MaThS...

Two people + Lots of Things - (Respect + Trust) = Nothing

Two people + Lots of things + (Respect + Trust) = Everything

Ab Jhoom Barabar Jhoom Barabar Jhoom !!!

A To Do and Done list...

Things to do when you are not too well :

1. Go out and spend time doing something that takes your mind away from the sickness !!! like I did... went out with the DFC gang ( about 20 of them is what I counted :), there could be more)

The Camera Party...

Mon and Sonu at the Fort...

I am not very comfortable being clicked... but your logic just does not work at times...

So the sunday morning well spent @ Tuglaqabad fort... followed by a session of Hindi Scrabble at the Saket Barista !!!

Nandita, Arun and Japs...

Monika and Sonu again...

The ladies in the DFC... Concept : Sonu; clicked by Me...

I am not too fond of Chocolate, but for some reason I don't mind having it these days...

Thoughts going into the game of Hindi Scrabble @ Barista Saket...

Absolute fun... its only when I was back that I realized how low on energy I was...

2. A couple of short and long naps during the day

3. Buy a Cycle ! Yes... I bought a cycle, A Hercules MTB; 6 gears, and drove it to home through the small streets enjoying the zip, while Aro, the actual owner of the new cycle followed me in a car :D

4. Be; Do what you like, what makes you feel better, and try and not feel too bad about things around !!!

5. Buy pearl necklaces for Mom...

6. Meet someone who without any selfish interest says something about you that makes a lot of sense... and then says it about Aro, and leaves us speechless !

7. Fight with one of your best friends over smallest of things like why is it that he cannot sit properly while eating, and why he has to laugh when you are feeling so low

8. Discuss Hitler, Jews, Kite Runner, Red Bands (Read Ray Bans), and lots more !!!

9. Hope for a great day the next day !!

and did I mention that I got clicked too :) here is a picture clicked by a dear friend... Though I am not very happy with my expressions here, but I love the presentation and the details !!!
You might want to check some more of her work HERE.

A week that finished in just 5 days !!!!

Back from a quick trip from Bangalore... Did not even realize how quick the last week was !!!

Starting everyday at 0630 and finishing only around 0130 hrs was not really easy !!! but then I better get used to something like this for the times to come...

C'mon Give it to me :) lets see it !


I want to bring back the trees from Bangalore, Delhi is amazing in many many ways but the biggggggest minus is the amount of trees that I don't see and could have been there !!!

I hope someone is looking at that in addition to all the amazing work that is going on in and around Delhi !

The flight first got delayed at Bangalore... and then it was not allowed a landing in Delhi for about 45 minutes... Some navigation systems were being checked and caused that delay... and there was so much turbulence during these 45 minutes that it almost killed me !!! Had food sometime back, and then this turbulence... reached home with one of the worst acidity situations :( the entire food pipe and stomach was burning like hell :(

but never mind !!!

Lets look at the brighter side...

I am back home...
well.. umm... ok let me think of more...

I can click again :) I did not take my camera along...

I can attempt watching one of the IPL matches live... Not that I am cricket fan or something, but I have always wanted to see a match live... nothing better than watching something that finishes in about 4 hours and is in the evenings and is a game that you understand too..

rest later..

I need to figure out a way to take care of this ultra-burning inside me right now !

Games HE Plays...

When HE starts playing, no one else wins !!!

And yes I am complaining to you Uncle God ! Aa rahe hain na maje tumko full full !

About 3.5 hours later....

OK Sorry ! I will appreciate what I have... Par tum dhyaan rakhna mera ! Smaller things make the biggest difference in my life, and you better remember that.. Achcha na sorry ! kitni baar bolun?

And thank you for the conversation in the evening and that opportunity to drive around and to that place :P :) Tum utne bure nai ho jitna behave karte ho kabhi kabhi :)

Love you Uncle :)

MP Diaries : Bhopal to Ujjain

We had slept pretty late last night, and were not sure what was in store for us today... so the mood was lazy, and the conversations slow..

but at the back of our minds we knew there was much to see, and much to go to... so we kinda picked up some pace and go ready around 1130 hrs and had our breakfast at a Haldiram types restaurant just outside our hotel !!!

