christmas

My earliest memories of Christmas comes from when I was in school and one of our teacher would dress up as santa and distribute toffees to the students.

This had become a ritual and also it would be the last working day before the school would close for the winter break.I still remember my dad would get a chocolate cake for us on Christmas.

My most memorable Christmas was perhaps in pune in the final year.

It was also a break time for us as the college had closed and we were all lazing around at our homes.

Our great house “ avdhut” was blessed by the benign presence of his lordship Mr. Amritesh Singh.

Amritesh had become an icon for us mortals!

His routine was something we all wished to ape.

It went like this :

Get up at 2 PM in the day.

2 Pm !! except for my sisters wedding when I was up all night I don’t ever , ever remember sleeping till 2 PM!!

So after 2 PM the first thing that waas done was to light up a light….

And then followed by a grand Breakfast cum lunch at Happy Guys café in the campus

Or at home, courtesy Ramesh our cook.

Once all this was done it was Barista time.

Every single day no matter what we would sit at barista….and have café mocha

My god….the amount of business we must have given to barista during those days.

So 25^th dec 2004 was no different either….

After gazing around at the hot crowd in barista for a few hours we decided it was time to go.

We headed for Café Down Under….our favourite hangout place in MG road.

What I really liked about that place was that not only it was reasonably priced , the atmosphere was just like I were at some local country bar in far away America .

After a couple of beers suddenly there was a loud noise.

To everyones wonder and amazement our Mr Goel was lying on the floor, as he had slipped from his chair !

Seeing this , much to the fun of every one around us , I realized it was about time we headed back home.

But now the situation was really out of hand.

Mr. Goel wouldn’t give me the keys of the bike.

Any attempts to get the keys were futile as he would just keep on running away.

So Mr. Goel started to run and I was after him.

First he went around Barista towards east street and then opposite georges restaurant.

All the while he was shouting , pointing towards me “ He is Gay , He is Gay and he is trying to catch me”

Finally I put in all my running efforts to grab him and loaded him on the bike and we were back home.Finally dinner was followed at our favourite terrace.With the view of the city lights and our favourite butter chicken from Saurabh .

My last memorable Christmas was in US when we went for Priyanka’s department party in Buffalo.

I still remember shopping in boulevard mall during Christmas time and how much fun it used to be!

I still have pictures of all of us shopping.It was my first and  last Christmas in the US !

 

My Bike

My earliest memories of riding a motor cycle in pune was when udit,my room mate, bought his passion when we were in the second year. I still remember that night, it was pretty cold at night.

So we went on a long drive to a lot of places.I as usual went in my shorts, a decision I later regreeted, as not only it was quite cold, I also burnt my leg on the silencer!

At that point of time I didn’t really know how to ride a bike, which I learnt very soon, courtesy all the new bikes my friends had bought.

I still remember how I borrowed Himanshu’s bike to go and meet Hamu, my israeli friend .

Boy wasn’t that one adventurous night!!

But my wait was finally over in the summer of 2004 when I finally bought my CBZ!!

It was my good companion for all my remaining days in Pune.

I still remember the first female who adorned the bike!!

It was a foggy , rainy night…..quite romantic!

Soon to add to our collection was aditya’s bike , another CBZ , same colour.

The last time I rode a bike in pune was last year  , and the best part was that it was raining

All the time.Riding at night all friends together was something I remember a lot.

Don’t see that happening again offcourse.

So with pretty much everyone you know in college you have some great memory

To share and cherish , of where you went and what you did on your bike!!

 

 I finally sold off my bike before leaving for the US.

Alka picture hall

Watching movies at alka would soon become my favourite past time !

So I , aditya and udit , my two dear room mates went for a movie for the first time , in Sep 2001.

I clearly remember  the evening as it was ganpati visarjan.

So we 3 boarded an auto and headed for Alka.

Alka, is a unique movie hall, old style, 25-35 Rs ticket and the latest English flicks.

The movie we saw was “ Hannibal”, which still is one of my fav movies!

Another memorable trip to Alka was on Aditya’s birthday in March 02.

We first went for a burger at our favourite at that point of time “ Burger King”

Burger King was also one of our Favorite places to hangout , esp I must have eaten

So many Jumbo Chicken Burgers of Rs 40!!

