Look Who Just Turned ONE!

Hey there,

 Long time no see...

 Milestones are so important in life. Looking back when you are old these give you reasons to look back and smile.

As I turned One last week, almost everyday leading up to my first birthday was a milestone. I was on to something new everyday. Yup my folks were going crazy about whatever I did and I was being very nonchalant about it. I mean, is walking really such a big deal? Picture this, my grandpa "goes for a walk" every evening, if that isn't a big deal, then why is it when I walk? Well, I guess walking for the first time is.

I am yet to figure out how not to fall every time I try to take a few steps. I have fallen so many times that I think my backside has become flat. I saw someone on TV walking with a long stick in his hand. I wish I could ask mom or dad to hand me one of those for balance.

Oh yes asking which is actually "talking" is one more thing I wanna talk about. People around me need to take a break and let me progress in my own time. Asking me a hundred times to say Mama or Papa will not make me blurt out the Oxford English Dictionary in an instant. Please!

Talking of dictionary, my vocabulary is slowing growing day by day. And for god's sake I know that the thing on the ceiling with blades and a rotor is called fan. It is used in summer. How many times do I need to point my fingers to the ceiling every time I am asked "where is the fan??"

Oh god don't even get me started on pointing fingers. When you ask and I point finger, its good! But when I point my finger to the "3 holes on the wall" (the one with a switch next to it) why does all hell break loose? People start shouting as if they got some electric shock.

I have slowly come to realize that my parents and their parents are weird. When I started standing, crawling, walking etc they were so happy and now when i want stand up to reach out and feel somethings like glass vases, telephones, pens etc they have started placing them on higher surfaces out of my reach. First they encouraged me and when I started doing it they try and stop me.

 I have also realised that when I was smaller and used to sleep a lot, everyone used to wait for me to wake up to play with me. Now it seems, all they do is to wait for me to sleep so that they can do own stuff. Gosh, what is wrong with them??

At the end of the day, in all their weirdness I love the fact that they love me so much. It feels amazing to be lifted in their arms and be cuddled. I feel the pain in my parents' voices and see that glint in their eyes when they say bye to me & go to their offices every morning. I simply smile and try to hide my emotions. (Else they will want to stay back and stop making money. Then who will buy me gifts??) I am sure the whole day they keep thinking about me as I go about doing my antics at home  and I keep waiting for them to be back and hold me in their arms again. The look in their eyes when they see me again in the evening makes my day. There is no substitute to being pampered.

Anyway its been a long-ish post this, as I had quite bit to say. You know I have been away turning 1 this whole time. Let me get back to growing up and crossing more milestones.

Until then (pointing the ceiling) - there is the Fan!

Cheers,
Vivaan

Hello Life!

 Feels so good to be writing again. Have been wanting to write so much but my dad wouldn't give me his Google password to login to the blog, since I spend most of my time with mom - maybe he had his reasons. And he says he wanted me to cross the 5 month threshold to blog again, like I am buying that.

Its been hell of a 5 months. For the first couple of months it was so cold that I felt I was better off where I was earlier even though it was getting awfully cramped. Talking of cramped, most of those cold months, I spent in so many clothes that its not even funny. And the less we talk about those heavy blankets the better. I mean come on, the poor little kid is learning to breathe and all, and he has to deal with those heavy blankets!

And off late the world has become so hot that most of the time I am not wearing much; which seems sensible. Wonder why other people don't follow the same. Ahem.

Haven't seen much of this big bad world as yet as I have spent most of my time sleeping. I get a feeling that as you grow up you anyway lose sleep on trivial issues,  so make hay while the sun shines. Anyway, the best thing about sleep is waking up at odd hours and making parents lose their sleep. Apart from sleep there are 2 other things that I have been doing crying & drinking (milk-type not the other-type). There is a well thought-out strategy:

When I feel hungry -        I cry
When I feel sleepy -         I cry
When I wake up -             I cry
When I pee -                     I cry
When I take a dump -       I cry
When I take bath -            I cry
When I am bored-            I cry
When I am scared-           I cry
When I burp -                   I cry
When I fart-                      I cry

This common response to almost anything I do or I want to do or I don't want to do or my parents want me to do, makes them go bonkers. But I wonder how my mom gets the reason of my crying bang on EVERY SINGLE TIME!!

Another interesting thing that happened was that I started to roll over. Again, not the ROFL type but just rolling over type. Plus the trick of using my legs to push myself ahead is so liberating. And I hate it when my parents play tricks with me by placing huge pillows in my path when am on the bed.

Lastly, it is amazing how my parents' faces light up by seeing a simple toothless smile of mine. Since they are going through so much just by having me around, I try to give this one incentive to them when I am not crying. :)

Until next time.
Love,
Vivaan
(Remember how I had hoped that they give me a good name?? let me know if you like it)  

PS: By the way, am not such a cry baby.
 

I am the New Kid on the block!!

Hi there, 

 I came into this world on 6th December 2014 at 10:45 AM. I was crying as hell and I wonder what everyone in the room were so happy about. I also heard sounds of "Push, Push, Push..." I was like, huh! they already want me to work?? It seems they were not asking me to push after all. There was this beautiful lady in the room who I believe was not looking her best and it was as if her eyes were trying to express a thousand things at once. As she saw me, her cheeks were lined with beautiful little tears of pearls. It was joy, relief, pride, tiredness and satisfaction all rolled into one. Such was her effect on me I immediately felt as if I was in the right place, but I cried anyway because I guess that's what we new-born are supposed to do. More on her as we go on.

It felt weird breathing for the first time. The air seems to be heavier outside. As I stopped to look around, those weird happy people picked me up and threw clothes over me. They cleaned me and took me outside. It was then I met a handsome guy who was all smiles. As he came closer and picked me up, I noticed a glint in his eyes and I know those were tears. Something tells me that this guy and the lady I mentioned earlier are going to be my most favourite people in the world. 

Soon I was surrounded by both sets of grandparents and both of my cute aunts, I am sure these are the ones who are going to pamper me as I grow.

