Life

The past

2012-01-11T12:24:00.000+08:00

should be left where it was, she raged at him. He chose not to reply, looking at the crack in the window pane instead. His cigarette lay unattended, in between his fingers.

He looked up at her. She was beautiful, if her kind of beauty appealed, he thought. Glorious red head, tamed into a chignon, hazel eyes and a strong dominating chin. The diamonds at her ears sparkled with life. He had given those to her for their 10th anniversary.

His decision to open that envelope would cost him their marriage.

All it takes is a crack

2012-01-05T10:48:00.001+08:00

he thought standing at the window. The morning cold hit his face viciously, the wind blowing, as he sucked the cigarette into his mouth. His wife lay under the warm blankets, huddled as if in a cave. Occasionally she would make her morning sounds - a murmur, a sigh, in his mind, something intimate, meant only for him.

The wind she slapped at his face again. He heard the rustle and then the start of a child's wail from the other room. His morning had begun.

2011 has almost passed

2011-12-30T17:28:00.000+08:00

I am writing because it has been ages since I wrote here. I think Tumblr and Twitter have overtaken my life. Long posts seem unbearable when I can say things I want to in 140 characters. Tumblr is even better, doesn't require me to say much at all.

First I want to say egads again to Blogger. I feel like I am alone on an ocean of white, adrift in all this minimalism you have thrown at me. Quite disturbed by it. Expect a nurse to pop out any minute to offer me some pills for my depression.

After the cribbing about Blogger (you idiots), I want to talk a wee bit about 2011. Whoosh, the year went by, didn't it? I finished a year of shaadi, survived my first giant earthquake, saw and experienced Japan's cultural uniqueness, moved to Hong Kong, went to India for a 3 week vacation this month and well really had a blast.

There have been so many moments that made my life just so amazing this year that honestly I can't wait to experience 2012. I know people who hate 2011 and just want it over and done with but me, I really enjoyed it. Having a husband around with the same tastes really helps of course :)

I still have my grand plans for my photography but I am always worried I am never going to know enough. I want to have my own website up and running by next year for sure. It was supposed to happen by this year end but you know what they say about best laid plans.

Can't wait for 2012 to start. Oh yes, its also the year when its all supposed to end. Should be interesting times ahead for us. See you on the other side.

The departure

2011-09-29T16:35:00.003+08:00

You walk into a country that is as foreign to you as those chocolates that your Dad's friends would bestow on you generously when you were a but a kid. You don't know the language - a dialect that is lost to you. Everything is fascinating - the people, the clothes, the food.

And then one day it becomes yours. You begin to understand the nuances of what should be said in an elevator with neighbours. Food, once exotic is dare I say, common, like dal. You even begin to learn to live with the earthquakes - something that shattered your world has again become a thing of day to day living. You love it for it is your home.

I am leaving my home tomorrow to make another one. The transition is difficult but exciting all the same. New people, new experiences and same lust for what life is going to bring stays with me.

My 9 months in Tokyo, Japan have taught me this. Any place can be called a home as long as you are with someone who you love and care for. We are going to celebrate our anniversary in a new country, I can't wait to begin the journey. :)

Summer in Japan

2011-08-17T11:49:00.005+08:00

Humidity. Sweat dripping down your back. Walking down shade filled avenues. Warm fizzy taste of shandy. Brunching. Barbeques. Ah, the smell of barbequed meat sends my stomach into a tizzy. More shandy. Air conditioning. I lived without it all my life in India. And now I have such a yen for it.

Heading to the beach. Splashing, playing in the blue blue waters of the sea. The waves and me play Tag. I win occasionally. Taste of beer on my lips. Pizza for lunch. The tomato sauce so fresh. The peppers crunchy.

Drinking cold coffee. Reading from my Kindle. The smell of books is lost on me now. I yearn for it again.

Ah summer....subarashii desu yo (its wonderful!)

Conversations

2011-07-14T17:17:00.002+08:00

Lady in elevator with twin girls in a pram: Konnichiwa
Me: Konnichiwa (stealing glances at the very cute girls)
Lady: Atsui desu ne (Hot innit?)
Me: Hai, so desu (Yes indeed)
Lady: Garbled question which I translated in my head as (Is it as hot as where you are from?)
Me: Dochira mo atsui desu (Both places are equally hot)
Lady: Ahhh (The Japanese are big on exclamations :))...Doko de (where the hell is this that you are talking about)....(trailing off)
Me: Indo de (In India)

Elevators clinks to a stop...end of conversation.

The famed Bombay spirit

2011-07-14T17:03:00.003+08:00

died in 1993 when Hindus and Muslims went to war in my city. Nothing has ever been the same. Ever. I was too young to know what it meant when a mosque in another city is destroyed and there are repercussions elsewhere. We learned to live again. Some said the spirit had come back. Normalcy had returned.

Cut to 2003 and blasts rock Mumbai through the year. And then came the 7/11 train attacks. I was working in Powai then and understood what those attacks meant. Everyone talked about how Bombay went back to work the next day. What option do people have I ask? You take the very same trains that someone has planted a bomb in the day before and head to work. Or don't get paid.

And then came our biggest attack - 26/11. That destroyed our city as much as it destroyed me. I spent a week, even two, soul searching, binging and trying to come to terms with the fact that terrorists had attacked my city. The city recovered, I recovered, much to my surprise. And we had our 'spirit' to maintain non?

And now yesterday. The pointlessness of the situation makes me cringe, it makes me to want to rave and rant. One press of a button, lives are lost. Innocence destroyed. The bomb doesn't see who is Muslim or Hindu. It just kills without thought. Whole families have been torn apart because someone somewhere decides that a bomb blast is the solution to their problems.

And the famed Bombay spirit. It is but a shadow of what it was. It limps and struggles to be.

Feeling the pulse of a city

2011-04-28T17:53:00.016+08:00

An afternoon spent meandering around the bylanes of SoHo, one of the really cool neighbourhoods in the city. Streets that are on a steep incline. Small friendly boutiques. Interesting restaurants. But today it was mostly about the people.

I shopped today hence all the interaction with people. Very cool boutique shops - paper, leather, vintage clothing and accessories, you name it, they got it.

Great customer care and every so friendly. And the language, everything from propah Queen's to broken 'you want, you try, you take' kind of English. Quaint little restaurants called 'Yorkshire Pudding' with signage like a London Tube station.

And an art gallery called Madhouse with interesting contemporary art from artists all around the world.

And outside the gallery's entrance this.

I tried some amount of street photography and here are the results.

Hong Kong is grey today. Mist surrounds the tops of the skyscrapers. Gentle inconsequential rain. A different side to this totally fascinating city.

Of cannons and teacups

2011-04-27T19:19:00.012+08:00

Three stops today and all involved museums. First a Folk Museum, which involved an ethnic Chinese Hakka house. Then a museum, which is a converted fort with lovely views of Hong Kong, and then a Museum that dealt with tea ware. And if you thought tea ware isn’t interesting, well then think again!

The Law Uk (uk means house) Folk Museum is essentially two houses – one of which was shut when I visited – which tell the Hakka story. The Hakkas are ethnic Chinese who settled in Hong Kong but by the 1960’s, all their villages were eaten up by urban redevelopment. This house is a remnant of the Hakka's material culture. Ps, trivial fact: Chow Yun-Fat is Hakka :)

It’s not much to look at although they did have great signage and literature relating to the museum.

Inside the museum they have artefacts depicting household items. Literally the two small windows you see are the only windows in the whole house. This was apparently to guard against thieves. Interestingly in two of the rooms there were lofts which were used for storage and as bedrooms for children.

On the right is the staircase leading up to the loft

In fact looking at the whole area, it is easy to see how looming house estates can overtake identity and culture.

These buildings look squeezed in, don't they?

My next stop was the Museum of Coastal Defence. I had been recommended this museum not on account of the artifacts but because of the wicked views of Hong Kong. The museum is itself startling – looming over the visitor and greeting us with tanks and cannons.

A more unlikely Nina I haven't seen

The Viewing Platform was shut unfortunately but I managed to get these views.

The haze corrupts most views quite well :(

The Museum’s name is self-explanatory and it dealt mainly with how Hong Kong protected itself through the centuries. But one of the more interesting things I read about was an amazing adventure which involved the daring escape of 50 British Navy men with a one-legged Chinese Admiral when the Japanese occupied Hong Kong. That exhibition titled 'Escape from Hong Kong - Road to Waichow' was like a page turner. Each panel did the job of being the ‘omg, what’s going to happen next’ bit in your head. And believe it or not, the descendants of all the marines that escaped put together this exhibition to commemorate their bravery and courage.

The 2^nd interesting thing was that Japan apparently fought a war with Russia during WWII. I mean you consider the length and breadth of that tiny little country and you wonder how on earth did they manage! In the end, it really does come down to the people, doesn't it?

The afternoon’s heat was getting to me and I headed out towards cooler climes, my hotel. But I had promised myself at the start of the day that I would finish the Museum of Teaware today. Boy am I glad that I went there. Tea seems to be a big pre-occupation here, much like in India. The museum had a video, which demonstrated how tea should be poured aside from the pictorial representations. Did you know you were supposed to use a bamboo whisk to prepare the tea?

And check out the insanely creative teaware I saw at the museum.

They have competitions to select the best ones every year believe it or not! There were such pretty tea cups for sale – my practical side had to fight very firmly with my shopaholic side :)

I ended up my day with some very fine duck at one of the better restaurants in Central (somewhat like South Mumbai where all the businesses are). Actually, last night was an extravagant night gastronomically - you name the meat, I ate it :)

The night lights in Kowloon are flickering away merrily...night is truly here.

Once upon a time in Hong Kong

2011-04-27T08:31:00.017+08:00

The sun sets on Hong Kong harbour. The day’s memories rush back. Aching feet and long walks under the hot sun. Hong Kong is loud and chaotic. The MTR (their version of the Metro) is filled with people talking on their cell phones. It is not frowned upon as it is in Japan.

My first breath of Hong Kong air was green. It was at the Hong Kong Park and boy was that a fun thing to do. Spring time flowers, an aviary with colourful birds flying around the top of my head. I didn’t bother to read the names of the birds – they seemed inconsequential to me. The colour and their chirps filled my camera lens and ears.

Note that the Park is in the midst of what looks like skyscraper district. Reminds me a lot of Shinjuku in Tokyo but here the buildings seem to hold sway over everything they view.

I had expected to see the Museum of Teaware, which came strongly recommended. Unfortunately shut on Tuesdays but apparently the oldest Western building in all of Hong Kong.

I urged my feet onward to the Peak. Victoria Peak commands a superfantabulous view of the Hong Kong skyline. There were (what seemed like) at least fifty Spanish tweens chattering away waiting for the ride. The ride upwards in the Peak Tram was somewhat stomach churning. I was amazed that people were walking alongside the Tram in certain places given how steep the climb was.

Reaching the top, the first thing they send you through is the Peak Market – some ten souvenir shops all lined up in a row and selling exactly the same things, not forgetting the ubiquitous ‘I love Hong Kong’ tee-shirts too. You go up at least 6 floors before you hit the Sky Terrace but the view is absolutely gorgeous give or take the famous Hong Kong haze.

Another stomach churning ride followed downwards – really the Tram’s incline is insanely steep. My Lonely Planet tells me that when the two British gentlemen who built it, declared so, they were met with scorn and derision. It took them three years and in one swoop, they got rid of the sedan-chair option that had prevailed earlier.

A quick lunch and then Kowloon beckoned. Kowloon has been described as Hong Kong’s poor sister. But with her mass of humanity, cultural features and interesting old style architecture, she sure puts up a good fight.

Chi Lin Nunnery is my next stop. Set against high rises, this building with intricate carvings and tall, really tall Buddha statues gets most people on their knees. Bonsai gardens and lotus filled ponds add to the whole atmosphere.

I then walked into what I can only described as one of the most repulsive piece of architecture ever. Take a look at it and if your opinion differs, please let me know. The Nan Lian Garden was otherwise interesting. Rockery, bonsai, waterfalls but this piece of architecture really made it into a highlight for me.

Wong Tai Sin Temple was next. Colorful, with interesting statues, and people praying with joss sticks really kick started my first temple visit in Hong Kong.

I paid the $2 and entered a ‘Garden of Wishes’ to the haunting tunes of what sounded like a Chinese clarinet (Do those exist?).

Peace from the maddening crowd at the Temple. Nodded head at two really old Chinese men who walked by me who nodded back. One even said ‘Hi’ really loudly! :)

By now, I am regretting that I gave into my fashion sense and wore my pretty white chappals instead of sensible shoes for all the walking around I was doing. I was tempted to head back to the hotel but persevered and ended up having a great time walking around the markets of Kowloon. And she has plenty of those – a Goldfish Market, Flower Market, Ladies Market, Temple Street Night Market and a Bird Market too.

My trusty LP had suggested a route but I decided to wander around instead which turned out to be more fun. Am sure I missed a market or two but walking amidst the crowd and figuring where your best buy was going to be was a great experience too. The Bird Market was quite sad and err smelled to the nth degree. Birds in cages, chirping around were a direct contrast to where I stood in the morning, watching the birds flying around in a much more freer fashion.

Back at the hotel, Kowloon’s lights are coming on strong and steady. Soon the skyline will be filled with hundreds nay thousands of twinkling stars from the skyscrapers on the other side.

Signs I am assimilating

2011-04-18T16:17:00.004+08:00

I met an elderly gentleman today from my building at the elevator. I bowed my head and said 'kombanwa' (evening time greeting here). I gestured to him to enter first when the elevator doors opened and said 'dozo' (you please). When he left the elevator at the floor below mine, both of us chimed together and said 'o-sakini' (sort of I am leaving before you).

Unremarkable as it seem, this whole 2 minute incident left me with a big grin on my face. It's always the little things, I tell you.

A 28 year wait

2011-04-03T18:19:00.005+08:00

(All credits CricInfo)

So long we have waited and then destiny smiled a big fatass grin :)

I was 2 years old when we won the World Cup for the first time. That image of Kapil Dev spraying that champagne has now been replaced by Sachin being carried around the grounds at Wankhede and a team so happy and proud that they had done it for Sachin and their country. Dhoni did a remarkable job of leading the way and I am sooooo happy that our time has finally come.

I watched the match with my husband in Tokyo where he kept telling me 'don't yell so much' at 2 in the morning. My friends across the globe were mailing every time a wicket fell or we scored. When Sehwag and Tendulkar fell, most of us thought we were done for. But I really believed, it was time we won the Cup.

Kudos to the team for making it and giving us Indians a chance to feel proud of our cricketing feats. This image kinda says it all :D

(All credits CricInfo)

The life of a flyjin in Tokyo

2011-03-31T09:32:00.002+08:00

Flyjin, yes the latest, newest word to hit the Japanese vocabulary. Flyjin, yes ladies and gentlemen, essentially refers to foreigners called gaijins here who fled when disaster struck Japan on Mar 11. I am of course a flyjin and more than happy to be termed one! There is no shame or guilt in running from something when you are truly panicking for what is your life. I don't know if that is an inherent cultural trait or something that most people would do, immaterial of which culture they belong to.

