All Things Sundry and Otherwise

The Age We Live In

2009-10-22T13:17:00.009+05:30

If human kind across centuries was to meet and introduce the ages we lived in, what would we have to say about ours?

The age of unbound progress and technology, the age where your voice, thoughts and work can reach across the world in a matter of few seconds? When man first starting exploring outerspace and imprinting its footsteps on the Moon? When living was at its most comfortable and we had things at our disposal, we really didnt need?

Or the age in which we harnessed technology to further erode our happiness? Of an economy running on foundations so weak, that it could all fall down and shatter any time? When we are bothered about who twitted about what and who liked your status? And we don't know if the person in the house next door is alive or dead? When we have deadlines to meet and green paper to make, in the hope that it would bring us happiness? When people who cared about you and brought you up, were relegated to a corner of your mind or even a corner of the home?

The age where we lost all sense of reason and became extremely shortsighted?
The age when the inertia was so high, that every single being born in it, got sucked into the chaos?
The age when humanity convinced itself that there is no other way to live but to run after the concept known as money? The age when we had no time at all for doing anything we liked?
A race devoted to wiping itself and the planet out?

A whole planet of intelligent life gone wrong? Yes. Thats the age where I come from.

Oh, and what would the people from the next age have to say? Probably the age where humans transported themselves from one spot to another by mere technology, so much so that evolution took away their legs and feet and left them with just a single finger on each hand to push all them buttons they wanted to!

A detached existence

2009-08-28T22:13:00.010+05:30

Some blog posts aren't meant to make much sense. This is one such.

Detached, aloof, wandering, watching the world from dizzy heights above.

A bird's eye. A desire to fly. To lose all cares and soar high.

Transported to a different reality. A different life.

Not making sense of the world around.

Much ado to know myself,

and yet remain,

unknown.

Music!

2009-06-23T22:49:00.008+05:30

I hardly know enough to write on the subject. Our introductions to each other were late, apart from the nursery rhyme cassettes in school. Filmi love shove music was never appreciated at home. Neither was music of the blaring variety and I once got a reprimand for singing a certain Karishma Kapoor song during a family Antakshari :D

An attempt was made to learn a few ragas at school...and then came the Backstreet Boys and the Spice Girls and all the other zillion boy and girl bands. How I listened to BSB more and became an ardent fan because I thought Nick Carter was cute than for their music! ;) and my fandom was limited to the peppy pop songs sung by groups of 5 guys or 5 girls wearing outlandish clothes or standing a la MIB. I even thought the Titanic OST was highly overrated.

Enter college and the horizon expanded to music I never knew before. The Kishore Kumar songs and NFAK, the Old Hindi Melodies to the King of Rock n Roll and then on to Rock and Classical Indian Fusion...and its been a pure blast. There's so much undiscovered melody, and like a friend said, I have just begun to explore!

Music to lift your soul. Music to keep it light.
Music to bring it down and Music to set it right.
Music to drown yourself in and Music to keep it bright.
Music when you are down and out and Music when you can't sleep at night.

Ok, so you think you can spell?

2009-05-19T00:56:00.012+05:30

.....That don't impress me much!

Ah so what is this post about?

A spell checker? Those wiggly red lines on a Microsoft document? (and my dislike for American English) , The teacher who used to mark spelling mistakes with red ink? -- Nope.

The further away we are moving from being consciously aware of our spellings as we type out more than we write? -- Partly. Didn't realise this until I began mis-spelling words and using a right click to correct them , rather than bother to re read and correct!

And contrary to the title lines of this post, mostly on how I base my judgement of people on whether they can spell or not. Of being put off by bad spelling and more so by bad grammar.

Some say that its the beauty of the English language that it is so fluid, others seem bent to give the language a runny nose!

Of late have noticed people writing their names online in all small letters. Instant put off. Some would argue its convenience. But its your name! You just don't do that to it! Ah and if someone says 'He don't' instead of 'he doesn't' then I would have instantly written him off! Okay. well not that drastic. But the good books are closed :P

Language is by no means a measure of the nature of a person. You might have a heart of gold or be a genius and still be horrible at spellings.

