Vegie Pradesh

Ladies and Gentleman, welcome aboard. If you wanna know why this weird starting. Keep guessing. Your guesses might be right.

Last couple of months have been very taxing. The closing time at college. Of course, its the final year at college. Thats primarily the reason why it has been taxing.

I had a weird dream during this time. Weird enough to knock me off from sleep, and get up sweating. Apparently, I was sitting pretty on my dining table and eating my dead pet. This was as scary a dream I have ever had. I don't really remember what occurred to me but since then I have quit eating non vegetarian food. For the record, I was always a vegetarian. It was only when I stepped into college I started eating non veg food. As I always do before starting something interesting, I researched over the internet, the benefits of being a Vegetarian. God ! what will I do without the internet. That;s why I made a donation to the Wikipedia. I think its more than just a website. Its a lifeline.

For people who don't have the slightest idea about Vegetarianism ( I know there are many of my friends.), to quote from Wikipedia - "Vegetarianism is the practice of following a diet based on plant-based foods including fruits, vegetables, cereal grains, nuts, and seeds, with or without dairy products and eggs. A vegetarian does not eat meat, game, poultry, fish, crustacea, shellfish, or products of animal slaughter such as animal-derived gelatin and rennet."

Again it says, Vegetarianism maybe adopted for ethical, health, environmental, religious, political, cultural, economic or other reasons. My reasons can be both health and ethical. And also if you insist, Economical as well. Well, what can I say, I am unemployable ( there will be a post regarding it pretty soon, Im sure ).Well, they say there are different versions of vegetarianism, which include/exclude dairy products, eggs, game and stuff. But for now, I have quit non-veg food including eggs. Well for special occasions such as eating french food at a beach in Pondicherry or Goa, I will decide then and there. My only concrete reason to stick to vegies is the health, nothing else. Of course I have been reading, Vegetarian this and Vegetarian that, but the bottom line remains simple. Avoid everything else.

Why do people convert to Non-vegetarians ? This is one question I would love to investigate with my friends who are studying psychology. I think there's no reason for us to fall on a culpable diet if we can live on vegies. To say its more nutritious is utter rubbish. Research shows a fully vegetarian diet can be as nutritious as one having meat and stuff. I have a feeling, people who are Non-vegetarian are emotionally fickle. I dont know, but I have this feeling. So any psychologists in the house, please take a note and correct me if I am wrong. I am not here to simply take a stand and say of course being a vegetarian is better. I will simply state facts.

This is straight out of www.goveg.com -- Why you should consider a vegetarian diet ?

1. Cruelty to Animals.

2. Your health

3. The Environment

4. World Hunger.

These are not the only reasons why you should convert to a vegetarian, you can always add " A bad Dream" in them. For me it was easy. I couldn't touch the chicken after I saw myself eating my dog. Second thing is your health. To put it in very simple words, Plant proteins are pretty simple to break down in the human body than the very complex Animal proteins. Thus making it tedious for the body to digest food. Moreover, meats carry the toxins of the animal as well, so your body has to work twice as hard to detoxify itself. That;s why your farts are too smelly when you've had chicken/meat the night before. And of course, vegetarians would have a better Immune system than people having a meaty diet. Going vegetarian carries with itself a reduced risk of Cancer and Heart Diseases. (according to different studies). The most important of all, these ailments along with high cholesterol, obesity and diabetes can cause Erectile Dysfunction. Now, you wont risk that at any cost ! I know that. I can go on and on about this. So to read more about health benefits, help yourself to www.goveg.com

One of the most common reasons for people to stay vegetarian is their religion. vegetarianism is favored in almost every religion of the world which includes - Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Judaism and Rastafari. Simpky enough, eating meat does not comes natural to us humans. Come on, we do not have large enough Canines to tear meat. Nor do we have the physical attributes. Not to mention the several ailments you get from an infected animal/bird. Do you salivate when you see a dead bird on the road ? Do you feel tempted when you see a dead carcass ? The answers are most obvious.

To give you a reality check, what turning a vegetarian would mean, these are some of the important changes that I have listed -

1. No more Shawarmas at Al Bake, NFC.

2. No Butter Chicken ofcourse,

3. No Kebabs.

4. No K F C =(

5. Only veg momos

6. No stingy faces at a 100% shuddh vaishno dhaba

7. No fish at Amritsar

I hope these dont deter your decision, if by now you have taken one, hey definitely do not change mine. So, it wasnt PETA or anything else that convinced me.

