Gloomy & Depressing...

Yesterday was such a miserably Bad Day. And it couldn’t get any worse. Woke up in the morning with a miserable chest & back ache. There is this peculiar habit of my folks, to remember the work to be done at the very moment when you are just about to leave the house. And that brings nothing but chaos. The moment I left the house, started the Day by missing the Bus and had to take the Rickshaw for the umpteenth time this month. And everything that could go wrong went wrong. Murphy’s Law at its very best.

The rickshaw guy was an absolute moron. Someone whom I had encountered earlier as well. One of those typical ‘Peeping Tom’ drivers, who have to peek in every rickshaw at the sight of female flesh. The last time he happened to notice a tattoo on someone’s leg. Now it was one beautifully designed Tattoo. This bugger had the enlightened brain to ask me,”Don’t you think people can have tattoos on any part of their body?” “Err…what??” I mumbled. He went on to describe how one’s private parts could also be tattooed. I nodded in agreement, though I noticed his eyes were still on the lady’s legs. I sighed and said,” Yeah, what’s the problem with that? It’s their body. Who are we to comment?” Our bugger seemed not to agree. Kept saying how western values have invaded our culture. What the hell!!! I thought. Just decided to keep mum, nevertheless. No point in arguing with a pea brain. And now of all the drivers in the world, this same driver meets me again. Alas! My fate, I thought. The Traffic snarl was huge as usual. Started from the T- junction at the Highway and stretched a good 2 miles ahead. But the bugger made it worse taking all the unnecessary turns and allowing the others to overtake him. In the bargain, my one way trip cost me Rs. 110. Shit!!! I was supposed to be managing my Budgets. Worse still, I reached office a good 15 minutes late. The weather is kind of gloomy these days and it rains off and on. It makes the surroundings quite unhealthy. And the chest ache now deteriorated further. The afternoon lunch didn’t help either ways. Had some pods for Lunch. (Where did the Greens disappear???). Headache turned worse and a meeting went slightly haywire. But the worst was yet to come. Evening arrived and I moved out of office. Buses were packed to the core. And no rickshaw was willing to go towards Home. And I stood waiting for a rickshaw for a good hour and a half. Really didn’t have the strength to board a Bus either. Finally, even after I got into one, it took another hour and a half to reach home. Went to the ATM to withdraw some cash, and the machine stopped working. Went home to check my Account Status and found that the Loan department has debited my account for the same month twice. And it’s the second time in a row that it happened. What misery!!! And those buggers are still digging up the Powai Road. One only wonders if they are digging for Oil or Gold.

Just fell on the couch in the evening and had a quiet meal, which made me feel a little better. Now, the weekend has dawned. And finally I have some time to myself. Or so I think.

Hope...

Now, after immense criticism of the usage for the 'Wet Shoes' remark in the previous posts, I have decided to keep similar retorts restricted. Only till the end of this post though, since it is NOT a 'Maut ka Saudagar' or a 'Budhiya/Gudiya' comment. Those who follow Indian politics will realize the context of my retorts. For the rest, just relax...Carry on Reading...

Just happened to visit the Taj Palace Heritage Hotel at Colaba, this morning. Yes, this is the same one which was attacked by the terrorists. Well, nothing dramatic. Just went there for a client meeting. The guy was French. Considering my general aversion to the French people, this guy seemed better, at least comparatively. The Taj Hotel does look like a battered soldier, nursing his wounds. The Wasabi restaurant and quite a few of the suites and rooms are under major renovation and getting a facelift as well. The Dome however is still intact, although there are renovations happening at every corner. It is however, hard to believe that this was the site which was the centre of Global Attention, where scores of Foreigners and Indians were brutally gunned down as well as the incessant grenade attacks which took place here. Its now silent & peaceful as if the guns are fallen after the war. One can never take away those visuals we saw on the night of 26th November 2008 and the following drama thereafter. It still amazes me how vulnerable we really are in the face of Life today. I'm sure nobody in the Hotel enjoying their Business Discourses or spending that moment taking in the heritage of the hotel would have dreamt of such a wildly, gruesome night. I can still vividly remember watching the whole action on the TV till late in the night. And then began the final siege and slow and painful resurgence to normalcy. No evident sign of the carnage on the outside as of today. For an outsider who hasn’t seen the Taj before, it may seem as if there is some random renovation going on. One can only see closed up windows, undergoing renovation. It will be a while before the slow limp back to Life resumes for the Taj. The Reception staff is ever so courteous and nice. Pretty ladies with their glossy lips greet you a nice warm 'Good Morning'. Well, what more can one want on a rainy day? Jokes apart, foreigners seem relaxed and overall the entire place seems really safe and secure now. Bags are checked very thoroughly and security is really tight now. There is Hope….and it shows in the smiles of the hotel staff.

