Mid year check?

Ok, I can see how my disappearance from blogger has become quite routine nowadays, but this time it was for a good cause... but before I launch into a description of what I've been upto, I thought I would do some mid-year stock-taking... remember my post from New year? Ok, here it is...

Since June is fast approaching, I thought I'd take stock of how many new year resolutions I've achieved, and how many I need to remind myself to complete! Since this is almost the first time I've made a list of things to do in the new year, I'm quite excited about seeing where I stand... so here goes:

I "pledged" to - learn a new language
I learnt 3 words in Spanish - usted, despacio and bien.. so now I can string together an entire "sentence" in Spanish - "Senor, usted drive despacio por favor, my sister pregnant, bumpy road no bien"

I "pledged" to - Get back to singing
I sang my heart out on my recent vacation... everyone avoided looking me straight in the eye after that! Hmmm.... not repeating this mistake again :)

I "pledged" to - Graduate from the bunny slope
Ummm.... I love bunnies?

I "pledged" to - Stop wearing shades of grey, black, brown and white
So now I'm wearing shades of green and blue most of the time... when I was packing recently, I realized all my office clothes were still black/brown/white, and all my "party" clothes were blue and green... hmmm.. I need some colour!!

I "pledged" to - Give more time to myself instead of my job, laptop and sleep
So now I'm spending more time on the phone!! Add reading to it. I have no tv, so nothing to substitute the laptop with! :(

I "pledged" to - Learn how to say no
Nope, definitely no progress in this area

I "pledged" to - Travel to a new country
And THIS I did!!!! I just came back from Peru yesterday! Was an awesome vacation, one which deserves a whole separate post, especially the jam... errr.. never mind,more later about that.. anyways this is my biggest accomplishment for the year! And the one thing on my list of to dos that I least expected to achieve! Clap clap!

I "pledged" to - Convey my love to my family
Still working on it

I "pledged" to - Stop crying in every emotional scene
I have now degenerated to crying while reading books as well! Sigh.


Btw, at the risk of sounding like an incurable romantic, here's the last song I sang and tortured everyone with:

Aankhen band kar loon, dekhoon bas tumhe
Khyabon mein hee keh sakta hoon apna tumhe
Rehne de mera yeh veham pe hee yakeen
Na jaa abhi
Pyar ke yeh raat hai, ab na jaa
Chhoti si ek baat hai, ab na jaa
Pal do pal ka saath hai, ab na jaa
Jaadu si yeh raat hai, ab na jaa...

This is one of the most romantic songs I know, thanks to Euphoria!! It's true, sometimes all you need is for someone to tell you "don't go"...

Its' all worth it now!

You may have noticed that I've been very wary of driving in the snow here... Having read some horror stories about it and talking to people who give advice like "Drive your car into a block of ice if you think you're going to cause a major accident", I've been at my wits end on how to avoid driving on the icy roads! I also feel colder than most people, so I tend to freeze pretty fast, and that's just one more reason to stay home and work remotely instead of making the effort to actually go to office!

But, here's the interesting bit - I'm falling in love.

With snow. (Ummm, what did you think?!)

And its all worth it now.

You've just got to look out at the white expanse, pristine and pure (before people walk over it and it becomes brown!), and you'll fall in love with the beauty of it all. The trees look so pretty, each branch slightly drooping under the weight of the snow, the outstretched fields look like a sea of white crystals, and the best part I think is the mood in the air! Its probably the most romantic season of all! You just feel like curling your fingers into someone else's, laughing, shivering, slipping, walking together...

