Fed's still got it.

It is the end of the 2nd set. And what a set that was. I promised myself I will blog if Fed wins. I know the match isn't over yet, but I can't help myself. Lets be honest, Fed hasn't played inspiring tennis a lot this year. A set like this just proves everyone wrong. He's still got all the things that made me fall in love with his game. Serve, volley, drop, running across the court, placement and the list goes on.
Just like so many others, I started loving tennis after playing it myself. Sampras -> Roddick -> Federer.

He is the oldest man in the eight man field and he is playing the youngest.

Fed was broken and down 1-3 in the set. He managed to break back to 3-3 and then went on to win the tie breaker in such emphatic fashion, you wouldn't believe its the guy who lost his first service game of the match!

I admit I have been watching more of Federer, after college. Partly because there is more free time around midnight and because of a better internet connection. In college, I had to restrict myself to Grand Slam radio and IBM Slamtracker. Believe me, there is still charm in that. It transports you to 1990. You can only hear the shoes skidding off the court, the balls bouncing on the ground and the racket and the grunts. ATP competitions were just about checking the result of the match. But now, I am setting alarms for 7.30PM to stream matches.

In the 2nd set, he didnt get a single backhand wrong. His service games lasted 2 minutes on average (one lasted a mere 60 seconds), compared to DelPo's hard fought 4 minutes. He won almost all the points at the net, and at one point made DelPo almost slam his racket on the ground.

Now, he's in the 3rd set. Broken already. Just like the previous 2 sets. But what's striking about this match is that it looks like Fed is playing to win, he's hitting winners and as a result, hitting errors too. DelPo is hanging in there, and picking up where Fed is dropping concentration. If DelPo wins this, it'd not be on his winners. It'd be on Fed's momentary blips.

Fed is now 0-3 down in the 3rd set. DelPo has broken him yet again and Fed is rattled. The blip has returned.

While in the 2nd set, Fed was on song and Potro was rattled. In the break, I took this snapshot.

Can you feel the steely resolve in Fed's eyes? Champions are so, not because they don't face difficult situations thanks to their awesome gameplay, but because of their innate ability to dig deep to lift themselves up. Djoko does this, almost every time.

Fed wins another service game 40-0. Set is still 1-3 and chances are bleak.

Before the match, Fed said he was happy he has defeated two Top 10 players recently. Gasquet in ATP World Tour and DelPo in Paris. Yup, very important, considering he has been losing to players ranked around 100. Is Fed's fan following decreasing? May be, I don't know and frankly, I don't care. Following Federer is simple. Almost like following Man United. He is all over the papers, magazines, internet and all the commentators love him. His matches draw the most crazy of crowds and if anyone knows about Tennis, even a bit, he/she knows about Federer. No wonder he won the Sportsmanship and Fan's Favourite awards AGAIN.

Fed just won a 27 shot rally to bring up break point! *falls to the ground in prayer* Another one to get advantage and closes it! 2-3 baby! :D

This is just like the 2nd set. Federer hasn't lost it yet. DelPo is still playing the same game he has been playing since the beginning. No versatility at the net, no amazing serves and a bit of frustration always around the corner. I'm a fanatic and I will wish the most amazing things for Federer. He might just win this. And it will probably the best match of the year, considering the pressure. Better than the one against DelPo in Paris last weekend. Better than the win against Tommy Haas  at Halle.
He goes on to complete it to 3-3 after a tough deuce, which saw him hit the three consecutive backhands, arguably the best of the match.

Ha! That was a superb rally. DelPo hits a tweener above Fed's head and Fed is forced to turn around, run to the corner and return with no eyes on the court. He manages to, and wins the rally later. This is Youtube material.

It is now 5-5. Tiebreaker? Not a fan, the nerve of loosing with just a few err points gets to me.

Fed has broken and will serve for the set and match! You can feel the power. The hunger in Fed to win against DelPo and go into the semis, to win one last tournament of 2013 and to disprove the naysayers, who have written him off. Laver says he is the best. Pat Cash disagrees. We will never know who is the greatest player. But the most loved, the most gracious, the most charismatic, the most versatile? No doubts about that.

Potro has break point now. Fed needs to close this match out at deuce. DelPo has his footing wrong and movement locked. The crowd isn't helping either. In fact, rarely, do you see the crowd in a Fed match cheering louder for the opponent. Even if its Nadal or Djoko. No home advantage for any player is louder than the cheer for Fed, any where in the world.

I have been troubled, much by Tikona's pathetic internet and the portuguese commentary. But, its all worth it. The best player has won. Faith has been restored. And Fed's still got it.

Ace. Game. Set. Match. Roger Federer.

I'd love to stay and chat but I'm having a friend for dinner. Bye.

There are a few movies which stay with us, because of the stories portrayed, the performances, the laughs or maybe even just the hype. But, there are some which you remember only for endings. I am not talking about the climax or the last 15 minutes where it all comes together.

Not 15. Just the last 5 minutes.

Here is my top 5, in no particular order:

1. Tarzan

CGI better than hand drawn animation? Well, I won't completely agree. Its amazing to see Kate get off the boat and become one with Tarzan's family, while her father jumps off the boat too! Notice, when Tarzan lifts Kate up to sling on vines, Kate's dress changes from Yellow to the brown jungle coat in one swift motion! Also, notice how Tarzan's feet move between the branches. I bet that took some major effort in hand drawing! But, the icing on the cake is the angle of the camera moving from behind Tarzan to in front and then moving away, so smooth, possibly impossible with a real life camera. All this complemented with Phil Collins' amazing song and Tarzan's manly yell makes this ending astounding!

2. A Bit of Fry and Laurie
Season 4 Episode 7
Aah where to begin. The entire show across the 4 seasons has revolved often around Britain, its virtues and vices, Margaret Thatcher, old English detectives and the modern day London problems. At the end of every episode, Stephen Fry makes a cocktail, with Gin, Brandy, Vodka, Rum and the most absurd ingredients. Sample this list:
A shoe. Testicles. Fried water. Rice crispies. The opening paragraph of Silas Marner. Two and half litres of air. A closeup shot of a glass.

They chose to end it by calling the last cocktail - Modern Britain. I can't describe in words, but this dialogue should give you some idea:
"Your Modern Britain should have, ideally by now, lost all color, flavor and fizz. And it should be then divided against itself and left in shoddy disrepair for a number of years, until it rots before being sold to the highest bidder."

3.  Ratatouille

I am referring to Anton Ego's review of the restaurant. Peter O'Toole, having previously played Lawrence of Arabia and Sherlock Holmes, lends his most credible voice as a critic, and in all honesty, gives a review which can be pertinent in a lot of fields, not just food.

4. The Devil Wears Prada

Theodore Shapiro's music. Anne Hathaway's confidence. Meryl Streep's defiance for extravagant fashion, with a hint of appreciation for simplicity.

From hesitation to hope, longing to love, everything is captured in the last 4 minutes.

5. The Dark Knight

And you thought, "Why is he not talking about Dark Knight?"


Oh! The batcycle, the swivle from left to right, the underpass, the breaking of the bat signal, Fox's smile, the black cape flying while he runs away, having become the hero Gotham needed. Ek number.

Nolan gets it 90%. Hans Zimmer makes it a 110% perfect.