The movie that we saw was A Jean Claude Van Damme starrer : “Inferno”.

But the interesting thing before that was that we first went to Sarangi a restaurant on East Street, found it too expensive and had to escape!

Next big movie that I can Remember at Alka was “ Lost in Translation”

The amazing thing about this movie was I and udit saw it..and for the first five mts there were just two people in the entire theatre…me and him!!!..later on there were some 4-5 more people….

But it still was an amazing experience…..and on top of that the movie was such a strange one..

It left me quite depressed actually.

Another landmark movie that I saw in alka was “ scooby doo”

So nothing spectacular about the movie offcourse…..

But I saw it after shaving my head , perhaps this was in the month of April 2004.

I don’t remember which was my last movie at Alka, but all in all……it holds some of the sweetest memories for me of college time.

First day in Germany

28th april 2008

I knew last night’s partying a day before leaving was going to prove me costly.
My god this is one day that I will always remember as one where I was not yet packed tons of work and left and everything was going wrong.
Finally by gods grace and my own belief that sooner or later our worst fears are put to rest and 10 yrs down the line we look bac at how im mature we were when we panicked in a crunch situation.
Atlast I reached my second home , IGI airport.
As usual I was greeted by the long queues .My colleagues had already reached , making me late, a fact which I hate the most and makes me feel guilty like I have committed a crime.
It was not until I finally boarded the aircraft that I realized the nightmare was finally over and the trip had begun, to Germany.
Germany at one point of time used to be my fav soccer team for no reason what so ever.JLT-Just like that.The routing was via vienna, a really sad airport, though not very bad just sad so no reason.
This was my first visit to Europe so was special in a way.
Since I was the tour accountant I always was on my toes, as it is I am bad at maintaining accounts
And on top of that I forget very soon, a trait my old college room mates know very well.
So I bought this small pocket diary for my help and carried it with me all time.
We were headed to dusseldorf a small german city .You may have heard of it if you remember the story of William tell from our school gulmohar English reader of class IV OR V.
We were 3 right now and 3 more of my colleagues were joining two days later.
So this was a unique visit.We had booked an apartment for all 6.
The city was standard Europe /America.
Mostly wooden houses and green conifer trees and since we were in the beginning of summer and end of winter weather was pleasant ..though at nights it was supposed to get colder.
We found our apartment , was a regular house with a garden and at the end of the road.
I found the town very slow and easy paced.
But this was going to be the centr of our activity for the next 6 days.
The owner was a german lady and we had 2 rooms in the basement and one on the first floor.
So from there after offloading the luggage we headed to the exhibition center.
This event was the largest event in the wire and cable industry and we were hoping to meet every on e we know across the world.So was a very important event.
The first day was very tiring as the entire day was spent in arranging the booth.
By evening we were exhausted.We were joined soon by some more colleagues from India
Who were co exhibiting with us.
The exhibition center was the biggest one by any standards that I had seen.
It had its own train station, so u can imagine the size.
As the evening approached we decided to go out for dinner.
The only place was downtown also called as Alstad.
It was full of pubs , bars and many restaurants, coming here I felt the city was not so dead afterall.
We finally settled for some Lebanese food after scouting several restaurants .
Lebanese has some great vegetarian food ,.How I can forget Amy’s place the cute little lbanese restaurant near my home in buffalo where I also celebrated my 24th birthday.
Well so after a not so eventful first day we headed home.

