Blending Away

Since I was a kid, there was something about art that always fascinated me, was good at drawing/sketching craft etc. Later on I loved computer games at my aunt's house and always fancied me being a developer for one of those games. Time zipped by and in college days was always in love with Computer graphics and loved the 3D aspect of things. As fate had it I ended up working on Financial/Trading products and eventually on database related concepts.
The Graphics aspect never quit, I still continued playing games and kept sketching did some graphics programing and also got pretty comfortable with Adobe Photoshop, and then I stumbled upon Blender . I never really was a big fan of modeling 3 dimensional objects using tools since I believed anything could be created from code. But a few trials did convince me of the power this simple open source platform packed. As days went by I was regular at learning the various concepts of 3d art development and 3d in general and getting accustomed to the terms from the graphics industry. Having a PS3 at home and being an avid gamer got me more interested in the realism infused into the gaming world.

As time went by I was getting more and more comfortable developing such models- still life that is. BlenderGuru was one of my regular hunt spots and I would spend hours over the tutorials mimicking the same.

My aim, though, is to create natural human/life figures and get them animated in a realistic sequence. This would possibly take a long time to conceive.

For the time being enjoy a couple of renders I could manage from this fantastic software.

Shantaram

Reading novels/story books had re-caught my fancy after a long beak somewhere in 2005/6 I guess. Started with short stories, eventually could never keep my eyes off the fat book with a rusty-red and blue front cover.

My regular visits to crosswords would confirm two to three minutes spent near the shelf holding that book. Eventually one fine day, got it off the rack billed it home. The book was huge. My recent stints with Ayan Rand[1] were not so good- The Fountainhead completed halfway and Atlas Shrugged simply shrugged untouched in my book cabinet.

Before purchasing the same, a few reviews did catch my fancy. They spoke about a live story and always on the edge of your seat kind’ a read. I was a bit wary before starting it though- I mean it’s a fat book! Never before had I read -rather completed -anything that fat.

So I started following the footsteps of this Australian along the shores of Mumbai. Soon in about 2-3 hours a decent set of pages were flung left. I was fast. The story was well narrated and did seem lively. I was easy to imagine all the characters and the plot - like a movie/daily soap playing in front of your eyes.

In a few weeks I did cover good ground, and had no urge to let it down as my protagonist learnt the Marathi language and visited villages. I was good. Then out of habit, I started giving my sessions a pass... soon not a single page was flipped for over 2 weeks. But when I got back to it, it was all back like the soap played into the next episode.

Eventually my lethargy got me addicted to other books, weird but true. Read a few book in-between and eventually would be back to the novel in burst of 2 three sessions in a month or so. This went on… for over 3 years.

Eventually some 2 months back with over roughly three hundred pages left, I got on to it like a leach. And today it stands completed.

Marvelous, got to travel all over Mumbai to "Sunder" village to Goa to Pakistan to Afghanistan, then randomly to US UK Iran Spain etc... it was fabulous! One of the review said, "...was too quick to reach the end of the novel , that I deliberately slowed down and gave huge gaps in reading out of fear that the story might come to an end..." how true. Gripping and fantastic.

I always wanted to finish this novel before the movie was made.
Now I am happy.

Shantaram[1] is a beautiful piece of work and a standing ovation would be an understatement to the author Gregory D Roberts.

Sculpting an idol

Ganesh Chaturti is definitely one of my favorite festivals (as indicated in my previous post). With eco-friendliness being the latest rage, and with us opting for an eco idol, I did have a plan springing up my sleeve. Sculpt an idol myself :).

There were times when I would make these little idols out of Wheat flour, my mom used to make different delicacies. It always was a thought I had in the backburn for a long time.

So with the idea discussed back home- the first task was to get some clay. Shaadoo mud (the mud that can bind easily and stay put post drying), everyone we asked did not have that available, so one fine day made a run down to Staples and spotted some paper clay in the children's section. There were various brands and varieties, finally picked myself one of the more sophisticated looking (no BS types) package.

It was a heavy pack with grey paper-clay. Decided to sculpt the idol the next day on Friday, since 'was pretty tired post office. The next day started with me getting my hands dirty at ~8:30am. Tried various techniques but the minimal quantity of clay made this a daunting task- the idol would not be big enough. That's when an idea clicked in mold the clay around something round to create the body and then something simillar for the head. It worked!

Used a glass bowl for the body and stuffed the void with a lot of wet paper, then elongated the body upwards using some card paper- stuffed it further with a lot of paper. Finally used one half of a plastic ball to create the head. Now I had the basic structure ready all covered with clay. It did start looking like a promising Ganapati in the making :).

A few more hours and the crown, trunk and hands and legs were ready. The idol unfortunately did not have a neck ... so it looked like an elephant in a seated position. Looked nice. With this ready, left the idol for drying and pushed off to work. Bought another pack of white paper clay since, I could sense the need for it quiet easily. Back home, just created a simple mouse for the idol and it surprisingly turned out too cute. The idol was still wet, so left the fan on the whole night.

Next day, further dried the idol in the microwave (1 minute each rotation for ~5 times, since there was glass and plastic inside of it :D). Used the clay to further fatten the arms and legs. By now the idol truly started to represent Lord Ganesha. Picked a couple of slate stones lying around in the rubble. Used them to create the base seat. Covered the same with clay. Now used the scissors to carve in some dhoti textures and other little features around the idol. After this used some extra clay to make the ornaments and sculpt a shivaling. Placed all of these on the platform and it looked too cool in grey and white :).

Now came the big challenge- coloring the idol. Everyone agreed that it looked good in its natural grey form, but I wanted to color it and that to in eco-friendly colors. So used kajal for black and it worked wonders for the mouse and shivaling. Tried haldi for yellow/gold but it looked too dull. Finally decided to go off eco and get myself some true colors from the market.

In the evening, we went to get our shadoo ganapti and also purchased some decorations. Back home post my dental appointment, raced off to get some acrylic colors and brushes. Red, Blue, Pink, White, Black, Gold, Brass-Gold were the base colors.

The painting session went all the way till ~10:30 at night, and all had a blast sitting around pouring in their suggestions. All of this with the decorations and preparations for the festival the next day. The idol was ready with a grey body and gold with vaious colors seated on grass :).

It truly was a dream come true.

Shadoo Ganapati ...

It was that time of the year again. Festivities aloom and the usual gaga gogoo on the streets raging in all blast and vigor. But no! NO no ... doubly no! Not this year.. it was all mellowed down. The city was gripped in one tough situation with the epidemic on the loose... that had all Puneiets behind closed doors, all shopkeepers had their shutters down, the city administration was planning on a total shutdown of the city (City under quarantine!). It was unbelievable, in a matter of a couple of weeks and some blaring media reports the city civic officials were forced to pull up the red flag. Swine Flu had the whole city in its grip.

But it was the "Shravan mahina" and this the season of festivals... lakshmi pooja, gokulashtami, ganesh chaturti etc. etc. Ganesh Chaturti! - the festival that had me and still keeps me smiling on its advent. But this time around, the influenza scare had all the hulla gulla mellowed down.

We planned on buying on buying an Eco-friendly Ganesha idol this time around. Wify and me did some research and finally got to know from Rahul that we could purchase very good "Shadoo Ganapatis"(Ganapati idols made from mud) from near Rastapeth. We decided on visiting the place a week before the festival and place an order for the same, if we like an idol.

