Chalte Chalte

As I write this post I have my feet dipped in a bucket of hot water. Reason…an immense pain in the ankle. This post is about a liking that I have developed over the years…My liking to walk .Many people say they love to travel. Travelling doesn’t mean you must have a car or a comfort vehicle to carry you all around the city. If you were to explore a congested city like Mumbai, what would you prefer as your mode of transport? You may prefer a car, taxi, public transport or some other vehicle but I would choose to walk! Walking is one of the simplest and more healthy way to wander around the places of interest within a city. While walking you can experience the zeal various places and things exhibit. The best walk is from under the side trees which house cool breeze and offer refreshment. Of course there are some places where the roads are uninhabited by these green and shady living things, but you may find a good number of plantations along the footpath
(I think I am seeing things). Forget walking in the cities, try walking or even better trekking to a hill station instead of just taking a vehicle to your destination, you will not have second thoughts about deciding what was more enjoyable.
Now, traveling in a vehicle does provide you with comfort, but if you happen to see some interesting place out there, you think it’s worth visiting, you can’t just call out the driver every time to pull over for you. Not to mention your contribution to air and noise pollution!
While you can wander capturing the memories with a camera on your own along the narrow gangways and shortcuts, visit the market place, waste time in the parks, cafes and spend time in the museums, libraries all on your feet; you don’t have to worry about the car you have parked while you are enjoying the trip! Moreover you benefit from not having to follow the traffic rules, such as one way, traffic lane, speeding, license, emissions and many more!
Alright, so much said in favor of the little feet, what will you do if you want to travel to some place a bit far from where you stand? If you have the stamina you could walk straight exploring more, if not you can always cab in and head where ever you want to be. Or ask for a lift or get in the public transport!
What I want to emphasize here is (most of the time) the better way to explore a place is by foot. There is always an option of alternate means, if you feel tired. But simply going to places with a car along with you all the time does not serve your purpose of exploring a place. You actually miss the most attractive highlights and in sights the place has to offer!!
Sure, there are certain things that one has to plan before just setting along on foot. One has to decide what places you have to visit, where to start and where to eat! If you don’t know the location simply hire a cab and you will be there shortly!
In my college days I usually travel on foot along with my friends to places that are worth visiting. We rarely hire a cab, cause we are many and are willing to walk gladly anywhere cracking jokes and discussing current affairs of our college life. If the place is unknown (read Hiranandani,Powai) to us and even its residents we always have the pannwallas or people around to guide us through the right path!
The area from Andheri station to Bhavans has became known to me, as I have been strolling around with friends around the same street for the last 6 years. The sprit of travel, walking has gripped me. And I am loving it!!

When life throws you curve balls

The clean up drive during Diwali turned out to be fruitful for me this time. I found a small notebook that got old memories back -some happy ones some bad.During my junior college days my counselor had advised me to keep writing whatever I feel like ...well this was to increase my score in my 12th exams. I dunno how was it supposed to help but still I diligently followed him .I just do not know why I wrote this . All I remember is that I wrote it quite some years ago...


Sometimes, life throws you curve balls
And you question why

Sometimes, life throws you daggers
And you question why

Sometimes, life throws you lemons
And you question why

Sometimes, life throws unanswered questions
And you still question why

The unexpected turn of events
The loss of a loved one
The end of a beautiful relationship
The fight for a lost cause
When a close someone backstabs
Coping with loss
Coping with grief
Coping with failure
You’re down in the dumps
The answer might lie inside within you somewhere
Or
There may be no answer really
And you still question why

