It was a beautiful evening. The sun, which had shone so brightly all day long, finally decided to call it a day. The sky started fading from blue to red to pitch black. The luminescent light coming from the horizon slowly started disappearing. There he was, lying on the river bank and staring into the deep, dark sky studded with millions of stars. It was as if the sky was completely covered with a black velvet sheet and sprinkled all over with shining sapphires. The moon, in its full grandeur, was cascading its light with a romantic glow. Its shimmering reflection was casting a silvery sparkle on the still water. Everything around him was so perfect, so silent. Such atmosphere was sure to bring peace and tranquil to anyone but not to him.
This was the place where he first met her. It was one of the most romantic places he has ever seen and he used to come here regularly with her. But today, he was lying there just to forget everything that has happened, for the moment, and get some peace, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t keep her out of his mind even for a second. He wondered what might have gone wrong in their otherwise perfect relationship.
He loved her. He was so in love with her that he could never imagine what he would do without her. She was everything to him. He loved that warm gaze of her beautiful brown eyes, that wonderful feeling when she runs her long fingers gently through his curly hair, that “on top of the world” feeling whenever he makes her smile, those warm and tight hugs he received every now and then, those comforting kisses on his forehead when ever he was demoralized, simply put, he loved each and every aspect of her. He had the best two years of his life with her.
But all of a sudden, everything fell apart. He had no clue of what happened but she left him. It came as a shock to him when she told that she is breaking up with him. His mind went blank and he couldn’t understand anything what she gave as reasons for her breaking up. But he knew she was making them up. He knew she never had any kind of problems as long as they were together. He was desperate to know the reasons. Was it because he became busy with work and stopped meeting her as regularly as he used to? Was it because he couldn’t talk to her for hours on phone like he used to do? Was it because he had to go out of station regularly on work? “No”, he thought. “She is matured enough to understand all these”. So, what was it? He felt so lost. The fact that she was no longer with him was killing him.
He was so deeply immersed in thoughts that the security guard had to call him thrice to bring him back to the present. “Kya saab. Ek saal se roj yaha baitke kuch na kuch sochte rehte ho. Park band karne ka time ho gaya hai!!!” the guard said. He gave a wry smile, partly coz he realized that it has been over a year that she broke up with him and partly coz she didn’t show up today also. He wondered how many more years it might take for him to forget her, if he can that is. He took some time to gather his senses, and disappointed, he left the place, only to come back again the next day, hoping to see her just for one more time. He still loved her as much as he did a year ago, may be even more.
(Though I know I suck at writing these kinds of stories, I just gave it a try. So spare me if it is not good :) )
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Thursday, August 12, 2010
My first Trip to Hyderabad
Ok. Don’t even ask me why I went to Hyderabad all of a sudden coz I anyway wont tell. For all the people who already asked me, the reason (just a bahana) I gave, “I want to see which is better. Hyderabad or Vizag!!!” And by the way, this is the first time Hyderabad got lucky to have me as its visitor.
“To hell with this traffic” we thought and we got out of the auto in the middle of the rush hour Mumbai traffic and started walking (Chandana was literally running) to the bus stop. After a 2 hours wait at the bus stop, we finally boarded the bus and started our 12 hour long journey. I don’t even want to tell how much torture I went through in the bus thanks to the TV screen right in my face, playing “Namo Venkatesa”. Somehow managed to sleep and next day morning, voila!!! We reached Hyderabad, that too right on time.
Frankly speaking, the first 2 hours of my stay in Hyderabad were the most boring hours and after that, I didn’t get enough free time to be bored. Oh sorry!!! Forgot about the torturous 2 hours I spent watching Aisha (felt like ages inside the theatre), and another 1 or 2 hours at chocolate room. But more of all these later. Just felt like sharing my experiences in Hyderabad. So, here I go…
Traveling:
Before going to Hyderabad, I used to think that driving in Mumbai is a challenging task. Now, after coming back, I feel like I am riding in heaven. Such was the impact Hyderabad traffic had on me. At least for the 1st timers, Hyderabad traffic is a nightmare.