Oh, yes ! I am back to finishing off my MP travelogue :)

Here are the first few parts if you have missed them :

Delhi - Kanha
Kanha and around
Kanha to Bhopal

We wanted to go to Bhojpur, had heard nice things about it, a 1000 year old incomplete temple, world's tallest Shivling etc etc and we also wanted to go to Ujjain... ok I wanted to go to Ujjain (I feel some connection with Shiva and hence all the Jyotirlings come into the list of places I feel good about; and the Shivling @ Ujjain happens to be called MahaKaal too)

Talked to a few people and found out that there was an intercity express to Ujjain from Bhopal at 1700 hrs and will take 4 hours to reach Ujjain...

Now this made perfect sense, we could take an auto, go to Bhojpur come back, pack our bags and leave for Ujjain... come back to Bhopal tomorrow and take it from there... super..

So after talking to a few Autowallahs, and doing some bit of not to successfull bargaining we agreed to give the guy 270 bucks to take us to Bhojpur ( around 25 kms away from Bhopal) and bring us back...

The drive was fine, the sun not too strong and once we were out of the city between the farms it actually became must pleasent !!! I realised how much Wheat MP must be producing looking at the wast span of the golden fields all around !!! lovely view it was... Did stop at a few places to enjoy the calm and finally reached Bhojpur...

The Sprinklers for Wheat Fields...

The temple is massive, and was my second stop next to the river Betwa (The first being Orccha), and we were surprised at the size of the Shivling too... no wonder !

A Kiddo who was there with his parents for a Pooja...

Renovation work in progress at the Bhojpur Temple...

We spent a good couple of hours at the temple before we decided to move back to Bhopal and catch the train !!!

Aro at Bhojpur

A Local Musician at Bhojpur...

The return journey was equally nice and we did manage to reach the station on time too, rather before time... I remember buying the tickets and then coming out of the station to eat something... how could we not...

So this time... we had rasmalai, some other local mithai, some tea, and some cold drinks, not in this order though :)

Soon enough the train journey started again, this time a different flavor... General Coach, Wooden Benches, not too crowded though :)

A Passenger in the Intercity Express from Bhopal to Ujjain

did take us close to about 4 hours, but enjoyed every minute of it... talked to people, took pictures, got a small lesson on gun management from a Railway Policeman too :)

Catching Hope :)

Sunset from the Train...

We reached Ujjain around 2100 hrs and checked into a hotel near the station only... Learnt that the Bhasm Aarti starts at 0500 hrs in the morning and we should be in the temple by 0400 hrs to get a decent view !!!

Arobindo in the train...

The General Compartment we were in...

Now this meant a quick dinner and sleeping without much talking !!! And that happened too !!!

More to follow...

B/W Newspaper Colorful News :)

Some Data now..

Bhopal - Bhojpur : 25 kms
Auto fare : about 250-350 bucks depending on how you bargain...
What to do in Bhojpur : Nothing :) just sit back and relax
Train for Ujjain from Bhopal : Intercity Express @ 1700 hrs everyday
Fare : 50 rs. for the General Class, You can take that ticket and enter the reserved compartment too where the ticket can be upgraded for about Rs. 17 for that coach... the difference is better seats only !!!

So much for so little :)

Love for me was never a single word... or a single feeling, rather I personally felt that there is nothing that can define love easily...

It is more of a convinient way of saying many things in one word...

Feelings that talk about

Assurance
Presence
Comfort
Satisfaction
Smiles
Anger
Discomfort
Relaxation
Togetherness
Indivuality
Respect


and many many more that I have not written here...

so next time you hear someone telling you that (s)he loves you, don't just hear one word, hear a lot of them together...