People are not asking the tough questions like what would Japanese people have done if they were stuck in India and disaster struck. Would they have hung around and calmly gone on with their lives (as most Mumbaikars do post floods that ravage the city every year) or caught the first flight back to their home? I don't see why there should be scorn or disgust or anger at the way flyjins have behaved or continue to behave for that matter. Do note that I haven't faced any of these reactions from any of the Japanese people I know atleast.

I dislike the imposition of one's cultural values on the other, it does not reflect very well on the mind set of a people. I would believe that its a matter of personal choice and one should be allowed to exercise it.

On the Saturday after the earthquake struck, we went looking for torches and flashlights - all sold out! I step out of the house and there is a shortage of mineral water everyday. I mean, come on, if people are not panic buying, what the heck else is happening. Luckily, we haven't been affected by any of the power cuts happening so god bless on that. Toilet paper, milk, cereal, bread have been running out in certain parts of Tokyo. I know of someone who stays not 20 minutes away from us and didn't get Meiji milk for almost 4 days continuously.

I use mineral water for drinking and cooking. I am not sure how long I should be doing this and maybe I am paranoid despite what the govt says. I think I am entitled to that, coming from such a long and rich tradition of not really trusting your own govt :)

I would like to believe that life is normal. But with a nuclear reactor crippled and gasping for its last breath, some x hundred kms from us, I am not even sure what normal means anymore.

So we won

2011-03-31T09:27:00.003+08:00

And I sat up til 2.18 am JST in the morning like a good Indian fan to watch a match which was unbelievable, emotional and so dramatic, it was supah fun!

I am most happy for Tendulkar of course who will be playing in a final again. I am hoping we lift the Cup for him. Its about time no? 1983, the year I was 2 years old now of course seems like ages ago! That eternal picture of Kapil Dev spraying champagne sigh...

Well touch wood on this. And while I might like to say, may the best team win, I am more likely to say, may India win :D

Return to home and hearth

2011-03-27T10:49:00.004+08:00

So we ran away (and yes we did) post the earthquake. I could not handle the fear and uncertainty all the time, not knowing what was going to happen. I am back in my home now, still a bit petrified but far more stronger than when we left. All I could think of was then, that my damn house needs to stop shaking!

Its been almost a day since we returned and touch wood that hasn't happened (yet!). Supplies have been ok too, inspite of the scary stories in the press about shortage of milk, water and the like. CNN btw is useless. You want proper news, you go here.

It was lovely to be back home though, eat home cooked food made by my mother, spar with my sister and catch up with friends. We even managed to do a short holiday which gave us space and time to figure out our next steps.

Big lesson learnt: Don't plan too much and do as much as possible- life is too short! Cliched but true!

A very long time back

2011-02-21T17:36:00.002+08:00

The Taj, originally uploaded by KittyKaht.

My city burnt like never before, like not even during those ghastly riots of '93. I hurt, I cried and I was angry. Someone had dared to come to my home and decided to rape my essence.

Today, I hear news that the one living perpetrator of this attack has finally been sentenced to death. And I don't feel much really. Was it really so long back that I drank like never before to forget and try and make peace with what had been done...

It was a sacrilege that was committed against my city. But we found the will to move on, to my surprise, au contraire to what I said before and work towards a better tomorrow. Look at the commitment of the Taj management towards restoring that lovely hotel and looking after their staff so well!

Life does cast its shadows. Kasab is a shadow that is best dead. I said that before, I will say that again. Democracy or no democracy, a man who commits evil deeds like that deserves to die.

I miss my home, more than ever now that I am in a different home of my own making. Reading this sort of kickstarted that feeling. You realise that there are still things left to do, many more trains to clamber into and experience your city at its fullest.

Viva La Bombay - she will always be a Queen in my eyes :)

Otaru - a hidden gem

2011-02-15T15:19:00.013+08:00

Otaru is a town/city which is about 30 or so minutes away by train from Sapporo where we had gone to experience the (crazily cold) delights of the Snow Festival or the yuki-matsuri as it is called in Japanese.

Otaru is known for its Canal - ever so pretty that I ended up buying a portrait of the Canal which looks pretty too!

The town knows how to make money of tourism too. They had a Snowmen street - where there all different kinds of snowmen and people of course took photos with them :D

They are both wearing matching blue scarfs!

Outside a glass shop (which Otaru is well known for)

But I forgot to mention the most wonderful thing about Otaru - its near the coast so this mean the train was like about 10 feet away from the Sea of Japan :D Do you know how cool it is to go on a train ride where the sea is just inches away with the line between the sea and snow merging even!

All the same innit?

We had reached early afternoon after a failed attempt to get to the number 1 attraction in Sapporo, the Historical Village but that is a story when you are drinking some whisky with some good company.

Anyways, Otaru I knew looked wonderful in the evening according to the photos we saw so we kept faffing until a point where we knew we would be able to experience it. We saw 'live' crab sitting inside a tank waiting to be eaten, wee snowmen like below...

Interesting candlework and lights like these

A whole family of wee snowmen :D

and bought delicious chocolate too :D As evening beckoned,

The lamps got lowered into the water

End result

The Canal all lit up at twilight

At the end all you can really say is this Go Otaru :)

If only Otaru was accessible from Tokyo that easily :)

A Photo Essay on Tsukiji

2011-01-27T13:01:00.009+08:00

So I did a small walk around Tsukiji and here is what I found:

Owls in the strangest places.

Peds hanging out in public

Green Green bicycles

Pretty pretty drain covers

Tall skyscraper like residential complexes

Flowers blooming along the sidewalk

And a bridge that soared into the blue blue sky

What an enjoyable afternoon that was! :D

The Sumo Series

2011-01-18T15:10:00.007+08:00

I posted this on Flickr too and well I gotta tell you sumo was something else!!

Colourful flags outside the arena

We got there pretty early around 11.30ish in the morning and got bored. Without knowing the significance of the rituals that precedes each bout, you tend to be completely lost. This gave me an opportunity to read up on Wikipedia and also on the tournament website too.

And in between I kept yelling for all the underdogs in the bouts which was fun. Then began the actual shebang roughly around 2.30 pm with the higher rung rishikis (wrestlers) entering the ring.

Followed by about 14 bouts of which I only managed to get a clean shot of this one! Trust me this was difficult to achieve given the distance b/w where we were seated and the ring, my camera zoom lens and people walking around!

And then the Makuuchi rikishi entered. These guys are the higher ups in the division and the crowd started shouting out their names and cheering them on.

And then came the heavy duty Yokozuna whose numero uno and right on top of the ladder. This is a gentleman called Hakuho. Given his size, he sat on his haunches and moved himself with extreme agility I might add about 5 feet forward and the crowd went ballistic!

And then their matches started too. Bouts typically last less than 30 seconds. There were interesting bouts - with the crowd cheering on the underdog on occasion and on occasion very clearly previous winners. Ah yes, this is where I got my pronounciation corrected - I was yelling out a wrestler's name incorrectly so the very nice ladies in the box ahead of us corrected me, waited for me to say it correctly and had such pleased smiles on their faces when I said it the right way! :D

Another story about the same wrestler comes to mind - Kotooshu is his name. If you see his photo on the Wikipedia page, notice the hair on his chest. Believe it or not, all souvenir shops sell a small sized doll of Kotooshu with hair on the chest area!! :):) Attention to detail man!!

Oh yes I was coming to the last bout which was the Yokozuna with a lower ranked opponent. The opponent didn't last 3 seconds which was a bit of an anti-climax to be honest! Like he literally ran for his life (in sumo terms) :)

I should add that I did OD on sumo. This won't be a repeat experience having seen so much of it!! But extremely recommended if you are ever in Japan and in time for a tournament too! As a cultural experience, this one is going to stay with you forever!

Tokyo my home (well sort of for now)

2011-01-13T09:54:00.005+08:00

I am posting after a long time inspite of promising y'all Nikko autumn photos and being more regular with my posts too. Good intentions and all that!

First happy new year to everyone :) I had a super wicked holiday getting into New Year with tonnes of snow so much that I don't want to see snow for the rest of this year. However that wish is going to remain unfulfilled. Next holiday is to see a Snow Festival. :O I mean we didn't think too much did we? :)

I really liked this shot of Tokyo all in black and white hence this post happened. It feels like a city full of concrete and buildings. But Tokyo has managed to surprise me in the last 3 months that I have been here. You wander the streets and inevitably confront the old. There are shrines, old houses sitting very comfortably with the shiny new skyscraper. Green abounds - yes I promise you that.

Imagine this in the heart of the city! Can you even imagine such a scene in Bumbai? It was peaceful, so serene and there were people young and old walking around ever so happily! If Bumbai even decided that we needed something like this, my home would be very different.

Tokyo is clean. I don't miss the filth back home at all! I am sounding like a NRI snob, sorry about that, but oh man its lovely not be faced with paan and spit stains in Metro stations and yes no one is jostling you in the train either. Simple things but they do enhance the quality of life.

The culture is very different too. People give each other too much space sometimes I reckon. A small incident happened when I moved here first. An elderly gentleman riding a bicycle (yes everyone rides one here or so it feels) turned the corner of the road and well bam went right into the lamp post. I was standing there at the signal paralyzed by etiquette. There were two other people on the road - who err looked at him and well walked away. By the time the signal had turned green, he had recovered and was on his way. But I am told this is a minor case in a city where people are very helpful and this I have experienced myself without knowing any Japanese.

Oh yes first rule of living in Japan - you gotta know Japanese to survive with aam aadmi. Or else your interaction with the locals is next to nada. English teaching btw is the number one occupation of most gaijins (foreigners) here. But very hard to get into unless you are what they call a 'native' speaker. And err whilst my education from the time I was born has been in English, they would not consider me a 'native' speaker believe it or not!

Enough from me for now. Hopefully will be writing more frequently. I aim to also move this blog from here to Wordpress or even my own website sometime this year. It has now become my New Year resolution so touch wood for that. :)

A visit to Senso-ji shrine

2010-12-03T09:57:00.029+08:00

A post long delayed. And this is a kind of a long post so bear with the photographs :)

I was going to Asakusa to buy tickets to go to Nikko and ended up spending a hour and something at Sensō-ji which is Tokyo's oldest temple and one of its most significant. Crowds were crazy there, it was the first time I was jostling with people apart from the one time in the Metro. Old & young Japanese, loads of tourists armed with DSLR's and shops selling all sorts of souvenirs, sweets. So much activity was on that one street called Nakamise-dori.

But first the walk to the temple itself was filled with awesome stuff to see

Notice the statue on the upper floor as if watching the passers by

This is a caricatured list of the various shops in the area - comp stomp (composition stolen from another photographer) :D

Quite the monster isn't he? Very drool worthy!

And then I saw the shrine.

Right in the middle at the bottom you can see the Kaminarimon or "Thunder Gate". This imposing Buddhist structure features a massive paper lantern dramatically painted in vivid red-and-black tones to suggest thunderclouds and lightning. (Source:Wikipedia)

A little detail from the lantern

Then comes the Hōzōmon or "Treasure House Gate" which provides the entrance to the inner complex.

Yes, one more lantern and there is a box which you can see, where people throw in money before entering the inner complex and yes they throw in the money...no one puts it gently as far as I could see :)....

On the ceiling in the Hall

Some other sights within the temple precincts

Gentleman praying respectfully before Buddha

Ema, wooden prayer plaques typically seen in a shrine

At the back, you can see the pagoda of Sensō-ji (also a comp stomp :D)

This place was way cool. I sat inside here and listened to a Buddhist monk chant his prayers!

This is amongst the very few hexagonal temples left in Japan. Liked the play of light here.

Here's a last shot of the temple in mid-afternoon light just as I was stepping out.

I walked around for a while here. It felt like there were mostly old people walking the streets and everything had gone old or decayed. Even went into a Traditional Arts Museum there - which had no English translation at all :)

Here are some interesting tidbits from the streets

An amusement park nearby

Extremely cute street art

In order from L-R - The building in construction is called Tokyo Sky Tree, Asahi Breweries right next to it and the Golden Flame (commonly referred to as the Golden Turd if you please :P) right next to it. At the bottom you can see a cool, futuristic looking ferry. This is an entertainment ferry with tables so you can go drinking and stare at Tokyo from a different angle.

Next up, Nikko with its awesome fall colours....

A 48 year old man croons "I'll be there for you"

2010-12-01T09:27:00.012+08:00

and makes a baseball stadium full of people go crazy - that has gotta be something right? Ladies and gentlemen, I watched Mr Jovi who was trés bon (Thank you Medems!) yesterday and it was an amazing experience as the photos and video below will show you!

Richie Sambora was nothing short of awesome on the guitar. I mean he was just mindblowing and his talent is not exaggerated at all IMHO! He also sang 'Lay Your Hands On Me' and got the whole crowd participating.

But first the experience of attending a concert in Tokyo. This is an indoor baseball stadium called Tokyo Dome.

We have seats! Yes, we do! So if you get tired of yelling and screaming, you can plop your bum down and say 'Ah'! :D It is so organised - its unbelievable. The loos are neat and clean inspite of maybe like a 1000 people going before you! There are ushers who take you to your seats. Of course everyone stands up, once the lights go out!

I must admit, so far, there are only two occasions when I have seen Japanese people so animated in public, one when then they are drunk (stereotypical but true) and second at concerts. There was a 50 year old lady next to the two of us who had come alone and knew lyrics which even we didn't know! She seemed to be thoroughly enjoying herself :)

He started off with a song from his album 'The Circle' which is what the whole tour is about anyways. The whole crowd listened with rapt attention.

And he sang a whole lot of other stuff which included Bad Medicine, Keep the Faith, Runaway and the like.

And then he finished - a two hour long concert where I screamed and yelled and punched my hand in the air and hugged my husband repeatedly :) :) Was a thoroughly exciting experience.

Of course the 'encore' followed. Everyone sat back in their seats and waited for him to come back. And he came and he sang....

And he ended with 'Living on A Prayer' quite interestingly. Just his voice and the crowd went nuts! And then of course the whole fist-pumping, hands in the air routine re-started for everyone.

And then the final goodbye - where everyone kept waving crazily at him. Go see him if you get the chance!

The Harajuku Art Walk

2010-11-11T09:36:00.024+08:00

Lonely Planet recommended it. I thought to myself, 'Let's explore the city' and this was an absolutely brilliant experience. Very frustrating because of the language barrier and the LP map and directions were useless. Ended up relying on the IPhone Maps to go walking in different directions which was an extremely useful tool to have handy.

Harajuku is a district in Tokyo city. It is known for its outrageous shops selling all kinds of crazy things and the people who are very distinctive because they are mostly Goth. But the husband had advised me that the Goths come out only on Saturdays :) So my quota on Goths is very less but schoolgirls I saw plenty of - shopping away for mobile phone accessories, jackets, lingerie and what not things!

