First Date !

They waited eagerly for the class to get over,
looked at their watches more than the teacher.
Imagining his first date for the hundredth time,
he looked at her and then the time.

As the bell rang, they slipped from the room in a flash,
while others were still packing, discussing about the class.
They just smiled and walked side by side.
Suddenly she stopped, & in a moment even he was petrified.

They stood close as the tiny drops of water touched their cheeks.
He could smell her sweet rose perfume,
and she could count his loud nervous beats.

He stared at the sky,
fearing she may refuse to go out
and wished the rain to stop.
Closing her eyes, she prayed silently,
'let this rain continue' and
imagined them holding hands & walking in the rain.

As the drops became bigger and faster,
'Let's go!' he said and held her hands to go back.
Still her eyes closed, she started running out,
With hands held tight and smiles running wide.
Enjoying the fresh water droplets hitting their face,
they ran for their wonderful first date!

Dreams are all I have!

It has been a long time since I scribbled something here. A lot happened in the last few months. There were many days when I thought I would update my blog but somehow all my time and energy was spent only in writing about myself in hundreds of forms. I wrote so many essays during this placement season that I swore I wouldn't write anything for 1 week after placements, the only exceptions being chatting and giving attendance :P

There were so many things about which I wanted to write in the last few months. On some topics I even structured and wrote the entire post in my dreams! This reminds me of another interesting topic I wanted to write about. I have observed that after coming to this place, I have started recollecting my dreams and the frequency has increased to a disturbing level. This could be either because I hardly do any physical work & thus no sound sleep or because I do so much of mental work that my brain refuses to rest even when I sleep. Almost everyday I wake up with a strange dream memory. Some days it is an entire 2 hour interview with someone, some days I watch movies in my dreams, I relax on beaches and just stare at the waves on some days.

Today I woke up with the most interesting dream...a dream in which I was made the placement committee head at Hogwarts! As the place-comm head, I laid down rules for the spells which could be listed in their CVs, conducted training sessions on what magic to show when asked 'Tell me something about urself', the mock interviews with interviewees casting disastrous spells etc. It was a 'dream' dream!!

And as the famous saying goes 'Dreams come true; without that possibility, nature would not incite us to have them', I am hoping that a few of my good dreams do come true.

Friends Forever !

Will our paths ever cross again?
The mere thought of this is a pain

Even while treading on paths that never meet,
you would find me there in times of need.

It takes just one sight to fall in love
but it takes years to find a friend like you.

You may have a hundred friends like me,
But I had just you & I will have just you!!

exam TIME !

I am not sure of the relation between speed of light and time. The only relation between them which I can recall is the explanation of time travel. In simple terms, if we can travel faster than speed of light then we can travel ahead of / back in time. Does that mean speed of light has a direct relation with speed of time? Weird doubts.... I dont even know if there is a term 'speed of time' but I just meant the speed with which the time passes. You must be wondering why the hell did I start writing about speed of light and time relationship. Well, to cut the long story short... I was just trying out if I could 'globe' on any given topic..!!

Here, time passes faster than I could have imagined. As soon as I somehow complete one thing, I can hear the knell of another deadline. And swinging back and forth between accomplished and unaccomplished deadlines, five weeks are over! It truly teaches the most important lesson of management - time management and keeps us on our toes.

It's exam time again and as usual, I have been promoted from a day dreamer to a visionary (sounds better,is more motivating and is applicable for night also!). My mind is flooded with new ideas in various domains as soon as I open any book. The only problem is that they are not in the remotest way linked to anything mentioned in the book and is only taking me away from marks. And what better example than this post, the idea of which I got as soon as I opened the book for marketing!

PS( for all physicists out there): I have not googled the basic meaning of time travel and the post is solely based on what I vaguely remember. It is not intended to contend with the meanings/importance of these terms.

Roses remind me of the sweet fragrance life always has in spite of being surrounded by thorns. It's bright color overshadows the colorless thorns. It's soft touch heals broken hearts. It shows that someone still cares for me.

Thanks for the roses !

PS: Cake and the chocolates too have an equally significant contribution in making my life sweet... Thanks :)

Re-born as a jokar

After coming to this jokaland, I have hardly got time to sit back and think about what's going on. I guess Einstien would have formulated his theory of relativity on a visit to B-School. The only time when I was relatively free for thinking ( or day dreaming as many people call it..!!) was the exam time. All weird thoughts ranging from 'If 5 marks are deducted for not writing name on answer sheet then 5 marks should be awarded for writing the name.....why do all people suddenly start remembering me during exams and number of incoming calls increase exponentially....why do all good movies release before exams and none release just after exams...why binary marking when people have always given more importance to means than the end...' to what would be my next blog about flooded my mind.