"Is it a city or a long stretch of a single main road of 30 or 40 Km with buildings and all on either side of the road?” this was my first feeling. Where ever you want to go, get on that infinitely straight road and just ride. If you are lucky enough, you wont get hit by an auto and you might even reach your destination. Come on!!! We started 40 min before the movie time and still ended up being late by around 20 min (but later I hoped we had reached another half an hour or 1 hour late). But still, I enjoyed the bike rides a lot :)
Food:
“The best biriyani one can eat. Perfect mix of spice and exquisite taste. You can get this best variation of biriyani only in Hyderabad” my friends said. And we all went to Paradise, which has won “best biriyani in Hyderabad” award for n number of years. But after eating, I felt that even I can make a biriyani far better than this. In the 3 days on my stay, best food I had was at vasavya’s place, when I was coming back. First time, I liked vegetarian more than non vegetarian.
The place where I stayed (ICRISAT):
This is the best part of my whole trip. We got to stay at ICRISAT in Patancheru. Mallika has arranged for passes and dorms for me and Harmo to stay in ICRISAT. Inside of the campus was a complete different place as compared to rest of the Hyderabad. It’s calm, beautiful and full of greenery. There are lakes, never ending lush green fields, sunset points, and ya… I heard that even some Telugu movies have been shot inside the campus. Ahh…. Seriously, in a city like Hyderabad, it’s the best place to enjoy natural beauty.
Movies:
The less I talk about this, the better. 1st day 1st thing we did was go to the movie Aisha. And even before the start of the movie, Mallika started saying “No one will sleep tonight. We will watch movies all night”. “Did I come all the way from Mumbai to Hyderabad to watch movies?” I thought. Anyway, Aisha…. Never ending movie. If only the IMDB servers can accept negative ratings, I bet this movie would have got a perfect -10/10. The other movie we watched, “once upon a time in Mumbai” was far better. I went all the way from Mumbai to Hyderabad to see a movie about Mumbai :) And then there was "paranormal Activity". Seriously, lets keep the horror part aside. Is that even a movie? Saw the movie in laptop and I slept a dozen times in between. Everytime i sleep, Mallika used to hit me on the head and ask me to wake up. But come on, there should be atleast one interesting aspect in the movie to stay awake right?
Places I visited:
Places? What places? Seriously, are there any places to see in Hyderabad? I doubt it. I did see places like Hi-tech city, gachibowli and all, though. Oh sorry!! Forgot to mention the visit to Tank bandi for sunrise breakfast (really nice place to go early in the morning). And to everyone’s surprise, the laziest person in our group was the first to get up and wake up all others...ya you guessed it right. Its Mallika. And what’s even more shocking is, she was the 1st to get ready (Its like a wonder isn't it???). Of course, then there is ICRISAT. But too bad I couldn’t enjoy the beauty of ICRISAT as much as I would have liked. Next time I go to Hyderabad, I will definitely cover the whole 3600 odd acres of ICRISAT. Oh sorry… I already committed myself that I will go to Hyderabad only to see 4-minar (yes I know. Levels of PJ… credit goes to Mallika)… So ICRISAT would have to wait for another time.
I will end with a short note about the people I met in Hyderabad. I met a few of Chandana and Mallika’s friends, Vasavya, Chaitanya, Venky, Babu etc... and all of them (well, almost!!!) were very nice. Had lots of fun with everyone. And if you have good company, it doesn’t matter if it is Hyderabad or Vizag or Mumbai. You will end up having fun anyways :) So even after some negatives in the trip, if I am asked whether I will go to Hyderabad again if I get a chance, I will say “Hell yeah!!!”…
“To hell with this traffic” we thought and we got out of the auto in the middle of the rush hour Mumbai traffic and started walking (Chandana was literally running) to the bus stop. After a 2 hours wait at the bus stop, we finally boarded the bus and started our 12 hour long journey. I don’t even want to tell how much torture I went through in the bus thanks to the TV screen right in my face, playing “Namo Venkatesa”. Somehow managed to sleep and next day morning, voila!!! We reached Hyderabad, that too right on time.
