Aadrika

As I write today

It has indeed been a while, 

What better to write about

Than the most gorgeous smile. 

Sometimes cheery, 

Sometimes whiny,

Sometimes chirpy,

Sometimes fiery. 

Her priceless expressions

And her silky hair strands

She often holds my face

With her teeny weeny hands. 

Happy and content in a world of her own,

She seldom makes a noise.

Surprised I often am,

By her maturity and poise.

Those beautiful eyes,

Do leave us beguiled. 

Her stories and her imagination 

Often run wild. 

Sometimes Princess Elsa, 

Sometimes Peppa Pig

Sometimes a cute kitty,

She does know her gig.   

Her fondness for Pink

Is widely known. 

Rose, Baby, Hot and Magenta

Your mind will be blown. 

Her acts are adorable.

Today she turns three

It's a blessed day for us,

The youngest in our family tree. 

Ahaan

Waited with bated breath,

Outside the operation theater.

Expending time was impossible,

The news kept getting pushed...for later.

The mood ecstatic

And spirits high

Anxious I was,

I wouldn’t lie.

Our statuses elevated

As he cried.

The 9th day of October 2013

Ahaan arrived.

The formalities...

“Father: Mohit” and “Mother:Tanu”

The insipid had become exciting

He was our ‘Happy Blue’.

The wrapped frame,

The innocent eyes,

The tender hands,

And soft cries.

The embrace so fulfilling.

The touch so complete.

It’s beyond words,

Happiness was replete.

Each moment since then

Has been  loaded with joy.

For the impatient soul like me

The sleepless nights do annoy. :-)

But, his serene sleep

As he rests in his signature style

That iota of irritation vanishes

As he flashes  that toothless smile...

Have wondered often,

What makes us happy

Without being philosophical,

Got my answer, albeit differently. :)

The fact is...unfortunate

A lot has been discussed, debated, dissected and deliberated upon the issue of sexual harassment of Indian women. The following is not an attempt to be prophetic on this issue. It is an earnest attempt to understand the root cause of the problem. However, before I share my point of view, let me state one thing upfront- I am not a sociologist. In fact, I am far from being one.  The following is simply my interpretation and understanding of the issue, which may sometimes be stymied by my limited IQ or my hailing from a certain socio-economic background or my overall exposure to worldly affairs.

It has been more than sixty years since India became independent and almost equally long since the constitution came into being. The problems that a country faces generally change with time. However, few issues have remained constant over time. Among others, one issue that law makers and guardians of the constitution tried solving then and that continues to occupy center stage even today is the upliftment of women. And, one of the important manifestations of this issue, which has plagued our society since time immemorial, is the sexual harassment of women. If I were to sum up all that is happening in one word, the least I’d say that it is unfortunate.

The other day I was reading about the President of the United States, Barack Obama, taking out the First Lady out for a dinner date on Valentine’s Day. Mind you, the restaurant was owned by a celebrity chef. Before you start thinking about this being a frivolous piece of information on a matter so serious, I’d say take a moment and think again. I know that Valentine’s Day, which falls on the day of commemoration of Saint Valentine, is a largely western concept. So, I don’t expect Indians to celebrate this day. Neither do I expect Indians to be tolerant of the ‘westernization’ of the society. Nor do I have any expectations of Indian politicians expressing their feelings of love for their spouses in public. However, I certainly expect that tomorrow if an Indian politician were to pull off an Obama and wished his/ her spouse on the occasion of Valentine’s Day via Twitter, it would, in all probability, become a matter of national security for us.

And, this is where I think the problem lies. Our society is still not ready to treat women equally. Our society is not ready for us to show our love, affection and care for the women we love. Since our politicians and our politics are a reflection of the society that we live in, if our society is hypocritical on the issue of upliftment of women, which I believe to be unfortunately true, our politics and our politicians are bound to show the same characteristics. The fact that we do not have a uniform civil code till date, the fact that women reservation bill is only debated upon and never sees the light of the day, the fact that feudalism and the feudal mindset are still rampant, the fact that those who sincerely believe and work towards women upliftment form a minority, the fact that women get raped in police premises and the fact that my examples form a never ending list go on to prove, that how so much ever disgusting and shameful it may sound, sexual harassment of women is bound to continue. 

Thank you, Tanu

Time seems to fly

A year has gone by.

In hindsight, I marvel in delight

For the scorching sun has given way to soothing moonlight.

Through highs and lows and crests and troughs,

And particularly when the weather was rough,

Your reassuring presence,

Proved to be life’s essence.

My ability to wade through challenges and grief,

Has been because of your unwavering belief.

The Mayan calendar says that the world will end soon

Who cares; when you are by my side during morning, evening and noon.

The world would have been blue,

Had it not been for you.

Thank you!

Hypocrisy abound

As the Middle East simmers with uprisings against tyranny and as the West, the so called flag bearers of democracy, ‘supports’ the people in their quest against the despotic rule, I can’t help but wonder if the West’s foreign policy is the real and the complete truth or, just the tip of the iceberg or, an absolute sham.

The politics of opportunism continues to be practiced unabated. We find so many instances when we compare how the foreign policy of the West, especially the US, has undergone a dramatic shift in the last two decades. To not expect a change in the foreign policy would be foolish. However, the shift that I am talking about is more seminal and alarming. After the Tiananmen Square massacre, Henry Kissinger wrote (quoting from the book “Shock Doctrine”) - “No government in the world would have tolerated having the main square of its capital occupied for eight weeks by tens of thousands of demonstrators… a crackdown was therefore inevitable”. The protestors in Egypt were also demonstrating in the main square. If what the Communist party in China did was the last resort, then Hosni Mubarak was damn right in what he did. If what China did in 1989 was justified, then so are the crackdowns in Syria and Bahrain unless of course the lives of Chinese people was any cheaper than the lives of the Middle Easterners. What is also worth noticing is that the West has not openly come out in favor of the protestors in Bahrain. I am sure they could have overlooked a tiny nation with a handful population. And, it could have been just a mere coincidence that Bahrain houses the Vth Naval Fleet of the US. I guess my inability to understand the difference in the nature of the uprisings and the difference in the attitude of the West towards each of these uprisings can only be attributed to my limited mental faculties.

How come we never heard about the West ridiculing Saudi Arabia of its regulated control of media and of its unequal rights of women? On the contrary, the West pounces at the slightest of opportunities to ridicule China for its strict control of the media and its abuse of human rights. It could again be a coincidence that Saudi Arabia is the strongest US ally in the Middle East and plays a crucial role in the OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries). I guess the West had been waiting for the people of the Middle East to start the revolution before it could support them to overthrow the undemocratic rule. Rightly so because when it decided to be foolishly decisive in Afghanistan and Iraq, it created a bigger mess than it could have possibly fathomed. Looks like the cries for a revolution in China are either very few or, they have been curtailed well or, they are simmering and one day the volcano will erupt. Whatever is the reason, I can only wonder at how proactive the West is when it comes to China. ;-)

The Qwerty Keyboard and the associated risks…

Disclaimer- For the record, this write-up is non- family safe. Reader discretion advised.

The first thing that we often ask a person before moving ahead with chatting online is “Are you busy?” This courtesy becomes all the more important if the chatting is happening in a professional set up. If there’s a typo, “busy” could become “busty” as the letter “T” is just before “Y” on the keyboard. So, the courteous statement will metamorphose into an outrageous question and will read like this- “Are you busty?” If the person at the other end is a woman, under normal circumstances, I would lose my dignity by asking such a question. In addition to this, she would also question my ability to comprehend and my understanding of the female anatomy. Either ways I am screwed. My situation would have become even worse if the person at the other end is a man. In addition to losing my dignity, such a typo would have put my entire orientation at stake.

Let me not get into the Freudian slip bit here. Trust me, when I say that with “I” and “U” being next to each other does not help my cause. On one occasion, I wanted to ask my colleague- “How long is your list of people”. I ended up typing, “How long is you lust for people?” Again, how stupid of me to try to quantify something that is unquantifiable. ;-) Two, it can’t be more inappropriate of me to ask such a personal question.

Then it was my turn to be “busy”. So, when I received a ping, I simply wanted to say “gimme a sec”. Instead, I ended up typing, “gimme a sex”. With “C” and “X” next to each other…argh!!! What was I thinking for heaven’s sake?

It does not end here. At least in each of the above cases, I read my pings and corrected what could have otherwise been a career limiting faux pas. In a personal correspondence, I wrote to someone, “I ran some errands and also got me some MILF”. Of course, I wanted to say, “I ran some errands and got myself some MILK”. I don’t even have the excuse of saying that the letter “F” appears next to the letter “K” on the keyboard. It indeed led to some impression formation. :(

I never knew that even untimely “spaces” can lead to a simple phrase having a sexual reference. Consider this simple question-“What about it?” Now consider this-“What abou tit?” The second question may not have a specific meaning. But, it certainly has a derogatory sexual reference. :(

I am sure Christopher Sholes, who invented the QWERTY keyboard, would have committed suicide if he had seen how potentially hazardous his invention could be. These incidents have made me extra careful when I type. I purposely wanted this write up to turn out the way it did. By now you would have realized the importance of proof reading what you type during any digital text exchange –be it email, chat or, SMS. Happy typing! :)

An Ode to Europe- with Vijay and Vineet

SINGAPORE to AMSTERDAM (3rd Dec)
When I reached the airport and saw the passenger queue
All I could muster was a “phew”.
The meandering line knew no end
People glared if you missed a bend.
I was the fourth last to board that flight
It was a close call in hindsight.
My flight was uneventful- nothing new
I slept and ate well; there was nothing else to do.