But now that I have taken out some time to blog, I cannot think of anything to write. Guess my mind now cannot work under relaxed conditions..!! When I changed the theme of my blog, I did not realize that it would be so apt. It's a total new life unfolding here... new ways of studying... new ways of entertainment/celebration... new definition of day (try to sleep as much as possible) and night (try to work as much as possible)... and many more things.

And before I run out of time, wish you all a very happy friendship's day! Whatever you do in life, however busy you get, you should have at least one friend calls you by weirdly pronouncing your name, who teases you by a girl/boy you hate, who will do anything to get a party from you, who calls your nokia/sony ph a china handset in public loudly, who wont let you walk home alone, who would give you embarrassing greeting cards on ur b'day, who would call you to chit chat before ur exams, who smiles and make you smile though he has every right to breakdown...who you know will be there for you anytime and everytime.

Cheers to all my friends :)

Happy Bde!!

Today my blog turns 3! Yeah...aaj mere blog ka happy wala birthday hai. It's now 70 posts old. So I thought I would gift it a new look. In these three years, I always had the company of my blog. It helped me sail through all my ups and downs. I tried to be as regular as possible on my blog but the next two years are going to be damn hectic. I hope I can always manage some time for my blog and keep it alive.

Wish you a long life...my dear blog!!!

PS : Any suggestion relating to the background/color combinations is most welcome.

810

810...sounds like calling some prisioner..but that's how a few people have identified me in the last one month. I had never ever imagined that shifting from one city to another could be such a hassle. Living in Coimbatore, I had to shift my luggage from Bangalore to Bokaro. In these 3 yrs of stay in B'lore, my luggage had increased from 2 baggages to 12 (excluding TV, Refrigerator and other furnishings which I had bought for the house). Knowing my incapabilities of travelling by train with so much of luggage and the exorbitant charges of extra luggage in flight, I decided to send most of my luggage by a movers and packers agency. Little did I know that this decision of mine would cost me 10k and my peace of mind for the next 45 days.

With the help of google, I contacted a few of them. One didnt even know the place Bokaro!! Finally I zeroed in for the agency which sounded helpful and confident of delivering my luggage in good condition to Bokaro within 10 days. On a bright Sunday morning, they came to my place, packed my luggage and vehicle and set off from my house. They demanded full payment before taking my luggage and said they wont deliver until full payment is done. So I shelled out 10k with the hope of seeing my luggage at my hometown without any hassles.

So far so good. I chilled out for 9 days before the actual ordeal started. On the expected date of delivery of my luggage, I called them to check for the time when they wud give my luggage.

'Kuch kam roshan hai roshni
Kuchh kam geeli hai baarishein'.... starts his caller tune ( for rest of the post, I would refer this guy as 'roshan hai roshni'). Finally he answers the call but cannot recall me. I then quoted my consignment no 810 and this is how he refered and remembered me for all the future calls. After reminding him of his promise of delivering my lugagge within 10 days, he gave me the contact no of a person in Kolkata and asked me to contact him and check with him.

I called this second person (with no caller tune and who seldom received my call) and asked about 810. He told me that its already reached and would be delivered at my house the next morning. Reassured with his answer, I congratulated myself for shifting luggage so peacefully. It was after a couple of days when I realized that this no caller tune guy had just one answer... the one which he had told me the 1st time. From 11th day onwards, calling 'roshan hai roshni' and 'no caller tune' guys became a part of my routine.

After calling for 2 days, there was a new twist. 'No caller tune' guy stopped answering my calls. Pissed off with him, I called up 'roshan hai roshni' and blasted him. He then gave me the contact number of the manager of Kolkata office. I called him up and was taken aback by the caller tune.

'Bhala kisi ka kar na sako to bura kisi ka mat karna
Pushp nahi ban sakte to kante ban kar mat khilna'... Misled by the caller tune, I thought that this guy would be helpful. If not good, he won't do bad to me atleast. After calling him some 10 times a day, my luggage was delivered on the 15th day of dispatch!! But to my surprise (rather shock), one of my suitcases was misplaced and some one else's suitcase was delivered.

After calling up 'bhala - bura' guy for 2-3 times, I was told that probably, the suitcase got exchanged while loading in Kolkata godown. Along with my consignment, another consignment for Guwahati had also been dispatched from B'lore. In kolkata, both the consignments were separated and the suitcases was misplaced. They assured me that they had identified my suitcase and that it would reach my house within 7-8 days.