21st may 2008,Melbourne

Well last day in Melbourne.
Last day at kings gate hotel.
Another good bye.
Another farewell..though no one to really say good bye, but some times
Even non living things get attached to me..or rather I get attached to them.
After all I was with them for a full 2 days!
The TV,the room,the shower,etc etc…
No breakfast buffet meant that I would have to my breakfast in the taxi…I guess I forgot to mention
So with another indian student taxi driver, who was perhaps as new in Melbourne as I was as ,I headed off for my final meeting in Melbourne.
Chomping off on an apple and some iced coffee milk I reached the outskirts of Melbourne.
In the middle of an industrial area I found the factory where I was supposed to go.
A most unique thing about Australia is that you don’t have receptionist to greet you.
You walk in , you find a telephone with the extension list and you call the one you have come to meet.In the entire company there were not more than 10 people working!!
The director of the company got his own lunch, and after eating not only washed his own dish but mine as well.Can you ever imagine an MD in India doing that !!!
Well it was an interesting meeting as it turned out that my counterpart was a PhD!! Atleast 50 yrs old.So all I did for the next one hr was to listen to all highly research oriented terms which
Went over my head and I was left with no option but stand guard against the barrage of technical questions.It was like 300 spartans against the Persian army !!
So the meeting or rather the examination same to an end.
My next destination was Sydney.But my flight was at 9 pm and there were a good 8 hrs to go still.
Anyhow I bid farewell to my hosts and left.
Luckily they put me on the 3 pm flight and by 5 pm I was hovering over Sydney.
As I landed on Sydney I was greeted by cold weather and I boarded a taxi for my apartment.
But his time it was a chinese guy for the driver.
I reached the apartments only to find my colleagues yet to come , so I had to wait .
The best part of the entire trip was about to come.
The apt was on the 53rd floor!! With a balcony…
The feeling when cold air whizzes past ur air so high up and with all the lights of the city
Just below you is phenomenal and something I wont forget for a long time.

20th may 2008,melbourne

20th May 2008
I got up at 10..really late!!
Today was a rare day when I had a break during a business visit.
So I took my own sweet time to get ready .
The first thing I did was to get in touch with harsh , my friend in Melbourne university.
So after getting down the details of the meeting point , I was on my way to the Melbourne central station.The trickiest part in local travel in a foreign city is using the public transport and understanding the maps,train timings, etc etc
After buying the tickets from a Seven –Eleven and some instructions from the indian store incharge I headed for the train.The instructions were also unique .I had to remember the street names like this
Kings Street(where I was staying) then William ,Queen and Elizabeth
So it was king- William, queen –elizabeth.Pretty interesting!
Walking down Melbourne downtown was just like being in Manhattan, with parallel streets,
Lots of pedestrians mostly in business suites, I hear Australia is more of a service place with most of the people in jobs.Walking down the streets I bumped in a lot of Indians once again.
Quite a lot of students as well.You can make that out from their backpacks and casual clothes.
Since I had skipped breakfast we headed straight for Hungry Jacks, its like australias McDonalds.
I immediately liked the indian girl taking our orders, tried real hard to read her name on the name batch but couldn’t quite get hold of it.
From here we headed straight to Eureka Towers, supposedly australia’s tallest building and with an observation deck at the 90th floor.A truly charming place.
You can see most of Melbourne from this height.But being a weekday harsh had to leave soon and by 4 pm I was alone once again.
The walk back to the hotel was kind of depressing.I had plenty of time at my disposal but didn’t feel like going anywhere.Plus by this time most of downtown was carrying a deserted look.
On my way back I saw a café by the name The Sherlock Holmes with his most famous line”elementary my dear Watson” written, pretty amusing.
There was another place to see, the immigrants museum on my way back.
But I decided not to go in at the last moment.There was no way I was going to a museum.
So unwantedly I trudged back to the hotel and finally retired to my room.
So with nothing left to do I had no option but to watch TV!
After 2 hrs of non stop TV and with just 3 channels to choose from I was completely going crazy.
So I decided to take a walk , I was also pretty hungry by now.
By 8 pm all the streets wore a bare look , with just a few cars plying about it seemed as if it were very late in the night!
Then I started my stroll outside ,crossing kings street and back.
I came across the usual fast food stuff,subway,pizza joints,Japanese,thai and an Indian restaurant
As well.But indian food was the last thing I would try here!
Finally I came to a really dark part of the street.It also scary walking at night in these places
Who knows when some one may pop out a gun at you!
But still the excitement of being all alone in an alien part of the world can be quite thrilling.
So I came across a sign saying “adult club” but there was not a single light in sight.So I strolled
A little further and came across a heavy gate guarded by two huge looking fellows
I guess I had to turn back now!
And there were several more in the block.
So after strolling around for a good thirty more minutes in the streets I decided it was time to get back.On way I got dinner packed from a subway, though quite unwillingly but I didn’t feel like eating at a fancy place all alone!
So I did enjoy my day in Melbourne finally the icing on the cake was the IPL match witch began at 12 midn ight and offcourse I had to get back to business from tomorrow.