But language sure is the world's window to a person, one which allows us to take a peek in and form an impression. It is his presentation to the world and then some more. I daresay even a measure of how sophisticated and cultured a person is. Definitely more than the clothes he wears or the brand of his footwear - The very shallow hallmarks of judgement these days.

Had read somewhere that bad spelling is worse than body odour. Here is me vehemently nodding my head in agreement!

The wonder years

2009-02-23T01:26:00.006+05:30

Reclaimed an old email account and an associated blog of 6 years back today. My! what kids we were and what we are now.The password I had used at that time itself was hilarious. Memories.

and the old emails. Of people I am hardly in touch with now. Just a new year wish and maybe a birthday wish. The years between us. Of how we thought the friendships would remain the same and the plans to always always stay in touch.

Of the twists and turns life has taken, for some for the better, for others for the worst.
Of the novel a friend had started on our lives. Still unfinished.
Of pacts... some silly and some still kept until date.
Of friends still cherished and as close and others lost forever.
Of pure innocence and joy.

The wonder of the bygone years and the uncertainty of the years to come. Makes for a heady cocktail on a quiet day off.

Skeletons in the Closet

2009-01-25T23:36:00.011+05:30

The house creaked on its very foundations. Almost having come to a life of its own; it appeared to him that dark blood was now throbbing through the veins of the house. He could hear the house resound with the thump of an old and ravaged heart still pumping it on and on, with a renewed vengeance. The play of shadows, of darkness and of sudden light made the crimson marks on the walls look like wounds on the very being of the house. Still bleeding.

The wooden boards underneath his feet creaked and gave away. There was urgency in the air, something told him to leave. To run. To not look back again.

The house had given him shelter for the last thousand years of his being. From the night he had come running in from the forest, wounded and still human. It had appeared as suddenly in front of him, as it demanded to be left alone today. He had found solace in the room with the ornate golden mirror, the one on the closet door. The figure that stared back at him from the mirror was him in his glory days and not the faint shadow he had become now. It always smiled back at him. This room was his haven. There was an unspoken understanding.

The person in the mirror always stayed the same. The meaning of time was lost on him over his transition to the suspended state of existence he was now in for so many centuries. Now it was back. Now he had to hurry. To gather whatever little belonged to him over the years and to find another safe haven for the night.

He dare not go out into the night. The night was inhospitable to creatures like him. The forest would engulf him in a split second. The others were eaten up centuries ago; he had never found any trace of them despite having looked far and wide. He had survived in this house for until many centuries later. Today it had turned on him.

Mingled with his smell of fear, he could almost smell the presence of the others. Like they were back from the beyond, helping the only one of their kind left, in his frantic struggle for survival.

He ran. The creaking took a vicious note. He ran through the rooms. The house swayed and groaned. The bleeding from the walls was not a mirage anymore. There was blood trickling on the floor. A blood pool formed around his feet. He rushed outside. The well that had been dry for the last thousand years was filled with menacing dark waters, He ran. He saw islands in between those waters. Supposing he hopped on to those? He had to survive. And then crazily, his mind refused the idea. He kept running. The garden merged with the forest. The old banyan tree at the boundary swayed wildly in the wind. He ran.

Twigs snapped in the distance, something snapped inside of him.

He continued running. Only now he was running back to the house. It was almost suicidal; He had an irrepressible urge to go back. To question the insanity that had let him stay, those innumerable years ago. That had treated him as a fortune’s child. He frantically wanted to find the heart of the house and come face to face with the evil that seemed to grip it. He didn't want to let go. He was to die in the house. With it. He had made up his mind.

The mirror. He had to get back to the mirror.

The shadows played again. With him this time. The house melted away. There were no hallways left, the giant paintings of lost glory dripped to the ground. His eye caught a painting of the mirror with the closet door slightly ajar. He hadn’t seen it before. Maybe he overlooked it. Maybe he was imagining it.

The staircase that led to his room was covered with thicket. It looked like it was a part of the forest now. The throbbing sound of the ageing heart no longer came from a distance. It enveloped him, a deafening hum in his ears. A subconscious realization filled him. He was no longer searching for the heart. He was inside it. The house was the heart of the forest. The one that had devoured the others and left no trace. No remembrance for him to mourn them with.