You feel like smiling to yourself even when the roads are completely backed up and it takes you 1 hour to do 5 miles! Of course, if you're driving a Pontiac G6 Coupe, you'll smile through rain and snow alike! No no, this isn't the car that I've finally decided to buy/bought!! It doesn't even figure in my list, not out of choice but out of helplessness! (For those interested, I've decided its going to be the Altima Coupe, if I can't get a good deal on the Pontiac that is!).. No, I just turned out to be really lucky and got a free upgrade on my car rental and so am driving around (at 30 miles/hr - ok, so what the heck, I'm still scared of sliding on the snow!) in that these days! I'm only sad that it keeps getting covered in snow and the beautiful gleaming blue color is lost inside somewhere! :(

Incidentally, while we're on the subject of snow, this is the festive season after all - I've paid my respects to the cheer by shopping (too much)... most of the stuff I've bought is not useful to anyone. I've just bought it because its the season to buy. Shucks, such a sucker for marketing! Oh, and I don't know how many of you have noticed but people can be quite nasty during this season "to be jolly", especially in parking lots! "Say bye to Santa this year miss! You're fighting with me over a stupid parking space?!!"

Anyways, getting back to why it's all worth it, its because you can spend hours and hours with friends sitting inside a coffee shop and chatting away without feeling guilty that you should be "out there", doing hiking, trekking, rafting or any such unnecessarily tedious activities! (just kidding! i'd love to go on one of these actually!)... I spent 4 hours last evening having dinner with 4 PhD students from Brown University.. we were the most odd combination of people - one Greek (Greek God, if I may add!), one German, one Japanese and one other Indian apart from me! We spoke about everything under the sun from beer-drinking Swiss cows to airhostesses on international airlines, from Starbucks marketing strategy to the appropriate BMI of a Japanese v.s the rest of the world! Of course this isn't season related, but I miss the exchange of ideas that students have here... I guess it was a real missed opportunity to not have studied in this country... where else will you find such a diverse mix of people?! And the fact that these people really exchanged ideas about important stuff! I recently met a guy who is just finishing under-grad, and he's already so knowledgeable that it makes me wonder! He spent 3 months in India last year, he's going to go biking through Asia when he graduates, and is planning to work in China after that... and his friend spent a few months in Pakistan learning Urdu and studying about Madarsas! They were teaching each other Urdu and Chinese, which was such a better use of time than talking about the latest affair of your college-mates or bitching about a professor! I think the only ideas my friends and I exchanged in college was whose nail polish was better and who was going out with whom!! (ok, so thats not true - but I'm trying to make a point!)

And lastly, I'm going out for lunch with this person I really really like! [Can't tell you guys who, though I must have mentioned him at least 3 times before! But, for the curious ones (read Zee and S) this is not a romantic involvement! :)))]

So its' all worth it, getting out in the snow.

:)

Come away with me...

From the time that laptops came into the market, I’ve thought about owning one and keeping it handy for all the times that I traveled and wanted to write my thoughts down… for years, I’ve been imagining myself on a train (anywhere – long distance train journeys are almost identical everywhere!), looking out the window, taking in the landscape, and having at the same time a means to capture it forever… And today my dream’s come true… at this particular moment, I’m sitting on an Amtrak, headed on a south-bound journey across the East coast… and I have my laptop on my lap (!) to accompany me - finally.

But you know what I am realizing now? I’m actually spending more time looking down at my monitor than out of the window! So I’m missing the very moments which prompted me to want a laptop handy in the first place! Oh well, you know what they say - “Be careful what you ask for, you just might get it”!

But I’ve got a lot of catching up to do on Blogger so I’m going to take some time out to tear my eyes away from the window and live my little dream :)

Recently, Nithya 'gave' me the “Thinking Blogger” award and she wrote something very nice about my blog, which surprised and pleased me! And according to my new philosophy (which I started following at 7:00 AM this morning), I’ve decided to love myself enough to celebrate the little things in life, so cheers to this thought and this small yet significant achievement!

I’ve also got a lot of other thank yous to say because Zee tagged me… she’s got the devil in her for sure, for putting us all “ees” in this predicament!

But now since I have the time, let me start with first saying thanks to the people who thought of putting sockets next to the seats on this train so that there’s no danger of my laptop running out of battery while I ramble on...

[Oh, just looked out the window - the fog has cleared and New England can now probably be described as a painter’s delight!]