Secrets

I have to confess. Touch Of The Sun from 127 Hours has always made me think about writing something. I listen to it almost every day and I wish to write every time I do too. But, I don't always end up writing. Mostly because I am at work. Sometimes, because  I just don't know what to write about.

But, for the past few days, every time I saw my cupboard, my thoughts fixated on one thing - Secrets.

Imagine a life without secrets.
Imagine yourself opening your cupboard and not needing to remind yourself that no one should ever look in the drawer. That, you will always lock your cupboard before leaving your house. That there is nothing behind the innerwear in your cupboard that you can't tell anyone about.

Imagine a life without secret notebooks and notes. A life where you can leave your bag in the drawing room and know that even if someone goes through its contents, they won't find anything questionable.

Imagine a life where you don't need to keep extra chewing gums or Pass Pass in your pocket, just in case.

Imagine a life where you don't have an unlock pin on your cellphone. If you already don't, imagine never deleting your sent messages and keeping your inbox with all messages that you receive from anyone.

Imagine a life where you don't need to be invisible or even immediately go offline as soon as you sign in into GMail or Facebook. Where you are available to everyone's pings all the time.

Imagine a life where you don't need to hide your plans from anyone, and risk having to invite someone. A life without having to lie to your seniors at work for where you're going, why you need a leave or why you didn't show up for work some day.

Imagine a life where you don't need to ask for extra money from your parents and later lie that the movie cost more than you thought. Imagine a life where you don't need to buy an extra sim card and change it every night to talk to someone. A life where your mom can ask you what you spent your money on and you can reply in complete truth.

Imagine a life where you don't need to keep an extra pair of clothes at your friend's home in case you consider not going home after a scuffle or some altercation on the road. A life where you can actually talk about what you did in the day with your parents or siblings.

Imagine a life where your mom knows everything.
----------

Now, imagine your mom.

And understand that the only secrets mom keeps are the ones that can hurt her children.

For Arnav, coz everything is about him!

Date: August 18th, 2013

To

Arnav,

For the times, when you come with a key to fix it in a lock,

For the times, when you get on your knees, to race with me through the house on our 4 'paws',

For the times, when you copy me with all those funny gestures,

For the times, when you'd give a naughty grin when too much of ketchup spills in the plate,

For the times, when you bring a spoon every time I'd have tea,

For the times, when you look like a sensible human being right away, 

For the times, you call everything and everyone- Adi,and how I felt I was blessed to hear that from you,

For the times,when i shall be your very cool chacha when you grow up, to the fact that, i want you to be like this forever.

For the times, that are yet to come, that shall make you a wonderful man!

Yours always,
Oh Goggy

A song to remember people with - Part 2

Right then, lets get back on the road with a song to remember people with.
Just an FYI, I rarely write and I only do when two things are happening:
1. I am inspired by extreme sadness/pity or happiness
2. A brilliant piece of music plays in the background that spurs me to write.

Today, I am neither sad nor happy. But, the music is driving me to write. This particular piece by A R Rahman for 127 Hours called Touch Of The Sun is a masterpiece, almost as good as Dhobhi Ghat's soundtrack by Gustavo Santaolalla and the music in the background of Farhan Akhtar's poetry in ZNMD. Check it out.

6. What Sarah Said by Death Cab For Cutie (And the entire album called Plans for that matter) & Wires by Athlete

Ok, the band sounds weird if you're hearing it for the first time. Prachi Sibal - My only senior from any school I have ever been to (5 schools to be precise) who I am still in contact with suggested this song. I was in 11th/12th Grade back then and preparing for AIEEE like an overzealous student of Arun Roy Coaching Classes. She had this list of bands that I had never heard of and that genre was completely new to me. But, these are some of the songs that have stayed with me.
I used to have the 1st Generation iPod Nano- beautifully black, slim and tall - it worked like a charm. I am gonna be cocky and go on to say that there weren't a lot of people out there with it at that time. Now, everyone has one and I am the only guy without one! Death Cab For Cutie and Athlete was NEVER deleted from the iPod. Everything else was removed and added at some point, but these two never got erased. Its funny because at a point of time, the iPod was filled with Metallica, Maiden, Slipknot, Pantera and AND the slow and steady Death Cab for Cutie!

7. Likhe Jo Khat Tujhe by Rafi and Mere Paas Aao by Amitabh Bacchan

A break from English music. These were both suggested when I was a kid by my brother, Ankur. I feel odd to not include any Kishore Kumar song. But, Likhe Jo Khat Tujhe is just so brilliant, I have to include it. We used to sing it along when he used to come home for holidays from college. We had an old Sanyo tape recorder and we have connected all lengths and sorts of wires on it to catch the FM signal. At one time, we realised keeping the heavy steel scissor, that mom used for  knitting, near the wire boosted the signal too! But, the day used to start with this song. We didn't have internet back then so we asked Dad for the next song to sing and Mom joined in from the kitchen and before you know it, the entire house is singing Aaiiyee Meherbaan, Baithiye Jaane jaan...

Why did I leave out Mere Paas Aao? You have to listen to the song and you'll get what I am trying to say. Imagine two brothers sitting in front of a tape recorder, listening to a song about a hunter and a lion and looking at each other and laughing and gasping!

8. Set Fire To The Rain and the rest of Adele's songs.

I caught on to the hype pretty late, but it was Utsav's room in 4th year, 8th sem. Mystique the treasure hunt was live on the internet and our 53 hour marathon had just begun. We were sharing the internet through a wifi hotspot and sitting in that room for 3 days almost without stop. We stepped out briefly to eat and to grab a Veg Grill at HnC Cafe at the canteen. This was, by far, the most amazing 3 days of my life. There is nothing better than seeing your 3 year old dream come alive with so many people playing and loving it with your best friend in college! And our playlist? Just two songs. One was Set Fire To The Third Bar by Snow Patrol, and Set Fire To The Rain by Adele. Seems odd? Well, we searched for "Set Fire in iTunes. Two songs turned up. And that was that. For the next 3 days. On loop.

To be contd...

A song to remember people with.

Second post, again on Music. Is this my escape route from blogging about my life? Possibly. Maybe even an escape in real life.

I have already listed some awesome songs. But, this one is not about the best. This one is about how I relate situations and people to songs. I am sure everyone does. There are some that bring back memories of stuff that happened, people they met or a place they've been to.

So often, in office, I open Youtube but I have no idea what I want to listen to. I get clueless and scroll through the homepage and NEVER find anything worthwile. Somehow, whatever is trending on Youtube is crap. I, invariably, start thinking of school, then college, then home and I land up on one of these:

1. Nobody's Listening by Linkin Park

Keertan's Ford Ikon. Parked outside some Malayali Community Event in Baroda. 2002. He said he had a cassette of the latest album of LP. I had no clue what LP is. Hell, I hadn't even heard English songs till then. (Well, you can't really count Vengaboys and Brazil in this.) He slotted the cassette in, fast forwarded, then realised it was the 2nd last song on Side B, reversed the cassette and played. The sudden bass hit me and instantly caught my attention. I was rapt, trying to fathom what Mike Shinoda was rapping about. Who cared. It was SUPER! And thus began my tryst with songs in the English language. Life was changing so fast. My language changed, my taste along with it. We had to dance on a Backstreet Boys song on Sports Day, and I knew the song!