The smell of the others became stronger and nauseated him as he went up the crumbling staircase in a daze, clutching at the foliage and the roots which now replaced the steps and made his way up.

The room was still there, the walls a dark crimson, the throbbing veins clearly visible, originating from where the mirrored closet was, feeding the forest with darkness.

The mirror had cracked. The figure from within smiled at him differently this time. He reached out to open the closet door. He now saw from where the blood came that fed the forest. He now saw what his fate was to be.

The smell of the others filled the room. The skeletons tumbled out.

-------------------------------------------

~Kiran, 25th January 2009

At an arm's distance please!

2008-12-30T01:27:00.001+05:30

Remember assembly time in school? When the teacher asked you to stand at an "One - Arm Distance"? In my opinion one of the most valuable lessons ever taught at school!

Now there are so many people who somehow never caught on to this all important concept. Its sometimes a necessity to step hard on peoples toes in a line just to make them realize they are imposing on your personal space. An elbow or an umbrella comes handy too! ;) Manageable so far.

But then there are people who just don't know where to draw the line. You really don't have to come right up to my face to speak. My hearing is alright and I am sure I can hear you from 5 feet away!

If I am polite doesn't mean you get to poke your curious nose into my life. I am not your new found best friend... I have my friends , thank you and guess what, they know how to respect personal space too! It makes you cringe to tolerate their over enthusiastic friendliness, the obvious inability to decipher or just an intentional overlooking of the subtle and not so subtle 'back off' hints! Whatever happened to minding your own business? So infuriating.

Then there are the kinds who want a minute by minute live update of everything in your life. Like a twitter feed into your day. Always, always an intrusion! Master of Art, Specialization: "Getting on people's nerves"

Boundaries are important. The more you respect that, the more respect you are bound to get!

On forgetfulness!

2008-12-09T15:12:00.011+05:30

Seems like age is catching up....and I haven't even touched a quarter century yet! :|

How else do you explain things like forgetting names of people you went to school with, the song you heard in the morning, the name of the place where you gave your first college party and the weirdest of all - words!!!!

It was always a task to be able to remember by dinner what I had for lunch..Now that happens with most of us. I am sure even you don't rem what you had for lunch yesterday!... You do it without being aware of it but this is a whole new level! How can you forget words! Its almost comical filmy Paresh Rawalish... when you remember the concept and forget the bloody word :|

Too much dependence on google for everything you can't remember? Just Plain Distraction? Overwork? Beginning of Selective Amnesia? Information overload??? (!!)

Exaggeration? Well. Okay, Somewhat.
Worrying? Definitely!

The Futility of it all!

2008-11-27T21:32:00.017+05:30

Such are times when words fail you. The shock of the situation is mind boggling. So is the stupidity. And then there are the reactions. The buffoonery of the media and the bottom of their heart felt concern of the 'leaders'. They could well be thrown down a bottomless pit.

So what do we do? Put up status messages saying "What is happening?" and " Can India ever put an end to terrorism?" and some say "We should kill the terrorists". Great Idea. Are you going to kill them?

Our heroes go in ill-fitting bullet proof jackets and helmets and are soon declared martyrs. While the terrorists tote AK 56's and hold the nation hostage. They are 'sophisticated' terrorists...We on the otherhand like to keep stone age weaponry and technology. The tax payers money can be put to better uses... You know we the politicians have a whole generation of our families to look after , after all!

The journalist shoves the mike up a newly released hostages face and wants to know how he feels. The Dim wit politician sitting in a studio discusses the political fall out of the situation. Oh look! the UPA's image is going down a notch. Oh and those English people being held hostage.... what would happen to the England India match now? Woe be us! :| Oh they have grenades, we are using our "fair share" of grenades too... Don't you worry! All terrorists are flushed out. Oh look there is one more! Must have been playing hide and seek.

Hey what was that 'we will stomp out all terror...' statement we issued last time to the public? Was a good one...change the date and issue it again. Keep it handy. We might need it again you know!