So I started off at Takeshita street where the arch to the street looked quite festive.

Aforesaid school girl checking out stuff at the shop. Check out the shop entrance!

Then came a mural of Harajuku Street before the actual street pops up

In Harajuku I kept getting lost and I was seeking this Design Fiesta Gallery which is a series of rental galleries. Yep like less than 100 sq.ft of space is what the artist gets to exhibit his work. The building was super cool...I could not stop taking photos.

LP says that it looks like a paint bomb exploded on this place. I really could not agree more!

One of the artist's works on display there - Emily B was her name

At the cafetaria

Right outside and this is on the steps believe it or not!!

So after this fab experience, I went trying to find a street called Ometo-sando and man this was one difficult proposition. Finally IPhone maps came to the rescue here. The street is full of big brands like Gucci and the like.

I was trying to find an experimental gallery which I think changed hands. (My LP copy is almost 2-3 years old) and gave up but found all these very interesting things along the street.

Outside a shop selling curios

This beckoned me to go downstairs but since I didn't know what the heck it was, I desisted

Kawaiiii no? (Cute in Japanese) And on a garage door!

Some more street walking led to these discoveries

Outside a clothes shop called Brooks Brothers which mind you had the English flag hanging out alongside the Japanese flag

Just outside a shrine near the Ito Hospital crossing

Loved the colours on the ad, don't you?

Then went looking for other galleries and a building called the Spiral Building. I am sorry to say the building ain't much to look at and I suddenly chanced upon it to be honest as I was lost again :) I bought really cute postcards from the shop though so quite happy about that.

The sun was going down down and my phone battery was going down too. So I did give up and headed home quite exhausted after an almost 4 hour long walk, one which involved being lost quite a bit :D

So am here

2010-11-10T09:11:00.003+08:00

Have moved. In a different city in a completely amazing country. The Japanese are crazy :D and ever ever sooo polite. Technology is omni-present which is way cool. The dogs are really small too. Now that sentence isn't very coherent is it? :):)

So am in Japan, living in Tokyo with the husband who has been debuted here. Its been slightly hectic, settling in, starting out your own house, figuring out how much to cook for 2 ppl (am used to cooking for 4!) and also staring out at a gorgeous gorgeous view of the river which I feel very blessed about. After 28 years of looking at slums, this kind of thing is almost God-given or husband found :D

Its been a week. Fall is very clear here and temperatures keep dropping and going up. I like the idea that he comes home to me every day and I rustle up a hot meal for him. Very homely I know but something I look forward to.

Today is the first day I intend exploring the city without him. We still haven't had a chance to look around given that we have going around buying sandwich makers and rugs for the kitchen and what not jazz! I am looking forward to it. People don't understand English - like zip nada zap! I need to use my IPhone app for translation so the lady who sells me veggies understands that I want parsley and no she doesn't have coriander! :)

So am off to start my day. Am of course taking photos so will be posting those with hopefully something to write about Harajuku where the walk is going to happen....

Its almost time

2010-10-05T17:44:00.004+08:00

that I went away...to a new life, a new beginning. A life now to be shared with a husband who means a lot to me. I am looking forward to living in an apartment with a view. To making khana for the man in the house. To learn to adjust to a different temperament - one very very different from my family (where everyone yells and screams and makes too much noise). To hold hands and explore a different city and a very very different culture.

So much to look forward to. So much to learn. So many photographs waiting to be taken with a SLR!! YAAAAY!! Husband dearest has been very kind with regard to donating his SLR to me and my sis-in-law - one step up - giving me camera lenses as wedding present :D

I am going to miss my crazy family no doubt and my friends but with technology as I keep reassuring myself - it will be like no space-time continuum exists.

So yeah here's to new chapters, meeting new people and making a fabulous new beginning :)

Line of the day

2010-08-27T16:54:00.003+08:00

I read a whole report about a protest outside the Empire State Building about its refusal to mark Mother Teresa's 100th birthday with blue and white lights, in honor of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning nun.

An Irish long-time resident of the Queens, Bridget Cagney, 73 had this to say, 'I woke up this morning, and there was blue and white skies, so it didn't matter. She had her own lights right up there'

:)

To know more, read here.

Travelling on

2010-08-21T22:00:00.009+08:00

So I did Dali (as some of my friends call it) - didn't do anything exceptional but visited Gudgaon (yes yes this is the way I pronounce it) and oh man...its a maze of steel and concrete and Metro stations and big malls with really good microbreweries and half decent roads and no breakfast places which open at 9 am!! I mean wtf, I ended up eating masala dosa in bloddy Gudgaon man!!! My father laughed his ass off when I told him this over the fone.

Oh I am also recommending Kingfisher to anyone for a breakfast flight - I had the best upma (and that is saying something considering my S.Indian genes) on that flight. I don't know who made it but god bless that man/woman really! Soft and crumbly and just about perfect, I should have taken a photo to show the world really!

Ok now in order, took KF and watched Mallya and Yana what's her name do their thing. I thought Deepika became the brand ambassador (as an aside I hope she gets together with the younger Mallya - the best darn decision she will make in her lifetime!) so then why is Yana still saying 'Abhi cabin ki batti dim ki jayegi'!

Landed in Dali airport and the man ahead of me had a thick gold bead necklace like one of those Egyptian ones you see only in the movies on gunda types! Totally mins wot eet ees! So I thought to myself, 'Welcome to Dali yaar'! Took the Meru where the aircon didn't work!! Ghastly heat hit me from every angle possible and I angstily ended up calling the Meru driver 'Boss' which I am told is a big no-no in Dali!

Anyways, friend lives in a beautiful colony (please pronounce Dali way jee) - extremely green but like you have no car, you get screwed over! But it was nice and we walked and I took photos of all these garden furniture things. Oh and the maids come to work in a bicycle - imagine pulling that in Mumbai!

And then main course - alcohol happened in the night :) Which was supra fun. We didn't get drunk at all, promise! And ate yummy food which friend slaved over - very simple chicken mince with pasta in red sauce types.

And the next morning the breakfast travails began ending with the masala dosa misadventure! But the best part about this morning was the visit to the microbrewery - Rockman's. So Rockman's is a pretty cool place - all vats and barrels right there for you. But the best part was this

I mean how cool is this! They give you shots of beer to decide which one you want to have and its so light and fresh. Can't get over that! Food was hideously expensive so we decided against eating food. But I actually managed to consume almost a whole pint of beer (much to my amazement considering am not much of a beer drinker) so thumbs up for this particular experience.

Saw Aisha post this which was very henh & very Dali in some parts but I totally loved the fashion in the flick! So decent watch types and Abhay Deol rocks as always so go watch it for him for sure :)

Post that we did the drive back to Dali and this time propah Dali dahlings like Greater Kailash types. Had a very relaxing time and had the best mutton kebabs ever - the meat and the masala was just soo yummy .....makes me salivate thinking about it.

Morning brunch was at American Diner where my friend got hit on at like 11 in the morning! So totally not happening! But we had a fun brunch and ate and talked lots so all good. Went off to catch up with another friend in Kalkaji where I was spending the night. And guess what dinner was - aloo tikis!! Bahut hi changa tha jee!!

My last morning in Delhi saw me headed towards DLF Promenade which is uber-snooty and uber-if you are not rich, don't show your face here types! But I had brunch in the most awesome interiored place 'The Stonehouse Deli' - see photo below for more.

Met friend whose getting married in November and whose wedding I am going to miss - but hers sounded so crazy and frazzled, it made me nervous about mine! And I don't seem to have done half the stuff she has so total yargh.

And then I traversed the course of Dali to get to CP where I was supposed to meet a friend but ended up meeting two ex-colleagues from the old workplace which was nice.

All in all a good trip. My Pune treep has been cancelled again (I am telling you its jinxed for whatever reason!) on account of ill health. Sigh..so no more trips for me now..only wedding preps...

But can't wait for September to start..yaaaay ...looking forward to becoming Mrs :)

The best laid plans....

2010-08-03T14:08:00.003+08:00

are bound to fall flat on their face. So my Pune trip got cancelled. My dearest darlingest sister came down with malaria one day before I was scheduled to leave for Pune. Such is life and such is fate. So in the interests of all, I did give up on my plans and have postponed the trip to end of August now.

But I am meeting up with old college friends this week - we have been friends since 1997 so the memories are so many and we end up reminiscing no matter where we are, so much so that the company with us gets bored to death! Kya karen 13 years is a long time to know someone no. I have a friend whom I have known literally since my chaddis time - Junior Kg or L Kg as they call it in some places. So that means bar 2-3 years of my lifetime, I know the dude like forever which is slightly crazy in my opinion.

I am actually going to make a list of people I need to catch up with before I leave in a couple of months and start crossing them off :D

Will be travelling out next week to Dilli and going to be in Gudgaon and drink Bloddy Mary's so that should be a whole lot of fun.

What would we do without friends? Donne was right when he said, 'No man is an island' but in my case, I swim in a veritable ocean of friends :)

As a last aside, we did something fun at work - planned Chelsea Clinton's honeymoon. Yep yep, crazy or not, we had a lot of fun doing it - I wrote out most of the content and the big boss man helped me with suggestions and it came together quite well I thought. Don't believe me, check it out here!

All my bags are packed, I am ready to go

2010-07-26T12:56:00.005+08:00

And I am going travelling again. Starting Pune this coming weekend, I am heading out to Delhi next month and hopefully going to make it to Amboli as well for a weekend trip. And I can't wait.

I do 'heart' travelling a lot and luckily future husband does too. So yaay on that. I am going for these trips to hang out with friends. Have been doing that ever since close friends moved away and this is my way of travelling and making sure that I am connecting witht them - two birds with one stone!

In one of my earlier posts, I had mentioned that the 'sense of urgency' is becoming stronger to make sure I connect as much as possible with the people I care about and who have become my support system in this city - to eat, drink, bond and bitch about life happenings.

I used to bitch about work - thank God that urge has passed now! :D This working from home I tell you is brilliant stuff especially in this horrendous monsoons! No travelling in the trains, getting stuck and lord knows what else! And the ghost of 26/7 lingers on still in any true-blue Mumbaikar's mind. Don't think it will ever pass.

Enough rambling. Chitra has tagged me in this post. I am going to have think of different things to say from when Shalini had tagged me before :) So hard to think about stuff which are normal mundane things about yourself in some sense but make up who you are.

Can't wait to begin my journey...

The Murder

2010-07-08T12:19:00.004+08:00

Sourced from Wikipedia

It had been in the planning stages for quite a while and now that the plan was coming close to fruition, they were suprisingly nervous. The English bastard had it coming for sometime now. He had no place poking his foxhound like nose into their business. They loaded up their guns and drove the Vauxhall out.

Silence reigned in the car. They were men on a mission with history.

The house at No. 1 Plein 1813 had been acquired by the British Government in 1984. It stood as a symbol of the enemy in their minds and their biggest one was about to be eliminated.

British Ambassador Sykes was looking forward to his day at work. His office had almost made a breakthrough to get the main man responsible for financing the Irish bastards in Holland. He was eager to get on with it.

Karel had had a lovely time last night with his girlfriend. He was only 19 but had got the job of valet six months back. Luckily the 'Big Man' as he referred to the Ambassador was a good bloke. He was saving money to go on that trip to India which he had always dreamt about. Another six months to go is what he thought....

The Big Man walked through the door and waved a good morning to Karel. Karel was walking one step behind the Big Man but ensured that he got there just in time to open the door of the Rolls for him. Sykes got in and seated himself comfortably.

The bullets came fast and furious. Four bullets. One in the chest, one each in the shoulder(s) and one in the stomach. Karel was shot near the heart and one on the shoulder.

The blood flowed, much like the blood of their mates in Belfast, thought the two men as they fled the scene.

Inspired from this age old newspaper article here.

I am walking away

2010-06-30T23:36:00.007+08:00

I'm walking away from the troubles in my life
I'm walking away oh to find a better day
I'm walking away from the troubles in my life
I'm walking away oh to find a better day
I'm walking away

Craig David is humming in my head. I am walking away from the troubles in my life which are at this stage slightly miniscule. The marriage madness has not started yet. So am Skyping a whole lot and those two hours of video talking make me extremely happy.

I had written earlier about starting up a new house and we have got our fabulous apartment now. So am totally happy about that and can't wait to see it real time which should be approximately 4 months from now.

Today has been a retrospective day of sorts. Of letting go of old hat and letting it fly with the wind where no one sees it or catches it. Of knowing that good things can and do happen to people who wait patiently. Of catching up with friends who will not seen awhile and sorely missed. Of knowing that happiness can come by anytime it chooses to. You just need to be there to grab your moment and not let go and squeeze it for all its worth.

Life as eet ees is taking a new turn :)

And my 29th is upon me

2010-06-25T16:13:00.006+08:00

And like seriously this will go down in history as one of my least socializing buddays :) First, it is a Monday so don't get me started on that. Second, my fiancé is not here which totally sucks - but on the flip side, we are going to spend his together so that makes it all good in my mind! Third, all this working from home means that I am slightly money-less (atleast this month) but hey I am working from home and not commuting in the ghastly rains! So yipee yaay on that!

This year has been a strange good year. I started out ever so randomly but sure that I would be quitting my job. Hit Goa in the first month itself - so happy that trip made me. Got a new job that gave me the flexibility to spend time in the house and bond with the family. Conversely, these are the last few months in my city for me too. I will be moving home and hearth come November and that is a move I am totally looking forward to - an apartment with a view is what 'we' have been dreaming about and hope that really really works out.

I lost a friend, figuratively and literally. I didn't know when the year started that this was written for me in 2010. It hurt. I lived through it. I moved on. Losing someone who is the same age as you makes you more than aware of your own mortality.

It makes you realise that life is too short and you gotta do everything that you have ever dreamed of doing - take risks, plunge into ravines of self-doubt and make sure you climb your way to the top. You are bound to get injured but when you realise what you have achieved, the feeling is mindblowing!

Some things left to do for 2010:

Get married :D
Jumpstart my own house which fills me with trepidation and excitement
Do bungee jumping
Travel more (of course)
Catch up with friends - the sense of urgency I feel is greater now
Get back to writing and photography (both have been sorely neglected)
Get a new tattoo and I even know what I want to get - question is will I do it before my wedding and face the wrath of all the South Indian mamis of the world :D
Leave family and friends behind in India (who will be sorely missed) but in today's connected world you can hardly call it leaving behind

And yeah that is about it. Hitting 29 the year you are getting married is something special in my mind. This year's budday is my most memorable and am kicked as hell about it. And ain't no one gonna tell me any different!

May ends

2010-06-01T00:21:00.003+08:00

bringing to a close a month of happiness for me. I met someone who turns out to be the love of my life (you know like the films), get engaged to him and will begin a new life with him in the next five months.

