3 movies in 3 weeks

That we love watching movies is now a lore, you'd think these reviews are arriving rather late in the day. So, one, I usually don't write when everyone else is watching the movie and busy tweeting and reviewing the movie if it's a must watch or a dampener. I prefer writing when everyone else has gone home with reams in their head about this and that and everything else.

Raees

The last SRK film I watched on the big screen was Billu (Billu Barber) for it had Irfan Khan (and he is god). All further releases after that, I've watched them on TataSky or discounted DVDs that dear husband buys off during seasonal sales. My sister insisted we watch Raees in the multiplex. Part of me was worried because, we have never visited the multiplex ever with kids unless a children's movie is in question. Even The Jungle Book in 3D failed to woo our two home-theater loving boys. They kept complaining it was too dark. Well, that's another story for another day. 

Luckily for us, the boys had a hearty lunch so when the Udi-Udi Jaye song started they soared to a good afternoon siesta. Long story short, an aging SRK trying to do what Once Upon a Time in Mumbai did to Ajay Devgun. Ajay Devgun was class personified with his bell bottoms, long sideburns, stiff broad shirt collars and that mustache which took him to another level. Here, the only lingering memory of SRK was his kohl-ed eyes and tanned but pancaked skin, all in sepia. The lesser known support characters were good despite the strong editing which was to make SRK stand out - Nawazuddin's character of Majmudar looked too hurried to dispense justice and hence, did not move me so much despite the dialogues and Mohammed Zeeshan Ayub should come out of his checklist as a character actor and start taking more fleshed-out roles, he must know he is very good. Mahira Khan was all sound(given the pre-release controversy), anyone could have done her role and still stayed forgotten. So, there was no story. It was a badly made porridge riding on that one promotional line of the antihero- "baniye ki dimaag aur miya bhai ki daring". Too many topics scattered here and there- there was Gujarat, communal politics, bootlegging, mohalle ka savior, encounter killings and Sunny Leone trying to dance. SRK, oops you tried but you're tired.

Ratings- 1.5/5

Kaabil

I don't remember watching too many notable Roshan Jr movies except Zindagi Na Milega Dobara where he played a near perfect but arrogant investment banker who can sing, swim and dance and perhaps, Agneepath. I've read more reams of his divorce and his mud-slinging with Kangana Ranaut.

We all know by now that Kaabil is a rape revenge drama involving a visually-challenged couple and two corrupt and lawless Maharashtrian corporator brother-duo played by real life brothers, Ronit and Rohit Roy. The pace is fast - fairy tale romance of two visually challenged professionals, marriage, and a double rape which culminates in suicide of Yami's character even before the intermission. 

While it was encouraging to see a movie being made on visually-challenged people, the tepid way of dealing with relationships was disappointing and sexist to say the least. A self-reliant blind girl has to wear uncomfortable shoes to make her intended-to-be happy and familiar that she is around. Who cares about painful toes and wobbly walking and tripping on them? She has to let go of her walking stick in public because he is there for her only to get lost. She takes out her walking stick only to be interrupted by a love-is-in-the-air apology in the middle of a movie promotion in a mall. The worst is perhaps feeling sorry that she got raped twice and is no longer acceptable unconditionally because the man felt violated. So the suicide. The movie was a drag after that. Justifying it with the super revenge tactics is as lame as as believing that the world of the blind is a perfect world. But the disturbing part is, how do men deal with a raped spouse/relative? I do not have answers. Rohit Roy has not come out of his Swabhimaan avatar in terms of dialogue delivery and Ronit Roy is deliciously menacing as Bhausaheb.

Ratings - 1.5/5

Jolly LLB 2

Akshay Kumar has grown as an actor. Remember the hairy-chested Khiladi days where he gyrated nonsensically to Anu Malik songs? The turning point as a viewer happened with Ajnabee where he plays a villain to a dumb Bobby Deol and of course, the Hera-Pheri series. He started picking up smart scripts and kept pace with smart image makeovers. I've not missed too many of his movies after that. He looks relatable quite often and seems hardworking.

I really enjoyed Jolly LLB -1, Arshad Warsi was delightful as Jagdish Tyagi. I cannot think of anyone else as Jolly. And, I think I'm quite convinced about it. But then, it is Akshay Kumar this time and how could I not go!

The movie suddenly throws up a super progressive whisky-chugging Human Qureishi as Pushpa Pandey, wife of Jolly Pandey, originally from Kanpur now in Lucknow who rents a Gucci dress. I have no problem with her whisky act but it was such a miss and blink role from clapping for her husband in court which looked stupid to going through legal papers and evidence to find the fifth cop in the Ipbal Qasim/Qureishi (played achingly by Manav Kaul) encounter killing/murder and eating garma-garam rotis prepared by her husband. 

My in-laws thoroughly enjoyed the movie given its hinterland flavor though Papaji thinks Arshad Warsi is miles better than version 2.0. We also reasoned that Arshad Warsi played a proper Dilliwala and that has its own spice and flavor. Akshay Kumar tried as Jolly version 2.0 and he maybe earning accolades but the actual star of the movie is our adorable teddy bear judge sahib, Saurabh Shukla who loves Alia Bhatt in all forms. You have to watch the movie for him. His mannerisms, his quirks as a father, a heart patient and a judge transferred from Delhi to Lucknow are bang on. The bunch of veteran actors who make up for the ensemble cast are not disappointing at all as Akshay's flaws get hidden by their craft. Kumud Mishra as a villain, yes. You also learn lyrical Lucknowi Hindi through Annu Kapoor who never fails to surprise you.

Ratings - 3/5

3 fathers and a king

There are fathers

With bittersweet love for their fathers

Who beget painful memories for their children

And there are fathers who loved their fathers

Who their children look up to with pride.

They write happy pages to read in old age.

A Pakistani who thinks he is a father first.

His young lad goes to school while his wife keeps vigil.

In a distant land he drives from morn till his bones creak.

He asked me one question - why so much hate between our countries?

I told him the mistakes of our forefathers.

And the radio blared - Long live the King!

While dear Indie told me about the late Sheikh,

How good a father he was, how good a statesman he was.

The roads are named after him - isn't that proof?

Matheran Revisited

Matheran is very different than what it was in our young salad days or maybe,we have matured and changed since. Decision around which dates and where to stay didn't take long- V is a an ace!Packing was my responsibility - all things in one rucksack - baby's,his and mine.His memories of the place were as remote and distant as mine. He had trekked this place with his friends and I had come here with colleagues from work.Very very different situations.And, now, it's about our small world.

