by then…so a lil more seriousness has to come in….Can’t see it coming from anywhere.

More soon…..coz now is not forever!