If someone had even told me in January this is how my life would have turned out, I would have point blank laughed at them!

Life brings with it strange, extraordinary twists and turns. I went with the flow on this one and am extremely happy I did so. Believing that things would work out given what our odds were was quite simply a leap of faith and one I was more than willing to take. Knowing in real time that this is something that will last a lifetime - well its like the Mastercard ad right, priceless :)

Here's to life then. Cheers....

The 10 quick steps to eternal happiness

2010-04-30T15:47:00.008+08:00

A dear friend on Flickr - ganobristol - just tagged me on this post. Stuff like this makes you stop and think. What does happiness mean and where do I find my happiness really? What makes me happy in 10 quick steps are as follows:

1. Photography - the mood hits me and then sometimes I just know its a perfect shot and like honestly screw what people think about it. Par example, like this one below which is also the subject of a previous post.

2. Rains - Sitting at home and experiencing the rains is what makes me happiest. Ghar pe amma will make chai/kapi and sometimes (rarely actually) bhajia - wah wah moments

3. The sea - Nothing makes me happier than being close to the sea. And I love getting a sun tan so it is all good in my mind. Prawns are my fave sea food and there is something awesome about sunrise-sunset by the seaside.

4. People - Family and friends - make me happy. I have a strong support system who encourages, cheers and holds my hand, figuratively and literally when the chips are against me.

5. Filter kapi - sigh - what would I do without kapi? My life would be an empty, barren husk I know! First thing in the morning, a cup of filter kapi uplifts me like nothing else can

6. Cooking - I am a late bloomer here. I like cooking - the smells, the effort and let's not forget the sweat :P And of course the mostest happiness is derived from people's burps afterwards :):)

7. Reading and listening to music - Two pleasures combined guaranteed to enthrall me enough that I can get blinded to the world outside.

8. The colour green - I loveee greeen so much so that some friends started calling me the 'Green Goblin' at a point!!! I have green earrings and green outfits. I used to have green shoes but they died on me!! :(

9. Whisky - :D I don't think I should say more. Nothing like a small peg and boy is that guaranteed to uplift the spirits (sorry could not resist that one! :))

10. A life partner - Lifetime of guaranteed happiness I have been promised and if nothing else -I get a house and some LV bags in return he says :):)

The light check...the beads check...shadows..check..

2010-04-29T21:11:00.003+08:00

The light check...the beads check...shadows..check.., originally uploaded by KittyKaht.

Sometimes the perfect shot comes along without you knowing it. Sometimes life happens without you knowing it. And going with the flow is just as good as thinking and planning it. This shot is like that- with the flow - taxi stops in town at a traffic signal, the light pours in this extraordinary fashion, the beads glitter, and my hand automatically reaches for the camera.

One day, I want to have an exhibition of my photographs. I would like that to happen for me. I am not yet confident that I am that good. I work with a point and shoot. People compliment me. But I know I am just as good as the next person. To be better, I need to learn.

Life teaches you lessons. Sometimes you learn well, sometimes you forget and make the same effing mistakes. And that too is a learning experience.

This post in that sense is a nonsensical one. The photo inspired me to write. I like using photos to complement my writing. You can read Flash Fiction about how that works. I think Micky is doing a great job at supporting people who write. More people should write - gets their angst off their chests and wherever else it is hiding :)

Ok enuf said. Time to do I reckon...

A commitment for a lifetime

2010-04-16T21:00:00.004+08:00

Life has a funny way of working out she thought to herself. The sari lady was putting the final touches on her pallu. Her make up was in order (for once she thought!) Everything was perfect.

How had this come about - this eternal happiness she expected for herself? She had met him sometime back. Common friends etal. They had got talking. Something had clicked. She had cold feet. So did he.

But standing here today, she was surprised to see that it had all fallen into place. Her usual cynicism had no place here.

She heard the call of the nadaswaram outside in that fine AC hall her amma-appa had paid for with a lifetime of savings. She smiled and stepped out with the confidence that was born of belief that they could make it together - that they could be...

The height of nonsenseness

2010-03-04T13:51:00.001+08:00

You know the end is near when the bells start tolling

Figuratively of course in your head

Well sometimes you might even be in a cloister

And they would toll

But that would not necessarily mean your end now would it?

Well unless it was a spy movie and you were James Bond

And the Sister Superior was actually the Bond girl

Who has latent talents for sex and murder….

Well then it would be your end then…

If you were the villain of the series

But being the villain doesn’t necessarily make you bad

It just means you can plead extenuating circumstances

Your mom got murdered, your dad got battered

All sorts of ed things happened to you when you were

But a child suckling at your mother’s breast

Oedipus complex etal

However will not explain why you do the things you do

Why you make me mad

Why you make me sad

Why our lives revolve in circles – sometimes crop circles too

Mysterious, threatening, reassuring

The end

A Coffee Moment

2010-02-24T23:12:00.003+08:00

A Coffee Moment, originally uploaded by Chitra Aiyer.

Bittersweet the memories are

A cup of coffee
can mean so much
and so little

A nodding acquaintance,
a lover who could not give more
a parent left behind

The joy in the deep brown always endures
You can immerse yourself in the aroma

Learning how to live
Is a coffee moment.....

2010-02-24T21:28:00.003+08:00

porta do céu, originally uploaded by zenog.

The Queen walked down the path
It bristled green
The insects scrunched under her feet as she walked
She was tipsy – the gin had been a bit too much for her

She swayed a bit – the afternoon sunshine was gentle on her face
The path seemed to wind on forever
But it had been a blissful morning
Full of bright laughter and happiness radiating from all the faces

Well she knew they would not be happy forever
The gin had contributed to that slightly giddy feeling

The gate was almost upon her…

Some lagers can cause all the trouble

2010-02-20T14:05:00.005+08:00

Portishead, Bristol.

The day had begun innocently enough. He was 15. His Dad had done the runner ages ago. His Mom didn't care a piss about him. The slapper was sitting cozy in Scotland with that wanker! And of course his bro, cuzz me, the half-brother...the dirty filthy copper, what a tosser he was!

He opened the fridge and there sat the lagers waiting for him. 3 perfect lagers - cold and the taste just the right hint of bitter. He didn't think too much about it- just grabbed them off the shelf and ran off to meet Jimmy. Jimmy was his best mate- always ready for taking the piss.

Jimmy met him near the corner store run by the currywalahs. The smell permeated the whole street. Every time, he entered the shop, he tried to nick something. They always knew he stole things but were afraid of him - the blue eyes always glittered in contempt . The brown eyes didn't have the strength to match the sneer etched permanently on the chicken pockmarked face.

Jimmy saw the lagers in his hand and knew that today would be a good day. They both ran towards their favourite hangout - the parapet near Mrs Brown's house- where they sat and stared at all the posh girls from the private schools. Taunting remarks from the parapet were always met with studied silence from the girls.

They started on the first of the cans, gulping it down with relish. 20 minutes was all it took. The cans lying abandoned on the road - not even an attempt to place them in the garbage bin near Mrs Brown's house.

They were walking down the street - happy- the lager lay warm in their stomachs- when they heard the first of the sirens wailing....

This not-so-good story was inspired by a true life story which be read here. Some of the slang which I had forgotten comes from here.

The beginning of the saga

2010-02-10T00:43:00.003+08:00

His smoking hot whisky eyes

That was the first thing she had noticed and the quick grin of course

The rain was pouring down in sheets and she thought,

‘What a quirk of fate, I seem to meet my destiny every time it rains!’

Her car had stalled – something or the other had given up its life

She was sitting all alone – feeling the loneliness coming off in waves

She heard a quick tap

And fate she smiled her wicked grin

Irene rolled down the window pane

40 years blurred in her gaze

Looking into Iyer’s eyes

And his story well now that makes a separate rhyme….

Iyer and Irene

From much before and for ever after

2010-02-05T20:14:00.002+08:00

Irene blazed her wordy guns at Iyer’s accent

Iyer disdained to reply

He looked away and sniffed at the air

Asked, ‘Where is my thair sadam?’

The smile that lit Irene’s face

Equivalent to a thousand candles it was

She stopped, looked at him and

Decided to end the battle as it were

‘That my love, you’ll have to make

For yourself’, said she.

‘I intend to have my whisky first’

In married life continues Iyer and Irene's saga

A small episode

2010-02-04T19:44:00.005+08:00

Her hair fell softly on her brow but the malevolent smile that twisted her face would have done the Dark Lord proud. She inched softly and surely towards the sacrifice waiting at the far end of the hall. The victim was unaware that her brains would be smashed to smithereens with a silver bullet. The Nazgoid-277 was built to destroy the scum that walked her planet in the name of human beings. It was a weapon, pure and pure - built for one purpose only - annihilation.

Her footsteps echoed eerily in the vast cavern of the corridor. Her silver jumpsuit glittered- it was meant to accentuate every inch of her figure. The victim would be a willing one.

She stopped at the anointed one's door and knocked. A screen fell across her face - charming smile, blue eyes heightened by the tension. She waited. The door opened. An abyss stared back at her. Her head spun. Her reflection looked at her and asked, 'So you have come finally?' Then without a trace of irony, 'It does feel like I have been waiting for millennia.'

The Nazgoid-277 slipped from her hand in slow motion. It hit the carpeted floor with barely a thud. The bullets seemed to discharge of their own volition destroying the perfect face in the mirror. The reflection wavered for a minute or two before vanishing. Its purpose had been served.

Oh fish!

2010-01-30T19:01:00.006+08:00

Oh fish!, originally uploaded by Pixychik.

vairy whale
said the fish to the sea
the sea opened her arms
she welcomed the wee one

scary mother you are sometimes
but i don’t intend to be here very long
this is but a fleeting visit
inspired by the man behind the dark side of the moon

that man he sits on the edge with his fishing rod
forlornly
and wishes for an evening star
it comes and twinkles at him

it says vairy whale
why don’t you visit the sea sometime
she seems to long for you

the man looked at the star
a glimmer of recognition shone in his weather-beaten eyes
vairy whale he said
its time i left this land anyway

the man jumped off the moon into the waiting arms of the sea
the world heaved a sigh of relief
the splash that occurred echoed in the corridors of the universe
reverberated across the galaxies
whoooosh it went till every denizen on every planet
felt the same desire

as the man who used to sit behind the dark side of the moon

The Hostess with the Mostest

2010-01-09T22:04:00.006+08:00

She stood in the middle of the living room. She was mistress of all she surveyed.

The canapés were ready - their square shapes filled with a tapenade that would melt most people's stomachs. People would relish them - their tongues bursting with flavour.

The 10 year old Scotch stood silently - for its rightful owners to claim its decadent tastes - the rich smell of the peat beckoned even the most jaded connoisseurs.

Her little black dress shimmered with a thousand sequins. Her ears sparkled with flawless uncut rubies. The colour of the Scotch matched the topaz ring on her third finger. He had given it to her as a sign of his undying love for her and the Scotch.

She smiled with satisfaction. It would be a good party.

Iyer & Irene

2010-01-03T22:07:00.002+08:00

Iyer and Irene

The names matched

The personalities didn’t

Yet they had an intangible something that held them together

From his veshti to her sleeveless dresses

From his temple to her church

The smiles on their faces

Made most hearts melt

One wondered how it had happened

Where the story lay

It had begun many monsoons ago

A stalled car. Rain pouring down in sheets.

A smile did it all.

Title credits to Ravi Sivaraman

The end of my East India trip

2009-12-31T20:32:00.014+08:00

10th October 2009. 6.15 am. We had reached Sealdah. Am at a friend's house waiting to leave for the airport. Have traversed so many kilometres and (not) extremely thrilled that the end has arrived. Will leave you with a set of images that will ensure that one day you as a reader make your way to Sikkim and get a chance to experience its extraordinary beauty.

The one 'where the taxi driver goes wtf'

2009-12-31T19:58:00.008+08:00

9th October 2009. A day that started lazily if a 8.00 am start qualifies for that. We had decided to have brekkie at Cafe Live and Loud and then catch up on some last minute shopping at M G Road.

Soulmate poster at Cafe Live and Loud..I missed them again :(

The sun was showing and the sky was blue. We walked arounf so much that I ended up removing my jacket. The warm sun felt good on my nakes arms. Such a pity we didn't experience this kind of weather when we were in North Sikkim.

M G Road

Did some last minute shopping and then found ourselves at Bakers Cafe on M G Marg for lunch. This place is a find. It had a fab view of the mountains and serves continental food. I had a yummy kapi and pasta after 2 weeks. The luxuries of civilisation :)

T's drink :D

We headed back towards the hotel, paid our bills and had a taxi waiting for us. The guy's cab was refusing to go up the incline at Mintokling. He says, 'The first time it happens. What the fuck man!' Hhahahahahahahahahha. It was a similar tone to T's - you gotta hear it to believe it...

Got the taxi to Siliguri for 130 bucks a seat. We bought 3 seats as always and had a super long journey to Siliguri. Am glad we started when we did - at 2.00 pm and got to Siliguri at 6.30 pm. Got another shared auto to NJP station. The train was waiting for us. An uneventful journey to Sealdah. No 'ta-ta-time -pa-pa-pass' kind of guys on the train this time.

The one 'where we hear Tenzing's life story'

2009-12-30T16:23:00.007+08:00

8th October 2009. 7.00 am start for Yumthang Valley - no flowers if you please so we go to see an empty valley but the Teesta was flowing away merrily.

But first, the almost visit to the hot springs. T and me found a path and decided to follow it. We asked a local passing by where it led. He said 'Hot springs'. So we followed and entered these magical woods where there were wooden bridges made of tree bark, the path was made of marble and granite and the fall colours all around us. Pretty reds, oranges and yellows.

Wooden bridge with marble path

Fall leaves

We eventually ended up at a swaying footbridge over which I was petrified to walk over but did it saying lets do this in my head like a zillion times. I looked straight ahead and sort of forged ahead.

Gave up on the springs and walked back towards the Valley. The river beckoned and we headed towards it. Stunning mountainous landscape around us.

Heard there were landslides happening across the way and made a quick exit to Lachung. Had lunch at 11.30 almost immediately on our return, had a shower and left.

We heard from Tenzing today that he is a father of a two year old son called Pinchoe. Tenzing is 23 years old!! He bought the Maxx for himself when he was 17, got married when he was 19 and has been driving tourists around for the last 6 years! He is such an enterprising fellow and knows everyone on the road. Told T that Tenzing would definitely own a travel agency of his own in the next five years for sure!

Ended back in Gangtok by 6ish, early dinner again. Tomorrow we do our last bit of shopping and head towards NJP to catch the 'Darjeeling Mail'

PS: We met Pinchoe after we entered Gangtok. Tenzing was sweet enough to introduce us to his lil kid. He of course brought out all my maternal instincts :D

The one where 'I almost lose my life'

2009-12-25T21:33:00.008+08:00

7th October 2009. The one where I almost died, where I stood at 17,800 feet, the one where T had his full of adventures, music and conversations, snowfall and rainfall and Army guys! What a crazy day!

