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a collection of thoughts, real life experiences, a dash of humor, a touch of romance, and so on...

Sep 02, '09

Last evening as I returned from office, I had to stop because of a fairly large size procession passing by. Yes, its ganesh festival. After staying for a few days in homes, and in pandals, lord ganpati is going back to his abode. And people are saying a goodbye to him in style, and with lots of spirit. Fine, nothing wrong in that! Celebration and festivals, are a part of every society.

However, something zapped me last evening. On an open truck there was a large sized ganpati idol, sitting in style, looking majestic, decorated fondly with jewellery and flowers and all. In front of this truck was another smaller truck, complete with a music system, and 2 dozen speakers of various shapes and sizes. A zombie like crowd of about 60 odd men, and 20 odd women were going berserk with a variety of dance moves. And with a deafening sound, large enough to rip off eardrums of passers by, this song was blaring “ chal Ganpat, thoda daaru laa!”

For a moment I stood still, trying to figure out what was happening. I wondered, if God was omnipresent etc etc, would the Ganpati on the truck feel odd about a song where ganpat is asked to fetch liquor? And devotees dancing to such a song?

I am not here to lecture on moral values and all, I myself am not a saint! However I have a different point altogether. Just by the roadside there were houses on both sides. I am sure there were a few very young babies, and a few very old people in those houses. There could be a few people unwell too. And no one seemed to be worried about the high decibel blast from those speakers!

Have we become so insensitive to others’ problems? Don’t we care for aged people, and newly borns at all? Does music always have to be played at the highest volume, to enjoy it? I was just trying to imagine a scenario. Assume someone objects to such high volume, I am sure some aggressive elements from the society immediately will come to defend the organizers, saying that this is a direct attack on our centuries old Indian culture.

Finally a humble poser to the moral police in our society. Valentines day celebrations are not Indian culture, accepted. But then is singing “ganpat, thoda daaru la” in front of ganpati, a part of our rich traditions?

Tags: ganpat, ganpati, daaru, moral, society

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Aug 26, '09

a breakfast to remember...

The yercaud express from Chennai, gently came to a halt at this tiny, non descript hamlet called sankaridurg, at 6.00 am sharp. Sankaridurg is located between salem and erode. And I disembarked with my paraphernalia, a collection of some instruments to be demonstrated at the nearby india cement plant. The moment I set foot on the platform this earthen fragrance of sankaridurg, overwhelmed me, rarely I have felt so fresh, so early in the morning!!!

It was a gentle, warm morning, the sun was already up, and jubiliant, first playing hide n seek with the well spread out fluffy white clouds, and then continuing its game with the palm leaves, as the caring rays descended on mother earth, to bring us the heavenly radiance!

From the railway station, we headed straight for the guest house, of india cements, they had sent us a princely and majestic our very old desi ambassador. Very soon, we were trundling along the curved 6 km path, towards the cement factory, passing thatched houses, swaying palms, and a few locals busy with their early morning chores, some of them just lazing around, something that they seemed to have been doing since ages.

Sankaridurg is derived from the sankari mountain, which mutely stands guard on one extreme of the village, it also houses an old fort, hence the name “durg”! what fascinated me was a story that from the fort there Is a secret tunnel all the way upto mysore. How about exploring the tunnel, and maybe having a tube railway from erode to mysore? My mind continued to play around with such thoughts, and we soon reached the guest house. We were welcomed by an attendant, and also some golden silence, to add to it, some pleasant sounding chirping from a few birds. Nature was so refreshing!

After a relaxed hot water bath, we finally descended to the canteen, where a heavenly treat awaited us.

Withing seconds of us taking our seats, a hefty guy dressed in the traditional knee length tucked-up lungi, and a flashing smile, came with a huge plate containing a couple of snow white ultra fluffy idlis, a bowl of steaming upma, laced lavishly with cashew pieces, 2 varieties of chutneys, and a bowl of hot sambaar! Also served was some mullagapudi, or powder chutney, with oil ofcourse. The idlis were awesome, at their softest best, and the steamy fermented aroma ticking the nose no ends, one of the best idlis I have ever had. I know aarti will make her usual faces the moment I mention soft idlis, more on that some other day.

The upma was absolutely well done, delicious to taste, full of tomatoes, cashews, cubes of carrot, and contained urad dal fried to a perfect brown! While we were about to finish the first helping, the same rotund gentleman served us a fairly big sized wada, fresh out of the frying pan, I could even feel the oil sizzle on the outer surface! The vada was at its crunchiest best, with a right proportion of coarsely grated fresh coconut, half ground pepper, and curry leaves. And next came the gastronomic delight. A plain dosa, soft in the centre, and brown and crisp on the periphery. Sambar was heavenly, full of drumsticks and raddish slices, which I relish a lot.