And like almost every other thing, we have glamourised vegetarianism as well. There are lots of celebrities, devoting their 'precious' time towards propagating this thing. Avril Lavigne, Mr Bachchan, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, Carrie Underwood, Christian bale, The Great Khali, Eddie Veder, Kal Penn, Jim Carrey, Brad Pitt, Brooke Shields, Leona Lewis, Anoushka Shankar - They all are Vegetarians.

There are a lot of people in this world who believe in remaining vegetarians. The Vegetarian Society was created in 1807 to promote the abstinence from flesh eating.

This is just my story, how I became a Vegetarian. I, in no means, am suggesting to follow my footsteps. Its for you to make this right decision. :P.

Now, if you were thinking what is this all gotta do with the title - Vegie Pradesh ? I was thinking of asking for a separate state for vegetarians as they face trouble while sharing places with all kinds of non-vegetarians. Our rights should be protected as well, and its our right to ensure ourselves the basic necessities. Fortunately, Vegetarians and Non-vegetarians can live together amicably, without killing each other.

NEXT UP - NO SMOKING LAND

God is a Cricketer

Its a lazy sunday afternoon and Im wrtiting this thing in a tiny little corner of a cyber cafe

(no points for guessing why) tucked in a tiny little corner of my ever shrinking city. Does laziness makes you cynical ? I think so. Right from the morning, be it news channels or the newspapers, there's just one thing everyone's mind. Sachin Tendulkar. Everyone wants to get a piece of him as he successfully completes 20 years in competitive, top-flight cricket. He's not just there, but there in style. Still the main stay of Indian Cricket, the guy is adored and admired alike by the cricketing world. Being an avid cricket lover, this post is dedicated to Sachin.

Ever since I started following cricket, i.e. around 1993 or something, I remember Sachin and Azharuddin being my favourite players. My love for cricket grew with the nation's passion as India hosted the 1996 Cricket World Cup. I think it was during that time, as Javed Miandad retired, the world believed that Sachin was to become the greatest batsman of all time. In no means I want to compare Miandad to Sachin. He's nowhere near. I think it was from then till very recently, Sachin has been undoubtedly the best batsman in the world. That's more than 70% of his career. And all this time he has been this Public Property for the idol worshiping people of India. You have to admit the strength in the guy's shoulders, for he carried the burden of expectations of a billion people everytime he goes out to bat. Even Atlas would be scared of

that. I dont know if its exactly a burden for Sachin, or is it the motivation which has got him going for such a long time. Sachin performed exceptionally well in the home World Cup and stamped his class on the game. His popularity grew from here and also the acceptance of the fact that he is the best. It was during this time that Sir Donald Bradman, the then all time best, 'took note' of the striking similarities in Sachin's and his style of play.

Sachin justified his rise to divinity by playing some out-of-the-world innings meanwhile. His Desert Storm innings in 1998, which came on the eve of his 25th birthday are probably the best innings in the world, where he took India to the title single handedly. The best moment of the innings, for me, was the straight six over Michael Kasprowicz's head. I still have the memory of that shot, coz I had never seen anything more majestic than that. Maybe the Himalayas. The innings at Chennai in the test match against Pakistan in 1999 is still the talisman of the man's grit and commitment. His 98 which came against Pakistan in the 2003 world cup is also one of his best as he demolished a formidable Pakistani bowling attack consisting Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar and Saqlain Mushtaq. His 241 at the Sydney Cricket Ground were maybe the most disciplined innings that the world has witnessed ( maybe next to Gundappa Vishwanath's 97 at Chennai ), where he refused to play on the off side. I have to admit, Sachin was never my favourite cricketer, until recently. He scored 175 breathtaking runs against Australia in a no-hope match as per Indian cricketing knowledge and intuition and almost won the match. I am sorry Anil Kumble, but I dont think there was anyone in the field who refused to admit the quantum of greatness in that innings. I think even the young Australian cricketers were awestruck by the man.

The greatest evidence of his achievements has been the adulation he receives from his fellow cricketers on and off the field. Shane Warne has never shied away from accepting the fact, Sachin's batting gives him nightmares and is the best batsman he has ever bowled to. Brian Lara, his fiercest competitor in the race to be the greatest batsman, is all praise for him. Greats like Sunil Gavaskar, Geoffry Boycott, Sir Garfield Sobers -

nobody denies the man his empire. But what is it in him, that belittles the achievements of other contemporaries ? The man's character is impeccable. 20 years of being the epitome of sportsmanship. Barring a few incidents,(when McGrath tried to teach Sachin how to play over third man, the ball tampering charges against him in South Africa, the run out against Pakistan when he had to come out on field to appeal to the enraged crowd) his has been a boring career, if you compare it with the likes of Harbhajan Singh, S. Sreesanth or Saurav Ganguly. It is this school-boyish discipline and respect for the game and his opponents despite of the knowledge that he's the greatest of them all, is the reason why the world loves him. Sachin teaches us to be grounded even in the times of success and ofcourse in failure. His humbleness is a lesson for all.

