Monday, October 31, 2005
Who says...
Insects and Men cannot co-exist?? (haha..mind you, MEN only..most women go hyperbolic or swoon:-P):
Sunday, October 30, 2005
Treks, work, Malpuas and Sufi music
Quite an eventful week...starting off with an awesome trek..which was more a test of endurance than anything else, given the heat in October in Bombay and around.
This was a trek to Duke's Nose - a hill range which purportedly looked like the nose of some Duke in the times of the Raj..so was named thus. I'd been there last monsoons too and it was the most beautiful trek I'd ever done in Maharashtra. We drove down to Lonavla station and then started the trek from there which involved some trekking down rail tracks avoiding oncoming trains and serious poo and then up a hill, down it, through some plains and then on to another arduous trek up a hill for the final climb onto Duke's nose. Most of my treks have been in the monsoons and I realised that more than anything else, I should have been carrying twice the quantity of water...:-)...all the walking, climbing and slipping made for extremely parched throats. Was totally happy though, since I'd managed to get a few old friends on board with whom I'd trekked and travelled much, before.
We came across a pond on the way and jumped in for a quick swim since it was sweltering hot...reached civilisation late in the evening to find a pot of drinking water placed outside a gate of one of the bungalows and guzzled away like there was no tomorrow. Our happiness on finding that pot was'nt shaken even
when the last person drinking water saw many small frogs jumping inside the pot...guess whats done was done...and since we're all still alive a week later...it was totally worth it and a godsend:-)
some pics from there - do click on the pic for a bigger (and hopefully better) view:
I also loved this picture of mine that Vipin took - I was taking a pic of the group which was sitting down, by positioning my cam at the crotch level - and had to hear many lewd remarks over the zoom and the relationship b/w me and my cam..:-D
for more pics from my album, you're welcome to click here...do NOT crib once there..since these are about 170 pics and I did NOT force you to go there..hehe.
Loads of work over the week...some seriously-getting-wasted midweek and some lounge-ing over the weekend. Also attended a concert of Kailash Kher (for those that dont know him, its the guy that sang 'toota toota ek parinda'..and is the best when it comes to Nusrat Fateh Ali songs/Sufi genre)...the guys got a golden voice..though the girls with us were totally weak-kneed over the guitarist..some Paresh Kamath:-) . We then drove off to Mohammad Ali lane for tucking into the Ramzaan festivities by night...I had some AWESOME firni and malpua...while others went on and on about the haleem and the paya...since I'm a vegetarian, I'd rather take their word for it..:-)...damn...I'm drooling again over the rememberance of them Malpuas...guess I'd happily stay hungry all day if someone promised me those at night..:-)...hmmm...no...I retract..i'd rather have them all three times of the day..:-D
loads of sleep over the entire weekend and not a minute feels wasted..:-)..and totally enthused by the fact that there are 2 holidays this week...yaay!! Ummm..am a bit out of sorts and cranky for not being at home for Diwali...guess I should've gone..so I'll be content taking pics and lighting Diyas at friends' places.
so yeah...if I dont post till next week...a very happy Diwali and a fabulous Eid to all...!
Oh and...just found out that a few of my posts have been nominated for the blogeratti awards happening for the Personal category, Current events/Social issues category and the Travelogue category
The other nominations were a total pleasure to read...so I suggest you take a quick dekko if you have some free time on your hands..
oh...I also liked this pic I took on the trek:
This was a trek to Duke's Nose - a hill range which purportedly looked like the nose of some Duke in the times of the Raj..so was named thus. I'd been there last monsoons too and it was the most beautiful trek I'd ever done in Maharashtra. We drove down to Lonavla station and then started the trek from there which involved some trekking down rail tracks avoiding oncoming trains and serious poo and then up a hill, down it, through some plains and then on to another arduous trek up a hill for the final climb onto Duke's nose. Most of my treks have been in the monsoons and I realised that more than anything else, I should have been carrying twice the quantity of water...:-)...all the walking, climbing and slipping made for extremely parched throats. Was totally happy though, since I'd managed to get a few old friends on board with whom I'd trekked and travelled much, before.