Frankly speaking, the first 2 hours of my stay in Hyderabad were the most boring hours and after that, I didn’t get enough free time to be bored. Oh sorry!!! Forgot about the torturous 2 hours I spent watching Aisha (felt like ages inside the theatre), and another 1 or 2 hours at chocolate room. But more of all these later. Just felt like sharing my experiences in Hyderabad. So, here I go…
Traveling:
Before going to Hyderabad, I used to think that driving in Mumbai is a challenging task. Now, after coming back, I feel like I am riding in heaven. Such was the impact Hyderabad traffic had on me. At least for the 1st timers, Hyderabad traffic is a nightmare.
"Is it a city or a long stretch of a single main road of 30 or 40 Km with buildings and all on either side of the road?” this was my first feeling. Where ever you want to go, get on that infinitely straight road and just ride. If you are lucky enough, you wont get hit by an auto and you might even reach your destination. Come on!!! We started 40 min before the movie time and still ended up being late by around 20 min (but later I hoped we had reached another half an hour or 1 hour late). But still, I enjoyed the bike rides a lot :)
Food:
“The best biriyani one can eat. Perfect mix of spice and exquisite taste. You can get this best variation of biriyani only in Hyderabad” my friends said. And we all went to Paradise, which has won “best biriyani in Hyderabad” award for n number of years. But after eating, I felt that even I can make a biriyani far better than this. In the 3 days on my stay, best food I had was at vasavya’s place, when I was coming back. First time, I liked vegetarian more than non vegetarian.
The place where I stayed (ICRISAT):
This is the best part of my whole trip. We got to stay at ICRISAT in Patancheru. Mallika has arranged for passes and dorms for me and Harmo to stay in ICRISAT. Inside of the campus was a complete different place as compared to rest of the Hyderabad. It’s calm, beautiful and full of greenery. There are lakes, never ending lush green fields, sunset points, and ya… I heard that even some Telugu movies have been shot inside the campus. Ahh…. Seriously, in a city like Hyderabad, it’s the best place to enjoy natural beauty.
Movies:
The less I talk about this, the better. 1st day 1st thing we did was go to the movie Aisha. And even before the start of the movie, Mallika started saying “No one will sleep tonight. We will watch movies all night”. “Did I come all the way from Mumbai to Hyderabad to watch movies?” I thought. Anyway, Aisha…. Never ending movie. If only the IMDB servers can accept negative ratings, I bet this movie would have got a perfect -10/10. The other movie we watched, “once upon a time in Mumbai” was far better. I went all the way from Mumbai to Hyderabad to see a movie about Mumbai :) And then there was "paranormal Activity". Seriously, lets keep the horror part aside. Is that even a movie? Saw the movie in laptop and I slept a dozen times in between. Everytime i sleep, Mallika used to hit me on the head and ask me to wake up. But come on, there should be atleast one interesting aspect in the movie to stay awake right?
Places I visited:
Places? What places? Seriously, are there any places to see in Hyderabad? I doubt it. I did see places like Hi-tech city, gachibowli and all, though. Oh sorry!! Forgot to mention the visit to Tank bandi for sunrise breakfast (really nice place to go early in the morning). And to everyone’s surprise, the laziest person in our group was the first to get up and wake up all others...ya you guessed it right. Its Mallika. And what’s even more shocking is, she was the 1st to get ready (Its like a wonder isn't it???). Of course, then there is ICRISAT. But too bad I couldn’t enjoy the beauty of ICRISAT as much as I would have liked. Next time I go to Hyderabad, I will definitely cover the whole 3600 odd acres of ICRISAT. Oh sorry… I already committed myself that I will go to Hyderabad only to see 4-minar (yes I know. Levels of PJ… credit goes to Mallika)… So ICRISAT would have to wait for another time.
I will end with a short note about the people I met in Hyderabad. I met a few of Chandana and Mallika’s friends, Vasavya, Chaitanya, Venky, Babu etc... and all of them (well, almost!!!) were very nice. Had lots of fun with everyone. And if you have good company, it doesn’t matter if it is Hyderabad or Vizag or Mumbai. You will end up having fun anyways :) So even after some negatives in the trip, if I am asked whether I will go to Hyderabad again if I get a chance, I will say “Hell yeah!!!”…
Thursday, August 5, 2010
A few things about ghosts
Do you believe in God? I guess many of you do. So then, do you believe in ghosts? If no, why not? Where there is good, there is bad. Where there is a Hero, there is a villain. Where there is heads, there is tails. So, if god exists, ghosts should also exist. After all, God gets to be the hero coz he can obliterate the villains (ghosts) right?
