Because of Us and Them!!

Because we were learning to fly..
Because college was just behind us..
Because we were not royalty..
Because life was about to unfold..
Because friendships were just ephemeral..

Because I wish you were here..
Because an eclipse doesn't last forever..
Because a bitch is not just a female carnivore..
Because fights are borne out of expectations..
Because a friend in greed isn't a friend indeed..

Because of a long and lonesome highway..
Because an icon is hard to find..
Because love is always around the corner..
Because it hurts to be in love..
Because people never learn from their mistakes..

Because of a dangerous and an irresistible pastime..
Because of an unforgettable sojourn amongst the ruins..
Because we were not in our comfort zone..
Because it's always better in Goa..
Because highways lead to God's abode..

Because that pub isn't there on every street..
Because breakfast is best had a hundred miles away from home..
Because a Palolem hangover is tough to get rid of..
Because London was calling..
Because friends aren't always enchanted..

Because everybody hurts..
Because of a french cafe by the sea-side..
Because of a spectacular end to the epoch..
Because of an endless search for the soul..
Because of light at the end of a tunnel..

Because we all lived in a yellow submarine..
Because it was too hot to handle..
Because it was time to move on..
Because the States beckoned..
Because it was also the time to hold on..

Because of you and your friend..
Because of lessons in organization..
Because of betrothals and promises..
Because of those mischievous giggles..
Because we could turn the clock back for a while..

Because I was amused to death..
Because of this and because of that..
Because of a lot more..
Because somethings are best left unsaid..
Because those things just get better with time..

The wonderful angel that is..Tina Sani!!

What a voice..What a person..It's true that music transcends boundaries..It's true that the greatest music is the one that emanates straight from the heart..

Hope and Healing was the theme of the performance..It's a tough job doing that when you are performing Ghazals..Ghazals which speak of the pain of loss in love..But Ghazals also speak of the pleasure in that suffering..and how the loss makes that love even more pristine and divine..Tina Sani's effort was to soothe the wounds and heal our souls..She did a fabulous job and managed to stitch together a really fine balancing act between anguish and ecstasy with her mix of nazms, ghazals and little anecdotes..

She is passionate about her singing..that shows in the way she performs..She completely immerses herself in the lyrics..It's like she wants the audience to listen to what she has to say and feel her emotions..Her gestures and expressions are witty, naughty and loud all at once..She has a voice that reaches you and is reflected back to her..and she basks marvellously in the glory of that acceptance from her listeners..

Semi-classical was never my cup of tea..She surely has changed that perception for good..Her love for the nazms and the shayari of 'Faiz Ahmed Faiz' is so deep that its inspiring..She does amazing justice as well by lending her silken voice to them..

Two days back I had not even known about someone by the name of Tina Sani..about ghazals like "Bahar Aayi", "Ab Toh Ghabra Ke", "Dasht-e-Tanhai" and the likes..When I watched the video of her performance on PTV way back in the 80's something just told me that she was unlike a traditional Ghazal singer..She has a little more flair than others, an unusually casual demeanor about herself..But most strikingly what she has is a need to connect with her audience..She wants the one's hearing her to respond..to hear what she wants to say..and to feel it..

During the entire concert one thought kept coming back to me..She never seemed to have come from a different country..neither did the absolutely brilliantly talented folks in her team on instruments..As she confessed during the show, the guy on the Tabla has been playing with her for the past 30 years..and that his presence itself was comforting enough for her..They were all from Pakistan..and they did not, even for a moment, seemed to be any less an Indian..In her own words.."We human beings keep on experimenting with everything..those experiments which fail are forgotten in the due course of time..the problem is that things which are forgotten are very easily repeated..It's only the message of love that artists like us carry along..and it's a pleasure to be in this beautiful land of yours"..Quite fascinating what wonders a mixture of philosophy and music can achieve..She and her crew were received with a generous applause at that and a standing ovation at the end of the show..

She sang a Deccan Nazm and Kabir's "Duniya Darshan Ka Mela" on one hand and "Mori Araj Suno" and "Nawai Ney" on the other hand with equal passion and fervor..That she wanted people to understand her message was obvious in the fact that she kept breaking her performances in the middle to explain in Hindi and more often in English what she was about to sing..and the two words that she used most in those explanations were 'beautiful' and 'love'..Truly the sign of a pure heart and a pristine soul..As she later confessed that she generally doesn't do that..but this was an audience in wrong of the two Hyderabads..She also added something which moved us all.."Sabse badi gawahi toh dil hi deta hai" (It's the heart that gives the best testimony)..