And every time you tell someone that you love him/her, don't just say one word, say many :)

sticky note

Ok lets make is simpler !!!

Only two types of things:

1. Which you have a control on...

3. Which you cannot control...

For the third,

Leave it to the bigger better powers !!!

For the first,

Do what you can, and then leave it to the bigger better powers...

Wondering where is the number 2? that is the third type of things !!!

...

बस दीवानगी दीवानगी, दीवानगी है :)

विडम्बना

Can't even say that I hate it, because I believe whatever happens is only for Good !!!

Can't even like it too much, because its coming at the cost of a few things which bring happiness !!!

Such are the ways !!!

(Deadly) Track Record

A Query under the RTI has revealed that more than 20700 people have died in the last 5 years in Mumbai while traveling on the local trains...

On the Central Railway exactly 17553 lives have been lost between Jan'03 and Dec'07...
Western Railway tracks account for 3153 deaths between Mar'03 and Feb'08...

On an average over 10 people die everyday on the tracks..

Very sad !

Laluji, you have done wonders for Indian Railways in the last few years... this is something that you might want to look at too...

Meri Jaan Jeenat Amaan !!!!

Ab jaan le legi kaa chori !!!!

Arre hai re meri jhumri tallaiyaa !!!

When you are listening to some songs, the ones that I mentioned in one of my previous posts, in addition to the simplistic lyrics, the basic instruments like the dholak, harmonium etc, its the filler lines lines like the two above that give them the perfect mood !!!

Have been listening to Dekhta hai tu kya for a couple of days now, and I still love it... Super energy, and fun !!!

Pity that I am not with a group of friends dancing on this number ! soon... sometime soon...

Jai Chichorgardi on the dance floor !

Having said that and done that !!!

Some things go terribly wrong, only because they have to get better...

God Uncle ! Dekh rahe ho na? Phir se maje mat lena !!! Achcha nahin hoga.. bata raha hoon !

O Billo Raani....

I have this thing for the songs that are labeled as "Chichora" songs... and the latest addition to the list is...

Billo Raani! Kaho to Abhi jaan De doon...

I hear it almost every morning on 9Xm or radio... and today I asked Tushar to download it and send it to me too... so I can listen to it after any hot pursuit of some people in the office, or a call where i had to speak a lot, or just like that...

The list is endless... but the ones that I can remember right now are...

• Nain Lad Jai Hain to Manwa ma Kasak hoi be kari...
• Mere Pairon mein ghungroo bandha de, phir meri chaal dekh le...
• Sapne mein milti hai...Aye Ganpat...
• Bidi...
• Namak...

Every time I think of a song like this, I can effortlessly imagine myself dancing away to glory on the song :) hehehe... its super duper funn...

I can' think of many right now... Can you? Please share... let me make a collection, an exclusive one !!

and look at the irony... I am currently listening to a Jugalbandi with Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma and Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasiya :) Raag Kirwani... lovely !!!

Some additions to the list thanks to the Chai ki Dukaan'ers..

• Aai meri meri zohra zaheeb.... phurkate gam mita ja !!! jumme raat hai ;) aaja !!!
• Ek chumma to mujhko udhar dai de :D
• Babuji zara dheere chalo....
• Chamma Chamma (China Gate right?)
• Kajraare Kajraare tere kaare kaare naina...

Dhak Dhak Dhak Dhak...

The thump of the engine....

Cool breeze brushing against your face...

The attitude that you feel from within...

The sudden change in the body posture...

The smile which more genuine than a lot of smiles on your face in the last few days !!!

And that Adrenaline rush at around 2.5K on the tach!!!

Like a dream !

woke up... when I saw my rushing ahead of me Ponch !!! :(

but then :) I still was flying :)

I want my space !

Space... Lots of Space... yes... thats what I need and thats what was missing...

Phew !!!

Thank God I have it now..

my new iOMEGA 500GB external drive ensures that I have the space that I need... now I can click on RAW without a problem and keep my pictures in the drive...