What else do we do? Discuss it over lunch and dinner? Sit glued to the TV, Blog about it? So its just one way of expressing yourself. Nothing against it. But the futility of it all is exasperating. Express your self all you want but what do you do about it? What am I doing about it? The answer is none of us have a clue. We could all debate endlessly about what needs to be done. I for sure have my ideas and you yours. So we debate. What then? What could or would a common person do about it?

The Charade continues and then we forget. The indifference is appalling. Its scary on how far the indifference can go. Maybe the only time we would be concerned would be when the bullet would come and hit us. Too late for concern then.

Numbing.

You know you are back in Chandigarh when...

2008-08-31T23:22:00.011+05:30

Oh boy!
Back in Chandigarh after 2 years..... Saw the things I earlier took for granted about the City Beautiful in a totally new light!

The place is like one big overextended family!
The small world experiment would lead to just One Degree of Separation in Chandigarh! Everyone knows almost everyone else. You were either at school together or at coaching or in College or are related! :O
It sure is a very small city.... You can get from one end to the other before you can clock 40 mins!
You are bound to get challaned in the month of March or whenever the Chandigarh police runs short on money! (And in my case in the Month of August and that too twice!!!)
Any one new enters a place and everyone else "checks you out"... the eyes go from your face to your shoes in 3 secs flat!
The favourite past-time of guys is following girls! .....If you are a girl and out alone post 8pm, you are bound to be escorted back to your place by atleast 1 car with blaring loud music!
Big cars with loud music and even bigger bumper stickers adorn most of the roads!

But the City Beautiful is beginning to take on a new flavour... letting go of its reputation of predominantly being a city of the retired or the spoilt neauvue rich kids.

The superficiality and irresponsibility have given way to a fresh vibrancy.With 50 years to its history, this young city is attaining a semblance of maturity, beginning to show signs of developing a culture and character of its own.

With all its idiosyncrasies... feels good to be back :)

Now.

2008-05-21T18:55:00.018+05:30

"From now on , I'll connect the dots my own way!" ~ Calvin

Twenty and three years is a very confusing stage... believe you me! It's where you try and fill in most of the variables to give your equation a definitive value. So many of life's defining events to come. Those that'll decide what shape it takes.

I start with my first job very soon. Excited to say the least... dont know how long the excitement will last though! There's one variable down!

You've moved on with the flow till now. Taken some decisions on your own, let some be governed by others. Some have just come. Happenstance.

Now is different. Now is when you decide.

Now what you do, is what you get to pat (!!?) yourself on your back for the rest of ur life!!! Now is also when you want to let your self imposed cares go with the wind. Now is also when you want to take in everything and Enjoy every moment. Now is the defining moment.

Now is a connundrum , also an opportunity.

It can be overwhelming too.

Now is when you go and and connect the dots your own way!

-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

Aptly summed up by the song I am listening to right now ....

"Tu Dhoop hai... chham se bikhar... tu hai nadi , oh bekhabar.... beh chal kahin, ud chal kahin.... dil khush jahan... teri toh manzil hai wahin!"

Thank God for Anaesthesia!

2008-05-14T23:19:00.000+05:30

To all those who contributed in inventing Local Anaesthesia.... I owe you one!

Well well well... in case you are wondering why a post on this of all things! One painful trip down to the dentist and you ll also be thanking the heavens! No matter how brave you are... u think u could handle anything in the world... but the dentist with his face hidden behind a mask and eyes peering out of thick glasses, while u r trapped in that chair ,is a different story all together! You turn into jelly the moment he comes at you with his arsenal of tiny shiny pointed metal weapons that he pokes and prods your mouth with!

and I turn into Ally McBeal imagining all sorts of things while putting up a brave face and repeating "IhatedentistsIhatedentistsIhatedentists" in my mind :D

and then came the life saver.... "would u prefer if I gave u Anaesthesia?' Yes! Yes! Oh please... I wonder if he could see the tears of thanks in my eyes :P

One prick and no feeling later.... I could stare him and any of his shiny pointed weaponary right in the face. :D

Here's to local anaesthesia!

On a different note altogether.... Life on the otherhand shouldnt have anything remotely like anaesthesia. Every painful moment is an experience too... Numbing it out wouldnt be a wise choice here :)

Cheers!