2. People = Shit by Slipknot, Dance of Death by Iron Maiden, Ruby by Kaiser Chiefs

The first two were a suggestion from Gaurav and the last by Mihir, in 2006. 11th Std, new city, new school, new friends. I did not listen to rock, metal, and any combination of those. But these songs captivated me! And how! I learnt how to play Dance of Death on a recorder! It sounded like a love song, but it worked! Mom finally started letting me close the door at night before sleeping. I got internet, found websites with free mp3s, understood what a bitrate was and downloaded the latest version of iTunes like clockwork to keep my iPod in sync! Life was good.

3. Absolutely Everybody by Vanessa Amorosi

Yes Yes, the Star World song. This one reminds me of dad coz this is THE ONLY ENGLISH SONG TILL DATE HE REMEMBERS AND HUMS! Haha! I don't know how. I was just playing this song one day on my desktop speakers and he caught the tune from his room, got up with his daily Sudoku in hand and asked me to replay the song. I was too amazed with the request and I didn't understand which song he was referring to. So, he hummed "hmm hmm hmmm hmm hmm boodyyyy". I looked up at heavens and said Thank You God! I now have approval!

4. Precious, Stripped, Enjoy The Silence by Depeche Mode

Again, 2006-2007. Dragonball Z. Back to back. Every night. Used it to pump my own motivation to study for JEE and AIEEE. And I really think it worked.

5. Jamaica Farewell by Harry Belafonte

2nd year I think. 2009. Probably the first of many recommendations by Aditi. I was addicted to this song for a looooong time. I realised there were too many songs I missed in my childhood that Aditi somehow caught hold of. This, and the Carpenter song. Her suggestions are easy to sing, easy to catch hold of, stick in your head and never leave you. This song is so soothing, I listen to when I am alone and cleaning my room or trying to work.

To be contd....

Blog On The Road

Haha! One blog post after a year and I am thinking of becoming a habitual blogger who posts about how there was too much salt in his rassgulla. But, I'll still post coz I am stuck in this cab on the expressway to Mumbai. I don't know what it is about the road but it makes you want to immerse yourself in deep contemplation of the reason of your existence. Ok. Exaggeration. Taken back. It makes you sit on one side of the backseat, rest your head on the window while frantically trying to divert the flow of cold air from the vent above you and look at cars speed past against a backdrop of some illuminated trees and absolutely nothing beyond that. Somehow, after a super busy week in office, I get this 3 hour journey to think of everything I have had in the back of my head. It gives me time to procrastinate in my head, to reflect back on what I  could've done, should'nt have done and the likes.


How did I get into this cab? I don't  generally travel to Mumbai by a cab. Infact, this is the first time I am. Lets wind back a few hours, to 4.45PM. I finished forgettable pastries and went back to my cubicle to pack up things when I realized it was a friend's last day at work. I tried searching for him but couldn't find him. Looking around, I found a tissue paper (wait, now that I think of it, why was there a tissue paper in my cubical?). I grabbed the red marker, scribbled a goodbye message, stapled his visiting card that had "Real Man" written in place of his position under his name and gave it to someone to deliver it. Why? I don't know!

I then got a cab from the transport desk and got in it and left at 5PM. Its fairly easy to get a cab for the railway station on Friday evening. There are always a group of 4-6 guys with a heavier bag than usual ready to leave for Mumbai at 5, when on Thursday, they had left at 1AM.  Enter Bobby/Bob (Name changed for some reason). He got in the cab last, sat next to me in the backseat, turned towards me and said "Tu bhi Mumbai jaa raha hai?" in a tone that sounded like he knew me. I certainly did not know him! I could only give an awkward one eyebrow raised reaction.

2 minutes later, we find out BobJackassKumar has left his laptop charger behind. Now, I have lost my charger behind too. But, this guy was irritating. He turns to me, and asks another weird question. "Does your roommate have a charger?". Like, what?! Seriously? You know my roommate now?
I shake my head and he goes back to saying "Shit, shit shit" like a new age Gayatri Mantra. He again turns to me and says "Can we go back? I am going to Delhi for a week. Or, can you give me your charger?"
Ok, wearing a jacket in 35 degrees is stupid enough. Forgetting your charger when we have 45 minutes to go is just plain sad. BUT! BUT!! The kind and understanding soul inside me woke up and said to him, "You go Bob! Go! Get your charger!... Jee le apni Zindagi Simran!".
So, after the 10 minute delay, we're back on the road again and before I know it, we're stuck at a railway crossing.

Here is where I notice the 1st thing I wanted to tell you:
How does driving in the lane incoming traffic going to get anyone through a jam? How have we not understood that clogging up the other lane will just make matters worse?

While I am crying my heart out over the pathetic state of our country, our dude Bob is listening away to some hip hop on his 2 kg Sony headphones, remorseless.

20 minutes later, we get out of the jam and good guy driver is beating each signal to get us to the station. Train departure time: 17:55PM. Current time: 17:50PM. Distance left: 2 KM
But, Bob is hopeful. Moron.

Now, time is 17:54PM. Scene: Bob, another guy and myself are running towards the station, dodge a few autos, dodge another trolley, some cab dudes, up the bridge, past an old women with an even older husband, mouth starting to dry up, stomach ache coming in now, the bag is getting heavier and swinging wildly, now down the bridge, two steps at a time, now three, last 4 steps we jump and what do we find?
Intercity Express making its way out, so gracefully, without a song, the engineer in the last coach waving his green flag.
There you go Bob. Happy?

So, this is why I am in a cab and now at a Toll Booth. Event number 2 - A Swift Dezire cuts us from left and the guy in the backseat pokes his head out of the window, turns back towards us and probably mouths his entire mother tongue.

At the next toll booth, the same guy comes and stands in front of our cab and screams his heart out in Marathi. I honestly didn't understand anything except the last part. And this is the 2nd thing I wanted to tell you:

A state/central government employee on the expressway feels the road, the vehicles, the paint, hell even the air above the highway is his. Somehow, flashing his ID Card will make us cower into agreeing with him and kissing his feet for his own mistake.

I do reach home in the end, but not as angry as I thought I'd be, thanks to a Veggie Delight sub at a rest stop on the express way. Yeshvant Roa Chavan Sir, thank you for letting a Subway open on our road. After all, you own it.

Music Music Everywhere, Not A Second To Lose!

What is it about working and music? Infact, working late and listening to music? For me, the image of a long day at work is not sitting at my desk, slouching on the swivel chair with tons of paper next to me above which there are a dozen cups of coffee.
No no.
For me, it'd be slouching with a headphone on my head, tapping to the beat with the marker on the table and swaying to the beat or just shaking my head at the awesomeness of the flute in the song!

Lately, I have started listening to a few Tamil songs and to my complete surprise, I love them. Kadal is the second fully Tamil album I have heard, after Boys. Both of these have absolutely fantastic songs in them by the master Rahman. But, the song that has stayed with me over the past 4 months is Vellai Pookal. I don't fully recall my reaction to this song when I first heard it. But, I am sure it was nothing less than this:

There are some songs that have stayed with me after college. Some of them are:

1. Two Step by Dave Mathews Band
2. Wherever You Will Go by The Calling
3. Liberation from 127 Hours
4. Grand Vals by Francisco Tarrega
5. Kitni Baatein from Lakshya
6. Anesthetize by Porcupine Tree

And then there are some I discovered after coming to Pune, from people around me:

1. Charlene Soraia's version of Wherever You Will Go
2. Radioactive and Demons by Imagine Dragons
3. Annabelle Lee by Sarah Jarosz
4. Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen
5. Pi's Lullaby from Life of Pi

Although I do make

face when I am listening to these songs, inside, I am losing myself into this so much I forget work.