Tina aapa aapka tah-e-dil se shukriya!! No words can describe what a pleasure it was to be able to watch you perform..It truly was a magical night and an unforgettable gig..I would have to admit though that it was your inner beauty that struck me the most..You are a gentle soul and a genuinely lovely person..I look forward to listening much more from you in future..

Irrational Objectivity!!

It's back and stronger than ever,

Like the last few embers of a long doused fire.

This wave with its crests and troughs,

In the endless ocean of a sea.

Here now and gone tomorrow,

As ephemeral as it gets.

Your absence is your existence,

As gorgeous as it gets.

It's so dull and so bland,

It's almost a little spicy.

It's so real and so magical,

It's almost a little archaic.

This road less traveled,

Seems a little too crowded.

All it needed was someone,

A little more exquisite.

Rationality is the reason,

Behind this inanity.

An intent so logical,

It almost borders insanity.

The end of the Golden Silence..and we are back !!

Silence is highly underrated. Silence makes some people go insane, makes others numb. But the most common reaction to silence is anger and helplessness. Not many people in this world can be comfortable with silence. The lack of sound around them drives them mad. They are in constant search of food for their ears and their brains as long as they are awake, and probably even in their sleep. Be silent and you'd experience the whole spectrum of emotions from a single living being. Try it on more, and you'd have the most enriching life of them all.

Silence, they say, speaks louder than words. The most interesting conversations that you can have are the one's that really don't involve any oration. You can know that you know someone special when silence becomes comfortable. When silence doesn't have to be interrupted by your voice. When your eyes talk and the mind understands.

The power of speech is probably the greatest asset that human beings have. It solely distinguishes us from the rest of the animal kingdom, who seemingly have no way to converse, apart from their actions. For that exact same reason, an ability so strong and so powerful, should be used wisely. Words, once said, can never be taken back. Think twice before you speak, because you might end up losing more than what you could ever gain.

There is nothing sweeter than a healthy relationship with a person. Analogically speaking, there is nothing more bitter than a relationship gone bad. It just takes you from one extreme of sadness to the next without ever giving you the peace of mind that you deserve. It's like quicksand wherein, the more you try to come out, the more you sink into it. It's worse actually, because you cannot ask for help from anyone, cause no one's got the bloody time !!

Relationships, they say, are based on communication. Two people can never think alike, let alone be alike. No one in this world is the same as the other. That is why we are all individuals first. Communication forms that base of the understanding that you develop with another human being. Little do they know, that greater forces in nature, far beyond our comprehensive capabilities, are at play in bringing two people closer and even at splitting the deepest of connections. We are just tiny creatures in this wide wide universe, trying to comprehend the meaning of our existence and trying to put anything that we cannot comprehend into tiny little axioms that no one can ever prove and nobody ever questions.

The most important thing to realize is that it's our existence in itself is the most significant fact. Anything that has happened before us or is going to happen after us is totally immaterial. We can live with anything that was not there before we were born, and we can live with anything that was not there after we were born. Speech being one of them. Just like a mother can understand an infant's emotion without any conversation, so can we. It's more important to have that awareness and that connection with a person to understand him, than any other sound or action possible.

So ladies and gentlemen. Keep your mouth shut and let your eyes talk !!

Adios Amigos !!

Its been a long long journey with me and this blog and I guess the time has come for us to part ways, for today is a day when, life as I had known it, changes forever.

Sometimes, we keep thinking about doing something and never end up doing it. Other times, we throw our thinking hats out of the window and just go for it. It's amazing how beautiful life can be at times..how horrific at others..

I'd like to add that this is just the end of the beginning of the adventure that is life..Someday or the other everyone realizes that its time for them to move on..I think that time has come for me now..

Cheers to all the patrons of this blog..It was only your endless support that made me sustain it for this long..I am alleviating you of your pain and granting you freedom from this torture, this very moment..

ADIOS..AMIGOS !!

Stay happy forever and ever .. :) :)

It takes two..

Sweet drops of silence,
The venomous glint of the eyes.
Holding onto the sole saviour,
That kept them from melting away.

As he walked the road less taken,
Wondering about the endless possibilities.
The sheer brilliance of her existence,
Took him far away from reality.