Thanks Tushar for getting it for me !

and lots more been happening...

later... may be !!!

BREAKING NEWS at NOON...

~ Termites in bank lockers...

~ 7th April is a No-Horn(y) Day... Big B takes up the initiative and says that he will not honk on 7th April... and a reporter, who seems to be very smart, asks him, "Sir, where do you think in Mumbai, the horns are used the most?" Jiyo mere laal !!!!

~ Maruti Car Tyre Bursts in Mumbai...

~ Has Amitabh done anything for Mumbai?

~ Backward classes insulted in Gujrat... unacceptable text in textbooks... Protests planned...

~ Vijaya Malaya spends 8 Crores on the Balaji Temple... 5 Crore ka Panja Diya !!!

The Day of Plans and Decisions

The plan was to wake up early and leave for Pachmadi... But then sleep being one of the best things to rest with, we were just not ready to get up... finally managed to leave the beds around 1100 hrs...

Oh.. but I think before I start the story, I need to remind you of what we were doing so far...

Read HERE, for our trip from Delhi to Kanha...

and HERE for Kanha to Piparia...


Ok, now back to the morning in Piparia...

A Hair Dresser/Salon Board in Piparia :)

The foot was better now, thankfully yesterday night's sprain was not there... there was not much thinking to do today... it was just getting up and moving to Pachmadi, which was to be our bunker for the next two days with us intending to walk around the place and explore as much as we can...

The station was not too far, and the buses/jeeps for Pachmadi were on the other side of the station... so we walked up the over-bridge and crossed to see many jeeps, one of which was to take us to our destination...

One of the platforms at the Piparia Station

We hired one, and had to now wait for more passengers to join the jeep before we could move...

Meanwhile, the taxi guy suggested having some food at a nearby restaurant called Naivedya... We ordered a parantha and chole poori there, and manh were they tasty or what !!!

I think we then ate atleast 7 plates of chole poori... paid the bill to Mr Hansmukh Jaiswal who runs and co-owns the place...

7 Up Bottles in Naivedya

The taxi was not still full.. rather we were the only two passengers yet... what followed was a wait of about 1.5 hours before we finally moved...

The Wall of a Deserted Building with an Adult Movie poster near the Taxi Stand in Piparia

People come people went... people stayed people waited and came and went in those 90 minutes... basically I don't remember getting bored at all...

Like I said, People were coming and going...

And Some enjoying their smoke...

The Tempo Gama finally moved... and about 54 kms and and another 90 minutes later we were in Pachmadi... It was interesting to see Deepak, the helper of the taxi, to use the tyre at the back of the car as his seat for these 54 kms... Infact thats where the helpers sit... there is no space for them in the taxi after a total of 14+1 passengers sit in that 8 seater vehicle...

The Tempo Gama...

Someone at our pitstop between Piparia and Pachmadi

Its more or less a jungle Area between these two places... Can imagine how beautiful this would look in rains...

The Developing Country... I see it... Do you?

Spend about an hour roaming around with the taxi wallah to find a decent hotel for ourselves, but did not really find anything interesting... so we moved up hill to see if there was something away from the town... though the taxi guy strongly opposed the idea, we still wanted to check a few places out, which we did and after a while, we asked him to drop us and leave...

A flower in one of the hotels in Pachmadi

I guess me and Aro were not comfortable with the way he was trying to guide our thought process of taking up a room etc... so there we were.. about 3 kms from the main town, and looking for a place for ourselves... checked two hotels and on our way to the third, we stopped to take some rest... i was sitting on the road and i suddenly turned towards Aro and said, lets go back... I don't like this place !!!! And Aro almost freaked out !!! he told me he would have said it in a minute, if I had not...

And the only other photo from Pachmadi :)

so a quick decision later we were laughing and moving back to the taxi stand making the next best plan... where to go now... Indore, Ujjain or Bhopal? or maybe back to Jabalpur and stay put there...