The shop was small, but was full of idols. It had both POP(Plaster of Paris) and "shaadoo" idols. The owner directed us inside the shop to a room where he had numerous idols of various shapes and sizes, most of which were made of "shaadoo". Rahul and both of us instantly liked one of the Ganashea's with a Tanaji turban (It was called "Jai Malhaar"). But it was too big so we decided on looking at other smaller idols... These idols looked really wonderful, but most of them were booked. A couple of idols which we liked were gone too.

After some hunting, both of us zeroed in on an idol that was not brightly colored - but had a uniform brownish color. It looked beautiful. We decided to do more research before finalizing on one.

Back at Rahul's house for the second hunt round, this time around we paraded various shops in the Rastapeth area with Rahul's mom. None of the shops had very attractive idols. After much hunting we returned back to our Shop no.1.

In 10 minutes we had ourselves booked the uniformly brownish painted Ganesha idol. We both loved it- it was pleasing and had a wonderful presence. Like Rahul's mom said "You guyz already had your eyes on this one... so none of the rest appealed to you". But these words were going to recoil back , as Rahul was very insistent on getting the "Jai Malhaar" idol.

The next ~1.5 hrs were spent scanning each and every idol in the shop. Every idol looked beautiful, all the brownish idols appealed to me ;). Every time we selected an idol, there would be some doubts and we would again consider the "Jai Malahar". It was tiring, but a lot of fun! The basic issue was the size and the turban on the idol :).

Eventually after a lot of head hunting and help from the shopkeeper Rahul booked his "Jai Malhaar"! It was an all successful shopping spree... all owners were returning back happy.

Took some pics and showed our folks back home... they liked our choice... (It was right sized and did not have the turban ..hahaa ). We would be getting our idol a day before the festival... so 'am really looking forward to this year’s Eco friendly H1N1 mellowed down festival!

Mt. Baner

The sun was beating down and so were our spirits. We needed some shade some cool some fun. It happened, the clouds went berserk and the blue sky cast grey. The weather was beautiful and the usual timeout at our local tapri did not work the magic. The little hillock stood sweet in the cool shade and we knew what was needed- a little small hike up the Tekdi, affectionately called "Mt. Baner".

Piyush, Sanjay Mandar and myself took the usual road to the base of the hill. This time around, I wanted them to experience the steeper way up. So we took it. Not having exercised for days the climb did mandate a couple of halts. But the tiredness really did not matter as much, since the dark clouds and chill breeze kept the spirits high. Soon we were atop the hill and then made a quick ascent to the little hillock atop to the mandir (temple).

The views were stupendous. A dark cloud the size of Pune city above us, broken off along the periphery lashing water at the distance. The ranges holding Sinhagad and Torna were hidden far back. A quick breather and off we got with the property and money talk.. blah blah blah. The consistent breeze and freshness in the air kept our spirits high, soon Piyush noticed the incoming rain and that had us take a quick descent.

This time around we took the simple route (South face as we call it :D ). Lots of talks and laughs and down we were contemplating for a wadapaav and some tea. Had a lot of it Rohit wadewalle before making a dash back to the little 4x3 pen.

A couple of days later Amit did the magic talk and off we dash-ed to Mt. Baner. It was a quick quick ascent (steep route) and within the blink of an eye we were standing next to the little mandir. All was the same except the weather. It was not cool and cloudy it was wonderful clear skies with the fresh breeze.

Dusk was soon to fall and we decided to take a path that led to the hillock in the distance. Walked some distance and noticed that many trees had been planted along the hillside. Go Green was doing some awesome work atop these gentle slopes. Soon we stopped partway and decided to take in the beautiful golden sun as it set far behind the mountains. Amit pointed out to various buildings and upcoming projects down in the valley and quoted their prices... the market is improving or so he said. Well we loved the view, and we enjoyed it. The distant views of Balewadi Hinjewadi to Sus and many other areas were simply beautiful. Pune has grown.. its huge.

The atmosphere turned golden as the huge orange ball lost itself behind the mountain. We had to head back before dark. This time we descended the steep route and soon were at the base and trotted back to office for fresh snacks.

The tekdi/Mt.Baner is a wonderful gym for nature enthusiasts. Like Amit put it "muscles wagere kahi nahi re.. stamina ahe stamina... biceps wallyana race lavayla saang aplya barober ani kasse phattete bag tyanchi ... " before narrating a story how he easily trotted off ahead against a fit muscle man to the top of Mt. Baner!

99

Yesterday for reasons ... 1) being a friday 2) long time since we had seen anything new on the movie scene 3) my wife being a movie buff herself 4) no new movies being released in a long time and 5) a new comical '99' was slated for release on that day- the tickets were booked at premium levels starting 8:31pm at the square with a big E.

Knowing not what to expect and run with no expectations is the best way to enjoy the onslaught is what I was taught by one of my good friends some donkey years ago. It proved wonderful! The movie got us in splits at regular intervals... story. Ummm... no not a big deal really, but execution and comedy, oh yess a lot of it! We thoroughly enjoyed every premium level of that ticket.

Movie done with popcorns and tasteless coffee, decided to ride down to some restaurant at ~11 in the night. Lots of hunting later landed at "Punjabi Tadka" near Chandni Chowk. An empty restaurant with wonderful ambiance and khatiya/indian-baithak style seating with the typical mindblowing makke-di-rotii te sarsoon da saag with mega sized chaanch te lassi was perfect for ending the night.... but no so with the already full-ourselves. Forcing the grub down was a fun event in itself with the shadow of sleep looming low over our heads. ~12:15am we full-bellied-selves decide to call it a night.

An annn... not so soon. I keep getting my urges as wify dear stated she was not feeling too sleepy. So decided to ride down all the way to Khadakwasala dam at 1am :). Wonderful. The ride was enough to let the sleep gods get the better of us as we lazily rode past the dam and just gave it a a few hevy glances as we rode back home.

Day ended the next morning - was it 2am? What did we take away from the movie... "Dimple...."

Kaun Hai Tasneema!?

17th Nov '08

I never imagined liquor chocolates could make me sleep like a log! So that day finally I had one before jumping to sleep.

Soon I realized I was in a lot of turmoil and it was of utmost importance that I meet Salmaan. Salmaan was a good friend and I had to meet him since he was the only guy who could protect me in this time of need and terror. I soon realized I had to be a savior and Salmaan was the only answer to all my worries. Soon I knocked at his little "chawl" door in my society. The society was good, I mean all cemented and white but the corridors selectively looked like a old chawl. It was strong and cozy though. Salmaan was seated on a chair as I ran to him and talk to him of how bad the situation was and that I needed guns to be the savior for this society! Very soon Salmaan handed over a bazooka, and said keep this its good and the best. Content- I slung it cross across my shoulder and walked off.

Very soon I realized a single bazooka was not enough and the distant gunshots were getting louder and more audible as I could see vivid images of soldiers ripping apart a war ground. I rush back to Salmaan and ask him for more guns. He obliged and said I was doing the right thing and handed me over a few guns and boxes of bullets for the same, for some odd reason the bullets were soft and looked like little dildos- he said they were the best and made a mark on the enemy.

Soon I saw Tasneema- a happy sweet girl in Salmaan's house. She was his sister and a good friend of mine. Riding along the streets seated pillion to her felt odd but we kept blabbering of a lot of things... things that meant nothing and at times total gibberish crap. The bazooka was still stuck to my back but never felt uncomfortable. Soon we needed to park the vehicle, we neared F.C. college. Very odd- the parking area along the road was all dug up and was nothing more than a heap of mud strewn around. I was riding the scooty now, so somehow managed to push and park the vehicle, but odd the scooty was the only vehicle being parked on that busy day. Suddenly I turned around to see that there was no road!