Day of departure-

Check drill of what we carried and the jazz from tickets to diapers, mosquito repellant to moisturising cream and what not.Remembering the mistakes of my last trip to Matheran, i made my bestest-sure not to goof-up this time, especially with a 4-month in tow.You just can't afford to. The 9-day Ganesh festival was on, so Hyderabad looked crazy. We reached the station on time and boarded the Hussainsagar Express (Sec-Mum).Very homely compartment - we ran out of what next to eat.Sonny boy got frightened to sleep in the lower berth otherwise very well-behaved.Our original plan was to get down at Kalyan at 2AM and take the connecting local to Neral, at 4AM.We chucked that and decided to get off at the last stop, Mumbai and take the local from there. I am so glad we did that.

Day 1

As our train rolled in at CST(formerly VT) at 5 am, V promised to show me a different side of Mumbai and the gentle morning air also brought back old memories of a young man's tryst with Maximum City.I heard so much about Mumbai never sleeping, i believe that now. As we left the station, V very helpfully refreshes my memory with an unlikely starter - this is where Kasab..I was like yes, i know but don't take his name please!Hopped into a quaint cab and V wanted to show me the iconic Gateway of India and the Taj by the sea. It is no longer open to the common man at all times after the infamous 28/11 bombing.Barricaded, we saw it in passing as much as we passed by the iconic hotel. As i stared out to a sleeping Mumbai, i imagined how a regular day must be with the humming janta,traffic, chaos and din. I could hear the streets breathe and sleep and a crow cawing once in while.We headed off to Marine Drive for a cuppa by the Arabian Sea.No, we didn't see any actor/actress jogging by as many claim.Of course, we were seated bang opposite the iconic Air India building at Nariman Point. It was so heartwarming to see so many families and bunches of youngsters in happy chatter enjoying a cup of tea at dawn.A lot of morning walkers and the municipal boys in their cleaning drive.V tells me Marine Drive always holds a special place for any aam Mumbaikar, i am sure it does. We also came across a small time scribe who was on a signature campaign to have more toilets installed.

We were back at CST to catch the local to Neral, killed time nibbling sabudana vadas. People here are so dang punctual, read their newspapers religiously and a host of other things.Passing by different stops,Mumbai  stinks I must say, no cleanliness drive in the world can save this city.The sights and smells drove Sonny boy mad, he was already tolerating the humid weather.So relieved to reach Neral,we had a quick vada-pav breakfast and set off to Dasturi. The number of hair-pin turns can leave you a little queasy.From there it's a horse-trot or a trek or hand-pulled buggies or better still, the newly refurbished toy train.

Our hotel had some amazing Gujarati cuisine lined up for us. Old-fashioned housie in the evening while the youngsters foosballed and some of us played badminton; and there is always the idiot box.

Day 2

We were done with breakfast. I wanted some much needed sleep while V decided to take a walk in solitude. He promised to be back by noon for piping hot lunch.He got me the freshest wild flowers from the valley and he did seem to have enjoyed a proper workout.Two incidents left me gaping.

High-way Robbery

V had picked up a bottle of Fanta to keep him company. As he went deeper into the woods with the sunlight peeping through the leaves, he had little idea that something like this could also happen to him. Generally, he is always prepared for any eventuality but this time around i had packed, remember?So no knife,no torch and a host of other things. Out there in the distance, this fairly strong guy stood in the middle of V's path. Both of them stopped and sized up each other.First, there was silence, each asking the other to back off but well. When V decided not to budge, two others from the bushes showed up. And it was a uh-oh moment for V.He had nothing on him, not even stones or a stick. The stares didn't take long to turn to menacing gnarls. The message was plain and simple - hand over what you have and leave, no questions asked.V had no option but to surrender the bottle of Fanta. The monkey grabbed and opened it, guzzled it down in 3 shots and disappeared into the bushes.Whew!That was close.

Ropeway Crossing

After the highway robbery, V trekked to Honeymoon Point (yes, there are such names) and came across this bunch of adventure lovers who do this. He did a Hamlet - to do or not to do. Like all married men, he assumed happily his nagging wife won't allow him such privileges. But the loving husband made sure he left my contact information with the organisers just in case. He tells me he saw the most breathtaking view of the valley and that there is no point of recovery in case there was a mishap. It took him 4 minutes to cover the valley and one is left dangling in the last minute at Louisa Point as the person on ground hauls you in.

A bunch of flowers from the valley for the wife. And it was an afternoon dedicated to reading a graphic novel Indian by Choice on the couch while V and Sonny boy enjoyed their 40 winks.A pleasant horse-trot to all the view-points in the evening.

Day of departure

We made sure we took the toy-train ride all the way to Dasturi and it was the same old. Just that, at the station we learnt our train got cancelled thanks to the Telangana whatever. We took the local to Karjat and a kind TT put us in an AC suite to Pune. Sonny enjoyed the fields of bright orange and pink cosmos flowers at the window. The return trip was all the more memorable - leaky bus roof and Sonny boy decides to watch Pawan Kalyan's Telugu movie Gabbar Singh through the night.

Mexican food tales and home-made tacos

I have never tried Mexican cuisine save for the affected upmarket nachos at PVR cinemas while in India - in the US, the urge is lower especially with limited vegetarian options.He finds them ok,especially the supermarket 'fresh' tortillas a good substitute for home-made rotis and phulkas and if the roti-maker that you have carried does not have matching voltage and the cooking appliance is not a gas burner but an induction one and a thousand other issues!

On the road trip during my birthday weekend, we had stopped by downtown Guerneville for a quick bite - he had some piping hot cheese quesadilla while i stuck to my safe nachos with salsa.

Back in our neighbourhood, we stopped by one of these Mexican food-on-wheels, quite like the mobile bundis we have back home.Trust me, they have great stuff most times!

I ordered a simple veg taco, the filling was tomatoes-onions-green chillies and some sauce sauteed with coriander garnishing on a hot iron pan. It was that simple but admittedly mouth-watering for a suddenly windy Californian evening.

Last Saturday, after a long day's hike and a movie evening out and my fastidious mind saying no to cooking at home or North/South Indian fare, we decided to go tacos!He is not very fond of Chinese or anything Asian, it will be acquired, he assures.But i must say i'm not very fond of the red beans taco for all its health benefits..I have a pet peeve or two with these beans. Also realised, the veg taco filling varies from wheel to wheel. 

At Santana Row, at this nice quaint Mexican place - open air under a giant oak tree, i went footloose singing and clapping, dancing in my seat to their live Mexican music - a very happy place.I totally loved their pan-fresh Mexican fries with a light sprinkle of paprika, McDonalds should admit defeat and shame.He ordered Nachos with guacamole sauce and a sizzling something in sesame. We were killing time before that movie premiere.

