When V Met

U n I - two different individuals, as different as the proverbial chalk n cheese.
U - the ever talkative, ever smiling, ever enthusiastic, ever crazy gal.
Me - the ever silent, ever brooding, ever boring, ever serious guy.
And one fine day, V met on a train.

The train was a metaphor for life - I had no clue where it was headed, I had no ticket and I desperately wanted to get off it.
Whereas, U were one who never missed catching your train, U knew where U wanted to go, U knew what U wanted to do.

And when I got off my train, U left the train too. And came with me.
It was destiny that our paths crossed. Destiny, they say, is a matter of choice than chance. Is it?
I dont know, but what I know is this -
when V met, U showed me the way.
U were the leader and I became your follower.

हम जो चलने लगे,
चलने लगे हैं यह रास्तें,
मंज़िल से बहतर,
लगने लगे हैं यह रास्तें...

आओ, खो जाये हम,
हो जाये हम युं लापता,
आओ, मिलो चलें,
जाना कहां ना हो पता...

During our journey together, I was simply floored by you.
I was amazed by U, amazed coz U were crazy and did simply whatever that came to your mind, or should I say your heart.
I envied U, envied U coz U loved yourself so much.
I loved U, loved U coz U were in love.

U showed me that when a person is in love, it shows.
U were so colorful, so happy.
And U looked so forward to meeting your love.

हां, हैं कोई तो वजह,
जो जीने का मज़ा युं आने लगा,
यह हवाओं में हैं क्या,
थोडासा जो नशा जो छाने लगा..

पुछो ना पुछो, मुझे क्या हुआ हैं,
तेरी राहों में आकर,
पुछो ना पुछो, मुझे क्या मिलेगा,
तेरी बाहो में आकर..

यह इश्क हाये,
बैठे-बिठाये, जन्नत दिखाये हां..

Until I met U, my life appeared to be completely shattered.
But U showed me the way. I argued with U that life cannot be led the way U led it - U have to be serious in life - and I was stumped when U posed me this Q,
"U were serious, weren't u? Then why did this happen to U?"
I had no answer.

But after meeting U, I turned over a new leaf. Whenever I faced a problem, a crisis, a challenge, I put on Ur thinking hat, I put myself in Ur shoes and asked myself how would U react, what would U do. And I did just what U would do.
And I became happy. And succesful.
Even in Ur absence, U became a part of me, my thoughts, my life.

ना हैं यह पाना,
ना खोना ही हैं,
तेरा ना होना जाने,
क्यों होना ही हैं..

तुमसे ही दिन होता हैं,
सुरमयी शाम आती हैं,
तुमसे ही, तुमसे ही..

हर घडी सांस आती हैं,
ज़िन्दगी कहलाती हैं,
तुमसे ही, तुमसे ही..

Fate, they say, can be cruel at times. How ironical then, that at the same time when I started living life on the very rules that U defined, U lost faith in yourself. Reality hit hard on U, when your love did not respond the way U wanted it to.

It was then my turn to help U get aboard the train again; albeit at a different station; on a different route. I showed U the mirror - a mirror that helped U look at Ur own reflection of Ur old self. Once we were back on track, U asked me if I loved U; and I could not hide the truth.

And then, destiny played its part again - your love realised his love for you, and came back to you with open arms. U looked at me; confused; torn between two loves; not sure which path to take; whom to choose as your life partner.
Two people should get married only if both of them are in love with each other - both of us knew this.
And I walked away, for your happiness...

Maybe, you realised at that moment of separation that U were missing a train; missing a journey of life that both of us could enjoy together;
and maybe you didnt want to miss this train...
... and you came running towards me... and I reached out for U...
that's Jab V Met...

Whats wrong RF?

Wikipedia defines "inflection point" as follows:

a point (x,y) on a function, f(x), at which the first derivative, f'(x), is at an extremum, i.e. a minimum or maximum. (This is not the same as saying that y is at an extremum).

It follows from the definition that the sign of f'(x) on either side of the point (x,y) must be the same. If this is positive, the point is a rising point of inflection; if it is negative, the point is a falling point of inflection.

Consider these statistics:

2003: 72-16 win-loss record 7 titles 1 major

2004: 74 -6 win-loss record 11 titles 3 majors

2005: 81-4 win-loss record 11 titles 2 majors

2006: 92-5 win-loss record 12 titles 3 majors

2007: 65-9 win-loss record 7 titles 3 majors

Suppose these statistics were given to a statistician or a mathematician. And he or she were asked,

"please build a statistical model that defines RF's career.

please define a function f(x) that traces his career over time.

calculate its first derivative f'(x) that indicates the rate at which f(x) changes, to trace the rate at which his career changes.

and then pray tell me - is the year 2007 the point of inflection in his career?"

Note that the point of inflection could be either a rising or a falling point of inflection.

One look at the statistics and it is evident that 2003 seems to be the rising point of inflection.

(I dont have his win-loss record in 2002, but he won only 3 titles and no majors in that year.)

If we look at the majors, then 2007 certainly does not seem to be a cause for concern.

However, if we look at the win-loss record, or at the drop in the number of titles won in a year, it certainly seems to be either a blip or a falling point of inflection. (I trust a mathematician or a statistician to prove me right or wrong on this one.)

2 consecutive defeats in 2 consecutive matches is a rarity for RF - this last happened 4 and a half years ago, sometime in 2002.

2 consecutive defeats to the same guy - this happened versus Nalbandian in the last few days, and versus Canas in March early this year - twice in 2007 - when did this last happen? 2002? 2001?

Losing a match versus a guy (Fernando Gonzalez) against whom he had a 10-0 overall career record.

Do these factors fit somewhere into that model f(x)?

If someone does come up with that model, I am sure RF's opponents will certainly be interested to find a statistical based way of beating him.

Btw, here's something interesting for RF's opponents - a couple of factors that need to be plugged in the fuction f(X) - these factors could determine your chances of winning against RF in 2007:

1. you know Spanish (Nadal, Canas, Nalbandian, Gonzo all speak Spanish - exceptions are Djokovic and Volandri - but rumour has it that they underwent Spanish learning sessions in secret)

2. you have long hair (all of them have long hair, with the same exceptions again)

Well! I have the inputs/factors/statistics ready at my disposal.

Just waiting for Mr Statistician / Mr Mathematician to conjure function f(x) and tell me if 2007 is the point of inflection for Mr Roger Federer.

Till then, hopefully, RF will return to his winning ways at the season ending Shanghai Masters.

As one Mr Muhammad Ali once famously said,

hopefully, he will once again dance like a butterfly and sting like a bee.

Deux frères and a Goal

Deux frères - Two brothers. Twins - one shy and gentle, the other bold and fierce. Separated in their early childhood. Grow up in different environments. The bold brother gets confined to a maverick life of performing odd tricks to the tunes of his master. The shy brother grows up under a royal patronage that urges him to become a fighter.
And one day, the two brother find themselves pitted against each other - to fight until death.
What an irony of fate!

Seems like the story of Manmohan Desai film based on the "lost n found" funda.
Thats where the similarity ends.
The two brothers in question arent Amar, Akbar or Anthony - but they are two tigers - yes, two tigers living somewhere in Cambodia in the 1930s.

One grows up in a circus, learning tricks from the ring master.
The other grows up in the local prince's private zoo.

And when they look into each others' eyes in the fighting arena and realize their relationship, they unite to escape from their caged lives - helping each other on their way to freedom.
No words are spoken between the two brothers - it is just the look in the eyes, the shallow gnarls and loud roars, the majestic walk, the aesthetic acrobatics while jumping over fire, the cuddling and gentle pushes - that impresses you with the love and admiration that the brothers share with each other.

A movie that is certainly very different from the usual stuff that comes on TV. Especially for a person like me who has not yet seen a tiger in the wild - but only on either TV or in zoos.

**********************************************
He is a young man who continues to impress. He is just 3 movies old - and I have liked all three, but my favorite is the second one, which wasnt as commercially successful as his other two.
The movie in the spotlight - Lakshya.
Every time I catch this movie while surfing the TV, I watch it over n over again.

Is it because of the empathy I feel in the helplessness of Karan Shergill who cannot decide what he wants out of his life - deciding to join the army just because his friend wants to - being influenced by the herd mentality - not sure if that is really what he wants.

Is it because he leaves the IMA feeling frustrated with the discipline and hard work that he is not used to, only to come back again since he feels that it is the only way to restore some self-respect and also his fair share of respect from his own father;

Or is it how his relationship with Romi evolves. The moment when they look at each other under the shellings with my favorite song from the movie in the background,

Kyun Poori Ho Na Paayee Daastan...
Kaise Aayee Hain Aisi Dooriyan...
Kitni Baatein Yaad Aati Hain..
Tasverein Si Ban Jaati Hain..
Main Kaise Inhein Bhoolon..
Dil Ko Kya Samjhaon...