Suddenly there was an attack .. bullets flying everywhere, huge sounds of battle- gunshots ,cannon balls, blasts etc. etc. I also managed to spot a king riding on a horse with his sword sticking high up as he rode yelling at the enemy. Weird... I stuck out my own gun at the blood thirsty enemy - but wait the gun .. the gun was all plastic - it was a toy, and it soon broke off! I was doomed , but funny I was not scared. I knew my bazooka would save the society, I rushed to Salmaan!

Me: "Abbey yeh bazooka ko kaise chalate hain Bhaijaan?"
Salmaan: "Yeh button dabba to to yeh peeche hoga .. phir yeh compartment khulega .. phir unlock hoga uske baad tera mutex free hojayega aur semaphone plus plus ho jayega"

Suddenly we found ourselves inside this chambered room. We are actually standing inside the bazooka! What!! He opened a huge and strong furnace door, but it looked like that of "Kenstar". There were wild flames inside the door, he then tossed in a lot of "paavs"(bread) One loaf after another and I kept watching closely with keen interest, as I needed to know how to fire the bazooka. Then Salmaan turned over to me and said "Jaise hi ting ting ting ki awaaz ayegi to ek ek karke niklenge ye bazooka se aur toot padenge dusman par". I was happy and proud of my newly found knowledge. Then starts the war , I watched and studied the enemy from very close quarters.

Suddenly I found myself seated across a dining table with a cup of tea, Tasneema's mom was standing on the other side of the table giving a content smile. I sip on the tea and as soon as I lift my head, the whole room is full of guests- Hindus and Muslims alike. All were very occupied and happy for some reason, I knew it was a KPC in progress- It felt weirdly uncomfortable in a way and a usual uneasiness crept into me. Tasneema's mom kept smiling giving indications that all is ok. I was wide eyed.

Then I spotted some old village folk seated under a old "pipal" tree. They were discussing about how bad terrorism was and were discussing about the terrorist attack, all this time the war was on in full swing behind us- but somehow they were least bothered about it. It was then that an old man looked up to me and said "beta ATM mein bandook rakhi hai".

I then seat myself pillion to the scooty as Tasneema rode on into the dark night. WE soon reached an old abandoned 2-storied building. The building seemed incomplete since the land it was built on was under litigation. The first floor had its shutter partly open and the ATM was inside in a far corner. I told Tasneema "Mujhe bandooken withdraw karni hain.." as I took the ATM card and ascended a couple of steps to rush to the ATM in a dark corner inside.

At the ATM, once I inserted the card in the slot a couple of lights behind a glass pane started blinking on the topside of the machine. A man from inside the machine looked at me from behind the glass lights and asked "Kaaunsi color ki chahiye?" I replied "Mere paas bazooka hai..". Suddenly a gun popped into the tray below from the machine. I lift the gun and looked down and suddenly realized I had my hands full of guns of all shapes and sizes.

Soon I found myself back at Salmaan's house, I stepped out and saw the mercy-less war on at full wage. I turned my head and saw Tasneema at the far end of the dining table "Chaay pee lo.. thandi ho rahi hai". Her mom slid her palm across my hair affectionately and I felt like one of those gratitude-laden dogs wagging their tail for more affection. I turned my head again and saw Salmaan ruining like crazy for his life, there were some 3-4 commandos behind him with automatic weapons, he got shot and killed. It was like a movie, I turned my head and Salmaan was standing content next to his sister. Both starred at me.

I then found myself again at the "pipal" tree with all the old folk in the village. This time they are arguing heatedly about the terrorists. Suddenly I got shot in the leg, wasting no time I manned the bazooka over my right shoulder and again found myself on the passageway of the society. I was suddenly forced to jump with the bazooka but landed perfectly on the stairs below. I heard the "ting ting" sound, I knew the bazooka was going to fire -took aim at the mercy-less enemy. But wait the bazooka... it was nothing more than a pink colored water pistol with a blue plastic nozzle!! I was doomed.

I then found myself again seated pillion on the scooty with Tasneema and we are discussing all sorts of things like good old friends laughing out loud. Soon her mom says "beta tum bahut achhe ho". I am back at Salmaan's house. I turn my head and see Salmaan covered in blood falling down behind the screen in his room.

Suddenly I heard a "klang klang klang " sound and heard my dad "yes yes... " as something bright hit my eyes. I woke up all wide-awake and realized it was all just a dream- a weird stupid dream. The maid had come to work and dad had opened the door letting in ample light :).

But… still I was not convinced- what was this dream? Bazookas, plastic guns, ATM machines, war, old folk, Salmaan and who was this Tasneema!!!!!?? Scooty!!!

Maybe my recent search for a diwali plastic toy gun for my nephew, the current terror activities on in the country, me and my ATM card, recent talks with my fiancée, various masala movies, my love for canines etc. all these possibly got clobbered into this hilarious plot! :). But again... Kaun hai yeh Tasneema!??

Just thought of getting the above writeup booked :)

My first flat...

It took ~19K kms... it took ~eight years... it took a slumber of ~three or more years... it took , umm lemme see one.. two.. ~four minor and one recent major fumble... it took me visiting some six countries... it took in loads of dust and rust... it took 6 months in my bedroom :)... it took lots of rubble, stones, extremely rough terrain to some of the best tarmac around...

It finally happened... I was obedient behind the STOP line in RED at Jahangir Chowk rushing for a meeting... Green got me thrusting the throttle to its max and in no time to an idle. The bike was wobbling.. I experienced this many-a-times on 4 wheels. I knew its time had come... I knew I finally did it... I should have felt remorse... I should have felt bad ... I should have felt guilty ... I had to be angry over missing the meeting... I smiled.. I shook my head, got the visor off... I giggled... I laughed. Oh the elation.. oh the triump.. oh the feeling of fulfillment...

The puzzled rickshaw fellow said he did not know where the shop I was looking for was... the other rickshaw guy said, I need to get back to the signal for a shop there.

I did walk with my steed. It shone under the sun, it wanted the mild push ... killed the engine decided to thrust it on. Sure it had never experienced this before. It had a flat. the rear tyre had gone flat. The first time in eight years .. my CBZ faced its flat! I was happy and took pride of the situation :)

The mechanic soon arrived and fixed 8 punctures. I decided to pay him for the punctures instead of getting a new tube.. I wanted my bike -stock :). Saw the company bus zip by, imagined my colleagues laughing out loud at me. In about 1/2 hour the bike was back in shape , congratulated the mechanic for a job well done (he did say the tube was of good quality, and infact was a good guy himself!).

Rode back to office humming the songs from Rock on!!..

Meri laundry ka ek bill... Ek aadhi padi novel…
ta naa naa naa naa.. ta na naa naa

Weekday past 2am... Pashi in town.

Its been a long time since I laughed insane, its been a long time since we all laughed insane and its been even longer since we laughed insane for no reason!

Pashi was in town, and that mandated a meetup. The birthday put me in the host's seat. Picking Andya from his place at ~8:20pm and then Pashi and Nilya driving down to me house had us munching over mouth-watering gulab jamuns and a lot of snacks,mom had prepared, over some hilarious scenes from "The Angrez". Pritam was next on the accused list, many phones and laughs later the car rode us to Pritam's (~10).

Pritam has not changed one bit. Its been ages since I've met him :). Bear hugs and "kya yaar " "kya rao " "hey man" "yoyyoyoyo" 's later, I was commanded to take us to a hotel- where I did not know. Oasis made sense, so on we rode past FC, Ganeshkid to Pashan Road. All sorts of amazing discussions engulfed this leg of the drive. So many catch up's and mises from our void -it was amazing.