Day before yesterday, he brought home a pack of tortillas and told me he is going to snip a centimeter of my hair everyday if the tortillas .Guffaws. So my lunch today was Mexican  - veg tacos :)

For the filling

1 tomato, finely chopped

1 big onion, finely chopped

1 big green chilli, finely diced 

1 clove of garlic,finely diced

1/2 a capsicum, finely diced

Salt to tast

A pinch of garam masala

Garlic pepper powder

A pinch of black salt

Chopped coriander for garnishing 

A dash lime for garnishing

Half a tsp of any tomato based sauce (optional)

Any cooking oil

Heat pan over medium heat.Pour very little oil.Add some mustard seeds and cumin seeds and see them through till they crackle. Add the chopped onions and garlic, stir and fry until they give out that nice aroma.You may want to add a pinch of garam masala for effect. Add the chopped capsicum and tomatoes till all the juices blend well. Sprinkle salt and sprinkle garlic pepper generously per taste.And sauce,optional though. Garnish with coriander, a dash of lime and a sprinkle of black salt.

Now over to the tortillas - took out a couple of them. 

(You can choose to heat them or not.You may also refrigerate them and serve later for a salad effect in styled cuts and slices, almost resembling those Indo-Chinese veg rolls, served in our restaurants  back in India.  Ideally, you should heat tortillas on a flat iron pan but putting them in the microwave for 20secs or so is as good enough.

You could use anything imagined from peanut butter to flavoured cheese. I took my favourite sour cream cheese cube and smeared it all over the tortilla wrap and added my already prepared filling. Roll it, and its ready.  I also took out some of his favourite hummus paste from the fridge and that was as good.

Sorry, no pictures - i was really hungry but its a pretty much easy D-I-Y method.

I wanted to say Gracias to myself.

Life in passing

All the journeys I made seemed so trivial,
A milestone, a memory of fast disappearing familiars.
Everything old is new again for the one last time.
The mist of the past fades before me,
Beckoning me to smile amidst a hidden tear.
There are happier days to come.
The ride to a milestone, the chatter and bonhomie.
Sleep trailing before and after, defiant eyes, alert.
Life will never be mundane, never ever.
Absolutely, quiet and peaceful night,
Awaiting the morning-after of confusion and hope,
Of bigger dates with fortune and sincerity.
Memory is for cats and snakes, not for me.
Remembrance is for the departed and days bygone.
We live and love, not to be reviled, forgotten and revived.

Tree house - memories from Mawlynnong

So today's Hyderabad edition of the Times Crest has a travel feature on tree-houses in India and the need-to-know info around it. Sometimes, I wonder who writes for them, of course the quality and standards need not be questioned. But, I am dismayed to find the options are too cliched and definitely, do not cater to all and sundry. It panders to a trying-to-be desi firang crowd who would want to find weekend options to get away from the hullaballoo. The title of the feature is such a giveaway "Posh Perches" (guffaws) and there is a small inset which reads "up,up and away" - aspirational people, I tell you. 

If one has time, one may look up Mawlynnong. It is a small village of about 200 people, about 3 hours drive from Shillong. Now don't ask me where Shillong is. It is the capital of Meghalaya, the abode of clouds and it is in India. This quiet and definitely, not sleepy hamlet will generate some interesting Internet trivia like Asia's cleanest village after a NG travelogue writer has covered it.

The journey to Mawlynnong is a very memorable one. I saw Mawlynnong pictures of my colleagues, boss and students of my last workplace -- all haa haa, hee hee, a beautiful waterfall in the background and lot of raw green bamboo cups for water and tea. Refreshing.

I was home for an Autumn vacation. Got details from my ex-boss how to reach there. Small world. An old classmate from college ran the tourist wing.Joyous.I went to see her at her office. There was not a single vacant treehouse for the next 4 days and I just had that much time to see the place. But touchwood, I always end up quite lucky, I got a double room treehouse all to myself at half the price for 2 days (some last min cancellation) and it was raining cats and dogs!Luck too.

My friend told me, she could arrange a chartered cab to and fro for a decent price. She handed me a letter in Khasi which I am supposed to hand it over to some gentleman once I landed in Mawlynnong. I decided let's hitchhike ala Swades. It was more fun than ever. Went to Iewduh aka Bara Bazar. There is a sumo stand there, a yellow patch - all locally pliable sumos are yellow in colour. We took a share sumo to Pynursula, 40 rupees per head or probably less. The drive is divine. Floating clouds, undending dales and valleys, sudden showers, beautiful bends, gurgling streams and the imposing sky. At Pynursula, we get off at the market, a small bustling square. Lot of Maruti 800 local taxis. And, yes I did feel slightly happy high after the winding drive at 40km/hr. After getting back some rhythm, I had to figure out how to reach Mawlynnong.My smattering knowledge of Khasi was put to good use that day. 

I definitely look Mongoloid and chinky, lovingly and offensively called by my mainland brothers and sisters. I started blabbering in Khasi, literally even at Mawlynnong like a local Kong. The discomfort of not being an authentic local was pretty palpable after my city posh-ness. One Bah was kind enough to take us to our destination for a fair price, 200 rupees. I was already frolicking. That's probably the amount a local auto fella in Hyderabad would charge from me on a rainy day or a late evening for any distance between 10-15kms.A beautiful ride uphill.

There was no welcome as such but a horde of children playing all over a metalled parking space fenced by ornamental crotons greet you. There is a small tea stall at the entrance of the village. We stopped there for a cuppa and our gentleman was there to receive us. We handed over the letter, he took a small receipt book and asked for some subscription.The doubting Thomas that I am occasionally, a thought crossed my mind - is it some hafta wasooli? Trust my outsider instinct, damned! He told me community welfare and upkeep. I was trying to be convinced. We tried to be modestly generous, offered them 500 rupees. He was offended mildly. Asked me to take back the money and I was taken aback. Was it too less or what? He said, too much. He said he appreciates our thought and concern but it's a rule its only 100 rupees. My god, my heart just skipped a beat.Earnest.

A friendly dude took over. Henry is the best guide in the world, more athletic and controlled in his worn out Bata hawais and a piece of betel nut in his mouth than us who looked so out of place in our floaters and advennture wear. He was our personal, customised hospitality manager. He took us to our machan, this great imposing one under a gushing stream and a small waterfall amid the looming wilderness and I was definitely, flying. More than comfortable double beds, squeaky clean linen and blankets, mosquito-nets,just in case for the finicky ones and ample furniture, scrumptious and heavenly home-made food in the adjoining kitchen, nice toilets and bathrooms, evening walks, visit to the church and nearby places, early morning treks all the way to the Bangladesh border and the living root bridges, and the icing on the cake was a cool skinny dip in the backyard of our machan before lunch. I only heard the rain and wilderness at night, right in the thick of nature. Felt vulnerable and delighted at the same time that such things also exist. 