Yap yap yap $#%@%#

2008-04-02T16:11:00.000+05:30

How in the world can people talk so much! Yap yap yap nonstop. It’s like a verbal form of diarrhea. And it’s equally painful to the one on whose ears the nonstop jabber falls! After a while the mind wanders away while those words still keep hammering away on your ears. Worse so if the person is talking to you and you have to give that occasional nod out of politeness.

One nod and the hammering begins with renewed gusto. So much for politeness. I mean don’t they ever take a break? So much potential energy being converted into sound….When it could be put into so many better uses :D

And as I listen to the endless talk, all of it stories of how they did this and that and that too. …my mind goes into this zone. I wonder if it would come to a stop if I suddenly stood up and screamed loudly….or maybe poured cold water on top of them. Pretended to faint…. Something!

Seriously. How in the world!

End of an Era

2008-04-01T20:42:00.000+05:30

22nd March 2008.
The date goes down into history as the end of my 'formal' education.
IIMK Batch of 2006-2008.

Real life is yet to teach me its lessons though. Time to come out of the cocoon and fly...Hoping for a fulfilling journey!
I wonder how many graduates each year pen down these same many thoughts in the last days of their education.... so will many in years to come. .

Its like cutting the umbical cord a second time. It is a big moment.

and its ironical.

Life at K came with a lot of ups and downs... and no I don't mean just up and down those mesmerising hills of Kunnamangalam!

First time in a hostel... was all charged up when I got here. Cribbed to the end of eternity cause I had to get here 10 days before with some 60 odd others for the prep course... but boy was it worth it!
One class a day... and all the time in the world to admire the scenic hills, check out the vicinity.... which was full of Malyalam girls in Burkhas giggling at you while you tried to dumb charade your way into buying buckets and things in the local market!
Post midnight guitar sessions, trying to light a bonfire under rain! Controversial Classes :D
Bike rides into the country side. The amazingly beautiful hills did wonders to you. Look out of your room in the morning and you Had to smile.

and then classes... which put me in serious doubt of my ability to stay awake during a lecture!
and those darned lawn sprinklers along the shortest route to the classes... they had to start when I was in the middle of a hopeless attempt to reach class in time... reaching all drenched and 5 mins late... :

The place is full of memories... The C hostel, The parties with pgp 09, 10 and 11, Mess parties, Class rooms, NC, turning everytime Ranjit called out "Kiran-maggi!" (For the unaware... its a dish named after a pgp Niner of the same name!), The crossroads, Staying in the Library till 7 am before a submission... watching the sunrise thereafter, Section A , Harvard Steps, Amphitheater, Long walks... some in an attempt to lose some weight and some just to get your head thinking straight , IP messages, Spam Wars, Status message fights, Debates and discussions, Late night NC maggi, gossip sessions, bakar sessions, parties in the hostel rooms, Those project meetings trying to get some work done, and never ending Backwaters meetings... more bakar and less work! ... infinite moments... totally worth it!

And people too... Learnt a lot like no place else. Friends made and unmade. Met some wonderful people... those I will cherish forever. Others well. Having the same people around you 24X7 is nice at times but can drive you crazy too! Same people, all the time, everywhere. Been like a madhouse at times.

And then the beauty of the place began to wear off in the second year... the every morning groan when sunlight started streaming in at 6 am and you were yet to go to sleep! Those mornings could no longer make me smile :D
The last minute dash to the mess at 8:55 pm before you miss food. Ditto for the NC at 1:55 am! Projects done in a day....and here is something I hopefully wont miss ....The mess food :P

The first term break and I was raring to go home. Couldn't help grinning non stop that day. Was going away from this awful place to a place I loved.
And now.
The last days at Kampus... it felt miserable. Just didn't want to leave. This was Home. The people Family. The journey was a joy. Dont think I' ll miss any place as much as I would K.

Signing off
Klass of 2006-2008

Unbelong

2008-01-17T02:59:00.000+05:30

There is something poetic about the word "Unbelong"
Or maybe its just what staying awake till 5 am in the morning does to you!!! Theres been so much said and written about belonging and its opposite. And there are so many times when you wish for one or the other. Diametrically opposite.