3.30 am start. Tenzing, our drive said, 'Madam, char baje nikhlenge'. 4.45 am and no sight of the guy. 5.00 am chap shows up. Says a cheery hi and says, 'Chale?' Looking at his smile I could not even yell at him.

Tenzing our driver in a pensive mood

We left at 5.00 am and stopped at several checkpoints. Destination Gurudongmar - a lake 17,800 feet where a friend said, 'I should forget about shit and show the world the finger!' (which I did btw). We reached Thangu located at 13,500 ft and stopped for namak cha and brekkie - Maggi - the yummiest I have ever had. Namak cha had the aftertaste of butter for some reason.

The place where we stopped was so small - barely 5 ft x 5 ft and all run by ladies. The men were nowhere in sight. 7.15 am, brekkie done we set off for Gurudongmar and it then started snowing by then!! T has never seen snow in his life and he was ecstatic to put it mildly. September - we had been told it never snows and here it was pissing down on us and the cold literally entered our bones. T, ever dramatic, said he could feel it in his bone marrow!! :D

Stopped at the final Army checkpoint before they let us through towards Gurudongmar. The Army guys were very polite - most of them had their snow gear on complete with sunglasses.

Then began the long ice-cold journey to Gurudongmar - took us more than a hour's drive from the Army checkpoint. We had almost got there and the driver informed us that the clutch had stopped working! Luckily another tourist vehicle came along and the driver helped us out. So, you climb a hill covered with snow - there were steps for those of the intrepid nature and you find yourself staring at this pale blue lake surrounded by snow clad hills.

There's a temple there as well as a sign commemorating Gurudongmar's existence. T & me had 'actually' planned to stay at the lake for a full hour! What a laugh! We lasted five minutes to ensure necessary photos and jumped into the car as quick as possible.

The snow fell soft and thick and at one point, we almost skidded off the edge down a twenty foot snow covered ravine. But it was beautiful - the first time I have ever experienced snow in India and considerting it wasn unexpected, totally way out!!

We headed back towards Thangu - stopped again to warm our innards and gulp some hot namak cha which is a local speciality. I smoked a beedi too after a long time :) Then began the long drive back to Lachen - enroute snowfall became rainfall as we descended.

We were almost at Lachen - I remember thinking how desperately I wanted to pee at that point- when we got stuck behind a long convoy of vehicles. We could see an Army jeep stuck ahead. 5-10 minutes passed. An Army truck came along and hauled the jeep. Our driver comes up and we think - finally the hotel till he says, 'Kuch try karna hai!'

We forged ahead without the two of us realising what we were getting into. Next thing I know our solid sturdy Mahendra Maxx is in the path between a waterfull full of rocks and a forty foot ravine at the bottom. There's a whole lot of people around us - all the drivers who are trying to get the car out of the mess we are stuck in and confusion at the same time.

T offers help and steps out. I am sitting inside at this point. I see T walk away from the car and still lost in my own world. The driver Tenzing rushes up to my side, yanks open the door and yells at me, 'Madam abhi chaliye!' I jump out and he drags me by the hand away from the car getting my shoes all mucky. I go wtf! I see people gesturing, 'Come here, get to a safe place'. I am still wtf. I look up and I see a gigantic stone weighing a tonne atleast hurtling down with force towards the car. I'm thinking, 'Shit our stuff is gone!!'.

The stone deflects and ends up about ten feet away from the car at the side of the road.

I see people walking around the car - an Army truck comes and tries to life it off the muck its stuck in. I walk through the muck to the other side and see T shell shocked staring at me. I am bitching about my shoes and jeans and he's looking at me like I am crazy. He says, 'In those three seconds, our four year association flashed in front of my eyes.' That threw me and I actually stopped and thought, 'What if!'

I was three seconds away from dying. I would not have got the chance to say goodbye to my folks, friends - people I loved because some dumb rock decides to come down on me. None of this struck me until much later! T is still mindfucked about it and I went into thinking mode after a while. Life's too fucking short. You gotta grab every moment and live it. Ironically apart from T no one knows about my near death experience because my network ain't working here!

How do I begin to tell people without sounding too dramatic...How do I use this chance that I have been given (because its that - pure luck, fate whatever you wanna call it) ...don't know yet but it makes me more determined to do the things I have always planned for in life and make sure I live each day with joy.

An uneventful journey into Lachung - Yumthang Valley being our next destination - we have had diner and almost sleeping as I pen this down. Tomorrow a 7 am start. Thank God for that. Thank the Lord for giving me these precious moments of life...

The one 'where I drink a peg for 20 bucks'

2009-12-25T21:22:00.007+08:00

6th October 2009. A late start today by our standards (10.00 am). We had breakfast in the sylvan surroundings of the garden at Mintokling.

The Mahendra Maxx came to pick us up and off we started on our journey to Gurudongmar and Yumthang - our destinations in North Sikkim.

Its a six hour journey from Gangtok if not more. We passed through absolutely stunning scenery. Mountains- endless, green, shrouded in mist and deep valleys where the Teesta flowed.

Stopped at Seven Sisters Waterfalls and got some photos.

Proceeded towards Lachen after stops here and there - the drive had to submit photocopies of our permits at various checkpoints on the way. It started pissing down at some point and our driver got worried about landslides happneing along the way.

The route to North Sikkim is heavily guarded with army checkpoints galore. At Lachen, we would be 45 kms from the Indo-China border. Apparently you get Tibetan refugees fleeing from China and making their way to Lachen. If genuine, they are sent downwards towards the plains or else sent back which would mean sure imprisonment and torture. All this was told to us a quarter bar cum general store cum wine shop which sold me a peg of 'Imperial Blue' whisky for Rs 20!

Dinner is done and its 8.30 pm. Will be reading some and sleeping. Have to be up at 3.30 am tomorrow to head towards Gurudongmar - a destination I have been dreaming about since I started planning this trip.

The one 'where the inquisitive monk asks life changing questions'

2009-12-24T01:06:00.019+08:00

5th October 2009. Mr Bhutia, the man designated to take us around Gangtok showed up around 9.30ish in the morning. 1st stop - the Flower Show which took like 10 minutes.

Post that, a visit to the Handloom Centre which is soo government like its unbelievable! The mist had come into Gangtok by then.

We then took the Ropeway Cable Car wich had supersonic crazy views - you were about 5000 feet high up in the air suspended and after a while the height got to me and I sat down on the floor of the car and watched - suspended mid-air in disbelief :P

We then visited the Chorten Stupa and the monastery nearby.

This place was beautiful. It had well preserved Tibetan Buddhist artifacts like this one below

But it had also one more thing: 'The Inquisitive Monk' - this monk pestered T. He followed him around - asked his weight, height and what T did in Bombay. So T patiently answered and all this why they both turned the prayer wheels around. Let me illustrate my point here -

Then he asks T if I was his wife. T says no. 'Is she your girlfriend?' T says no. 'Would you like her to be your girlfriend?' T was flabbergasted at this point not knowing what to say to the 'agony aunty' monk!

Rumtek Monastery almost a hour's drive from Gangtok followed. Rumtek is sort of above cloud level. It was quite a forbidding place espcially because they had a lot of security at the entrance. The presence of the army at such a religious site was really disturbing. This was taken at the entry to Rumtek. Vehicles are not allowed inside at all so you make the long trek inside and uphill to the monastery.

They had a Golden Stupa here covered with actual turquoise and coral - the stones were as big as bird's egg and probably cost a fortune. There's apparently also some religious turmoil - the presence of two Karmapas adds to the problem and hence the need for such security.

Post Rumtek we went to Banjhakri Waterfalls - very developed. Its a perennial waterfall and the government has developed it into a picnic tourist hotspot. They have put in pagodas and what not jazz to make it exciting for the tourist.

We then proceeded towards Lingdum Monastery. I would recommend it over Rumtek anyday. It's beautiful, quiet and serene. Wonderful artwork and ever so quaint. Some details of the monastery here...

Tashi Point next stop. Completely pointless as it was misty as hell and I have photos to prove it as well.

Ganesh Tok was awesome. It really gave you a sense of perspective on how much mist had spread across the whole town. There's a heavy army presence in this are which is why we also managed to grab a cup of nice adrakwali chai.

Got back to M G Marg and wandered around. Had an awesome Tibetan dish at 'Taste of Tibet, at the corner of MG Road. Called shyaphale, these are fried momos with a mixture of meat and spices.

Dinner finished, we headed towards Cafe Live & Loud where we listened to a local band play. I consumed whisky to go along. Came back to the hotel and packed. North Sikkim starts tomorrow.....something I am damn excited about!

The one where 'Gangtok steals my heart'

2009-11-29T20:07:00.006+08:00

4th October 2009. Its 7.40 pm and tis pissing down in Gangtok. I'm sitting in a cafe called 'Cafe Live & Loud' and even stole a coaster from there. Its up Tibet Road and definitely a good find.

We started this morning at 6.30 am and waited till 7.30 until our share taxi to Gangtok got completely full. Nice ride to Gangtok- we kept passing the Teesta on our way from Darjeeling.

Took us about 4.5 hours from Darjeeling (not helped by an army convoy on the way). Our hotel Mintokling is a palace compared to Birds Eye in Darjeeling. Running hot water makes all the difference in the world. It has a very nice view (not as nice as the Khangchendzonga from Birds Eye) but lovely place and kickass food. Had something called Dhoe - Bamboo shoot with chicken and roti. The dal fry was awesome too...

View from our room balcony

Slept after a fulsome lunch and headed towards M G Road - which is a kickass High Street. Its like something out of a English small town's version of High Street.

We were walking around deliberating which travel agency to choose from for our trip to the north of Sikkim. We finally picked Lama Tours and Travels for our 3 day, 2 nights trip scheduled to Gurudongmar and Yumthang Valley. We are going to be paying about 12k altogether which sounds decent for exclusive transport, food and lodging at Lachen and Lachung. Touch wood this goes well.

Tried to find a place recommended by a friend and gave up. Ended up at Cafe Live and Loud instead and drinking beer called 'Dansbery Blue' - a local brew and waiting for the rain to dissipate.

Beer done am headed back towards the hotel. A full day in and around Gangtok awaits.

A city called Bombay

2009-11-27T02:01:00.003+08:00

The Taj, originally uploaded by KittyKaht.

The Taj on 3rd March 2008. My world was right. This was taken at a early morning concert - one of those pre-dawn things for which you get up at a random time, take a train with the fisher folk and get to Gateway. I gave up on the Hindustani classical concert happening at some point of time and went wandering with my camera. It was peaceful and lovely at the hour without the usual cacophony of horns.

The Taj on 26th November 2009 - this night changed how I viewed my city forever. I wrote several posts trying to understand the outrage that had been perpetuated against my city. You can find them under 'Once Was Bombay', 'The Aftermath' and finally 'Retrospection'. I read those posts and realise that the anger and outrage has disappeared under the routine of everyday life. What happened to all those people on Facebook who added themselves to various groups against terrorism? What happened to asking the government to make a difference? What happened to plain ole voting? Are we so indifferent that we think about making the difference only when an anniversary approaches?

Suddenly the newspapers are full of stories. People. Victims. Kasab - that man (I can't be logical about this I am sorry) should be hanged. The Indian government is wasting our hard earned money on someone who has no right to live. I walk into VT for the past week and I imagine him spewing his venom through his machine gun on innocent bystanders. Which God tells you it is right to blow people up and you will win your piece of heaven for this?

I am still angry, I am still hurt. I can't get over the pain I felt. I cried. I ached for my city. The HOW DARE THEY question still makes me want to hurl things in rage. All of it lies suppressed under my routine life. I made it a point to send a sms to the two guys I was drinking with that night it all started. Toto's will forever be etched in my memory because of 26/11 and all its associations. You realise that life is too short!

I didn't lose anyone during the carnage of the four days but it was as personal a loss as any for me - my city bled. Her much touted spirit was in shatters. And the people - we carried life on as before. Tommorrow's newspapers are going to carry stories about how much people cared by lighting candles...yes and we know that is going to change the world. Cynical but true no?

My city will survive long after I am gone...my apathy, indifference, pain, anger, hurt - all of it will melt into nothingness. But what will keep is the pleasure of knowing this is my home and no one will ever take that right away from me - to walk down Marine Drive at 1 am with a friend super drunk, to eat the over priced kebabs at Bade Miyan, to think about taking my parents to the Taj for their upcoming 30th wedding anniversary - all of these are affirmations that life in Bombay goes on in its own peculiar way and baaki toh 'sab chalta hi rehta hai' :)

My life sometimes

2009-11-23T23:18:00.001+08:00

Pearls Before Swine

The one where 'Tiger Hill goes bust and shopping happens'

2009-11-23T00:38:00.006+08:00

3rd October 2009. Happy Valley - a visit rudely (at first interrupted by a landslide) but later taken up by Orjun, our taxi driver. Happy Valley is a tea plantation and factory whch exports tea exclusively to Harrods if you please. But I'm getting ahead of myself here....

Tiger Hill was a 'Virar' local at peak time and then some. It was utter madness and we paid some 30-50 bucks for some viewing platform thing which was utterly pointless. After a while, I could not bring myself to care if I saw the sunrise or not. The sea of humanity had taken care of that for me. I didn't feel the need to fight with people and their cameras merely to get a glimpse of this...This was taken at 5.25 am in the morning at Tiger Hill. Clouds completely obscured the view and we didnt see no sunrise!

However I did see this and this more than made up for the early morning madness we had indulged in.

We found Orjun by coincidence. We had planned a visit to Happy Valley, Darjeeling Zoo and the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute. We started at the Zoo and it was very cool to see bears, snow leopards and the like at the Zoo.

But the people behaved atrociously. They whistled, made cootchie coo kind of noises at the animals like they were dogs! I could not understand this kind of behaviour and inflicting this on the poor animals. The cheetah I thought reacted admirably to this!

In the HMI, we checked out the Everest Museum. George Leigh Mallory and his expeditions stood out for us. 'Paths of Glory' by Jeffrey Archer eloquently brings out the story of Mallory's expedition to the Everest to life. It felt momentous to see photos of Gen.Bruce, the equipment they carried on their expeditions amongst other things.

Then off to Happy Valley. We get to hear of the whole process of manufacturing tea and paid 200 bucks(!) for 100 grams of tea. Quite a foolish thing to do I might add but we went with the moment of being at the tea plantation.

Got back and ate pork momos and chicken thukpa at Penang. Small restaurant near the Rink Mall and they were quite delicious. Did some tea shopping at Nathmulls and T did sword shopping at the Mall. Yes yes he bought a 'katana' which he intends to lug back to Mumbai!

Met a talkative shop owner - Nepal Curios Shop on Mall Road who sold T the sword and me some fabulous silver jewellery. Walked back to hotel where I desperately read and finished Ian Rankin's 'Exit Music' - something I had started to read on the 2nd. Packed and got ready for a 6.30 am start to Gangtok.