One of his very few failures would be the captancy debacle. Sachin could not justify his status as the best batsman with the pressure of being the Captain of the Indian cricket team. But it would be wrong to say that he bogged down by the pressure. Pressure is not difficult for him and we all know that. I think he wanted the same level of commitment as his from other players. But there can not be another Sachin in the world leave aside 10, which Sachin wanted.

Sachin is a text book for how a man should lead his life. Justifying his status as a child prodigy and going on to conquer not just every record that exists but also the heart of every cricket lover. His commitment for the team and his patriotism can never be questioned whether he puts a tricolor on his helmet or not. His being a marathi and representing India is the very evidence of the national integration. May be Raj Thackerey can take a lesson or two from Sachin.

I think the world should stand up and recognise his achievments at par with maybe Roger Federer, Michael Schumacher or Michael Jordan. Even though their sports are more popular than cricket it can not undermine the measure of his achievments.

Sachin is one of the reasons why I can proudly call myself an Indian.

Shattered Plans.

As I write this post I am unpacking my bags and retracting the plans I had made for the next 2 weeks. I am also look for politically correct words by which I can manage not to upset others and express my disgust which is very obvious and righteous.

Last time I wrote I was fretting about the Visa, so the update on that is I got the Visa eventually only to cancel the visit at the last moment. I think I do not need to state how I feel (and its better I dont). The whole string of events seems farcical to say the least. For those of you who can not imagine the scale of disappointment for me, in short the cancellation means - No great kebabs, No authentic eid celebrations, No karahi chicken, No Peeru Cafe, No Sozo World, No Shah Jamal, No Chaman Ice Cream and much more. In short, the only loser here in this case was me.

Okay, I wont express much grief and make it yetanother cynical post.

The emotion has been so overpowering that I have nothing to write actually. This infact has been one of the many problems I have been facing recently. An emotional jolt and life comes to a stand still just like the Delhi Airport on a foggy winter day. I think I need to work on this ASAP.

Now, that I am free till 21st, I will have to figure out how should I kill time. I plan to see all the movies in my desktop again, wait, but first I have to get it repaired !. And I hope to write after that as every post here has been inspired and written I have seen a great movie. I hope to sleep for 12 hours a day. I really wanna have a Pedicure. Yes Pedicure. Nothing wrong with a Pedicure. OMG, yes its a Pedicure. I think I have gone into a WTF mode and it might last for days before I get something interesting to fiddle with. Lets see what I;ve got here. Dad's birthday. My birthday ( I forgot it for a while ). Mom and Dad's silver jubilee. Mom's birthday. And I was about to miss all this if I had gone across the border.

I could feel a certain energy stopping me from doing so. All the delay in the Visa, the rains which brought the city to a halt, then my own confusion, the denial from Lahore and then my desperation to go there which was not uncharacteristic but somewhat strange. I think or rather hope I could certainly say it happened for the best. Anyways, I really hope I can make it in November which seems rather distant now.

For now, I have Dave Matthews Band with me to face this ordeal of break from college.

See you later.

Alhamdulilah

Baby's Day Out. NOT.

Alas the day had come. I finally went to buy the books for this semester. Coz apparently the exams are starting from Monday. So here I was going to Nai Sarak. broke-back-journey. More taxing shopping. 5 books = 15 kgs = 2 shoulders = Half Dead. Shopping alone can be a weird exprience. You can actully take your own decisions. Even though its just books. And you wont be ashamed by your inability to bargain coz there's no one around to see you.
The same morning I was reading in the newspaper about the fried chicken of Mohammad Husain in Matia Mahal near Jama Masjid. There I was, in front of Gate Number 1 of Jama Masjid asking for directions to Matia Mahal. Through the narrow lanes, which had almost equal number of Goats as men. I reached Matia Mahal only to realise that its the month of Ramzan and eventhough they were selling the stuff, Janaab Mohammad Husain himself wasnt there. And as per the local advice I should wait till after Iftar to have a taste of the delicious chicken.
A few chowks further there is Diamond Bakery. You get awesome rusks and cake rusks there.
On my way back, I started noticing Burqa clad women enjoying. Children playing in the narrow bylanes. "Ameena ! " " Aa riya huun ! " , I could hear on my way back.
Ramzan isnt as much about fasting as it is about eating. That thought was evident when I saw hordes of sevian and fenian lined up on the sides of streets. The smell of boiling milk almost made me forget the awry ambience. Sounds of slapping and swearing broke the silence and I could see two young guys fighting. If only they could remember it was the month of Ramzan.
But I have to tell you the best part of it. After talking so much about food, you;ll be amazed to know that I returned home without eating anything and had just a bottle of banta.
All throughout the time I was fretting about the Pak visa I still dont have. "Ab mujhe dawa ki nahi, Dua ki zarurat hai " .
My computer is screwed again. And the walls on my right in the cyber cafe says - Call ME -Naina 9958xxxxxx.
Signing out.
Visa Mil jaye.Inshallah.