Knowing how much they adhered to timelines, I started calling up the 'no caller tune' and the 'bhala-bura' guy from the 6th day itself. For 2-3 times, they said it would reach in 1-2 days max, but after that they stopped receiving my calls. I called up the 'roshan hai roshni' guy and expected him to bring some roshni to the whereabouts of my suitcase. He said he would follow up with 'no caller tune' guy and get it delivered within 3-4 days. Everyday I used to call him and like my calls, even his replies became a routine. And by each passing day, my anger and frustration increased and the hope of getting my luggage back decreased.

Mann me hai vishwas...pura hai vishwas...hum honge kamyab ek din!! Finally after 45 days of dispatch, at 5 in the morning, I got a call from a person saying that he is standing outside my house with my suitcase! In spite of having come back late last night from an exhausting trip to Ranchi, I was more than happy to get up at 5 in the morning for my 810/7.


After completing the verification and signing formalities, I eagerly tried closing the door, but that person refused to step out. My dad, just up from his sleep, gave him a rude look. That person replied in a soft voice 'Sir, kuch chai-pani ke liye....'. 'Ek to mahine bhar se hume apne saaman ke liye pareshan kiya... upar se paise maang rahe ho...bhago yahan se' was my dad's reply in a strict voice. I closed the door with a smile on my face. That poor guy got blasted right in the morning, not only because of delivering my suitcase after 1 month, but also because of disturbing my dad from his sleep!!

Finally I don't have to listen to these horrible ring tones and identify myself as 810!!

PS - A piece of free advice.. never ever contact Times Packers and Movers for any shifting [http://www.timespackers.com]

Divide & Rule !

I clearly remember the first time when I had a discussion related to castes with my friends. It was the time when reservation for OBC was introduced. Prior to that we did not even bother about castes. Before that I had not even bothered to ask my parents which caste I belonged to and whether it falls under OBC or not? But I am sure after this rule for reservation, even small children would first confirm if they belong to OBC to avail the reservation.

It seems this was not enough a divide for our esteemed politicians. Britishers divided and ruled India on the basis of religion where as politicians are dividing and ruling India on the basis of castes. To ensure that Mayawati always remains in power, she might not mention the work she would do for the people but would definitely mention her caste in all her speeches. Including caste in census would help these powerful caste politicians use the census data as fodder for votes and government funding. It will empower politicians to create division in our lives to the last detail.

There are two debatable points related to including caste in census. One is the purpose this data would solve and the other is the way it would be executed to get accurate data.

The need for accurate data relating to castes came into picture when the Supreme Courts and Apex Courts demanded for data on the basis of which demands for OBC quota were raised. Last caste census was done by Britishers in 1931. Based on extrapolation of that data, the percentage of OBC was determined as 52% and correspondingly 27% reservation was done. Many caste politicians are of the view that these numbers are no where near the actual data and that caste census is needed to determine the exact population of OBC so that appropriate reservation can be given to them. In Modern India, where people dream of a casteless social order and efforts are made to weaken the caste structure, this caste census would only create fissures.

For a moment lets assume that the government has all the data related to castes. It is found that the percentage of SC, ST, or OBC has reduced and some other caste has increased. Will the government have the character to reduce their quota and increase the quota of the new caste? Will it not lead to more social stress and disorder? Will it not lead to situations similar to Gujjar protests in Rajasthan a couple of years back? At a time when terrorism and naxalism are posing a threat to security, are we equipped to handle additional threats?

Operational difficulties of a caste census cannot be ignored. Census 2011 will cover 1.2 billion people, with 2.5 million people being deployed to track them. However, a new dimension would be added to this census. Caste is not an "objective" measurable category like occupation, age, sex, education etc. It is to some extent a "subjective" category related with identity and perceptions which change from time to time. Though the literature on caste system is large, so far there is no precise definition of caste which can help a quantitative study. A definition encompassing different marks and boundaries of the numerous castes among Hindus and non-Hindus in different parts of the country is essential for census enumeration. Even if such a list enumerating the various castes is prepared and agreed upon, it is almost next to impossible to categorize the various sub castes and sub sub castes and convert it into meaningful data.

In 1931, when the last caste census was done, many people had claimed to be from higher castes to get a decent position in the society. Today, many people would claim to be from lower castes to get the benefit of the quota system. How are the census officials going to verify the caste information given by the individuals?