Or is it the sublime moment when he realizes what he finally wants in life.
When he sets a goal for himself.
A goal that is not just personally satisfying, but tests his strengths and stretches his limits beyond the farthest. A goal that helps him redefine his relationship with Romi; with his father; and more importantly with himself.

FA's other two movies are fabulous too. But this one stands apart.
A well laid out and taut story; refreshing music by SEL (another favorite of mine); a superlative performance by HR - all others including PZ, AB n others are in supporting roles imho; beautiful cinematography - there are just too many reasons for me to make me watch this movie over n over n over again.

**********************************************

Two movies that I watched recently on TV.
One new, and the other oft repeated.
Loved them. Absolutely.

Les Feuilles Mortes...

Was reading Paulo Coelho's "Like the Flowing River" last week, when I read about a song that was briefly mentioned in one of the stories. A song called "Autumn Leaves"; actually a French song called "Les Feuilles Mortes". Being interested, I googled for it, and found its amazing lyrics (along with its English translation)that I am putting below .
Havent had a chance to hear the song, but yes, I am looking for it now. In the meanwhile, I will just enjoy reading the lyrics...

Les Feuilles Mortes
Lyrics by Jacques Prévert, (1945)
Music by Joseph Kosma, (1945)


Oh! je voudrais tant que tu te souviennes,
Des jours heureux où nous étions amis,
En ce temps-là, la vie était plus belle,
Et le soleil plus brûlant qu'aujourd'hui.
Les feuilles mortes se ramassent à la pelle,
Tu vois, je n'ai pas oublié.
Les feuilles mortes se ramassent à la pelle,
Les souvenirs et les regrets aussi.
Et le vent du Nord les emporte,
Dans la nuit froide de l'oubli.
Tu vois, je n'ai pas oublié
La chanson que tu me chantais...

(Oh! I really hope you remember
Those happy days when we were friends.
In those times life was more beautiful
And the sun brighter than today's.
The dead leaves gather on the rake.
You see, I have not forgotten...
The dead leaves gather on the rake,
As do the memories and the regrets,
And the north wind carries them
Into the oblivion of the cold night.
You see, I have not forgetten
The song that you used to sing to me.)

Refrain
C'est une chanson qui nous ressemble,
Toi qui m'aimais, moi qui t'aimais.
Nous vivions tous les deux ensemble,
Toi qui m'aimais, moi qui t'aimais.
Mais la vie sépare ceux qui s'aiment,
Tout doucement sans faire de bruit.
Et la mer efface sur le sable,
Les pas des amants désunis.

(It's a song that resembles us.
You, you loved me and I loved you
And we lived together,
You who loved me, I who loved you.
But life separates those who love,
Gently, without making a sound,
And the sea erases from the sand-
The footsteps of separated lovers.)

Les feuilles mortes se ramassent à la pelle,
Les souvenirs et les regrets aussi
Mais mon amour silencieux et fidèle
Sourit toujours et remercie la vie.
Je t'aimais tant, tu étais si jolie.
Comment veux-tu que je t'oublie ?
En ce temps-là, la vie était plus belle
Et le soleil plus brûlant qu'aujourd'hui.
Tu étais ma plus douce amie
Mais je n'ai que faire des regrets
Et la chanson que tu chantais,
Toujours, toujours je l'entendrai !

(The dead leaves gather on the rake
As do the memories and the regrets
But my love, quiet and loyal,
Always smiles and is grateful for life.
I loved you so much, you were so beautiful.
How can you expect me to forget you?
In those times, life was more beautiful
And the sun brighter than today's.
You were my kindest friend
But I only created regrets
And the song that you used to sing,
I hear it always, always...)

Interesting people I met...

I look forward to travel. Gives me a great opportunity to meet strangers, talk with them, observe them and if possibly, learn from them. Here's an account of three such very interesting people I met last month.

It was the day of the French Open final. Having slept at 2.30am after a long and tiring day spent in packing my bags & clea'r'ing my apartment in Tampa that I had to vacate, I was looking forward to catching a few winks on my flight to Chicago. Uncharacteristically by my own sleep standards (trust me - I can sleep anywhere, anytime), I was awake 15-20 minutes into the flight. Since I had no intention of reading, the usual bunch of books I carry were tucked up into the cabin bag put safely at the top. Reading the airline magazines in the front pocket isnt exactly my cup of tea, and I was finally relieved when the big burly American gentleman sitting next to me offered me his newspaper to read.

An old retired American chap well into his 60s, he was a jolly old fellow who loved to talk as much as I do. We were then talking for a whole 2 hours on different things ranging from sports, culture, cracking jokes, politics as well as personal stuff!

I was stumped with his amazing sense of humour as well as his good-heartedness; a drunk guy sitting in front of us talked very rudely to the airhostess; and my neighbour called her to tell her,
"Look Anna darling (yeah, he did note her name), I dont care what that gentleman sitting in the front tells you - I know this! You are doing a wonderful job! And we all appreciate it very much!"
When he ran out of his champagne, he would call Anna again, and then hold his throat and enact as if he is going to choke to death if she couldnt refill his glass. This he did atleast a good 3 or 4 times!

I was a little disappointed with myself of not having confirmed my 'vegetarian' meal preference with the airline, and I had to refuse the salmon and the beef options for lunch. My good neighbour then offered me his cookie and requested Anna to give me an extra cookie! And then fooling around with me, he told Anna who brought me the extra cookie, that I ate his cookie :D

Uncle Dan showed me his wife's photograph. She was Japanese and very beautiful. He told me that they had different likes & dislikes. While she loved New York, he hated it. He loved watching football over beer in the evenings, and she would keep nagging on something that bothered her. Yet they loved each other deeply.
They had met in Japan, fallen in love with each other, and she moved with him to the US.
They then moved to Dubai where he ran his business for a good 20 years. And then he sold his business to his Indian partner and came back to lead his retirement life in Florida.

He asked me about my experiences in the US - what did I learn, what did I think aboutt American people in general, and told me that
"Forget the war; an average American is basically good at heart."

He asked me how old i was. I replied I was 28.
And he told me, "Wowww! You are at such a fine age! You can still do so many things at 28. You know what? You wont have such freedom or flexibility in 10 years from now when you become 38. But 28 is such a nice age to be..."

**********************************************************************

The same evening was my flight from Chicago to London. Till the very last minute, I was calling friends across the US to tell them that I am going home for good. Speaking in Hindi/Marathi/English, the lady sitting next to me in the flight was obviously a little perturbed with all the excitement in my voice. Finally, the air hostess came and told me that I had to switch off my phone and the plane was going to leave. Sheepishly, I apologised to her and the lady and switched off my phone.

Her name was Lara. She was a woman in her late 30s. Looking at her, I thought that she was neither a Brit nor an American. Turned out that she was a Russian Jew whose grandparents had immigrated to South Africa during the WW-II. She had done her schooling and college in SA, UK and US; was married an American and was now settled in the UK.
She worked as one of the head honchos for a beer company, and said that she was the best friend for all her friends coz they got free beer from her. I had to admit to her that unfortunately for her or for me, I didnt drink beer. :(

She took a 15 day vacation every year to go home in South Africa; I had heard of the beautiful Garden Route, a 200 km adventure filled drive along the West Coast from Jo'burg to Cape Town, from a colleague at work; and Lara endorsed it saying that I must visit her 'home' country and especially the Garden Route. :)

As we spoke more on the different cultures, she said that she never wanted to stay in the US coz she felt that Americans always considered her as an alien, which surprisingly she didnt find in London.

She asked me if I was married. I said no, and added that in India, I am supposed to be married at this age. Very interestingly, she said that she understood, coz its the same in Jews - even for them, they are bound by tradition to get married at a certain age, have kids at certain age, etc, etc - which she did not do. She went out of the system by marrying an American, but most importantly - she chose to make a decision.

We wished each other luck for the future, and after knowing that I would be spending a week vacationing in London & Scotland, she even recommended me a nice Indian restaurant in London that was her favorite. :-)

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Our Scotland trip had been really very fantastic - it was a family vacation coming after a good 4 years and we had a great time. Amongst the places we visited, I fell in love with Inverness, especially the lovely walk along the River Ness that runs through the small town. The Scottish are very nice people to talk to - their accent is very much different than the English, whose accent is again very, very different from the Americans. Infact, I had much trouble in understanding the English accent - but I loved hearing the Scottish speak in English. And all the Scots I met - at the railway station, at the tourist info desks, at the restaurants and at the hotels - all of them seemed very simple, genuine and happy souls.