Ok, what about spirits? Do they exist? Does a person, after dying, really becomes a spirit, roam around the place where he/she died, make that place their own and kill anyone who comes there? (Like they show in some movies). Is it possible to summon a spirit just with the help of a coin? (Tried it once and the coin moved!!! It was scaryyyyy) but if we can, y people practice high level forbidden acts like necromancy instead of moving a coin and calling a spirit?
All these questions are the results of that stupid (but nice time pass) night long discussion six of us had, on a rainy night after 12, about ghosts and spirits. Everyone were scared but all dealt with it partly coz others were there and partly coz, they don’t want to show that they r scared. At least I didn’t want others to know that I was scared but believe me, I was. Come on!!! Ghosts are supposed to be scary. You don’t find sexy and hot female ghosts deeply and madly in love with you, like they show in movies, do you??? (Ahhh!!! I hope I can find one). Nor will you find those funny and cute little ghosts like “Casper”. If it’s a ghost, it is supposed to be ugly and scary that’s it!!! Though there are five others with me that night, what are they? Some kind of ghost busters to fight it, capture it and seal it?
So, my point is, when you see a ghost, it doesn’t matter if you are alone or with 100 people. You should get scared. If you act tough, they take it as an insult and try to suck the toughness straight out of you. At least if you get scared, there is a chance that they might think, “oh poor guy getting scared and all. I will let him go. There is that tough guy over there whom I will enjoy haunting” :)
PS: My dear ghosts. If any of u happen to read this blog, please don’t take it personal and haunt me tonight. Thank you.
Ok, what about spirits? Do they exist? Does a person, after dying, really becomes a spirit, roam around the place where he/she died, make that place their own and kill anyone who comes there? (Like they show in some movies). Is it possible to summon a spirit just with the help of a coin? (Tried it once and the coin moved!!! It was scaryyyyy) but if we can, y people practice high level forbidden acts like necromancy instead of moving a coin and calling a spirit?
All these questions are the results of that stupid (but nice time pass) night long discussion six of us had, on a rainy night after 12, about ghosts and spirits. Everyone were scared but all dealt with it partly coz others were there and partly coz, they don’t want to show that they r scared. At least I didn’t want others to know that I was scared but believe me, I was. Come on!!! Ghosts are supposed to be scary. You don’t find sexy and hot female ghosts deeply and madly in love with you, like they show in movies, do you??? (Ahhh!!! I hope I can find one). Nor will you find those funny and cute little ghosts like “Casper”. If it’s a ghost, it is supposed to be ugly and scary that’s it!!! Though there are five others with me that night, what are they? Some kind of ghost busters to fight it, capture it and seal it?
So, my point is, when you see a ghost, it doesn’t matter if you are alone or with 100 people. You should get scared. If you act tough, they take it as an insult and try to suck the toughness straight out of you. At least if you get scared, there is a chance that they might think, “oh poor guy getting scared and all. I will let him go. There is that tough guy over there whom I will enjoy haunting” :)
PS: My dear ghosts. If any of u happen to read this blog, please don’t take it personal and haunt me tonight. Thank you.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Mumbai meri jaan…..one year in Mumbai!!!
Mumbai… formerly known as Bombay, Capital of Maharastra, most populous city in India, commercial and entertainment centre of India…. These are the things that one will say when you ask about Mumbai (of course these are the things you get if u wiki it also :P). But I am not writing this post to repeat those things. I am writing this to give my own opinion about my one year stay in Mumbai. Let me start with my first experience after coming here. So, here I go…
Nothing much is there to tell about my first 2 visits to Mumbai as I have come, attended interviews and went back to Chennai almost immediately. I was very much pre-occupied with the thoughts of interviews and was very nervous. But during my first visit itself, I observed that Mumbai is full of beautiful girls. I felt like a Bedouin (desert wanderer) who found Oasis in the middle of a Desert. Of course, Guys who come to Mumbai from a place like Chennai are supposed to feel like that. If they don’t, then there is something wrong with them. Their eyes automatically get focused on the fairer sex (In Chennai, I should say there is no such thing as fairer sex). And I’m no different. So, I enjoyed those couple of days of my stay in Mumbai quite well. Well, that was the only observation I could make about Mumbai during those 2 visits.