Soon we took the Sus left and headed for Chandani Chowk and eventually onto dark-dark :) NDA road. Being a weekday, the couples were missing from nooks and corners- but that's about when we spotted a few and on came the HI-LO beam game. Oasis made its appearance in the dark corner, without a slow-down we took a sharp left down the uneven path to the car-park. "How did we reach so soon?" I thought. It was ~10:40pm.

We picked ourselves a table away from the crowd for the predicted boasts, loud noises, laughter riots and what not- and yes we were true to our word. The drinkers got their vodkas and we non-sinners got ourselves exotic mocktails (names like Namibian Nights, Pink Panther and Fiery Ice makes them sound Exotic!). The waiter asked us to place all orders since the kitchen was to close soon. The discussion went on through all names in the menu card to all confusion over what sort of Rotis to order! Usual confusions later we had some chick dish for starters some veg-platter(that never came) 2 vegs 1 daal a Roti ka Tokri :) and rice. Roti Ka Tokri was the best decision -it had all and no confusion, was filling and bang on.

The discussions soon wavered from serious talk to lighter hickups to mindless rant. Andya kept starring at his glass and kept munching on peanuts, I blast out laughing "You are drunk without a sip man... munching on Peanuts !" "Aye Vindya .. you are drunk without a drink -check your Namibian Night if that had anything .. laughing for no reason!" chuckled Ands. That was enough for the chuckkles to set in -I was getting out of control. Pashi kept patting my back "Controool man.. controol". I don't know, maybe its something about being surrounded by good friends that pushes me way into my comfort zone and go insane... I really don't know.

Then came little stories of how an irritated Anil once shouted to a bystander who was asking for the time in marathi -"Mala Marathi yet Nahi!", we all were in splits. Then came in various stories from all around the place. Anything anybody spoke or even uttered let the loud "HA" with repetitions with a mouth wide open so loud that we had to console ourselves to dimer volumes. Prasad was engaged and the time was 12am -we decided to pick on him.

Pashi did the honours to get snores to breaths and hisses to words -Prasad was awoken:). The round robin had us asking Prasad questions and answers to teases and irritations- what better way to irritate someone in the middle of the night just past commitment to mindless rant and laughter.. that too over phone! Prasad was happy we were all the same and perfectly normal.

Soon the dinner onslaught came to an end after a few more mindless laughs over Andya's new dumb-bells :). Nilya was getting late and was in a hurry. But we had to drop Pashi. The car took the dark NDA road past Sus- past Abhimanshree- past Parihaar- past Breman- past Aundh- to the Khadaki railway crossing where we took our first halt. We had to, the gate was down for a slow goods train to pass us. We imagined the train stopping for us (played Hi-Lo just to add to the giggles). After the long wait the gates eventually opened and got us to the other -uneven Martian surface- side. The road was bad but soon past the Bridge it got wonderful.

Zipping at insane speeds and then taking a central lane we reached Chinchwad. Himesh and many singers kept us company as Nilya and Pritam took turns snoring. Eventually a few turns later we were at Pashi's place- The place where I was once introduced to a "Nirdosh"! Yeah... whatever. Chatted for a few minutes before bidding our farewells back to the doggy streets to the highway. (~1:15).

The road then got us back via Aundh to SB road to FC to drop Pritam at his place. Nilya started getting his calls. Soon we reached home and decided to trail Nilya (he insisted he'd take his scooter back home despite my repeated persuals to drop him by car) all the way to his place at Wanowari(~2am). Andya and me kept discussing -LIFE :), and kept consoling as we trailed onto Wanowari.

Soon we reached Nilya's (2:20am) bid our farewells before zipping back to Andya's place at Sahakar Nagar. Had a lot of mature talk - I guess, its like, when a person gets too sleepy he probably feels he is too wise and.. for a blabberer like me it means I start sharing the wisdom. Hmm. Andya kept saying I made sense- maybe I am good -..... Naaat.

It was past 2:30am when I got home, mom said "So you are back haan..." "Sleep" said dad :).

The day they saw blunts...

Once upon a time, Avik came by my cubicle and handed over a box to me. It looked different and unlike other boxes. It was a box cigars. Why me!? I do'nt smoke!

Well his philosophy was different, he just wanted to get rid of that box. He probably thought I did not smoke so that box would be preserved for some more time- actually my cube was adjacent to his. Sanjay was dead angry and frustrated with him at the time "इ विंडी तो पीता नहि है, ब&%#(% व@( उसे काहे दे दिये सिगार? एएए मोटाईमल बताओ तो... सब बरबाद कर दिये।"

Well I managed to keep that 5 pack with me for roughly 3 years now. Nachiket, Piyush, Mandar were amongst the consistently persistent ones for getting their hands on that box. I did not even give them a glimpse of the pack. Maybe I was trying to be a "messenger of good"- thou shalt not drink Cigars :)

One fine day, I was tired of keeping that box and being nagged at all times. Mandar and Piyush were in a discussion -Plop- I tossed the box on the table "ले ऎश कर।". Both of them starred at the box, then at me, then at the box and then at each other -wide eyed. "क्या है ये ?" asked Mandar "सिगार का बो़क्स- क्या बात है विंडी!.. क्या हो गया तेरेको?!" expressed Piyush "रख लो..." I said.

Have you seen a kid(really small.. like say around two) with a packed Birthday parcel, the enthusiasm and eagerness with which it tears open the wrapping and at the end of which it gives the tounge-out smile with saliva bubbles popping off the edges and then goes slap slap over the box. I witnessed a similar but marginally mature behavior that day with two twenty something year old kids :).

The discussion stopped, the outer lamination came off in a jiffy and then rose a sweet aroma- a very familiar distasteful in a way but still a sweet smell. Then out came 5 dark beige-brown-greenish (lets call it the cigar color) cartridges. Each wrapped in it own separate plastic covering. The many years of preservation had taken its toll, the covers clinged to each other and needed an ant effort to get them apart. Piyush and Mandar smiled like they were looking at a stick of Ambrosia. Then came the moment- one Cigar was selected to be peeled off its plastic jacket -off it came as all of us peered down at the cut end to the flakes of dry leaves and twigs (tobacco) stuffed in.

"यार इस्को फ़िल्टर नहि है।" I commented.. "अब्बे, ये सिगार है सिगार ।" both pounded over my sarcastic comment. By now each of us held a cigar in our hand and Vito Corleone and LOIN ( सारा शहर मुझे लोइन के नाम से जांत है। fame) made their spirits felt in no time -all sorts of dialogs from various celluloids and immense know-hows on how to hold and smoke a cigar ensued the next few minutes. Nachiket teamed in.

"ओय होय.. क्या बात है!" Nash was elated. The discussion continued over the Ubuntu screen swirling around from Epanny to Firefox from one Cigar know how to the other. "एक्स्पैरि डेट काकुच पंगा है क्या.. विंडी ने सडा दिया सब सिगारस को। " Piyush barked. I always thought Cigars were like Wine- older the better. Yiekks!

No one bothered about the expiry and decided "पियेंगे यार .. एक दिन शान से।". I returned to my cube with one bargained Cigar- afterall a momento was mandated though I never smoked.