It was almost like I was in another yesterworld. Keeping the village clean is not a Municipal order for this village- it's a way of life. They export brooms and arecanut. There are no fences between houses and cottages. The land belongs to everyone, only the pigs belong to the owner so long they are well-behaved in their pens. If they are soiling, then they become pork for everyone. Couples marry and the entire village helps them set up their house and farm. I was touched by the close-knit social responsibility. Henry took us to his friends and wow, all of them with their hearts in the right place. Henry and his friend came to see us off till Shillong. They refused to take a paisa from us. They were so apologetic that I had motion sickness. We signed a cheque of 3500 rupees at the end of 3 days and wrote a paean to them in the visitor's diary. Never felt so at home. I want to go and meet Henry and take him those promised things that still await fulfilment.

Bangalore-Mysore-Ooty

Quit work, officially. No remnants or traces but for the money, the letters of recommendation and the formalities. Felt weird when the cabbie dint come to pick me up, of course i told him not to come.I needed to go somewhere to come back to a new beginning. I already had a new start. Just wanted to make sure there were tangible beginnings.

Day 1

Took the Garib Rath to Bangalore. It is interesting to see Ivy League management people warm up to each other, one is a young veteran and the other, an enthusiastic newcomer. A lil' lady in a disco outfit looks around for her frooti albeit a yawn while her mother lulls her 3 month old brother to sleep. She was a picture of dignity and quiet for a 3 year old.Sharing food and opinions about rising costs in pre-school and the rat race in school education,all of us retired to sleep. Thankfully, no babies decided to cry.

Day 2

Bangalore station,prebooked auto queues and in no time, I was drained and fatigued (no breakfast and very light dinner on the train) on the Mysore bound bus.A hurried simple meal amidst tears of fatigue and helplessness at the assumption of things.In a move of calculated huff and impulse, I cancel the Qualis tickets to Ooty and just want to hit the sack. Plans looked dangerously derailed, temper flying like swords and daggers.An evening in Mysore, not at all half-hearted but bravely with a Plan B of coming back to Bangalore.I dint have the luxury of too many days and definitely dint want to spend that time travelling to reach destinations,yeah.A tonga ride around Mysore Palace, a roasted cob of corn in the gentle rain,Mysore bhajji and the fluffy butter dosa, lots of raw mangoes and pink cotton candy.Also, had this bright idea of wanting to watch Angels and Demons in a 70mm screen.Dinner at the Residency, decent Chinese.Met two men with your on-the-face wigs.Something told me that Ooty tonight.As luck would have it,the hotel helped me get a bus at 11pm in the nite, until then it was Apocalypto on the tube.I had to sit in a half ticket space on a full one,my legs cried for some breathing space.Bobbed my head many times till Ooty.

I hated myself for not getting enough warm clothes, at 3:30 am getting an auto to reach Wellington killed all my drowsiness besides losing the way two times thanks to the smartass driver.The cold clammy sheets and blankets in the hotel were god to me.

Day 3

Missed the 7:45 am heritage toy train from Wellington to Ooty and probably, Metupulayam.I woke up at 10, had breakfast at 11 and then the rains,magical moment it was.I dint regret coming, thank you. Read all the news and watched TV till enough time to run down to the station. The quaint ticket counter had punch cards and at Cunnoor,lunch was garma garam rice and sambar,and duplicate Irani samosas with onion fillings.The camera was the most popular hero. A Maharashtrian platoon of wannabe husbands and wives and lil' children sat next to me and one of the kids took away a rust biscuit from me through proper channel.Children never show restraint. Parents do get embarrassed but some go along.At Ooty,paused for poses and met so many Tamilians, including a TT who rendered a live MS Subbu number so willingly at the bookshop,both he and I exchanged bows.I got English August there. Home-made chocs and ear covers, colorful ones and the bus to Wellington.It rained and it made for the perfect setting for tea and pakodas, all kinds.

Dinner was light and Chinese again. A quiet walk, life comes to a standstill after 7pm. Ooty looked very beautiful at night,a feeling of oneness in the wilderness amidst the modern settings.Heard some citizen from the city use the f-word very generously over phone in the room-balcony above.The feeling of winter and warmth is exhilirating.

Day 4

Bye bye Wellington.While waiting for the Ooty bound toy train at 7:45am, I meet a Tamil family who quizzed me as though I have applied for permanent citinzenship in the United republic of Tamil Nadu.Who?where from? and the blah.Happens,a chink in the armour case.Took 1st class tickets, sat in 2nd class because the cabin was deliberately left with no space as 3 Bengali families spread their generations all over.The meandering ride in the misty morning had a beauty of its own.A south indian breakfast and Mysore bound on a tata winger.A Haryanvi family with 2 children and an Oriya couple.The Haryanvi husband is abusive and impatient and his wife a picture of fortitude.The Oriya couple, matter-of-fact.Some 42 hairpin turns and landscape by the passing window including Bandipur.Tender coconut water and some slices of raw mango.Reached Mysore on time for the express train to Bangalore not before having the railway meals.It was sheer bliss on the train, economy flight-like seats and modest goodies- biscuits and a bottle of mineral water.The same routine of getting a pre-booked auto to my friend's place,and getting rebuked by the driver for lack of correctness of the address due to being the first time.Ok, extra 20 bucks and disparaging looks of horror.

Correta is a million dollar baby, the same spunky girl with loads of love,letters-mails-chats kept us connected and here,I am meeting her after 11 years.Peals of excitement and it never felt 11 years, it was just yesterday when we parted at the grove in college.Dinner at Millers Steak,a cool place where waiters are dressed as rodeos and we cut a cake for someone special and also, had loads of non-stop laughter and chatter.

MG Road for reliving old memories dint happen as desired,definitely maybe the next time, sweetheart.In the biting rain,and a backpack to cry for with my camera and non-commital autos, I hated the romantic weather for the first time.At the bus station,a callous remark makes me go jittery, is this what i asked for?do i deserve a lil' less or more?The bigger worry is will that one-legged tramp pull up his shorts?No,all shame washed away, the world can watch and not laugh but the world whipped him for being indecent.He sat in the mud and rain,to hide the remnants of his manhood just in time to remind me of another experience at Majestic -- a conductor who forgot to close his fly is found scratching his assets in public, eeks.

Bye bye Bangalore, it was good times.Laughed, fought, cried.I would not go to sleep with wet clothes on.I wrapped the Volvo blanket and did a stage change of clothes.Sleep descended.Selves reconciled.

Smiles.