I was at Hard Rock Cafe when I heard Dream About Me by Moby. That is also a brilliant song, although its video with a cat is depressing.

And then there are some that stop you from work. Not because they are so amazing that you have to stop and take notice, but because they're just downright crap!
Like this one, about a Hookah. Eeshhh....

I hope you get to listen to these songs when you're working and you let yourself get taken over by them too! They help me out at times when I am down, when I am feeling lonely or when I am missing college. To lose yourself into a melody, into the sound of the wood, the tension in the string and the vibes of the air, you need a good headphone. I don't have a Bose or a Sennheiser, but my little Phillips SHP 1800 headphone with 6 meters of cord works perfectly. They're lightweight, fit easily on to my little head and sound great! You also need someone with whom you can share the sounds with, share how you just got awed by this amazing talent of Sarah Jarosz's voice, or how we still can't replay the flute in the middle of "Jiya Jale" from Dil Se. For that, I have KM. And for that, I'd always be thankful to him. Not many people tolerate me nudging every minute with a new song, but because he does the same too, it works!


I don't know what spurred me to blog after a year, but I am happy I have broken the hiatus!


I need new songs. Could you send me a few links? In return, I'll give you the Yukon Song by Bill Waterson!

Credit where it's needed: Tumblr Link for Pikachu GIFs.

I MUST MUST Eat @ BBQ Nation, Kalyani Nagar!

What a wonderful day! After another pathetic journey to Mumbai the previous night(man I need to find a better way to get home than the 6 1/2 hours long one I take now), this morning I woke up to the soft and tender hands of my nephew probing my cheeks and nose. There is no better sleep than that one. Really.

I finally got time to sit down in peace, think, remember and jot down the words I have been wanting to write since Thursday.

NOT JUST ME, WE SHOULD ALL EAT @ BBQ NATION!

Oh my god, here we go. So, I went to BBQ Nation as part of an outing with my mentor at ZS. At ZS, each employee at ZS has a mentor who guides him/her through his life at ZS, work..*goes inaudible*...long story short: free - lunch - hog - budget - high.

We had to go someplace nice, kind of pricey but let us have a good time. And my word were we right about BBQ Nation! It has everything a guy thinks of before going to a buffet worth Rs. 486.

Ambience? Super!
Starters? Way too many!
Veg starters too?! Yes yes!
Loud? Very!
Salad? Make your own boy!

A lot of people have already been to BBQ Nation before. Not me. This was my first visit and I am raring to go back again. Now, as a blogger about restaurants, I should point out things that make BBQ Nation unique even if you already know.

Right in the center of your table is a cavity in which the waiter first puts an iron container open at the top with holes on two sides. Next, he drops in a dozen odd burning charcoal pieces and covers it up with a grill. And voila! You have your personal live barbeque counter with unlimited starters. Out of 44 veg and 44 non veg starters, I believe they offer 14 each day and vary it throughout the week. 8 are vegetarian (ahan! 8 veg starters that's right!) and 6 non-veg, including the super famous Prawn preparations on skewers for you to turn, rub with random sauces and enjoy. Keep asking for more!
Advice 1: Don't ask for the gilafi nan. They'll make you wait for it and it tastes pathetic.
Advice 2: BBQ Nation generally gives you a free mocktail, including beer. *stop grinning, read on...*

40 minutes later, after it suddenly dawned upon you that you're so full that you wont be able to enjoy the rest of the courses, you get up and walk over to the salad and soup bar. Choose your soup, make your own royal salad, try the pasta or the noodles. Then, you go back to your seat, take a deep breath, look up to the heavens for strength and resilience and dig in. 10 minutes later, you almost give up. Then you remember its a buffet, its free and you won't come here often. You must make most of it. You tell the prompt waiter (oh did I mention the service? Impeccable.) to clear your plate, he smiles and understands you're in for another round.

You turn your head a full 180 degrees and realise you shouldn't have hogged on that mushroom tikka so much. So, you become picky. You reject half the stuff and still end up with 4 curries, 2 daals, pulav and burnt garlic noodles.

Damn I am hungry.

Am I sounding like a blogger hired by them? I should be! The place is darn good! Desserts mein kya bolun? Mast tha! [desserts - in- what - I - say? amazing it was]

Now, when I rack my brain to find something I can criticize BBQ for, I seem to remember asking for a finger bowl at the end. He brought one that wasn't hot. BUT! He realised it was cold and replaced it with a hot one in 30 seconds. See? Now that's why I love the place!

I wasn't allowed to click photos inside, so this is all I have:

Aargh, the pics are so n00bish. But I make my point no? Go go to BBQ if you haven't. Go again if you have already!

I Dont Have A Choice. I Must Eat @ DC

After a hopeless, crappy, dirty, bumpy and absolutely eventless 7 hour journey from office to my home in Mumbai, I thought I wouldn't write a review this weekend. Last night, I thought I'd quit everything. Including mangoes.
But then, there is nothing like that joy-filled shout from your 10 month old nephew on his first sight of rain from the balcony, or the fluid motion of Federer on a tennis court, or the first bite of bhabhi's bhindi. And I changed. It sounds better with background music. Aah forget it.

So anyway, since I was not in Pune, I thought I'd write a different kind of review. Not for a restaurant, but an entire complex of restaurants! A place where there are probably 15 odd places to eat, ranging from absolutely shabby with good food to fancy with good food. The important thing is pretty much all of them serve good food. The complex is named Destination Center and its kind of like the only busy, non-green and noisy place in all of Magarpatta. Here, every day, atleast a thousand folks from the area come to buy their groceries, take out cash and eat.

For people like me who are new to Magarpatta, there is clearly a need for a guide to good and economical dinners. So, I'll try making one.

First up, comes the very famous Ghar Ka Khana (GKK). This is where you literally get ghar-ka-khana. 65 for a thali that consists of 4 rotis, one vegetable curry, dal and rice. But the thing to rememeber is, if you order this thali, you can easily keep half of it for tomorrow. The quantity is just amazing. Taste is good too. But, GKK's real fame comes from the daily tiffin service for 60rs, paid wholly in advance. Completely veg. Only let down - doesn't deliver/serve on Sundays.

Next is Vandana, another thali restaurant for 60rs, this one seems a bit gujarati-ish with kadhi, chaas, papad and more variety in veggies. But, equally nice. You can pay 20rs more and get unlimited dal and rice. But, that just seems stupid.

Both these restaurants are on 1st floor. Majority of the restaurants are on the ground floor. And that is where we are suddenly hit by this uncanny Incredible India feeling, with restaurants named after states. Bengal, Punjab, Andhra, Hyderabad and Bombay. And Chinese too. All of these restuarants are good, but pricier. But then, you have to keep in mind that I am comparing these restaurants with Vandana. In absolute terms, they might  not seem too bad. Chinese Box's hakka is particularly good, loaded with veggies and in enough quantity.