Strange how uncertain life has become and how helpless we seem to be. Gone are the days when one could go to VT for shopping without fear. We blame things, circumstances and people. Seems like, Life is getting worse day by Day. Helpless, in spite of the gizmos and the Technology around you. We may have the Best of things to make us feel secure. But one can never be too sure...So, do what we always do. Enjoy every bit of Life while it lasts. Kaliyug - they call it. Maybe, but do what little you can to overcome it. With a little more zest and spirit. If you feel like hugging someone, do it. It may be a friend, colleague or someone you just enjoyed being with. No sexual overtones here, it’s just plain, without any logic. And good vibes don’t need any logic anyways. No matter what one does, once this moment in Time is lost, it can never return, no matter how much you cry for it or how much you pay for it. For once, try living for others, not just oneself. Be good and it will feel good to be good. Have a purpose. If you don’t, well don’t bother too much. Sooner or later, you will realize one. To quote the Bible, there are 3 things that are always constant in this world – Faith, Hope and Love. And of all these, the greatest one is Love. So, Live it to the fullest, because life's too short to think twice...Cheers!!!

Of Budgets, Houses and Nomenclature

Budgetary blues took centre stage as the week started with a bang. Markets have reacted obnoxiously as expected, considering the fact that it is not really an Industry-oriented budget. Anything that doesn’t fall as per expectations is best ignored or debunked. Just goes on to show the level of desperation these days. Its evident everywhere. Right from the morning preference for Breakfast, to your leg space n the bus and finally your expectations from the budget. Meanwhile the TV channels and Newspapers are all going gaga over the Budget. Analyzing, Cross Analyzing and predicting its effects and repercussions. Let’s move away from all that for the time being. Meanwhile I did a very good thing yesterday. In the spirit of the Budget, I prepared my own Budget, monthly and annually. Now this should help me trace my own Spending (Ever Increasing...) and Savings (if there is any....) Now, how prudent would I remain to my Budget...Time will tell.

There is a New controversy which has begun. After whom should we name a Bridge in the City? I mean what the hell? Why do you want to name it after ‘Someone’? Is it really important that a bridge deserves a baptism and some people who are not even remotely connected with the Bridge get due credit for the same? What a Travesty!!! As if, naming it would reduce the Traffic. Anyways, if one names the Bridge after Count Dracula, you would still have enough traffic regardless. The Dracula would not arise from the Ashes to guard the Bridge or scare off Traffic. Give it a Break. Let Dead Souls Rest in Peace!!!

Started following the Ashes. I’m solidly defending England this time around. It’s always fun to see the weaker side to give the Champions a run for their money. In this case, it’s the Ashes.

Rains don’t leave my Sneakers alone. My Woodland sneakers have already started looking like a pair of Wet Cardboard shoes, and my Black Leather Shoes are so soft I far they will dissolve. Now that would be a serious Loss :(

The city is pouring with rain, yet the BMC says there isn’t any water. Apparently it’s not raining in the Lakes or what one calls the “Catchment” Area. Just highlights the amount of neglect, we are all guilty of towards newer technologies like Rainwater Harvesting, Recycled Water etc. BMC, are you listening?

This week I also had the opportunity to check out a New Real Estate site that has sprung up out of the Blue. It’s named after the mineral “Gold”. But when I heard the price!!! God, it’s worth much more than that. The Price is shooting up to almost a crore for a place with 4 rooms. People say the Area is developing rapidly. Duh, like I didn’t know that!!! I spent my childhood here, for heaven’s sake. Now I only wonder what kind of a job does one get to satisfy the pre-requisites to purchase the House here? Recession, Anyone??

I’m going to my native place for the weekend (Again!!!!). This time. I am leaving with a school friend. It’s pouring like crazy and I’m supposed to reach there by 02 : 30 in the night. Sounds Scary???