Semitic Sojourn

I am back. Withered and Weathered. The Pakistan visa has kept me busy all these days and have taken most of the energy out of me. I must say the high commission is palatial. Inside you'd find princely carpets and couches. Though equally beautiful outside you automatically get a feeling from within that says its the High Commission for Pakistan. The windows have the smallest of communication gaps with bullet proof glass. A long wait to meet the First Secretary precedes a long wait for a Visit visa.

Waiting outside the high commission, gorging on my apple I was wondering how strange things are between two countries whose people absolutely love eachother to say the least.

"Doodh meetha hai na " (trn. - The milk is sweet ) -- said the chai wallah bhaiya when I pointed out the flies in his milk. The only high point of the day was this hillarious reply.

Recently, I was invited to a TV show, no-no not a reality show about marrying a nerd woman, but it was a talk show and the topic of discussion centered around Jaswant Singh's ouster from the BJP and as a result, Indians being scared to revisit history. I was a priced catch as my grandparents hail from Pakistan ( i know its not a good reason to show off my priced catch status).

Apart from people claiming Jinnah was an outright communal man and a certain villain in India's history there were jibes from BJPwallahs to Congressites over Savarkar as well. Bringing back old ghosts is a profession here. And they say we are scared of revisiting history !

Would I like to revisit history ? Absolutely Yes. But only if I had the power to change its course.

Its time we, as a nation (including our respected and beloved politicians) accept the fact that India was partitioned 62 years ago. A lifetime in itself. And still Indian politics feeds on just one issue - Pakistan base, Partition sauce with toppings of Jinnah Jalapenos.

I believe we ( both the nations) should look forward to a better future. I cant help it. Its just the way I've seen things here. No matter how deep you are drenched in shit you can not stop hoping for the best. Its basically the same way as we have been hoping for an ideal, honest and a model government since forever. Improvement of Economic and cultural ties is a way to improve the ever fluctuating relations. Its a pity, not even Student exchange is allowed between the nations. So dont be surprised when I say there is no such thing as Travelling in India/Pakistan since both the sides do not issue travel visas at all.

If there was a magic wand and we could be one, literally though, there are certain things I believe every Indian would want to happen. Firstly,

We all would want to see Shahid Afridi and Sehwag open the batting. Not to forget it would give birth to

a cricket ( read sporting) superpower. Wonder what kind of quality music can Himesh Reshammiya and Abrar-ul-Haq create together. There'd be a constant tussle as to kahaan ke munde have more tashan - Lahore or Chandigarh.

The girls oh-so-obviously deserve a mention. I can bet that everyone here believes the girls are more beautiful on the other side.

For Pakistan, they no longer would have to import Fertilizers. Nor they would have to import computer hardware, bringing down the cost and increasing the market and productivity in this sector. The quality and cost of apparels would certainly improve.People here could certainly learn a bit of tehzeeb in language from the other side. The all important gas pipeline from Iran would be a certain reality.

More than the tangible things, I believe love would be exchanged from both sides which is far more important than any other thing. The whole thing looks far from reality, I know. But the same was the Freedom of India ( yes, pun attached) in say 1920s. The success of African-American civil rights movement and end of slavery in US was also a "Dream" which great men possessed. There are countless examples I can state but the point is - Are we willing ? Are we scared indeed to revisit history ?

I don't think so.

Jashn-e-Swatantrata

So another Independence day and India turns 62. The focus isnt really on freedom this time. Too many 'important' things are going on in the nation for us to think about as cliched a thing as Freedom. Swine Flu, Economic meltdown and the recently concluded Rakhi Sawant ka Swayamwar.