The two entities were on a collision course,
Unless someone diverted their paths.
The catastrophe that lied ahead,
Left their predicament all in force.

Denial of the obvious was his crime,
The voice of his conscience was too loud.
He could not feel what his soul craved for,
Could not read what his mind wrote.

When the rendezvous finally happened,
Sparks flew off in all directions.
None could make out one from the other,
Their bittersweet fate of damnation.

I don't know !!

Do you know yourself,
As well as I know you?
Or do you keep contemplating,
Searching for a clue?

Confusion is your source of desperation,
An enigma of some sort.
Eccentricity is an obsession,
Naivete, your sole possession.

You come across as a wonder,
A sparkle in the still waters.
Your smile lights up the sky,
The silence takes me into a trance.

Why are you always on my mind,
Like a voice inside my head.
You speak to me in a quiet hush,
Reminding me of my fantasy.

I wish you were for real,
That you had a mortal soul.
A bloom which I could hold,
Like a petal you'd unfold.

The Beast Within !!

Life is not measured by the number of breaths that we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

Life is lived in a continuous set of phases. You realize the importance of a phase only when its time to move on to the next one. While you are living out the phase that you are in, you are totally oblivious to the existence of space and time and world around you. That's just because things are so stable and move so slowly that you get seriously bored of it. Bored of it like hell.

Then, when the transition arrives, you start to realize how you did not live each moment to the fullest and how much you would love to turn back the clocks and be blissful all over again. Things, they have a habit of changing. Everything in this world has a nature of adapting to the environment and the changing surroundings. The one's who can change are the one's who survive. The rest are lost in the annals of history.

Change is something that I hate. I loathe change. I detest change. Change is always for the worse. I might be speaking the language of an ever pessimist but that's truly what I believe. Sadly for me, I too know that change is the only inevitable truth. But I just hate it when somebody tells me about it. I just hate it. Everyone knows about this fact, so why do they have to keep preaching the same old blasphemy to everyone else.

We human beings were actually supposed to be animals. What makes us different is that we have emotions and a conscience that tells us the difference between the correct and the incorrect things to do. Somehow I feel though, that being an animal is the best way to live. Everyone keeps reminding everyone else that to be successful one has to be ruthless and barbaric and all. What I make of such people is that they are not human beings. Their lust for success drives them insane and transforms them into brainless animals who are just looking for opportunities to pounce on the prey that comes first on their radar. They do reach the heights of fame, but sometimes I wonder how much they would have lost in getting there. Is everything that they have left behind worth the result that they have achieved ?

No one is genetically programmed to love and care for anyone else. Its always a physical need that drives two people closer and the society around them that puts a garb on that surreal bonding annotating it with meaningful names like relationship. Everyone in this world is living for their own self. The emotions and the feelings and the connection is all a farce. Every animal is programmed to love their offspring. Any other connection between to entities is an eyewash.

Expectation is the root cause of all misery, disappointment and anguish. Once you learn to be free of all the bonds and not expect anything from anyone, only then can you find true happiness. The redemption does not lie without, it lies within. All that one has got to do is to look for it. No one should be scared of expressing what they feel like. The only thing to remember is that when someone is expressing themselves, one should not read in between the lines. Its important to take people at their face value and believe that they mean what they say and they say what they mean. Live the life of a cynic but not that of a pessimist. Everyone in this world is going to hurt you one time or the other. Some of them are just worth the pain.

They Come, They Go !!

They come, they go,
Little do they know.
I am a tiny little speck,
In this great big wreck.

They come, they go,
Like water they flow.
I am next to a crumb,
All my senses are numb.

They come, they go,
Rain or shine, storm or snow.
I keep standing still,
As if in a drill.

They come, they go,
When will they ever grow.
I lend a helping hand,
To my brothers in the marching band.

They come, they go,
Will they ever be able to show.
I for one would never say never,
Only if they knew that friends are forever.

The poison of first Love !!

A girl is lucky,
If she is a man's first love.
A man is lucky,
If he is the girl's last.

I walk this wilderness,
As lonely as a dark cloud.
There isn't a silver lining,
In the annals of my fate.

I know how it is to be in love,
As pristine and pure as it can be.
When I was possessed and obsessed,
Your comfort was a bliss.

You have chosen a new path for yourself,
I vacillate between the two extremes.
When I try to get over my past,
You hit me back with your wild innocence.