The one where 'we decide to toss about walking to Ghoom'

2009-11-23T00:11:00.007+08:00

2nd October 2009. 6.30 am and we got hold of a Qualis (shared one at that) taking us to Darjeeling. Stopped at Kurseong where I get my first sight of the Himalayas. Sublime experience. They towered over the rest of the mountains - glistening pale. It made me understand why mountaineers do what they do - to conquer that would be an achievement indeed!

Got into Darjeeling at 10 - we were actually stuck in a traffic jam getting into Darjeeling. Reached our hotel - Birds Eye Guest House - which has a fab view of Darjeeling and more importantly the mountains towering above it. Run by a couple of brothers - Uttam and Gautam. Its a lovely place which is reasonably priced and if you ever go to Darjeeling, I would recommend you stay here.

Left almost immediately after freshening up and headed towards Keventers to get some grub. Kevs (as the locals call it) serves the wickedest pork sausages this side of the Himalayas. Brunch finished, we deliberated on how we should visit Ghoom.

Ghoom is the town next to Darjeeling which has interesting monasteries and the like. We tossed a coin and decided to walk to Ghoom. Took us three straight hours but it was kickass fun. We stopped at myriad places and took a whole lot of interesting photos.

Taxi back to Darjeeling and we almost ended up at a beef market because T thought (from a distance) it looked like junk jewellery hung up!!

Glenarys for dinner - well I got interested because I thought I would have a drink but well Gandhiji intervened in my plans... :) Indifferent dinner finished, we trekked back to our hotel. Did I forgot to mention that our hotel is on top of a hill so after eating, the uphill climb was like climbing Everest herself! I exaggerate but you get the point.

Tomorrow morning, we start at 3.30 am to get upto Tiger Hill for a 5 am sunrise. Should be fun..

The one where 'We almost missed the train to New Jalpaiguri'

2009-10-24T16:01:00.002+08:00

1st October 2009. An uneventful day spent in Kolkata. Tried silver shopping but the skies had opened up and the shops were shut. Gave up and went back home. Meeting T at Park Street before we head out to Howrah Station. Met, had a cuppa, visited Flurry's which is like this 100 year old chocolate institution in Kolkata. We bought some dark chocolate here (couple of bars) which lasted us till North Sikkim finished. Realised lateness of time and caught a taxi for Howrah.

Hyperventilating slightly as it was 4.30 pm and our train was at 5.30 pm. M, the other friend who was with us was like, 'Why don't you take the ferry? It would be faster'. Luckily decided against it and reached actually very much in time. The train, Kamrup Express - everyone had dissed it talking about it like it was some third-class train. Kamrup was fine (it had been bombed a couple of years back but well these things kinda happen) and the vendors...

Well the vendors were also another highlight...25 atleast with each one carrying a different item. You could potentially start your journey with an empty bag and fill it up as the train chugged along with everything from pyjama cords to desserts. But our favourite guy with a tagline of 'Ta-Ta-Ta Time, Pa-Pa-Pass'. He was howlarious selling shengdana and the like. For more on him, you've to meet me or T to get a real-time imitation! There is no other way unfortunately....

Reached NJP at 6ish next morning...

The one where 'A friend gets drunk and disappears for a hour at Someplace Else'

2009-10-24T14:57:00.008+08:00

30th September 2009. Kolkata's hot stickiness is almost over. I board the Kamrup Express this evening for Darjeeling. I like the city - the buildings at Dalhousie Square, the friendliness of the people and the fact that I can bargain at the markets with a smile :) But I ABHOR the humidity - its worse than Bombay and that is saying something...

I have had a very pleasant day. Went shopping - a fact that gives my heart succour. Went to 'Old' New Market which is actually called a fancy English name!

Shooped for silver to my heart's content. Recommend Chumbalama - a Tibetan shop here. Decently priced silver. I went slightly beserk and even bought myself a 'lizard' pendant! And that cost me like 300 bucks!!

Shopping finished, I wandered around Dalhousie Square and there were enough architecturally significant monuments there to keep my trigger happy fingers..well happy :)

Headed back homewards to give myself a little rest before a night out drinking at 'Someplace Else'. At the Park, this place is legendary. I had heard so many tales about the place - it was a must do on my list. But before that, we went to a place called 'Beyond the Blue' opposite New Market. Ambience top class as it affords a view of the city's nightlights but that is it. Nothing more to say really. They screwed everything in terms of the order that they could possibly screw!

'Someplace Else' lived upto its expectations and more. It totally rocked. Drinks were reasonable except the place as big as my living room. But I wouldn't crib about that too much. Now comes the highlight for the day. Friend with us got drunk and sort of disappeared. No other way to put it really. We looked everywhere for him. We went even to the hotel's reception and like in the movies asked, 'Can you use your cameras to check where he is?' Hhhahhahaahhaa...We finally found him - thank the Lord! He had gone and dozed off in the far corner inside the pub of all the places!

Dispersing, I found myself in a taxi speeding homewards at 12.30 pm. I didn't get the unsafe feeling that I normally get when I would leave the hotel at Delhi at 5 pm. Knocked myself out for the night and fell asleep almost immediately...

The one where 'I had an uneventful day in Kolkata doing touristy things'

2009-10-19T17:12:00.008+08:00

29th September 2009. A day spent fruitfully. Victoria Memorial. Mocambo's. St.Paul's Cathedral. Bengali saris. Like dil se khush ho gaye hum. Walked the streets of Kolkata in the dirty sweaty heat. Victoria Memorial - gorgeous in the light and standing utterly majestic against the array of blue-gray clouds.

But on the inside, it was an entirely different story - the Museum was awash with a sea of humanity who had absolutely no clue about why they were here - one more tourist spot to take off the list.

Thomas and Willam Daniell painted watercolours of an age gone by - to see India through their eyes - eyes belonging to the 1700's - 1800's - reminds me of a glorious past. A past which was well exploited by the romance of watercolours. The paintings are beautiful and the little details make them really interesting.

Old photos of Kolkata were also on display. I love the sepia-tinted nostalgia evident in photos like this. Vijayalakshmi Pandit, Queen Elizabeth, Nehru, Jinnah - all real people - standing, waving and smiling through a black and white window.

Really really wanted to see more but the sea of people were starting to drown me and I was literally scrambling for air at some point.

The sea of people coming out after the rains

I literally ran my way out and ended up waiting at the steps as the rain came down on us. Five minutes and the sun shone with clear blue skies.

Headed towards Mocambo's at Park Street for grub. Food was decent but the ambience was brilliant. After a nice lunch spent in the company of T, went in search of St.Paul's Cathedral. Wandered around and got lost - ended up at some Tamil church in the bylanes of Kolkata.

A call to a friend in Kolkata made my life easier and lo behold stood St.Paul's. Old tablets inside spoke of young Englishment dying in cemeteries very far from their own homelands.

Then came the bestest part of the evening - sari shopping. Had been recommended 'Adi Dhakineshwari Bastralaya', near Kalighat Metro and I had such a happy time spending much monies on something that brings my Mom loads of happiness :) Dinner at a friend's place with some yummy methi chicken thrown in totally made my day.

The one where "I think I espied a tiger foot print"

2009-10-17T20:20:00.005+08:00

28th September 2009. Sunderbans- the beautiful forests and beautiful it is. Especially at 5 am in the morning. We got up to catch the sun's rays and the water turned silver before our very eyes. Seeing things like this can change life perspective.

Ready by 6 am to go catch the second watch tower (Sajnekhali) which was a garish white and green - I mean if the watch tower needs to blend into the landscape, what is the point of painting it in such stark colours that every eye - human and animal can see for miles around!

Caught a deer and that was it - my only sight of jungle life around there. On our way back, we asked the boatman how deep the water was and he said no one had ever measured! However his anchor went down a hundred feet deep atleast. It gives you a very precarious feeling - sitting in a launch with twenty other people and the still waters around you - anything could topple it over and its not like we had life jackets or anything...

Then started the four hour ride to Netidopani - mangroves and water nonstop around us. Slept for a bit and got up in time to see the approach to Netidopani. This place was scary - lonely as hell and pure jungle. It had started raining by the time we began the trudge to the watch tower.

We walked upto the watch tower - twenty laughing and talking loudly people and expected to see a tiger which of course didn't happen! We joked hell of a lot about the tiger sighting but alas it was not to be. We did see a noticeboard which spoke of tiger sightings - two-three atleast had been sighted as late as 4 days ago and when we got there not even one! We kind of expected it if thought about it for a little bit.

People started drifting away eventually leaving about four - five of us hanging around. An eerie silence descended on us. We listened to the sounds of the forest. I realised how utterly lonely and desolate this place is - I didn't envy the Forest Guard on duty there at all. I felt like going back to civilization immediately.

Which we did after four hours of traversing through endless mangroves and swathes of water.

Another two hour bus journey and the smell of garbage told us we were in Kolkata. Dinner happened after a two hour wait at 'Peter Cat' - one of the oldest restaurants in Kolkata. I had 'Chello Kebab' - their signature dish. Mutton seekh kebab, chicken kebab, an egg and buttered rice - makes me salivate thinking about it now! I was too hungry to even take a photo of the food, attacking it almost immediately.

Got home with the idea to explore Kolkata tomorrow..

The one where 'we wait for 3 hours for Chitralekha to show up'

2009-10-17T01:29:00.007+08:00

27th September 2009. A 6.00 am alarm gets me up and ready to shower and leave for the Sunderbans. Tigers are roaming about in my head - I am aware that there are extremely slim chances of anything happening but I can't resist the idea of seeing a true blue Royal Bengal tiger. I have seen so much footage of the place and well anything can happen.

T joined me at this stage. For those who came in late, T is my travelling companion for this trip. We have a comfort zone and I am not fazed by the fact that I am traveling with this boy alone. During the course of the trip, people get fazed which was super fun to see...people are sooo curious...anyways that is a story for much later.

We left the Tourism Centre on time and our guide spoke only in Bengali on the bus. We asked around for translations and thus met a very nice family from Hyderabad - all Microsoft :) It took us little more than 1.5 hours to get to the pier where we had to board our boat...

Then began the long interminable wait. 3 HOURS! :o Hot sun, let me correct myself, hot, sweaty sun and it didn't really matter how many liquids we drank honestly! The sweat poured off us even in the shade...highly aggravating and our guide - all he had to say, 'Medem, the boat is coming'. Bloddy it had been coming for the last three hours man!

Well I gotta say the three hours gave me these shots so I won't crib too much :) The boat showed up - Chitralekha in all her glory.

Our journey began into the Sunderbans - beautiful, lonely and serene. It fills you with peace and makes you marvel at nature.

We witnessed the after effects of Hurricane 'Aila' where sandbags had been placed to rebuild embankments. We got people waving at us ...yaay.. :"D Great evening and a lovely sunset full of forked lightning, dal chawal and riotous pink colours against a dark blue sky....

The one where 'I set foot in Kolkata and sat in an auto and a rickshaw'

2009-10-17T01:09:00.005+08:00

26th of September 2009. Another trip. A time to go to East India. Planned itinerary reads like this- Kolkata-Sunderbans-Darjeeling-Sikkim. Having planned for so long, it has now come to fruition. A 9.10 am flight brought me to Kolkata - Bong land. The humidity hit me the moment I stepped out of the airplane. It sucked the living air from my lungs and the sweat- sigh..the less said the better.

I am staying at R's house and I had a very nice time. She fed me well, looked after me like my Mom would (which is saying a lot) and I actually relaxed for the first time in almost two-three weeks. Pujo is here and she has decided to take me around to see the 'pandals' starting from the one behind her house.

The crowds were crazy - like a virtual sea of people. R had some fancy pass which enabled us a quick entry and exit. The goddess was bootiful and all dressed up.

I ate 'phuchkas' which were quite ordinary. I didn't manage to ever try better ones in all the time I spent in Kolkata. Decided against going to another 'pandal' because of the insane crowds.

People were decked up to the nines in high heels and wandering around from pandal to pandal. Ended the day with a visit to the local crematorium where stood a 600 year old temple of Kali crumbling to pieces. Dinner was late - almost 11 and a good night's sleep got me ready for my Sunderbans trip starting early on Sunday.

The highlight of this day was sitting in both an auto and a rickshaw. Oh and in the auto (which is normal Bumbai wala auto), there are seats on either side of the driver. I sat on one and held onto dear life as sped along the road :D

The rickshaw was a different experience - you are elevated to a certain height and look almost regal. Well not so regal with the traffic fumes blowing in your face but you get the point.....we went along the bylanes of Garia in South Kolkata which reminded me of Vasant Kunj in Kolkata - the small narrow bylanes and the row houses...

Sunderbans....tomorrow.

Life in the East of India

2009-10-17T01:02:00.003+08:00

Once upon a time I decided I would go to the East of India. Since I decided I thought it best to go especially since I booked them tickets and what not. So I went. I almost died. I had a blast. Two weeks and it was pure bliss. There were places I went to in North Sikkim where I had no network. I spent the time with a friend and realised traveling companions can be annoying. I am annoying to traveling companions...

The friend was talking about writing the blog posts like Friends episodes and having got confirmation that I can steal his idea, will be doing exactly that. Before I start, let me leave you with this...

This is on the way to Darjeeling. Seeing the Himalayas is life changing...you are shocked and awed..

The Chennai Cultural Experience

2009-08-30T16:42:00.003+08:00

Two weeks back I decided to go to Chennai. CC is leaving country soon and I felt the need to experience Chennai through his eyes. He loves Chennai like I love South Bombay and walking then becomes pretty much a pleasure then. He was organising photowalks for Madras Week and I decided to go enjoy the celebrations. Which I did tremendously I might add.

But first my flight to Chennai story. Friday night I had a 8.20 pm flight out of Mumbai. I called the Meru at 6.00. I always prefer to be early than late being my motto. At 7.25 I was at Dharavi. U can imagine my state. Was totally panicking. I even called a friend and asked him to find me alternative flights. It was that bad. Anyways got to the airport at 7.40 and actually made it to the flight. Closest call ever that was.

CC came and did pick up. Dropped me off at the hotel. Next morning was up bright n early at 5.40ish to make it for the first photowalk which was at this point called Ripon Building.

Its like the BMC of Chennai and equally grand I might add. CC poor chap, running around got permission to shoot the building from the outside. Which the 20 of us promptly did. Good fun eet was. Ripon the man is also here. Well, his statue is anyways :D Have a closer look at him too.

I hated the fact that they had painted the whole building white- destroying all the intricate stone carvings forever. All the embellishments on the facade were now completely covered with white paint. Utterly disgusting!

Atleast 30 minutes of shooting ensued here following which we went to Victoria Public Place. Dilapidated and I might add under litigation. I am shocked that there are people out there who want to destroy this building. What the heck is going on in cities man? Red brick, blue skies - all perfect setting for the photographers assembled to shoot the building down if required...