Its the comfort and power you derive from being together, the force of "many".

Solitude has its charms. The need to break free, sit in a corner of the valley, unseen, unheard, at one with everything around you...Connecting the past with the present. That one moment bridging together different moments,Warping space and time.
The essential rejuvenating force, slowly bringing you back into the fold. Pure joy.

Then the pendulum swings - from one of the ends to the other , briefly tilting to one side before slowly re-achieving its balance. Some Pendulums however defy the basic laws.

So does the way a human mind works. Perfectly logical at one moment and totally incomprehensible at the next. A Pendulum gone astray. A Chimerical Conundrum .
Felt so clearly yet difficult to put down into written words.
An inexplicable emotion.

A sense of reality. A nudge into the present.
A class at 8:30 in the morning and the reverie is broken! :D

More from me later and most likely less of these random philosophical musings. And more of narration! The Pendulum has swung.

All in good time

2007-11-12T05:15:00.000+05:30

Time seems to do a lot to you.

There it is, a dedicated carver, an artist.... slowly chipping away at you , and making the form emerge more and more vividly.

All in time.

It does so much and there are just those rare moments when you sit back and think admist the everyday rigmarole ....that you realize you are no longer the person whom you used to be.

They call it growing up.
In short you move from innocence to worldliness. For some it comes quick and early. For others it takes a little bit longer.

As kids you worry about things like... Would you be able to save enough money this week to buy a chocolate? Will your mum like the painting you made? Will she find out your secret hidden at the back of your drawer? or maybe get her hands on your diary? Will your friend score more than you or get a prettier dress?

The emotion remains the same..... essentially primitive. That maybe even time cant change. Only the manifestations change. The chocolate turns into a fancy cell phone to the home you want to buy. The secrets multiply. The diaries disappear.... you no longer have "time" to write. The prettier dress turns into a cooler boyfriend or girlfriend, to a better job.

Things you never expected, happen. They do all the time.

Things too change. People come, Some people go. Some go away forever.The place left empty is there forever. The pain softens with time..... and turns into a memory, a teary eyed smile.

New places , new people.... and you arent the same old you either.

People change and so do you. You think that you are beginning to understand yourself. You start seeing reason . Get up close and personal with yourself.
From then on everything changes.

Time.

Mera wala flouroscent green!!!

2007-09-20T15:54:00.000+05:30

There is something about Kerala and Vivid colours.... The people wear bright, you wouldnt be caught dead in kinda clothes, the buses look like a painters colour palette, the houses are painted in vivid and bright colours... Theres colour in everything and that too a very bright colour!

Dotted along the highways of Kerala are these bright -so in ur face-painted houses! All shades of pink, purple, flouroscent yellow , So many variations of Orange.... u name it, they ll paint their house with it!

The first time i had to buy clothes hangers here, I was given a motley collection of maroon, flouroscent yellow, pink, brown, red, green....So different from the steel greys I am used to. I didnt even feel like putting them in my wardrobe.

But the colour kinda grows on you.... Its an integral part of Kerala. Something to beat the monotony with. You would rarely find any greys, blacks or the somber colours here.
Its Gods own country in all its colourful glory for ya!

Gods own Country: A weekend in Paradise

2007-09-18T19:41:00.002+05:30

A rare free weekend, a bunch of friends, the presentations on Monday dont matter! Pack ur bags and lets go!

In a place as beautiful and rich as Kerala , this is but natural :) So two days and three destinations it was..... Kovalam , Kanyakumari and Varkala

How we got there: A train from Calicut to Trivandrum and then a taxi for all the three places.
The perfect time to go : Late September to December
Anthem of the Journey: "Oh Kaindi Poump up the Jam .. Oh kaindi" :P
We were : 13 and We left on : A Friday!!!

An early morning arrival at Trivandrum... we had breakfast at The Indian Coffee house close to the station.

One of the oldest Indian Coffee houses in India, the food there is nothing to boast about but its circular architecture is interesting.

As you enter, a ramp begins spiraling upwards and the tables are on the ramp itself. Nice :)

Two days and so many places to go!