Having almost finished our trip, we were waiting for our train in Glasgow, when me n mom decided to do some window shopping. Entering a jewellry shop, mom was looking at something that caught her fancy.

That is where we met Lisa, a 22-23 yr old girl who worked part time in that jewellery shop. She was originally from Dundee in Scotland, had done her schooling and college in Scotland itself - Dundee & Edinburgh and told us that she never wanted to leave Scotland.

This was going to be my gift for mom - she was interested in a pearl set, while I had liked a crystal set. We asked Lisa for her opinion, and being the sales-girl she was, she told us,
"If you like the classic look, go for the pearls. But if you like something more modern, go for the crystal set."
A typical consultant's reply - let the customer make the choice! :D

While mom was making up her mind, I was chatting with Lisa. I asked her how much she knew about gems, pearls & jewellery and if she had undergone some formal training. She surprised me by saying that in her under-grad, she had studied Microbiology, but she realised that she could never pursue that as a career. Using her arms to gesture, she said that looking into the microscope all day long did not fascinate her very much!

Her big eyes became even bigger when she said that what did fascinate her was nursing. She was working currently in summer to earn some money to pay for her tuition, and then come September, she would undergo training to become a professional nurse and then work in some hospital in Scotland itself. She was so content in remaining in her home country or hometown itself.

Needless to say, she was extremely delighted when we ended up buying both the sets :D

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Three people - Uncle Dan, Lara and Lisa - from three different backgrounds, countries and cultures; and standing at three different stages in their lives.
The common thing to each of them was probably that all three of them had taken a decision in their life about what they wanted to do. And they were happy in doing that.

As I remember them today, I cant stop smiling as I also remember the beautiful song sung by 6 year old Connie Talbot on Britain's Got Talent show on TV,

Somewhere over the rainbow
Bluebirds fly
Birds fly over the rainbow
Why then, oh why can't I?
Some day I'll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me
Where troubles melt like lemondrops
Away above the chimney tops
That's where you'll find me

Somewhere over the rainbow
Bluebirds fly
Birds fly over the rainbow
Why then, oh why can't I?

If happy little bluebirds fly
Beyond the rainbow
Why, oh why can't I?

Happy Birthday Sachin :)

Four years ago, you won the 'Player of the tournament' award in South Africa.
Four years ago, on this very day, Mid-Day celebrated your 30th birthday in style by having the entire newspaper printed with stories, news and articles that revolved around you. Like many of your fans, I bought that copy of Mid-Day and have treasured it to this very day.

Four long years have passed since that summer of 2003.
They say, fate is cruel and time has no mercy on any soul in this world.
Who else, but you yourself have realised it the bitter way.
Today, you have been apparently 'rested' for the Bangladesh tour.
Your birthday this year is covered by an article on page 32 of Mid-Day.
And a photograph on the cover page.

Nevertheless, a birthday is always an occasion to celebrate and be happy.
It is a wonderful gesture from your childhood pal, Vinod.

Here's wishing you many happy returns of the day.
And here's hoping that you emerge stronger from the current misfortune for a final redemption.

Happy Birthday Sachin! :)

The Emperor & The King

The Emperor 3-7 The King

(Overall Head-to-head)

The Emperor 0-5 The King

(Head-to-head on clay)

The Emperor rules the world on all surfaces & conditions - be it hardcourt or grass, indoors or outdoors, except one surface, viz. the red clay. It is the King who is the wizard on this slow surface. Built like a matador, he flexes those biceps bulging out of that sleeveless T every time he hits with that astounding top spin, and then moves effortlessly in those cargo pants almost 6-8 feet behind the baseline to chase every ball sent down, and then rattles the Emperor every time they have faced each other. And the Emperor is not the lone subject in the King's reign on clay - the reign extends supremely over 67 consecutive matches!

5 of those 10 matches between the two of them have been played on clay - 4 of those have been finals along with a solitary semi-final. 2 matches have been played at Roland Garros while the remaining 3 have been at Masters Series events.

In these 5 matches, the Emperor has managed to take only 5 sets while the King has won 14.

All 5 matches have resulted in the King being victorious.

Seems like a one-sided contest, n'est ce pas?

No wonder, Mark Twain famously remarked something about statistics being nothing else but damn lies.

Then consider this fact - out of these 19 sets, 6 have been tie-breakers and another 6 have been decided by a single break of serve. In fact, in the epic 5-setter final (that had 3 tie-breaks) at Rome last year, the Emperor won more points (179 to 174) than the King, yet lost the match.

Just goes to show how close, how tight and how nerve-wracking it gets when these two slug it out in the middle on the red clay.

Just goes to show how much important it is to win those key points.

The 2007 clay season has begun.

These two have shown yet again that they are way ahead of any of their contemporaries by reaching the final of the Masters Series tournament at Monte Carlo last Sunday without dropping a single set.

The final was a contest between the left handed wizard and the right handed genius.

The Emperor opened aggressively, but his forehand, incidentally his biggest weapon, let him down on that day.

The King proceeded to win the final without dropping a set.

The Emperor still has enough time to make amends - the Masters Series at Rome and Hamburg follow suit in May.

The French Open at the end of May and early June is when both the Emperor and the King are likely to cross their swords (or should I say racquets) for the ultimate prize on the slow, red surface.

It is the only major that the Emperor does not have in his prized collection of 10 other majors.

And it is also THE only major that the King has in his kitty.

Both of them have great respect for each other.

When asked about it, the King could not have been more humble or realistic in his reply,

"What can I say about ten Grand Slams against two?"

When it comes to slams, this is the sole difference between the Emperor and the King. Other titles, tournaments and Master Series events will come and go. But nothing more than a slam or a major matters to the Emperor and the King.

This year's French Open may well turn out to be the defining moment in each man's career and the history of the sport of tennis.

Amen!

The pursuit of...

Finally watched a movie this weekend that I had been wanting to watch since last December. It is the story of a middle-aged guy, struggling to make both ends meet, struggling to look after his 5-year old son, struggling to keep his marriage working, struggling to make his mark in life - a few of those struggles end in success, a few in failure - but there's one struggle that is never ending, it is... the pursuit of happyness.

There's a moment of realisation of this particular struggle, in the movie when Chris Gardner, the central character enacted by Will Smith, says
"And it was at that time that I thought about Thomas Jefferson writing that Declaration of Independence. Him saying that we have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And I thought about how he knew to put the 'pursuit' in there, like no one can actually have happiness. We can only pursue it."

Aren't we all pursuing happyness? Can any one of us ever claim that we have found happyness for ever and ever?

Obstacles always arise in our path. It is the belief in ourselves and in our dreams that should always be unwavering, so that we can overcome those obstacles.
Chris' 5-year old boy wants to become a good basketball player, when Chris tells him that he can't be that because his dad always sucked at it as a child. Then realising his mistake, he tells his son,
"Don't ever let someone tell you, you can't do something. Not even me. You got a dream, you gotta protect it. People can't do something themselves, they wanna tell you that you can't do it. You want something? Go get it. Period."

The saddest moments in life are those when the heart cries silently with no tears in the eyes.
And the happiest moments are those when the heart smiles with no words spoken, and the eyes are filled with tears.

The saddest moment is enacted incredibly well when Will Smith has to spend a night in the restroom of a metro with his son, after they become homeless - he has no money to go anywhere - and he pushes the restroom door with his leg that someone is trying to open, while he holds on to his son sleeping in his arms.
To act well in such a heart-wrenching scene comes naturally to Oscar nominated actors. You dont expect anything less from them in such scenes.

But the scene where Will Smith truly shows his limitless acting potential is when he finally succeeds in achieving his long-held dream, and experiences that rare moment of sublime happyness.
You can see it in his eyes and his whole body language - no words are spoken - he comes out of his office to mingle into the crowd on the street, yet stands apart from the rest of the crowd.
He simply cannot believe he's finally achieved it against all odds, and he wants to share his happyness with the whole world around him. It is what you can call the perfect moment.

What is it that I am in pursuit of? happyness? success? perfect moments?
Will I ever achieve all of them?
All I know is that -
You got a dream, you gotta protect it. People can't do something themselves, they wanna tell you that you can't do it. You want something? Go get it. Period.

My pursuit continues...period.

What color do you want?

A childhood game involved making a 4-petaled paper structure that you hold in your fingers and pop a question to your friend,

"Tipi-tipi, Tip-top,
What color do you want?"