Next on the walk came Central Railway Station. My camera started to behave strangely at this point. I had charged the batteries but to no avail. I also knew we had one more building to go before the walk ended so I didn't shoot as much here. The light inside the station and my camera settings wouldnt allow any good photos in any case. So didnt bother much.

Went to call Dad and other friends whose budday was on 22nd :) Duty done, brekkie time. Saravana Bhavan is heaven for a foodie. Sambhar in Chennai tastes like ghar ka sambhar not the sweet red crap you get in Bumbai. Kapi is brilliant too. Sigh I miss filter kapi in Chennai....

We then lumbered out towards Southern Railway adminstrative HQ. This is an extraordinary building and I loved it. So ordinary from the outside and sooooooooo pretty pretty from the inside. I had a blast and here are some fotos from the last part of my walk.

Post this, went to the British Council office to meet A. She is a darling and it was lovely to see her. Could not hang out with her much but had a lovely time anyways. Lunch at Zaras followed. For those of you think Chennai is only about idli-sambhar, kanjivarams and filter kapi, Zaras is the right place to disillusion you. You enter Zaras and you could be in a chic Mumbai/Dilli bistro/ristorante. Food was decent but music and ambience was brill. Oh also the wine was seriously overwhelmingly fruity - almost destroyed my taste buds!

Zaras finished, went back to hotel for snooze time. Up by 5 went to attend an evening lecture at a lovely hotel called 'Rain Tree' by Chitra Madhavan. She is an archaeologist who loves the city which is very evident. She spoke about four temples in Chennai and showed the intently listening audience images and connected them quite humourously. Good fun and very obviously passionate about her heritage. At the end she got mobbed like a rock star! :D Chennai's glitterati attended this talk. I was telling Mom, the only difference b/w Page 3 Chennai and Bumbai is no one said, 'Hullo dahling' and did airkissing and oh yeah and everyone wore pretty saris..or else pretty much the same. :) :)

Met S, CC's friend after this. She is totally funee and her Mom is even more howlarious! Landed up at her house and had a very enjoyable evening which ended at 12 in the night. :) Next morning was going to go for a walk which was going to begin at 6 am but no scope. Really tried but just could not get up. Had to meet both CC and Smriti for lunch so ended up at Landmark before I met them. Landmark was highly disorganised. Don't know why but it was so. In a seriously tacky mall called Spencers...sigh...anyways deed done, met CC n we headed out towards GRT Grand in T Nagar.

Now GRT Grand has a restaurant which every self-respecting Lebanese food loving person should go to. Azuleah is brilliant. Ambience is pretty although the hostesses dressed in some kind of Lebanese head gear saying Marhaba is slightly OTT for me :) Food is brilliant - the bloddy best I have ever tasted. Kick ass food - the chef is Lebanese which showed in the quality of food. He gave us strawberry sorbet on the house - which was the yummiest thing ever...

It was time to leave Chennai which I did with heavy heart and heavier stomach for sure. My perceptions about Chennai have changed quite a lot. People's attitudes still suck but the face of the city has changed quite a lot for me. There is a lot to the city and I have opened my eyes to the fact :)

2009-07-06T15:15:00.000+08:00

Almost a month back, something nice happened in my life. I finally thought I had the chance to grab some happiness that came along my way. I am a well adjusted human being (most times) and to find myself in a situation where I thought my time had come made me very happy.

Yet surprisingly or should I say like always, life decided it was not to be and then came the hurt, anger, surprise. When does it happen that you give one person so much control over your life that one call or message manages to make you doubt your own decisions made with implicit trust and faith?

I am not over it and don’t expect to be anytime soon. I keep thinking about it, get maudlin and realize the need to move on. It is important that I do – I recognize that too. Just that the ‘why’ question hasn’t left me. Don’t think it will leave me for sometime. My peace hasn’t been made yet...turning 28 for instance helped me de-focus from the hurt and made me ask more important questions related to career and life.

Anyways time will pass, the hurt will heal, the usual clichés apply I guess. One of the nice things have been that I have made firm travel plans to travel to East India this year – Cal – Darjeeling – Sikkim in Sept, something I am quite looking forward to doing. Friends might come or not come – will go anyways immaterial of that happening. Last year proved to me that I could go my way and things worked out. Luck will hold out this year as well I am sure :)

Here’s to me and my happiness this year ….

2009-06-18T00:34:00.002+08:00

The landscape of my sorrow

Stretches ahead of me

I wander the paths of unhappiness

Desolate and lost

Despair greets me at every turn

The aftermath an injection of pain

Its venom fills my body

Hope walks in the shadow of pain

Fragile like a flower

She might get crushed yet…

2009-06-07T13:54:00.003+08:00

The hills were alive with the sounds of silence
I had to work hard to hear them
My urban ears unaccustomed
Laughter rang out - pure and crystal clear
Of birds and humans alike

Life crawled around us
A testimony to the beauty of nature
Red, blue, green - the colours intense and varied
In all shapes and sizes

Four days in a Paradise
Where man will never conquer the elements

The heart sings a new song

2009-06-06T13:18:00.002+08:00

Unexpected happenings
Joy of conversation
My heart goes pitter patter
Destiny works in funny ways
She doesn't discriminate like we humans do....

Smile on face lingers
Doesn't seem to want to go away
Heart still goes pitter patter....

Oh man, something unexpectedly nice has happened. The words don't mean much..think I would call them nonsense words..But well works for me. :D

2009-03-27T02:18:00.001+08:00

Rootless_Wanderer

Locked away in dark recesses yet the memory still lingers on

The love that died a slow death

It had bloomed like a sunflower in the spring sun

Survived years of autumns and winters

That one night destroyed it

They thought they would weather the storm

But this one blew them off course

Destroyed their moorings

Left them stranded dry and without the roof called love..

I know I know..its corny but the words would not stop :)

The Last Dance

2009-03-11T18:25:00.002+08:00

Dancing, originally uploaded by Extra Medium.

For years, they had danced perfectly together
Timing, style and rhythm all got down to a tee
They used to shock bystanders
With the way their bodies moved in unison
Swaying to the music

When did the break happen?
A mis-step here and there
When did he start jiving and she waltzing?

Then came that one last time
She moved as if she was part of him
Eternal lovers playing out their parts
He stared into those deep brown eyes
Knowing that the end was in sight

They walked away from each other
Not looking back
A slight hesitation at the final step
Remembering all the years gone by

A Tale of Two Cities

2009-02-19T17:13:00.002+08:00

This is dedicated to Sheri who inspired me to write this.

I found her as I wandered

Lost in the shadows of an alleyway

In her red ghaghra choli

She razzle dazzled

Her red and gold bangles

Shiny lil diamond stud on her nose

Her red bindi struck chords

In my yearning heart

Her shy eyes refused to meet my gaze

A mystery in the making

I found her as I meandered

In the night time

An avenue with no trees

Neon and bright lights surrounded me

She smouldered and struck a pose

Her little red dress showed off more than it should have

Her glossy black eyes promised nothing and everything

She met my gaze head on without faltering

Just being herself – bold and uncompromising

Summertime

2009-02-05T02:10:00.002+08:00

Summertime,
And the livin' is easy
Fish are jumpin'
And the cotton is high

Your daddy's rich
And your mamma's good lookin'
So hush little baby
Don't you cry

One of these mornings
You're going to rise up singing
Then you'll spread your wings
And you'll fly to the sky

I love this song. Makes me think about love, sex and life in that order :) Ella and Louis are crooning it right now in my ear and j'adore. Sigh.

Oh baby, don't you cry....sigh...

Ripples of reflections

2009-01-26T20:08:00.002+08:00

Ripples of reflections, originally uploaded by KittyKaht.

I meet someone daily
She stares back at me with an unflinching gaze
Her brown- black eyes don’t hesitate
To put my flaws in place

She never stops loving me either
Encourages me every step of the way

I must learn to respect her more
Make her feel special
Not give in to the daily demands of life

It is time to make the change
Correct these errors

Stop staring at my reflection
Effect the transformation

Ripples of light shine through now
Just enough to let her out
The smile breaks through the gloom

Last day of my treep

2008-12-25T00:08:00.002+08:00

Arrived in Bangalore at 6.00 am on the 13^th. Another 5.30 am in the morning awakening. Took a prepaid rick and went to Sheri’s house. Did early morning chitchat with both Sheri and Kunzu, his wife. They have spent 11 months living in B’lore and are looking for a change in pace now.

They left for work after a lovely morning brekkie made by Kunzu – stuffed mushroom omelettes and pomegranate juice. Left to my own devices, I faffed, unpacked a bit and sat down to watch tele after millions of years :) Kim Basinger movie set in Africa caught my attention and I watched it till the lights went out.

Showered and left to do shopping. Bought my amma a lovely silk sari from Mysore Silk House on Commercial Street, one for Maman and something for myself. Walked along Commercial Street and then had to meet friend N for lunch.

N is a dear college friend of mine who moved to B’lore about 4-5 years back. I hadn’t seen her in a year or two so it was great to catch up with her. Went to Tangerine in Indira Nagar for lunch where I commenced to have lovely bifteck …yummy…We jabbered and caught up on college gossip. Dessert was waffles (absolutely divine stuff)

Having finished lunch, my plan was to go towards Blossoms, a book store opp. Amoeba on Church Street. But not before I got taken for a ride by rickshaw driver buggers – not once but twice! Total dammit it was!! 1^st bugger insisted that N had given these directions. 2^nd bugger dropped me off randomly near Commercial Street. Luckily people were around to help so go to Blossoms about an hour after I started off.

Spent a blissful 60 minutes at Blossoms and if the clock and my wallet weren’t ticking I would have spent more time. Bought 3 books – yay! :) The Bourne Ultimatum is finally in my possession. Elmore Leonard’s 1^st book I have ever read – Tishomingo Blues as well and this one called ‘Three Cups of Tea’ – which btw my dear reader is a brilliant book and I would highly recommend it.

Proceeded with an uneventful rick ride towards Koramangala where Sheri and Kunzu stay. We rested for a bit before going towards Firangipani – English pub interiors and nice whisky followed.

Went for dinner next door to Sahib Singh Sultan – had nice khana there. The interiors are like a train and nice ambience eet ees.

Got home and did sleep. Up 14^th morning at 5.30 am to catch my Jet flight to Bumbai. Home beckons. My vacation has ended. New job awaits. Have had a brilliant 13 day vacation – visited so many place, met lovely people and had a blast. I am sitting in the flight and ending my travelogue. I hope to do more such trips and travelling alone has given me such self- confidence. Here’s to more such treeps :)

Hazy Time

2008-12-24T22:28:00.002+08:00

lovers, originally uploaded by нasн.

Brown eyed girl
Van Morrison sings
Memories come back
Glances and hot summer flirting
A bike ride quite not forgotten
Moonlit skies on warm white sand
A kiss soft and gentle
Smile lights my face
And stays there….

Retrospection

2008-12-24T01:20:00.006+08:00

Sheece wrote a beautiful post on 2008 and finding beauty in life. I won't go on about that post and you should read it here for sure ...its brilliant and I found myself with a tear in my eye when I was done reading.

I have been meaning to write and nothing and I mean nothing has been coming. Its like post the 'terror attacks' my writing dried up. My fotos luckily didn't and I really really wish I could make that my alternative career but sigh..if wishes were horses and all that jazz.

My city is healing. We are heading back towards some routine. Have I moved on? I don't know..I still feel pangs. I went to the Taj on that magical Friday evening and my heart ached. I felt such pain at the desecration caused and still don't understand why. The war rhetoric has got me worried too. People think its like some f***ing video game and I remember Mom's stories about it. You should read Annie's post here for more on this.

A friend has been dealing with heartburn and I have been holding her hand. I think I felt heartburn when Bombay burned. My love life has been a dud for sometime and my parents go on about the shaadi thing. I keep wondering if there is someone out there for me or I am meant to do this all alone. There was an excellent comic strip that I saw a couple of days ago in the papers. All the birds in a row on the electric wire and one turns to the other and says, 'Is this all there is?' :)) So true of all our existence no?

I haven't drunk a drop of alcohol in the last two weeks and I am broke. I want to keep off the drinks till 31st. S said if you don't drink alcohol for sometime, the taste really hits you. I think I want to drink my Haig something like that.

Office has been dead since Monday. It is going to get worse next week. People have taken leave and done disappear. I know friends who are struggling for leave and here we have people taking 3 weeks chutthi and doing general disappear.

I still haven't finished blogging about my S. India trip. I am going to attempt finishing doing that before the New Year hits. NYP as H put it so eloquently is going to a place called Ladghar and I have no idea how eet ees going to be. We are booked and we are going and I am itching to get my arse out of Bumbai land.

Reading..I am still devouring books. Sophie Kinsella is darn good with her 'Shopaholic' series and my sister and me r huge fans now. I entered Crossword and started reading one of those easy reading books and got called away for my appointment. Goddamn annoying eet ees because I don't know the blooming ending of the book now :(

Think am all written out for now. Will leave you with one last thought....take it or leave it....

Here comes the sun
It shines it burns
Let it envelop you
Warmth heat and all
A lil burning never hurt no one
A lil love never hurt no one

Come on then ...open them arms wide
Embrace the world
Good bad and ugly
All at once...

Last day at Hampi

2008-12-23T00:50:00.007+08:00

Very fits and jerks start with RG suddenly getting up at 6.30 am and like saying, “Let’s go.” Thoda henh moment so early in the morning. Anyways we had good brekkie – masala dosa fro me and butter toast for RG. RG loves reading newspaper in morning, so of course he ended up reading the menu in desperation in lieu of his morning newspaper. :)

I really really wanted a coracle ride but it was nigh impossible as the ‘boat riders’ were away voting in their villages. Bloddy elections! So we saw Kondarama temple instead and then proceeded forward to the Royal Enclosure.

Walked and walked and it was flaming hot on top of that! For some reason, today was hotter than yesterday. We saw this Krishna temple in such a dilapidated state! Then to see the Ugra Narasimha, the iconic statue of Hampi. Boss, this statue was huge and I mean huge – 6.7 mts in ht.

Then took a rick towards the Royal Enclosure. We had contemplated walking and a man on bike had said 1.5 km but I have come to realise distances in the South are a lot, with the locals estimating a different distance and time taken to cover said distance a whole lot differently from you. We saw the Underground Siva temple that smelled of pee. There were water channels flowing into the inner sanctum

From here we walked towards the Hazararama Temple. Wondrous, bootiful carvings – all of Rama and his life. I loved this place and thanks to RG got the chance to see it (I wasn’t very keen on going in earlier). Then decided wanted to see the Queen’s Bath and kept wandering towards it. We saw the Mahanavami Dibba which was this gigantic ritual platform at Hampi used by the royals. Walked further to the see the Queen’s Bath – a very uninspiring building except for this

Decided it was time we made our way back towards proper Hampi. We started walking on the road and were posing for the perfect snap with the gulmohars when the bus going towards Hampi came barrelling towards us. Hopped on the bus and went to Mango Tree for lunch. Had curd rice and watermelon salad followed by Mixed Fruit juice..yum yum yummy..