Its been 62 years since the end of the Raj. For people who shed blood for Poorna Swaraj,15 August 1947 was the 'edelweisstic' moment of glory. In a typically Indian (and nowBollywood) way of hoping for the best from now on, and in that context it seems that moment of glory was just yesterday. We're still hoping for the best.

There have been great advances I must say. And like all the Independence days I shall refresh the short public memory that we have. For once, the world recognises India as a considerable economic and political force and not a pushover (Amazingly our neighbours think likewise as well), Cricket is not the only sport India excels in - Boxing, Shooting, Volleyvall are some of the other, Atlast we have a Prime Minister who is not bothered about some marxists but vouchs for atomic power instead, We have something indigenous on the moon (or atleast on its way) and many other significant things. Like every other Indian I am very proud of my nation nad love it, the way it is.

Though 62 years have passed, we as Indians or the Indian mindset has not really changed. We still curse eachother, we still spit on the roads, we cant drive in lanes (or as a matter of fact we believe blowing our horn more often improves mileage), we dont believe in the concept of queues ( or anything that bogs you down just like speed limits ) , we are extremely critical of things but dont do anything to make them better ( just like me ). But I think this is what makes us Indians that we are. And I bet people the world over are just the same, they just have a better method of comouflage.

But we have a knack of settling for almost everything that is average or infact less. Vying for whatever you can get has becomes inherent and sadly the limit of our wants. For instance, we still have to sit in darkness and go through power cuts, just like 20 years ago. We still dont have proper supply of water - again just like 2 decades back, we still dont have a professional Police force since I dont know when - forever ! , You still swear at a government official almost every time you have to get your work done, we absolutely dont have a public health system, we dont have more than 30% of the population as literate, we still have Political Parties that are contenders to run the country but dont even know the meaning of being Human... in all we still dont value our lives and live for mere basics and existence. Still, after 62 years of being free. The world's largest democracy has actually been a slave since all these years.

This, I think, puts us in a very strange position. Either we be like the Chinese - who think, or have been told to think, that the best way to live is the Chinese way. To not believe in god, to think they're a democratic country, to be gagged everytime you raise a voice. Its better that way, isnt it ? Without the hassle of taking decisions and 'thinking' and still be the world's largest growing economy, a potential superpower and have the right to veto.

Not very far away, in Pakistan, they too are 62 years old and to know they have the most skewed reality to face and still be proud of the fact that they belong to that nation is commendable. We Indians have a lesson or two to learn I guess. Maybe I can find out more about it when I visit Pakistan next month :D .

Anyways, as I said before, hoping for the best we've been living on. Let's see how far we go.
Dont forget to fly kites tomorrow.

Happy Independence Day.

National Anthem ( Plz stand when listening )

Wanderer

Aargh... Finally I am back ! Probably for the first time in my life I felt homesick and came back running. By now you can tell the amount of travelling I've been doing in these past weeks. Not only travelling but travelling up north in the mountains. But honestly there's absolutely no place like home.

We started out on 2nd July. We, as in, me, Colonel, Papa and Bahl. For starters, it was gonna be a Fauji Trip once again. You would get to know the concept of a Fauji Trip later in the post. So we boarded the train from Delhi for Kalka after hours of swearing at Mamta Banerjee for taking over the railway ministry and as a consequence trains are running late. Our train ran 4 hours late but it never was a problem - the weather in Delhi was so awesome.

Once we 'checked in' the Transit Camp at Kalka Military Station the trip had actually began. We started out almost immediately and after stops at Narkanda, Rampur, Jhakri we reached Jeori for an overnight halt at some ITBP guest house. One of the few significant things we did except for the 'rolling' part of it was, enjoying a pahaadi chicken. Yea, having a ribcage weak chicken on the hills can be a treat too.