My audience with Lord Balaji from Chilkur

I remember Surekha tying a sacred red thread on my wrist and telling me not to ever remove it, it is from Chilkur. I didn’t know or research much into it. The sacred thread was there on my left wrist for many months and a day came when it wore off. I have it at the altar of my prayer table. Aunty has been asking me to come there since last year, it’s especially auspicious before exams, for visa purposes, yada yada and the Lord, I am told is a generous deity. I finally went there last Saturday. Life is not full of strife, but there is always a time to meet and do some heart-to-heart. I slept at some 11:30 pm on Friday. Woke up at 4:30 am, bathed and got ready. The drive was peaceful. We thought we lost our way, no that part of the city has changed in the last six months. Lot of high rises, expansion of roads and development in the urban sense -- forgotten farm houses, the sleepy roads, dust picking up and as we entered Chilkur, the village folk woke up to sacred chants, courtyards being cleaned, broomed and watered.

Beyond the makeshift car park on the right, one can see the pristine and calm Osmansagar. Barefeet, chappals and sandals in the car, we walk towards the temple.Ouch, there are broken coconut shell splinters everywhere. The road to the temple is lined with small stalls selling puja ka samagri, a means of livelihood for the locals. It is indeed, a small fair. The temple is overflowing with humanity. A patient bunch wait in the inner precincts of the temple. There is a labyrinthine queue outside, waiting for the darshan of the prabhu. Hundreds trying to complete their pradaksham, 108 in total with a lil’ chart and pen in hand. I almost fainted seeing that. There is a starting point, smeared in red vermillion. People are not supposed to break coconuts there or light incense. But yeh toh public hai, they just do what the rules ask them not to do.

Chilkur is different because there is no hundi or donation-box, there is no VIP treatment or special fee to meet the Lord and the Lord loves flowers. The priests are different, truly. Aunty asked me to do 3 pradaksham, 3 is auspicious and then stand in the queue. I did that like everyone else – fathers, mothers, children, students, grand-parents, young people, married and unmarried, employed and unemployed. It is a different feeling altogether. This toddler and I make faces in between chants of “Govinda, Govinda”. After my 3 revolutions, I stand in the queue, Aunty chided us for starting late. She is worried we will not get to see the Lord in the inner sanctum, until the last gopuram. Yes, even I felt a lil’ guilty. The entry is restricted after 6:30 am. The priest kept us updated. We followed him in the many prayers in between. He told us interesting facts that hundi means hawala, illegal money collection. The temple trust however accepts donation from the devout in some bank account. The priest spoke in three languages- English, Hindi (apparently for the Tamils) and in Telugu. He was fluent and very eloquent in all three languages. Being a Saturday, the temple visits and hits are double than normal times. It was also a special day per the panjika, I found out later it was Buddha Purnima. He requested the pilgrims to stop the pradaksham because there was no place to stand and assured that the Lord is very generous and will not be furious and, that one can always come and complete them another day. No, yeh toh public hai – they will do what they want. Our exasperated priest then announced that even if a devotee completed 108 pradaksham going against his request, his/her prayers would not be answered and he would make sure he/she is punished for his disobedience. All we did was laugh. There are conspicuous signboards telling us to pray to God with our eyes open. I am a social pariah for not closing my eyes in prayer, closing eyes is for people who need to concentrate and are not attentive. My turn came and yes, in total filmi style before the clock struck 6:25 am, we were in the inner recesses of the temple in time to pay our obeisance. Very relieved, we retreated with prasadam (ghee laddoo) to the Siva shrine next door.

Peepal trees with a very soothing courtyard, the Siva temple was a temporary resting place for the teeming devotees. Aunty asked me if I want to be part of the Siva abhishekham – one hour inside the small almost underground cave-like temple. That was rhetorical, she smiled and her smile asked rather triumphantly, “how will you escape this?” There were others waiting, only 9 will be allowed to take part in it – 4 women and 5 women. The priest made us stand around in a semi-circle around the giant black lingam. Yes, pleasing this Lord is elaborate – giving him a bath starting with water, then followed by milk, curd, pure honey with ghee, bibhuti, then a turmeric facial coupled with rose water, tender coconut water amidst chants of “om namah shiva”. The small fan in the background was of small relief. I began sweating profusely, at one point I was worried and panicked I won’t complete the puja. But then, until the call happens you or I can’t decide anything. The world moves because of God. I will complete the puja if the Lord wants. I did. A young boy priest came by to break coconuts and there was more laughter than somberness. The puja lasted more than an hour and I was happy at the end of it. It has been many years since I did some service to my favourite Siva.

Aunty stayed back for some service and prayer and we rested in the courtyard and saw people and monkeys in clothes and human form breaking coconuts and in the process, I nearly lost my eyes. We were mobbed by beggars and members of the third sex. We ate a lot of ripe guavas and took a short drive to Osmansagar. Thank you, Aunty for taking me to Chilkur.

Rajahmundhry- day 1

The excitement all peaking at the right moment, tickets booked and bags packed, I had a sumptuous Bengali dinner at Somu da’s, Kakima and Kaku were delighted with another foodie addition, a few packets of fast food noodles and water/plates we look for our AC boogie. Found, settled, yapped late into the night, and was warned by the adjoining co-passengers that there are people who “sleep” at night. We could not play bluff, landed at Rajahmundhry, GTM and aunty, thrilled to see we made it in good time, the town looked beautiful in the morning- the fruits, the flowers, the aroma of freshly made rose milk ,jasmine and incense wafted in the cool summer morning. The hotel faced the mighty expanse of the Godavari and I loved the view from my room, rather our room- Titiksha’s and mine. MTV and Channel V or Zoom, let the music play… we snoozed for a good 90 mins in turns.

Sight-seeing was the agenda- ISKCON, the dam/barrage/a few rose gardens, Rahajmundhry in general and lunch at the Mandapam. We wanted to have breakfast, the way it is had, at tiffin centres, jostling and fighting for space and boy, we had fun!

The ISKCON premises burnt my soles, the marble tiles roasted and burnt. The time spent there was soothing; Krishna, Subhadra and Balram are the darling deities of all Vaishnavites. I checked the tuck shop for trivia, nothing much to carry home except the peace and the lore. The drive to the barrage was scorching, humidity took us unawares, rather we were warned but not prepared as much, wear sunscreen, drink lots of water, carry umbrellas, and we did not any! By this time, Krishna had this crazy idea that we should watch the Pawan Kalyan starrer JALSA in Rajahmundhry, it would be memorable and all that, never mind, it never materialised. But I heard JALSA songs to last a lifetime, the driver was very sweet to play Bollywood songs. Going to the barrage was a mistake in hindsight that killed our enthusiasm for the remaining, the heat sapped every bit of energy and stamina and we headed hotelwards. Had Andhra lunch, lot of prawns! Could not make it to the 3pm ritual, GTM was considerate. All of us took the much wanted afternoon nap and recovered somewhat in the mercy of the room ACs. I was a tad tanned. Mallik was the worst hit.