19th may 2008,melbourne

Well its my first trip downunder and it’s a fantastic feeling.
I landed in Sydney on the morning of the 19th may 08, very tired from the long flight via Singapore only to board another one for Melbourne, which was just a one and a half hour affair.
Melbourne was just like any place in the US or Europe , but with an Australian flavour and fantastic weather.The one thing you like about Australia from the word go is their accent!! And when everyone calls you “ mate”!!
BY the second meeting I was really drooping but somehow carrying myself!
Nothing new for me ofcourse.
My colleagues who had other business in Sydney left me in the evening, leaving me once again all alone in an alien city with no friends!
But little did I realize that the best part of the day was yet to come.
I headed straight for the taxi and on my way to the hotel.
One unique thing about Australia is that 99% cab drivers are Indians!
All Punjabis , mostly doing some part time or unheard course like cooking,baking,agriculture etc!!
Its funny how hard we try to get out of our country, accepting any kind of work and job to earn and
Save the almighty dollar.
Its sad! But the fact is that most of these people who go and do such odd jobs , would certainly
Not be having a lifestyle any better than they have here.
So in a way , you cant blame it on anyone.
Its just a misfortune of our country and the people , who miss it at every point of their life in an alien country.
So I reached my hotel , The KIngsgate hotel on kings street , in downtown Melbourne.
This was just like new york , with parallel streets and junctions,tram trolleys plying on the road, and people running from one place to another.
On my way , my cab driver who was an indian was telling me all about good places to eat .
Esp indian food,life in Melbourne,his wife who was doing a course in pastry making!!
Wonder what they teach you in such a course,must be pretty interesting!
So I reached the hotel, it looked decent from outside.
As expected there was no bell boy,typical of hotels in Europe.
So I reach the reception only to be told that my hotel paymeant had not been done !!

That meant I was out of All Australian dollars, except A$ 25.
The earliest money exchange could now be done only at 9 am the following morning!
Well I was glad I atleast had some dough to survive the night!
But the biggest shock was yet to come.
It was my room in the hotel.
Believe it or not , it comprised of a 2 by 2 bed one on top of the other, a wash basin .
That’s it.It was the biggest shock !
And even the damn bathroom was common.it took me a few minutes to fathom the fact
That I will be staying at such a place for 2 nights!!
But I was lucky as I got an upgrade and moved to a room with a tv set and a bathroom!
Now the next thing was to grab some dinner in the money that I was left with.
So I bought some lousy veg pizza and a bottle of water.
So finally came to end a memorable day in Australia.
The best part was that I had a rare off day in the middle of a tour , so it meant I was free to
Go and see Melbourne tomorrow!

" The Beauty of Love"

 

The beauty of love is such as….

A gleaming leaf ..after the rain….

Shimmering like a diamond……..in vain..

The music of a flowing river…

Quaintly flowing all alone…forever and ever

The mist on the top of mountains

Engulfing all …….in the surrounding

The cool breeze across the vast deserts

Soothing our hearts of whatever that hurts

The twinkling of the nights stars

And the peace they give..

On gazing for hours and hours

The morning sun on the beach

As its rays purify you…… when they meet

The wrath on a grave …..showing us the way
Showing us the way to a better tomorrow with each passing day

"a night in the ocean"

by the ocean and the sea....
a careless breeze passes by me,,,
by the waves and the shore....
a reckless wave hurls me around...
on the deck ..as i watch the shimmer..
of the full moon tonight....
i am reminded of your face ..in the fading light...
as my shadow falls in the dark black sea...
it is lost in the darkness....
its difficult to see....
a stange feeling comes over me...
this is like magic around.....
as i hear only the waves and the boats rocking sound..
i wish to seize the moment....
and live it all over again....
i wish to hold the darkness and hide all over the pain....
i wish the night never ends and its always dark....
i wish i keep sailing ....and keep away...
but i know the light of the day..
is just around the bay....
and i know....its going to be a fine fine day..