Right in the center of DC lies Mini Punjab and in its back end, is Smokin Joes. Both are probably good to try once. Mini Punjab is very expensive with DC standards. It is also full of nonsense meals and reviewed with similar criticism for Kapil Sibal. If you want to have a nice, cheesy sandwich made with coriander chutney and a jug of fresh mango/pineapple/watermelon juice, you should head to Juice Destiny run by an extremely talkative sardar. But somehow, the prices on the menu aren't what they charge. No no, don't get all excited. They charge  more. x-( Again, total cost should be <= 120.

Smokin Joes is situated behind Mini Punjab and is like any other smokin joes. You should instead probably go to Chinese In Box, WOW Kolkata or Hyderabadi Zaika, which are a bit higher on the price range but offer much more variety in their respective cuisines.

After all this, you must head down to Kwality Walls. Ha! Don't. You won't find any ice cream for less than 50. Which only makes me wonder why there isn't a Gelato or a Baskin Robbins in DC, coz Kwality Walls just isn't worth it. Instead, try Amul, which is adjacent to the veggie vendor.

And since a friday evening calls for it, a huge Fosters sign hangs near Juice Destiny. And...

---

I Must Eat @ Roopali and Drink at TJ's

What do you do with a few thousands of your newly earned money and an entire weekend? Do you go to The Westin Koregaon Park? Or do you go to Malaki Spice? No, thats where employees go for a team dinner on client money.
Instead, we went to Roopali, 15 kms away from Magarpatta on FC Road, near British Council Library. And, the experience was, as they say, so-so. (I am not particularly proud of using so-so, I hope you know.) We ordered South Indian, AGAIN! Which pushes me to rename this series to "I MUST EAT SOUTH INDIAN @".

But before Roopali, I must tell you the epic fails 12 hours before.
*Scene blurs into a black and white animation*

After sharing one Pazzta around 9PM, we felt we could devour a horse at 1.30. So, we set about trying to recreate this:

 (We had cooked this the previous Saturday.)

But, all we got was a cracked bowl, debris in the microwave, burnt garlic and some discoloured butter. We lost hope, but not all of it. At that moment, our gaze settled upon bhujia. So we mixed oregano and lemon juice and tried as much as we could to enjoy it.
This morning, we woke up with vengeance. We felt we deserved a lunch buffet at Marriott. And we expected an awesome lunch at Roopali.

*Scene blurs and we enter reality*

Roopali sure is famous as a quick sit-eat-pay-run place, but its fame is largely because of its sister concern Vaishali. Silly us, we didnt go to Vaishali. At Roopali, we had to wait for 5 mins to get a place and such is the rush that in a table for 6, he accomodated us and another couple of girls. That didnt bother us much, but what did was the food. Masala Dosa for Rs. 50 wasn't a delight, nor was the Sambhar. Then, with courage we ordered a Tomato Uttapam, and my word were we delighted!

Fancy huh? It tasted amazing, and with a little bit of butter floating on top, this was the moment of the day. Naturally, we ordered extra sambhar and chutney. And Roopali wiped our smiles faster than they do in the Tide ads. We were charged for extra Sambhar and chutney!

So, if you skipped the entire story to read the summary, here it is:
Roopali - FC Road, Famous, Didnt live up to it, Uttapam is good, Reasonable on your wallet.

So, I change my title to: I Might Want To Go To Roopali.

Now, another place I wanted to tell you about was TJ's. Its reviews have been in the papers recently. TJ's Brew Works is a restaurant with a brewery. Literally! They call it Microbrewery.

And they have a genius plan too - Prepaid Beer Card.
Yes. Yes. Just like your phone.
You have to buy a "card" for Rs. 500 and you get Rs. 500 as balance. Then, you go to any of the beer stations, that are linked to the brewery, swipe and choose your beer and pull the lever to fill up as much as you want! Simple! And new! And it counts the amount of beer you drink in a month and simultaneously shows rankings. The leader at the end of the month gets some reward. I asked, "A free litre of beer?" And the waiter said "No dude, its not that small a reward." :D

I don't consume alcohol so I wouldnt be able to give you personal reviews, but a friend tells me that you should avoid the wheat beer and try a particular black-colored beer.

That's it for today. Tomorrow, I move out of the guest house and into a flat nearby. I will try and continue this series and move away from South Indian food! Hope you are enjoying it. If you don't, well, Moo to you!

Kicking off the I-Must-Go-To series!

Are you hungry? Are you new to Pune? Have you stayed in Pune for long but were too lazy to go out?
Or...did you get here from Stumble Upon?
If you answered Yes to any of those questions, you, my friend, have come to the right place. Because, starting today, I will post a series of blog-posts in which I review restaurants, malls, stores, places, streets and I find worth reviewing.

Don't expect mind-blowing photos from a DSLR. Currently, all the photos will be from either an HTC Wildfire S or a Nokia Asha 200 ( I won't tell you which one belongs to me. Oh shoot, you guessed it.)

Dont expect any expert insights into the way they work, the way they make their money or anything close to intelligence.

But, what you should expect is:

1. a suggestion as to where you should go if you've not had anything significant since morning and don't have a siginificant amount of money either.

2. a description of what I did, why I did that, what I liked and what I noticed. For eg, when I went to office, I noticed that everyone didn't have a dustbin and that the two wings had different carpets. So you get it right? It'll have stuff everyone pays attention to.

Without much further ado than the amount of useless ado already, I present to you the 1st set of reviews.

I must go to Coffee House, MG Road, Pune

After a long talk over whiskey in the guest house(they had it, I just saw them I swear) the previous night, I woke up at 11 and decided that MG Road would be the first place we would visit in this new city.

Coffee House is an amazing little restaurant on MG Road, right opposite SGS Magnum Mall.

Poona Coffee House was a meeting point for established as well as aspiring politicians. One famous politician who used to work here as a cashier was Suresh Kalmadi, and it worked in his favor because this was where he met Mumbai's mayor and eventually Sharad Pawar. This is not the coffee house I had visited. 'My' Coffee House has no history. But its still recommended.

However! Coffee House is small but cozy, bustling with noise but exciting, has enough waiters around and has enough variety. But, I had read about how brilliant Coffee House's south indian food was. So, I tried the Masala Dosa and Aditi ordered an onion uttapam. And, it really was brilliant.

The uttapam was as big as the plate and well cooked. I had never seen an uttapam that big. But what really worked for me were the prices. 55 for the uttapam and the masala dosa each. So, a nice meal for two can cost as little as Rs. 110. No additional service charge, service tax, VAT, sales tax or even capital gains tax.

Dorabjee's abuts Coffee House and is also worth a visit. The Hindu tells me Dorabjee's was formerly known as Treacher & Co, a British wine and grocers set up to support the British Garrison (now Pune Cantonment). Dorabjee took it over in 1911 and has been called namesake eversince. Its collection of imported chocoaltes, sauces, liquors and cheeses still continue to serve so many of the foreigners that I saw today. Today, its a 3-floor supermarket that has everything from Ambi Pur to Sil Soya Sauce. Earlier, it even had a Westside, Landmark and a Planet M all inside it!
Here is what it looks like from across the road:

I noticed jams from Germany, Poland, France, Italy, Belgium and UK and chocolates from Switzerland, Malaysia, Thailand, Germany, UK, US and Dubai. I noticed bone shaped dog food, a cat shaped squeezeee for the dog again and wonderful pastries for humans, like these:

Should you pay a visit? Yes. Should you pay? No. There are no discounts apart from a Rs. 100 off on a Rs. 400 Lindt. Useless. (-_-') But, you can probably try the bakery or the coffee shop on the top floor. Here is another pic, coz they're free:

So, that's all for today. I sincerely hope I remain regular with this. And, my previous blog-posts have all come at a regular interval of 3-6 months. So, there is some assurance.