Kovalam :
Almost a year and a half in Kerala and all those beaches... you need a really cool beach to make you go Wow. This was somehow missing in Kovalam. The beach was as all beaches are.. somewhat commercialized, it has a light house and a few"islands" which join the mainland once the water retreats in early October.
We had heard a lot about the beach but were disappointed somewhat.... so we spent just about an hour or 2 there and headed to Kanyakumari.

The Tip of India :)
Now this was one Constraint satisfaction problemo! 13 people and 13 different where to go's!
We finally went to the old fort, Vivekananda rock, and saw the windmills... Missed the famous sunset of Kanyakumari.....It was a cloudy day.

The fort was fun and the view from it was so totally grand... the tip of India and the Vivekananda Memorial on one side, endless ocean on the other and windmills on the third side. Breathtakingly awesome.

Next Stop: The Vivekananda Memorial....

And here we joined the stream of tourists on the ferry to the Island.... Its a two stop tour :
The Vivekananda Rock where Swami Vivekananda meditated and Saint Poet Thiruvalluvar's memorial which has a larger than life statue of his.

The view is just awesome... the tourist guides will have you believe that you can see three different coloured waters joining at the tip... black , blue and green... The Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal and Arabian sea (Offcourse not in that order! :) )... We just manged to see two... Like Suresss said.... It was cause of the "Sunsine"

The Dhyan Mandap in the Vivekananda Memorial has a different aura to it.. This is where he meditated, and its open to the tourists to sit in silence and darkness and meditate.

The windmills too were a sight too behold...

Varkala!!! It so totally rocked :)

Seriously wish had more time to spend and not just a day in Varkala... The place is so not typical Kerala...Its almost like a Mini Goa Nestled behind a Cliff.... The ambience was awesome... It has a helipad, from there the road to our resort was this small winding thing which kept U turning every 10 mins.... It was dark, full of water and this narrow lil road. Perfect setting for a thriller... Our resort turned out to be decent and the apprehensions of being in a murder mystery set evaporated :)

The food served in those shacks by the beach side is yummylicious too... Mexican , Italian, Chinese, Continental and off course Indian... Lovely. For the Alcoholically inclined too... the place lives up to expectations :)

This little paradise is well known outside India and is thronged by foreigners.... if u know what I mean ;) There are two beaches... a black beach (the colour offcourse refers to the colour of the sand!) and a main beach. The place also has a Taj leisure resort... offcourse that was something our wallets did not allow us !

The perfect day.... a lazy breakfast or sunrise :P... the beach ... Auyrvedic massages.... tattoos and more of the beach followed by an awesome dinner and drinks and a party to wind the night off. (well.... not everyone could get a massage done... Theres only so much you can fit in in 3/4th of a day...the tattoo fellas wernt there this time of the season and we had to leave before the party started!!! :) )

The trip so totally rocked... just wish we could have spent more time in Varkala! Also the best time to go is October-Novemeber when the main beach also opens up as the waters recede.
Evening 8 o'clock we had to unwillingly leave the place and rush to catch our train back to Calicut....

In short the trip was Legen-dary! :)

Cheers!

Low cost? No thank you!!!

2007-08-27T20:27:00.001+05:30

"Bad things happen in threes!" So went the famous superstition.
Well in threes...No, not if a fourth happens!
In multiples of threes.....Maybe Yes!!!!

Well well....guess what do I have to say about those "No frills low cost airlines" ?
--$%&@@$%!!! (For want of better words and preserving the sanctity of this blog!!! :P )

This is how I reached home after a crazy crazy term4 , and of-course Air India was waiting to bestow its choicest hospitality on me and 50 others!

Me and a friend were on the same flight to Delhi and were conveniently sitting in the Mumbai Airport's waiting lounge, making fun of this Yo dude who had parked himself on his trolley and was waiting at the deserted security check counter! The line kept growing but we thought everyone will get their baggage checked in... No point waiting in the line!!! Smart ain't we!!!

Thing 1: The boarding was announced and the security check hadn't even begun!