When I tell people about south Indian food, esp such quality meals and breakfasts at certain locations, a general reaction often is, “ whats the big deal” its just idli and dosa na….” what we had this morning was far far better, it was a heavenly serving of one of the finest cuisines in the world! This was not “just” idli n dosa, this was food, as served to the Gods! This breakfast was something which will stay with me for years!

Do you know something? I am eager to get back to this canteen for lunch today, I expect another sublime experience!

i dont know why but after finishing the breakfast, my mind went to last nite, at the chenai railway station, to this youngish policewoman, at the "may i help you?" counter....... cute expressive eyes, a flashing million dollar smile, and dusky comlexion....after eschanging a few glances, for a brief period, we locked eyes........thats all......:)

Tags: heavenly, vada, idli, dosa, upma, breakfast

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Aug 13, '09

fragile life....

6 years old arya burade died 3 days ago, in baroda, and this murderous swine flu is the culprit. burade family is known to my wife aarti, and just 2 weeks ago, aarti had been to their home, and noticed a some what dull looking arya, resting on the bed, arya's mom replied she had fever!

and she is gone, just like that! on tuesday noon, when i called aarti from bangalore, had been there just for a day, aarti started to cry, and i didnt just know what was happening, and then she said, little arya was gone.....

whether its god, or whether its nature, whenever somewhere unseen by all of us, lives and destinites are preordained, was it just 6 years for arya? and why? what was her crime? any explanation? any logical or rational reason? or we humans just have to utter the usual things like, whatever had to happen had to happen, and god takes away those whom he likes, and so on....

when people visit malls, restaurants, public places, unknown to them, some few are infected by this virus, and within days, its all over the net.........shravani deshpande, a 29 yrs old home maker from pune, who used to go out only to drop her 6 yr old daughter to school, or to the superstore, for provision shopping, died suddenly...

within days, everyone is rattling off terms like tamiflu, N95, H1N1, and what not.... these deaths have rattled me, saddened me more than anything else. how can an angstrom sized, good for nothing, useless virus, snuff off life just like that? with what authority? and with whose permission? is it with someone's permission? or at random? if at random, then are we all on our own?

why do we always stop at this single point, a point where further answers are always impossible, and then we try to add futile justifications like its their karma and fate and what not!
it beats me, why cant al humans, or all living beings for that matter, have a decent, healthy, normal life?

i get disturbed when the answers arent available, and its too difficult to focus on life then......where is life? i see masked zombies on the pune streets.... this evening as i approached the elevator of my building, and took off the kerchief i had tied to my mouth, a 5 yr old ashlesha, blurted out.........." uncle! mask mat nikaalna, swine flu ho jaayega!"

life IS unpredictable, but is it so fragile? and why???

Tags: fragile, life, swine, flu

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Aug 04, '09

besan ke laddu & focus!

When we got married, aarti was very happy that I could cook too. She imagined that once in a while she could get a break from the monotony of dishing out chai n breakfasts n lunches n chai n dinners, day in and day out. She was pleased that once In a while, she would just relax, while I would call her lovingly, to announce lunch.

A few months after marriage I remember once I laid out a nice lunch of rajma, chawal, fried potatoes, cole slaw, and then instead of calling aarti to the dining table, I decided to go unconventional. I just went to the living room, where she was reading something, and gently lifted her, and then carried her to the dining table. She was mighty pleased at that romantic act of mine. It was a Sunday, and needless to say, post lunch period was heavenly!!

Her satisfaction of having a hubby with culinary skills began turning sour slowly, as I started to gently criticize her recipes whenever they fell short of perfection. I would explain what went wrong, and how it could have been better and so on and so forth. This is the gravest sin a hubby can commit. To find fault with his wife’s cooking. Actually I wanted her to improve the next time but she stopped taking my comments lightly. Soon I was at the receiving end. “the kofta curry is good and I cant make the koftas any tender! If you want tender koftas, get me a tender lauki from the sabzi market!” her word was final!