A few months back even the Home Ministry had declared to the Cabinet: “Population census is not the ideal instrument for collection of details on caste. The operational difficulties are so many that there is a grave danger that the basic integrity of the census data may be compromised and the fundamental population count itself could get distorted.” But once the Opposition—everyone from the JD (U), SP, RJD, Akali Dal, Shiv Sena, AIADMK and DMK to BJP, CPM and CPI (M)—got together, the Congress cravenly caved in.

In today's India, it seems the vision of caste-less society is there only in history books. We teach our children the various ill-effects of the rigid caste system and the strict social hierarchy based on their family's traditional livelihood and ethnicity only for some stupid exams. They learn the real lesson on caste system from our politicians and their shrewd policies based on castes!!!

Naxals : Part of problem or solution ???

Living in Jharkhand for more than 20 yrs, I was unaware of one of the biggest threats India is facing - naxalism. Not that I had not heard of this, but I didn't know the causes and effects of the same. Only thing which I remember is my dad following any news related to naxal attack in Jehanabad (my grandparents' place - also one of the areas severely affected by naxalism). Whenever I used to goto Jehanabad, I used to be awake all night. Somehow I believed if I am awake, then people wont attack our house..!!

In the last couple of months, I read more about naxalism. In most of the articles, the violence was condemned. There are hardly any articles to bring out the problems faced by them and the reasons which led them to take up arms. I do agree that the means adopted by them is wrong and can never be justified. But at least we should not turn a blind eye to their problems.

The Indian Forest Act came into action and overnight thousands of tribals living in forests were rendered homeless. The ownership of the land on which they were living for hundreds of years was given to the government without proper relocation or incentives to these tribals. They were given the right to vote in exchange for their right to live. When the rest of India was treading the road of developement and modernization, these people were denied even the basic amenities. With no proper houses, sanitation, education and earning, these tribals were left to struggle in the dense forests all by themselves. Even today there are no proper roads in their villages. The schools are the most abandoned buildings. Why should teachers come here, to the jungle, when they get their salaries sitting at home?

Naxal groups claim that their primary objective is to take up the issues of equity, class and injustice within tribal society. It started its operations in West Bengal and soon spread to less developed rural areas of Bihar, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh etc. Today around 200 districts are a part of the Red Corridor (areas affected by naxalism). They have the support of the tribal and rural population of central India. They prefer sending their children to training camps organized by naxals to sending them to schools. At least it gives them hope that some day they would get their land back. If someone captures our house overnight, we would also try to get it back by any means, If talks don't help, then wont we take the help of some local gundas to threaten them and get back our house by any means. They are also doing the same. Even Bhagat Singh and Subhash chandra Bose used violence to make their voice heard. Then why do we appreciate Bhagat Singh and Subhash chandra Bose but condemn naxals? Instead of understanding their problems and empathizing with them, we are thinking of the possibilities of air strike?

But in the bargain the whole population in the red corridor is living in constant state of fear. Every other day is a bandh which throws life out of gear. And who suffers, the common people. The target of their ire is common masses, the target of government atrocity and inefficiency is also common masses.

There is no one right side or wrong side in this menace and there's no direct or easy solution to this problem. Instead of deploying more and more armed forces in these areas, if our government and build more roads, TV and teachers to these areas, the situation can be under control. They need listening ears more than bombs and explosives.

Vo teen saal..!!!

Now that I have lots of free time before going for management studies, I was just thinking about the past 3 yrs of my life which I spent in an unknown city far from home all by my self. In addition to the 3 yrs of work ex which I would have to mention some 300 times in various resumes and interviews in the next 2 yrs, I learned a lot about life. Some were through experience (as the famous saying goes... failures are often termed as learning by experience) while others were cherish-able moments.

I learned to laugh at the end of the day with friends in spite of having the worst days at work....I learned to accept people the way they are...to forgive people easily...to help the needy...to spend money for sweet nothings...the list is actually endless.

In these 3 yrs I learned to live my life to the fullest in spite of all the daily mundane issues and hectic work schedule. But there are a few things for which even 3 yrs were less. I still cannot manage my time properly and end up doing all my important things in the eleventh hour. May be my mind is just too convinced that if I do something in the last minute, it would always take only a minute to do it..!!! Then comes my carelessness. I couldn't do away with my carelessness and still land myself in troubles every now and then because of it. There has been no improvement in my way of following protocols. I hope the next 2 yrs of management studies helps me get over all these and a few more.

And if someone asks me my gains and losses of these 3 yrs, I can very easily sum it up in one sentence. I gained many good friends and a few additional pounds of fat....and lost all my monetary earnings...!!!

Dil ko nahi pata hai..!!!