Carrying on the journey the next day through Povari we reached Karchham where we saw the Karchham-Wangtoo Dam. There was a spot on the road where the water coming out of the turbine just falls over your head with a awful great force. Amazing sound it makes must say. Then we reached Reckong Peo which is the district headquarters for Kinnaur. In the backdrop there is the Kailash Parvat or Kinner Kailash which is supposedly the home of Lord Shiva. One of the most striking features of the place is the extensive presence of Marijuana. It grows almost everywhere and anywhere maybe thats why its called Weed. I couldnt resist taking a lot of the leaves as not-a-souvenir. The moment we stepped in Reckong Peo me and Colonel had just one thing in mind. "Bhaiyya, Yahan kya hai dekhne ke liye ? ", we stopped by a shoe store and asked the guy. "Bas yahi hai, chhoti si market hi hai" , "Achha bhaiya yahan kahin cigarette ki dukaan hai kya ?". The market was small indeed. May be thrice the length of the market outside Jesus and Mary's College, Delhi. One of the two things we bought there was medicines for puke. It almost is a necessity with Papa and Mountains - they make a lethal cocktail. "Kitne ka chahiye aapko - 100, 200 kitne ka bhi le lo ". Colonel and me had a telepathy and decided on 200. We decided to move on and explore the market a bit. There was this Jimi Hendrix tee I liked. Too bad they had room for just Hendri.
Colonel was getting restless. Maybe he was haunted by the memories of his first trip with his mom to the place where he cried on the way because they couldn't find a place to halt for hundreds of kilometers. Thats when we decided to speed up and we stopped next at the Pooh DET for lunch and then Maling DET for Tea which is at 12407 ft above sea level as a matter of fact. There are vast orchards of Apples in Chango, a village next to Malling. We could only see a few of them which looked more like Golden custard apples. After spending more than an hour cumulatively outside the car window clicking pictures of the most awesome place I had yet seen, we reached the destination - Sumdo.
Sumdo is a tiny village, where the confluence of Spiti and Parechoo ( chinese) rivers take place. It is from here the beautiful Spiti valley starts.
The Army settlement, the only living human beings there are Army personnel, is very well maintained indeed. I never even thought of privileges like a Pool table and a PS3 at 14000 ft up in the air. The real privilege however was to see Roger Federer winning his 15th. What a match !
Next day had to be quite eventful, the main attractions of the trip were to follow. So we turned to Gypsies for the night and wandered places. Papa in his talismanic style got rid of the Stag and opted for the Teacher instead.
Through the entrails of the jaw dropping sceneries, we reached Tabo Monastery. The view outside the window was such that I virtually wanted to click after every second but pity not even half of the feel and spirit can be captured by the device.
Throughout those days I couldn't help but wonder, that how human progress has been measured by how much control we are in of our suroundings i.e. the resources and our environment and the very fallings of the progress the human society has made are exposed to the fullest when nature is in the mood.
Tabo is one of the oldest Buddhist monasteries in the world and home to many a monks. You wont find many people out there except for a handful of overtly adventurous tourists. The Dalai Lama was to visit the place on the 13th of July but we missed him by a whisker.
Kaza is a village on the way to Kye Monastery. It is one of the popular tourist locations and at times you feel the expats are a major chunk of the visible population. We reached Kye Monastery after an hour's drive or so. The first view of the place was disappointing. I told the reason to Colonel almost immediately that it failed to meet the picture I had already painted for the place. Bu nevertheless I could capture a good one especially as a souvenir for Arpit.
Kye was way much smaller than I thought. It resides few monks and their families and is perhaps even older than Tabo, though it was opened to tourists in early 90s only.
Being in Kye, Kibber was a temptation. Kibber is the world's highest motorable village and Asia's highest village. I am not so sure of the former but pretty much sure of the latter as one of the locals told me that. The place is quite small actually which I am guessing you must have been used to by now. We ordered something for lunch and almost automatically the telepathy worked again. I rushed to the car and got the matrix. We became Gypsies again and wandered places for this time it was the highest village in the world.
Tumbling down wasnt much of an adventure. By then we had travelled too much for a day. So, we reached Kaza and then headed back to Sumdo for the night. That was supposed to be our last night at Sumdo. The day had been awesome. I had some of the most beautiful places and clicked some of my best shots. It couldn't have been better. So we turned Gypsies again and wandered places for this time it was our last night at Sumdo.
Choice without repercussions isnt a choice at all. So there we were almost late by 2 hours and to our bad luck we had to skip Lepcha- the Indo-Tibet border site. So we moved on for Sangla Valley which I had heard is one of the most beautiful valleys in the world. A long treacherous journey followed full of repercussions and we reached Sangla.
"Bhaiya, yahan dekhne ke liye kya hai ? " , " Bas yahi hai, chhoti si market hai aur aage jaakar camps hain"."Bhaiya, yahan kahin cigarette ki dukaan hai kya ?"
"Kitne ka chahiye 100, 200, 500".