The sky was gloomily patched and overcast, oh no! But picture time and rose milk time, Mallik and I headed off for the river bank and were caught in an unexpected shower. I tell you the boatman never looked so good gliding and the pitter patter was so refreshing. Circled half the town but we were not lucky with rose milk…but the town never looked so beautiful bathed in the summer showers, all shops closing and relieved faces waiting for electricity to light up their homes. Had chai at the hotel café and got ready for the evening, the wedding!

Witnessing an Andhra wedding for the 1^st time, there was no holy fire, no saat pheras but a very beautiful transition from being a son/daughter to a lifelong union/vow by two beautiful people, I also saw the shenai being played by a woman! The veil between the bride and the groom, the chants, the vows, that sacred moment, the excitement of all the young people, the blessings by the elders of the community,that tender look on the bride’s father’s visage- the last one is the winner.

I loved the venue, the food, the décor, the music. I was telling GTM, I like the orchids and the anthuriums so I should stay back and wait to take them. Then, it was bluff until midnight with club football on the tube, but yes, the rain brought the heat and humidity to a bearable temperature.

Matheran actually concluded

Packing started as much as we unpacked, we retired tired and weary. I just discovered that Luqman and Vardhman got sweet bhuttas for Ramya and I in the afternoon walk, :) don't ask what happened of them!!
Next morning Vardhman and Luqman came to wake us up,before that Supi tried her little best to wake us up, us maane Ramya and I, no avail :) we loved our sleep too much, Supi left the room, I remember bolting the door and jumping into the warmth of my bedsheets and blanket, rainy weather,early morning, what better way to enjoy sleep!!
At around 6, V and L in the same wake-up sequence or different, I am not aware of ,did come up the wooden flight of stairs and asked us about the already aborted plans of morning walk!! I went back to sleep and woke up only at 9:30 or so.Ready to leave Matheran, all set!!
Checked on my fellow travellers downstairs, still half asleep and Vardhman and Luqman also went off to sleep!!Somuda and Supi got chikkis and had breakfast, :( I was hungry, we made do with noise and the excitement. Luqman got the big plastic raincoats for the horse-rides and a dainty swan umby for himself.
We got the final whistle to check out by 11 and reach Neral Station by a given time on horse or no horse.We looked quite a bunch, all in Google gear and all, we bargained and set off at 100 bucks per horse per person with load and horse-mahout. The road was not all that it looked horse -friendly, my lessons in horse-riding are like rudimentary, the balancing and the stirrup and the reins, which directions and the patting are how much i know,seriously!!
His name was Good Boy, nice tawny handsome boy, very calm and ok with new riders, his owner thought I actually knew riding at how I held the reins, only if he knew that I knew that much only.I did all the possible acrobatics of turning around and saying hi/hello to all my fellow travellers back and behind, it was so much fun, GB tolerated all my nonsense and suddenly he began to trot briskly, oh my god!!
I applied the 1st principle, be calm and talk to the horse and pull the reins, and lo! he stopped and went about his way, that 10kg on my back was a pain, but the trot was lovely!! I said bye to all the remaining monkeys I met on the way, the birds and the insects, they behaved nicely with me.
At the market, I attracted unnecessary attention as in "Woh dekho, Chini mem, itni acchi tarah se ghoda pe baithi hai, kya baat hai!" Ok, I dint like that,uhuh!At Neral, I handed over my umby to Ram, farewell my yellow and white umby :( :( :(
The cab-ride was too too good, the dales and the green cover, Mallik took some really nice pics and we left the place with some nice memories. At the train station, Ram, Krishna and Gowtham disappear to have vada -pav and leave my umby at the shop conveniently, and I realise that after taking the train :( :(
Luqman fed us with lovely bhuttas again.
We played shoe-shoe in the platform, everyone stopped to watch the game esp, when you have a " foreigner" playing the game. Trains came by and left,the hawkers dint sell their wares but watched us with great intent, probably a new game for the National games, tee hee!!
The return journey was pleasant, we passed Khandala and the tunnel ride turned us to children, we screamed at the top of our voices and ate a lot!
I made a lot of new friends and we did some candid talk and reached Hyd early next morning, said our byes and dint want the journey to end there!!
Office, Office calling all of us, each with a tale and albumful of memories and pictures.
Till then,

Concluded.

Matheran concluded-1

Our lodge is a beautiful one, away from the general array, it overlooks the courtyard if you can call one, the swings and the walking area, the pool was away, so no sight of any nymph and Eliot's morbid men who plunge to kill the hangover after a good drink in the trickle of a bugging rain which is so Matheran -specific!!Our room was the deluxe bedroom on top, we had to climb a flight of steep wooden stairs to get there, one step you miss and you land on your derrière which can be pretty painful and dangerous if you have water and monkeys around. Caution, caution!!

We met a bunch of monkeys near our door and shoo-ed them like shoo-shoo, go away boys and girls!! Small puddles of water everywhere, yayy, we have a room!!
The disaster only began, you wont believe all our bags got heavier by 3 kilos because of the rain water that seeped so happily!! either we were naive not to pack our clothes in plastic bags or we were dumb not to expect rain!! or both!!
So, the unpacking was an agonizing experience, all of us looked like drowned rats!!Everything in my bag was not spared save some unmentionables and my toiletries, the picture in the room is well, like this,
3 girls who switched all the fans on to dry their clothes from the bag and outside the bag, no electricity and no hot water, no country coal iron,no what more, :( :( :(
The room was damp-ish, were we imagining or the room was actually cold?? switched off the AC, tried to keep our trekking shoes in suspension so that the water runs down and the shoes get lighter, the exhaust of the AC was slightly helpful, thank god for small mercies!!
Took pains to hang/peg our clothes in every possible place, including the fridge door and TV, tried to get the dryer guy to dry our damp/wet clothes, he will come in the evening, :(
entered the bathroom, spacious slanting like the roof, I thought, but good when I just thought that was some private space, the monkeys broke my reverie and outside the commode window, touching the roof, I can see my lesser fortunate ancestors screeching!! I waited for them to disappear.
Ramya enjoyed some sleep in her unchanged train attire, Supi went shopping for some essentials, wore fresh wet clothes and asked us to be ready for breakfast at 11:30 am.
Looked presentable, went downstairs to check on the male Hakunas, the situation was even worse there, thick heavy jeans oozing with water and jackets and tees gone! How much can you squeeze water from already wet clothes to make them wearable, but body heat is also something, I reckon, ready for breakfast??
Breakfast was pleasant and we gulped quite a lot, travel plans announced and also the social bit.
Hakunas decided to travel/explore on our own.

Let me mention this before I forget, this is to do with Gowtham's new talent of remixes. He happened to hum a song from Dil Chahta Hai and the 2nd verse went wrong, he was trying to recover that badly but no luck for quite sometime, not to say that his efforts were not genuine and sincere :)
He happened to share umbrella space with me, when I found his notes going to rapper Akon's Lonely song!! That's blasphemy, of course now he knows the song by heart!!