AMSTERDAM AIRPORT (4th Dec morning)
Reached Amsterdam at 6:30 in the morning
It was the beginning of the trip that I had been longing
Cleared immigration and waited for my luggage
More…some more and there was no sign of my baggage.
“Mr. Rajkumar?” asked a service attendant,
“I am” I said, with smile abundant.
My smile didn’t last long, when I was told
That my bag didn’t arrive in that freezing cold.
I came up with the obvious exclamation
And she came up with a ‘comforting’ explanation.
“What next?”, I enquired almost panicking
I didn’t have much winter clothing.
“60 Euros” was her reply,
“You must be kidding me” came out almost as a cry.
After some logical arguments she realized,
That I couldn’t get much with clothing highly priced.
200 Euros was what we settled for
To not turn into an icicle before returning to Singapore.
Dressed in pajamas, slippers and a t-shirt- I was a sight
Wading through the icy burst required some might.
Got myself a pair of jeans, shoes and a sweater
It did make me warm in that freezing weather.
And I couldn’t reach Vineet (who was flying in from London)
Didn’t know how and where to meet.
Vijay’s flight (from Barcelona) got cancelled, I found
My worst fears began to hound.
Called Vijay and got an update
A flash strike had happened, oh come on mate.
This wasn’t the perfect beginning, I thought
Was this a conspiracy or some kinda plot?
After roaming for some more time in sorrow
Spotted Vineet at a telephone booth, and we hugged as if there were no tomorrow.

AMSTERDAM (4th Dec)
It started snowing heavily, but our spirits didn’t sag
After all, we are not yet an old hag. :-)
Our first stop was the Anne Frank House
Sadness is the feeling this saga will arouse.
The story of a Jewish family in the Nazi days
As it lived through fear and haze.
Then we went to the famous Van Gogh
We gazed at his creations in awe.
He died young; his art knew no end.
With more than 900 paintings, he is a legend.
After some aimless wandering, we called it a day
This place would have been even more beautiful, if it had been May.

AMSTERDAM (5th Dec)
Got two pieces of good news the next morning,
My bag had arrived and Vijay was coming.
The weather improved as it was a nice beginning
The sun came out, warm and beaming.
Some Dutch cuisine for brunch was what we wanted
So, we found and went to this place but found it deserted.
To our utter dismay
Closed was the local market since it was Sunday.
We settled for an Italian lunch instead
Comprising of delectable lasagnea, salad and bread.
We then went on a ferry cruise
The city looked beautiful in the evening hues.
I was pleasantly surprised to see
How evolved the inland waterways were in the city.
As evening descended, we chose our next spot
It was the museum of sex and we had to stop.
It uncovered the world of sexual mystery
Surprisingly, it had a lot of history.
Sculptures, photos, and mannequins abound
We laughed at a few as we moved around.
It was unique in its own way
We came out more educated, I must say ;-)
Post dinner, we went to a place that sold pot
While in Sin City, we had to give it a shot.
We were novices and had never rolled a joint
But who cared, and that was the best point.
In the next one hour we puffed and laughed,
And disowned each other when we coughed. 
It was time to venture deep
The red light district was worth taking a peep.
With men and women both thronging the place
Your wildest fantasies are set ablaze.

BERLIN (6th Dec)
While Amsterdam was relaxed and easy going
Berlin was certainly more fast moving.
The city had been the lynchpin
Of modern history and the times we are in.
The monuments (Reichstag, Holocaust-Denkmal, Brandenburger Tor) are indeed a sight
Some witnesses of the Nazi power, some of the Jew plight.
The Checkpoint Museum Charlie and the Berlin Wall remains
Tell the story of the cold war and its pains.
Later we went to the Sony Center,
It’s very modern with its swanky architecture.
In that freezing cold we were having a good time
The day had to be ended with some German wine.
So, for dinner, we found a place that offered German food
A cozy small house setting, it suited our mood.

BERLIN (7th Dec)
To experience world cultures at a single site
Pergamon museum was the obvious choice.
I found myself wanting in more ways than one
To appreciate what it offered, the experience was so wholesome.
We saw the beautiful Roman and Greek sculptures
And, peeked into Egyptian and Mesopotamian cultures.
There was little time and so much to see
Rushing through this museum would be a pity.

Paris (Evening of 7th Dec)
Paris was more a transit point than a destination
In our choc-o-block itinerary though, it had to find a mention.
As Vijay and I headed for Paris, Vineet left for London
He could not join us in the land of Moet and Chandon.
By the time we reached the hotel, it was ten thirty
We set out to check out the Eiffel Tower’s beauty.
It was drizzling and it was nippy
So what- we were determined and gritty.
I had never imagined that iron and steel
Could be so raw, so naked and yet so preen.
Every iota of effort was worth it
To see the towering structure glitteringly lit.

Paris (8th Dec)
We visited the famous Pantheon first
It’s a beauty to satiate your spiritual thirst.
Our next stop was The Louvre- an unparalleled artistic abode
Though, we weren’t there to solve the Da Vinci code. ;-)
The museum is huge
It experiences people’s deluge.
I had not seen such a huge art collection before
The audio guide came to our rescue as we assimilated some more.
We saw the biggest wall painting that had been made
The famous Mona Lisa was there, and a tribute we paid.
On a different note, I can’t help but mention
French women are worth all the attention.
Those lovely ladies, if they smilingly greet,
Your heart is bound to skip a beat.
A couple of hours flew by as it was time for us to leave
When we checked the ticket, I found that it was not from Orly but Beauvais.
How could I miss such an important detail?
I guess I was too excited or, my memory had gone frail.
Beauvais was way outside the city
Neither did we get a bus, nor a taxi.
Called Vineet to find out other options for a flight
There was one from Orly, later that night.
The city seemed to have come to a standstill,
And Paris was not all that exciting in that December chill.
After a long wait we found a cab- eventually
Our driver waded through the inching traffic skillfully.
I had seldom seen Vijay sweat and fret
Guess this was one such occasion, you bet.
Finally, we reached Paris Orly
Though, our happiness lasted only momentarily.
We soon found out that our new flight was canceled
And our hopes to reach Barcelona that day fizzled.
We got our tickets for next day’s evening flight
Could anyone have expected this plight?
We decided to put this episode behind us
But, there was no way to go to the city in a train, cab or bus.
Hotels near the airport were prohibitively expensive
And all we had was the airport to live.
Slept or, rather barely slept that night
The ordeal’s end seemed nowhere in sight.

Paris (9th Dec)
The next morning was sunny and bright
We had time for some more sightseeing as we had an evening flight.
Found a locker for our luggage and so we dumped
Last evening was over and we were pumped.
The Cathedral of Notre Dame, next to river Siene, was the first place we went
Though thronged by many, it was serene and quaint.
The department of justice was what was next
We did not know what to see there and soon we left. :-)
The Conciergerie was next in line
A palace and a prison, it had stood for a long time.
Our lunch at a French café was a delight
It was perfect to relax and enjoy the sunlight.
Not wanting to take a chance and so we started early
For our flight from Paris Orly.
Thanked God for no more surprises this time
Else, I surely would’ve blown the top of mine
By the time we reached Barcelona, we needed some rest,
Though, Vijay got busy with the preparation for his test.

Barcelona (10th Dec)
Barcelona weather was a respite from the icy cold
The city was more refreshing compared to what I was told.
While Vijay’s coursework kept him busy,
The land of Gaudi and Picasso waited for me.
Picasso museum was what I first visited
Times that he lived in, were what his paintings reflected.
The genius of the man stood tall,
From canvas to ceramic, he experimented it all.
Antoni Gaudi is unarguably the most famous Spanish architect
The Sagrada Familia is a testament to why he is the best.
Each carving in that church showed his finesse and precision
Revolutionary for his times were his ideas and vision.
The streets of Barcelona have a very different feel
People are warm, relaxed and genteel.
In the evening I visited Park Guell
It’s yet another Gaudi marvel.
Oldies, youngsters and children one can see
The beautiful ocean at a distance and the glittering city.