And thanks to -

All the books, novels, travel channels and magazines for giving me the opportunity to experience the world sitting in my living room…

K sir, my 8th standard class teacher, who showed me that joking and having fun doesn’t necessarily mean you lose the respect of the other person…

H, for being my closest friend for the past 15 years and for making “distance” the least of the problems in sustaining a friendship…

R, for being thoughtful and taking the time to send me snail mail and real gifts in parcels across continents, in times when we all usually make-do with e-cards…

[Btw, have you guys heard John Legend? He’s got a voice like rich melting chocolate, which makes you feel warm and light-headed! I’m listening to his song “Ordinary people” right now… Maybe I should thank him too!]

K, for being like a sister I never wanted, but am eternally grateful to have!

C, for not leaving me alone on those nights when I was upset and cried buckets!

My bro, for being very stringent with his appreciation, so that when he nods his head in approval, you know there’s truth in it…

[I’m thanking more than 8 people/things, if that’s ok with you all! I think I'm on a roll here!]

S, for teaching me that first impressions can be totally misleading!

Pink Floyd, INXS, Nickelback, Jagjit Singh Kabir, U2 and many more, for creating lyrics that can move mountains!

Sudhamadhav, my 7th standard classmate, for drawing a pencil line in the middle of the desk we (forcefully) shared and never allowing either of us to break that boundary, not even with a stray eraser or scale! And thus, I knew the exact description of men-to-be-avoided-like-the-plague. Forever.

[Oh, I know whats missing in this landscape outside - there are no cattle grazing in open fields!]

To ‘Annual Sales’ that make frightfully expensive out-of-reach stuff affordable! (I recently bought a pair of flip-flops from a very elite brand, which originally cost $30, for $3.44! I don’t know who’d buy a pair of chappals for 30 dollars anyways!)

[You know you’re approaching New York when the afore-mentioned scenery changes to high metal cranes, unfinished construction sites, blue orange and grey coloured buildings, dirty abandoned plots of land and walls covered with graffiti. Oh, and of course the downtown Manhattan skyline.]

Our helper at home, who knows how to make a perfect cup of challu chai. And who has cared for our family for more than 25 years.

[As my journey comes to an end, I should finish this post and start gathering my stuff up]

And I want to thank my Mom and Dad, but I think this space is not enough to write down the many many reasons I’m grateful to them…

True to my nature, I’m not going to pass on this tag to anyone, just like I don’t usually forward chain letters. Sorry about that.
[FYI, ofcourse the world is not totally high-tech yet and so they still don't have wireless on trains... hmpf... so much for "real time".. so obviously, I'm actually posting this hrs after writing it down]

A little girl, still

There are some things in this world that make me wide-eyed with wonder and excited like a 3 yr old kid... and 3-D movies, Little Mermaid and Killer Whales top the list right now!

I've just got back from a vacation (as if I'm not already on one!) in Florida, where I spent the past 4 days basking in the sun, sitting by the poolside listening to Jazz music, sipping strawberry daquiries which were unknowingly spiked with Vodka, relaxing in the jacuzzi in our suite at this great luxury resort (courtesy my v. rich aunt!) and walking a few miles (!) inside the ever-so-famous theme parks, getting from one ride or show to another...

And I re-discovered the little girl in me... This would be my 3rd time at Disney.. I had been there once before when I really was a little girl, and then once in Paris exactly 2 yrs back (how time flies!).. but I realised that every time I watched the fairytale characters of Little Mermaid, Snow White and Cindrella, and more importantly their v. handsome 'Charming Princes', it gets me as excited and goose-bumpy as when I was a kid and really believed in the 'one day my prince charming will come and we'll live happily ever after' story! Unfortunately, I can't say I've wisened up now..! I still get all starry-eyed when I see these characters, like I did at the Disney Parade.. hehehe.. Mr. Walt Disney really knows how to sell dreams!