I have sulked and I have cried,
Those tears I wept were meant for you.
They helped me move on with my life,
Why does now, the past haunt you.

I wish you well, is all I wish,
As much as I am going to miss.
Those thoughts that I etched deep within,
Some memories which truly are mine.

I am trying to reason your eccentricities,
Why you laughed when you cried.
This endless search is my home,
You and me all alone.

Romance Unlimited !!

Its been so long that I 've known you,
Now I wonder, if I really know you.
Its been so long that I 've seen you,
Now I wonder, if I ve really seen you.

When I look at your face,
My eyes just cant see anything but your eyes.
Your stare pierces my flesh like a sword,
Then you ease the pain with your smile.

I imagine a life without you,
Then I realize I am already living one.
I imagine a life with you,
And the whole world just transforms.

Pondering and contemplating is all that I do,
Someday I will be there with you.
By your side, I will be resting,
Heaven wont be far away.

I meet you and my heart starts thumping,
Reminding me of its existence.
Every single time that I see you,
My thoughts are all over the place.

May the dream come true, my sweet Lord,
Wish that I see you soon.
That one day we could be together,
Just staring at the big white moon.

Love of the Evil !!

Optimists say that one should be glad when the worst has happened, since things can only get better from there on. Well, what do the optimists know !!

There are points in everyone's lifetime when they are so down and low that you feel that it just cannot get worse. Then suddenly the abyss that you are in, decides to give you another shocker. Deep down in that trench of darkness and gloom you realize how helpless it is to fight your fate. You realize how you are doomed to misery and grief all your life.

As soon as you accept the fact that you are a helpless soul in the middle of a deserted island, things begin to change. It is a sort of revelation that comes as a bolt from the sky. Life never ceases to surprise me. The emotion and the drama that unfolds each and every passing moment is worth every second that you breathe.

What is this life, that we have been graced with, by the God almighty, really meant for? Is it just meant for getting up everyday with a sense of hope, struggling your way the whole day and then coming back to the same dungeon at the end of the day licking your wounds from the battles you fought all day long. Is it a routine that we are supposed to follow or is there some message in all this. Does He want us to break free and wander in search of the ultimate truth, the treasure of absolute happiness.

When you surrender to your destiny, the game that unfolds is quite a marvel. They say that life is lived every moment. Every moment should be cherished and made worth remembering. Satisfaction comes not to those who chase it, but to those who have become oblivious to the fact that it even exists. Human beings were meant to be depressed souls searching for gratification all their lives, not knowing the fact that the sheer pleasure lies in destruction itself.

Sadistic pleasures are a fact of life. It is so simple to be happy but so difficult to be simple. Learning to appreciate the evil in you is the only way out of your misery. The love of the evil is the carnal sin that every living soul in this disconsolate universe is supposed to undertake, for, the demise of the worldly desires is the beginning of the highway to perdition.

The Rime of the Modern Mariner !!

When the wedding bells tolled,
And the couple exchanged vows.
I felt blessed to be there,
Watching them espouse.

That blissful ceremony,
Was the epitome of trust.
For someone like me,
Left utterly nonplussed.

Into the skies I went,
Met a strange exotic bird.
The fowl wanted to know something,
About a place I never ever heard.

I spoke with impunity,
During the lengthy conversation.
The bird was left impressed,
By the amount of information.

I went to the nest after that,
Met a tiny little dude.
I had hoped to see him smile,
He was just not in the mood.

Hours passed like minutes,
As I kept on trying.
Finally the smile came,
And then I felt like crying.

I moved on to explore a bit,
Met a whole new flock.
If I'd hoped for a quiet journey,
I was in for a shock.

The group was young,
And a lot of fun.
I was drowsy though,
Wish I had a gun.

The destination was far,
The journey was slow.
When we finally arrived,
We had nowhere to go.

The no man's land,
Was close to the border.
When the girls started dancing,
It seemed out of order.

The shopping had to happen,
What if there was no sale.
This is one of those aspects,
Always fuzzy to a male.

The shrine by the night,
Looked even more divine.
The still waters by its side,
Reflected a heavenly shine.

The next morning we had to go,
To the same holy place.
Sleep, hunger and lethargy,
Was all over our face.

When the plans went haywire,
No one had a clue.
I was just as perplexed,
Contemplating what to do.