Nikhil posed this very question to a bunch of friends one by one, and here's what each one of them replied:

Kamini (Priyanka): I aspire for WHITE because it stands for purity & innocence, but deep down inside me I know that my favorite is RED - a color known for power & love.

Rahul (Salman): I appear to be aristocratic & artificial, no wonder you will find me in PURPLE.

Vinay (Anil): Ah well! My life is nothing but dull, uninteresting, un-'happening' if you may call it - what else can I have but GREY in my life?

Seema (Juhi): I am the perfect woman with the perfect kids, a perfect husband & a perfect family; I am the perfect BLACK.

Shiven (Akshaye): Please dont ask me! I have nothing else but BLUE in my life - it is the color of the sea and the sky - both are boundless and free, and I prefer not to be tied down by anything in life just like them!
Gia (Ayesha): I love PINK - calm & peaceful, tender & caring, accepting & self-assuring.

Raju (Govinda): Arey bhai! Believe in your dreams with all your heart - one fine day, they will turn into reality. For me, it is the colour YELLOW that represents my optimism.
Stephanie (Shannon): I am an IVORY tower, in search of a love I want but does not reciprocate, and oblivious to the one that I have already with me, but I do not know.

Ashutosh (John): I am earthy & solid by nature; I stick to my roots & convictions, and when I have my love by my side to give me my strength, I dont mind taking on the world - I am the quintessential BROWN guy.
Tehzeeb (Vidya): I am all for a new beginning, a fresh start, and I go by GREEN, a color that complements my soulmate's BROWN perfectly.

Having heard what his friends wanted, Nikhil got a little confused - the 4 paper petals on his fingers could hold only 4 colors, but his friends had asked for more colors than his paper petals could hold. He tried to please everyone, but it became unmanageable so much so that he also resorted to having 2 more persona, viz. Ramdayal (Sohail) & Phulwati (Isha), who were desperate to paint the town RED!

If only, he had stuck to 4 colors, the game would have turned out to be such a wonderful tribute to love in the true sense, n'est ce pas?

No wonder in the end, we agree wholeheartedly with Kailash' plea to all of Nikhil's friends in the form of a beautiful rendition,

प्यार हैं या सज़ा,
ऎ मेरे दिल बता
टुटता क्यों नहीं,
दर्द का सिलसिला

इस प्यार में हो कैसे-कैसे इन्तेहान
यह प्यार लिखे कैसी-कैसी दास्तान

या रब्बा!
दे दे कोई जान भी अगर,
दिलबर पे हो ना,
दिलबर पे हो ना कोई असर...

*Salaam-e-ishq*

Dor...

~ A few thoughts penned after watching Nagesh Kukunoor's new movie 'Dor'

Dor - a single rope of hope that ties the destinies of a hapless young widow and a never-say-"die" fearless widow-to-be.

The rope brings the cold mountain breezes and lush green valleys of Himachal Pradesh to meet the hot desert winds and dusty sands of Rajasthan. With this rope in your hands, you meet vagabonds on your way - strangers essentially good at heart, but who may dupe you for their own survival; and the bonding of the rope ensures that the vagabonds reach out to you in your moment of distress, thereby becoming your friends for life.

In one moment, this rope defines the boundaries of societal norms & customs that define your life; and yet in another moment, it also helps you climb over those tall orthodox walls then they question your very own existence. A solitary rope that can become the path towards freedom for a person, can also be equally effective as a noose for another - the person who holds this rope, has the right of choice between forgiveness and revenge, life and death, joy and sorrow, freedom and bondage - a right of choice that even angels would be envious of.

How this rope will change your destiny, depends on how strong you pull it, or how loose you keep it - this rope is as strong as your determination is, as flexible as your heart is, as resilient as your will power is, and as long as the reach of your friend's arms is.

That is what Dor means to me...

Chote-chote shehro mein..."Experiencing a coal mine"

~ A mail I sent in July last year to my friends from CTS, about my experiences of visiting a coal mine @ Gadarwara, MP.

Hi everyone,

Hope this mail finds all of u in the best of your health. Good to hear from Jesse, PT, Bhavin bhai & Amit.

Things are fine at my end as well. Here's an update from my side..

Last week for my current project, I visited a coal mine at Gadarwara (MP).. just came back today.. had quite an interesting time.. had never been to a coal mine before.. pehli baar pataa chala ki not all mines are underground.. this one was a surface mine.. chaaro taraf koyla hee koyla.. coal mining is quite a different operation from the usual mfg stuff... abhi tak, I have seen automobile mfg, boiler mfg, paint mfg factories... lekin mining is totally hatke (ne one interested can get the details on www.worldcoal.org ).. had the good fortune of watching the live "blasting" of coal using explosives, before it is extracted..

Talking abt Gadarwara - its a sleepy little town, lying between Itarsi & Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh - a 16-hour train journey from Mumbai.. was instantly reminded of the song "chote-chote shehron mein" from Bunty & Babli, as soon as we landed at the Gadarwara (pronounced as GaaDarWaaDaa) railway station..

The coal mine is located at some 25 km from the town.. so, it used to be a daily nice 30-40 min drive in a Mahindra Bolero - a panoramic view of lotsa birds of the feathered kind, sugarcane fields, lush green fields & signboards in Hindi "aage paath-shaala hai".. which really bring me to the usage of hindi in this part of india.. sample the new (or previously known but now forgotten) words used in day-to-day lingo: samay-saarini ( = "timetable" @ rlwy stn), nirgam ( ="exit" @ movie hall)..

watched 2 movies - B&B, Paheli in the "VIP" seats.. yeah, the movie hall "Alka" had 3 classes - stalls, balcony & VIP.. and u wont believe it, but there was actually a 3-wheeler tempo having 2 loudspeakers attached in front & back, playing the song "kajra re" & advertising for the movie B&B in the town - "Dekhiye, dekhiye, dekhiye - Amitabh, Aishwarya aur Abhishek ka dhamakedaar superhit gaana.. Bunty Aur Babli picture mein, aap hee ke theatre Alka mein"!

The best part was probably the food - b'fast was usually samosas, pohe, garma-garam jalebi, gulab-jamun (each of the size of a tennis ball).. lunch or dinner was roti/naan, with some paneer sabzi, daal, rice, dahi & salad.. had some really good desserts in the form of rabdi, jalebi and some good chaat as well... and if u really wanna hv some fun post dinner, try taking a tanga ride post-dinner ;-)

Life was a little different than usual.. considering tht u never got mobile range in the hotel room, but had to step out to the open chowk inside the hotel if u wanted to speak.. even at the mine, the range was available only at the top of a tower, of the coal washery.. also, one has to wait for almost 20-30 mins at a rlwy passing if a train is gonna cross ur road (or is it the other way round?).. ;-)

Getting an English newspaper was quite a Herculean task.. on Sunday, we managed to locate the local newspaper vendor, who had just 1 copy of Hindustan Times, which he let me read there itself saying "saabji, yeh kaapi to graahak ki hai.. ise hum bech nahin sakte".. on asking him why he doesnt stock any extra copies, he said "saab, poore shahar mein 20-25 copies hee bikti hain.. jyaada rakhne ki jarurat kya hai"... thankfully, managed to sell him tht last copy to myself.. n the excuse he intended to give to the "grahak" was "aaj kaapi nahin mili"

We went searching for an internet cafe to check the PNR status of our waitlisted return tickets only to find out that the cafe closes at 6pm.. then being reminded by one of the town folks tht we can get the status on our mobile phones itself!!

Next on the agenda is a visit to a place called Mithapur in Gujarat next week, where i'll be getting to see a metallurgical coke mfg plant.. hopefully, tht shud be an interesting experience as well (no worry - wudnt wanna bore u guys again) ;-)

Newys, abhi ke liye itnaa hee..
Ciao,
Ketan

Apni to paathshaala, masti ki paathshaala

~ A few words on the long weekend on Labor Day spent at Orlando-Myakka-St Petersburg in Florida. You can check the snaps in the folder "Orlando-Myakka" posted here.

Throw in a 5-setter nerve-wracking tennis match, the opening show of an absolutely hilarious Hindi movie, an exhilarating Lezim dance in front of Lord Ganpati, an adventure fueled canoeing experience in the midst of rains & alligators, a soothing dip in the Gulf of Mexico at one of Florida's sunny beaches and... AND do you really need anything more in life?