Barcelona (11th Dec)
The next morning I took the cable car to visit the famous Montjuic fort
A witness to changing times, as it oversaw the port.
It had canons all over and one could easily gauge
That it protected the city from the enemy’s rage.
I went for a stroll- in and around
It was serene and there was silence abound.
The woods in the vicinity had many birds
The silence only broken by their occasional chirps.
Not far from the fort was the Museum of Art
Didn’t enter- just sat outside and enjoyed as it turned dark.
Vijay was done with his assignments so he also stepped out
His spirits were high, in spite of lack of sleep, without any doubt.
The street of Les Rambles had a carnival like feel
One can spend an entire night there; it would be no big deal.
We tried out some Tapas which turned out to be mouth-watering
It marked the perfect beginning to the evening.
While in Barcelona, I could not have missed the Flamenco
The performance was mesmerizing as it gained some tempo.
Everyone in the room had their eyes glued
As the artists’ hands clapped and their feet moved.
Freak out was the mantra that night, any excuse would have been lame,
If we had given in to our tiredness and slept, it would have been a shame.
The idea was not to be in a state of inebriety
But we had to go to Espit Chupitos for its shots and their variety (580 in number).
Each shot was unique- flaming or non-flaming
We started discussing business ideas (ha ha) as we started consuming.
I guess we had 4 each, honestly I lost count.
Each shot was fun; the bartender’s skills were paramount.
There was a slight buzz as we stepped out
The night was still young; there was a lot of crowd.
Without a discotheque, the experience would have been incomplete,
It was our last stop that evening and fun had been replete.

Return to Singapore (12th Dec)
I pined for more as I hadn’t experienced anything like this before
But, it was time for me to return to Singapore.
It felt like a hurricane dream where we experienced so much
I promised I’d visit Europe soon, its beauty was such.
Glad you made it to the end of this Mohithon
I guess I could have just gone on and on and on. :-)

Movies, Games, Society and Sex

Our movies are a good reflection of the society that we live in and vice versa. While Hollywood has been more forthcoming in the portraying of taboos and vices, Bollywood, though a late starter, has caught on well. The usual “You dog” or “You Scoundrel” has been replaced by “Mother Fucker” or “Son of a Bitch”. Till the late 80s, Bollywood movies showed two flowers swaying together or two birds playing with their beaks to portray love making with the final act being represented by the fire going out. The 90s and the twenty first century have been bolder in shooting steamy scenes. A smooch earlier used to be the talk of the town. It has now become so omnipresent. Sex on the silver screen is no longer a result of an untimely rainfall. And this does not come as a surprise…because Pulp Fiction sells.:-)

However, there has been a tectonic shift in the after effect of love making in the Bollywood movies of yester years and the Bollywood movies of today. Initially, any act of love making used to result invariably in the heroine conceiving. Incredible, isn’t it? On the contrary, how often do you hear about children being born out of wedlock or the actress conceiving? One of the reasons could be the fall in fertility rates among men and women (mind you that includes our alpha males and females portrayed in the movies too) alike owing to lifestyle changes and environmental issues. The other and equally important reason could be the warming up of our heroes and heroines to contraceptive measures. And I am happy about the latter. And I would be even happier if these things are discussed in more movies.

So much has been written and said about the Commonwealth Games (CWG). So, I will not write anything more. Other than India doing well in the games, there is one more thing that particularly caught my eye. Many toilets at the games village got clogged owing to condoms being disposed through these toilets in large numbers. This piece was written in continuation with the ‘difficult’ living conditions at the village. What some of the columnists ignored was that these toilets would have gotten blocked anywhere in the world, forget India. Now educating these international athletes on what’s biodegradable and what’s not is a different subject altogether. What’s important here is the use of condoms, which I am happy about.

Discussing social values may not be helpful here. I’d say “to each his own”. The number 6 billion, the world’s population, could be a mere piece of statistic for some. What’s important is that we would not have reached this number if we had been more judicious in our use of contraceptive measures. While I cheer for India and for a successful closure of the CWG, I will also cheer for those athletes who used those condoms. I am sure the world can do without some more unwanted babies. And I would be happy to see more Bollywood movies touching upon the issue of safe sex and I would be even happier to learn that someday the CWG athletes learned to be more careful while disposing off their used condoms. ;-)

I want...

Curious to know what’s cooking in the pot,
This is just the hint of the Mohit-O shot!

It’s funny to think the way I think,
But, what the heck and then I wink.

I wish I could go back to school ,
And be naughty and carefree and play it cool.

I wanna drive a Ferrari and a Lamborghini,
And then I wonder where I would get the money.

I wanna go sailing on a yacht,
In the Mediterranean is what I’ve thought.

I wanna sky dive and drift freely,
I wanna do a bike wheelie.

I wanna explore the African wilderness,
The frigid Siberia and the Amazon forests.

I wanna go flying in a hot air balloon,
With the twinkling stars and a full moon.

I wanna relax on a hammock, under a tree
And enjoy the cool breeze blowing from the sea.

I wanna steal a rock of the Parthenon
I sure could be crazy, but am not a con.

I wanna feature on the cover of the Time
And then I’d wonder if that photo were mine.

I wanna jive to music that is live,
And I wanna learn, ’coz Latin dances are fun.

I wanna be wicked and I wanna grin,
And I wanna do a Calvin.

You friends are gems and I wanna thank,
Without you, o boy, my life would be blank.

And my loving family that makes me sail
Through thick and thin, else I’d fail.

It’s not the money if that’s what you think
Though, I wouldn’t mind some-wink wink wink.

I wanna live with hope, I wanna die in peace
I wanna drift in my dreams, where I’m at ease.

It is easier to dream than to see it get done
But, who knows; I could be the chosen one.

This ain’t no bucket list, if that’s what you thought
’Coz I keep wondering as to next is what.

All is certainly not well!

A couple of weeks ago, before moving to Singapore, a friend invited me over for lunch. It was during this time when some parts of Hyderabad were experiencing communal tension. Just to refresh your memory, it was the same time when Sania Mirza’s marriage was ‘breaking news’ on all the TV Channels. And considering that communal violence is commonplace in India, this bit was not all that ‘breaking’ for the news channels.

Post lunch, my friend dropped me at a place from where I took an auto for my journey back home. Call it destiny or something else; I got into an auto whose driver stayed in the old city-the part of the city which was impacted by the turbulence the most. He looked visibly disturbed. I happened to ask him the reason. I guess he wanted to vent out his frustration and helplessness to someone.

Incidentally, that someone was me. I hail from an infamous place-Ayodhya. Hence, I am not new to words like curfew and communal tension. But, in 1992 I was in class IVth. As a kid, all I cared about was that our schools used to shut down, quite often indefinitely, and we used to have a gala time at home. The reality that had not hit me then, hit me 18 years later.

The auto-driver told me that he could manage to take out his auto after 4 days when the police relaxed the curfew for a few hours. He and his family were surviving on his paltry savings for the initial two days and for the last two days his neighbours were helping him by offering some leftover food. But as the curfew intensified, even his neighbours started feeling the pinch. But for his children, he could have managed without food for some more days was what he said. He told me that he was happy to earn some money but on his way back he got delayed and missed the curfew deadline by 10 minutes. He was not allowed to go to his place. Even though he had toiled hard, he wasn’t sure if he could reach his family. Agony and frustration were rife in his voice.

We are all selfish and I think that is the core of human existence. That makes politicians and therefore the politics they practice selfish too. But, when our selfishness transcends all boundaries and everything boils down to vote bank politics, it takes draconian proportions and gets manifested in acts of communal violence, pro and anti reservation protests and not to miss our (in)famous ‘rail roko’ (stopping trains) or ‘chakka jam’ (road blockades) revolutions. It is neither you, who is reading this, nor me, who is writing this suffers. It is people like these auto drivers and their families who suffer. Till date, I have failed to understand how a ‘Hyderabad bandh’ will help the common man and make him want Telengana more. I have failed to understand how burning of trains, buses and other public property can bolster a cause when it is hampering the cause of the common man.

These were exactly the thoughts that crossed my mind while I was listening to him. These thoughts made me cringe then, they make me pensive now and I guess they will just lie in one remote corner of my mind after some time.

At the end of the trip, I tipped the guy 50 rupees. I do not support socialism and this act of mine should not be construed as one that supports it either. I wanted him to have hope because I guess he needed every bit of it that day. And I guess I did that sub-consciously, because I wanted to get over the guilt of being helpless in those circumstances.

Did someone say ,“All is well”?

Anything for Women Empowerment

There are few temptations that are irresistible. Since the entire country seems to be talking about women’s reservation bill, I couldn’t resist adding my 2 cents. First things first, let me say that I am happy that the women’s reservation bill got passed in the Rajya Sabha. There is a buzz everywhere and all the ‘breaking news’ on all the TV channels was that history was created. Though, I am not sure if that’s going to change things on the ground.

Probably I am naïve. Or, I could be a cynic. According to me the hullabaloo is not only premature; it is a result of ignorance. The reservation for women exists at the village level for more than 15 years now. However, I have not seen anything change significantly. Or, probably we all believe in incremental change or live with the hope that ‘the day is not far when…’. I still hear honour killings happening in parts of Haryana and Punjab. Eve teasing and rapes are endemic. What I fail to understand is how 200 women MPs can change the fate of half a billion people and make them empowered. And I fail to understand what is it that women chief ministers have done differently or significantly for the upliftment of women. And I, therefore, fail to see the causality between having more women in legislature and women upliftment.