I must find a place to stay in Pune, so off I go to Magicbricks. Oh no wait! You forgot your C&H treat!

Ready to rumble!

Of late, I have been feeling a funny feeling, one that is filled with a sense of finality and of a new beginning too. And I have been finding it somewhat difficult to cope with it. I say somewhat difficult because I knew the end of college was coming and it feels better than it did when I was in the train back to Mumbai, and also because I don't know what to expect from work.

Its been 10 days since I left college and obviously, I am raring to get back to it. Honestly, the feeling has subsided quite a bit. But, the urge to go back hasn't. What has changed is that the fact that college is over has started to sink in now. I think everyone must be realising this now. It was bound to end. It has. And there is no point fretting about how badly we want to go back. Its pointless. That has changed how I feel. In a week, college has changed to a trove of memories and mine are littered by little bits and pieces. Its not like the strands in a pensieve that J. K. Rowling wrote about. Mine are more like little flashes of scenes, emotions and dialogues all knitted together to form this bizarre modern art of a cloth that I wear everyday to bed. My memories of college are more about people, places, situations and events individually. For example, I remember Harry washing his hands before leaving for class, even after taking a bath. Or, I remember how we always thought the Chem prof had actually died when he sat on his chair in the lecture hall. Or, how everyone thought Dodo was a nuclear energy researcher turned mathematician and his skin was peeling off because of exposure to radiation!

What is also happening is, in 4 days, I will start working in Pune. Its a big shift, I suppose. I have not heard much about how life suddenly changes from "Dad, I am running out of money" to "Hey, HR, when is my salary coming?". I bug PK about it almost everyday, trying to get as much information as I can about life at ZS. I think I might have bugged him too much. But, I am doing all that because I need to keep myself calm and happy and excited about working.

I still have a lot of doubts about life as an employee. How do you manage the 1st month till you wait for your salary? That period is kind of like college I guess? Am I really gonna be so tired I'd rather sleep the entire weekend? Which laptop am I gonna get when I join? Will Limbo run on it? (Coz it doesn't on the one I am typing this on right now :) ) But, more serious ones like how long am I gonna last there? Am I going to get through IIM selections like so many of these ZS people have this year? Will I find friends who will be even half as fun as the ones I met in college?

I don't know what lies in store for me. But, I do know it'll be good. It has to be now that I blogged about it!

As usual, here is your C&H treat!

You don't get to be mom if you can't fix everything just right!

Like the rest of the posts on this blog, this one is being written out of pure frustration and again, as usual, it won't delve on that frustration for long as I have SO MANY things to write about.
In the past 30 days, I have witnessed a lot of things, seen many unknown sides of people, sat idly and thought for hours, and realised a thing or two. But, mostly, I've just lied down and stared.

Yeh blogpost sankshep mein

My guess is it happened on my way to Pune for a quiz (disaster, that I won't talk about) with Utsav. Excited like a bunch of school kids, we forgot to pack dinner and lunch for the 30 hour journey and we ended up buying chips, biscuits, cakes, coke, bhelpuri, some more biscuits and *drumroll* TRAIN FOOD. I think that got me the virus and 4 days later, I was in a hospital with a drip and completely drained of energy to even turn to another side and sleep. Days went by and my condition deteriorated to a point where I had no sleep, no food and a lot of headache. Hepatitis A is a cruel disease. It doesn't pain much in the dictionary sense of pain. Well, inexperienced nurses puncturing 5 of your veins to fix the VeinFlow contraption does pain. But what I really mean is it hurts a lot. To just lie there, staring at the ceiling while your head bobs and you wish you never had that plate of uncooked rice, is just stupid, mundane and very sad. I puked everything given to me, including meds and before I knew it, I was on "liquid diet" and I had to take in soups, Dal ka Paani and whatever my body didn't throw out. Along with all the nausea and exhausation, I had a series of other complications that scared the crap out of my mom. Sonography revealed a couple, blood revealed the rest.
15 days later with 2 sonographies, an endoscopy and 20 odd blood tests, I came back home with a severe headache. A week passed by before I could last a day without headaches and wanting an afternoon nap. That would be where I end the description of my disease. But at that as well as this moment, my sclera and my arms and legs are yellow.

As hurting and boring and annoying as the disease sounds, it is also quite expensive. The pills I am taking after 1 month of recovery, twice a day, are Rs. 30 each. I take four of those. And that brings me to my second topic...as a passerby in the gastrologist ward was heard yelling,

"Yeh hospital business bahut mehenga hai bhai."

And he's damn right. Hospitals are just overpriced hotels with a crowded and smelly reception, ugly concierge service that'll prick you at 4am and get away by saying, "Blood sugar is normal." Regular bedsheet and towel changes, dishtv, swanky bathrooms, sofas and a view of South Mumbai like no other - that's what I got for falling sick. And they charged me a lot too, for every tiny little thing. They made sure I paid like an investment banker who just made it big. And the worst part is, the costs dont stop once you're out of there. Here's what I learnt today. Mumbai's real estate prices drive everything. From apartments to hotels to even fruit vendors, everything depends on where you are in Mumbai. Consider this. From Goregaon in somewhat-north Mumbai to Marine Drive in South Mumbai, the initial consultation fees for a doctor more than doubles. My bad luck? My doctor is in Marine Drive. So, add a 30km ride back and forth and you're looking at a pretty cool figure. Now, I can say Ouch.

Two heads are better than one. What about four?

My parents are worried about me. And to get me to recover quicker, they're trying everything. At a point in time, I was taking allopathic, homeopathic and ayurvedic medication but somehow managed to avoid a necklace made of  small wooden blocks tied together with the holy red thread that we find on wrists. I really don't know what they call it. And since I got better, I don't know which one of those really worked. People keep saying, "Just take it, what's the harm?" And after a while, you get sick of keeping track of the 1-0-1s and the 1-0-0s. Something must help me out.

Magic Touch

The little kid really kept me going. Not only by his occasional smile, long stares, kicks and frantic hands searching for something to hold on to and put in his mouth but also by making me feel I am completely normal. Others look at your eyes and hands and keep reminding you how yellow you are. But he doesnt show any of those feelings. Well, he doesnt show a lot of feelings really. But the point is he made me realise that I will ALWAYS have something to come home to and someone to think about on a shopping spree! You know how when you're at home and every 30 minutes or so, you head off to the kitchen to open the fridge to find nothing and even though you know there is nothing, you still go and open it? He's just like that! Every 10 minutes, I get up, take a look, give him a kiss, ruffle his hair, hold him up, swing him around and then lay him on the bed.

Here he is:

His first chat was:

cxv sd   dddxdvxvccj7y

:D

When you think about something for too long, the thing changes.