Last Thursday evening was a treat for all Andre Agassi fans as he battled hard against Marcos Baghdatis (incidentally both are my favorites, but I wanted Agassi to win this one badly). Ever since my childhood, I have always admired the then flying maned, to the now bald-headed Andre for the sheer joy he brings to the game of tennis. Initially attracted by his flamboyance in the early 90s - the fluoroscent cycling shorts worn inside the denim shorts, the brash arrogance in the eyes & demeanour - how can anyone not play Wimbledon because they enforce a white-only clothing; and fast forward to the mature, calm n composed Agassi of today who takes the customary bows on all 4 sides of the court - he has indeed metamorphised big way, yet has retained the same fighting spirit, probably much more than before, that helps him beat all odds.

I still remember the Agassi poster from Sportstar that I put on the wall in my room, with the caption "Eyes on the ball", showing him focusing intently on a ball to be hit. It was precisely this dedication & intensity that he brought to his game that helped him dig deep when he plummeted to #141 in the world, to rebound back to winning the Slams and achieve the Numero Uno position. Unlike the highly efficient, almost machine-like Pete Sampras who won a record 14 slams, ended n number of years as the world's # 1 player, and who ended his career with a US Open Grandslam win over Andre - Pete's was indeed the "perfect" career; Agassi battled longer, went through the ups & downs, overcame physical pain & cortisone shots to remind us that he is after all, as human as you or me who has his own shares of failures as much as the successes - and for that, he becomes much more inspirational for me than anyone else.

To see him win over Baghdatis was a sheer pleasure, and the best thing for me was that the last match I saw him play was the one in which he won even though he was the underdog!

Friday night was the occasion for watching the latest Bollywood blockbuster "Lage Raho Munnabhai". For those of you who havent seen a Hindi movie in recent times, havent laughed your heart out, are dying to watch a simple movie that touches your heart, and need a desperate "jadoo ki jhappi" - this movie is highly recommended.

On Saturday, the Maharashtra Mandal at Orlando had organised a cultural evening as part of the Ganeshotsav celebrations at the Hindu temple in Orlando. A palkhi procession of Lord Ganpati interspersed with song & dance performances by children, women and the men dancing Lezim was the highlight of this cultural evening. This was followed by Ganesh pooja by all children who received the pooja thaali (a very good initiative to apprise the toddlers of our age-old traditions n customs by the old-aged), on the stage and the aarati. It was truly heartening to see the 150-200 odd Marathi people from all 3 "Kal, Aaj aur Kal" generations come together to celebrate one of the most beloved festivals, and even more satisfying for me n my friends who enjoyed the modaks in the prasad, and the dinner that followed.

Sunday took us to the Myakka River State Park , one of Florida's oldest and largest state parks which is located around 70 miles south of Tampa. The state park offers you to go camping, biking, hiking, fishing, canoeing/kayaking, bird watching, et al. Reaching the park in the midst of a heavy downpour, we had to wait for the rains to subside. This provided ample time to have a nice chat with John, one of the state park personnel, who rents out the canoes.
"Aww, so you guys wanna canoe?"
- Yeah, we want to canoe. Can you tell us how deep is the water here? (2 of us cant swim)
"Well, it aint that deep, its not more than 6-7 feet in the middle of the lake. (Thats more than enough considering that none of us is 6-foot plus)
- What about the alligators? Any particular care that we should take while canoeing? What if they come near us? (Extremely valid concerns considering that yours truly was the only person who had canoed before, that too just once)
"Yeah, we have quite a few alligators - you gonna see plenty of them. But we have never had any alligator attacks ever. Well, if you guys are gonna fish, just be careful - those guys just wait for you to catch a fish n then catch the one you have caught on your line, even before you can pull it out of the water. Also, even these guys are otherwise afraid of humans, please dont feed them - coz if you feed them, they lose that fear, and associate you with food."
- Well, that doesnt sound very encouraging. But yeah, we can give it a try. Suppose something happens in the middle of the river?
"Hope nothing happens - but if it does - just call 911." (Turned out later that there's no cell coverage on the river - curse T-Mobile & Cingular)

As soon as it stopped raining, armed with the life jackets, we rowed out on the canoe, our hearts filled with expectations - will we see the alligators, what will happen if the canoe overturns - and what followed was testimony to the Alchemist's wise words - "if you want something badly, the whole universe conspires to help you achieve it."
As soon as we reached the middle of the river, it started rained heavily, and our canoe rocked against the big waves; one of us actually holding onto both sides of the canoe hoping that it would help the canoe not being overturned. We finally managed to calm ourselves by rowing perpendicular to the waves and towards the shore, and then realising that the shore isnt the best place everytime - the mosquitoes or the ant-flies on the shore ensured that we got back into the water within moments of us touching land.

A new direction, a new enthusiasm, a new found confidence in our rowing abilities - call it whatever you may - but we bumped into (not literally) another canoe whose inhabitants (is that the right word) pointed us the way yonder where they claimed to have seen 3 alligators! That was enough for us to start pushing in the said direction, and boy! Within a minute or so, we laid our eyes on one of the first 10 or 12 alligators we saw that day!
"Hey, hey - look to the left.. there's an alli there...
arey baba.. right mein dekho... that one is bigger..."
and all this while... we were just heading into probably the biggest of them - HEAD ON! The lazy fellow just opened one of its eyes while we were 6-8 ft away, and peacefully slid into the water below - the excitement was such that we actually forgot to shoot him on our digicams. But that was indeed a very close encounter.
Our confidence levels had increased multifold, and we actually tried to follow one of the big alligators who was swimming at a decent pace, but finally had to give up - these creatures are lazy, but believe me - if they want, they can swim at a nice pace. Which doesnt give you much chances whether you can swim or not. ;-)

Getting out of the water for the final time, we went on a couple of nature trails & a bird trail - catching glimpses of the wild life in the state park. A pair of deer stared at us as intently as we looked at them, which surprised me; was expecting them to look and run away. Then there were the couple of eagles who were proudly displaying their wings and posing happily for all the state park visitors. The vultures perched atop the leafless tree-tops were quite a sight with their black silhouettes set against the white/grey sky. The pearl white storks looked more attractive while trying to catch some fish in the muddy waters; was in fact amazed to see how they can still remain so white despite all the darkness & muddiness all around them.

Labor day Monday was a day for relaxation - a day reserved for the soothing waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Had never been to the beach at St Petersburg, and though it isnt exactly one of the best beaches I have ever been to, it was a decent place. The water increases in depth with the distance, and 50 metres from land, the depth reduces again to only waist-high - so you can swim your way there, and then stand in the water again. I did this exercise a couple of times by swimming back n forth, and then just stayed in the water close to the land, chatting with friends, and trying to absorb the refreshing sea breeze as much as I could.

Today, a week later, the long Labor Day weekend now appears quite short, and not long enough. Feel like wanting a little more of everything - a little more adventure, a few more rain drops, a few more alligators, a little more of canoeing, a few more 5-set tennis matches (sans Agassi tho' now), a little more of Munna bhai & Circuit, a few more miles of drive, a little more of the sea breeze, a few more swims, a few more steps of Lezim, a few more modaks - kya karein, yeh dil basically maange more!

But then, I know... I dont have to wait long.... there will be quite a few more coming my way soon, considering that
Apni to paathshaala, masti ki paathshaala!

Alvida Omkara?

It is not often that you get to see two Bollywood movies in a week, in the first week of their release and more specifically at the first day, first show! And especially when the two movies come from master story tellers (movie directors should really be good story tellers) like Vishal Bharadwaj & Karan Johar.

Having seen Maqbool which was VB's interpretation of Shakespeare's Macbeth, I had been really looking forward to watching "Omkara" - his rendition of another tragedy from the bard, viz. Othello. If you have never read Shakespeare like me, this piece of info will do no good - but if you watch the movies, you will agree that the bard indeed captures human emotions, human relations & human behaviour so beautifully that even four centuries later - one is amazed that at the core we humans havent changed much.

Watching Omkara made me ponder over a few Qs. What is it within us that makes us jealous or suspicious of our companions or our near n dear ones? Why does it drive us to a point of no return, when we repent our actions, our words? Can we attribute it to lack of trust? Then is trust more important an attribute than unconditionality when it comes to love? Maybe all of us demand unconditional love all the time, but what we really need is a love which we can trust.

Karan Johar's Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna on the other hand is a serious departure from his earlier flicks; a good sign since this time he attempts to be bold rather than telling his usual fairy tales that end with "... and they lived happily together ever after."

KANK is a reflection of changing times as we love to call them. Of times when married couples look beyond the boundaries set by society n tradition, n decide to cross those boundaries; of times when individual happiness becomes more important than societal or traditional norms. But then, have times really changed or have they been the same? Did infidelity never occur before KJ decided to sugarcoat it with his tag line "what happens if you meet your soulmate after marriage?"