Within the next 15 minutes there was so much frenzy around, these relatives of mine started putting their hands to their ears and started speaking to invisible people and thanking them. I wonder how they were doing it. I guess it is going to take some time for me to come to terms with this world.

Anyway, I am just happy soaking in all the attention and adulation. I took some time out to update this dormant blog that my dad used to maintain. Did you notice the new look & feel? I did it :D, not bad for a first timer isn’t it? Oh and I also wanted to change Kartik's Korner to Kartik's Kid's Korner :P. Now that I have taken over the reins from him, I will try and update this blog as and when the time permits.

Until then,

Happy Living!!

Signing off, 

New Kid on the block! (I hope they give me a nice name)

Driving Right?

And then I landed in France, rented a car and drove on the "wrong" side of the road and it was fun!!

See!! This is what happens when you stop blogging for months together and then when you attempt to write a post, you wont even last for 140 characters. (those using twitter will understand better. for others, click here)

Now that you have a general idea what this blog is going to be about, let me take you back on how it all happened.

So I am in the middle of February this year, making elaborate plans for my birthday, which involves expecting gifts from my family and then taking them out for dinner (depending on the gifts i get...). There comes a news from my office that I may have to go to Italy for a meeting at FIAT, Turin. I was already under tremendous stress planning my birthday, and now I had to chalk out an itinerary for my upcoming trip to Italy too. After much speculation, I succeeded in making the itinerary, which looked something like this, "Fly to Turin, Italy on 28th Feb - Spend 4 days - Fly back to Delhi".

When everything is set, life has a strange way of leaving you puzzled. My French colleague who was supposed to meet me in Turin, Italy met with an accident instead. And in the process, broke his arm and came up with a brilliant plan. The plan involved making my itinerary go haywire and making me go on a driving frenzy for a week. But I was not complaining as I was getting to drive in Europe for the first time.

Didn't I speak about the connection between life and puzzles earlier? So there, again! Now I had to cram in the process of making an international driving license too. Dealing with Indian Government Authorities is a cakewalk as long as you are able to pull a few strings. Pull a few string and shell out a few bucks, I did. And I got an International Driving Permit made in 15 minutes flat.

And then I landed in Strasbourg, France where my heavily bandaged friend came to receive me and handed me the car keys. I felt like a Bollywood hero who came back after successfully completing his studies abroad and his dad came to receive him with a swanky new gift. By the way, no offence meant to my friend, he isn't as old as my dad.

Driving on the right side of the road was not much of a task as it is something that traffic in Noida often forces you to do and the upside was - no incoming traffic. But the flip-side were the laws which had to be followed. It is such a hard thing to do for us Indians, isn't it? Oh yes and honking was a big No-No. We Indians think that the Horn being right in front of our eyes is reason enough to press it even when we encounter a speed-breaker.

Well, a few initially hiccups later I was a pro and the 600-odd KM drive from Strasbourg to Turin via the beautiful landscapes of Switzerland was a dream. Here I definitely felt like a hero from Yash Raj films but what I was sorely missing was my Heroine, my wife.

All the fun and the beautiful vistas aside, the biggest take-back for me has been the civic sense shown by the people back in Europe. The dedication with which they follow the rules, come-what-may, is commendable. Correcting a society starts from correcting yourself, and since my return I have pledged to do my bit and not break any traffic rule as long as possible. (considering my trysts with Delhi Police, I shouldn't be breaking any rules anyway).  

Lost and Found

The terms Find, Search, Look-For etc are primarily associated with search engines these days, google to be more specific. But Google isnt the place to look for stuff you lose. Wouldnt it be cool to have a search engine where you can look for the stuff you misplaced?

My wife loved the new entrant in her life so much that at times I felt jealous. Months passed, her love affair continued and bond between the two strengthened. Meanwhile, after many failed attempts of winning back my wife I had conceded my position to the new member. But alas, destiny had other plans. On a fateful wintery day of November, something terrible happened that left a deep void in her life. She was running errands and "it" dropped off from her jacket pocket without her knowing. Yes "her precious", the snazzy mobile which she bought a couple of months ago, was gone forever. It was a sad end to our love triangle. 

The next stop for us was Gumshuda Talaash Kendra, Nayi Kotwali, Daryaganj. Which reminded me of the Doordarshan notice in which a female, who herself looking lost, gave the description of the people in such a way that no one would want to look for them. (Kad - 5 foot 6 inch, Chehra - Gol, Rang - Saanwla etc etc). Everytime the description was the same, as if the guy got lost over and over again or was never found. Hang on, we had lost a "thing" and not a "person".

So a little searching on the web told us that the third best chance of getting back the lost mobile is  to lodge an FIR at the police station. Of course, the second best would be when the person who finds it calls you back (yes, it is more probable than cops finding it) and the best chance of getting back the lost mobile would be not losing it at all. My wife being the eternal optimist decided to go to the cops. Any sane individual would term this act as blatantly stupid but it's always worth giving a shot. The conversation went this way:

My wife: I lost my mobile phone yesterday. How do I get it back?

Cop: naya phone lelo!! (With an expression that had "case solved" written all over it). 

A little more of prodding and pushing resulted in the cops relenting and letting us know there is something called "noida cyber crime cell". A visit to this "office" left us pleasantly shocked (!) as it was an un-police station. There was a young-ish cop with a laptop, solving cases online. He was genuinely interested in solving our case and he asked all the details, the most important of which was the IMEI number. Armed with an FIR copy we left that place, feeling a little hopeful even when we knew that the probability of find a lost mobile phone is like finding a gumshuda Chinese guy!!! (for those who didnt get it, all chinese look the same - no offence meant to my oriental friends).