And my argument was, she should not lose focus while cooking, and koftas will always be tender. “what do you mean by that anand?” well well….. while koftas are being made, switch of the cell, so the focus doesn’t shift, cos your elder sister archana would call, and then you know what would happen!
And she fired her salvo, “ is it? And what about you talkin endlessly to your girl friends from ibibo n fropper n what not? Where is your focus then?" Omggg, of late aarti not only played my bouncers well, but also hooked at the slightest provocation! I had to be careful…

Last Sunday, she decided to utilize the lazy & cold afternoon, to prepare besan ke laddu, since I liked them a lot, while I thought of taking a small nap! The lovely aroma of roasted besan, ghee, and sugar began to permeate my senses, and I woke up, heading for the kitchen. And here was aarti, resting against the kitchen wall, engaged in a sisterly chat with archana, as always, at the wrong time, as per me. And the besan mixture bubbled away gently. I tried to tell her to check the laddu status, but she was totally focused on some matters of grave significance, that’s what seemed from her excited face. In reality archana was telling her about the new necklace she had purchased…. It happens!

By the time she finished her chat, and got back to the besan thing, the whole mixture seemed to have hardened a bit. She tried to revive things desperately, but I guess the damage was done. Left to cool down for an hour or so, later on we found that the ladle had stuck in the besan mixture, as it had turned hard like a rock, and the job of removing the same came to me.

“focus aarti, focus! You lost the focus in that necklace story, and now see we are stuck with this rock solid besan, unable to remove even the ladle!”

“anand, you better focus on getting the ladle out or else, for dinner, i will really shift focus!"

that evening we had pieces of toughened besan, and i had to focus in order not to bite too hard, and break a tooth or two in process! it tasted awesome though, aarti's hands still retains the magic!

Tags: salad, romance, cole slaw, besan, laddu, rajma, chawal

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Jul 31, '09

the air is full of love...

i belong to the select class of not-so-elite folks, who firmly believe that if its a poem, it has to rhyme, no matter what! and its not my fault, please blame jack n jill for the same. for years, they have been fetching water, why dont they go up a ladder or a staircase?

anyways, i am in this lovely lake city of udaipur, lovely romantic weather, lavish rajasthani food, and some strapping tall, and confident looking lovely lasses!

naturally i thought of writing a poem. poetry is not my forte at all, let alone write poems, i cant understand many of the poems that i come across. theres too much of reading between the lines, besides the lines, and everywhere else except the lines....hehehe

i will never understand why miss srinivasan, and later miss george, both english teachers, when i was in school, went ga-ga over tennyson, shelley n keats.... was it just their profession or was it really their passion? neways, heres yet another attempt to bring in a few words, and try to sound poetic...

Birds sing
Flowers zing
The air is full of love…
Naughty eyes
Silent sighs
The air is full of love…
Furtive glances
Half chances
The air is full of love…
Crisp cottons
Undone buttons
The air is full of love…
Flowing hair
Lovely pair
The air is full of love…
French kiss
Near miss
The air is full of love…
Lusty passion
Fatal attraction
The air is full of love…
Long nights
Pillow fights
The air is full of love…
Light drizzle
Lips sizzle
The air is full of love…
Twinkling stars
Chocolate bars
The air is full of love…
Diamond ring
Pretty thing
The air is full of love…
Mellow moon
Mills & boon
The air is full of love…
She winks
Inky sinks
The air is full of love…

Tags: shelley, keats, tennyson, inktank, poetry, love, passion

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Jul 22, '09

excuse me, are you inktank?

We all love recognition, we all also love to be recognized, don’t we? I do, very much! I aint ashamed of admitting at all, it gives a huge ego boost to me to know that people recognize me. last month, in hyderabad, there was one such ego boosting day for me.

On the last day of my 4 day tour to Hyderabad, I was relishing a lavish vegetarian Andhra meal, at swagath restaurant, kukatpally, with my colleague, vijaykumar. Just as I was about to delve into some delicious n spicy rasam, I felt a gentle tap on my shoulders, I turned around to see a middle aged guy standing next to me. He smiled a tentative looking smile and asked me, ‘excuse me, are you inktank?”

I was zapped completely, I stared at him, wide eyed, for a few seconds, before nodding my head, “yes I am…” then his smile broke into a wide grin, and he extended, almost thrust his hand towards me, “ I am vizagbabs” he blurted out, unable to hide the excitement in his voice. And I jumped, n literally shouted “I don’t belive this” !! and this is how I met an old ibibo blogger friend. For the very first time, someone recognized me as ‘inktank’, I cant tell you how happy I was, happy is too mild a word to describe the state of my mind and my heart that noon! vizagbabs, or tirumala rao, recognized me frm my french beard:)

All those dozens of blogs finally paid off, that’s how I felt, elated completely. Me and vizagbabs were in touch over the cell in those days, eventually he left ibibo, and slowly I lost track of him. It was by chance that he happened to be at swagath that day. And now we both feel that we were destined to meet somehow! after a brief chat, our contacts revived, we said a goodbye to each other! he was in a hurry and we too had a client meet, post lunch.