The Killer Whale show at Seaworld really had me too.. the interesting thing is that when I was a kid, I had visited the same Seaworld and watched the famous 'Shamu' show.. I remembered there was a really tall glass enclosure inside in which the whales swam, and the whales themselves were gigantic... I realised this time though, that my memory was relative to my size!! The "really tall" glass enclosure turned out to be actually just a little more than 4 feet in height, and the whales looked less gigantic and more realistic this time.. I was amused at the fact that I remembered it just like I had seen it.. BIG! But I've got to say that dolphins and these killer whales never fail to amaze me.. They are not only beautiful, but also so intelligent! Not just because they can be tamed or trained, but because they look like they have real feelings and really understand what they're doing! I thought only dogs were like that!

Oh and not to forget the 3-D movie we saw... It was a short 20 mins movie called "Honey I shrunk the audience".. a spoof on the movie "Honey I shrunk the kids".. and I was just totally amazed at the effect 3-D has on the movie-watching experience! When nothing happened for the first 5 mins, I was like what the hell, this 3-D thing is no great shakes.. and then suddenly out of the blue, the "rocket" on screen burst into flames and it was amazing how we all thought the shrapnel was coming straight at us and we ducked instinctively! And then they showed that there were rats in the audience, and we acutally felt creepy crawly things against our legs and shoulders! Totally had us freaked out and jumping out of our seats! I'm sure some people may have watched movies in 3-D before, but this was my first time, and I couldn't help but marvel at it like a child!

So yes, if you think this post has me gushing like a kid at the marvels that sell dreams all over the world, you're right.. I dont want to be a logical, rational adult in these moments.. I want to let go and be a child again, and wonder!!

Make time to live, a little... *

Damn! Its really been a long time since I last blogged! With many a people subtly and not-so-subtly reminding me of how I am wasting their time of visiting the blog and not finding anything new, I finally decided to stop making excuses (Z's heard the most classic one - "I hate my keyboard at home, and so I prefer to spend minimum time typing anything on it!") and get down to it!

So its been a very long time and of course many many things have happened since the last time I posted my random meanderings.. not the least of the events being my going home, and discovering my ancestral roots in deep rural India, and some more..

"Home" can be best described as a small city/big town, just like any other non-metro in India.. tropical high humidity hot climate place... with LOTS of insects!! Its like a bloody breeding ground for all varieties of creepy crawly thingys! And one of these decided to attack me! No not one, a cpl of these! I mean here I am, peacefully brushing my teeth, my eyes open just a slit.. at 11 in the morning and I'm humming to myself when suddenly I find this freakin' frog just below the sink.. its poised to leap at me any moment, looking at me with this dreamy and bored expression meant to throw me off guard because it was actually very alert, studying my every move... I stifle a scream (its a flying frog for christ's sakes! I am allowed my moment of feminine outburst!) and start towards the bathroom door and it moves in the same direction... its a disgusting piece of yucky god's creation and I dont want it anywhere near me! But.. but.. there is just no escaping these creatures man! They are smart, quick and high-spirited! So it leaps at me, flies through the air.. I do some of my own flying around, jumping out of my skin and hoping out of its way too, but no.. eeeaaawwwww... it landed right on my hand and I felt my skin crawl with disgust! Oh god.. I have no idea what happened next.. its a blur... next few moments are a blur and god knows I prefer it that way!! Uuugghhh!! Hmmm... I hate these insects... !!! Why do we have to have them in this world?!! Eeaaw!! Needless to say, our helpers at home had a hard time thereafter.. made them catch and kill that little creep! Sorry if I sound heartless.. I just dont see why they should be left alive to scare innocent harmless going-about-their-work-peacefully kind of people like me!!