Someone said-“Precaution is better than cure.” 62 years after independence, we have still not been able to think of preventive measures. What is most unfortunate is that there is still no uniform civil code. And the only way, it seems, that the politicians of this country can bring about reform in the civil society is through corrective measures like reservation.

Introducing corrective measures is still justified if the benefits pass on to the needy. I guess the governments over the years got tired of experimenting with the bottoms-up approach. Hence, this time they decided to follow the top-down approach. And now, I’m sure we’ll have a few more Mayawatis and Jayalalithas and Rabris and we’ll have a few more statues and parks built or someone else may hold the world record for owning the maximum number of slippers or someone may not only ruin the law and order of an entire state but the entire country. And who knows if we are unlucky and someone is really lucky, we may have all three ‘empowered scenarios’ being achieved by one person.

Anything for women empowerment…;-)

The Rickshaw, the road side chai, the roasted peanuts and the cool breeze…

Some people have been saying, off-late, that I am becoming very philosophical these days. I guess ‘becoming philosophical’ is the most abused word in social parlance. I wonder why people say so. According to me, our existence will come to an end if we stop being philosophical. Being philosophical is nothing but a way of life. Phew! That was heavy.

Let me continue with this ‘way of life’. 

The only thing that is constant is change. I think I was averse to change for quite some time. I guess it was sheer inertia, or, probably the lack of certain experiences that made me the way I am. I strongly feel that you cannot change your inherent nature. However, there can be a few tweaks to that inherent nature that can go a long way. And that is what I have been experiencing in the last 6 months or so. You, generally, need an incident or it may take more than one for you to realize that you have changed. I think everyone will agree with me that fog is a symbol of uncertainty. Well, not always. The fogginess of Jan 2010 helped me rediscover myself. Or, maybe, there is more to come. 

I had to make a hurricane trip to my home town, Faizabad. It is a small district in South East Uttar Pradesh. My ideal itinerary has been a flight to Delhi followed by an overnight train journey to Faizabad. This time my flight to Delhi was delayed. CAT III or no CAT III, the compliance needed for flights to fly during low visibility conditions, all the airlines were impacted. Cutting the long story short, I reached Delhi at 6 PM, instead of the scheduled 3:10 PM. And I had my connecting train at 7:20 PM. Someone who is aware of Delhi traffic would have guessd by now that by no stretch of imagination I would have been able to catch the train from the (in) famous Old Delhi Railway Station in one hour and twenty minutes. And if it sometime close to Jan 26th when most of the roads are blocked for routine rehearsals or for some ‘standard’ security reasons, then the odds become all the more. My cab driver suggested that instead of going to Old Delhi Railway I should try and take a Metro from Dwarka. I agreed. I did not have too many choices either. The first change was this. I have started accepting things, at least some of them, that are beyond my control-unlike old times when I would have cribbed and swore incessantly.

There is nothing worse than slow death- when you know that you are running against time and you know that you are not gonna win.. It would have been better if my flight had landed after 7. I would have checked my watch a hundred times in that 60 minutes run from Dwarka to Chandni Chowk. And then you hope against hope that a miracle will save you. But then I think I mentioned in my previous blogs that Murphy is my second name ;-)

I called a close friend of mine, Neeraj, so that he could check if the train had left. It was already 20 mins past the departure time. Neeraj told me that the train was cancelled. It did not come as a surprise. Or, I guess the realist was taking over the optimist in me. But hold on-not yet. Looking back, I think I was lucky to even reach Delhi under the prevailing circumstances. Neeraj checked online and told me that there were flight tickets available to Lucknow for the next day.

Here comes the part that I found most pleasing and under the circumstances most surprising too. Neeraj stays in Rohini and there is no direct Metro connection from Chandni Chowk. I had to go Kashmiri Gate to take the train. And that meant that I had to take a rickshaw or an auto to Kashmiri gate. It was a bit cold. So, before leaving Chandni Chowk, I decided to have a cup of road side ‘chai’ (tea). There is something about these road side ‘delicacies’ that continues to remain unparalleled. I am not a tea/ coffee addict. So, these rare caffeine moments are truly relished by me.

I decided to go for a rickshaw. And I am glad that I did that. It’s fun to ride a rickshaw once in a while. I had not had roasted peanuts in sometime. So, I decided to take some peanuts before getting on to the rickshaw. The manual labour aside, it was a fun ride. There was a nip in the air. I was savoring the peanuts. I wasn’t sure where to dispose off the peelings. The immediate second thought was “What the fuck”. And Delhi roads became a bit dirtier that they already were. I know I am writing at the cost of drawing wrath from some of my closest friends. But, I guess it’s good to be savage at times. 

You will definitely invite looks from the bystanders if you are even slightly out of place. I guess wearing a nice blazer and sitting on a rickshaw do not go hand in hand. And this was made every evident by almost everyone who saw me. The reason of those looks could be something else also-but I seriously doubt that. Again, being oblivious to such things is the mantra. We end up brooding about what the society will think…the list is endless. I think nobody gives a hoot and I think we should not give a damn either.

A simple road side chai on a cold winter morning, or the road side chaat in the evening, or an occasional beer with a close friend, or a long drive on a breezy evening, or reading a book over a cup of coffee, or the occasional rants of an idle mind in the blog, or the dhan-te-nan in a pub can make so much of a difference to our mundane lives.

I guess we look for that big happiness in life and in the process tend to miss out on those small pleasures. What we forget is that the total is the sum of its parts. 

Kite Flying leading to mental chumming

It was the day of Makar Sankranti. It is the harvest festival for South India. Honestly, I do know much about it beyond that. As a kid, Makar Sankranti was all about flying kites. One of my office friends, Vikram, invited us to his place for dine, wine and kite flying. 5 of us turned up. The weather was ideal for kite flying. A gentle and cool breeze, overcast conditions without any rain, loud peppy music on the roof top and Vikram and his family’s hospitality-could not have asked for more.

I do not remember when it was the last time I flew a kite. But, I do remember that it was never a lavish affair. The spool that I had as a kid (almost 15 years ago) was a result of many investments that I made with my pocket money back then. I remember the ‘manjha’-the thread that is used in front and used for cutting others’ kite, used to be bought for Rs.1 or 2. Unlike old days, Satish Anna (another colleague) and Vikram had made elaborate arrangements this time. Initially, I was not sure whether I should fly any kites. But, Satish Anna’s enthusiasm rubbed on to all of us. Though he was kept busy by his cute little 3 year-old daughter, Aarushi, and he could not take many turns at professional kite flying.

By the way, it was interesting for me to notice that even the manjha was ‘Made in China’. Dragonization I say. :-)

While we were busy flying kites, Niranjan, another friend, made an observation. He does not know how to fly a kite. He was busy doing what he enjoys most-sip his beer. I guess beer does this to you. You start mentally chumming and you tend to see the obvious, which otherwise had been overlooked or ignored for being so obvious. We started talking about society in India. And how some of the social norms get manifested in the way we fly kites. In India, kite flying is all about cutting others’ kites and ensuring that your kite is the only one that’s up there.

I do not know whether this emanates from the feudal culture of the society which is still seen in many parts of the country. Or, the spirit of competition is so ingrained in us that we can’t enjoy a simple fun activity by not being competitive. Or, is it the result of being highly territorial-trying to create a space for you among a billion others. Or, we simply derive pleasure from jeering at others. And what is most interesting is that even if you want to fly your kite ‘peacefully’, you will not be allowed to do so. It is really a jungle out there. We have to prove to ourselves and to others that we are omnipotent.

Of course there is a counter argument to this thought. People may feel otherwise-where there is no competition there is no fun. I think otherwise. There are still few things that can be done without any competition. It’s like playing a musical instrument where you often do not compete with others in a professional capacity. You just do it for unadulterated fun and at times for your peace.

I know that these are things that you learn in your childhood. They are strongly ingrained in all of us. How much ever we grow, after all, “Dil to Bacha Hai Jhi”

Whatever it is, it did make Niranjan and me think.

Stranger on the plane

Sometimes, no matter how much you wish, you never strike gold and sometimes, very rarely though, lady luck showers her blessings generously on you. Some of you would be thinking that I am going to talk about some other film star whom I happened to bump into. Well, not so lucky but not bad either.

I was flying from Singapore to New Delhi and further on my way to home. I was excited ‘coz one, I was away travelling on business for almost 6 weeks and two, I was visiting home and was also looking forward to attend one of my best friend’s wedding. I was allocated 48H (an aisle seat) and this lady was sitting on 47H-another aisle seat. Well, can’t help but remember the details. :) I thought even today I was not lucky enough to have some nice company for the next 6 hours. But this time, when the opportunity came, I grabbed it. ;-)

There was a couple which was allocated separate seats-one in the 48th row and one in the 47th row. Of course, they wanted to sit together so, they requested me if I could move to the middle seat in the 47th row-next to the lady. My first reaction was NO. I always prefer aisle seats in a flight, particularly long flights because it is easy for me to walk around and visit the rest rooms if required. But, then I gave it a second thought and I am glad that I did so. I agreed and decided to shift.