We came across a pond on the way and jumped in for a quick swim since it was sweltering hot...reached civilisation late in the evening to find a pot of drinking water placed outside a gate of one of the bungalows and guzzled away like there was no tomorrow. Our happiness on finding that pot was'nt shaken even
when the last person drinking water saw many small frogs jumping inside the pot...guess whats done was done...and since we're all still alive a week later...it was totally worth it and a godsend:-)
some pics from there - do click on the pic for a bigger (and hopefully better) view:
I also loved this picture of mine that Vipin took - I was taking a pic of the group which was sitting down, by positioning my cam at the crotch level - and had to hear many lewd remarks over the zoom and the relationship b/w me and my cam..:-D
for more pics from my album, you're welcome to click here...do NOT crib once there..since these are about 170 pics and I did NOT force you to go there..hehe.
Loads of work over the week...some seriously-getting-wasted midweek and some lounge-ing over the weekend. Also attended a concert of Kailash Kher (for those that dont know him, its the guy that sang 'toota toota ek parinda'..and is the best when it comes to Nusrat Fateh Ali songs/Sufi genre)...the guys got a golden voice..though the girls with us were totally weak-kneed over the guitarist..some Paresh Kamath:-) . We then drove off to Mohammad Ali lane for tucking into the Ramzaan festivities by night...I had some AWESOME firni and malpua...while others went on and on about the haleem and the paya...since I'm a vegetarian, I'd rather take their word for it..:-)...damn...I'm drooling again over the rememberance of them Malpuas...guess I'd happily stay hungry all day if someone promised me those at night..:-)...hmmm...no...I retract..i'd rather have them all three times of the day..:-D
loads of sleep over the entire weekend and not a minute feels wasted..:-)..and totally enthused by the fact that there are 2 holidays this week...yaay!! Ummm..am a bit out of sorts and cranky for not being at home for Diwali...guess I should've gone..so I'll be content taking pics and lighting Diyas at friends' places.
so yeah...if I dont post till next week...a very happy Diwali and a fabulous Eid to all...!
Oh and...just found out that a few of my posts have been nominated for the blogeratti awards happening for the Personal category, Current events/Social issues category and the Travelogue category
The other nominations were a total pleasure to read...so I suggest you take a quick dekko if you have some free time on your hands..
oh...I also liked this pic I took on the trek:
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Dilli musings...
Dussehra is always a big deal in my family - so I HAD to be there...decided to club it with 2 holidays and a weekend and it was a perfect trip home to Delhi. Dad had come to pick me up, after a friend ignored all my pleas for a pick up (if you're reading this, cheapie...you know its you!!!!). Well as usual, my dad is the worst driver around - I mean he's the F1 kinds...not really your staid, laid-back, on-road driving types. And as usual, he forgot the way back home (oh, ok, they've just shifted to a new place), so we went on a little palam-janakpuri discovery trip...and coupled with an accident, a somewhat painful knee, it made for a perfect trip back home...! The pooja had already been done since I managed to reach delhi late - blame Subroto Roy for hiring nincompoops so I had to just sign the family register.
A brief note about this register - every family in the khandaan, when it starts, makes a register of their own...and in it, the Dad writes all good things that happened over the year since previous Dussehra, prices of commodities and gets everyone present to sign/thumbprint/handprint it. So it has my handprints from when I was 10 months old, followed by squiggly signatures as I grew and my now extremely dignified signature now - though my friends and family happen to think its still extremely squiggly and would much rather have a thumb impression...:-P
Was really looking forward to some home food and for meeting a friend I'd really wanted to get together with, for long...! So I guess I did exactly that. Again marveled at the open spaces, greens and the really awesome roads that Delhi has to offer. The metro has turned out beautifully and now I really dont think I'd mind settling there at all! Made one rather long trip to Noida - it is one hell of a planned place and the approach is truly awesome.
Went to a Barista outlet in a mall there while waiting to pick up a friend and was really surprised at the kind of clientele they were attracting. The Bombay Baristas are mostly full of yapping teenagers and the noisy middle-aged families kinds....while this one was full of ummmm...much more older people having their coffee/cookie/salads in peace without making too much noise..and I thought that was really cool. Wonder where the older population in Bombay hangs out at? The Nana-Nani parks?? Just outside this mall was a cute store for plants...and wanted to get some Bonsais for a friend and home...but desisted...the typical feeling of 'I'll find it cheaper elsewhere' arose..:-)...damn!