We got plastic raincoats for 15 bucks and hats to act as rainguards, very Mexican in cut and taste!! We trekked for almost 2 hours. Echo point is breathtaking and also, an old bungalow full of moss and lichens before losing our way ,courtesy Luqman and coming to the lodge for lunch, lunch was forgettable, coz after that, I was very de-motivated to travel in a weather which was my usual fare in Shillong daily during the rainy season.So, Ramya and I decided to give the slip and acted very pricey, we managed also!!
We slept the entire afternoon and watched TV, can you beat that??!!! We had lot of similar tastes and views about so many things, bitched a little too much, at least I did!! and the near horrors of the trip!!
Sometime at 5:30-6 in the evening, Suparna came back, exhausted in the rain-walk and snoozed and Krishna came to give us company chatting.The dryer guy came, cajoled him to taking all our clothes and return them by 9pm that evening, he fleeced us bountifully, but musibat ke samay mein gadha ko bhi baap banao.Pardon the not fitting idiom!!
Lot of PYTs in the pool, our male Hakunas also had their voyeuristic moments :) when we find out something happened to Mallik, Gowtham and Ram, now what?? So Krishna fed them with brownies, stale or not stale, let's not get into the details ;)
Gowtham is also very accident prone, btw!! He and the rest used to tease me and my bag, potli baba ki bag, that bag had medicines and all the 1st aid he required for himself and also a couple of others, ahem ahem he offered help very gallantly. Seriously,they all looked all so duh! Somuda, Ramya and I went to the male bastion to check on the seriousness, Ram looked in some kind of stupor, not actually induced but the brownies did it!So, Ram, the photographer had himself locked out coz his roomies left for a walk and he was there, lying on a small diwan, absolutely knocked out by a brownie, zzzzzzzzzzz!
Mallik tried to look controlled but you can't hide for long, the brownie gave him a royal ache!!
Gowtham probably resigned to his fate that such things happen to him only, haha!!
Some newfound friend of Vardhman is also amongst us, I especially don't like the person concerned's awwwful presence, big pseudo-moofat he is!!So, before these guys assume it's a food poisoning case, I give my gyan on the presence of rum in the brownie preparation, the chap does not like me or my two cents, he makes the mistake of opening his mouth and saying something that is not very Kiran happy or worthy!! I was not in a barraging mood, so I spared him with a gentle but snide remark on his ignorance and his geographical limitations! He has never spoken to me after that :D, he did try to make amends at some other time, but a royal ignore is hard to miss and if it comes with an arrogant dismissal, it's worse!!
I get worked up pretty fast and after that to ward off unnecessary nuisance, we hit the dance floor and jigged a lot, Ramya and I danced and danced, Supi slept and slept!
Never saw the guys dance so much and yeah, the moves were scary!! ;)
Retired to sleep with a pledge to wake up early for a possible walk to Lake Charlotte. I refused giving my umby to some insignificant soul and my dried clothes came back, yay!!

Matheran continued...

i remember reading randomly some honcho's book, Freakynomics or so and Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged and i had The Seagull story, spoilt for choice that i dint read any!! Vardhman's i-pod played some ok-ok songs to kill time, my boogey friends-some retired to a quick nap, others played Bluff and some just sat and watched what others did. Dusk came by and it was time to get some snacks from the platform, the train slowed and people ran in and out with packets of ready takeaways, vada pavs and hardened pooris, not bad!! Vardhman and Luqman did their bit and we also acquired a Ludo board and we welcomed on board 2 other Googlers and many more, Soumyajit( from now onwards, Somu'da) and Suparna( Supi/Sups will do)!!We played ludo and the instant Bong chatter was infectious!! By late evening, they came to our area and we pledged to stick by and blah blah!!
Ramya was capturing everything live, she was kinda lost as a seasoned traveller, too many kids around, she would say!! I always admired her fashionista sense,glad to meet you, girl!! She was the latest to our dormant team needing a name, Hakuna Matata was born albeit some hiccups :) and also, the credi goe to her for stamping that name to all of us!!
Until then, we have only begun assessing each other and like, we will get along, anyway, no choice!! But things changed with the ghost stories and the genies and the adorable first crushes!! ;) I would be killed if i told each story here, of course that i am harassed for the reverse crush tale of mine is another story!! I have the goalkeeper fixation and the English teacher and god knows, how many more names??
All in all, some 13 of us were huddled in 3 seats and Ram kept sentry and what befell our other travelling friends, we don't know, we dint hear any snores or mores!!
At 2 am in the night, we get down to have tea in one of the rarest train halts, it was raining and the air was cool and the cricket chirped!!Our guys, now we know them by that name, were caught smoking and the guy on duty was so damn honest that he refused to accept our bribe of 200 bucks!!Anyway, that matter got over sooner or later, who wants to fight in the night??
We were waiting for daybreak, Somuda dint allow anyone of us to sleep, but the girls and Krishna managed!! And i remember shouting some rubbish at their attempt to disturb me in my sleep, even 90mins of sleep is a matter of envy!!!
3:30-4 am, Ram woke me up saying destination ahoy, get up!! Took control of my senses and there is an eerie thrill in getting up that early, coz i forgot what early morning looks like. Freezing station, dirty staircases and running for loos and the waiting room to brush our teeth!!
Took the local train from Neral to Dasturi or the other way round, don't remember ;(, wet seats, thenkfully, no leaking roofs, no doors, wind blowing by the kph, shiver shiver!! Took the wind on my face and the chilled dew-rain, feels heavenly, really heavenly!!my eyes kinda longed for this wet monsoon feel, Shillong just reminded me of her :)
At the station, we took cabs on hire to climb a long winding hill and saw lovely dales and waterfalls till the point where we walk some few kms on foot or horses!! it was punishing for me, coz i was not equipped otherwise, my umbrella was the most useless thing i ever carried besides my slip-ons :( and sneakers, god help me!! regretted not going for contact lenses even if that meant some snobbish observation that it is cosmetic vanity:(
the walk from there to our resort was breath-'taking' and my feet just enjoyed the cuts and the hardniness of the red soil and the toy train tracks, fair feet, whitened and paled into paler, translucent mobile souls, what else could i ask, i was happy, i let go of my famous Mary Poppins umby as Jeanette calls and walked on and on, the umby however was a bone of contention between Gowtham and Krishna, the criterion of decision being who ditched whom and whatever??
We walked and talked, my slip ons came of twice, Luqman doubled up as the problem solver, Somuda and Gowtham and i,Ram captured all the pics that his camera could accommodate!!We reached tired and greeted by our original species in their native natural suit, monkeys are a common feature in Matheran, they watched me beat water of my hair and boy, they were frightened by a better specimen ;)
We grabbed the room keys, Me, Supi and Ramya in one room and the guys, let them figure out!! but all in one block, that was the deal, see you at breakfast!! dear departed/retired to our hovels