Walked a while, took a lift from a gypsy fellow and reached the Taxi Stand... Some people recognised us from the taxi stand in Piparia, and wondered why the hell were we going back... did not have a convincing answer for them anyway :) However we got talking to a few local there and made a new plan !!! the first leg of which was to reach Piparia and then take a bus to Bhopal !!!

The drive back to Piparia was not the best of all, as there were six people in the last two seats facing each other in that Mahindra, and I almost suffocated myself to death... thanks to two people who stopped the car to puke, I was able to stand outside for a couple of minutes each !!! We finally managed Piparia and rushed to the bus stand only to realize that the last bus to Bhopal leaves at 1730 hrs, and it was already 1800 hrs...the alternative was to take a bus to Hoshangabad and then to Bhopal from there... I was not feeling too well because of the taxi ride back from Pachmadi, and Aro was kind enough to get me some limca while I got the bags loaded and found a decent seat for us !!!

One of temples somewhere on our way to Hoshangabad...

About 2.5 hours and loads of amazing small conversations later we were in Hoshangabad... Could have taken a bus to Bhopal right away, but decided to take a break, eat something and then go from there... There were regular buses to Bhopal till midnight anyway !!!

So we walked out of the bus stand, roamed around a bit and saw one of the most interesting boards in a long long time !!! Ghamandi Lassi !!! this was interesting and called for a drink or two !!! So we were there after a quick steps and feasted on the lovely Lassi!!! nothing special about the brand name here, except that this was a name that was given to the Lassi some 30 odd years ago to attract customers...

Ghamandi Lassi...

Times had changed, and the brothers who set up the juice and lassi shop had split, but the name Ghamandi Lassi remained... The highlight of this pit stop was the Badam Milk though, something that was to be eaten and not fit for drinking... never had badam milk so full of Badam in my life !!! Calls for a celebration, and we did celebrate with 2 glasses each of the Lassi and Badam Milk each !!!!

Don't treat your visitors with this, else they might just stay back...

This is where we met a few locals who suggested that we could stay back in Hoshangabad itself instead of going to Bhopal... visit a local temple there in the morning and then move to Bhopal... get down at Bhojpur to see the Shivling and then proceed to Bhopal... They even recommended a nice hotel nearby called the Vatika to eat and stay... this looked like a decent plan, and we decided to stay back !!!

Walked to the hotel to realize that it was full ( yes... surprising) and because we were in no mood to look for hotels there, we came back to our original plan of going to Bhopal !!! Took a bus from the bus stand, and we were in Bhopal around 2330 hrs.... checked into a hotel near the railway station... moved out to have some food... Ate, came back and crash landed on the bed...

No plans next nothing !!! knew a few places that we wanted to go to !!! but still no plans...

Lets see what happens next morning !!! Looks like its more fun this way :)




__________
Some Information now..

Taxi Fare : 40 bucks per person if you are ok with a total of 15 people in the taxi... if you want more space, be ready to shell out some extra money... We paid 200 bucks on our way to Pachmadi for the two of us as we practically took 4 seats ( Fat guys we are) and 40 bucks were the "you are new to this place" charge... The taxi has to earn Rs. 600 per trip, and that gets divided...

Hotel Tariff in Piparia in Alka Lodge : Rs. 400 for an AC room... no electricity backup though...

Hotel Tariff in Pachmadi : Anything between Rs. 350 to Rs. 2000. Try and not roam around with Taxi walas to save 50-200 bucks on your tariff... The high end hotels are outside the town, further uphill...

Roaming around in Pachmadi : The only option is Taxis, which can be hired exclusively for about 1000 bucks a day or shared with someone... There are tickets to enter the common interest points as well, and be prepared to see a lot of honeymooners around the area...

Piparia to Hoshangabad bus fare : Rs. 50 per head; Travel time around 2 hours...

Hoshangabad to Bhopal bus fare : Rs. 40 per head; Travel time around 2 hours...

No I am not kidding...

Try...

http://chaikidukaan.com