We wandered like nomads,
Ended up in a garden.
Which was supposed to be a tribute,
To martrys gunned down by a crazy warden.

Life slowly dragged on,
Overwhelmed by depression.
The end was coming closer,
Of the team's disintegration.

The journey back was a cakewalk,
Apart from the lack of sleep.
We were in the middle of an ocean,
In a big white heap.

The farewells were quick and tidy,
As I had to rush.
To the place where the toddler lay,
Sleeping in quiet hush.

That same day went reflecting,
On the days gone by.
What a week it had been,
With all its lows and high.

If the journey was a picture,
The octet had to be its soul.
We fitted together like a mesh,
To reach the common goal.

Life is nothing but a journey,
You meet people along the way.
Some moments are there to stay,
Memories that just dont fade away.

Punjab - In Retrospect : Part I

The first time I went to Punjab was when I had just finished school. It was a stroke of pure luck that I was able to make it. I should really thank my uncle for actually taking the trouble of joining a spoilt brat like me on a trip around the state to where my origins belong.

They say that a visit to Punjab actually changes your outlook and your mindset. At least it has a lasting influence on your thought process since the people and the atmosphere just overwhelm you. You just have to experience the place since no amount of praise can do justice to the feeling of actually being there. If there is one place where you feel welcome, it most definitely has to be Punjab.

Ever since I came back from that trip I had promised myself that one day I was going to return to my motherland. My fortune had other plans in store for me though. I did manage to go back to the mother ship once again but the occasion and the responsibilities were so hugely surmounting that I did not get any time to get a feel of that place.

Finally it took another stroke of genius from another friend to get me back to the Land of Five Rivers. That week of my life can never be erased from my otherwise amnesiac memory. I experienced so many emotions, lows, highs, troubles and favors that I actually was more mentally drained than physically fatigued at the end of it all.

The journey began with me having to go to Chennai to attend the marriage of two of the closest friends that I have ever known. They have actually made me believe that true love exists and their solemn wedding was just the epitome for me. No other marriage has ever made more sense to me than that one. I haven't enjoyed any marriage more than I enjoyed their's. Love was truly in the air and I could get a whiff of it being there. Chennai was etched into my memory forever.

Before I could blink I had to depart to join a highly anticipated and the second leg of my trip up north. As I was leaving all alone in that cab going to the airport I had only one thought in my mind which was "I should have slept earlier". More seriously, I was just thinking how some events change one person's life and I was wondering if this was one of them. That one day had changed a little bit of my cynical mindset. Chennai had already done what I wanted Punjab to do to me.

I had a hunch that the flight would also not be as uninteresting as all the others that I have been on and I was right. As I sat in the front row of that flight to Delhi, all I wanted to do was sleep and wake up only when I had reached my destination. Then all of a sudden this British gentleman came and sat next to me. I generally avoid talking to people on flights and I give such condescending looks to others that no one else bothers talking to me as well. That trick fortunately did not work on this Brit chap and we ended up talking about loads and loads of stuff on the flight. He was so impressed with my knowledge about Delhi that he gave me his contact and promised that he would show me around London in case I ever wound up there. Again I had ended up enjoying my time even though I detest flight journeys to the core.

Next stop was my nephew's house and no sooner had he seen me that the sweet little thing started raking his brains out trying to find that grey cell in that tiny little head of his, which recognized me. I never liked babies and especially the ones which cry, which, as a matter of fact all of them do. I dont know why though this toddler with his huge eyes and his chubby cheeks and his wafts of overgrown hair and his unrelenting innocence made me change my mind about babies. I just wanted him to like me as much as I loved him. His one smile was all that I wanted and it took me 8 hours to finally achieve it. Maybe it was a sign that he had registered me and my face in his memory. For me it was one of those timeless moments in life.

I wanted to spend all my time with him and my sister (of course) but I had a promise to keep and so I had to leave. The journey had not even begun and I was already lost in translation. I was physically present in one place but my mind was still trying to catch up with my physical being. The adrenaline was flowing and the heart was thumping. It happens when you expect the unexpected to happen and your future is all that you can see since you are oblivious to your present and your past.