August 10 2009… This was the day when I have actually come to Mumbai to stay as I have got a job with Indian Register of Shipping (IRS). I got down at Dadar station at 5 early in the morning. It still amazes me how the local taxi drivers find out that some one is new to Mumbai, just by looking at them. Last 2 times, I traveled in local trains. This time, a feeling of richness camouflaged me as I got my first job and so I decided I will go in a taxi.
So, I got into a taxi, and after I reached Powai, the taxi driver said “saath sau hua saab!!!” I was astounded. “Mumbai must be a very costly place” I thought, and I gave him two 500 rupee notes. Then he said “saab. Aapne che sau hi diya. Ek paanch sau ka note aur ek sau ka note.” and he showed me a five hundred rupee note and a hundred rupee note. I didn’t even think twice. I gave him another 100 rupee note. He said thanks and left with a glowing smile on his face. It was after some time that I realized that my first one hour in Mumbai cost me 1100 rupees.
But I should say that this incident is one of the really few negative ones I had after coming here. I had lots of fun in this one year. I went on more number of trips this year than in the past few years of my life. I have watched so many movies after coming here that I have lost count. I have done lots of things after coming to Mumbai which I would never even have dreamt of doing.
But all these were possible only because of the wonderful friends and great room mates I have made in the past one year. Because of them, I love Mumbai. Without them, Mumbai would have been just like any other city (except for the beautiful girls of course :P) …. So, this post is dedicated to all my friends in Mumbai :) Luv you guys….
Nothing much is there to tell about my first 2 visits to Mumbai as I have come, attended interviews and went back to Chennai almost immediately. I was very much pre-occupied with the thoughts of interviews and was very nervous. But during my first visit itself, I observed that Mumbai is full of beautiful girls. I felt like a Bedouin (desert wanderer) who found Oasis in the middle of a Desert. Of course, Guys who come to Mumbai from a place like Chennai are supposed to feel like that. If they don’t, then there is something wrong with them. Their eyes automatically get focused on the fairer sex (In Chennai, I should say there is no such thing as fairer sex). And I’m no different. So, I enjoyed those couple of days of my stay in Mumbai quite well. Well, that was the only observation I could make about Mumbai during those 2 visits.
August 10 2009… This was the day when I have actually come to Mumbai to stay as I have got a job with Indian Register of Shipping (IRS). I got down at Dadar station at 5 early in the morning. It still amazes me how the local taxi drivers find out that some one is new to Mumbai, just by looking at them. Last 2 times, I traveled in local trains. This time, a feeling of richness camouflaged me as I got my first job and so I decided I will go in a taxi.
So, I got into a taxi, and after I reached Powai, the taxi driver said “saath sau hua saab!!!” I was astounded. “Mumbai must be a very costly place” I thought, and I gave him two 500 rupee notes. Then he said “saab. Aapne che sau hi diya. Ek paanch sau ka note aur ek sau ka note.” and he showed me a five hundred rupee note and a hundred rupee note. I didn’t even think twice. I gave him another 100 rupee note. He said thanks and left with a glowing smile on his face. It was after some time that I realized that my first one hour in Mumbai cost me 1100 rupees.
But I should say that this incident is one of the really few negative ones I had after coming here. I had lots of fun in this one year. I went on more number of trips this year than in the past few years of my life. I have watched so many movies after coming here that I have lost count. I have done lots of things after coming to Mumbai which I would never even have dreamt of doing.
But all these were possible only because of the wonderful friends and great room mates I have made in the past one year. Because of them, I love Mumbai. Without them, Mumbai would have been just like any other city (except for the beautiful girls of course :P) …. So, this post is dedicated to all my friends in Mumbai :) Luv you guys….
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
A Desire to write........ My first Blog !!!
Five years!!! It has been five years since the idea of writing blogs occurred to me for the first time. I was so fascinated by the blogs I have read of my friends, that I have immediately decided that today will be the day I start sharing my dreams, thoughts and ideas with the world. I was excited. I thought there are so many things to write, so many feelings to share, so many incidents to narrate.