 

Lot of days passed without any news from the so called cyber crime cell. But we kept tabs on the status by frequent calls to the cops. My wife's distraught mood was as if someone had gone through a terrible break-up. She refused to use or like any other phone which was not "Samsung Galaxy S Plus". And then one fine sunday afternoon, i received a call from the cop, he said nonchalantly "aapka phone gum hua tha na, mil gaya hai aake le jao". My happiness knew no bounds. When I broke the news to my wife, she thought I was kidding. A frenzied jumping session, a quick dash to the market to get a box of Ferrero Rochers, and a mad drive to the cyber crime cell later we had in our hands our mobile phone in perfect working condition. To our surprise the cops didnt "ask" (or demand) for anything and refused to accept chocolates too. Hats off to those guys!!

 

So that my friends was how we lost and found our mobile. There have been a few other losts and founds too since the last time i blogged, the list goes like this:

 

-  I lost myself in mundane life and found the will to blog again

-  I lost my bachelorhood and found married life. (which is a bliss)

-  I lost all hatred and found respect for Noida cops (at least the cyber crime ones)

-  And finally, I didnt lose anything but I found my best friend in my wife :)

 

She is "The One"

I knew she was out there somewhere
But where, I had no clue.
Tried to find her in every girl I met,
but "he" made someone like her too far and too few.

Parents arranging my meeting with her was a little awkward,
But subsequent meetings were something to which I was really looking forward.
What followed each day was talking to her for hours on phone
As I got to know her better, I found she was someone I had always known

Then came a day when we got engaged,
It didn't matter if it was love or arranged
for I knew that she was "the one" with whom I'll spend the rest of my life,
The girl whom I would soon call my wife.

Excitement is hard to contain, as I imagine my future with her,
Each minute, hour and day will be something I never experienced before,
The beautiful company that I will have, is more than what I ever asked for,
I hope I fit the bill and be her "sapnon ka rajkumar" :P

Word by word as we write our book,
Brick by brick as we build our house,
Step by step as we start our walk,
Stroke by stroke as we paint the canvass,
Breath by breath as we live our life,
May our bond become stronger and life will be an adventure as we base it on this strange emotion called "love"

PS: 16 hours is a long time to spend on a train,
I look at it as more of a loss than gain,
I didn't want this time to go in vain.
So I try to give words to my feelings, by taxing my brain.

PPS: As I post this on her Birthday (with her next to me), here's wishing her the most wonderful birthday ever. And I promise to make her feel on each day of her life as special as she feels on her birthday.

Marriage - Is a Relative Term

What kind of a girl are you looking for to settle down in life??

I usually wake up in the morning to sounds/questions like, "Kartik, wake up!! Its 7 AM!!" or "Kartik, don't you have to go to office today??" and sometimes to, "How come you are up so early?? Its only 12 O'clock". But definitely not to the question mentioned at the start of this post.

As soon as I am out of bed, I prefer to brush my teeth first and then talk. Keep asking me a hundred questions and I will just nod. I simply don't like to talk without brushing my teeth. Recently in Bangalore, when I was asked this question by a distant relative of mine, the first response that came to my head was, "Umm.. Maybe someone who brushes her teeth in the morning!!" But I resorted to a smile, because it makes other people wonder what you are thinking.

You cross 25 and all hell breaks loose in the family (extended family to be precise). All the relatives start behaving as if they were born to fulfill their ONLY (cant stress this word enough) purpose in life, which is getting you married off. Suddenly, even before you know that a particular person is somehow related to you, he has a marriage proposal lined up for you. The relative of mine who raised the above question was my mother's mother's cousin's husband's brother.. phew!!! (or something like that).

In a large family gathering, knowing that I had crossed 25 a good three years ago, caused a mini panic. There was a frenzy as if people had some deadline to meet and now they have three years of work piled up. I don't know why Indians are so obsessed with marriages. It is fun to attend a function where all the relatives have gathered to celebrate but imagine the state of the guy at whose expense all this occurs. On second thought, if the population of this country is any hint to go by, I now see the obsession with marriage ;)

Well, happiest people are those who are happy doing what they want to do. So its in best interest of everyone to not meddle with anyone's business. It is ultimately my decision to choose the person I want to get married to (provided that person chooses me too :P) and I just let all the weird stuff happen around me and enjoy while it lasts.

Not that I am getting married anytime soon, actually I don't even know whom I'll end up with. But I am sure everyone has to go through these weird times once in their life. Like I said, Enjoy while it lasts!!

Frustrations of a Daily Commuter

Long long time ago man invented the wheel and there was a revolution (Pun Unintended). On second thought, I always wonder why is it called inventing the wheel and not discovering the wheel? I mean come on, circular objects would've existed since long and making them roll was just common sense.

Man's desire to go from Place A to Place B in less time and with minimal effort prompted him in putting a few wheels together. Like someone said, "The guy who invented the wheel was an idiot but the guy who invented the other three was a genius." Though some would beg to differ, so let me add here that the guy who put 2 wheels together was God :D


Well, my own set of wheels took some time coming. Until then I had to rely on the set of wheels dedicated for picking up and dropping school children (until I was in school) and those marked for public, a.k.a, public transport.

Travelling in school bus was fun as you know who your fellow travellers are (and they are the same everyday), you know how long will the journey take and where the bus will stop and how many people will get in or get off. My school bus used to pick up and drop kids to 3 different schools, so all the seats used to be occupied. Now picture a city bus (the red lines and blue lines), multiply the number of people by 5, all of them wrestling with you for space. So much so, that at all times u have to keep your lungs filled with air, you breathe out and it creates enough space in the bus for 2 more people to get in. I had to endure this for close to 4 years of my life which I spent studying engineering (60 KMs every day). Once there were so many people around me that neither my hands were holding anything nor my feet were on the floor, i was being supported by people pressing against me. Let me assure you, it was not a pleasant feeling at all. I still have nightmares about "that" day.

I was lucky to land a job very close to my home. So close, that I used to go home for lunch during the 1 hour lunch break. My 1987 model Bajaj Chetak took me to work. And every single day the parking lot security guard used to ask me "This old scooter doesn't look good on you. Why don't you buy a bike?" I thought maybe this guy is interested in buying my scooter, that is why he is after my life. One day about 8 months later, I decided to buy a Bajaj Pulsar and asked this guy, "I am gonna get a new bike tomorrow, do u wanna buy my scooter?" and nonchalantly he replied "Arre nahi, Kabaadi ko bech do" (sell it to a junk dealer). This was a WTF moment for sure!!!