Both movies seem to point out that trust & understanding are the prerequisites for a relationship to succeed. No wonder, in the near absence of these, you are reminded of Konkona Sen Sharma's words,

"Hasi badi mehengi ho jaave is duniya mein."

Les étrangers

Very often than not, you meet a few strangers in life - strangers with whom you may interact only once or twice in your life - but they leave an indelible impression on you. You end up not even knowing their names in most cases - but, it is either the way they talk, the specific words they use, their body language or simply something that you never realise, that characterises each of them them uniquely. As time passes, you may not remember them vividly, and all that remain are some cherishable memories that you fondly remember.

What follows is a description of a couple of such souls I met during my recent trip to India - souls who make your life interesting, and you thank them for being a part of your life...

The "Puneri" Karyalaya (wedding hall) Manager
It was a typical Marathi wedding setting at my hometown Pune. All people on the bride's side were standing in line at the gate of the wedding hall to welcome the junta on the groom's side. A lovely rangoli decorated with myriad colors & petals, and deeyas awaited eagerly the arrival of the groom. Being a monsoon month, the hall was covered with a mandap (cloth), almost 20 ft high. Thats when the wedding hall manager came along, dressed immaculately in a well-ironed shirt & trousers, giving his instructions to different people working at the wedding hall. As he turned his attention towards the gate, he looked at the rangoli, and then thundered at us -

"Please remove the deeyas as soon as the groom passes by. The entire mandap is completely made of cloth - so, please remove the deeyas immediately."

When he said this, we immediately looked at the handful of deeyas on the floor - sparkling little flames, fighting for their survival against the wind, some of them which had already given up; and then at the mandap ceiling, brightly coloured cloth staring back at us from a height of atleast 20-25 ft. We couldnt help but chuckle at the thought of the deeyas attempting to accomplish a feat similar to Birbal's khichadi. I then wondered if the Karyalaya Manager was Birbal himself, who had a strong conviction that the khichadi would definitely get cooked. The only difference in the conviction maybe was that the Birbal in the 16th century wanted the khichadi to get cooked, while our Birbal from the 21st century didnt really want the khichadi (mandap) to get cooked!

The ever-friendly Sardarji taxi driver in Mumbai
Having reached Dadar station from Pune by the Intercity Express, I was tugging my 2 bags in the direction of Swami Narayan temple where I was to meet a friend who was coming to pick me up. As always happens, a plethora of taxi drivers came running towards me as soon as I was out of the platoform.

"Saab, taxi chahiye kya?"
"Jaana kahaan hai?"
"Saab, idhar aao - taxi aap ke liye khadi hain"

While I was politely refusing the offers made by everyone, a Sardarji taxi driver approached me with a big smile on his face,

"Sir ji, taxi chaahiye?"
- "Nahin ji. Thank you."
"Kyon sir, kya hua?"
- "Mera ek dost aa raha hai."
"O ji! To hum kya dushman hai, hum dost nahin hai?" retorted the Sardarji with his smile changing to an uncontrollable laughter that had me also into splits!
-"Arey nahin ji, aap bhi hamare dost ho!" was all I could say!
"Bilkul ji! Jab bhi taxi ki jarurat ho, apne is dost ko pakka bulaa lo!" was the immediate response from the Sardarji.

His words & laughter still echo in my mind, and I know I have a friend for life to pick me up at Dadar station whenever I need.

A champion, a loser & a legend

"Veni, Vedi, Vici"

These were the only words used by Julius Caesar as the full text of his message to the Roman Senate to describe his victory over Pharnaces II of Pontus in the Battle of Zela in 47 BC. Caesar's terse remark -- it translates to "I came, I saw, I conquered" -- simultaneously proclaimed the totality of his victory and served to remind the senate of Caesar's military prowess.

Two millenia have passed, but the same 3 words could have been used by a certain Roger Federer as he won the men's final at the Nasdaq 100 Open, ATP Master Series tournament at Key Biscayne, Miami, Florida on April 2, 2006 AD.

Federer, a 7-time Grandslam champion, is on a roll -- last year, he faced the Spanish matador, Rafael Nadal in the final at Nasdaq 100 Open -- winning it in 5 sets after being 2 sets and a break down in the 3rd set, and thus recording his first & only victory over Nadal.

This year, the finalist on the other side of the net was not Nadal, but Ivan Ljubicic, the gigantic Croat with a big serve and an even bigger heart. Matching Federer point for point, serve for serve - he made Fedex sweat for victory under the scorching sun. If Federer broke him, he would break Federer in the next match to level the match again.

The last point could well summarise the match - Federer's return just dropping off the net on the other side, and Ljubicic could do nothing else but just resign himself to his fate.

And fate is indeed cruel on the loser - while Federer basked in the glory of his victory - with cameramen running around him, and Mary Joe trying to get the victor's words - Ljubicic sat in his chair by the court - alone, no one bothering to look at him.

All the match statistics - be it # of points, winners, aces, unforced errors, double-faults, or even the final scoreline (7/6, 7/6, 7/6) - he had matched Federer in each of these... or almost. It is that thin line; it is those moments that matter the most (read the tie-break points) - when Fedex takes his game to another level, or simply to another planet when no meek Earthling can dare to challenge him, or even touch him. Another story that Rafael Nadal, is one fellow who comes from yet another planet and does not feel subdued at all when he faces Federer, especially on clay.

All said & done, Key Biscayne-Miami is Federer's favorite hunting ground - winning the Masters title for 2 consecutive years now.

The women's doubles final featured the 49-year young Martina Navratilova - a living legend attempting to win a record 175th career title in doubles. All other 3 players on the court were atleast 20 years younger to her in terms of age, but she more than overcame that difference in age with her zeal & never-say-die attitude. Her reflexes and fitness level are indeed inspiring. It certainly was not her day, but even in her acceptance speech as the runner-up, Ms Navratilova effused so much politeness in congratulating the winner, that you really feel elated to have watched the legend.

If life were to be defined in terms of a mathematical function, it would certainly have been sinusidal - the real challenge lies in adjusting our sails to the ever changing amplitude & frequency of this sine wave. And there are champions like Federer who adjust their sails such that for them the crests are longer; there are losers like Ljubicic who are just unfortunate that the wind doesnt favor them; and legends like Navratilova for whom, the sheer pleasure of riding the wave is more delightful than anything else.

~A few words on the experience of watching the men's singles & women's doubles final at the Nasdaq 100 ATP Tennis Masters Series tournament at Key Biscayne, Miami in April 2006

My first trip to New York

What if someone you never met, someone you never saw, someone you never knew was the only someone for you?
~ tagline of the movie "Sleepless in Seattle"

The human heart lives on hope. And that is probably what took me to the top of the Empire State Building in New York, secretly hoping to meet that "someone". She could have been Meg Ryan or Deborah Kerr, waiting for Tom Hanks or Cary Grant or maybe myself to come & meet her!

And thats when you realise - movies are nothing but illusion, they sell dreams. There was no Meg or Deborah - but the experience atop the Empire State building is one of the cherished treasures of life.



The setting was picture perfect - dusk had set in; the colors of twilight had painted the sky in different hues of orange, red & blue - and these merged beautifully with the tall Manhattan skyline that stood dwarfed from the 86th storey of the Empire State. The cold wind blowing in your face, and everyone rushing around you to click snaps with their beloveds made you look around for that "someone" special. Only to smile, and look into the sky and catch that glimmer of hope in the form of the fire burning in the torch of the hand of the Statue of Liberty.


Last weekend was my first visit to the city referred to as the Big Apple - made memorable undoubtedly by visits to the typical places of tourist pilgrimage - the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State building and Times Square. The city is to the US, what Mumbai is to India probably. It urges you to dream, dream BIG - it has its glamour & glitz, its own style & substance; its people rushing around on streets & metros; working hard to achieve their dreams; a city like no other city; a city that never sleeps.

Luckily for me, February is that time of the year, which despite being cold, is a good time to go skiing - something that I had never done before. A trip to a ski resort at Belleayre, 120 miles north of NYC, was therefore a mandatory item on the things-to-do list of an NY trip. Fortunately or unfortunately, skiing made way for snowboarding - which turned out to be real fun. Strapping both legs onto a snowboard, we bent our knees, and pushed hard on our toes or heels, coming down on the "bunny slopes" (easy slopes meant for kids or beginners) - falling hard onto the snow everytime when the speed became uncontrollable. No bones broken and tons of laughter & fun for us , coupled with some mesmerising 360-degree turns and other breathtaking stunts by our snowboarding tutor literally provided the icing on the cake of this snowboarding sojourn.