The "पियेंगे शान से" day came in a week. The usual post office 7 something O'clock all of us walked down to the 3rd floor terrace with smiles and enthusiasm of little college kids ready to do and dance over something unheard and undiscovered of. We borrowed a cutter to get rid of the blunt end. With the honors done, "बहुत लाइट है रे.. म्म ह्म्म.. इतना मज़्ज़ा नहि है।" "दे तो ज़ारा.. हां.. लैकिन वो मांन्युलि जो सिगार बनाता है, उस्से तो स्ट्रोंग है..।" "दिखा तो.. हां, सहि बात है.. लैकिन लाइट हैयार-गुडांन गरम जैसा हि है..। " "बता.. क्या है यार.. कुछ भि नहि, हुक्का इस्से स्ट्रोंग है, ले।" "ओय.. क्या बात है.. ..।" "चल छोड.. जाता मैं घर, बीवी राह देख रहि है..।" "चल बे.. .. ..।" "मैं फोनकरके आया। " "बस कर, पूरा पियेगा क्या?" ".. .. खत्म करता हूं .. .. .. .. ..।" "क्या हुवा?" "बुजारहा हुं, नहि होगा, दस बज जयेंगे खत्म करते करते। ".

Back at the cubicle, "चल विंडी... आज से मैंने सिग्ग्रेटस छोड दिये।" blasted Piyush, "और क्या... सिगार चालु कर दिये?" smirked Mandar. "हां..." all laughed. Sorry Avik, your cigars are now in the open :).

Daaay... Mind it

Our product was being used by an esteemed customer in Chennai and they were facing some problems with the same. Our Sales and Support folks made sure they let us Engineers know the seriousness of the issue. Managers realized the seriousness and asked me to backpack to Chennai. I was apprehensive at first, somehow I never liked the prospect of visiting Chennai.

Its been over 8 years since I visited that part of India. The last time I did it was humid summer but yes did enjoy the visit- visiting relatives, the temples(there is something about visiting 'non-hyped' temples in the south), going around the city etc. but I hated the climate and since I hardly ever speak tamil -had a tough time communicating.

Despite my apprehension, managers and various colleagues managed to lure me to the prospect of the visit stating it would be a great learning curve and others chided me to other obvious know-hows. Well I had to and I did. Dad 'n Mom were elated -their Marathi tounged lad , MBCT (Marathi Born Confused Tamil), was actually traveling to Channai - ALONE!

Armed with a backpack, laptop, lots of sweat and nervousness I took the "Red" flight to Chennai. At first I did not have a clue as to how I was going to solve the customer issue, but had a few tricks in my bag -it was tough depending on those. We flew up above the clouds and back down black clouds as the captain announced "The temperature outside is 30 deg. Cel.". Old memories engulfed me -the humidity, the sweat and white folded veshtis and cycle rickshaws all around. The pink make-up and red lips shone "good bye sir.. have a nice day" as I stepped off the flight.

It was cloudy and not humid, it was warm. Sultan was my buddy cabbie -it took me the entire trip to realize, I actually was an executive! Chennai did not look like Madras, it looked very familiar, it looked very open very ... cosmopolitan. Lungis were replaced by jeans , TVS-50's were replaced by various 4-wheeled drives, little dusty roads were taken over by wonder-full black roads. Chennai looked different. Maybe I am wrong afterall...

The rest of the day was spent with me at the Customer site tackling the issue till late midnight. "Everyone" spoke tamil around me but "we" communicated in English. I understood every word being spoken, and really wanted to jump in with "aaman.. correcttee.. illai " etc., but decided not to -since that's the only tamil I am confident with. On the way back 2 of my colleagues -a tamil and a kerela born tamil- were surprised and floored to learn I was a tamil as well. MBCT- that hardly mattered anymore, it was the 'T' that made the difference :).

With a resolved case, I had the next day all to myself. Ajay was in Chennai- Kodambakkam. I liked the name, asked him to skip office. The ride went via many names, Neelambakkam, Ashok nagar and what not and also a short cut that took us via an army area and a village with a huge suclpture of a king (some deity maybe). Finally we were at Kodambakkam next to a girls college. I did spot old memories here -veshtis and TVS-50s.

Ajay has grown thinner, "Mujhe motta hona hai yaar, bachha hoga to utha kaise paunga .. wo laath marega mein peeche gir jaunga.. dhek mujhe mein office se college, college se school jane ke tayari mein huun:)". Yes we are happy close buddies, had a great time spicing up all sorts of things at his place. For lunch, he took us to a place I always loved for food in Chennai- Sarawanabhavan!

Sarwanabhavan, idlis dossas and loads of sambar and chutney start flying around my head. Sarwanabhavan, make me stand next to a foul garbage bin and I would still smile with the smell of fresh curries and rice dollops in my head. We took inner roads to get to Arkot Road.

I remember this place, I had been to this branch once- its much bigger now. I decided to buy some stuff from the outlet, Mysoor paak and nendranga chips. "Mysoor Paak irukkange?" I asked "Evloo?" she asked.. I got confused- I am bad at numbers in Tamil "kaal kilo" I blurted. Whats kaal kilo!!!? "Paal Mysoor Paakaa? .. Gheeaa?" she asked Ajay "Oye Vindy .. mennu bachao yaar .. gaali derahi hai mennu" reacted Ajay "Ghee Ghee" I intervened. (Kaal kilo is 250gms :) .. mom told me later)

After that, whatever it was- I was out with 2 packets, we had lunch. Decided on having Thaalis, they had many thaali options. I picked the costliest of the lot, Ajay took the next one. The plates were full- I mean they were roughly my forearms length in diameter and full of katooris. ~12 bigger ones took the outer diameter and 7-8 smaller ones covered the inner void - all were full of some curries or the other, many I recognized others I could relate to. Soup, One immeriti (Jangri in Tamil), 1 papad, 1 paratha (I ordered another) and a load full of rice! Ajay and me stared at each other and dug right in. In no time the handkerchiefs were out and we braved the battle. It was a fight to the finish before we ran bash to the wash basin content we were out of the sweet torture! Back at the table there was 1 banana and 1 paan an icecream for me. We forced the stuff down our throats and decided on taking a walk before actually getting back to the car.

Mom, Dad said they wanted some more stuff from the outlet. Bought those -spoke in English this time around. Back at Aj's room we had another great session Jumping and laughing for joy before I bid my farewell as I had a flight to catch.

The ride to the airport, made me wish I could stay longer and spend more time possibly roaming around the city and visiting relatives and also possibly pay a visit to some temple. Alas as the roads kept speeding back and the sign boards for International cargo and airport made their presence, I knew it was the time to say goodbye.

In flight a book that spoke of south cuisines and stuff interested me in particular- maybe its my recent stint at Chennai that got me all mushy about this :). Back in Pune, the cabbie asked me "Tumhche naav Marathi vatat nahi .. pan tumhi spashte marathi kase kay bolta ho??". So yes post trip I realized the MBCT I am -just that it introduced me to the 'T' factor.

Drenched to the N*&&s

It was a wonderful day, had a beautiful ride on Saturday and here I was all ready to gym on Sunday afternoon. Took the long Sus road and burnt some fat, on the way back at about 5pm I decided to pay Sheetal a visit. Called him to ascertain he was around. He was.

Took the motocross path to reach Sheetal's place. The roads were wet with the recent showers. Had a wonderful time chatting out at Sheetal's place playing with his kid and relished some moth-watering idlis prepared by his wife. The discussion went all the way from good 'ol days to the current maket situation to Tom and Jerry! :D

It was 9pm and I had to return, the lightning bolts with thunder was simply unsettling. It was geting late with the rains picking up every minute. Eventually after checking a few times I decided to ride the rain. Sheetal and his better half persuaded me to wait on for more time, but it simply was too late and the rains too tempting. Accepted Sheetal's wind-sheeter to settle him down and stepped into the shower.