Its good when there is this occasional heartwarming mixing of the virtual and real worlds, I found and retained one more virtual friend, and it gives me satisfaction to share this special event with you all!

Tags: virtual, real, friend, hyderabad

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Jul 18, '09

my daughter Sunakshi... an everlasting bond!

The Sunakshi that I have known - first of all, this human being is not like everyone else, she is beyond the ordinary, she is far ahead of being just extra ordinary, she is a phenomenon! I met her or rather came across her profile on a blogging site, where I have been a regular blogger. She had written a couple of poems, and as I read them, I realized that this person was different. Her thoughts were ahead of the kind of thoughts that we all normal folks have, her poetry, her eloquence, her brutal honesty, her words had a huge impact on me, somewhere deep inside me, there was a churning. And then I noticed that she was just 18! How could an 18 year old express so profoundly? I said to myself, and remember posting my comments on her verses. And contrary to expectations, she replied. And that’s how we got introduced! Subsequently I requested her to read my posts, and she became an instant fan of my writings, she remains my biggest fan and my inspiration till date!

We then got to know each other and soon a common thread began to slowly but surely bind us together. This thread was the thread of friendship. As days passed by this thread became a rope, we soon formed a bond, a bond that does not know to break! This absolute gem of a person is now my daughter, a daughter I have always wanted, always cherished, always dreamt of! Nothing on this earth can be compared to the satisfaction I feel, when she calls me “papa”!

Sunakshi has a heart of gold, and this golden heart has one emotion in abundance, which is love! At times I feel, she has enough love to move mountains, she really has, I am serious! I do feel enriched, ever since I met her, God has been kind and generous when he was distributing love, he must have liked her a lot too, as he filled her heart with endless love. And it reflects in her voice, in her verses, in her words, her actions, and her very self! She emanates love like no one else! In these turbulent times, her love will prove to be a beacon, wherever she goes, calming and soothing the turmoil in her way….

Her wisdom leaves me stunned to the core, I just go speechless when we discuss or interact on various topics. I always wonder when does she get time to comprehend, understand, accept, and then express such noble thoughts of wisdom, she is just 19 today! I always feel, and I am saying this for the first time - give her an atheist, and sunakshi will turn him/her into a believer in two hours flat, that’s the power of her thoughts. Every single thought of hers is backed by completely unwavering conviction, and rock solid justification. To be honest I have always found it tough to win an argument with her, and I am so proud of it!

We both believe in the law of karma and the concept of rebirth completely, so we always have rejuvenating discussions, whenever we talk or chat. Sunakshi is fun to be with, loves life like anyone else of her age, yet remains very different from others. I always tell her that she has an objective to realize, on this earth, and her presence on this planet has a definite reason for being so! She understands what I mean.

It gave me so much happiness to meet her, for the very first time, in Jan this year, when I traveled all the way to Punjab! I actually spend 2 days at her place, met her parents and family. It was a bit unusual initially, but her parents knew of me, and we all were comfortable very soon. In fact her mother had moist eyes, when she said that their daughter had found so much of happiness after meeting me! If all goes well, she might spend this diwali with us, at pune!

Needless to say, the most lovable person I have ever known, and there wont be anyone else like her, not even close to her. She would like me to write about her weak points too, but I know she hasn’t any! At times she does sound weak and vulnerable, and at such times, I do miss being in Chandigarh, a lot. From pune I cant do much for my darling daughter, but she has the courage too, to fight against every odd and every challenge that life throws at her!

She has an awesome presence, absolutely one-in-a-billion! Her personality has shades… shades of love, warmth, care, affection, and a huge touch of glamour too! One of the few people who can make her eyes dance, half of her poetry oozes out of her expressive and magical eyes!

I have always always wanted to have a daughter, and I can go on and on, and probably write pages, on her, and yet I know I will feel I haven’t written enough, cos she is like that! My hearts carries infinite love and affection for this lovely daughter of mine, god bless her with the best of things in life, today, tomorrow, and for ever!