Punjab - In Retrospect : Part II

When I ended up at the railway station I almost forgot my cell phone in the cab. I shook my head, gave myself a kick in the backside and pleaded my mind to stay with me for a little more time before I gave it some rest. I was mistaken. What was going to come my way was a barrage of verbal assault from the gang I was supposed to go with. Before all that happened though I spent a little time with the close friend (A) who had organized the trip and another gang member (V). (A) was looking tired, obviously because of all the travelling. Then all of a sudden out of nowhere the other gang members arrived and all hell broke loose.

I have always been amazed to see how each person reacts when they meet someone new. Everybody has his/her own special or rather unique way of meeting and greeting a stranger. What made this congregation even more interesting was the fact that we all had to be together for the next two days and so everyone started off showing their best self.

Punjab beckoned and as though some conspiracy was being unfolded the train that we had to board was getting delayed by the minute. When it finally arrived I thanked the heavens for my mind had had enough of introductions and pleasantries. I got into the coach and was getting ready to sleep when (A) quite surprisingly came off and made me realize how filthy and selfish I was acting. I knew that (A) was right and so I decided to spend a little more time with the gang. There were two people who hailed from a village in Punjab (CJ a.k.a. Devil 1) and (JS), two Tamilian twins (Devil 2) and (CHA) and one Bengali (SO a.k.a. Devil 3). All in all it was just the perfect mixture of stupidity and intelligence that makes a trip interesting. I spent as much time with those folks as I could. My mind had switched off a long time back but it was only when my body started giving signals that these folks relieved me and I gladly obliged.

I slept like a baby and the next thing I knew was that we were in Jullundur on our way to Amritsar. The events of the past few days had been playing on my mind. I decided to get off the train to just have a change of environment before the train started chugging off again. There are few things in life better than sipping hot tea on a strange looking platform with the winter chill biting you. What makes it even more special is if you have friends who share the same interests as you. Tea never tasted as good as it did on that platform in Jullundur city.

The next stop was Amritsar and when we finally got down the anticipation of it all had just drained the excitement out of us. We wanted to explore but our hearts and our minds were just not in sync. In a fit of helplessness we decided to book the return journey tickets back to Delhi and that later proved to be the single biggest mistake in my book. But a trip is incomplete without it's screw-ups. As travellers our first priority was lodging and we managed to find a decent hotel which was reasonably priced as well. The cost of living in the city had struck me as shockingly low, but I chose to ignore the first signals.

It was already late afternoon and we decided that our starved souls needed some respite. So we headed towards the "Brothers Dhaba" which sounds quite uncanny when the Punjabi name of the restaurant is translated in English. In the heat of the moment each of us ordered a full Punjabi meal and by the time the food arrived we had already started regretting the decision. The calorie scale would have to invent new units to measure the amount of fat that the meals contained but to all of our surprise we gobbled all of it up and even had space left for some Lassi. A trip to Punjab is incomplete if you dont have a glassful of Lassi right after the heaviest meal you will ever have in your lifetime.

Next destination was the Wagah Border and it just had to live up to its expectations. The place is utterly crowded and very poorly managed but the ordeal of reaching the destination is definitely not in your mind when you make that final rush to the Indo-Pak border. The entire ceremony is quite a marvel. It certainly got my, almost dead, patriotic juices flowing and that in itself justified the amount of chaos, energy and decibel levels that that place generated.

One piece of advice to all folks who love to travel. Always keep some time in your itinerary for shopping immaterial of which place you visit, since when you travel with the shopaholic sex you got to give in to their addiction. We all decided that in the best interest of us all, we have a rather sober dinner to quench the raging fire in our tummies. By the time we reached our rooms almost everyone had decided to call it a day and were about to retire. I had other plans though.

I knew that the "Harmandir Sahab" looked even more divine by the night and I knew that I just had to be there when it mattered. Luckily that enthusiasm rubbed off on all of the rest of the gang members and everyone decided to join me on the holy trip. (A), (Devil - 2), (CHA) and (SO) being the items that they are, happened to try on their shopping. I must admit that all of them were looking quite cute though.

That one night in that heavenly place is the stuff dreams are made of. If I ever was closer to God it was then and it was at that place sitting next to the "Sarovar" looking at that wonder structure standing majestically with the serene waters around it trying to soothe my restless soul. It was as if the silence was talking louder than ever, preaching us, telling us that true happiness lies only in selflessness.

It was only when (SO) caught cold that we decided to leave since we had plans of visiting the place the next morning and it was not worth risking it. I knew that none of us was going to make it. It was tough to leave that place and it was even tougher to understand how one can feel so connected to something having seen it only minutes back.