Anyways, with that horrifying experience behind me, I ventured into a small journey to our ancestral house in a village (this is really a village, and not just when compared to Delhi!) about 100 kms from home.. and it was lovely!! The expansive fields, abundant tree population, hills in the backdrop, the play of light and shade amongst the trees... our ancestral house... old time, vintage, charming, little bit in ruins and little bit restored... heaps of hay stacked in the large fields in front of the house, villagers living a truly natural, healthy life in the way only rural India can, untouched as it is by the fast-food fast living culture of metros... I loved every bit of it... the simplicity as well as the homeliness, the feeling of continuation, the delight of discovering the simple and interesting ways of the village... marveling at the way a small field in rural India grows food for millions of people every single day.. how this small crop here translates into food on someone's plate... I was enriched by every moment spent there!! Of course I'd seen rural life closely while in school in South India... on some weekends, our teachers used to take us to the nearby villages to familiarize us with their way of living... so this trip was not a surprise, but a very gentle and pleasant reminder... of what we may have lost in our journey towards industrialization, modernization and globalization..

So.. now I'm back in Delhi, enjoying my time back in civilisation (as some of my Delhiite friends would love to say!) before I shoot off into a whole new world..

Here's a passing thought to muse on - Can you miss someone when they're sitting right in front of you, enjoying a cuppa coffee together, talking about everything under the sun except what you really want to say? Or is it just super-sentimental me!?

* Make time to live a little
Don't let this moment slip by tonight
You never know what you are missing till you try...

-- 'Save room', John Legend

Holy cow!

So these days my aunt has come over to Delhi from the US on work... typical to most people who have stayed in the US for more than 25 yrs, she loves soaking up the religious side of Indian culture when in Delhi.. she does not miss the food, the roads, the shopping, the noise or anything, but loves to dive deep into the realm of the ritualistic heritage of India whenever in town.. in a way whenever she comes, she helps us reconnect with our roots.. which is odd, yet true..

Her unbounded enthusiasm for rejuvenating the spirit and mind brought us all to decide that we go to Banaras for the weekend.. not as a religious yatra, but just to see what Kashi, the holiest, oldest city of India is like... seemed like an adventure, so we were game..

I've been to couple of cities in UP before, like Agra and Lucknow.. but Banaras turned out to be different from both these cities.. I can't say whether in a good or bad way, but definitely different..

Ofcourse the most distinctive feature of Banaras is the ghats.... and I tell you, judging by my two day experience there, its def the best feature as well.. all else is downhill from there.. anyways, the ghats being the trademark of Banaras, they turned out to be as good (or bad, depending on how you look at it) as made out to be in all those travel serials on Star and Discovery! What I found interesting is how organised the place actually is, despite the cluttered and in-shambles look it has! The pandits operate based on clearly defined territories.. there are ghat pandits, kashi vishwanath temple pandits, shamshan ghat pandits etc etc.. all adhering to their marked areas, and all co-operating in bringing each other business! This was apparent when the ghat pandit encouraged us, in more than subtle ways to visit the kashi vishwanath temple as well.. and when we reached there, he promptly handed us over to the temple pandits, and the rest of the while acted as the overseer of the group... One ought to learn "Best Practices in Management" from these guys! Reminded me of the pandits hounding people at the Puri Jagannath temple.. I don't think they were so organised though.. most of the time they were in-fighting on who should take group where!

Much to my chagrin, or embarrasment mostly.. one of the pandits asked me generally if I was married.. on my replying no, they promptly proceeded on showering blessings on me for a good marriage, getting good husband, rich and settled and what not, and wished for me things like "when you come to kashi again, we want to see you with sindoor and your husband" !! Assuming for themselves without any prompting that the only reason why a young unmarried girl would visit a temple is to get herself a good husband!! And ofcourse in return of their (unwanted) blessings, they expected a whole load of cash falling into their hands, and although they were not rude, they were quite vocal if they found the amount meagre (according to their standards).. "Beti, aap to itni badi ikcha poori karne ki maang kar raheen hain, aur badle mein itna thoda bhagwan ko de rahee hain?".. Yeah right! I don't remember praying for a good husband, and 300 Rs is NOT less for anyone! But all the same the whole thing was amusing more than irritating, and I just went with the flow of the things.. walked around a tree, walked around couple of statues couple of times, bowed my head for blessings, rang the temple bell, got the tikka done, ate the parshad, drank the holy water and put it on my head (to find later that my hair felt matted and straw like where the water had touched it!).. all with an amused smile on my face on how strangers were so worried about my marriage whilst my family and I sat back and watched (the money flow)..