Parents had a problem most of the nights I was going out...I guess i should have just started out early and come back whenever as opposed to starting out late...damn...!! Met a friend and it was awesome catching up, driving around at late nights and almost getting hijacked to Jaipur at one point in time...:-)
Mum-Dad play a lot of chess all the time and boy...do they FIGHT!!!! At one point in time, Mum even refused to look at the camera unless my dad looked at it, saying he'd shift some pawns around, otherwise...!!! It was super fun to see them squabble like kids over a game..I think they had a marathon session of about 19 games in a row on Saturday...
I guess this has become too much of a gharelupost...but am kind of missing delhi now...:-(...parents, friends I can hang out with 24 hrs of the day and yeah....home cooked food...can someone please adopt me here??
Its a friend's b'day tonight and the others want to give her a surprise party..which is kind of silly considering that they have a surprise party for every birthday..so its not a surprise anymore. I think she's even told us what she wants for a gift (black bag...duhhh). On a related note...I thought I hated recieving gifts...but I'm rethinking, after having been gifted a lovely vase (green glass and covered with metal), a small shehnai-vaala in wood and a huuuuge scented candle:-)...I loved them!!!! I think one should never make a sullen face on being gifted something - because it means a negation of the thought and effort someone has put in, trying to choose something for you - so I stand corrected..and chastened..:-)
There was this pigeon couple below my window that was making out very noisily..so I thought I'll do a paparazzi act..:
A brief note about this register - every family in the khandaan, when it starts, makes a register of their own...and in it, the Dad writes all good things that happened over the year since previous Dussehra, prices of commodities and gets everyone present to sign/thumbprint/handprint it. So it has my handprints from when I was 10 months old, followed by squiggly signatures as I grew and my now extremely dignified signature now - though my friends and family happen to think its still extremely squiggly and would much rather have a thumb impression...:-P
Was really looking forward to some home food and for meeting a friend I'd really wanted to get together with, for long...! So I guess I did exactly that. Again marveled at the open spaces, greens and the really awesome roads that Delhi has to offer. The metro has turned out beautifully and now I really dont think I'd mind settling there at all! Made one rather long trip to Noida - it is one hell of a planned place and the approach is truly awesome.
Went to a Barista outlet in a mall there while waiting to pick up a friend and was really surprised at the kind of clientele they were attracting. The Bombay Baristas are mostly full of yapping teenagers and the noisy middle-aged families kinds....while this one was full of ummmm...much more older people having their coffee/cookie/salads in peace without making too much noise..and I thought that was really cool. Wonder where the older population in Bombay hangs out at? The Nana-Nani parks?? Just outside this mall was a cute store for plants...and wanted to get some Bonsais for a friend and home...but desisted...the typical feeling of 'I'll find it cheaper elsewhere' arose..:-)...damn!
Parents had a problem most of the nights I was going out...I guess i should have just started out early and come back whenever as opposed to starting out late...damn...!! Met a friend and it was awesome catching up, driving around at late nights and almost getting hijacked to Jaipur at one point in time...:-)
Mum-Dad play a lot of chess all the time and boy...do they FIGHT!!!! At one point in time, Mum even refused to look at the camera unless my dad looked at it, saying he'd shift some pawns around, otherwise...!!! It was super fun to see them squabble like kids over a game..I think they had a marathon session of about 19 games in a row on Saturday...
I guess this has become too much of a gharelupost...but am kind of missing delhi now...:-(...parents, friends I can hang out with 24 hrs of the day and yeah....home cooked food...can someone please adopt me here??
Its a friend's b'day tonight and the others want to give her a surprise party..which is kind of silly considering that they have a surprise party for every birthday..so its not a surprise anymore. I think she's even told us what she wants for a gift (black bag...duhhh). On a related note...I thought I hated recieving gifts...but I'm rethinking, after having been gifted a lovely vase (green glass and covered with metal), a small shehnai-vaala in wood and a huuuuge scented candle:-)...I loved them!!!! I think one should never make a sullen face on being gifted something - because it means a negation of the thought and effort someone has put in, trying to choose something for you - so I stand corrected..and chastened..:-)
There was this pigeon couple below my window that was making out very noisily..so I thought I'll do a paparazzi act..:
Sunday, October 02, 2005
Cant have all I want...