I was lucky enough to enjoy the 3KM work-home distance for a good 3 years. Then I got a job in Bangalore and everyone knows that the distance is not measured in Kilometers there, it is measured in terms of time. The scaling is something like 6KMs equals a little more than an hours time on the road. So the less said the better.

Regular readers of this blog must be aware of my frustration regarding my travel to Gurgaon from Noida about 2 year ago. There used to be hell-a-lot of traffic and to make matters interesting, all the flyovers in that route were being constructed. And once they were done and before I could drive on them my company moved to Faridabad.

En route Faridabad there comes a crossing which is like a BLACK HOLE for automobiles. It seems that during the peak hours all the cars and the buses in the world want to come and get stuck in that Jam. Its like Mecca of traffic jams. And as always, the responsibility of supervising the construction of a huge flyover was bestowed upon me. Man, standing at 1 place for 3 to 4 hours at a stretch was a norm. And you know whats funny now?? My company is moving back to Gurgaon. I guess they want me to take some new road construction project. I can officially call myself the Supervisor of Construction of Flyovers!!!

I don't know how many years I have spent on the road. Sometime being stuck in the jam made me feel that I have aged a few years. But I have learnt to take all this in my stride and I look at it like something that can be looked back on and can be laughed upon.

All said and done, I have something to add here : GOD!! I can give an arm and a leg for Working From Home!!! Is anyone listening???

Tareekh Pe Tareekh

For the last 2 months I have been driving around with a sheet of paper in my wallet which somewhat resembles the "American Declaration of Independence" that Nicholas Cage steals in National Treasure. Thanks to the multiple folds and exposure to moisture, I am afraid that this sheet will unfold only once now. Well, this sheet is my make-shift driving license from the time cops (oh yes, I am their favourite child) took my "actual" license away. My offence, you may ask, was that my PUC Cetrificate had expired. (Of course, my vehicles'. Good Lord, human beings dont have to have a Pollution under Control certificate... well, lets not get into it)

17th July was the day when I had to appear in court for my hearing. Being exposed to a plethora of court scenes since childhood (In Movies, where else??) I was expecting it to be "Objection My Lord vs Objection Over-Ruled/ Objection Sustained" kind of a situation but to my disappointment it wasn't to be. Like a VIP is welcomed by hordes of people when he arrives at a function, I too was welcomed by a few people but only thing missing was the red carpet. As I parked the car, the parking wala was like "license lene aaye ho? 1000 Rs dedo, hum nikalwa denge" next was the security, "Judge sahab aaj chutti pe hai, bas 2000 mein aapka kaam kar denge". Without paying much heed to whatever they had to say I moved on towards the courtroom.

The "courtroom" was just a small shack kind of a thing having a couple of tables with tea marks over them, a few cup-boards falling over each other, an empty chair where the judge sits when he is present, another table where the reader sat and tonnes of files and papers strewn here and there. I was sure that even the furniture must've learnt a trick or two in taking a bribe.

There was a lawyer, with the sarkari-est look. One look at him and you would know that he could sleepwalk to SAB TV studio and grab a role in Office-Office without an audition. He saw me and he would've thought in his mind "mil gaya bakra". Only question I asked him was, "is the judge going to come today?" and then had I not interrupted him after he blabbered about various charges against me for about 10 minutes, he would've definitely asked me to pay for NOT wearing a helmet while driving the car or worse, the guy sitting next to me in the car at the time of challan should've been wearing a helmet too. The funniest thing he said was, "aapka to 2000 Rs challan katega hi, aur gaadi aapke father ke naam pe hai to unka bhi 2000 Rs ka challan katega. Nikaliye 4000 Rupaye". What the @#$%!!!

After giving up on the court, while I was walking towards my car, the security guard was like "kaam nahi hua na?? achcha chalo 1500 mein aapka kaam kar denge" and the parking wala "bataya tha na sahab, chaliye 800 de dijiye". God help those who get caught in this web.


So, a couple of phone calls later I decided to get the Declaration of Independence stamped by the reader in the court for the next date, which is still a month away. And the poor Challan sheet gets to stay in my wallet for a few more days. And I am pretty darn sure that on 20th August the Judge will have a hard time in putting all the pieces of the challan together. That'll be my way of getting back at the system and to rub it in, I will ask him if he has a cello tape handy... ;)

PS: And if I dont get my license on that day too, this is what I am gonna say (Note: to be imagined in Sunny Deol's Voice)

Tareekh pe Tareekh, Tareekh pe Tareekh, Tareekh pe Tareekh, Tareekh pe Tareekh....Judge sahab agli baar na to license milega aur na hi license lene wala. Bas reh jayegi to sirf Tareekh.

A Tale of Two Tickets

Read the following two stories. One having a SAD ending and the other one with a HAPPY one. These stories contain so many emotions that they can be made into an awesome Bollywood potboiler. Curious?? Read on...

Story - 1

Driving can be fun. Driving can be exhilarating. Driving can give you an ultimate thrill. Driving is known to bring out sides in people which they didn't know existed. Whizzing past the traffic, leaving all the cars behind, driving at speeds which makes everything else seem stationary is something that every driver yearns for. All this is great until a cop stops you by jumping in front of your car like someone's shaking you and waking you up from a beautiful dream, and saying, "dude welcome back to earth"!!!

That's exactly what happened with me a couple of weeks ago. NO i am not a traffic cop and I dont even go about jumping in front of fast cars just to get the kicks out of it. I am a law abiding citizen of this country who sticks by all the laws only to break a few of them when I have to reach office on time.