Whatever I have wanted at any point of my life, I have always got it. Some things I get immediately while others I get after a short wait. But still the happiness and satisfaction of that achievement is very short-lived. Today, I have everything I had wanted... admission in one of the premier institutes, a promising career ahead, good friends, 1 month of vacations at home.... but still I am not happy. Not that I want anything more... but still I feel there is a void... a void which can never be filled... a void which I cannot fill however hard I try...

After 2 years, I would again be employed by some reputed employer and would again have the same office-se-ghar-ghar-se-office routine.But what next? 'Dil ki yehi khata hai... dil ko nahi pata hai... ye dil chahta hai kya..?!?' May be this is what people call quarter life crisis.

RTE is a way forward to a more educated India

On 1st April, Right to Education was included in the fundamental rights and it was no fool’s day joke. Almost everyone agrees the importance of education in our lives. The low literacy rate in India has always been a reason to worry. Legalization of the right to education is a tool which can help each child get primary education if it is executed properly.

Giving due importance to this act, our prime minister addressed the nation and emphasized on the importance of education. Each of us can closely relate to his statement that education is the reason he is at that position in his life. Education helps us lead a better and more meaningful life and all should be given this opportunity. With 25% reservation for under privileged students in private schools, more children from weaker society would get quality education which would ensure a better life for them. If this is executed well and children are actually encouraged to go to schools, it would definitely lead to progress.

Formulating a law and allocating funds for this to various states is the first step towards progress. However, much depends on the execution. Funds have earlier been allocated for farmers and other people in need but not even half of the amount has actually reached them. More awareness needs to be created at the grass root level. Children are often treated as source of income by the weaker society. They avoid sending their children to school in fear of losing their source of income.
Alternatives need to be thought for such parents so that they shed their inhibitions and send their children to school. Only then full potential of RTE can be realized.

In India, many things can be achieved only through a law. In absence of such a law, people used to argue saying which law says they should send their children to school. Now it would be a legal binding of the parents and the school to ensure that they do their part in educating all children.

RTE has laid the roads to a more educated India. We just need to walk on that road and ensure that all children around us are benefited by this.

Self-Indulgence

Last couple of weeks, I have lived a life practically deprived of everything I am (or rather was..) addicted to. Good food, internet, TV (showing hindi and eng channels), free incoming calls...the list is endless. Last weekend I went to Bangalore and felt like I had been released from some jail. I chatted wid frnds to an extent that my friends had to assure me that this was neither my last day nor theirs. Though there is nothing much to watch on TV these days, I saw it for such a long time at a stretch that when my roomie asked me what I was watching, my reply was 'adds..!!!'.

And finally it was time for me to explore the outer world. I called one of my cousins and we decided to meet at Forum. Since he is younger to me, I was sure that he would bear with me without complaining. At the end of the day he said "I am surprised by your stamina and capacity to eat and shop. Now I know why men avoid going shopping with gals..!!" What a polite way of saying that I ate and shopped like crazy where as all I did was to satiate my hunger of last so many days!!!

And in these two days I pampered my self so much that today while discussing self - indulgence, the example given to me was the way I was ordering lunch...!!! Then on retrospection, I realized that I was so engrossed in myself that I became oblivious of even others' existence...be it my friends (with whom I was chatting)...or my roomie (whom I forced to watch adds) ... or my cousin...or my colleagues at lunch time...!!

So no more of self-indulgence (excess in action and immoderate indulgence of bodily appetites). Even my today's horroscope says so..!!!

P.S: Ignore all grammatical errors as I have been forced to read documents where english is dissected and murdered over and over again...!!! A few sample lines from those documents ---

"Taxation will be differs Item wise / State Act Wise / Return filing one branch in a state"

"In future Excise Billing may be happenned"

If you have it, you don't need to have anything else, and if you don't have it, it doesn't matter much what else you have.

A lot can happen over a cup of coffee...!!!

These days I am having a lot of coffee and each time I have a cup of coffee, innumerable memories flood my mind.

It reminds me of the days when every day after our classes (sometimes even before our classes) we used to head for the IC for a cup of coffee. That used to be the sole "energy drink" which helped us sail through the lectures. The special coffee served in our mess during exam nights used to serve as the harsh reminder that it's high time we need to stop gossiping (still don't understand why we were flooded with gossip topics only during exams) and start studying.

The well known CCD tagline 'a lot can happen over a cup of coffee' reminds me of the day (holiday actually) when we were just gossiping in our hostel room and someone mentioned this line. And almost simultaneously all of us said 'Let's go to CCD..!!'. It was around 1030 in the morning, we were just lazing around and were not even out of our beds at that time. And at 1100, we were on the bus which took us to the nearest CCD (that was around 20kms) from our college. That was the day and today is a day when in spite of wanting a cup of coffee we would not despise our laziness to walk up to a CCD just 200 mts away.