Tags: relationship, bond, karma, eyes, daughter

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Jul 10, '09

why are you so loveable dear?

why are you so loveable, sweetheart?

occupying my mind like that...

knocking gently on the doors of my heart, and as i am about to open the doors to you...

i want you to stay, for ages, not just a few days or weeks...

why is it, that the moment i open my eyes to the first sun rays falling on my face every morning, i see you gently cascading on those rays, coming to me....

and as i get ready to go to office, i see you, in the corner of the room, staring at me, lowering your eyes, the moment they meet with mine, not speaking a word, yet so eloquent...

resplendent in crisp n fresh white dress, you are there just besides me as i drive down to my office, later again watching me, with the gentlest of smiles on your face, as i spend those 9 odd hrs in the office...

a warm smile as i break for lunch, you are always there dear, not away from me for a single moment, i can see love in every glance of yours, love flowing out of your eyes, reaching out to me thru your smile...

as i reach home, you are there again, your presence is felt at every step, be it in the missed calls, or in those lovelorn smses, i just cant have a moment to myself without you... as if i want to be left alone........

with so much of you in me, yet my soul longs for you........my heart craves for you...

will you be there tonight, like you have been, close to me, for every single night since we have known each other...for how long.......a few weeks?

be there na... i cant take this loneliless anymore, without you, life seems to have come to a halt....

and after writing all this, dont tell me that i need to tell you that i love you......

Tags: lovelorn, office, life, soul

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Jul 06, '09

off to greener pastures....

This morning as usual I took my seat in karnavati express at baroda stn, to go to surat, at 0645 hrs. a group of 4 guys, in their twenties accompanied by a senior looking person, came, and they all occupied seats in front of me. Each of the four had a huge suitcase , tied with nylon ropes, very typical of Indians traveling abroad, mainly with the migrant workers going to middle east, scotch tapes pasted haphazardly everywhere, giving the suitcase an ugly look!

Each one of them also carried a shoulder bag to which they were clutching so tight as if they were carrying a nuclear bomb or something. I could easily guess from their faces that they were first time travelers to the gulf, and the shoulder bags ofcourse contained their passports, tkts, and other travel n employment documents. They all had a large red “tikka” on their forehead, and brand new sports shoes, crisp synthetic material trousers, and full sleeved shirts competed their attire. The anxiety and bewilderment on their faces was so prominently visible, that the entire compartment was almost gaping at them, some like me, enjoying the whole scene. Their leader, the elderly guy who was ofcourse going only upto Mumbai, asked them to occupy their seats, and they sat only after he instructed, holding their bags tightly.

Outside, on the platform, there were a dozen people from the village, including a few ladies. The guys had a forlorn look, ladies had moist eyes. Lambs were being sent to the slaughter! One lady, looked like a newly married wife of one of the migrants, came in, and stood before her hubby quietly, trying to prevent herself from breaking down, wiping her tears as soon as they appeared, she just stood in front of him, unable to speak a word, her hubby reassuringly put his hand on her shoulders, looking at other fellow passengers, and also getting a bit embarrassed. As the train was ready to depart, wife dear muttered a soft “take care” in gujarati, and made an exit. This time she couldn’t hold her tears back.

A poignant scene, early in the morning. I had mixed feelings. They were all masons, going to Saudi Arabia, for the first time. I just said to myself that their employers shouldn’t exploit these young men from anklav village of baroda, and hoped they could realize the dreams of their own, and also of their family members.

As the train slowly crawled out of the station, I was certain of one thing, life for these team of four was going to be very tough from today!

Tags: mason, saudi, arabia, surat

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Jul 03, '09

we drank the whole night!

my youngest uncle had a long stint at mumbai port trust. 3 yrs back, on ganesh visarjan day, as his younger daughter was preparing pav bhaji, he was watching, next to her, in the kitchen, and without any warning at all, just collapsed and died on the spot. massive heart failure.

my uncle was a great person, always used to have a bagful of incidents to regale us completely whenever we visited our ancestral home in kalyan. what i am narrating here is one such masterpiece, a true incident happened at his office. maybe un believable for a few, but i remember my uncle insisting this actually happened.

people celebrate new year, and his office colleagues were no exception. on 1st or 2nd jan, there was always a discussion in the office, as to how everyone celebrated the new year, people talking about their celebrations, parties etc.

there was a new recruit in his office, a very shy, docile, village bumpkin kind of creature, innocence personified!
when he came to office on 1st january, he also wished a new year to everyone, and then naturally , they all asked him how did he celebrate the advent of the new year.

not to be left behind, in describing his party, he said, with lots of pride on his face. " we were 4 friends, gathered at my place. we got 1 bottle of beer, and 2 crates of soda. aur saari raat pee rahe the.... maaza aa gaya"!!!

Tags: beer, soda, masterpiece

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