Went back towards the rooms to rest before RG left. Time flew and well he left. I left almost within a hour of his leaving. Bus to Hospet cost 10 bucks and lovely scenery on the way. Noticed the Indians staring at the only phirang couple on the bus.

The whole day RG and I kept avoiding desis. Wherever desis turned up there would be noise, yelling, bloody mobile music turned on and talking loudly on the fone. We seem to be incapable of less noise or respectful silences.

The bus broke down at Hospet luckily some kms away from the train station. The phirang couple got down and decided to walk with me towards the train station. We started walking and I got introduced to Josh and Morgan in the process. They were from England and are going to teach art at ‘The School’ in Chennai. This is part of the Krishnagiri Schools based in and around S.India offering an alternative system of education.

We stopped by for a bite (thank God for that as el stupeedo train doesn’t have a pantry) and chatted some more. Very nice people and I hope we get the chance to meet again.

Reached station in time for the train and writing these words at my seat. Tomorrow is the last day of my vacation in Bangalore. Going to catch up with old friends and do shopping for my amma.

Three cheers to travelling alone in S.India – here’s to more of it (hic)

Mrs Dalloway

2008-12-12T12:47:00.003+08:00

Time is the enemy

Doesn't stand still

We are pushed through the current

Like poor Mrs Dalloway

Ah, poor Mrs Dalloway

A character quite unparalleled

Oft quoted still

Virginia oh Virginia

You bred a Hydra

No Hercules around

To slay her either

The verse is drawing to a close

I bid adieu

Wish you well

And ask you to remember Mrs D sometime...

The aftermath

2008-11-30T15:03:00.006+08:00

I can't deal with it, I want to forget this happened. I now know why people move on, why people become so indifferent. I got home after a marathon drinking session (even for me) and well my Mom starts talking about what the newspapers have been talking about. I have't even sat and read today's newspapers. I am sick of it. I want to treat it as a bad memory and READ MY LIPS HERE- I WANT TO FORGET.

These bastards come here and fuck with my city. Does it make it right for me to forget? I want to do things that make me forget this shit ever happened. Get hammered, smoke some weed, have sex and listen to music. It helps I think. Or maybe it doesn't. It probably brings this ghastly reality much more closer than I would like for it to be.

I shed a few tears this morning as I sat on my living room sofa staring into that nothingness which seems part of me. I feel numb. My friend said to us last night, 'I could have at Leopold's' & we made so much fun of him. I think it was our way of coping and realizing thank God he wasn't.

Moving on is not an option. I must stop, stare this moment in its face, fight with the demons that arise and then only will I be free. Or will I?

The Before and After

2008-11-29T01:51:00.004+08:00

The Before and After, originally uploaded by Shane2D.

He was trying very hard to keep his distance. She would not let him go, her finger nails digging into his back. He pushed her away & sat at the edge of the bed. She waited for a minute, pursing her lips and sat up, the sheet falling off her body. She put on his tee shirt, it still smelt of him.

He didn't say a word - just sat and stared into nothingness. She expected the usual tantrums and empty words. She wanted him to hurl them at her so she could feel his pain and remain indifferent. He felt her need coming off in waves but didn't feel as consumed as before to repeat the routine.

Her sigh rented the air. She walked off to the kitchen to get herself a glass of water. She stood there, her bare feet digging into the stone cold floor. He sat on the bed and waited for words that would never come.

The love died a very long time back. All that was left was the bleak emptiness of sex and the aftermath reeked of despair and pain.

Once Was Bombay

2008-11-28T00:59:00.002+08:00

Black, originally uploaded by *Glauka.

I am angry and pissed off. I feel the futility and helplessness of it all. What is the f***ing point I want to scream at these people? How dare they come to my city and make it burn? Who are they - these people, who feel that they can enter, rape my city and die for some unknown (and I don't give a shit about it to be honest) cause...

I finished reading 'Once Was Bombay' by Pinki Virani for the 2nd time in the book's lifespan and fell in love with my city all over again. She brings my city to life through her interactions with its politicians, people and Bollywood of course.

She names Vijay Salaskar and there is one chapter on the underworld talking about him. I read about this man and how his wife prays for his safe return. Well now, there will not be a safe return for her husband except for his dead, cold body. Her children will not have a father anymore.

How does killing innocent people justify anything? Does the terrorist check if the person is Hindu/Muslim/white/black or f***ing blue before killing? I don't think the person is even a human being, just a target that is in the way of this f***ing cause.

I am blabbering now...but I am so upset about this..my city is not a battleground. Go fight battles where they need to be fought, should be fought. The Oberoi and the Taj are not battlegrounds and in my lifetime, I hope never to see a repeat of this.

I told my sister earlier, my generation didn't see the kind of violence hers does. There is too much of this senseless shit going on. I have become indifferent to it. This time, the famed Mumbai spirit is broken without a doubt and its going to take awhile for it stand and there is no doubt about that - it will stand, it will rise and it will crush anything that chooses to destroy it.

A friend put it quite succinctly - 'to think all we want to do is live a peaceful life, fall in love, have a few drinks, attend a few plays & bitch about work'. Not too much to ask for no?

Day 12 - 2nd day at Hampi

2008-10-25T21:22:00.007+08:00

This got translated into a day spent at Anegundi which is across the river from Hampi. But first things first, the tale of the breakfast. I ordered breakfast – omelette. RG comes to the South of India and orders an ‘alu paratha’. Badness idea of course. It didn’t taste too good. (This story continues to dinner where he ordered an OM Rice – they basically wrap the rice in an omelette and I ordered a tomato soup)

Took the motor launch and went to Anegundi. Please notice the bike perched on the boat..me and RG saw this and were like :O

On the launch the lil flo manning the boat asked is, ‘Where you from?’ RG replied Bumbai. Immediately he gave Rs 10 back (He had taken Rs 20 from us previously). At Anegundi, we took a lift from a commercial rickshaw till the Hanuman Temple. It was hot as Hades by this time.

Climbed 575 steps to get to the top. Pooped as hell by the time we got there. Going downhill was obviously much faster.

From here we took another rick to Pampa Sarovar where a Laxmi temple was.

Another rick took us into Anegundi where went to the Craft Shop owned by Shama Madam to buy a jute bag and some lovely coasters.

Went hunting for New Brindavan Temple which was on the other side of a rivulet so did give up on that. Went looking for Chintamani Temple and what followed was a surreal experience. We saw the original Chintamani followed by Narasimha. Then this old lady- Amma took us around. We saw the place where supposedly Rama drew the arrow on Bali.

We entered this cave to meet this sadhu.

We did conversation with the sadhu for 30 odd minutes. He had been living here for three years according to Amma. He was from Guruvayoor and spoke Palakkad Tamil. RG of course doesn’t know Tamil so I was designated translator. He told us the story of the end of the Yadavas and Krishna’s reign in a mixture of Tamil, Hindi and some English thrown in for good measure. At the end, the sadhu told RG, ‘not to have any anxiety’. He asked RG, ‘What is love? Love is life.’ Extremely surreal that was.

Walked back to the Main Road and got a life in a jeep till the boat area. Walked for about 30 minutes to get beer to this place called the ‘Goan Corner’ which turned out to be shut for the next 4 months – it was offseason!

Waited for about 10-20 minutes at the river to cross the banks to the Hampi side. Got back to the room and rested. Went out at 6 pm to look for a coracle ride. No coracles but nice tea at the usual tea spot near Kondarama Temple and some ‘murmure’ again.

Saw the Virupaksha Temple in the night. RG did conversation with the priest there who fled Bumbai after the ’92 riots. We saw some nightly rituals being conducted. Returned to the rooms to change my chappals. My lil toe hurt too much :(

Went to the Mango Tree for dinner – we are short of options for dinner. The dinner incident with ‘Om’ rice followed :) There was half a moon in the sky and we sat at the steps near the river and argued about the location of the Pole Star. RG in fact saw a shooting star and wished on it :) RG also walked back barefoot. Don’t ask me why – the ground was cooler apparently.

The last day at Hampi will dawn soon.

Unsaid

2008-10-14T01:29:00.003+08:00

The night shimmers with promises
Flickering like a flame
Orange lit shadows
I writhe in passion...or is it pain
It seems a long time ago

The memory doesn’t faze me anymore
I look at it with virginal eyes

That night made me a woman
It scorched me with its intensity
It thawed me…

Yet I remain unfulfilled
I walk along paths that don’t lead me anywhere
Meandering stumbling

I search blindly
It comes to me
I have closed my eyes against the light which sears my very being
I will learn to open them softly gently
And walk again with peace

Day 11 - First day at Hampi

2008-10-09T00:15:00.017+08:00

I got up at 6.00 am thinking that Hospet would come in at 7.00 am but I arrived at the exact time it had said previously on the website – 7.45 am. Fucking no pantry on this, subah ka kapi bhi naheen hua. Took a rick to Hampi and awaited RG’s company. This strange sight awaited me at the hotel.

Since I had nothing to do decided to take a walk around and grab some breakfast. Had the biggest poori bhaaji’s ever in a long time. Managed to demolish 2 and half ones out the three the man gave me.

Then went for a walk around Hampi Bazaar. Amazing place where the people are still using the old structures for their houses & commercial establishments. Hampi of the present co-exists with the Hampi of yore.Visited the Virupaksha Temple. Saw goddess Pampadevi in her full splendour all dressed up. Had to walk around around the temple grounds in hot blazing sun without f***ing shoes – that was crazy ass! Lovely temple complex and certainly could have been better preserved.

Came back to find RG waiting. He apparently sent me a message which actually got to me the next day. The message read, ‘Come back, come back’ which I thought then was very strange considering he was with me :D Cellphone network is terrible here.

We had lunch together at ‘The Mango Tree’ - this lovely restaurant near the river. Simple khana but lovely ambience. Spoiled (perhaps) by two American types loudly droning on about the environment to their Canadian counterparts.

Lunch finished, we decided to walk around the ruins of Hampi. Saw the Monolithic Bull then walked up the steps to the Anjaneya temple (lovely sculpture of Hanuman here)

We then wandered towards what we thought was the Vitthala temple complex but RG’s aha moment here declared quite clearly that it was the Achutaraya temple complex.

Walked down the Courtesan’s Lane and then went hunting for the Vitthala Temple Complex which we found after an hour. Again beautiful carvings and we discussed if it had been carved there or been brought to the place put together.

Finishing this, we walked back to catch a nice sunset. RG wandered off to imbibe the view and I sat alone and watched the desolate rocky landscape with the breeze for company.

We got a cup of chai and ‘murmure’ – ‘pori’ with some mixture in it. Did conversation with a Fine Arts flo in the shack there. He comes every year with his colleague to capture Hampi on paper and spends like a month here. I thought it was an amazing vocation…

Got back to our rooms to find that the clothes I had hung out for drying were lying about. The basthurd monkeys had got to them and my pretty red kurta had disappeared into the oblivion. Totally sucks!!

Grabbed a shower and then went for dinner to Mango Tree. Used a torch for the first time in my trip. Ate dinner by kerosene light with the insects for company. Walked back to our rooms. We used the ‘cooler’ in our room in the night. RG tells me this is everywhere in N.India. It’s a cheaper version of the AC and does the job anyways.

Another day in Hampi awaits…

Chennai Photo Workshop

2008-10-02T12:37:00.002+08:00

Why the heck am I blogging about a photo workshop in Chennai? Yeh good question hai, well because the man who is doing it does things like this and this and much more than that ..feel free to look at his profile on Flickr.. and you will know why I am writing a post like this.

I had the good opportunity to meet him when I went to Madras about a couple of weeks back and he knows his photography..For more details on the photography workshop being organised by him please read here

Good luck CC...I am there in spirit :)

Music in my soul

2008-09-27T00:11:00.002+08:00

Visual Anthropology of the Trance Music, originally uploaded by Levistrauss.

When songs define our moments, they become a piece of our life. I love music and I listen without reservation to everything -most time anyways :) You hear something and it clicks ...in your head..recalls that perfect moment when that boy kissed you..when you were young and headbanged at the Malhar social to Bryyan :D

There are no disc(h)ords here for sure. Lyrics can be maddening, el stupido or profound as you want to make it. The moment sometimes chooses the song for you ...everything else in the universe also falls into shape.

I have been tired and exhausted for a week since my event happened on 22nd and 23rd. I have been listening to music non-stop for the past 2-3 hours and everything feels right with my world. :)

"And I'll do anything you ever
Dreamed to be complete
Little pieces of the nothing that fall"
- Goo Goo Dolls - Slide

I wrote this piece and it was really strange. Someone sent me Metallica's latest song, Unforgiven III and I swear I heard this line (how can i be lost if i got nowhere to go)-and it made me feel what I had written was being mirrored across the universe.

'Across The Universe' btw has a brilliant soundtrack. I am planning to gift Jerry at work this album. He likes the Beatles a lot and I think he will like this different yet similar version of them for sure.

Have you see this? The song redefines so many things....makes me want to watch the movie...which I am told by this flo is a chapter by chapter rendition of the book. Would be interesting to see for sure.

Beck plays right now with such wonderful sounds...niceness...my sister's studying behind me..she says my typing makes noise - whose to define noise or music? Hard metal fans will attest to this - one man's poison, another's food?

If you don't listen to music you are a fool or worse. It makes me dance, weep and allows me to forget the world outside. Emotions are as real as the music I listen to is...so listen to the beat, let the rhythm take you and drown yourself in it. I know I do.

Day 10 - The small stop at Bangalore

2008-09-26T00:24:00.006+08:00

Another day’s journey. Early morning start. Was at Coimbatore Junction an hour before the train was due to start. Was supposed to reach Bangalore at 3.00 pm but got delayed and reached only around 4.00-4.30 pm. More conversations – this time with a flo called Varun. He was 2^nd generation Kutchchi based in Coimbatore, speaks Tamil fluently and was in the textile bizness. We talked generally and I did English conversation one on one after a long time.

Got down at Bangalore and went to Garuda Mall. Huge ass mall near M G Road, Bangalore. Had to buy Jockeys here. Went to the Swarovski outlet in search of my elusive starfish earrings and ended up buying a book at the Corner Book Shop – which I am told is a franchise all across Bangalore.

Met L here – first time I did face to face meeting with her. She is a dear friend’s friend and we got introduced when we spammed the dear friend over email at some point. We did kapi at Brio which was good fun. She was regaling me with her travel stories in Rajasthan – good fun eet was.

Met Best Phraind after this. We went to this nice steak joint called ‘The Only Place’ on Museum Road. Did nice conversation, ate khana and drank diabetically sweet mint tea. He dropped me off at the station and we bid goodbye as the train left the platform.

Sitting in the uppermost berth and writing. The new dawn brings in Hampi and company from Bumbai.