I have been to barista only a couple of times but the one which invariably is on my mind is the day when my cousin, my bro n I had gone to a Barista in Mumbai. We had ordered the best of coffees (with every topping possible as my cousin was treating us). During those days, I used to be crazy for the cream they used to serve. So after finishing up mine quickly, I took some cream from my bro's cup to which he resisted (quite a normal reaction). But I was just too hell bent on having it and amidst the small tu tu main main, accidently my bro spilled his coffee partially on me and partially on himself. Without realizing that it was a public place and I was equally at fault, I shouted at the top of my voice at my bro for spoiling my dress. I still remember he cleaned up my dress with a tissue first ( in spite of the fact that even his dress was spoiled),then apolozied for the entire thing and sweetly offered the remaining coffee with cream to me. All this while I was still shouting at him and everyone else was looking at my bro as if he had done some gross thing to me. I still remember his sorry look and his sweet nature at that time even when I was at fault and I was being irrational. I never said sorry to him for that act but whenever I have coffee with cream, I always think of that day and feel sorry.

And jab baat coffee ki ho rahi hai to how can I forget this one. While going uphill to Vaishnodevi, I spotted a CCD. I was with my cousin and asked him to stop there for a cup of coffee. He refused my request bluntly and dragged me uphill. I insisted a lot but nothing was of any use. He was adamant on continuing without wasting time. But then while coming down, he himself offered me a treat in CCD and asked me to order anything from the menu. That was too big and unexpected a treat at that time (when I was totally exhausted).

Worth mentioning is also the innumerable coffee treats both at college and at office :) I still remember our unusual trips to the coffee vending machines to eat the coffee beans and even now my aim usually is to reach office before the morning coffee is served there..!!!

Fettered...

Fettered by this...
I can not say what is at my heart,
when I can not even chase a hart.

Time is ticking by,
second by second.
Will I get a chance second
before I bid goodbye?

Fettered by this...
I can not be happy like a child,
when I can not even run into the wild!!!

Dream vs Reality

I turned left, then right, then left again.
Something was not letting me sleep,
somewhere, some part was in pain.

But what was that? I should not think about it now.
All I wanted was a few hours of sleep somehow.
Again turned right, this time with an urge,
An urge to dial your number.

Phonebook...search...A..B..K...
with trembling hands I reach till Z.
Pain with a tinge of sorrow and a pinch of fear
made me forget your number.

And as I checked the number dialed last,
memories flashed from the past.
Everytime I couldnt sleep or was up from some dream,
I would dial your number fast.

Sleep...Sleep...I forced my brain,
Turn left, turn right...but don't think of this again.
And lo! suddenly my eyes open
to realize that it was all a dream.

Yes, it had to be a dream - a second later I thought
because in reality there's no 'you' and no 'your number'..!!

Pleasure is now my pleasure !!!

It's been around 6 months since I bought Hero Honda Pleasure....it has covered 2500 kms and has gone for two free servicing but still while chatting i get replies like 'when did u buy a vehicle..and which one??'...'oye...u drive to ofc??..kab se..kaise..' .. ' u bought a 2-wheeler and didnt tell me....u hv forgotton me...'etc from my friends. To avoid all such allegations in future, here is my declaration 'I bought a honda pleasure (dual tone black) on Jul 30th 2009...learnt driving in the next 15 days and now I drive decently to my office..to muv theatres and to malls..'

In these 6 months, I have noticed a few things which I always thought I would include it in some of my blogs some day. What better post to include them than this one which officially (though i dont mind including them in my posts without any context also) is about by new purchase and my driving.

• Everyone says 'Turn left/right from the next red light'......shouldn't it be from the next green light???


• Auto-walas derive sadistic pleasure in blocking the get-away for 2-wheelers by inserting their front wheel. They always think they are as sleek as bikes and would get between the cars and would make sure that if they cannot go ahead neither does any 2-wheeler!!


• It's very dangerous to drive close to a bus...not because they drive erratically but because people sitting in the bus have the strange habit of spitting out from the window without even checking outside!!


• Why do people waiting towards the trailing end start honking as soon as the signal turns green? Even the people at the front want to cross the signal asap!!


• Why does it never rain (in spite of thick dark clouds) if you want your vehicle to be washed by the rains?