Punjab - In Retrospect : Part III

Life goes on and when that day ended I felt that I had learnt something. I felt that that trip had already been a success and that, we all, together as a unit, just clicked. The next day promised a lot more fun and a lot more excitement. It turned out to be something quite extraordinary though. The first thing we did was to visit the Golden Temple again and have langar. Although it was a lot more crowded this time round, that place still taught so much to me that I was just left overawed by its beauty.

When we left that place finally, I knew that we would not be seeing anymore of it anytime soon but I also knew that one day I would be back to visit this out of the world monument. The next place we visited was the Jallianwala Bagh. I had a lot of expectations from this place but it turned out to be the worst experience of them all, apart from a few laughs that I had, seeing General Dyer (CHA) firing bullets while her sister (Devil - 1) combed her hair.

We had absolutely nothing to do after this since the plan that (JS) had made had to be cancelled partly because of the delay and partly because of our lethargy and we were left as clueless as dorks about the future of our itinerary. We visited a temple after that which had the idols of the Gods and Goddesses from all over India and was a nice little tweak to the trip.

All this while it just seemed that the end of the sojourn was coming close and that, alongwith the dull weather lent a depressing feeling to my mind. We went back to the hotel to freshen up and get set for the ride back but not before we hogged some badly needed food and beverages. I managed to catch a little nap as well after the binging session and that helped me to carry on for the rest of the day.

The journey back to Delhi was quite uneventful except for the fact that the morning fog there was reported as one of the worst in the history of that city. Sitting in that bus, it felt almost like we were in the middle of a white ocean, trying to find the black strip on which we had to move. When I finally split up with the gang to go on my separate way I felt no emotion at all. I knew that this was quite abnormal at that time. Maybe my mind was still trying to come to terms with the fact that the trip had actually ended.

I had one more day to spend with the little dude and it seemed like he was the only one who could make me laugh after the terrifyingly tiring ordeal that I had been through. During my spare time that day when I regained my senses, I tried recounting the events that had transpired in the last week. I realized that those wonderful moments were never going to come back. I realized how much we all had achieved together as a group. I realized how fortunate I was to have been a part of a team which never let the spirits dampen. I realized how it is the company that makes an average trip into an unforgettable experience.

The soulmate, the flights, the friends, the Little Dude, the family, the roads, the places, the moments, the feelings and the memories had more than completed the collage of my life that week and it turned out to be quite a masterpiece. I most certainly felt alive that week of my life.....Punjab had done it again !!

It's that time of the year again

Life seems to have come a full circle
I am getting back with those whom I had left far behind
Sometimes I wonder if its part of a greater conspiracy
I wonder if its God who is behind this play of massive proportions

Its that time of the year again
When you breathe frost out of your breath
When Santa is just round the corner
You feel excited just to be alive

In an inebriated state my emotions are overflowing
I tend to shout but wonder if anyone wants to listen
If we keep running in a circle who wins the race
I keep meeting those along the way whom I detest to the core

Its that time of the year again
When you just yearn for one cup of coffee
When a warm hug is all you need
You feel like being alone in a state of surrealism

If ever there was a way out that I could choose
Standing still is the worst feeling of them all
What do you do when you feel incapable of breaking the shackles
The invisible barriers seem to be stopping the blowing wind

Its that time of the year again
When you feel that miracles are in the air
You feel lucky to have people alive around you
Celebrating the same joy as you

Things, they have a habit of changing
Nothing in this world is stationary
Change is the only inevitable overpowering emotion
Love is the only thing that is temporary

Its that time of the year again
When you want to fall in love all over again
The feeling of knowing that someone special
When you rediscover yourself all over again

No more a teenager!!

It has been quite a while since I wrote anything about the love of my life, my Ford Ikon. Yes, all this while we have been together, I never realized when the time and the miles flew away. I guess it was only a matter of time before she came out of her teenage and reached the important milestone of 20K.

I had always been fond of Ford vehicles and when Ikon hit the Indian markets a long time back, it was my immediate favorite. Since then I had a secret desire to own an Ikon at some point in my life and on that wonderful day of June the twenty-second I finally managed to realize my childhood dream.

Having driven my Car for so long, I have come to realize how it is not just a piece of machinery. I have realized how much like a human, can a car be. It is quite like another woman in your life, which takes amazing care of you if you keep her happy and can be painfully tough to handle when upset.