Well yeah, it was a lazy Saturday morning I was rolling on my bed when it struck me that I work 6 days a week. A frenzied 15 minutes later I was still groggy eyed but ready to leave for office. Everything seemed to be the same as it had been for every single day for past 8 months. Only thing that was different was there were so many traffic cops on the road it seemed that the whole of the police station had decided to come out for a stroll. I was driving at my usual speed (or maybe less.. 68KMPH to be precise) and there jumped a man wearing White and Blue in front of my car. Thank god my old warhorse of a car has decent brakes else it would've been the last thing that cop did. Escorting me to the side of the road he politely asked me to get off. And here is the conversation:

Cop : Gaadi side me laga lo aur license nikalo. Aap speed kar rahe they.
Me (handing him the license) : #@$%!! Whatever that means!! (Speed kar rahe they???)
Cop: Challan katega. 400 ka. Insurance dikhao..
Me: (realising that insurance papers are missing.. In a sweet voice) : Kya baat hai? Aaj itne policewale ek saath??
Cop (giving me the topic-mat-change-karo look) : 400 Rs.
Me: Handing over the money and taking the receipt and dissappearing in a flash (doing more than 68KMPH)

Phew!! There comes the first blemish on the clean driving slate of mine. One mark in 10 years of driving is still pretty good I guess.



Story - 2

It seemed it was a day to break all land speed records. A day where I could've given Micheal Schumacher a run for his money on Indian roads on a bike. The usual 60-70 minutes of office to home distance took me just 35 minutes. Why was I in such a hurry?? I was going to cheer for my Delhi IPL Team at Ferozshah Kotla.

Reaching home I didnt even have time to bask in the glory. I had another lap to cover. Changed into casuals and I was off again. I still had a good 2 hours before the match but the friend I was watching the match with, insisted on reaching the stadium one day before the match ;). Oh yes, the cop story again.

Cops have a certain liking for guys on 2 wheelers. I think they have a 2 wheeler fetish. If you have been stopped by Cops and even if you have all the papers in place, you GOT TO pay. If you are really low on luck, you may even be fined for not carrying your Ration Card, Credit Card statements, Birth Certificate and maybe even Marriage Certificate (this applies even to bachelors).

In my quest to reach the stadium on time (which was way before time actually), I jumped a red-light and voila there was a cop. And here is what went between us,

Cop: Red light jump ki hai aapne. Dangerous driving + Red light jumping ka challan katega. 1100 Rs.
Me: Arey Dilli police hoke mujhe rok rahe ho. Main Dilli ka match dekhne jaa raha hoon. Aap chahte nahi ho ki Dilli jeete?
Cop (smiling) : Haan isliye to bol raha hoon, jaldi 1100 Rs do aur jao.
Me: Dekh lo aur kuch ho sakta ho to. (9 out of 10 times bribing works)
Cop: Aap batao kitna doge?
Me: Mere paas 550 bucks hai. 500 ki match ki ticket hai, aage ka aap dekh lo.
Cop: Itna mehenga ticket!!! Ghar pe kyun nahi dekhte?
Me: Stadium mein dekhne ka mazaa hi kuch aur hai.
Cop: Lao 50 Rs lao aur jaldi jao, match start hone wala hoga.
Me (sporting a sad expression) : 500 Rs ticket ke hai and 50 Rs mere khane ke. Aapne woh le liye, ab main kya khaoonga :(
Cop: Arey aisi baat mat karo. Aur yeh lo - Hands me a 100 Rs note :D

Some Traffic Cops also have a heart and I got to experience it first hand that day. I probably am the first one to take money from a cop.

And this my dear friends was A Tale of Two Tickets...

Yeh Dilli hai mere yaar..

Dad being in defence services used to get tranferred every 2-3 years. Every transfer brought excitement to life as packing and unpacking was the best part about transfers. Yeah and there was a flip side too, having to lose all your friends. But well, that's not what I am gonna write about here.

I was 10 when I came to know that my dad was being transferred to Delhi. My happiness knew no bounds. This time there was a different kind of an excitement because we had to move to a city which had the biggest amusement park in the country, "Appu Ghar". Yes that was the only thing I was looking forward to.

Thus began our never ending train journey from Vishakhapatnam to New Delhi . I had no idea that Delhi was this far, it took 2 full days. So long it took that I was tempted to ask my mom if dad had gotten tranferred into the train...!!!

All excited about setting my foot on Sarzameen-e-Dilli, I got down from the train only to find that it was some random place called Hazrat Nizamuddin. I was like lets board the train again before it leaves... This isnt the place!!! But when I was told that this is where we were supposed to get off, I was utterly disappointed. I mean who wants to live in a place called Hazrat Nizamuddin after you have spent the last couple of weeks dreaming of living in New Delhi???

Stepping out of the station I was taken aback by the sheer scale of the city. Everything I set my eyes on seemed to be moving in its own way. Such was the hustle bustle of this city that I instantly fell in love with it. And finally it sunk in that we had moved to the capital and not to a random place.

I spent the first year of my life in Delhi living in Vasant Kunj. The now posh and upmarket locality was just a budding colony then. Rather a mere collection of discreet localities between Vasant Vihar and Mehrauli. Vasant Kunj was the place where neighbours hardly spoke to each other, let alone celebrate community Holis and Diwalis. We seemed isolated in that place. Qutub Minar and a fleeting glimpse of peacocks dancing in rain visible from my room window were the only things good about that place. School was about 10 KM from home and it seemed to be at the other end of the city. Missing the school bus was biggest fear as I used to leave home at 06:30 AM and in winter it was more of a pain. Winter was too cold and summer was the hottest I had ever experienced. The charm of Delhi was slowly fading away.