Season's Greetings

It’s here…the wonderful time of the year when we polish ourselves and our houses, participate in various rituals (willingly for a change!!!) and just come together to celebrate. It’s Diwali and I for one, am truly excited.
It’s a festival that has had special meaning and brings to my mind many special memories. This year though Diwali has a special meaning altogether. Next year I don’t know if I will be at home with my parents celebrating Diwali. Dunno which B-school I will be in (I really want to get into one). So basically I am enjoying this Diwali to the fullest.
Diwali has certain rituals and traditions that you follow as a family , and at my home the responsibilities are usually distributed between members and I have to go to all my relatives to distribute sweets-a very deliciously tempting thing to do…(only time of the year when I meet them!!!)
For me Diwali has always been a symbol of a new beginning …a time to forget all your troubles and just celebrate being alive. Well, four years into engineering and the only new beginning I have done is beginning to study for the semester exams read vivas;
Fireworks were very much a part of my Diwali celebrations in my growing years and something I looked forward to, but somehow the craze has now died out. See I am also so concerned about the environment!
Though this post is a little late in the day I would just like to wish everyone a very happy and safe diwali and a prosperous new year .I hope it brings to you all the happiness, fun and joyful memories that it gives me every year

Wake Up !!!

I did the first and the most important thing of the day.
I voted!



Democracy is dependent on YOU. If you don’t vote, you are directly responsible for the degradation of the country.
You are threatening your own freedom, you are playing with your child’s future and you are making this largest democracy smaller and smaller.
So take your ass off for a walk, go vote and kiss your finger(Don't taste it!!!). And then FEEL PROUD!
If you don’t vote you simply can’t comment on the functioning of this country, first vote and then you are eligible to decide on the good and the bad politicians and their works.
You can’t just be a spectator and demand sweets fruits from the country without doing anything. Do something!
And that something is...VOTING (at least)
Voting gives you the power and the chance to choose your government.
So please…cast your votes and don’t waste them.
In this way you can pay back what you have got for free; the freedom!
Long Live Democracy!

My Pet Peeves

Naggers

People who make personal remarks

I-know-it-all people who monopolize conversations

People who get some kind of pleasure in pointing out others mistakes

Bhajan singers- the ones on the train

Oversmart a******s

People who smoke in public places

Relatives who love to lecture

Couples who indulge in indecent behaviour in public places viz. trains buses...If you are so unable to control your raging hormones rent a hotel room and do whatever you want to.

People who love to discuss Shitsvilla day in and day out.

People who ask you your salary- directly or indirectly.