There definitely is this connection between you and the car that you own which cant be put into words. You just know when it is in the pink of its health and when it is down with a fever. It does not take you long to realize how your vehicle is feeling on any given day and you just learn to adjust with it automatically. You know which pothole can bruise your vehicle and which one's she can just glide over. It's the most amazing feeling to be in a relationship with someone when everything is understood implicitly without ever saying a word.

Yes, I know, I do sound like I m in love and to tell you the truth, I actually am. It was the sole reason that I took my sweetheart on a trip to Goa, to celebrate an important pitstop in the journey that we had embarked upon a long time back. I never know how can I ever let go of you....Thanks for being there with me....Always !!

Dark Side of the Moon

When life was beautiful,
You seemed so fresh.
When the mind was free,
No flaw I could see.

Everything you did,
Made me laugh.
And your cheerful smile,
Never revealed your guile.

Somewhere deep down I feared,
My conscience had warned me.
I kept ignoring the sign,
Assuming everything was just fine.

Slowly life began to change,
It started shedding its colors.
You did not seem as immaculate either,
When you lost your funny vigor.

I tried to forget and forgive,
Blamed everything on my fate.
I wanted to give you one more chance,
To help myself come out of the trance.

Then I chose to walk the walk,
Take the road to perdition.
I never wanted anyone alongside,
When I trod along the seaside.

And there you stood on the crossroads,
As lonely as a cloud.
You had lost all your wisdom,
Controlling you was gruesome.

Slowly life dragged on,
Like a never ending highway.
Every breath was fuelling my rage,
While I sat there like a sage.

I was face to face with reality,
As ugly as it looked.
I never knew this aspect of life,
It was like a never ending strife.

Now I have chosen to forgive,
Over time I will forget.
I don't know if I should stay,
Or into the distance I walk away.

Hyderabad-Goa Road Trip

Here is a gist of how to reach Goa from Hyderabad via road for all those driving enthusiasts who love to hit the highway.

These are the major routes to Goa from Hyderabad.

1. Hyderabad - NH9 - Sholapur - Kolhapur - NH4 - Belgaum - Londa - Panaji.
2. Hyderabad - NH9 - Sholapur - NH13 - Bijapur - Belgaum - Londa - Panaji.
3. Hyderabad - NH9 - Sholapur - Sangli - Kolhapur - Savantwadi - Mapuca - NH17 - Panaji.
4. Hyderabad - NH7 - Raichur - SH20 (K'taka) - Lingusur - Hungund - Bagalkot - Yergatti - Belgaum - Londa - Panaji.

I always prefer to take the 4th route mentioned because it is one of the shortest possible, also almost 80% of the times the road is empty and the condition of the roads is marvelous. The only blemish is the drive from Londa to Goa border where the road is in a pathetic condition thanks to all the dumpers and lorries plying those so-called highways (but then you would anyways have to encounter that road on 3 of the 4 options mentioned above).

The round trip mileage would definitely not be less than 1600KM leaving aside the travel in Goa which one can safely assume to be anywhere from a 20-50KM average a day if you like to roam around in Goa. Again, it totally depends on the enthusiasm the drivers show.

Have atleast 2 good drivers who have previous experience on highways with you with one backup driver who can drive on empty highways. An ideal scenario would be to have more than 3 good drivers because that way, you can get a lot of rest for each driver.

It takes anywhere from 14-17 hours of driving to reach Panaji from Hyderabad, and thats a lot. So you better get your vehicle serviced and in a good shape before you set off on the road. Also, be sure that you tank up at each petrol bunk that you see cause you never know when you might run out of fuel.

A word of caution, the ghat section is tricky and needs experience. So have your best drivers driving you through the ghats. Also make sure that anyone who is driving in the ghats has had a nice rest before that since it can be particularly tiring with all the clutch, gear-shifting, hair-pins, and traffic to avoid.

NEVER DRIVE AT NIGHT IN THE WESTERN GHATS. It is a total waste of time, since all the dumpers and lorries would be all over the roads and it would be foggy as well. It is just a waste of time. Dont be an idiot in trying to be brave. Be wise and hit the ghats only in broad daylight.

Hope you guys enjoyed reading this post. Do share your experiences if ever you take the road to Goa. It is a feeling quite unmatched by others.