"a night in the ocean"

by the ocean and the sea....
a careless breeze passes by me,,,
by the waves and the shore....
a reckless wave hurls me around...
on the deck ..as i watch the shimmer..
of the full moon tonight....
i am reminded of your face ..in the fading light...
as my shadow falls in the dark black sea...
it is lost in the darkness....
its difficult to see....
a stange feeling comes over me...
this is like magic around.....
as i hear only the waves and the boats rocking sound..
i wish to seize the moment....
and live it all over again....
i wish to hold the darkness and hide all over the pain....
i wish the night never ends and its always dark....
i wish i keep sailing ....and keep away...
but i know the light of the day..
is just around the bay....
and i know....its going to be a fine fine day..

"parting "

rising slowly with the air
is a symphony so clear
i fee like getting up and having a dance..
as if this were my lifes final chance..
i feel the music slowly taking me over..
as my mind enters a trance..
i remember the moments which have passed me by...
so clear in front of me
as if they are all mine..
its an intoxicating pain that tells me i may have run out of time..
but a slow music of the falling rain fills my ears...
a buzz ....a gurgle of falling water so dear...
breaking the silence surrounding me ...
showing me a way..to my destiny
 

"lost"

oh my god...
my dear is somewhere lost....
its not easy being without you...
as it is..... its a holiday ......and a sunday too....
i hoped that this weekdend would have been beautiful....
but its too sad to be away from you...
your voice is like a tonic to me...
always with you is where i want to be...
with the jingle bells of christmas chiming away in the vicinity...
they only remind of a time with .....you and me....
strolling together on a cold and icy night...
holding hands and embracing each other tight..
i am flodded with dreams of togetherness....
of happy beaches,lovely mountains in happiness....
yearning for you is what i always do.....
be mine ,be mine.....some day too

"letters"

its so foggy outside...
as i sit down by the fireplace....
i am reminded of the times gone by...
the warmth of the fire besides me....
is unable to shield me ....
from the cold memory....
i sip some coffee...and in my hand...
i hold the letters ..
reminescent of a fairly land....
so yellow have their pages become ...with the ink still afresh..
i can see the old faces in a flash...
smiling at me they swirl around my eyes...
shining bright ..in the evening twilight...
and as i leaf through the letters..
i can see...
the memories of an entire life...
staring at me...
i am all alone now...
and only the crackling of the burning wood..makes a sound...
i look back at my life ..once again...
a lot of things happened..
some good ..some in vain....
but....with each passing day...
they are getting old and fray...
and i still want to hold on...
maybe i could write them over ..
and bring back all around..

" it rained one night "

 

i can feel it .....
a sudden breeze..
a flash in the sky..
and as the clouds turn grey...
i am bursting with so much to say.....
i am waiting for the rain...
for rain brings me hope....
washing with it all worries,despair and vain..
as i rush to the terrace....
i feel like a little child...
dancing to the tunes of the wind passing me by..
and then it happens...
the first rain drops make their way....
splashing on my face...
and the place is filled with this music..
as i hum a quaint tune...i sit down ....and am drenched no soon..
i can see myself transcend...
forgetting who i am and when....

" snow beauty"

 

once upon a time ...
there was a girl....
as fair as the snow..
golden hair like barbie..
she was the most adorable person of all....
u know why?
coz she had this sweet fragrance ..
that sent ur senses tingling..
with her face always beaming with joy..
u could never say when would those big black marble eyes..turn moist..
and then you will see...
her little nose turning pink...like candy floss...
her presence was always so warm..
enveloping you all around..
when she got upset..
all u had to do was to remind her..
that you would do whatever she wants...
and then she danced..
reminding you of no other joy than watch her smile...
as if the whole cosmos has descended to bless you..

Darling dont be sad

 

some one is sad...
and thats really bad..
let me tell you ..my love for you is still intact
and you are always my first love .let me tell
you that..
so my darling dont be sad..
there r so many moments gone by..so many to come..
so many things left undone..
hope is a good thing ..sometimes the best of things..
so just fly away from all sorrow on ur wings
and as the chirpy birds and peakcocks sing..
as the light shines on u and makes u glad..
so my darling dont be sad..