Those long nights in the hospital when I used to twist and turn and stare at the clock listening to amplifying noise of the seconds hand, I used to think about people who came and went by in my life and those who stayed. What made them stay? What makes a person more special to us? Is it the moments we spend or the things we talk or the things we do? I won't bother to say "There is a special connection" coz that's just stupid. But there has to be something that makes us click. Hehe. No. Not what you're thinking. The answer didn't dawn upon me in one brightly moonlit night. Stuff like that doesn't happen. I'll be frank. At one point in time, I scrolled my entire contact list on my phone and didn't feel like calling up anyone I hadn't called recently. Have you ever done that? Its not a great feeling though. You'll want to pass it off as a phase and call yourself moody and get away with it. But the truth is you do feel alone in life sometimes. Alone in relative terms.

What would I do without you?

No matter what happens, you know you're never alone because you'll always have your mother by your side. If not for real then in your head. And I think without her, I wouldn't have been able to make it through so easily. There were times when I couldnt sleep till 4am and didnt have enough energy to get up and sit straight or even get off the bed or even call out. I used to make barely-audible mumbles that mom heard. Promptly getting up, she'd hold my hand, stroke it and run her fingers through my hair and say "It'll all be over very soon." And that helped me calm down. I couldnt breathe properly simply because I didn't have the energy to take in long gasps of air. She'd hear those short pants of mine, thirsty for air and some energy I used to look up to the ceiling while she just stood...mute. She couldn't do anything at that time but then that's what I wanted too. Not some pills or a drip, just the touch. Only the firm grip of my mother's hands would get me through so many countless nights.
I don't know what I'd have done without her.
----~----
A week ago, I started writing this blogpost and I thought there is SO MUCH to write about. I don't know what happened but I am gonna stop here for the time.
Later then.


Oh..wait!


Don't forget your C&H treat!

The Afternoon SOPA Opera

For those unaware, a heated debate is going on on two bills being passed in the Senate and the House of Reps, called the SOPA and PIPA. Catchy names sure, they are very similar to each other.
SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act of 2011!!) are both aimed at curbing online piracy coming from websites inside and outside US jurisdiction. That includes The Pirate Bay with its servers in Stockholm (already raided) and its backup servers in Belgium and Russia.

Any law like this is bound to create a stir, but a few paragraphs in these laws are creating a furore in the internet community for nearly a month now. Support and opposition has poured in from all sides but it seems the bill isn't likely to pass. Take a small look at the list of opponents and you'll realize this is serious stuff:
Google, Facebook, AOL, Wikimedia, ANONYMOUS (I'll write more about this one coz its exciting!), Yahoo!, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, eBay, Mozilla Corporation, Reddit, Microsoft, StackOverflow, Tumblr, Bloomberg, Zynga etc. Even Al Gore is against it.

In fact, read this! An open letter to the US Congress was signed by 83 Internet inventors and engineers critiquing the bills. Among the 83 were the inventors of ...hold your breath...TCP/IP, IPv6, ICMP, Email, HTTP, RFC, DNS, Arpanet, MIME, OSPF, OAuth, BGP, Multicast and I am not even finished!
So, clearly something is wrong here.

Lets get into the details a bit. Why should we oppose the bill?

SOPA and PIPA both enable the US Govt. to remove and block websites that carry copyright-infringing content and also block the DNS servers [This is what China, Syria and Iran does to block Internet]. But more than the laws, its the provisions that are creating problems. The bills give immunity to ISPs (those who provide internet to users like Airtel, MTNL, Hathway etc.) who block the websites "in good faith" that they "consider" to be rogue. This clearly gives them unprecedented power. Sure if the ISP plays fair and by the rules, nothing will happen. But, worst case scenario?

Another provision is to force search engines to not index websites that serve violating content. And also websites that elucidate how to view blocked content. Even if you posted it as your Status or as a Wall Photo, Facebook will remove the update or remove your account, or risk legal action. Which in turn means, Facebook now has the right to read through user generated content - a big turn off for Privacy Protestors.
Majority of the opposition to the bill comes when you consider the worst-case scenario to all the provisions. So if everything goes according to plan, all innocent websites should be unharmed. But, we hardly live in an ideal world.

After going through a lot of articles, I found this quote to perfectly summarise everything: “the equivalent of being angry and trying to take action against Ford just because a Mustang was used in a bank robbery.”
Perfect.

Should Indians worry about this? I guess so! On two grounds, one being the fact that a lot of high quality pirated content originates from the US itself. The introduction of these bills means you can say goodbye to XYZ S02E18. Another ground being that India is foreign soil to the US and this bill caters to us specifically. Sites like songs.pk that now hosts songs that are owned by American studios like Fox will be shut down.

But most importantly, it messes with our notion of internet, a completely free knowledge-sharing world where everything is available but only hinges on choice. Choice is overrated now, don't you think?


Don't think everyone is opposing the bill. Again...hold your breath...MPAA, Disney, Ford, NBC, Comcast, Pfizer, Merck, Walmart, Dow, Adidas, Bose, 3M, Visa, Capitol Records, McGraw Hill, L'Oreal, Pearson, Penguin etc. Sony also did. Well, Sony's was a sad story really.
Sony came out in support of the Bill and then faced the wrath of Anonymous (How can we forget them?). Haha. Sony Pictures was hacked by Anonymous and they uploaded a threat on YouTube. This is classic Anonymous style. Flashy and stylish. Worded like an action movie on a comic book hero. Swift. Love it!



Tomorrow, 18th January 8AM to 8PM, Wikipedia is shutting down in protest. It sure raises questions on Wikipedia's famed neutrality stance though. So is Reddit and Wordpress (powers 15% of the web!). We're seeing the first large scale protest in 2012, carrying forward a glorious tradition set in 2011. How long will this one last? We'll wait and see.

Make This Go On Forever

Cold makes you do stupid things. It makes you forget to order dinner, let alone bother to go down and see what's offered downstairs. It makes you listen to songs of Vaastav, Snow Patrol and Porcupine Tree. Actually, I'd listen to PT anytime. Anyway, some things were lingering in my mind for a long time and I was going to eventually pen them down. But, I never got around to doing that. Diwali and Chhatt went by unnoticed and I thought this is the last evening I'll get to do anything like this till December.


2nd November is almost over and we inch closer to the moment we'll all call it a day. The last lecture, the last lab, the last time we'll knock on each other's door and then realise the morning lecture was cancelled. Umpteen things cliche I'd not want to list out but the fact of the matter is I have ABSOLUTELY no clue how that moment will be. Will it be full of people hugging and crying or will it be like 2k6 EEE (everyone wearing their branch tshirts and getting pictures taken) or will it be a last coffee in HnC with everyone looking at each other and not saying a word but smiling?
Maybe because I have never experienced a farewell, not after Xth when I left Baroda nor after XIIth when I left Mumbai, I can never truly understand how it feels to leave an institution. But I can sure as hell understand how it feels to let go of friends, move out and never see them again.
2 days after my board exams got over in 2006, I packed my bags and called up a friend to tell her "Goodbye. I'll probably never see you again." But it went like this:


"You're leaving? Like forever?"
"Yeah. My dad got transferred to Mumbai."
"Well, at-least you're going to a good place. But, why are you telling me NOW? I mean, you're leaving in an hour. We could have met, had a nice little farewell and stuff?"
"Yeah.." Pauses "I don't know everything happened so quickly. I'm sorry. We'll keep in touch."
"Bye then Vrashank. Take care and keep emailing."
"You bet."


I met her once after that in Baroda and exchanged 2 emails.