The much awaited Matheran update

so, it goes...i sign up for our company's summer getaway weekend trip amidst strangers and employees.i knew faces but not people. the only other person that i could somewhat bank was my IT POC, Luqman.

asking for a half day leave from my manager and team lead was the lastest and the latest thing i did on the 3rd of August 2007!! i did try persuading some, including my manager,no luck!! work!!work!!work!! not that i worked any less ;)

i took the cab to the Begumpet station with 3 others, C .Anooradha,Vardhman and another sweet Googler who reminded me so much of a friend in Delhi.ahem, please pardon my amnesia...i met her today in the Christmas choir practice, just can't remember her name, so due apologies ;(
we travelled for 10mins or so with none of us volunteering to break ice, anyway, the two ladies had mutual conversation...always the first among equals, probably i had some random loud soliloquy and that's about it, we spoke, asked the usual where from and what else besides name...well, all in all..tried to be Googly, quite successful, i must say!!
we alighted at the station, and surprisingly, the 4 of us stuck by and stood as a group, initial bonding, you see and small conversation!!and, i tolerated the uh-oh presence of another Googler(read Ram, a friend now) just behind me.i did try to catch familiar faces :)

flashback!!! i just had a nightmare of sorts when i was signing up for the rooms ala 4girls in a each room kinds!!for the 1st time, i hated my name, its unisex nature rebuffed all females and probably scared them and most of my female travelling companions must be wondering my liberal impudence to share the room with them :(
i was pushed from quite a few rooms and better still, clubbed with some guys ;) ewwwwww!!
finally , i took refuge in a room wic had 3 girls already, emailed them to tell them that they better not kick me out of their room sign-up and bla bla...whew!! i met them at the station finally, saw them , relieved!!

the routine announcements and in 20 mins we boarded the train, sleeper class and lot of activity,bartering seats,shuffling,berths and all that,omigod!!i was in the middle of absolute chaod and corny jokes, wic would take me 3 years to laugh!! i dreaded my worst nightmare was coming true, why the hell did i come!!!!

Luqman came to the rescue, asked me to join his gang of techy travelling companions, i find among others Vardhman and also, Ram and Krishna,the others being Mallik and Gowtham. the routine hi hellos, Mallik had unruly hair and a braided hair slide to keep his clinic all clear locks in place, don't know if that was fashion, style or laziness!!ok, this dude is a reckoning chatterbox, wont comment much but he did try to ruffle feathers by trying to play cute,Gowtham was following a close second with all the not asked for comments.Luqman saw all the colours of the rainbow and Krishna hugged his bag of Google goodies and Ram was flashing his how many memory cards Olympus camera, Vardhman was laughing in the new found familiarity.There was a bearded old guy in the aisle seat, he was totally enjoying the young blood around. yes, wat was yours truly doing??

to be continued...

khandala...continued

amby valley is like beverly hills apparently, 12 kms away. good for drives amidst the quiet table mountain/plateau effect, lost in the misty fog and the wild yellow flowers.
even bhuttas and chai come for a price,truly!!bhuttas cost 15 bucks each and tea for a sip is 7 bucks, but refreshingly a nice find in an otherwise deserted stretch.
the evening never saw the promised bonfire, the wood was kinda not readily available and the plywood planks would not help us either, and to help/worsen things we used up a diet coke can of petrol to start one but the reverse of where there is smoke, there is fire did not happen much to our disappointment, so the bonfire...
some of us laughed our hearts watching honeymoon travels for the how many'th time and some others enjoyed a talk under the starry sky amidst the few number of palms, a handful were seen going to the market for a bottle of beer and a lot of them played bluff and some great souls slept after a grand bath.
i was glad i made the trip despite the ticket disaster, saw a lot of capacity and patience in most of us and also, the mean side of some of us.yes, it was a good review time for myself, coz i had plenty of me time despite being in the crowd and it felt kinda good to gently ignore the shortcomings of so many of us and also, to accept each creation, male and female, that it is anyway a manifestation only, can't get more complex than what it is already.the good sleep i had that night was relieving coz indian idol had made me sad.i found out there are greater cacophonies in this world actually than crows, these girls can just about kill you with their remixed version. see, singing is for people who love singing not for those who love to seek ATTENTION, whew!!a couple of friends threw some coins to prevent them from further singing

Getting seats,then the assurance that your team members are with you , then the solace that we can enjoy our food and probably catch 40 winks?? actually, the food mela began in the GC, just that we threw our weight most generously and the guys there must be wondering from which zoo did we come, remember Madagascar??
the sleeping bit was a little annoying,i fear the death of some mortals, i am sure in the next realm of existence/non-existence, they na...too bored to finish the tale :}
the resort is good given the khandala trappings, nice pool, water area, and a sweet courtyard kinda concrete lawn.
30 mins of freshen-up time took an hour and 15 mins for the GUYS!!! each of them thought he is the next Aamir Khan with or without Rani Mukerjea, so the look and the whatever ;)
got a natural jacuzzi treatment at the waterfalls, the slimy boulders in and outside et al..Gujju thali in a different end of the town, lot of monkeys to provide us the obvious bit of awe that we actually are their descendants, Darwin, thou is really great!!
from there, some more places, lots of sunscreen and vada pav n bhutta. i also got 3 flutes of varying shapes and sizes, just loved the mere hoot of the flute, my housemates are surely going to throw me out of the house ;)cute ones, they are
amby valley calling...

Khandala visited- part 1

7pm- we reached the Begumpet station amidst all fanfare and food from TGIF, missed the caricature bit tho'!!little did we know what was in store for all of us!!we all became caricatures of chance, actually!!
a major communication gap landed us with 10 confirmed seats and 35 no-seats, instead of 45 confirmed seats and 10 cancelled tix, oh no!!simplification went really awry, bigtime :(
it was a test of nerves, as in how many of us were actually (not merely mentally) prepared to take the ordeal.
the railway minister would be really proud of us, we lodged 20 people in the 10 confirmed berths and the rest, some 18 brave hearts made our way to the lousiest, busiest,dirtiest, filthiest,stinkiest and whatever into India's most famous railway human zoo, otherwise known as general compartment and i won't say i was shocked or anything, i asked for it. every station was a glimmer of hope for us, some good Samaritan would vacate his/her seat and we get transported like rice sacks there.finally made our way into decent space after 90mins, less fortunate ones were sent back and some clueless about who is where and therefore, ended up spending the entire night there, and the hide and seek game with the TT is the most trite thing we have ever done!! :)