Ours is not a traditionally religious family, so this was a bit of a religious revival of sorts.. no point resisting it anyway! :-) The evening aarti was truly nice, though not as good as the one in Rishikesh... after the aarti, we decided to take a late night boat ride, and guess where the boatman takes us first? To the "24*7 shamshaan ghat"! Ummm.. no, I don't want to go.. so my bro and I decided to sit this one out while my mom and aunt decided to get a closer look! I mean, with due respect to the departed souls, watching bodies burning was not a touristy, or religious thing for us! So we both sat back and contemplated on life.. in other words, took snaps and watched someone shaving his head on the banks of the river..

I have got to say though that watching the sunrise while sitting in a boat at 6 in the morning, with people I love, was one of the nicest and most sublime moments (of the trip, of my life, of something, I cant really say).. ofcourse the spell was broken, or maybe added to the uniqueness of the experience, whne we turned around to look at the ghats and found innumerable people in different stages of undress, taking dips and swimming and praying in the waters... the spell was def broken when we realised how dirty the water was on the ghats side, so we had the boatman take us to the other bank, which was relatively cleaner and less crowded.. you know, now I know why they say your sins will be washed off if you take a dip in the Ganga.. ummm.. coz the water is so cold and its such a torture, that you beg God to spare you and promise never to do a bad thing in your life again, if this is the course for repentence!

There is a lot more to say about Banaras, like the traffic which consists of scooterists, rickshaws, cycles and autos only (mainly), and no one follows any rules and where "everything misses everything else by centimetres" (in the words of my wise brother!).. the fact that the jalebis there were one of the best I have ever tasted.. that there is just so much dust that I sneezed the whole time I was in the city.. that its damn difficult to understand what the paan-eating junta there is saying, that the rickshaws are SO cheap, you feel guilty giving them so little... and there are no good banarasi saree shops in banaras! But I'm going to stop..

Usually, at the end of my posts a song comes to my head... and I quote it.. this time, only the temple and aarti bells ringing early morning at 6 on the Ganges comes to my mind..

Nimbu parantha and other such delights!

Bustling traffic, rickshaws, people running helter skelter... 50 wires attached to one electricity pole and running along the top of the numerous shops.. smell of ghee tickling your senses from a distance... traffic at a complete standstill for more than 5 mins at the redlight, in which time pedestrians zig-zag through the rickshaws, autos, scooters, an occasional car, trolleys to get to the other side of the road.. little bit dirty but not filthy... foreigners takings pics, sitting on rickshaws pulling them through the narrow galis.. colourful lehengas, sarees and dupattas in bright fuschia pink, yellow and turqouise blue (sometimes all in one saree!).. narrow and steep staircases running up to little rooms tucked away in corners of the building, hosting a range of sarees, jewellery etc... old uncles with potbellies negotiating on the order price of lehengas with glowing and pretty bride-to-bes.. the bride-to-be's eyes sparkling with pleasure on seeing that one diamond set that will steal away the evening! groups of people sitting cross-legged on the mattresses in the shops, drinking chai, brides, buas, mausis and mas conferring with each other to choose the right colour, embroidery and workmanship... men running after prospective customers with visiting cards saying "behenji, dekhengi to foren le lengee yeh sarees".. salesmen assuring customers in full-throated confidence that "aise cheez aur kaheen nahin milegi" whilst the next shop has the same thing and probably for less! and little children scuttering around, chasing each other and hiding in dark corners.. young kids taking orders from customers in the nukkad ke shops, with everyone screaming "chottu, pehle idhar order le!"... and the paranthas! At first one thinks they will be heavily laden with ghee and therefore indisgestible (umm, you may have guessed I am not an 'aloo parantha for breakfast' person!)... but the paranthas turn out to be light and not too thick (read 'fattening') and very very tasty! And then one wonders about how some of the nicest food in India are from galis and little corners, paying just Rs 25 for a tasty delight in the hustle-bustle of the streets instead of Rs250 for so-so food in 5 star environs!