Saying goodbye to friends is harder than you think. Its not just a great party thrown by them, not just about the parting gifts and the tears and hugs and smiles and waves. Its more about how much you keep in touch after you've left. I'd assumed that leaving would be the worst thing ever but actually, its the time you spend alone in your new home, realizing you can't just call them over for a small bite, a quick chat or whatever. You can no longer end up in their rooms and lie there forever. The most you can do is chat, write on their walls and ask about each other's plans and hope they overlap.


Which brings me back to the thought on how goodbye will be for me next year. I have experienced it 4 times in varying amount of emotion. Not that I am comparing but leaving college probably ranks up higher than a couple of those 4 good byes. Quite simply because of the magnitude. The number of people I'll want to say goodbye to and the number of faces I'll want to forget. As we get placed, we realize how many of us will be in the same city, same locality and even the same company. We start imagining how it'll be to live in Bangalore, Pune or Gurgaon with folks from college, wearing shirts and having coffee. Honestly, it seems like it'll be pretty awkward.


Maybe we need a plan.


A plan to save everything from weltering away and make it last forever. A plan to remind ourselves that friendship wasn't pushed or planned. It just happened and its so deep we're ready to fight for it. So, maybe, it should dawn upon us that we can still salvage a sinking ship. Saying goodbye can't be that bad can it? I mean, we all knew we'd have to part eventually. Didn't we all see it coming? Then, why does it seem so difficult?
I don't know the plan. I don't know if it'll ever be made. But I, most certainly, want one.


You should really check out the song that got me writing this.
Snow Patrol - Make This Go On Forever
and I quote:


"The last girl and the last reason to make this last for as long as I could
First kiss and the first time that I felt connected to anything
The weight of water, the way you told me to look past everything I had ever learned
The final word in the final sentence you ever uttered to me was love."


I'd want this time to last as long as possible. Like little kids who fear the morning assembly, in-fact, like the ones who hide in the class eating everyone else's lunch and wish for the assembly to last as long as possible [Straight out of Revolution 2020!]. I want this to go on forever.

Shame Shame

Shameful events have surrounded us it seems. Personal opinions I have about some topics might not align with yours. In fact, my thoughts are probably more baseless than anyone else's. I don't get newspapers in my room, nor do I watch TV. On the internet, I don't visit the news websites. So, consider these to be opinions of a passerby, oblivious to every major event around him.

It just doesn't seem to fit. The anti-corruption bill doesn't look all that promising. I don't know the finer details about the bill, but from what I have read and heard, its draconian, unrealistic and too radical. India needs change in the attitude, not in the structure. His methods also seem to be undemocratic. Maybe, the hullaballoo about it wouldn't last very long. After eavesdropping on some conversations, the only names I have gotten till now are: Tihar,Siddhi, Arundhati, Irom Sharmila and Rahul Gandhi. Put it all together, and it sounds like a shameless and pointless protest. Compared to the ones in Tripoli, Egypt and the US, this one looks like its feeding on the fact that the government might have its hands tied with too many ropes. Its not that the ropes are tied too tight. They're just too many.

News channels are probably running full steam. Just like demand for metal during World War 2 got every single factory out of England's industrial revolution up and running at double capacity, the news channels are probably trying to fit in so much nonsense about the bill and our cricket. If I critique too much, I'd be called a cynic. If I be optimistic, I'd be a dreamer. Whatever the case may be, we'd do ourselves a world of good by remembering the 38-year old warrior who defied the English like Bhuvan. He stood there when everyone slipped. I remember a chance meeting with him in Mumbai a few years ago in a promotional cricket match between Rahul Dravid and the employees of my dad's bank. It was then that I realised that he is even more humble and magical than he seems on a television set. For a little kid who probably dreamed of joining an academy in the closest town, watching Rahul bat in London would have been like a song playing in his head and as it reaches the crescendo, he would get up, break the clutches of his family, his upbringing and start running into the fields, screaming "I am free! I can take on the world!"

We, lesser mortals in this world who take interest and till a few months back, took pride in the game, would admit to our shameless performance. Even as Sehwag, Gambhir and VVS had troubles of even settling down, we saw Amit Mishra play the innings that would define his otherwise hopeless tour. But, I still think there might be a ray of hope out of this. This setback gives a jolt that winning the World Cup doesn't mean the end of the story. Regroup, train and win! We'll get back to our winning ways soon enough. As for Tendulkar's 100th, his innings today was flawed. Like a sine wave, he went from smashing Swann twice in an over to getting multiple lifelines because of missed catches and lbw decisions. I'd want the 100th ton to be like a serene painting of a freck-less face, a gentle smile and the spark of the child's excitement in the eyes.

Grey and hopeless

Like I always do at dinner time after a boring day at Polaris, I took my plate with a glass of mango shake to my room, put on my headphones and played A Bit of Fry and Laurie while I munched away my boredom. Usually, I finish dinner without a break. But today, I paused in the middle for a long time and thought. After losing myself and coming back, I decided to share the scene's dialogues with you after dinner. Here it is.
Notice how Douglas is so sad he is able to convince a perfectly happy Stephen into believing nothing can be done about this world.

A Bit of Fry and Laurie, Season 4, Episode 1
Skit Number 1:

Douglas (Hugh Laurie) is sitting at his desk in his office when Stephen Fry, acting as his boss, comes in.


Stephen: ... you all right, Douglas?
Douglas: I'm sorry sir, I just ... it's just ...
Stephen: Come on, old fellow, spit it out. Whatever it is, it can't be that bad.
Douglas: I've got this feeling that my life is grey and hopeless.
Stephen: Grey and hopeless? Grey and hopeless? Oh now, come on. What are you talking about?
Douglas: I look into the future and what do I see?
Stephen: I don't know, what do you see?
Douglas: Just the blank rolling of the years, one after another, like grey, hopless waves beating against my brains till the blood runs out of my ears.
Stephen: Now come on. You've got a wife and two children, a very pleasant house, three loving goldfish ...
Douglas: I know, but what does it mean? We live in a doomed world. Doomed.
Stephen: Oh nonsense, what do you mean doomed?
Douglas: Nobody likes anybody any more, nobody cares about anybody or anything. People go around hitting and stabbing and stealing and insulting. The countryside's a poisonous mess, the cities are unbreathable, you can get beaten up by a twelve-year-old and ripped off by your neighbour.

Stephen: Well, I grant you things aren't ...
Douglas: There are no certainties, only battle-lines. No pleasure any more except in getting drunk or high on dangerous drugs that are supplied by maniacs with machine guns.
Stephen: Yes, it's a grim old world alright, but surely it's always been ...
Douglas: Films and music are crap. Books are crap. The streets are so full you can't walk in a town without being pushed off the pavement, the roads are unusable, the trains are a joke, the politicians are so feeble-minded and gutless you can't even hate them.
Stephen: Even sport isn't fun any more, really, is it?
Douglas: You smile at someone in the street, you're either knifed in the kidneys or in court for rape.

Stephen: Opening a newspaper's like opening a fold of used lavatory paper.
Douglas: Turn on the television and you're sprayed in coloured vomit.
Stephen: It's frigging useless, isn't it?
Douglas: We're done for.
Stephen: Shagged. We're bloody shagged. Oh, Jesus.
(Pause)
Douglas: Grey and hopeless.
Stephen: Grey and hopeless.

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