The rain was mild when I left and picked up as the engine roared to life. It gained some momentum as I got onto Aundh road and eventually struck hard at Breman circle. The university road stretch was like riding in an ocean. Water puddles everywhere and the clothes I wore made no sense. The wind-sheeter helped keep the needle drops away while the helmet protected my grey. In a few seconds I was sogging wet. My speed was at 50, the visibility was at a bare minimum with my fogging visor. Up it went. The cool drops kissed my face as it trickled down to wet the foam in the helmet. My eyes sensed the cool water as it itched and burnt my globes to free it of all dirt.

The water pounded against me as the skin shivered helplessly to the lashing streaks. The diminishing vision and the lowering speeds with some chilly gusts striking hard rattling my bike over to the untarred side of the tarmac. The puddles lost my tyres grip as I balanced the monster to the dark waters. Loosing direction and barely missing a tree I was back on the road. The cool -the chill -the shiver -the water seeping deep in my chinos, I was helpless. The wrist gripped the throttle as I hummed a few songs to keep the spirit alive. It helped. The University singnal came close as I rode on to S.B road.

The rains seemed relentless, my body grew warmer. I was sogging wet as I rode the empty stretch. The rains seemed invisible to me, it felt like petals flowing against my direction. The open visor let in the cool breeze as my wet face took every drop to cherish its presence. I looked up and around, the rains were there to stay, I smiled. Started humming some beautiful numbers and aloud at that. It was wonderful, simply seemed great -did not want the moment to end. Then came the signal. Somehow the rains seemed foolish at the signals, came straight and hardly got me wet. Many riders next to me were sogging wet as some shivered, some simply got comfortable with the conditions and others doned raincoats -YUKKKK! Why do you need rain coats ! (I ride wet to office as well man... common... enjoy the rains!).

The ride ahead saw the rains diminishing and eventually to drizzles. It was pretty tough to get off the seat, my clothes were a storage of water and each move got the pool cool touch from the wet fabric. I was back home - the ride had come to an end. Mom, Dad simply shook their heads - "When is this boy ever going to learn!.. atleast pretend!!"

Dug up ride...

"Pune Municipal Corporation ki jay"... Dunno who so ever is ever going to say that. Its something part of a far fetched reality. Have faced the brunt on numerous occasions.

This one happened yesterday, was on my way to the Baner office Gym. The roads were pretty ridable till about near the Rajwada hotel , then starts the waltz (dhik tak tak ...dhik tak tak ..dhik tak tak .. dhik.. tika tika). The 2 ways trurn to one, the road transforms to a mud path. But still, atleast, looks ridable. A couple of confused cars and a huge confused truck were lost what to do where to go, an auto driver ahead kept a cool head and helped the helpless truck driver get on the left sideof the right road so that all the cunjested vehicles on the 2 sides of the right road get to move .. wow.. weird... and I thought rick. drivers only knew to keep a sour face!

Well, riding a bike has its own plus-es you see, a. You can sneak through any nook and corner b. You zip past crunchiest of situations and c. potholes or not ou can manage your wheels over them! JFYI, all the 3 points mean the same :P

Riding through the raising slush and the road getting ever narrow I happened to realize the rest of the cut-off road was actually laid with a cement block and pedestrians were having a ball walking causally aimlessly, one of the many advantages of putting 2 legs to the test.

Riding on came another hurdle, the road disappeared and it seemed to transform into a trekking trail as it took a right(!!!) towards the petrol pump. I was confused what to do, and found that following the rider ahead actually helped as we steered via the petrol pump and out to the trek track again. So effectively we crisscrossed the oncoming traffic.

Now I could vaguely see the twin towers of my Baner office, but the track made me gaze more onto the road/track/path (whatever). Then the front wheel goes thud into a trench (acually a dried up lorry tyre track) and then I race and get the wheel out and the back wheel followed suite, mind you I did not loose my cool neither did the rider behind me nor the maruti car guy coming onto me -probably he made calculations for his assault plan.

Suddenly the track ended and the road opened to a barricade. A trench was dug up perpendicuar to the road with barricades against it. The road was shut. My office was 10 meters ahead and the road was shut. The oncoming traffic was a huge single-file-stream as they came from the right corner of the road through a narrow pass over the trench -so could not take that route.

That's when I noticed the brave ninja riders. On any other given day, I would always tend equating them to "hassle and worry" of the road. Not today. This is what I saw,
The ninja behind got off her seat and whispered some secret mantra to the riding ninja and then they exchanged looks (play the huge GONG/CLANG that's heard before a martial bout). Slowly she purred her scooty to the right side of the trench where the barricade ended and poof she steered left and rode down into the trench! What the! I could still see her scarf moving along and her pillion scarf trodding behind her, then like a miracle they started to emerge from the left end of the trench on the other side. They exchanged glances some mantras looked backed at us and rode away to glory (play the huge GONG/CLANG that's heard after a martial bout).

Well soon me 'n other 2 wheelers followed suite. The entry to the trench was actually not a motorable pass at all, just a dug-out that led down and then there was a plank that bridged to the other side. In we went and out we came and there the road was slaughtered again. A small patch of road led to my office premises and the other was the suppositedly motorable concrete road (just looked like a long long block of concrete to me on which vehicles moved).

The guard was elated to see me (some guts a guy has to do all these idiocycs just to get to office on a weekend!), so I asked him since when and why was this done. He kept saying no one listens, they should not have closed the road etc etc... but he was damn happy to see me :).

So up I went and shed over 350cals at the treadmill and over 150 at the cycle and much much more at other equipments. Flushed and tired after over 2 hours and a cup of curd I was back at the parking lot ready to make my way back home.

Having faced the music on the way here, I had hardly any problems to face -just had to get over a some rubble and then back track a few times around office since they shut off the only road (thanks to my new sec. guard friend they opened the road for me). Well then riding along-over the potholes and via the petrol pump and eventually onto tarmac was a piece of cake. After all that, I needed to stretch my engine to its limits so got onto ITI road and eventually via Aund-Univ road hit a good 3digits and the same on S.B. road finally the silent gullies led me back home.

And today, the story was all the same :-), after burning another 400cals end up taking the return via Baner Pashan road (a new rugged one that leads to Sus road). Met Avik, Paromita 'n family at Chandani Chowk had a great 3 to 4 hours there before getting through another challenge, the weirdly concretized Kothrud and the ever crowded roads on the night of "Dhai-Handi"!

Who said you need to get out to the mountains for a dirt track ride, welcome to Pune!

Walk to Parvati..

The weekend went dead boring with me just siting it out at home doing nothing. Some appointments were canceled and my monsoon sickness made me tug in 3 sets of blankets.

I had to get out of home and take a walk.

Keeping the spirits up and with a temperature and few sneezes left home at about 6 in the evening and with an instinct took a right and decided to hit the Paravati hill top. Having watched Aamir and many other movies over the weekend , the verses kept playing in my ears....

"Aani Jaani Hai Kahani,
Bulbule Si Zindagani
Banthi Kabhi Bigadthi
Tez Hawa Se Ladthi Bidthi
Ha Reham Ha Reham Farmaaye Khuda(2)
Mefuz Har Kadam Karna Eh Khuda Eh Khuda(2)"

The weather was cool, but no traces of rain. The last couple of days were pretty dry. Walked down the small allies of lokmanaya nagar as I came on the road adjoining S.P. college grounds. The roads were crowded this time, soon crossed over at Neelayam chowk past Vikrant cables. Here I noticed a new book store "Pathfinder" next to Ashoka Hotel, so decided to pay it a visit on my way back incase I retraced my steps.