• And yes...I do acknowledge the fact that traffic police men are lenient towards female drivers. They have not issued challans to me in situations where my other friends have been issued challans if they drive..!!

PS : This list is not exhaustive and would be updated as and when something strikes me. Any additions are most welcome :)

Welcome 2010 !!!

I have often heard that the entire year depends on the way you spend the first day of the year..Last year,I had spent the first day just whiling away in my room itself in Chennai...so I guess 2009 was kind of boring and uneventful. But this 1st Jan was rocking.

We reached gurgaon after completing our rajasthan trip on 1st and straight went to the accomodation our dear host had arranged for us. All along the trip, we had heard stories about the way our host had kept his room...unusually tidy and unorganized to an extent that even the guys said they want another acco n were not ready to share his room. So after persuading the security gaurds of his hostel for quite some time, he allowed us (gals were strictly not allowed inside the hostel...but ye India hai...bit of deviatons always work) to have a look at his room. And the moment we entered his room, I felt like throwing up....it was stinking and was a horrible sight. Still the host was proudly showing his room and posing for pics.



After a bit of rest and quick lunch at MacD, the rocking new year evening started. We played at the gaming zone like crazy people....the host was too liberal in purchasing the gaming coupon and we were too enthusiastic to swipe the card at each game counter. Right from bike racing to ice hockey to sniper shooting to basketball to jackpots...we played everything. Some of them didn't start at all but still who cares till we are having fun.



After around an hour of crazy games, we went to the bowling alley. This one is the best I have been to till date (though the most expensive also). My bowling is horrible and out of 20 chances, I can barely manage 3-4 throws where at least it hits the target. All others just go sideways (may be I need some health tonic like humdard ka cinkara..!!). Saw some very gud shots by my friends and enjoyed the music which was being played and it was already dinner time by then.

After dinner started our long drive to India Gate. The host had a car but didn't know the route. But as usual, he boasted that he knew the route and that he would take us all to India Gate and bak to G'gaon safely (considering that delhi is not very safe at night). It was already 10 in the night and it was biting cold outside. The thin layers of fog could be seen on the wide deserted roads. Till some distance, the road sign boards were showing India Gate and we were following that...but we came to a point where there were no further sign boards and no one on roads to ask the directions....Luckily one of my friends had the nokia naavigator phone with GPS facility and he started that.

But how could our host take the help of a machine when he considers himself superior to everything else. He started giving fundas like 'humans ne machine banaya hai...machines ne humans nahi' etc etc..n all this time he didnt follow the route shown by GPS and followed his intuition. Then after lots of shouts and rebukes from us, he agreed to follow the GPS and finally we reached India Gate. But what a scene..!! We were barely able to see India Gate due to the thick fog and no lights (cost cutting yahan bhi..). I had always wanted to drive to India Gate at midnight...and it was a dream come true for me... :)



After 2-3 pics...we knew it was a waste since even the best of cams couldnt capture fog at night without lights..!! It was time for us to find our ways back to g'gaon. Again the host declared his supermacy and that he knew the route better than GPS and started the car. But in his heart even he was scared...he knew the truth and so did we...that we have to find for the way back....After giving umpteen fundas and wasting litres of petrol, he finally requested to swtich on GPS..!! :P But then even machines have a unique way of taking revenge. The phone's battery went down and we were left to rely only on humans.... That was a time when our host forgot all his fundas and was worried about getting back. Some how we managed to get close to some defence area where 2 army people were on the roads even at that late hour and we reached g'gaon finally with their help.

This atleast convinced our host that we can rely on machines also!! Next day he agreed to use the GPS throughout the drive (to any place). This was the day when I had to come back...but the fog and cold was at its best in Delhi and my flight got delayed by 3 hours. So we enjoyed tea and maggi at a small shop outside his hostel and then back to airport.

Later I heard that it was one of the coldest days in Delhi and the chilling winds had forced one of my friends to dance at platform no 9 of Delhi railway station that night to keep his body warm (he was already under 3 layers of body warmers :D).

All in all, a complete funfilled and eventful day. Hope the year also follows the footsteps of the 1st day :)

Happy New Year to all :)


PS : 3 cheers to our host for such a wonderful stay in g'gaon..!! :)

What an end and what a start of an year..!!