The flight was overbooked to the tune of 50 passengers! The Security check looked like a war zone with people from the many states of India descended on the staff with their choicest words in some languages I did not even understand! The best was the Sardarji in a red turban standing almost on top of the official on duty and shouting " Main Punjabi vich samjavan tenu"

The anger was justifiable.... Here we were waiting to catch our connecting flight to Delhi since Morning and they had already overbooked the flight at a previous stopover. The flight came and left without us. Stranded at the airport.

btw... the "Yo Dude" got his boarding pass!!! Some lesson learned!

Thing 2: Next flight at 8:20 PM!!!

Well well well.... I had to take a bus to Chd after reaching Delhi and was traveling alone. Polite inquiries about the availability of other flights after explaining the situation brought out this gem of a reply "We are not responsible for your onward journey...The time of the flight is immaterial to us!"
Again a slew of colourful words and expressions! The harassment was compounded by some "trying to be smart" passengers. Tempers flared and the staff did a vanishing act. Finally we got a 5:00 PM flight and taxi fare. Took a prepaid taxi from the international to the domestic airport....

Thing 3: The Taxi wala!

Well I wouldn't really blame the chap. We were having a bad day and we gave him his!
The prepaid fellas stand in line all day waiting for their turn and its more like a lottery. If they get a long distance passenger or a short distance fare. We incidentally happened to fall in the extra short distance category!!!
So continued his mumble jumble throughout the "short" distance. Ah well.

Thing 4: Panic attack: Nowhere to stay! :P

Once at the domestic airport and unsuccessfully trying to get 2 seats in the 3:15 flight, We had lotsa time to kill. Hunger struck and suddenly it also struck me I had no where to stay in Delhi for the night!
Well the tension was short-lived. Thank god for wonderful friends.

Thing 5 : Down the wrong boarding gate :P

Well now things had started moving towards the better... So we had to do something stupid!!!
We went down the wrong boarding gate!!! Nothing much... walked the entire way back :D

Thing 6 and final...... The last seats in the plane... Those that don't retract!!!

In a flight at last! Checked our tickets for the seat number and started looking for them. Found them... at the very end of the plane! Them last seats in a plane which refuse to retract!!! Two of the cancelled flight ppl had taken the boarding pass after we did and they had gotten the seats in front of us! That was it! Certified bad day.
Went and sat down without a word. Praying that nothing more would happen!
Thankfully it didnt.

The Comical Pilot.... Nah nothing to do with luck... just had to mention :)
Middle of the flight this fella starts reading out all those instruments that could be read in his cockpit.... and aloud, along with the reason for everything too. Well okay.
Then he comes with the gem... The seat belt signs are still on and the passengers are advised to wear them. There might be some turbulence on the way.

"They would also prevent you passengers from falling on each other during the normal course of the flight" :P :P

The flight landed on time at the Delhi Airport and then onwards it was smooth thankfully!!! Reached home safe and sound.

In retrospect it sounds more comical than anything else..... but it was pure harassment.
Only Advice : Never Ever travel by Air India Express or any of those no frills extra low cost airlines!!!

The world is a pretense

2007-08-16T16:03:00.002+05:30

Here's a poem I wrote long time back.... One of my favorites.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The world is a pretense

our happiness make believe

all faith is a lie

every moment conjured up to deceive

bound in shackles we lie

governed by two faced priests

every rite is a farce

wraping the world in deceit.

spring too descends on this world

flowers covering up the grime

the truth is not for us to tell

its out for everyone to decipher and see

dark holes with blazing lights

pretty petals on the mud

a cover up for all to see.

there are gems too

sparkling bright

find them under the grime

pick one and treasure

it will sparkle for the rest of ur life

find one and its your manna

the panacea you are looking for

your life is fulfilled

your soul delivered

shinning upon you the divine light!

Kiran.

Executive Summary :P

2007-08-16T15:54:00.001+05:30

Well Here I am... Blogging after a long long time.

What to expect from this Blog?

Just random musings and things which left an impact on me enough to write about them.
I am a regular writer but that somehow doesn't translate me into a regular blogger.... my last blog shut down because of years of neglect!!! :D

Also you might just read more of poetry than posts ... in case you happen to read my blog at all! :)

and of course.... u must have guessed by now ... I like to use a liberal sprinkling of Smileys!!

Here's to the new blog!
Cheers!
KJ's