Parvati looked as good as ever. Parvati is a wonderful hill bang in the middle of the city, and I still dont understand why so few people know of it! Such a quaint and lovely place (err.. its been over 3 years since I myself paid it a visit :P). Walked past Neelayam theater which was all empty and it hosted a couple of movies, "Sing Is King" was one of them.

"Saanson Ki Sukhi Door Anooti Jal Jaayegi Jal Jaayegi
Bandh Jo Laaye the Haath Ki Mutti, Khul Jaayegi Khul Jaayegi
Kya Ghumar Karen Kayaa Yeh Ujali Mitti Mein Mil Jaayegi
Chaahe Jithni Shamayein Roshan Kar Le, Roop To Dhal Jaayegi Jaayegi
Ha Reham Ha Reham Farmaaye Khuda(2)
Mefuz Har Kadam Karna Eh Khuda Eh Khuda(2)"

I was pretty happy with my steady pace, maybe my walking habits are not that bad afterall. Climbed up the Bridge over the Water Canal and eventually waded my way past a few lazy cows as a couple of people took blessings from the creatures. The helpless policeman simply sat at the side chatting with his colleague :).

They have renovated Paravati- a new arched entrance and some more arches on the top. I was wondering if I can still go up in one shot, I mean its been a long time since I have trekked anyways. So took on the angled slabs of ~300 steps that curved its way to the temple premises atop. Noticed many old folks sitting on benches in the dimming light and some enthusiastic oldies climbing up at a constant pace zig-zagging over the steps so they get to walk more :). These people are true inspiration for the many loosers we have warming their butts in the cosy A/c infested interiors of various organizations. I mean one look at their enthusiasm with wrinkles and pooof you get all charged up to do the exercise(climb in this case) better. I did that ... my pace did not falter its stride, maintained the same speed I did since I left home.

Finally atop, post the final few killer steps (why do the last steps always kill you! ), I was at the temple premises unsurprisingly breathing heavily still not that tired. Stood there and took in the surrounding views - distant houses, rivers, green canopy of the city. The city is still green no two ways about it, but yes.. it is diminishing.

"Sone Chamak Mein, Sikko Kanak Mein Miltha Nahin, Miltha Nahin
Dhool Ke Zaroon Mein, Dhunde Koi Tu Miltha Wahin Miltha Wahin
Kya Majaal Teri Marzi Ke Aage, Bandhon Ki Chal Jaayegi
Taane Ugli Jo Tu Katputhli Ki Chaal Badal Jaayegi Jaayegi
Ha Reham Ha Reham Farmaaye Khuda(2)
Mefuz Har Kadam Karna Eh Khuda Eh Khuda(2)"

Soon made my way through the premises to the backyard of the temple. Unfortunately there is a door now and it was locked. Maybe it was to keep miscreants away from the temple. Who knows. So just stood there took a bit of what I could see around before retracing my steps. The cell network is jammed up here.

The way down was pretty quick and steady. Back down tried to contact Andya, unfortunately his mobile was out of coverage. Retraced my steps via Neelayam and payed the bookstore a visit. The store is like a mini version of Landmark/Crosswords. The walk back was nothing different and was home in no time.

Mom was surprised I was back after climbing Paravati so soon. Hmm.. maybe I am not all that flab after all :)

"Ha Reham Ha Reham… Ha Reham Ha Reham….Ha Reham Ha Reham… (3)"

4 to 8

15th August.. today was independence day... gave it a slow start at about 12 in the afternoon. Hardly could sleep the previous night, no reason why. Anyways the day was all dull with dark clouds and too many missed signs of heavy downpour. Also being 'VaraLaxmi Nombu' a religious ceremony, mom had prepared some delicacies that kept me full.

The missed calls and independence messages kept me busy as I learnt Addy bought a cycle today ...AgggGHHH oh.. the frustration!!. Got all fresh and ready leave for a casual walk as the dark clouds separated at intervals to show blue.

It was 4.

Off I went, as I decided my usual path down Aalka via Deccan and then return via FC road before stopping by Sharwari for tea. But then I thought of adding in some extra miles. So started walking down the empty roads( the newspapers did predict -Pune roads would be empty this weekend for too many bookings were reported by MTDC at various green destinations on the long weekend). Past Alaka and down Deccan ,decided on checking out Shoppers Stop at Wakedewadi as they had an on-going Sale.

Walked under the Garware bridge past the Deccan bus stop, as I helped some lost riders find Laxmi Road, furthur down the Stretch of JM road alongside Shambaji Park post which I crossed over to Ghole road. Here I planned to take the route till NewEnglish school then past the parking lot area to Shimla office.

As I passed Modern School, there was a lot of chaos from the premises as kids participated in various organized sports events. Walking past the Recreation center, I cherished memories of the days I used to play badminton. Soon crossed over to the Parking lot as I walked down the quiet neighborhood and eventually came out the main road at Simla office then walked over the Sanchati bridge and eventually past Patil-estate. At last walked by the complex that held @HOME and Shoppers Stop.

The place was crowded. Cars were parked on the roads 2 wheelers were stuffed in the parking lot. Took the steps to the shop as I wiped the perspiration off my face. I was quick to jog up to the second floor to the casuals section and just as immediately started scanning for green 6-pocket cargos. My current cargo was showing traces of fatigue (if you know what I mean). So scanning up and down the various piles of discounted clothes I eventually gave up and started scanning for a pair of jeans (my current sets share a bad fairy tale). I wanted black so scanned all of the 34" blacks and tried one but hated it it for some weird textures.

Off I went to the far end section of "Branded" (as in costlier) clothes and scanned through their discounts, here I finally tried and picked myself a 36" black jeans branded "MUFTI" at 30% discount. The place was full of clothes and sale. I mean the cashier too was trying to make me buy an ad-on shoppers stop card for 100/- and on my denial he said he would give me some free mp3 CD that pictured the grey bearded BigB. I insisted I pay only for the clothes and no plastic cards :).

Here I asked the cashier to pack the clothes in 2 sets of covers since I'd be walking and chances of getting the clothes wet in rain were high. Dunno what the guy thought, he said "ok sir, I will place in another cover and then you can cover it when it rains, you can also exchange the clothes in 15 days".. did he think I was one of those asking for 2 covers!!! Well I nodded neither yes or no.. I just let a tremor visible on my head :P.

Finally give Crosswords a ritual checkout before zipping down the stairs for my walk back home. The weather was cool with dark clouds. So back I headed past the Wakedewadi underway past Agricultural college and finally onto FC road. Here I followed one of my next rituals of spending some time at Sharvari over a cup of tea. Unfortunately I had to sit inside and not in the balcony since they were expecting rains .. yeah right!! So there I sat sipping my tea as I overheard some aunties behind me gossiping about their daughters and in-laws in the states in "hi-fandu' English ...

Tea came .. gulped down the brew as the 2 of the 3 girls in front of me ordered pav bhaji and the 3rd one (all makeup and lipstick) possibly nodded in denial but insisted she was hungry (what did she want.. pav bhaji with no butter 'n bhaji !?.. maybe some slices of cucumber and lemon juice.. who knows.. ). Their final order was long as I plonk-ed two 5Rupee coins onto the waiters hand before leaving.