An NY trip cannot be complete without a visit to the Indian street at Journal Square in Jersey City - the whole street is lined up with Indian restaurants and shops for groceries, clothes, mithai, and even a paan-shop! The food is deliciously lip smacking, the language is Gujju by default and the rule of the thumb states that you can cross the street without even bothering to look at any of the cars plying on it, just like you can do in any of the crowded market streets back home. The Indianness is not limited only to this street, but you will find scores of Indians wherever you move around in NY - I met & spoke with a jolly good Sardarji on 34th street below the Empire State - whom I didnt even know! Or the Gujju boy who runs a Dunkin Donuts counter at Newark airport where I used Hindi to order a muffin & hot chocolate...

As our plane rose over Newark airport, I looked out of the window, and located the Statue of Liberty that appeared as tiny green speck with a small orange flame in its torch; the magnificent Empire State building standing out of the rest of the crowd with its red & blue colors display; remembered the tiny snow flakes @ Belleayre that disappeared on my palms as soon as they landed there... and wondered would I ever find that "someone"...

Winter must be cold for those with no warm memories... And we've already missed the spring!
~ Cary Grant in "An Affair To Remember"

The jungle calleth..

The last weekend in October was one of those rarest & finest moments of life when you dont plan a trip, but everything falls so beautifully in place that you really start believing in "never plan in life, just take it as it comes & you will be the happiest".

Anshuman's friend Simha called us on Thursday nite to ask if we were interested in going camping to Alexander Springs @ Ocala National Forest. And Saturday morning found us picking up our camping gear - the tent, propane lamp, stove (didnt get to use this) et al from Simha's friends at the University of Florida, Tampa. Leaving Tampa, we first made our regular Saturday trip to the Sai Temple @ Inverness. After attending the noon aarti there followed by the lunch @ the temple, we set out on our journey to Alexander Springs. On our way, we stopped at the Walmart Super Store to pick up a few basics - bread, croutons, Nutela, Ranch sauce, insect repellant, propane gas, et al.

Driving for more than 2 hours, we found ourselves at our destination where 2 other friends - Ramesh & Lokesh - had already reached before us, and had gone ahead on a "mud trail". Collecting firewood & directions to our camping site from the office, we landed at the small clearing designated as camping site # D51 - well furnished with a wooden table & benches, an iron pole to hang the lamp, a circular fire pit in the ground and... and thats it! The other things provided us free of cost were the tall trees & thick bushes & shrubs - courtesy Mother Nature. The fun part was setting up the tent - the chief coodinator in achieving this Herculean task was Lokesh, while a couple of others were giving a some really useful tips here n there, on the basis of their prior camping experiences.
That done, we had only an hour and a half before the sun set, to go on a small walk in the park and check the place out.

Venturing out on foot in the Ocala National Forest made me wonder about the strange name. The word Ocala is thought to be a derivative of a Timucuan Indian term meaning fair land or big hammock. The Ocala's vegetation lives up to its name, as you will discover towering palms, large live oaks and scrubby sand pines dominating forest's scrub oak ecosystem. The forest offers camping, horse, bicycle & hiking trails, hunting & fishing in designated areas. When you drive to the forest, you will see signs of "Bear Country", or images of running deers that tell you what to expect in the forest. Speaking of signs & warnings, I had read this one online -
"Do not leave any food item open or unfinished at your camping site - that will attract bears." - no wonder we threw the banana chilkaas as far away from our camping site, as we could after eating the bananas!

Coming back after our short walk around the place a little after dusk, we sat around the fireplace to set up the fire. Once the fire was lit, the ambience turned to a very different setting - reminding me of Gulzar's line "zaraa zaraa aas-paas aag rehti hai" from a song in the movie 'Yahaan'.
It wasnt that cold (so we thought, since we had the fire) - someone warmed up his hands, someone his derriere, someone literally tried playing with the fire by holding a long dry twig and trying to toss the logs here n there to keep the fire going. Finally, we were hungry and sat down for dinner - a sumptous meal of idli-wadaa & chutney. Believe it or not, but since the wadas were cold, one of us actually roasted it over the fire - apna-apna BBQ style! ;-)

Post dinner, we saw the stars while the fire burnt. There was no moon, but the stars were quite playful - bright n sparkling - and oh so many - you wonder why you do not see those many when you are in the city. All of us tried to locate the "Saptarshi" or the Great Bear, and oh boy! We were so happy when we could locate that, along with Venus, the evening star (or is that Mars?). Nevertheless, dare-devils that we were, we set out on a night trail in the dark that took us to the other side of the Alexander Spring. The trail took not more than 30 minutes or so, but just imagine walking in the middle of a jungle that is pitch dark (no worry, we had torch lights), with those queer sounds around you, and the road though well marked goes a little zig-zag and you have one fellow amongst you who's terrified (or pretends to be terrified) about snakes and constantly keeps asking for the torch light to be displayed on the trees surrounding you to watch out for the cobra that he saw on a National Geography documentary the night before!

We did manage to return back safely to our tent from the night trail. The fire was still there, and we enjoyed its last moments of warmth before settling down in our cozy tent. Sleep was not of paramount importance, and we sat inside to play the card game - Bluff aka Challenge. That surely was a lot of fun and it was a little after midnight when we decided to call it a day!

Next day morning, we went out canoeing on Alexander Springs. A warning at the Springs said - "Do not feed the alligators - it may turn out to be dangerous." - now I would definitely never do that. Fortunately or unfortunately, we did not happen to meet these absolutely cute, loveable & adorable (these epithets are showered since we didnt meet them) creatures. Though, had it been March or April - I would have definitely not risked venturing into the Spring in a canoe after knowing that those are the months in the mating season of the gators when they are known to attack!!!

Nonetheless, we set out canoeing - wearing the orange life jackets (I was sincerely hoping that we would not these, this being my first canoeing experience) - Anshuman & Simha very wisely took the oars while I sat in the middle of the canoe - someone has to balance it right? Canoeing turned out to be real fun - initially, it took some time for us to figure out how to coordinate the movement between the front & the back oarsmen - the speed, the direction & everything had to be well orchestrated. But there was nothing stopping us once we were on our way.

The water of Alexander Spring was quite clear and we could see turtles and schools of fish swimming in the water. Lokesh & Ramesh also claimed to see an alligator sleeping under the water, though we seemed to be quite unlucky to miss out on that. There were a few others as well who had come canoeing or kayaking. Everyone felt really happy to be out there in the sun - looking at the fish in the water below, the water birds perched on the tree trunks in the middle of the spring waiting to pounce on the fish, some of us wishing to have a look at an alligator.. from a distance...

I changed positions with Simha and took charge as the oarsman at the back, while Simha replaced Anshuman at the front after a while. Rowing downstream was not much of a hassle, while upstream was definitely more pleasurable - the arms had started getting a little sore. Since we had stacked our canoe with bread, Nutela, chips, ranch sauce & croutons - we did have a nice Sunday brunch sitting in the canoe.
By the time we returned, it was almost noon..

Leaving our camping site, we then decided to explore the National Forest a little bit by driving in the Mustang & the Altima that we had. Dust flew and the wind blew as we rattled the earthy roads in the National Park, before we landed up at a very beautiful lake in the middle of a forest. There were some very well manicured lawns and small cottages to stay at the lake front, and we relaxed a little bit on the grass & felt the fresh air. The clear blue sky, the calm & alluring lake water, the fresh & bright yellow flowers at the lake front and the shelter offered by the tall huge tree created a moment of absolute sheer bliss for us.


Like all good things that come to an end, it was time for us to leave & go back home. The weekend got over, and we still live in those vivid memories that keep telling us - "Never plan in life... and you will be happiest."

A road less travelled...

My first roadtrip in the US - a 700 mile trip to the Smoky mountains - definitely not a road less travelled for more than 9 million adventure seekers & sightseers who visit the Smokies; but definitely a first for moi. And to say that we covered the trip over just a weekend is testament to the enthu of the bunch of 12 PwC India guys that included the spouses of a few.

The dozen bravehearts accomodated ourselves in 2 dodge caravans, and left on Friday a'noon around 3 o'clock. I was quickly into my act - a few minutes into the trip, and I was happily catching up on my post lunch siesta, as soon as we hit the interstate I-75. The journey was going to take us through the states of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and finally Tennessee. Our destination was a small town called Pigeon Forge nestled amongst the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee.