....or even a bit of it...DAMN!!!!!!!!!:-)
Sauntered into the Crossword today hoping to catch my fave couch by the window and do some free-ki-reading
*Gentle Digression: I always tried to do this even when I was a kid, trying to quickly finish one comic after the other before I caught the shopkeeper's eyes...only that shopkeepers today actually want you to read their stuff...I guess it adds to the ambience...how much the world has progressed, rabba! They even recommend what you should read and promise that they'll pay you back if you didnt like it...hmmmmmm...*evil grin* *
Discovered a larger than usual crowd..and yeah...one of my pet peeves...all couches by the window taken by glowering patrons who refused to budge...some were trying to stretch their stubby forelimbs sitting there, trying to pry out more books from the rack, without having to get up..I was tempted to hand them fishing rods, snatch it back again and beat them up with it..;-(...oh well...I am normally smarter..I pick out all books I can read in a day and THEN sit on them couches..so I dont have to get up...
:-P
I must admit I reached boiling point when a kindly lady asked me to please fetch her a book from a rack that was farther than she could reach (apparently her middle name was not kanoon). So anyways, I was relegated to pursue my readings while leaning on a pillar till a lowly little stool in a dark corner got free (Hallelujah, cried my knees!). My favorite sections are Indian fiction, Sriram recommends (thoda redundant) and Travel.
Bought, amongst other books, Shantaram...heavily recommended by M..it better be good:-P...and suddenly remembered the teary garcia marquez lying 7/8th read on the bookrack. Other books brought are in the Voldemort category (idea, courtesy M, again)..for reasons undisclosed (no no..they're not porn!). Also brought some awesome stationery...:-). The books there are so awesome, I want to get all of them....but as someone wise recently (hint:look above) said, cant have all I want...:-PPP
Also met a cousin in all the crowd who was using this place as a first date...not a bad idea at all, me thought to meself...making a quick mental note...:-P
the Moshe's on the mezzanine is an ideal place to sit for some intellectual foreplay after browsing through the books downstairs and discussing their individual merits/demerits with a learned air...:-P.
As a spillover from a discussion, was also wondering if you'd rather be with a person who made you laugh or someone who you respected/were in awe of? Me?? I dont know...:-) you??
Another diversion over the week...Google earth has provided me with suitable entertainment and I've been snooping on Indian naval bases, air bases and managed to zero in onto my home, office and gym:
Sauntered into the Crossword today hoping to catch my fave couch by the window and do some free-ki-reading
*Gentle Digression: I always tried to do this even when I was a kid, trying to quickly finish one comic after the other before I caught the shopkeeper's eyes...only that shopkeepers today actually want you to read their stuff...I guess it adds to the ambience...how much the world has progressed, rabba! They even recommend what you should read and promise that they'll pay you back if you didnt like it...hmmmmmm...*evil grin* *
Discovered a larger than usual crowd..and yeah...one of my pet peeves...all couches by the window taken by glowering patrons who refused to budge...some were trying to stretch their stubby forelimbs sitting there, trying to pry out more books from the rack, without having to get up..I was tempted to hand them fishing rods, snatch it back again and beat them up with it..;-(...oh well...I am normally smarter..I pick out all books I can read in a day and THEN sit on them couches..so I dont have to get up...
:-P
I must admit I reached boiling point when a kindly lady asked me to please fetch her a book from a rack that was farther than she could reach (apparently her middle name was not kanoon). So anyways, I was relegated to pursue my readings while leaning on a pillar till a lowly little stool in a dark corner got free (Hallelujah, cried my knees!). My favorite sections are Indian fiction, Sriram recommends (thoda redundant) and Travel.
Bought, amongst other books, Shantaram...heavily recommended by M..it better be good:-P...and suddenly remembered the teary garcia marquez lying 7/8th read on the bookrack. Other books brought are in the Voldemort category (idea, courtesy M, again)..for reasons undisclosed (no no..they're not porn!). Also brought some awesome stationery...:-). The books there are so awesome, I want to get all of them....but as someone wise recently (hint:look above) said, cant have all I want...:-PPP
Also met a cousin in all the crowd who was using this place as a first date...not a bad idea at all, me thought to meself...making a quick mental note...:-P
the Moshe's on the mezzanine is an ideal place to sit for some intellectual foreplay after browsing through the books downstairs and discussing their individual merits/demerits with a learned air...:-P.
As a spillover from a discussion, was also wondering if you'd rather be with a person who made you laugh or someone who you respected/were in awe of? Me?? I dont know...:-) you??
Another diversion over the week...Google earth has provided me with suitable entertainment and I've been snooping on Indian naval bases, air bases and managed to zero in onto my home, office and gym:
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