So I continued my walk and finally took the Good Luck Cafe gully and past Deccan Gymkhana and eventually walked via ASC(now Cox and Kings). Cherished fond memories of my first office. I just stood there for a minute and could visualize- me dressed in formal black and white on my first interview as I walked off the ASC gate to my parked Kinetic. Walking down these roads with many new made friend and of course the very favourite hangout from college days as well- Rutuja. Gave a smile and smirked as I walked on.

Took the gully that leads bang on to the Garware Gate, here I decided to take the road towards Null stop rather than the usual Garware college bridge road. I had heard a lot about Surendar cycles from the bikeszone community, wanted to give it a 'dheko'. I knew I would not buy anything now, but I just wanted to see this shop. So on I went down the length of Karve road. Just before the Ranka signal, came the Hercules Cycles Surendar cycles shop. This shop looked good and well maintained. I could spot numerous Hercules and LAS models, also noticed a Trek 4300 hung off the wall inside. Well just walked past it, day-dreaming of me paying an amount for a wonderful ride, and took the gully at the signal as I walked down past the hospital and finaly onto Garware Causeway bridge.

Here, I hardly noticed any couples .. which was weird. All I saw were pairs of guyz everywhere. As I walked past all I overheard was various narrations of "I like this girl... he said he likes her... she said no.. she is too modern rao.." Man!!! Looks like the girls gifted themselves a leave today:).

Mom asked me to pickup an insect killer spray so I walked down Vaikuntroad and off Date Studio and into Food World as I picked myself a Mortein spray and a loaf of Plum Cake.

Back home. The clock struck 8. The TV played a tamil movie where Shriya and Dhanush danced around trees.
:|

A fascinating gift...

I always wanted to have one of these bags with a tube jutting off it (Hydration bags). The first time I ever got to see (and sip from) one of these was during my paragliding courses. No sooner did Avi (my instructor) show his hydration pack did we jump like thirsty monsters and almost finished off the whole reserve :). It was a "camelback" hydra-pack I guess.

The concept is really cool. A simply backpack with a 1-2 liter plastic bag that holds the fluid (water/hydration supplements err.. err...) and a tube that comes off it with a rubber stopper like thing at the other end from which you suck the liquid. Its really a handsfree water bottle for that matter.

So ok it looks fascinating, how was it supposed to practically help me other than looking like a showoff item? This backpack can come handy in almost any situation you demand (so long as you don’t feel weird wearing and sucking water off the tube). Practically accepted of course in any adventure/outdoor activity you demand - trekking / bicycling / paragliding / snowboarding / jogging / motor-biking etc etc. I mean if you get too geeky you could sit with one in your office cubicle as you type away... but that’s the reason mentioned the previous list under 'Practically accepted" else you would end up in the wild with hoards of people sucking water in a ration queue or at the bus stop... aggh... my thoughts running wild.

I was meeting Sriram (my cousin) after a long long time. We chatted a lot and he gifted me this backpack and said "you can fill water in this...", I said "oh wow ... its a hydration bag...", he said "yes... here you go". Wow.. I was really happy and am, really, still admiring the bag. It’s a blue "High Sierra" 2 liter Hydration bag. Its amazing - its a very good-go for a small hike (single day) also has a provision to hold you helmet (cycling) and a hook to hang all sorts of things. Really really cool.

Just another reason to get my bums on the saddle again! :)

Lo kallo baat !

As I write this post , I am reminded of Namak Hallal - "Lo kallo baat ! Arre babuji aisi English aave that I can leave Angrej behind!! You see sir, I can talk English, I can walk English, I can laugh English because English is a very funny language. ..."

Well I had to face the music myself. English sure is a funny language. When "I can do something" or "something can be done by me" while "something could have had been done by me" and definitely "if I will have said to have had done something" then it does get confusing.

I was hit bad by the tense bug. In a mail I wrote , there was a statement "GroupA have not tested the same with FEATURE-X enabled since there seems to have had been an understanding that the feature enablement would only be for ProductA and not ProductB" . The bold-ed text created all the confusion and made my head go spin.

Mandar refused to believe I was correct and Piyush eventually agreed I was right. I had to give them this explanation (my explanatory-knowledge for verbs and pronouns nouns etc, has taken a downward fall, hence could not explain the same in those contexts but rather in a more manageable and layman-ish way) This is what I said:

"The only other possibility was "since they seem to have had and understanding...." now since I used past participle with reference to an event .. the "since they..." changes to "since there..." and so " seem" would change to "seems" so "since there seems to have.." .. now the tense I use is past participle in perfect tense .. hence the "had" comes into play and so "since there seems to have had" now if I say "since there seems to have had an understanding" then this statement refers to a void which would mean that the understanding was done by "there" where there refers to nothing (basically a bad grammatic construct).. so we have to use "been" and then it creates the bridge between the referrer and the referee so the statement becomes "...since there seems to have had been an understanding...". Maybe I am completely wrong .. but this is what I believe in and would not budge from it." (I agree my knowledge of pas perfect and participle is jolly bad here- but does not mean my sentence is bad )

I know its too lame and loose to prove my statement. Mandar stood his ground saying "Your sentence is a very good example of Pig's English. I was taught Queen's English at school."

And so I started to read of past , present, past perfect, present perfect, past/present perfect continuous tenses. Oh man! am I out of touch with the basics of grammar! Sure I can speak right but ask me to explain in terms of tenses and verbs and adjectives etc etc. you will enjoy watching me go blank and dumb :)

So yes as for my sentence which created the confusion , I am jolly happy its correct but feel irritated not to give it a convincing explanation!

Hike...

What is it about salary hikes, why all the fuss? the mental attitudes? and make and break of good ties. Well hikes is money and nothing but that could be the sole culprit of this fuss.

Edya: Hey man you met you manager today, so what are the figures dude.. .how much??
Idiot: Ummm.. no man... just met him for some work related stuff...
Edya: Ah ok....
Sometime later Idiot thinking to himself...

Idiot: Saala is manager ki to ... mujhe 5% hike aur Megaidiot ko 20%!!! aur yeh Edya to yeda hi hai .. paise ka kuch lena dena hi nahi ...

Sometime later...
Megaidiot: HEy dude... wazzup
Edya: HEy man... so how much ...
Megaidiot: Ah.. how much can the company afford man.. the same .. not much same as everyone.. (smiles and giggles)
Edya: (Suspicious) Hmm true... see ya

Sometime earlier...
Idiot: How much did you get man...
Megaidiot: HEy don't tell anyone but I got 20% what about you...
Idiot: I don't know.. yet to meet the manager...

in a few minutes...
Manager: Idiot... you have gotten 5%
Idiot : (heart sinks)... why
Manager: blah blah blah blah blah .....
Idiot: BLAH.. BLAH .. BLAH .. BLAH..!!!
Manager: blah blah blah
Idiot: (thinking to himself) Saala... Megaidiot gets 20 and me 5 :(


Back to current times...
Edya Pagal and Gandela discussing the hikes they just got

Edya: Damn this manager man... just 4% ... return me my lent money guyz :( :) (trying hard to smile)
Pagal: Haan kya ... what happened inside? What did you tell the manager...
Edya: blah blah blah blah....
Gandela: OK...
Pagal: Do you know Idiot already knows his percentage.. saala jhoot bolta hai...
Edya: hmm (trying hard to keep up with reality thinking to himself) people getting 13 15 and 10 % hikes .. dammit
Gandela: Well that means Pagal has to give the party .. the max percentage amongst us
Pagal: Pagal ho gaye ho kya.. We need the party from Gandela for his numbers !
Edya: First return me my lent money .. my bank account is running dry :)

All characters in this story are fictitious and any resemblance with any one alive or dead is purely coincidental :)