So this was Chandni Chowk.. the place I had heard so much about but never experienced... one really needs to be in Chandni chowk to realise where the heart-beat of the city is.. usually I get very flustered and harassed in crowded places, and being a non-Delhiite essentially (well, in the sense that I didn't go to either school or college here), I had only heard of Chandni chowk but never actually been there.. so this weekend when my Mom had some work there, I joined her and thought of exploring the place a bit... and the outcome was pretty cool.. I was quite delighted by the little streets, small staircases leading to little shops.. people spend there lives in these cubby holes and I am sure they earn big bucks from it! And I thought it was quite clean... though perhaps I chose to be blind to the dirt, if any, in my endeavour to make the most of my trip and not crib! But anyways I've been to worse places, so it really didn't seem as bad as people had made it out to be! We had to meet someone there, and the person's shop was on top of the terrace of a small building... we climbed one narrow staircase, then another narrower one and reached the terrace.. and we find this guy's shop on a small extension way over the terrace, which we had to reach by climbing yet another 4 or 5 steps, without railings on either side, and steep and narrow as hell! It was so cute... this little world they had made for themselves... adjusting with each other's requirements due to mutual lack of space, living their lives in these small havens they had created for themselves... and living it happily and merrily...

Hmmm... I may have romanticised the experience a bit in my head, but at the end of the day, it turned out to be a good experience... it was like an event in my life.. "oh you know, today I went to Chandni chowk!"... too bad I could not visit the other side which I have heard sells stationary (stuff DU students love buying) for students, painting, wedding cards etc etc.. would have been interesting I am sure! But I did get to visit the famous paranthe-wali gali and it turned out to be as good as people had told me it would be! :-))

The sparkle of sun rays on the sea...

Sitting on the beach, listening to trance in the background... singing what remotely resembles U2's 'With or Without you', looking at the stars twinkle, watching the waves rise and fall, the white crests form and then disintegrate.. sitting with friends and being just a little bit high (on life!)... hmmm.. a life I could really get used to... that's Goa..

My first trip to Goa ever (yeah yeah, I know, I was really deprived all this while, wasn't I?!!)... and it turned out to be one of the nicest vacations ever... I love water, and love beaches too... I grew up just 60 km from a large coast line, so that meant spending many a Sundays strolling on the beach, swimming (and I mean really swimming) in the sea, playing and splashing around... with both family and friends... so I was expecting to feel right at home when I thought of Goa..

But it turned out to be more than that... its the sense of freedom in Goa that makes you let your hair down and really enjoy... everyone is a little less rigid, little less in control (and not only under the influence of alcohol!), less inhibited.. this doesn't mean that we're going crazy, but we could.. thats what I liked about the place.. it makes you forget about your list of things-to-do, worries, deadlines, personal commitments etc etc... your time here is yours alone.. you don't have to wake up hurriedly to get to office or anywhere, you don't know where your next meal would be, you don't have to worry about getting up from the beach soon coz you have somewhere to go.. coz if ur'e enjoying what you are doing right now, then this is what u'll do for as long as you want... in other words, I didn't feel the need to be such a control freak as I generally am.. I could break out of my routine, get out of my set plan to do this or that (there is nothing really to SEE in Goa, so you don't have worry about "have i covered this, have i covered that?")...

In other words, total relaxation..