The initial exchange was- “Excuse me” and she was prompt to get up and let me settle down in my seat. I saw her reading a book. And so, I also decided to open mine, “New Paradigm for Financial Markets”. After 5 minutes, she happened to ask, “Is the book that you are reading interesting?” Honestly, for a split second I was not sure if it was the woman sitting next to me who was asking that question. I, like a seasoned reader replied, “It is too early to comment. However, the book is a unique amalgamation of philosophy and financial markets”. She appeared interested or at least so I would love to believe and the next 2-3 minutes went in discussing about the book.

I told her that I had always been curious about reading about the recent financial crisis and that was the reason why I picked this up. However, I accepted that I was a Human Resources guy and have limited knowledge of finance. There is an automatic interest created the moment I tell someone that I work at Google. I am not blowing my own trumpet here but, it is a fact. This, in most cases, wins some talking points further. So, we discussed about my work at Google and I told her that I was an HR Analyst. By this time I thought it was time to introduce myself and we shook hands.

Let me call her N.

The next thing she told me was that she was afraid of flying. I happened to remember that movie, where the actresses go crazy in the flight and she quickly chipped in that there was nothing to worry about. There would not be any drama. I must say that throughout the flight there were few things that were really odd about her, like just staring at the flight path and the map, but I must say that she did a fairly good job of not showing her uneasiness and she remained poised throughout the flight. In fact, if she had not confided in me, there was no way I could have sensed it. However, I would have definitely found someone just staring at the flight path during a six-hour long flight really strange.

She told me that she worked in a bank. For a moment I wondered why she did not share that piece of detail earlier. But one thing good was that she did not make me uncomfortable with her knowledge of finance by throwing jargon at me. Not sure if she was really interested in knowing about what I was reading or, she was too scared of flying and whatever I was saying was falling on deaf years. However, after the initial discussion on the subject of financial markets, we did not broach the subject later. There were more interesting areas to explore. ;-)

For the first 45 minutes or so, we discussed about our interests. She told me that she loved travelling and then added herself that I would find it strange ‘coz she was afraid of flying. I shared some of my experiences from the Leh trip and she talked about her holidaying in Paris with her husband. By this time, the flight attendants had started serving. I suggested that she have some wine just to cool down her nerves. She narrated an interesting incident to me.

She was flying within Europe. She had purchased a couple of wine bottles thinking that the airport security would allow them as part of the cabin baggage. They allowed only one. Well, our wine connoisseur did not waste any of it. She drank three-fourths of the bottle leaving only one-fourth to her husband. Her husband and she were allotted different seats. She was assigned a seat next to an old lady who did not understand English. If the wine had just cooled down her nerves, it would have been ok. It just went a step ahead. She dropped all her inhibitions and scared the shit out of the old lady by behaving weirdly. So much so that the old lady had to request for a change of seats.

I am glad that she did not drink any wine. :) All that she had was a couple of glasses of Diet Coke!

I could not help making fun of her being scared of flying. I know I am insensitive at times. Though, it was all meant in good humor. She, I guess behaved in a civilized manner for some time. And then she said-“You are a jerk”. This statement and adjective was used many a times during the remainder of the flight. There was one moment where I guess I annoyed her and she said “stop fingering me”. I could not help it. I started laughing. She said she meant it “literally”. She wanted to say “figuratively”. That slip of tongue made me laugh even more. And then the statement, “You are a jerk” was repeated many times.

We were chatting and she was describing to me the kind of person that she was. She said she was a minimalistic person. I was surprised. I happen to be a keen observer. When I heard her say that she was a minimalistic person, I said it didn’t appear like that as she was wearing solitaires in her ears. I guess I was honed in being more observant to what women wear when I was in TISS. My foundation was strong and I was groomed well. She said that she was impressed. I happened to ask her the brand of the clothes and the watch that she was wearing. Incidentally, all those items were from big designer houses. That just went on to prove how ‘minimalistic’ she was. By the end of this, she was looking for the right adjective to describe her.

We discussed a bit about our respective families and friends and it so happened that she too like me enjoyed the company of friends and family. She told me that she was a happy go lucky person. And she accepted what life had to offer to her. She, to my surprise had an arranged marriage. I was surprised because I have not known too many people from B-Schools these days having arranged marriages. We discussed about some crests and troughs in life and about our respective break-ups-in her case before her marriage. I told her that I had a break up recently and then she started telling me about her own story. I shared some of the parameters that I was looking for in a girl. She shared with me how priorities change after marriage. She gave me the example of how she had to leave her job where she was doing really well and she had to relocate. There was one thing that she said that caught my attention. And I subscribe to the line of thought. She said that as long as two people are ready to make a marriage work, they will make it work. It might sound simple, but sometimes, we tend to miss the most obvious and simple things in life.

We also talked about some of our basic instincts. I must say that she maintained her poise throughout the conversation where some women could have been uncomfortable. Though, she did ask me if I was always so direct in my dealings with people, especially women. My reply was in affirmative. I told her that I have come across people who appreciate it and there are a few with which this approach bombs.

I still wonder how two total strangers could be so comfortable with each other. Or, I guess that is what you call life. You keep wondering and then you wonder some more. I may not even meet her in the future. I do not even know what she thought of me. For all you know, I could have been a real jerk. But for me, I did not have the fear of being judged. I guess, it’s important to let off your guard once in a while. And now when I look back, I am glad I did it.

Robin Hood in the making!

How often have you tried your luck at archery? I guess apart from those few instances during our childhood of getting a make shift bow with a jute string and some arrows made of thick straw during Indian festivals like Dussera, I am sure you would not have had a chance to play Robin hood. I was lucky. Though, I could only manage to get a bow and a few arrows from the otherwise long list of paraphernalia that Hood otherwise carries.

I utilize my business trips to the US to the fullest. If last time it was skiing, this time it was archery. We, I and two of my colleagues, decided to go to the Golden Gate Park, San Francisco on one Saturday when I was in California. The day was breezy and there was a nip in the air. Honestly, I was not sure what to expect. Having said that, I am glad I went for it.

One of my colleagues had tried his hand at archery before. He was the one who recommended that we go for it. We were supposed to reach the park at 3:30 in the afternoon…but we got delayed and by the time we reached, dusk had set in. However, the moment we saw the lush green field, some 7-8 targets and some 15-20 people with their bows and arrows doing archery, we got really excited.

Our coach, a soft spoken, methodical and knowledgeable chap, scientifically explained the dos and the don’ts of archery, the position of the quiver, the placement of the arrow on the bow, the stretch of the string, the stance and the final release. He was observant and thorough to the extent that he noticed my slouchy posture and asked me to correct it.

We had a common target and we were placed a couple of meters from each other, forming a small arc. After 10-15 mins of briefing, he left us to be on our own and the next 45 mins were nothing short of thrilling. Each one of us took aim at the target by turn and at the end of 6 rounds, we used to measure the points. We played three rounds and my colleague, who was visiting from the UK was clearly the one who stood out amongst us. He was very consistent with his scoring pattern too. However, it was the third and final round where I showed promising signs too and in one case almost hit the bull’s eye, which is worth 10 points. (The narcissist in me could not help but write about this :))

I am sure Hood himself would have been proud of us if he had seen our efforts. The 25 dollars were well spent.

Consumer forums for Hopeless Movie-Making

My weekend started a bit early. I, with some of my colleagues, went to watch the movie “Dil Bole Hadippa”. Though I wasn’t expecting much from the movie anyway, half an hour into the movie and I realized that it was a criminal waste of time. Since it was a team outing, we decided to watch the movie till the end; also hoping that hopefully the movie would gain some steam only to realize later that we were flogging a dead horse.

I would say that I frequent the theatres. However, for some people coming to a theater becomes very difficult. For example, a senior colleague, who has a three-year old daughter came to the theater after a couple of months only to watch this idiotic portrayal of stereotypes-cricket and of course Sachin Tendulkar, a separated couple (which is not divorced and the constituents still feel and care for each other) that reunites in the end, India-Pakistan, Punjab and London (Bollywood knows only these two places) discrimination of women, and to top it all the pedagogic speech by the protagonist at the end of the movie. Mind you, all it takes for the separated couple is a win in a cricket match. And how could I forget the hero who, in spite of staying in London has all the Indian values, falls for a ‘gaon ki gori’.

While watching the movie, I was hoping that there should be a consumer forum for consumers like us to sue the makers of a film like this-who take the consumers for granted and abuse such an effective medium of entertainment. After all, a movie is a product and we are the consumers. I know it may be impossible for us to have guidelines for differentiating a good movie from a bad one. Nonetheless, we need to find ways by which idiocy and stereotypical portrayal do not become the virtue of film making ‘coz the box office verdict no longer seems to be a deterrent.

Ghastly…errrr…Ghostly Politics

Sometimes I wonder if our political system will ever evolve. Or, probably it has and I have failed to acknowledge that.