We had an awesome lunch at Sonu Cafe. The bliss of having a cold and frozen cola after a week was great. We left for Karchham again for a night over at some Transit Camp. The camp site was awesome. It was on the river bank which had scores of Marijuana plantation. Me and Bahl tried our hand at river crossing. Some serious stuff it was, the river below had quite a good flow and keeping in mind that both of us are freakish amateurs it was quite a job. Sitting by the river side, among the plantations, we turned Gypsies again and wandered places for we made a pact to be like it 24x7.
We started for Kalka the following day, which was to be the last day of the trip. Most of it went while we were sleeping. The moment we were near Narkanda that is at a considerably low altittude it felt like a whole new world. We could actually see people and lots of them. Nevertheless it was hot. Just before we took a lunch break ata DET in Matiana there was this market before it where our driver stopped for bananas. And we were lucky enough to catch hold of Panama Cigarettes.
"Bhaiya, yahan kya hai aas paas?", "Kuchh bhi nahin hai sahab bus gaon hai", "Bhaiya yahan kahin cigarette ki dukaan hai ?"
"Kitne ka chahiye 100, 200, 500"

Yes we scored for the third time and it was absolute bliss. Finally we reached Kalka and stayed for the night. The Faluda Kulfi at Isar Sweets was enough for dinner. We then turned Gypsies again and wandered places for the trip got to us and we or infact I, needed to get back home.
Finally the trip was over, me, Papa and bahl returned base as Colonel opted for another mission.




I wish I was a stone, born in the river
I would go anywhere it chose to take
The path she decides the Pace she feels
Worlds a many Weathers me good
For I'm a Gypsy For I'm a stone

I wish I was the gold which flows the valley
I would go anywhere I wish to go
I would take the stones with me the pace I feel
Worlds a many Weathers me good
For I'm a Gypsy I may quench

I wish I was a man I couldnt be
I could go anywhere I chose to go
The worlds weather me or make me good
I'm the man I chose I'm the dawn for me
For I'm no Gypsy Like a Stone

Like a Stone ...


PS - Any part of the blog reproduced without my permission is objectionable.

Celluloid Hero

Its actually funny, Im writing this at 5.42 AM which infact I started at 8 the previous night. Its been the story this summer so far. I have been dodging the heat, the power cuts, random phone calls (if you're a reader, i'd like you to call again) and my perennial unwillingness to write. Meanwhile, I think this has been by far the most fun preparatory holidays ever. You go to the terrace every night, end up having few smokes, gaze at the stars and think to yourself -  is this really the best time of your life or just the right moment when you decide, how's it gonna be ? And right at that moment you are blessed with rain !

Anyways, I just saw Slumdog Crorepati (nee Millionaire) on my cable-wallah channel. My first reaction was it being not that a great movie which the western media has made out of it. The story is oh so obvious while the direction, i must say is commendable.  The movie seems to be a voice for the underdog and a lucky break which everyone hopes for in that part of the world. But nothing more. I think there are more than other handful of 'India-centric' movies which are far more moving and inspiring than Slumdog. But the thing I learnt, how easy it is to capture the emotions and the soul on celluloid if, ofcourse, you are good at doing it. Seeing the little boy serving tea to SRK in Swades drove me to tears and added the sense of responsiilty to the 'change' i'd like to see. As a matter of fact, every blog i've posted is after i've seen a really good movie. I wish atleast once I can put forth what's in my mind through a camera in the form of a movie or something. Maybe I can make a movie for the cause Im working these days - Underpriviliged Children. Inshallah. 

Maximus Strikes Back !

Originally posted on 09/04/09

Last week was pretty tough on me. I missed an oppurtunity to go for AIESEC MC Workdays, the Pass It On event didnt really go well, my result came out and I scored disastrously low level of marks and a lot of other disappointments as well. But my moment of hope came when ManU beat Villa by a whisker at the stroke of the new week...! Woo Hoo !!

This week has been good so far, a fantastic appointment for YUVA, a lovely day at Jeevashram, Chidambram getting a surprise and finally a hope for next week.

Well, most of these days have kept me busy with The OC and Yuva. And ofcourse, they've compelled me to think what I've been dreading all my life - planning. Which im still contemplating about. 

Of Politics And Colours

My sincere apologies to the followers for not being able to write for February (even though I know they wont have missed me ! ). Well, to be honest, didn’t find anything good enough to write about. I mean who will write about Measles and its symptoms and its after effects Yes, that’s right. I was suffering from Measles (only) last month and now I have a nose that will never stop running till eternity.

Election fever is in full throttle mode so is the sixth semester at college. The newspapers and magazines are full of ful page advertisements which boast of never met targets achieved by both, the ones in the government and those who aspire to be in it. Still, I managed to bunk lectures and pay a visit to the cinema hall for a very rare movie. As it has happened in the past, it was an absolute delight to watch this movie.

Gulaal. This Anurag Kashyap movie is about politics and just politics. It took seven years for him to realize his dream project and I think he did a fair job.