As I was growing up, the city grew around me too. Second year on, it was new place, new friends, and a new feel about the city. I slowly started to understand the dynamics of the city. Travelling in crowded public transport, shopping in markets where people fall over each other in festival season and even otherwise, having the awesome food that is available in abundance that you can die eating and still keep eating in your after-life, going through the widest and best of the roads in South Delhi, enjoying the cool breeze against your face in the evenings in summer, feeling the warm sun basking in winters, striking a conversation with absolute strangers, watching innumerable kites flying (around Independence day) which seem like colourful confetti falling from the sky, being awestruck by the sheer brilliance of the architecture (Rashtrapati Bhawan and the surrounding areas), circling the Connaught Circus by foot hundreds of times and I can go on and on about the city. All the stuff that I had hated about Delhi in the beginning , seeing them in a different light, made me fall in love with Delhi and every passing day I loved the city more.

I believe the city you grow up in has a major role to play in your development as a person. So I owe a lot to my being in Delhi for being the person I am. The city that gave me friends, the city that gave me memories to cherish, the city that I feel I am a part of, is the city that I call my Home.

Delhi turned out to be a lot more than just Appu Ghar. It became my home. It became a part of me as much as I am a part of it. I have been to and have lived in a lot of other cities but in the end I belong to where my heart belongs and that is Saddi Dilli.

Yeh Dilli hai mere yaar.. Bas Ishq Mohabbat Pyar...

All that Jazz....

First post of 2010.

Yeah, Happy New Year and all that jazz!! I dont know why but sending countless mails (starting with Dear all), innumerable SMSes and Greetings is not my thing. So for all those whom I didnt wish a Happy New Year, I did just that in the first line (not that they'll read this post or something, but still..).

Looking back at 2009, it hasnt been a bad year at all. Yeah, not at all. Cant recollect a single event or happening that made me sad. I did so much of all that I love to do and I wanted to do, I think a lot of people dont do that in their lifetime. What all happened with me?? read on:

1. I almost got laid off - Only to be picked up before I got laid off, that too at a higher pay
2. Went on THE RIDE of MY LIFE - Have kept and will keep talking about it!!!
3. Reunited with long lost friends - Time has gained pace since.
4. Also met school buddies, and I was the tallest among them - Known me since 10 years??? and you know what am saying.
5. Made new friends - Increase in the diameter of the social circle is directly proportional to the increase in Fun.
6. Travelled - Agra, Bhubaneshwar, Puri, Konark, Mysore, Bangalore, Dalhousie, Amritsar, Rishikesh, Haridwar, Shimla, Manali, Ranthambore, Spiti Valley to name a few places visited.
7. Movies and loads of them - From the biggest hits to the collossal disappointments. Almost like a movie a week and sometimes 2 or 3 movies a week.
8. Watched Sholay @ PVR - Since its SHOLAY it needs a special numbered topic of its own. And watching it on the big screen is a significant achievement. Period.
9. Started working out - Made a resolution and stuck to it. Proud of myself.
10. Bought a House - Have a Housing Loan on my name
11. Ate and ate - Never in a year I have had so much food. I mean who goes to Amritsar from Dalhousie (it takes 5-6 hours) just to have Kulchas???
12. Didnt do a lot of stuff I wanted to - didnt learn to play guitar, didnt fall in love, didnt go to Goa, and there is a lot more.

Well, not a bad year, wasnt it?? 2010 seems promising, so just seeing it unfold day by day is exciting. So here's wishing this Year brings loads of luck, happiness and excitement in our lives and all that jazz.....

Sometimes...

Sometimes I ponder.. Where life is taking me..
Sometimes I just want to break free..
Sometimes I wonder, why don't I let it just be..
Sometimes I ask myself, Is this really me?

Sometimes I want to do the things I really want to do,
Sometimes I am so Happy, it all seems untrue,
For times of happiness are so few,
Yet I feel, these times I really don't value.

Sometimes I dream of finding that true love,
But then whats not in my hand, I shall not think of,
Sometimes I wonder is there anything called true love?
So I leave everything in the hands of that man above.

Sometimes I feel like I walked a 1000 miles,
Sometimes I feel I can spread a 1000 smiles,
Sometimes I feel like fishing for stars from the skies,
But I know that the fishing-net I have, wont suffice.

Sometimes I question, why do stuff just for the sake of it?
Sometimes I let it go, as I just am doing my bit,
Sometimes I wonder, why dont I let it just be..
Sometimes I ask myself, Is this really me?
___________________________________________

Sleep......ZzzzzzZzzz!!!

Wikipedia defines Sleep as a naturally recurring state of relatively suspended sensory and motor activity, characterized by total or partial unconsciousness and the inactivity of nearly all voluntary muscles. But for me, Sleep is absolute bliss. On a different note, one must give it to Wikipedia guys who define sleep in such a way that by the time one finishes reading that sentence, he is drowsy if not alseep.

Since, I cant remember when, sleeping had been a "hobby". And I didnt know when this hobby of mine became a "passion". I consider myself one of the forunate few, who can sleep whenever, whereever and however they want. By however, i mean not necessarily lying flat. Sleep gives so much pleasure that even the alarm tone in the morning seems to be the background music of some romantic dream ;).

Earlier in school days (Class 12th to be precise), my dad used to wake me up early in the morning so that I could study. Waking up at 5:30 AM to study was the hardest thing for me. Keeping eyes open at that hour is one thing, and then waking up to do something that put me to sleep a night before is completely different. My grandma used to make coffee for me so that I can stay awake. One cold morning, I was sitting on the floor with a book in one hand, and a coffee cup in the other. I had taken a few sips and then I dont remember what happened for the next couple of minutes. What I remember is that there was a huge brown patch on my T-shirt and it was burning HOT!!! People say that having coffee stops one from sleeping but I think I'll be only one in the world who was woken up by Coffee!!!

Another characteristic feature of my sleeping, is the Dobly Digital Surround Sound that I produce while being asleep. Before your imagination starts running wild, let me assure you, that I have heard that I snore. With the reviews that I receive from people, I can proudly say that this sound can be recorded and be used as an alarm tone :P. Well, whatever you read in this paragraph are the thoughts of other people because I seriously doubt if snoring happens, as I never got thrown out of lectures and meetings.