What frustrates me the most is the adeptness of our political system to dig old graves. I’m sure you would all read or at least heard about Arabian Nights at some point of time in your life. I’m not sure if it is universally true but as far as I remember the genies in Arabian Nights are ‘good’ genies. In Urdu language, a genie is known as ‘Jinn’. What is unfortunate is that even after 62 years of partition, we still see the ‘Jinn-ah’ effect.

What I do not understand is the fact that RSS still talks about “Akhanda Bharat” (Unified India). Why talk about unified India when having a failed state like Pakistan is like having NPAs on your balance sheet? Whether Jinnah was a nice person is not the point that I am discussing here. Honestly, I do not care. What is most unfortunate is that the ‘Jinn-ah’ effect’ continues to haunt the largest opposition party to the extent that it has become a matter of ‘chinta’ (worry) and the party is still busy with their ‘chintan’ (brainstorming).

Even before the furor caused by Jinn-aah had hardly subsided, we had the ghosts from Kandahar resurface to haunt the nation in general and the BJP in specific. What difference does it make NOW whether Mr. Advani knew about Mr. Jaswant Singh being sent to Kandahar? To top it all, the Congress, whose regime had seen the most spineless Home Minister (Mr. Patil) the country has seen till date, is asking Mr. Advani to apologize for misleading the nation. Wonder what Mr. Abhishek Manu Singhavi meant when he was referring to ‘misleading the nation’.

There have been multi-crore scams. But, the Bofors issue (a paltry 65 crore defense deal) gained maximum steam. And even after numerous years from the time it first surfaced, it has been discussed on and off.

It has been 10 years since the Pokran II tests happened. As an Indian I am keen to know whether they were successful. But, why discuss the success or failure of the tests now? Why is a scientist declaring it now that they were partially successful? The only silver lining in the entire episode was the PM putting to rest all such rumors and showing complete faith in the declaration by Dr. Kalam and Dr. Kakodkar.

Did someone say we were progressive? ;-)

Media Menace

“Thousand deaths are statistics, one death is a tragedy.” I was having a discussion with one of my friends when he said this. Indeed; so true.

I do not surf through many news channels. Hence, my observations may not be universally true. One such evening, while working out in the gym, I was watching the 8 PM news on the English news channel that I follow. The flash news was the unfortunate death of a 14-year old student in Pune who was diagnosed pretty late of Swine Flu. My deepest and most sincere condolences go to the family of the girl and her close ones. However, the news did not warrant capturing the entire 30 minutes. The channel went on dissecting that news item-“what was the name of the school”?, “Have other classmates been quarantined?”, “Was it a case of negligence?”, “What will you do now?”. It just went on.

More so, the coverage or should I say the ‘report from ground zero’ is meant to sensationalize these news items. The falling of a child in a bore well becomes the top news story. I am sure there were many people dying of hunger. I am sure there were many committing suicide owing to drought. I am sure infant mortality rate is still a cause of concern. I am sure that mothers are dying while giving birth due to inadequate medical facilities. But, how often do you see these things making to the top of the news? Or, guess what? These have become commonplace and hence, these are not news items anymore.

Not long before, the Aarushi murder case became a piece of entertainment for the news channels. So many theories evolved. Psychologists were consulted. “Was it ‘honor killing’?”, “Did it have something to do with teenage infatuation?” For heaven’s sake, a young girl had been killed. The least that could have been done was leave the family in peace and not come up with baseless motives for the murder. But, these interpretations did achieve what they were intended to -the TRPs had shot through the roof.

Amidst the vivid portrayal of human opportunism and (later) guilt, Kirk Douglas, in his masterpiece Ace in the Hole, said something which caught my attention-Bad News sells best. Coz good news is no news. Today, I see the opportunism. But sadly, I do not see the guilt.

Ladakh-A travelogue

My most interesting holidays have been with two of my friends-incidentally both of them share their Zodiac signs (Capricorn) and their names begin with V-Vijay (aka Vj, aka Chow) and Vishal (aka VD, aka V, aka Nautanki). They have a couple of more things in common but, I would not discuss those.

While Chow and I had planned to go to Leh along with the larger B-Group (you will read more about this group in possibly some of my subsequent blogs), this plan fell flat unlike many others that we had successfully planned. The die hard in me decided to still go for it. And I happened to discuss the plan with Vishal, Maggi and Vineet. Initially all 3 seemed to be pretty excited about it. But then owing to some pressing personal issues, it boiled to just Vishal and myself. I decided to go for it because somehow I was not sure when would be the next time that I would be able to take out time. I was so grossly wrong. The moment I saw the place, I decided to come to this place at least once a year. Did I hear that deserts are not beautiful?

As always happens with most of my holidays, I took the lead in planning for this one. And Vishal, as usual, was happy to let me do so. Probably the STJ (Human Resources folks with some knowledge of Meyer Briggs Inventory would be able to related to this) in me does this always-but my friends do not seem to complain (or so I would assume) J While I would have definitely loved to go with a larger group, I must admit that the two of us together enjoyed for the rest of us too.

Initially, the trip was planned for 3 days. But from what I heard from all the folks who had been to Leh, it seemed too less. And they were right. So, I planned for 4 days and 3 nights. And still wish if I could have managed a few days more!

Comes 22^nd of July and after a hectic day’s work I was thrilled to take the flight to Delhi. Mr. Naresh Goyal did not play spoil sport and so I landed in Delhi with just (I am sure all my Indian friends will be happy to hear that) a 15-minute delay. I reached Vishal’s place around 11:30 PM and after a couple of hours of catching up, I dozed off only to get up at 4:15 AM to catch the morning flight to Leh.

Vishal, as usual, made fun of my sleeping early. And it did not come as a surprise when I had to kick him to make him get up in the morning. I had web-checked in the previous evening (courtesy my meticulous planning ;-)). So, we were relaxed. We reached the airport well in time and without any significant happenings reached Leh. Dr. Mallaya did not play spoil sport either. I was surprised to see so many foreigners in the plane. But I could figure out the reason during my stay at Leh. (I would broach this subject later)

Day 1-July 23

Planning fails or is sometimes inadequate-as it was in my case. No one had suggested that I should go for a window seat to catch a glimpse of the snow-clad peaks, the green patches in the middle of the brown barren mountains and the beautiful brooks flowing through them here and there. I have come to increasingly believe in the blessedness of Indians-and thanks to that I could manage to peep through the window and catch the breath-taking view by slightly pushing the passenger on the window seat.

I have increasingly come to enjoy the barren beauty of nature-glimpses of which you see in Arizona and Utah. But Leh beats everything that I had ever seen. There was a whiff of fresh air the moment we stepped out-or so I thought. The breeze was cool. After collecting our baggage we found the cab guy, who was sent by our guest house, the moment we stepped out. After a 15 minute ride through the city, we reached our guest house-Padma.

I was initially let down when we had to walk roughly 100m from the main road to reach this guest house. But the moment I saw the rooms, the kitchen garden and the roof top restaurant, I had no reason to remain grumpy. Do not go by the name. The guest house offers a unique amalgamation of Ladakhi hospitality, modern amenities (in a place like Leh) like hot water, 24 hours power supply and the rustic Ladakhi touch. I guess that was the reason why we had more foreigners than Indians in that place. It offered an ideal place to relax and unwind in the lap of Mother Nature.

Vishal and I immediately hit the roof top restaurant. They were playing some soothing music that just set the right tone to our holiday. We were having some Ladakhi bread when I see this beautiful damsel enter the restaurant. For those who know me well, my lady luck hasn’t been very strong. I don’t know whether it was mine or Vishal’s luck that she at the table next to ours. Her looks definitely weren’t Indian. And the sheen on her face was no less than that of freshly fallen snow. Vishal and I did exchange a few glances and both of us did steal some glimpses of her as she sat next to us. She was later joined by another lady who was not as ravishing as the former-but nonetheless very interesting-as we later found out. J

I will visit this chapter subsequently.

After having b’fast we were advised to rest and rightly so. We slept for almost 3 hours. The altitude sickness can be very taxing. And we got a hint of it when we got up. We did not tax ourselves that day and had a relaxed lunch. We decided to take a local trip and checkout some local places in Leh.

Usually I do crib about exorbitantly high fares. However, and much to my surprise, I did not crib even once during the trip. We checked out the Shanti Stupa first. And as the name goes, there was tranquility and silence all around. Even the white color of the Stupa looked like it conveyed the message of peace. We had to capture every moment and we kicked off clicking the first set of photos.

Post that, we went to a monastery. We did not go inside. Somehow we were too overwhelmed with the scenery. The only sound that we could hear was the wind whistling past our ears. We ensured that we did not compromise on the style quotient (whatever limited I had and the abundantly gifted Mr. V had) and ensured that we clicked all possible poses (profiles, front views) and moods (pensive, joyous, relaxed etc.)

Then we went to the Leh Palace. Let me be honest-it did not appeal to me much. But it did give V and I an opportunity to get pics with the Ladakhi kids. Not sure why-but they seemed to be more loving to me than they were to V. And credit goes to V for clicking me with some happy kids. V did try a couple of times but I guess he could not win the love of those kids-Bad luck V.