Weekend Trip

Weekends are called so, for a particular reason. One cannot explain the joy, the pleasure and the happiness that a fulfilling weekend brings. And so, finally we had a weekend that brought together all of these requisite conditions. We started off on Sunday with the assumption that the so called "Weekend crowd" would be returning home and accommodation wouldn't be a problem. For once, we were right.
So, we met up at Thane. Iwould introduce my friends here. Four of us in all, me, M, S, and J. I caught up with J and we proceeded to Nahur where we caught up with M & S. The time was 7 : 40 am and the trip began. Having a vehicle has its own share of unbelievable advantages. The comfort was nice and the journey was good. The Sun had already risen but we could barely see the sun itself, since it was draped behind some dense dark monsoon clouds. And conversations began as we paid our first toll at the Airoli Bridge.

Now for some weird reason I have been obsessed with the idea of reaching the pinnacle of the Karnala Fort. For starters, the Karnala fort is a thumb-shaped (M still says that it's a middle finger) rock mountain rising above the otherwise normally shaped Sahyadri ranges. It houses a fort and a Bird Sanctuary and is among the relatively cooler places on the highway from Bombay to Goa. One can always question, as to why did I choose to trek this place. Well, the answer is that it's relatively much easier to scale this fort, given the fact that this fort does not require harness or ropes to scale. One can literally walk it up to the top. Or so we thought..... We parked the car at the foot of the hill and proceeded on the march ahead. Guess what? We forgot to carry water atop while climbing. And after an hour long climb we realized the dire need for water. The temperature was very pleasant but somehow the humidity seemed to be getting to us. The slope kept getting steeper and steeper and our informal shoes weren't quite used to the terrain. Especially the slippery mud had already created quite a few blisters in S's feet. And to top it all up, just around the time when we thought we had reached the top and had a flat walk to the summit left, it started raining. And it did rain pretty hard for a while. Now, we chose the less risky option of getting down since we were dying for water and any more higher climbing meant a longer return to the foothills. So we abandoned the trek midway and proceeded downward. Strangely, later on we realized that the easier and faster route to go up was towards the right. An explicit example of the "herd theory" made itself evident. We followed a group who thought that the left path was the shortest. we followed them , they in turn were followed by 3 more groups and the trend continued. Everyone getting drenched in the melee.

Post Karnala, we stopped at a Dhaba (a cleaner version of a Dhaba) and had wada pavs. They never tasted so good before. A nice sumptuous breakfast was then succeeded by an hour long drive to Alibag, where we had another sumptuous Lunch. Food always has sufficient space in our bellies. And when it is Good food. Voila!!!

Alibag rains were so harsh that we couldn't quite move out. Though we did eventually move out to buy a pack of cards, (which we never played !!!) and surprise, surprise, to have PAN or betel leaf, for beginners. M says its the best digestive one can get after lunch. I thoroughly agree. Anyways, so after lunch we checked out Chaul and everyone was amazed to see the waves splash on the walled embankment. The beauty and serenity in the violent ocean was too good to be true. The Greenary and the village houses, washed clean in the rains were a sight to behold. It eventually prompted J to comment, "Hey, this village looks like a real village!!!" Ha Ha Ha, as if we didn't know that. But yeah, probably what was meant was that these days it is indeed difficult to find a village untouched by urban flavours. So we were indeed glad to find a 'pure and rural' village. With Bullock carts, Six seater tam tam vehicles, State transport (oh my god!) ST buses etc, included. The evening was spent in a nice little resort, quite and secluded, yet sea facing. It's actually a really nice place, perched atop a hill. And they serve you some good food as well here. (which is so important, isn't it? ;) Also not to forget, the nice bhurjee and hot cup of chai at the beach just when the sun was settling down in the evening. Carrom victories and table tennis practice games made up the latter part of the night. Waking up in the morning was such a pain, especially considering the fact that we were on holiday. By afternoon, we set to return in the afternoon, unwilling to leave the evergreen monsoon magic behind. On our way back, the sight of S scampering for fruits and bargaining hard with the local vegetable vendors near Panvel was quite a sight. We followed suit. Nevertheless, we struck some good deals. Bah, sometimes we do talk like we are exaggerating stuff. But then, a good Picnic trip is always best experienced. One can only describe it to a limit, isn't it?

All in all, it was a very memorable trip. Something worthwhile and worth cherishing.