And then, there have been times when friends have left from my doorstep after repeated bell ringing and calling on my mobile, parents have never forgotten to take house keys along with them so that they dont have to face the consequences, I made plans of playing cricket with friends in the early morning and they had to play with 1 player less, and the list goes on. So well, now you know what sleeping means to me.

And lastly, did I mention that I didnt cry when I was born?? Because I was born on a sunday morning, and me being me.. what else do u expect???

Have I changed??

Noticed how I usually start my posts apologizing for my absence and then I end the first few lines saying that I'll be more regular?? Whom do I apologise to?? No one comes to me and says, "hey, what happened?? Long time no post??" So none of all that this time...I have changed!!!

I used to be a simple, non-adventurous, I-stay-home-on-weekends kinda guy. But all of a sudden since the last 6-7 months, my weekends have been getting over in a blink. Its been like so much stuff n so little time to do. Yeah, its mostly due to the company of friends I have got now. But for my parents, its like a whole new Kartik they are seeing. So for them.... I have changed...

Earlier even on holidays and long weekends, staying at home, sleeping, and watching TV used to be on my to-do list. Maybe a movie or two thrown in here and there. But since November 2008, I have been on 9 or 10 trips!!! And one that I call "THE RIDE OF MY LIFE", a 2000 KM bike ride across himalayas, which was totally Adventurous. A very close friend of mine, after seeing my pics from the ride said, "Kartik Badal gaya hai (Kartik has changed!!!) ".... I have changed!!!

I was a shy, introvert and stay-within-myself guy until not so long ago. Singing in public, let alone speaking, was one of the biggeest fears. But now...none of that whatsoever. Whats the point of having a talent and not showing it off. And yes, I used to be modest too... I have changed...!!!

Talking to girls wasnt my cup of tea. Thats absolutely true (this line is for the girls who know me now :P)!! I used to shy away from doing so. In school, mostly the talk used to be limited to course work. But now...ask the girls who know the "present" me....their numbers are.... ;)
So I have changed...!!

There are a lot of things which didnt change and I am happy that way and there are a few which I would like to change, but all in all this is the way I am and you'll have to bear with it..

PS: I normally try to be funny in my post and to some extent succeed. But this time there is no fun element.. Why??? coz I have changed!!!

Spiti Ride - A Trailer

This video was shot by me on our way to Spiti on Day 2 of the ride. Pics, description and Triplogue coming soon!!!

People in this video - Anshul, Arjun, Imran and Ankur (in the order of appearence)

Whats been happenin...

Hello people.. How have u all been?? Been a while since I posted. I celebrate one year of blogging and then I dissappear!!! So here I am back again and hopefully will be more regular.

Whats been happenin at my end??? Well, a lot of stuff. Both in professional and personal life.

Professional life had been hanging by a thread. Back in Feb I got to know that the company is shutting down its Engineering Services Operations and that everyone will serve their notice period for 3 months, starting April. Suddenly, I was also the Low Hanging Fruit (as someone had put it). I still cannot fathom why, but I never felt the proverbial pit in my stomach. Everyone else was unsure of their future (understandably) and I was behaving matter-of-factly. As my luck would have it, the client I worked for decided to set up shop in India and I was absorbed by them. Looking back on the past few months, the turn of events have been pretty dramatic to say the least but then I have no complaints now and I thank god for bailing me out.

On to the personal front now. So many changes at the work front tend to have their repercussions on personal life. For instance, I dont get saturdays off anymore. Its like half of the "fun" life being taken away. But life has a funny way of balancing the bad with the good by taking away a few pleasures and giving something more in return. So even with saturdays gone, I am having so much more fun. Thanks to the group am hangin out with these days, I call it "the new WE". Makes me wonder why I didnt meet them that often before, despite knowing them for so long. Movies, Dinners, Ice creams, Bike Rides, Board Game Nights, More Movies...phew!!! Saturday eves and Sundays (n weekdays too sometimes) were never so good... :)

(And you thought I was gonna write abt me getting married soon or something?? Well, thats not gonna happen soon for sure...)

Thats about it then.. Am happy being happy these days.. looking for happier days ahead, and for reasons to be more happy :D!!!

Unplanned Trip

Sometimes it happens that things dont go as you plan them but then you dont know what's in store for you. So wasting no time writing about what should've happened I am fast forwarding to the point where all the fun started!!!

We guys had 5 days to spend, we were ready with our packed bags and moreover we had an awesome car to drive, but what we didnt know was where to go!!! Yeah thats how our trip began. Oh by the way, "We" consists of me, Imran and Sachin, the same gang that went rafting in Rishikesh (minus our bikes this time). We left Delhi just after the midnight on 20th May, with a map of Himachal in hand.

We had no problems with driving at wee-hours of the morning as we took turns to drive while the other guys rested/slept. After stopping over for a refreshing tea and butter toast at Jhilmil Dhaba in Karnal, we decided that we'll head to Dalhousie first and then decide as the days come.
Not too far from Dalhousie there is a pictureque place called Khajjiar, which according to a sign there, was Switzerland of the East. I cant agree with it more. Here I got the opportunity to try my hand at another adventure sport. I did Zorbing. (curious souls pls follow the link).

Then there was this place called Dainkund. One has to trek for about 30 mins to reach this place. The scenic beauty we encountered on our way cant be put in words.

We met a family on our trek back. The lady of that family asked, "What is there at the end of this trek?", we answered in unison, "there is a small temple" at which she asked again, "Is it worth??" and then our dear Sachin, being the staunchly religious guy he is, said, "Temples are always WORTH!!!!". The look on the lady's face was "unexplainable". :D

Our sojourn then took us to places such as Mcleodganj and Dharamshala. The small and serene town of Mcleodganj with snow-clad mountains watching over was a perfect retreat away from the Delhi heat. After spending a night at MacLoadGanj (Spelling/pronunciation courtesy Sachin) we were off to Ambarsar (Amritsar - as pronounced by the locals).