Our final stop that day was the Hall of fame-a museum of sorts dedicated to the martyrs of the armed forces. It was at a nice serene place. We sat there for some more time and then left for our guest house. Somehow we were not keen to go back to the room. So, we thought we would go for an early dinner and go to bed. The next day we were scheduled to leave for Pangong-the famous lake.

While we were sitting in the roof top restaurant, Miss G (for the sake of privacy) entered. She was alone this time. Though she looked at us, she did not bless us this time by sitting at the table close to us. My intelligent mind was cooking up something. I thought since she too was accompanied by one person, I should check with her if she and her friend were interested in going to Pangong with us. It would have reduced the taxi cost by half and more importantly gives us some ‘cool’ company.

Somehow, V was not keen to take the lead. He preferred to be the silent spectator this time. So I had to do this. I was not sure how to strike a conversation and that too with a beautiful stranger. But I did. And looking back I think I was not too bad. J At least that is what I would love to believe.

Mo: “Hey! I am Mohit”

G: “Hi!: I am “G”

She said something which was difficult to comprehend. Later V addressed her as “Chisel”-not sure what he meant but I guess he was referring to her sharp looks and ‘chiseled’ body! ;-)

Mo: “Where are you from?”

G: “Brazil”

I was like WOW!

Mo: Hey! We are going to Pangong tomorrow. I was wondering if you guys would be keen to join us”

G: “I will have to check with my friend”

Mo: “Sure. We will wait here.”

We shook hands. And Vishal later told me that I did not let her hand go for some time. Honestly, I lost track of time. ;-)

Vishal was very happy with the ice breaker. And so was I.

We waited for 5 mins and then she came.

I’m sure our eyes were gleaming with anticipation.

Then Murphy struck.

G: “My friend is unwell and she is not sure if she would be in a condition to travel tomorrow.”

Mo: “No probs. We will leave at 8 AM tomorrow. If she feels better, you guys are welcome to join us.”

Pleasantries were exchanged and we ended the day.

Day 2-July 24

The next morning we waited with the hope that these people would turn up. But unfortunately, it didn’t happen. We began at 7:30 AM. We had a Scorpio and our driver’s name was Dava (means medicine in Urdu). The initial stretch of the road to Pangong was nice (for a road in the hilly region). However, as we neared Chung La (the third highest motorable road in the world), we were given a good body massage-to the extent that every muscle and joint hurt.

We stopped at Police Check posts for permit submission. We tried to capture everything--Yaks, the numerous beautiful brooks of gushing water and even while I was leaving my ‘footprints’ at 3,500 m above sea level. ;-). Almost 4 kms before the actual point, we got a glimpse of the Pangong Lake.

The blue water, locked between the brown, dull mountains, was clearly visible. The sky, filled with white clouds, added to the scenery.

There was a point where we actually had to cross a brook to reach the lake-pure adrenaline rush. This was the last of the hurdles.

We reached. The silence was all encompassing-apart from the occasional cheering from people who were probably awed by the beauty of the lake. I guess Lord Buddha did not know of this lake. Else, he would have come to Pangong to attain Nirvana. V and I had the first mover’s advantage. But I guess none of us were in a mood to give up worldly pleasures yet.

We went berserk clicking pics. V went a step ahead and climbed on the Scorpio. I could not resist the temptation either. While the two monkeys were busy trying these acrobatics, rain god decided to cut our adventure short.

We had hardly spent time when the driver said that it was time to leave. Reason-the brook that we had crossed gets more water as the day progresses owing to the melting of snow. Hence, we had to cross it before it became any more ominous. We did not have a choice.

The rest of the journey was uneventful. By the time we reached our guest house, almost 9 hours of travelling on the hilly terrain had done us in. V, the way he normally does on a holiday, crashed on the bed complaining of fever and body ache. I knew this time he was not pretending. Even I was quite tired. So, we decided to have a painkiller before it got any worse. Within half an hour, he was perfect and then both of us went to the cafeteria hoping that we would bump into G & M. We realized that they were just the opposite of GM (General Motors)-very vibrant.

We did not have much to do. So, we decided to listen to some songs on my laptop. Sitting in the roof top cafeteria, sipping ginger, honey and lemon tea, listening to music and feeling the cool breeze-it was a romantic evening. Only that V and I were stuck with each other.

God is kind. Within 30 mins of our sitting there, the ladies came. They sat on another table and G said hi to us. We had a brief conversation and then V and I asked them if they wanted to join us. They promptly obliged and came and sat in front of us. I had not got a hang of G’s name. So, I checked with her again. And I even requested her to spell it for me. She did. That helped.

We checked if M was feeling well. She definitely seemed a lot better. They told us that they did not go to Pangong but went to a nearby place.

Murphy struck again.

They told us that they would be going to Pangong the next day. That meant that there was no point asking them to come with us to Nubra Valley the next day. L

Some general yapping followed after that. M and V discussed about Thailand airport, beaches in Philippines and G and I contributed where ever we could. Vishal was clearly more talkative this time. I can never forget how he referred to G. He called her ‘Chisel’ -guess V’s way of showing his endearment for her. ;-).

We wished each other Good night and went to our respective rooms. The 9-hour travel did show its effect and within 10 minutes we were fast asleep only to get up at 6:30 AM the next morning.

Day 3-July 25

I got up at my usual time-6:30. And Vishal as usual was got up 30 mins later. And as usual, we exchanged ‘pleasantries’ while waking him up. By 8 we were ready for b’fast. Guess the roof top restaurant had become our favorite place in Leh-for obvious reasons.

Our timings used to match-or so I would want to assume. This time they joined us at the table without any invitation. I told them that I had written a CD of some songs to play during our trip to Nubra Valley. I offered if they wanted a similar one burnt too. They were more than excited. I was again pleasantly surprised when I got to hear about their love for Hindi songs. G knew some Hindi words (from her stay in Mumbai for the last 5-6 months) and in her Latin accent she said that she listened to Hindi songs “Thoda Thoda”.

G was taking V’s trip by noticing that he was late for b’fast as usual. I could see V was enjoying it. We finished our b’fast and I offered to have dinner together the day after on our return. They gladly agreed.

We started for Nubra at 8:30 AM in a new Scorpio, a new driver and Girmit-our new driver. We immediately started climbing the heights as we were headed for Khardung-La-the highest motorable road. Almost after an hour of our starting from Leh, it started drizzling. And by the time we reached Khardung La, it was snowing. The weather was so bad that we could not even step out to capture the milestone of reaching the highest motorable road.

Amidst all this our driver asked-“Sir, when is your flight?” We said-“Monday”. The problem was that if it would continue to snow, the Army would lose the road. And on Monday, no traffic is allowed on this road. This meant that we would not return to Leh before Tuesday. That was not an option.

After crossing Kardung-La, we stopped at a police check post. The driver suggested that we talk to the policeman there to see if he had any weather forecasts. He had none-not surprising 'coz Indian Meteorological Dept. is so efficient ;-). Neither did he tell us what would be a good thing to do. So, finally the driver called up our Guest House owner in Leh and explained the situation to him. The guest house owner told us not to bother and carry on with our plans. We realized it later what would we have missed if we had turned back mid way.

We halted at a place called Khalsar for lunch. On our way to Hunder, we stopped to take some cool snaps. I must admit that Vishal does come up with some bright ideas. And he did take some cool pics. Unfortunately, I could not reciprocate the favour in absolute totality! ;-)

We crossed Diskit and finally reached Hunder. Hunder is a small village with substantial army presence. It does provide one with an opportunity to try some amazing treks. We decided to rest for a while. We checked into this place called Snow Leopard Guest House. This too had a nice garden and a comfortable room. After resting for an hour, we decided to go to a Gompa, which was 2 kms away from the village. The Gompa was a small one and was built on a small hill. That gave us an opportunity to hike-though I must admit that owing to the reduced oxygen levels at that altitude, even walking 200 m made us pant.

The view from the top of the Gompa was nothing short of stunning. The green village was surrounded by brown mountains and to top it all, white clouds. Small and big brooks, resembling white arteries flowed through the village. At a distance we could see sand dunes. It looked as if nature had gotten its act together to create a spectacle.

After returning from the hill top, we went to the sand dunes. Hunder is known to offer camel rides. What is special is that these camels are double-humped camels. We thought that we would go for a ride. Instead, we decided to stroll through the plain area. It was overcast and very breezy. Vishal tried some poses. I clicked those. But, they did not turn out to be well. And he blamed me for not taking nice pics of his. Even in a place like Hunder, he did not introspect. ;-)

After the sand dunes, we decided to go back to the guest house. We rested for a while and then ventured to have some snacks in the evening. We went to another guest house which was further into the woods and spent some time eating and appreciating one particular foreigner lady. That did not go anywhere. We decided to then take a stroll in the village.

Suddenly Vishal wanted to do an Abhishek Bachchan-the act in the Idea cellular advertisement. I must say he did a fairly good job of it, though I could only capture it on camera after at least 10 attempts. He was visibly panting after the ‘act’.