On the same day after dinner, I sat down with a paper and pen and decided to put all my thoughts on paper. I was determined to write my first blog that night itself. I don't remember what I had written but I somehow managed to write just a few lines and by that time, the seconds hand in the clock had run in circles for a full 120 times. My thoughts were wandering hither and thither, words were eluding me and my hands were simply refusing to write. It was like; my mind has completely lost coordination with its subconscious part which is a repository of my dreams, wishes, feelings, desires etc. Then I understood that writing blogs is not my cup of tea. But still I tried. I did not give up. I continued to write. And the result- next thing I know was that I was drooling on the paper on which I was writing and my friend was banging on my door and shouting "Uth ja saale... aaj bhi class ko late aayega kya??" And there ended my enthusiasm to write and my confidence just evaporated.
So, what is so different now from five years ago? I still feel that writing is not my cup of tea. So, what compelled me to take up this crazy idea of penning my thoughts again? I started because I still dream of sharing my thoughts and ideas with the world. By nature I am not an avid speaker. When i was small and used to make lots of noise, my class teacher used to scold me and say "Speech is silver, silence is golden". I guess i took that a lot more seriously than is necessary. As i grew up, I became silent. I never open up to anyone and I keep all my dreams and desires to myself.
I never share the overflowing joy when I achieve something, the unbearable pain when my heart is broken, the uncontrollable excitement when I am about to do something new, the immeasurable love and care towards a special person, oh and the list can go on and on. I keep every feeling to myself. And obviously my subconscious mind (or should I say heart?) is not some black hole kind of thing to suck up every feeling and never let them escape.
Now I have an irrepressible desire to write. I just want to keep on writing. I want to evince my joy, sorrow, pain, agony, love, dreams and what not... This time, I am more excited, more committed and even more confident than I was five years ago. I want to give form to my thoughts and start putting my feelings in simplest of words and write them in this blog. And I am sure my friends are always there to share with me, all that I have mentioned above.
Wait for it guys!!!! This is going to be Legendaryyyyyyy !!!
On the same day after dinner, I sat down with a paper and pen and decided to put all my thoughts on paper. I was determined to write my first blog that night itself. I don't remember what I had written but I somehow managed to write just a few lines and by that time, the seconds hand in the clock had run in circles for a full 120 times. My thoughts were wandering hither and thither, words were eluding me and my hands were simply refusing to write. It was like; my mind has completely lost coordination with its subconscious part which is a repository of my dreams, wishes, feelings, desires etc. Then I understood that writing blogs is not my cup of tea. But still I tried. I did not give up. I continued to write. And the result- next thing I know was that I was drooling on the paper on which I was writing and my friend was banging on my door and shouting "Uth ja saale... aaj bhi class ko late aayega kya??" And there ended my enthusiasm to write and my confidence just evaporated.
So, what is so different now from five years ago? I still feel that writing is not my cup of tea. So, what compelled me to take up this crazy idea of penning my thoughts again? I started because I still dream of sharing my thoughts and ideas with the world. By nature I am not an avid speaker. When i was small and used to make lots of noise, my class teacher used to scold me and say "Speech is silver, silence is golden". I guess i took that a lot more seriously than is necessary. As i grew up, I became silent. I never open up to anyone and I keep all my dreams and desires to myself.
I never share the overflowing joy when I achieve something, the unbearable pain when my heart is broken, the uncontrollable excitement when I am about to do something new, the immeasurable love and care towards a special person, oh and the list can go on and on. I keep every feeling to myself. And obviously my subconscious mind (or should I say heart?) is not some black hole kind of thing to suck up every feeling and never let them escape.
Now I have an irrepressible desire to write. I just want to keep on writing. I want to evince my joy, sorrow, pain, agony, love, dreams and what not... This time, I am more excited, more committed and even more confident than I was five years ago. I want to give form to my thoughts and start putting my feelings in simplest of words and write them in this blog. And I am sure my friends are always there to share with me, all that I have mentioned above.
Wait for it guys!!!! This is going to be Legendaryyyyyyy !!!
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