Raghu Ram

Ekta Kapoor

SRK

Being all ears

When I finally stepped off the train at Andheri, I congratulated myself on my iron self-control. After all, I had spent the entire journey from Malad clinging desperately to the rail by the entrance of the compartment, gazing into the distance with a studiedly blank expression on my face, chanting (in my head) this mantra: “I will not laugh. I will not laugh. I will not laugh” and I was so distracted, I was convinced I was going to fall off the train.
That's because I had spent the whole journey eavesdropping on a conversation between two college students. One of them had the most convoluted love life I'd ever come across outside a television soap opera, and I had been so entertained by his account of it and her friend's earnest advice, that I had completely forgotten about the book in my bag - a murder mystery at that! — that I had planned to finish on the train.
I was not at all perturbed about the fact that I was eavesdropping — a dirty, slimy and distinctly un-gentlemanly thing to do, according to Enid Blyton. I was only concerned about the fact that I should not be caught doing it. Hence the “I will not laugh” mantra; hence my self-congratulation on arrival at Andheri. I had not laughed so, once again, my fellow citizens in Mumbai had provided me with free amusement.
“Watching (and listening to) the world go by,” was how I usually described this inclination. My fascination for eavesdropping began after watching the movie 'Following'...in which the actor goes about following random and interesting people he sees around so that he can put them up as characters in his novel.So the next fine morning I wake up and think " Why not try this for a day. Doesn't seem to be dangerous..." And what better place to start this great deed than in a local train which is so frequently used by me.
It’s easy to be an eavesdropper in Mumbai. Lack of space in this crowded city means we’re all practically sitting in each other’s laps anyway, so tuning into the conversations of random strangers requires no effort at all. I’ve eavesdropped while standing in line, at restaurants ,at malls ,on trains and buses, at cinemas and theatres , Some of this eavesdropping is inadvertent, but there are times when I deliberately go out of my way to flap my ears in some strangers’ direction which I continued for a week.
You hear the most interesting and entertaining things, some of which can keep you happy for years. For instance, to this day, my friend and I can relate almost verbatim a conversation we overheard nearly five years ago at Vrindavan in Andheri, between a child and his parents where the child was desperately trying to convince his dad to apologise to him and his mom because he had farted .All learnings of good-manners and behaviour that he had gathered over the years were thrown back at the poor man. We just leapt off our seats, paid the bill and shot off to collapse, laughing hysterically.
You get more than free entertainment when you’re eavesdropping. You get useful advice too, even if it hasn’t actually been directed at you. If you don't believe me just ask the person who invests in shares as to where from does he get those useful tips(I said just 'ask' follow this at your own risk). Standing in line to enter the auditorium a couple of weeks ago at an auditorium, I overheard what seemed to be members of one family earnestly arguing about the best seats in the auditorium. The advantages and disadvantages of seats right in the middle of the top row and right in the middle of the bottom-most row (the seats on the sides were completely dismissed) were listed and dispassionately weighed against each other. Eventually a consensus was reached — the middle of the bottom-most row was judged the absolute best section in the auditorium. When the doors were finally opened, that’s where the family headed. Closely followed by me.
And it’s thanks to eavesdropping that I recently had the finest Pulaos of my life at Brittania Cafe I was waiting, bored, for a friend, when I listened to a very small but highly opinionated young lady telling her friend exactly what she wanted to eat. It sounded excellent so I just had to quietly note down the address when she was giving it to her friend, I just had to talk to a few friends about this who somehow knew about this place. It was the best meal I had had in ages. I wouldn’t have had if I hadn’t eavesdropped.
But a small conversation I once had with my friend totally changed my idea about eavesdropping. I had always known it was bad to hear to someone's private conversations but thought 'What the heck who cares'.What really hurts is when you are on the receiving end...Just imagine...you are in a bus or train and the person with you is talking unabashedly(read bitching)about his very very special friend constantly referring to him/her as Chhava/item throwing her the choicest cuss words and off course totally oblivious of the fact that there are 10 other people listening to this supposedly juicy conversation and one amongst them is an uncle or aunty living in your neighbourhood. Just the look on their face is enough to know what they now think about you. As my friend put it 'Ijjat ki dhajjiyaan ud jaati hain'.So that is where I decided to stop this habit of flapping my ears around.

Advice-who needs some

I am sure nobody enjoys unsolicited advice and unsolicited counseling. I just hate it when people assume you need help and are forever ready with ‘quick-fix’ advice. By ‘people’, I mean those who are just ‘acquaintances’- the hi-bye types, those you ‘dislike’ to the core, and those ‘meddlesome’ types.

“If I were you”, “had I been in this situation”, “I think you should…”, “I suggest…”- all this claptrap is bloody pissing off.
The best and the worst advice usually comes for medical treatment..."U said he is suffering from cancer. Take him to Ramdev Baba he is sure to cure him."When bloody sciece is not able to find a foolproof cure how is some Baba gonna cure someone of cancer.Astonishingly these are the people who will never in their life call up to check if you are doing fine or even say a few words to just pep you up, get you in a good mood. Only shit they can talk is advice.

It’s not annoying if the advice is coming from a good friend, a genuine well wisher, an experienced person, a stranger who really wants to help or genuine people who genuinely care.

Unsolicited opinions are just not welcome- but freelance advisors seem to know it all.

Why can’t people resist the temptation to advice?

I especially avoid those ‘insecure’ people who have somehow convinced themselves into believing the jhoot that they are living life to the fullest. They presume you are unhappy and launch into an unending, sermonish chatter on how you should start to live life to the hilt. This is merely a projection of the speaker’s own feeling of failure and inadequacy.