A story of student politics and bitches it involves. A story of a secret plot to restore the Royal Rajputs. A story of characters casted perfectly by AK. Immaculate Detailing in every shot. One of the best scenes is when Dobrial answers the guy at Pan shop without saying anything. Good Job Anurag. I think the film wont have been the same without Piyush Mishra’s music and the witty and more contemporary politically satirical lyrics. “Bina baat ke Afghanistan ka baj gaya Band…” and “…der raat Iraq mein baith gaya Uncle Sam…” are some of the better examples. The irony of the plot was the highlight on John Lennon ( and the need of someone like him in today’s world of hostile political ideologies )and not someone like Che Guevara. Even though the very essence of Gulaal is - Revolution.

The satire continues when AK names liquors as Democracy, Republic, and Constitution etc. Kashyap defies all the laws of film making or rather writes his own set. It won’t be wrong to christen him as the Quentin Tarantino of Indian Cinema. Special thanks to AK for making us believe that teachers as pretty (understatement) as Jesse Randhawa do teach in colleges! To sum up – A more than worthy of your money, the same as I like my movies to be. From beginning you are aware of the Machiavellian plot in the movie but your failure to identify the Machiavelli is what makes you glued to your seat. Anyways it has inspired me to install a PCO phone in my room as well and get a neon light written 69 installed !Timely gaalis and Withdarawals  is also what you learn from the movie.  

Monomania

On 26th January 2009, India celebrated its 60th Republic Day. A day marked by the grand republic day parade at RajPath, New Delhi. Akin to traditions worldwide, this parade is predominantly an exhibition of the might of the armed forces. You can see tanks and missiles among other artillery on that street with people applauding and cheering the personnel riding them. The idea of such a show makes me think of the contrast that exists in the world as people believe Non-Violence is the order of the day and is increasingly becoming the basis of a country being called as a responsible state.

Monomania is a state of mind, when a person is obsessed with one kind of ideas or emotions, often delirious. The obsession can be with even slightest and smallest of thought. Feelings of Guilt, Love with a stranger, elderly people have all been a subject of monomania of different people in the past.

Incidentally, I stumbled upon the climax of Moby Dick on Monday, where I found Captain Ahab also showed monomaniac instincts in his quest to kill Moby Dick.

Nathuram Godse. The man is indeed very famous in India. After trying five times, he finally assassinated Mahatma Gandhi. As Godse grew up, he worked a lot for social causes like eradication of untouchability and anti-caste moments. He was an avid reader of Socialism and Marxism, Veer Savarkar and Mahatma Gandhi and confessed in his deposition in the court of law at his trial for murder, that the last two had influenced him the most. Two things emerge as the outcome. First, he was no illiterate religious fanatic. Second, he believed in equality among all human beings. Then there was this time when Gandhi's influence in the Congress and in the struggle for independence sored. The Civil Disobedience and Fasting were the talisman of Gandhi led movement.

Bhagat Singh. The martyr. Grew up at the same time as Godse. As a teenager, he was a part of the Non Cooperation movement as well. He Burnt his books and clothes among other sacrifices as part of that movement. Unfortunately for him, the movement was withdrawn by Gandhi in the light of killings in Chauri Chaura.

Anger, Repression and Disgruntled was how Singh and Godse among other soon to be revolutionaries must have felt. The fact that Gandhi became a Judge and Jury in his cause and the amount of time his method took fuelled the popular youth sentiment of rejecting Violence as a tool against the unjust British Raj as an insanity. Resulting which, Bhagat Singh among other revolutionaries opened a second front in the fight for independence. A way completely different from Gandhi's. Incidentally, their movement gained momentum and was increasingly becoming popular.

On the contrary, to label men like Bhagat Singh, Mahatma Gandhi and for that matter Godse as Monomaniacs wont be wrong because Passion is too small a word for their contribution to freedom struggle.

Egoist is the word that comes to my mind, almost immediately I think about Gandhi at this point of time. To twist the arm of morality, for self interest is the obvious follies of ordinary men in such situations. Please dont rule out Gandhi's ignorance of the fact. To advocate only Non-violence as a tool of winning freedom and behaving almost intolerant and giving a cold shoulder to other efforts is evident of this ignorance. So much so, turning down the oppurtunity to plea for Singh's case and instead signing the Gandhi-Irwin pact, almost facing the storm in the face of the public and infact Congress facing the public ire after Singh's hanging. To cut out a part of India against the will of millions of Indians and changing the course of history to his own effect.

 Was Gandhi the biggest monomaniac to live on the face of this earth ?