Our main objective of going to Amritsar was not to see the famous Golden Temple or the Jallianwala Bagh but to have the famous Kulchas at Bhai Kulwant Singh Kulche Wale and also dine at the 100 year old Kesar Dhaba, and we happily skipped lunch for the same. Reaching late didnt help our cause as the Kulche Wala closes at 4 PM, so we headed to Kesar Dhaba. We asked the dhaba guy if there was any food available & he said "Aap 1 hr baad ayiye". We were so hungry that we didnt move an inch and we sat at his doorstep. At which he opened the dhaba specially for us and we had a sumptuous meal cooked in Desi Ghee. While we were eating in, we could see the crowd building up outside the locked doors, wondering who these VIPs are. :P

After a visit to the Golden Temple, mind you it looks heavenly at night so make it a point to see it at night whenever you visit Amritsar, we were good to leave for Delhi. So 3 of us with contented hearts were back on our way to Delhi with a punctured tyre to boot.

The trip that began without a plan, turned out to be great one. We covered 3 beautiful places, Dalhousie, McLeodganj and Amritsar in 3 days, had amazing meals, enjoyed to the limit, sang a lot of songs and drove for about 2000 KMs.

Kids Say....

First things first.. A very happy 14 day old year ;) to all the readers..

In the last 2 months, I made 2 trips to Bangalore. I assume people reading this blog are familiar with the one in November. The second one was when I went to Mysore for the New Year and I had a blast, plus it was a welcome break from the Delhi shivers, albeit for 4 days.

In both those trips there were a couple of funny incidents involving kids and hence the title of this post.

I went to an old colleague's place. We had worked together in my earlier company. I had met his family while they were in Delhi, a couple of years ago. He has a cute little boy of 4. So I was sitting in the drawing room when this lil guy came in.
My Colleague asked, "Hey, do you remember this bhaiyya??"
And this kid goes, "No, the last time I met him, he looked different!!!!!"

On December 30th, I was on board a plane to Bangalore. There was a lady sitting next to me with her son. This kid looked to be about 10 Years old. There were routine safety demonstrations going on and there were routine announcements as well. What was different was, the Pilot was a Lady and everytime she spoke, this kid would chuckle. I wondered what was so funny. When the plane made a smooth landing, this kid laughed and said, "Not bad for a Lady pilot!!!". And you know how his mom responded?? Its the standard 2 words that every man has to hear from every woman, be it a mother, sister, girl-friend or wife, "Shut Up!!!"

This Day..Last Year...

Disclaimer: This is gonna be a helluva long post!!!

December 26th 2007 was a day in my life that I'll never forget. Words cannot describe what I went through on that fateful winter night.

Before questions start hovering in your minds, let me take you back to Friday the 21st December 2007. I had planned to spend my Christmas in Italy. No, I am not one of those privileged souls who spend their holidays abroad, I was in France last winter, so I thought of paying my Italian friends a visit for Christmas.

Before I bore you with my story, you will need to be familiar with the names of a few French and German Cities/Towns.

Orbey, France - Home and office in this small village

Colmar, France - Nearest town, and Railway station

Strasbourg, France - The Nearest city.

After the office hours on Friday, I went to Colmar with a colleague and spent the night at his apartment. Got up at 6 in morning to catch the first train to Strasbourg. Reached Starsbourg in about an hour, and waited for an hour for the Lufthansa Bus to Frankfurt. After a 2 hr bus ride, through thickest fog ever, and with a 10 min stop at the Franco-German border, I reached Frankfurt Airport. I was happy as I had 4 hours before my flight to Italy. But as my luck would have it nobody knew from which terminal RyanAir (the Air-Deccan of Europe) flew. As it turned out, it didnt fly from Frankfurt Main Airport at all and that it flew from an unheard-of airport called Frankfurt Hahn. To make matters worse, that friggin Hahn airport was 150 Kms from the main airport. From that point my adventure began.

I managed to find the bus to Hahn airport. Boarded it and let out a sigh of relief. I thanked god that people in Germany were conversant in english. And I thanked god for one more thing, I had a Brazilian beauty for company all this while and some more time. Beauty is an understatement, Bombshell is the right word ;).

What followed after that short-lived scare was the awesomest time of my life. Met all the people I knew in Italy at a party. Those guys had arranged a trip for me to a near-by city called Ferrara. Then I stayed with some Indian guys whom I had made friends with in my last trip and played cricket with them. Had a rocking time in all. Four days went by in a blink of an eye.

But what was to follow this was nothing short of an ordeal. From here on, me catching every flight or bus was touch and go. The flight back to Frankfurt got delayed. Reached Frankfurt friggin Hahn at 8:25 PM. Rushed out to catch an 8:30 PM bus to Frankfurt Main (this was the last bus by the way). Had to reach Frankfurt main by 10:30PM at any cost so as to avoid spending the night at the airport. To make proceedings interesting, there was a traffic jam on the freeway. The bus stood there for what seemed like an eternity. Reached Frankfurt main at 10:28 PM. I dont know how, but the driver spotted me running towards the bus and stopped it, I boarded it and dozed off.

I was to reach Starbourg at 1:00 AM. I didnt have any issues with that as I already had booked a hotel and the bus was to drop me at the doorstep of the hotel. But when I am involved, how can things go perfectly?? I reached Starsbourg at 1:00 AM, I went to the hotel reception and to my horror, the hotel was full and the receptionist didn't budge. So there I was, on a Snowy december
night, all alone on the streets of Starsbourg, no where to go. I had to find a place to spend the night as I had to catch a train to Colmar in the morning. Unlike in India, train stations in Europe dont operate at night.

I roamed and roamed on the deserted streets of Strasbourg till the wee-hours of the morning seaching for a hotel and to top it off, it was snowing cats and dogs!!! I finally found a hotel at 3:30 AM, I went to the room and crashed. Got up at 6AM took the train to Colmar, met the colleague at the station (had tied-up with him) and he took me straight to the office. So much for going to the office.

To sum up the experience, I felt like a contestant on the Amazing Race. Only difference being the winner of the Race gets a million dollars. And considering the fun I had in Italy, I already had won my prize.... :)