We just continued to walk into the village. We captured almost everything in our camera. It had started drizzling by now. We were not sure if we should return to our guest house. But this time, rain god did not cut our adventure short. We noticed that we had two rainbows in the sky. I hadn’t seen two rainbows simultaneously. It was a beautiful sight. The evening hues, the clouds and the mountains in the backdrop-everything added to the splendor. At the cost of being melodramatic, I am saying this-I do not know how heaven looks like. But I am sure it would not be substantially different.

While we were strolling in the streets, we came across a place where we saw quite a few tents. Out of curiosity, we went to check with the caretaker. He showed us one tent and we immediately decided that we had to experience staying in a tent.

Though I had stayed in a tent/ tent house in Yosemite (US), Vishal did not have any prior experience. We decided that we will move into this tent even if we had to pay for the room that we had taken in the other guest house. We did the right thing.

We moved into the new place and immediately hit the bed as were tired after the hike and the stroll. The tent had basic necessities. Initially, we were afraid that it could be cold in there. But, soon we realized that it was very cozy. To add to the effect, we had a brook of gushing water flowing just next to our tent. We actually did not realize the beauty of the place where we were staying till next day morning.

The care taker of the place, Rahul, seemed to be a friendly young guy. He was from Bhopal and had an interesting itinerary. He used to live in Goa for most part of the year and during the off-season in Goa, used to be in Leh and adjoining areas. He was, for sure, a good host. W

We had dinner in the same place and Vishal was predicable by skipping it. Reason-he had a heavy supper.

Day 4-July 26

The next morning I got up first. Nothing new. It was 6:30 AM. The place had sharing toilets. So, I did the routine chores and then woke up Vishal. Vishal also got ready soon. I am sure he was anxious to get back. Considering that I am the writer of this travelogue, I can take the liberty of using someone else’s shoulder to shoot the gun! ;-)

There was a nip in the air. The sun was warm-though not hot. The mountain in the backdrop stood tall. We took individual snaps. And then, requested Rahul to take a couple of our pics together. Those moments were rare throughout the trip. We did not ever get tired of posing. And I must admit that Vishal was the more innovative of the two of us.

Meanwhile, there was a couple (a German man and a South Korean woman), which was keen to get a hike to Leh. We did not see a problem with that. Hence, the couple and V hopped into the back seat and I hopped next to the driver. Vishal was undoubtedly more courteous of the two of us. He was often striking conversation with them. I was somehow lost in admiring the beauty of the place-occasionally chipping in.

We stopped at a place 20 kms from Hunder. The place was a sea of sand with not a soul around. There were mountains at a distance. I had never seen anything like this before. And neither had Vishal. We had to do the customary-click snaps. J We continued further.

The day was beautiful and pleasant-a complete contrast to the day before. Then I realized how soon weather changed in the hills. Temperature fluctuates to the tune of 20 degrees. We had not had b’fast. So, we halted at Khardung-a village 13 kms before Khardung La.

Khardung is a beautiful place. The mustard fields added to its beauty. We took a good 30 mins long break. The air was fresh. We just strolled for some time. We had Maggi noodles and our co-passengers had tea. We also clicked some snaps with our co-passengers, our driver and an aged Ladakhi woman who had joined us at the table. She was showering blessings on our female co-passenger. Hence, we also included her to the ‘photo-shoot’.
Khardung also offers amazing views and some breathtaking treks. If we had got some more time on hand, we would have stayed for sure and explored.

Our next stop was just before Khardung-La- the highest motorable pass. There was an army trucks convoy passing. Hence, we had to stop-just half a km before the pass. Vishal immediately grabbed the opportunity and dashed for a snap to be taken with snow in the background. Even during peak summer season, there was snow all over. We were savoring every bit of it.

After 5 mins of halt, we started again. We reached Khardung La. There was visibly a lot of crowd. We had to take pics of this important moment. So, we spent 15 minutes taking pics and admiring the beauty of the valley below.

This time when we started, we stopped only in Leh. It was 1 PM. We dropped the couple and then headed for our hotel. The owner was smart. He had made us vacate (that made us save one day rent) and also helped him accommodate another guest. This time we were given a room on the ground floor, next to the kitchen garden. Meanwhile, Vishal told me that our friends were not back from Pangong. He had checked the place where the keys are put. Smart! Though, we realized later that their room too had been shifted.

There is one thing about Vishal that is admirable. He treats a holiday like a holiday. So, he was lazy for some time. And when I asked him to give me company for lunch, he said he would join me. I had a hunch that he would sleep off. Lunch was uneventful and I had it alone. Vishal did not turn up. When I entered our room, Vishal was fast asleep-as I had predicted.

Somehow, I tend not to sleep during the day when I am on a holiday. I dunno why. I guess the idea is to enjoy every moment, or so, I would assume. So, I picked up my book, on a Sudanese refugee (not the ideal read for the surrounding), and sat outside on the chairs, next to the kitchen garden. I lost track of time.

Suddenly I found G and M walking down the road next to the kitchen garden. We exchanged pleasantries. I was surprised to see them-as their previous room was locked. They told me that their room had been shifted. When I checked with them how come they were back so early, G told me that she was unwell and hence they had to return early. M added that it was G’s turn to fall sick.

When I asked them where they were headed for, G said that they were going to have ice cream. She asked me to join them. But Vishal was asleep. (That ass!-to which he himself admittedJ)Like a faithful friend, I declined the offer. However, we agreed to meet for dinner.

Vishal got up around 4:30 PM and when I told him about the ‘ice cream encounter’, he was upset. So, we ventured into the city hoping to ‘accidentally’ bump into them and have ice cream too. We ambled in the Main Bazaar for some time. The place was full of foreigners. This place, in fact, had more foreigners as a percentage of total tourists that I had ever seen (even more than Goa and Manali)-more the merrier ;-). By this time, Vishal started feeling hungry. So, we went to a roof top restaurant. The place was again full of foreigners-most of them enjoying beer and smoking leisurely.

Vishal ordered for some stuff. The place was nice. There was a slight breeze-cool and pleasant. The yellowish brown mountains were at a distance. The sky was clear with scanty presence of some white clouds. Vishal had most of the stuff and I gave him some company. We both were full. We would have liked to sit there for some more time, but owing to the constant inflow of customers, we thought it would be good to leave.

We strolled for some more time and then decided to go back to the hotel. After reaching the hotel, we settled the bill. Vishal was thrilled to check out the pics that we had clicked throughout the last day. After some time, we went upstairs to the restaurant to wait for G & M for dinner. We were stuffed. But who wanted to have dinner? ;-)

This time Murphy did not strike. J

They showed up and we had a long dinner. Since both of us were full, we decided to have just some milk shakes. They were keen to see the pictures that we had clicked. So, we showed them. They made fun of the various poses that we had struck during the day. I’m sure we gave G a run for her money J. Till the time G pointed out, I had not noticed that most of my pics had my left profile. Well, well, well…quite observant I must say. Or probably, her modeling career had taught her to observe such things. They made fun of us, for the numerous poses that we had struck, to the extent that M said that they were going for rafting the next day and they were going to try out the poses that we had struck.

They narrated a sad incident where the Indian army had harassed them at Pangong. Ladakh, being in the inner line of control, has a lot of army presence. It was unfortunate and more so because such incidents leave a lasting impression on the minds of tourists-particularly foreign tourists. I have the utmost respect for our Army and particularly those who live in inhuman conditions. However, this did not sink in well with us.

We apologized for it.

Then it was out turn to check out their snaps. They had clicked some awesome pics. But, most of their pics were did not have people. I can safely say that they belonged to the modeling world but we were the ones who had posed better. Or, they could have been sick of the camera for it forms their bread and butter.

They had gone to the magnetic mountain too, which we had unfortunately missed.

There was one interesting pose that G had struck in those pics. It was called the Brazilian pose. She explained-“You need to suck in your cheeks, pout your lips and put your index finger on the lips.”

We did not realize that our yapping continued for almost one and a half hours. We requested if we could take some pics. They gladly agreed though requested us that the pics not be shared publicly (only ‘private consumption’)

I must admit that Vishal is a bigger ‘nautanki’ (for folks who do not understand this colloquial term, the closest that I can get to would be melodrama) or sport between the two of us. He was clearly game to try this.

G got excited to see this. She immediately jumped from her chair and was keen on teaching Vishal the right pose. Vishal, like an obedient pupil, learnt well. I must say that he may not stand a chance in the Indian modeling industry; he sure does in the Brazilian space! ;-). I did click a nice pic of Vishal with the pout and the finger and the cheeks sucked in! There was one that I tried too where you need to stand and then arch backwards-though it was not close to exciting!

The evening came to an end with the exchange of our business cards. We could have sat for some more time. But they said that since we had a morning flight the next day, they should not hold us back.

We hugged and said good bye!

Day 5-July 27

We reached Delhi the next day. The weather was hot and humid-in complete contrast to the cool, nippy, pleasant weather of Leh. And I continued to wonder about two things-why are good things so short-lived?

And secondly, when will I get to be taught the Brazilian pose! ;-)