The journey till dinner time was pretty easy - Google & Yahoo maps were indeed quite kind to us, and the road was also quite good with 355 miles coming straight out on I-75. People took turns at driving, navigating, listening to music, chatting, catching up on sleep or simply lazing around - I showed more zeal in accomplishing the latter two activities. ;-)

The real fun began when we missed a turn thanks to Yahoo maps at midnight, and then drove more than 50 miles east, when we were just 150 miles south from the destination. Thanks to the fellow at one of the gas stations near Nantahala, who gave us the right directions that we were back on track. The last 30-35 mile part of the journey was through the mountains on the US 441 North. Trying to locate the Park Way (since we were unaware that the US 441 was the Park Way itself), our van took the Blueridge Park Way that took us east again! But as they say, everything happens for the good - the moonlit night gave an absolutely stunning view of the mountain ranges that could be distinguished in different shades of black across the horizon. Little did we know then that these mountains would look even more beautiful during the day.

We finally reached our destination close to 4 in the morning, a good 2-3 hours later than our expected time. But, the chalet which we had booked for our stay made every effort worth in coming all the way from Florida. A nice wooden cottage perched on the hills furnished with jacuzzi, pool table and fireplace was an ideal holiday home for twelve souls in search for nirvaana.

A few of us freshened up with a few games of pool, while some retreated to the cosy beds. At 6.30 in the morning, 6 adventurous guys left to explore the mountains a little bit to have a look at the sunrise. Pigeon Forge is located a few miles off the town of Gatlinburg, an entry point to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, that sits astride the Tennessee–North Carolina border amid the majestic southern climax of the Appalachian Highlands.

I had read a description of the Smokies that goes -
"Worm your way into these rugged, convoluted mountains and you'll find 900 miles of superlative trails, tracts of old-growth forest, views of undulating mountain ridges draped in hazy-blue, "smoky" tendrils of fog, and vivid reminders of the folkways of the Appalachians' early pioneers."

And that morning, I couldnt agree with a more apt description of the place.

Later in the day, we went hiking to Laurel Falls that let us explore the mountains on foot. The trees had begun showing signs of fall colors; the birds were busy with their evening chirpings oblivious to us. The cascades had hidden themselves so beautifully within the neighbours provided by Mother Nature that we had to traverse quite a few turns before we could actually set our eyes on the 60-feet falls. The shadows cast by moonlight on our way back from the falls had an enchanting effect on all of us.


The next morning we set out early again to catch glimpses of what can simply be termed as God's poetry in motion. The sun rose on the eastern skies behind the mountains, the rays of the sun made their way through the morning mist reaching out to the small cottages and barns in the valleys below and all this while, we were rubbing our hands and somewhere in the mind a small thought just passed by,
"Oh God! I am indeed quite lucky to view yet another of your beautiful creations!"

A visit to Ober Gatlinburg, the skiiing resort & amusement park, using America's largest aerial tramway gave us another opportunity to have an aerial look at the Smokies. This visit also let me have a try at ice skating - another first in my life. :-)

The return journey was quite remarkable - all of us werent quite as energetic as a couple of days before, but definitely there was no lesser fun involved - we played guess games to identify who was the biggest Amitabh fan by recognising AB's songs being played from the iPod. The last stretch of the journey was a non-stop 4 hour drive that helped us reach Tampa at 3.30 in the morning.

Looking back - everything seems to have been like a dream come true - the mountains towering over us, the valleys alluring everyone to come down, the fog covering the "Smokies", the chirpings of the birds, the autumn leaves rustling on the road, the gurgling of the little brooks finding their own way - all of these seem to be a distant dream, which I perhaps lived a few days ago...

Three movies & - I, me, myself

Three people - "I", "me", "myself" - in this world - all three come from India - they cant be called Indians - they just come from India. There's more to them than being Indian - they represent three different ideologies, lifestyles, goals, aspirations, et al.

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Lets start with the first - who am "I"??
"I" am an Indian, or rather "I" come from India, but currently stay in Sydney.

One one side, "I" am a 21st century guy who came to study architecture in Sydney, but opened up a restaurant to become what I always wanted to become - a chef! I love a live-in relationship, am ready to change my waking habits for my lady love, make breakfast for her, clean the house - BUT I hate commitment, I hate marriage & I am just not ready for a kid.

Alternatively, "I" am a nex-gen gal who doesnt want to get married, so escapes to Sydney to study medicine, and then becomes an RJ (Radio Jockey for those uninitiated) to make a living. And I want a live-in relationship as well - its only when I get pregnant (thank God, we have moved away from the hysterical "yeh kahaan se apnaa mooh kaala kar aayi kal-moohi!!") - thats when I realise the joy of giving life to another person, the joy of being a mother (a try @ being Mother India), the joy of doing what I really wanna do!

Oops, and if "I" have to greet you, "I" would simply say "Salaam Namaste"!and then I continue h(u)mmmmm-ing 'My dil goes hmmmmm'...

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Moving on to the next person. Who "me"?? "Me" belongs to that heavenly paradise on Earth called Kashmir.
Me's brother is a terrorist & me's lover is an Indian army captain. Now, that definitely means a lot of ammunition in me's life.
Nevertheless, me's life recoils on every nook n corner with bullet shots.
But dont get confused - me's a very normal gal o'wise.. me's aspirations are as sky high as any other teenager... simply wearing a pair of jeans..
or like when me's in love, me likes singing 'Pooche jo koi meri nishaani, rang heena kehnaa' on the Dal lake...

It amazes "me" to know that life in Pune is so unhappening - no snow, no chinaar trees, no bullets - c'mon!! how can you live in a place like that???

Coz me firmly believes that,
Agar kahin dharti par swarga hai, to bas "Yahaan" hai, "Yahaan" hai, "Yahaan" hai!
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Time for the 3rd person - talking about "Myself"??
What do you want to know about "myself"?

Myself comes from UP. Naah.. myself not a bhaiyya, but a police officer, who wants to clean out the entire crime system in UP. Yeah, myself face a lot of opposition - from politicians, criminals - but myself not give up - myself fight till the end, for the sake of society, for good, for truth.

And when myself feel tired, myself remembers mother's words,
" Jab aadmi thak jaata hai, to use Sehar mein ugte suraj ke saamne khadaa rehnaa chaahiye, thakaan apne-aap duur ho jaayegi!"

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Three movies - Salaam Namaste, Yahaan & Sehar - all depicting life in today's India. Movies which are not your typical candy floss stuff, but come close to real life - and yet so unreal or rather so incoherent between themselves. Tough to believe that they represent the lives of Indians living in the same time. They belong to the same generation, are of the same age, come from the same country - yet they have different aspirations, different problems, different ways to define happiness..

It is unclear who amongst these three can be called a typical Indian - they all come from India, but their lives are so different.. they cant get type-cast as Indian..

Unsurprisingly most of us also belong to this generation - and touchwood! Our life is so much different!! (At least mine is...)

Settling down in Tampa

Cant believe that I have been in Tampa for almost 4 weeks now. Time flies like anything. Things have been quite easy given the amazing desi junta that I have here for company - a good friend who picked me up from airport, and who's been khilao-ing (sorry, cant remember the English word) me, driving me to office, and at whose place I am also staying. :-))))

Kaam to chalte rehtaa hai. What one does look forward to is the weekend, and in the lingo of the junta here - the weekend begins from Thursday itself. This is definitely true - the overall mood of junta here on Friday is such that there are no meetings, or important deliverables scheduled for the last day of the week - many work from home (something which I would love to do all days of the week).

Nevertheless, time has been well spent on the 4 weekends so far. Went to the Clearwater beach & the pier @ St. Petersburg on the very 1st weekend. The views were mesmerising to say the least (open to interpretation), the water was cool and must recommend this - the pier @ St. Petersburg is an awesome location for a Friday evening date with its lights, parks, benches, restaurants, and the pier of course!

Today's just the 3rd day of this weekend (remember the w/e started on Thursday), and have just come back from a 80-mile drive in a red colored open top convertible - the Sebring from Chrysler. Had been to the Sai baba temple at a picturesque town called Inverness. Once you leave the I-75, you get to see some real American countryside, beautiful lakes, breathtakingly huge ranches, horses, weekend bungalows on the road to Inverness.

The experience of the drive became even more fantastic when the roof top was rolled back, and I pushed myself up for a bit to feel the air, while we were driving at a little less than 80 mph! At 90, I couldnt try this stunt - but even at 80 I could feel the wind rushing through my hair (there's still some left thankfully - touchwood!), across my face (had to take away my glasses), could listen to the loud hooosh behind my ears!

It rained for a while, so we had to stop & roll over the roof for some time - but definitely implemented what's now become a defining line of life

"zindagi mein prakruti ka anand le lenaa hai - jyaada sochnaa nahin hai, bas anand le lenaa hai."