And partying!! We went to Mambo 2 nights out of 3, tried to find Paradiso but found a cliff dropping into nothing instead, we were aghast at how there were only stags in Tito's!! Sat at a 24 hrs cafe listening to live music, made a big ruccuss there having been the only group which seemed to be in a mood to have a good time.. we drowned the poor singer with requests, karaoked tunelessly, attempted salsa on rock music and ended up literally forcing the singer to play/sing salsa music to keep up with us! And somewhere in between we also danced to pretty hard trance, which none of us really liked before Nikhil Chinappa happened!! And then its like someone let us loose on the dance floor and we're prancing around like maniacs, the girls conferencing on how hot Nikhil Chinappa looked etc etc.. and not to forget the drunken night when doing salsa on the main road in the middle of the nite or scaring away people at CCD with our antics or almost losing 74k at the casino were just some of the many crazy things we did.. and the nicest one-hr journeys from South to North Goa in our hired Qualis, with many a discovery of hidden or unacknowledged singing and lyrics-remembering talent!

There was a certain incident which brought our spirits down, but all in all, this was one of the nicest holidays in recent times.. I am sure anyone who has been to Goa would agree!

The real europe...

Some of my snaps from Paris, taken on a boatride on the Seine river on a clear March afternoon.. snapshots of the real Europe... :-)




La Conciergie, where Marie Antoinette was imprisoned in her last days before the guilloutine...






Notre Dame..








View from the boat...

The French connection...

I can't believe that I've lived in Paris for 1 1/2 years and haven't written a word about it in these 1 1/2 months on this blog! Tsk tsk... this is just not done, esp when I have so many stories to tell, not the least being about the French aversion to all things 'English'!

So I was working in Gurgaon, slogging my butt off in a 9 to 9 software job with no rewards (immediate or otherwise) and no appreciation... luckily the HQ of the clients I am working for is in Paris, and so the dream of visiting the city of romance lingered somewhere in my sub-conscious mind.. I am not sure if my boss read my mind or whether it was my incessant chatter about Paris this and Eiffel that which made him think of handing me an assignment there, but lo and behold one fine Monday morning (if such a thing is possible), he comes to me and says "Ruchika, you're going to Paris"!! (Let me just add that my mom was the happiest to hear this news, since going to Paris for a vegetarian like me meant I'd have to cook food myself and which would mean I'd learn cooking!! )

As I touchdown in Paris, I get the feeling of 'coming home'.. strange familiarity which perhaps arises from watching too many movies or reading books (having unsuspectingly read 'da vinci code' just 4 months before I actually set foot in Paris)... I discovered that the Mayor of Paris has a strong liking for all things old and does'nt like modern architecture much... which is why he has relegated the La Defense modern business centre to the outskirts of Paris, and the main Paris area retains the old world architecture, with even buildings painted almost the same colour! So the city has a charming, cultural heritage site look (barring the 'Indian market' area, I have to concede)...

What makes Paris special is the feeling that there is love all around you, esp in the summer season! You walk down the Seine, stand in the middle 'Pont de Alexandre III' (the best of the 11 brigdges on the Seine connecting East and West bank) and look out onto the Sacre Coeur church in the distance, the Louvre expanding over the horizon and the Notre Dame painting a picturesque view in the middle of the river, and you think "this is when u fall in love"... and believe me, at this point everything and everyone looks good and the world seems a better place to live in! No wonder its THE destination for honeymooners!

The first time I saw the Eiffel tower (tour eiffel), it was as if I just stumbled over it.. one evening on the way back from office to my hotel, I just decided to hop off the metro and take a walk around the Champs Elysees.. now I didnt even know I was close to the Eiffel at that time! So I just kept walking along the Champs Elysees, breathtakingly bright and lit up... and I turn a right corner and whoa! there it is, the sparkling Eiffel right in front of me! It was lovely standing near the Seine at nite (in Jan) and watch the Eiffel glitter as it does every hour for ten minutes.. now the Eiffel isnt as beautiful as the Tajmahal (uhh... I can tell u some French people think so too!), but its very majestic and captivating nonetheless, esp at nite... it was one of the best evenings I had in Paris...

I know that most of you have already heard of my many Paris stories and experiences and are probably bored of it after so many months, but hey, let me preserve my memories somewhere in cyberspace so I can look back some day and re-live my experience... look out for more on my French experience with the 'real europe' series and the 'Parle vous Hindi?' blogs...