Every year towards the end, I start counting days and hours for the new year to arrive but last year (technically :P) it was not the same. After 26th Dec I just knew it was 2nd Jan. Time flew by like a second and all thanks to the awesome rajasthan trip....wonderful friends...and a great host. I have been to many outings and trips with friends (my orkut and picasa albums would vouch for that) but this one was unique in its own sense. This trip was more like a movie than a tour. Yes a typical bollywood movie which starts with the arrival of each charachter one by one and the host receiving each of us followed by a lunch and shopping(courtsey our host). While some of us were busy shopping, others were busy in the 'roothna-manana scene' :P :D



And thereafter started a once-in-a-lifetime journey, a journey which had moments which one would want to live again and again......the first sight of sand dunes, camel ride or rather camel race, sunset from dunes, bakkar on sand dunes under a clear moomlit sky, some awesome pics and the laughs that followed, search and experiments for decent food in rajasthan, DDLJ poses in sarson da khet.....and many more.

Jodhpur didn't have many things to see..just a couple of forts and palaces which all could be seen from the mehrangrah fort top (so we saved a lot of time).



And then started our ordeal to find a decent place to eat. Our hotel owner had recommended us a place called 'fun and food' so without exploring much we decided to go to that place. But finding that place turned out to be an ordeal and to add to it the fact that people there somehow are not clear about road directions. They say left and show the right hand and vice versa. So we had a tough time locating that place. However we were determined to find that place and after around 45 minutes of struggle we finally tasted success. However the food served there was not worth the efforts. It was already evening by this time and we decided to go back to our rooms and play cards. Since I didnt know the game, we had a few rounds of trial games after which started the 'rang-a-rang' game..!!! With beginner's luck on my side it wasn't difficult to win that day but after that day, I lost badly on all other days :(. Then again started the search for 'On the Rocks' (another place suggested by the owner for dinner). This time even our driver was irritated by people's direction sense and after making 2 rounds on the same road and still searching, he said ' On the rocks hai ya xerox hai!!!'. But this time, the place was worth the pains.



And how can I forget to mention this. Jodhpur turned out to be the most eventful place as far as my trip was concerned. I had a bet with one of my friends (who claims that Don kabhi Wrong nahi hota) and the stakes were too high. The topic of bet was as simple as the time taken to drive from Jodhpur to Jaisalmer and the stakes were my fav sunglasses (if i lose) and my trip expenses to be borne by my friend (if he loses). The distance between the 2 places is 285 km and it might sound a simple time and distance calculation. My estimate was 3 - 3.5 hrs and his estimate was 5 - 5.5 hrs. Thanks to the awesome roads of rajasthan and the low population density(though the highway boasts of some 'ghani aabadi aage' boards), the drive was successfully covered in 3 hrs and 1 minute. Though throughout the drive, he prayed for some delays like railway track gates closed or vehicle breakdown and tried to add all sorts of terms and conditions to the bet (which included conditions like finding the 'Jaisalmer 0 milestone' etc). Par sach ki jeet hui and I won the bet. :D



Jaisalmer is the best place to go if u wanna goto rajasthan to see the desert. Without wasting time, we went to Sam (40 kms from jaisalmer) which has sand dunes to the extent you can see and the sight is just awesome.



Camel ride or rather camel race added to the fun and then started the much awaited event of the trip 'the sparta..!!!'. But amidst all this fun in the sands, one cam started showing lens error due to sand. The sun setting in the sand was also a scene too good to miss and while we were still enjoying the sunset, started the emergency exit :P



Our next halt was at Ajmer where our day started the earliest of all. It was also the last day of the year and the last day of our trip and we had to cover as much as possible on that day. So we went to the famous dargah at 6 in the morning, then to the Pushkar temple and then rached jaipur by afternoon. The Amer fort there is truly huge and well maintained and one of the best in rajasthan. And helping us seeing this huge fort, we had raju guide at our service....who knew nothing except posing and overhearing other guides..!!!



We spent the new yr eve at Choki Dhani which included reliving some childhood moments like the swing and playing hide and seek. We all laughed and giggled like children once again...with no other thoughts in our mind and no other feelings in our hearts. That was just awesome. Then came the dinner part. Though the food there tasted good, it was rich with ghee. We could take out spoon-fulls of ghee from any prepration there. By the time we finished our dinner, it became very cold and we returned back to our rooms, wished for a great new year ahead and went off to bed.


The next day we started early as one of us had his train in the evening from Delhi. But en route there were so many sarson da khet which reminded us of the DDLJ days and in spite of the tight scheduled, we spared 5 mins and jumped into the fields for posing. Seeing the golden flowers of sarson, Wordsworth lines about daffodils came to my mind and the feeling was quite the same.



"Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretch'd in never-ending line

Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

.....

In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils (read sarson :P)."


Thinking about this trip, innumerable memories come to my mind and it's impossible to put them all in words.




Cheers !!!