DiLLi - VaLLeY oF fLoWeRs aNd BaCk !!!

So finally i sit down to write about my trip.. i was waiting for the fotos to come in before i write so that while you are reading about the trip you can also see what i saw...

Friday, 8-Jul-05

I was back from office by 1400 hrs to attend myclass.. and back home by 1700 hrs after my class... Aro was not yet in.. coz the bus he was coming had a flat tyre.. and that delayed his arrival to my place... he finally managed to reach by 1800 hrs... and then we started packing our stuff... two huge bags... and about 50 line items needed to be packed for this long 8 day trip.... we were still not sure about that plan.. about when and where we would be except that we have to move out of home asap and reach the Lal Quila to catch our bus...

we left around 1900 hrs and took an auto to reach the Chandni Chawk Red light... i felt that the 5 rolls i was carrying were not good enough and i needed more.. so we went to the market there and grabbed another 5 pack of the Fuji 100 rolls... the shopkeeper gladly gave them to me for 220 bucks.. a good Rs. 2 more then the price in the market... next stop the travel agent's counters.. and we found out that the first bus to Rishikesh would not leave before 2200 hrs... we were not ready to wait for that kinda time and move to ISBT to catch a bus...

We managed to get good seats in a faily decent 2X2 UP Roadways bus.. called the Pawan Gold... and took our seats at 2100 hours... at that time there are loads and loads of buses to Rishikesh... actually every 2 minutes you will see a bus moving into that direction... this bus looked like the most comfy of all.. and we took our tickets... cost of the tickets... 312 bucks for two... the bus finaly moved at 2145 hours after we had two big cups of the Mother Daily Mango Delight Icecream... we were expecting to reach Rishikesh by 0330 hrs in the morning... but a traffic jam after Muzaffar nagar increased the travel time by over 90 mintues...


~ UP roadways bus we took from Delhi to Rishikesh, seen here parked at the hotel near Khatauli... we had to push this bus to start it here.. making it a true 2X2 Pushback :)

Saturday, 9-July

We managed to reach Rishikesh only around 0530 hours... thanks to Traffic Jam.. and quickly rushed to the Srinagar Bas Stand.. this is where we had to take the next bus from... We were planning to go to Badrinath... we were told that we could take a bus run by GMOU Ltd. stands for the Garwal Motor Owners Union Ltd... infact most of the buses on this route are associated with this body...

when we reached there... we got to know that there was no way we could reach Badrinath by night.. as the bus was scheduled to move only at 0630 hours and it would reach Joshimath in about 12 hours... late enough to skip the last Gate from Joshimath... we had no other option but to board the bus... it was a small... actually reach small bus.. and we managed to get the first seats from the back on the gate's side... i could hardly manged my legs between the two seats.. and was wondering how i would manage to be there in that bus for about 12 hours... trust me it was not a very nice thought... anyway.. the bus moved at 0630 hours for a destination about 300 kms and 12 hours away.....

we stopped for a quick breakfast after about an hour.. and had some Aaloo Paranthaas with Curd...


~Our first break after Rishikesh.. what you see in the foto is the bus which took us to Joshimath...

Long travel that was.. and the view outside the windows was really beautiful.. most of the time was spent sleeping and the rest looking outside the window.... we passed through.. Srinagar ( in Garhwal), RudraPrayag, KaranPrayag, Nand Prayag, PipalKoti etc to reach Joshimath in the evening...

We got stuck in a Jam caused by a landslide and had to waste about 45 minutes waiting for it to get cleared... and once it was done.. we moved ahead...


~ The road being cleared... Border Roads Organisation has done a great job with the roads on this route...

One thing which i noticed here in the jam was the disclipline with parking... reminded me of the reason why we got late on our way to Rishikesh.. the traffic from one side of the road would try and take as much space as they can.. and then block all the lanes that the traffic from the other side can use to cross.. but here it was different... the vehicles were nicely parked at one side of the road... and ensured that there was enough space forthe vehicles from the other side to cross when the road clears up...


~ Notice the way vehicles have been parked... rare sight in a jam if this was in Delhi...

We manged to reach Joshimath earlier then expected.. it was 1700hrs... and we got to know that we had missed the last gate only by 30 minutes... if we had not been caught in that Jam.. we would have reached Badrinath in the night itself... anyway... li'il that we could do about it... we searched for the GMVN ( Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam) Guest house... and did not find it upto the mark... the room rent was 350 bucks for a night.. and it was not in the best shape either.. so we decided to look for something cheaper and better.. and then checked in a hotel called Hotel Sriram right next to the Guest house.. for a room which was for Rs. 250 a night.. definitely better then the guest house.. and the owner of the hotel was a very nice fella himself.. we spent about 30 minutes talking to him before we moved into the room... the view from the room was very beautiful... the air pure and the feeling great...


~ The view from our room at Joshimath...

Took a back with freezing cold water... and had a quick dinner before sleeping... did not take much time for our tired bodies to get to sleep... we had decided that instead of the going to Badrinath we would go to Govindghat.. and then to Hemkund Sahib and the Valley of Flowers before we move to Badrinath...

Sunday, 10-July

We got up early... around 0500 hours... managed to reach the gate by 0545 hours.. this is where we could get a bus to Govindghat.... managed to get the seats in a decent bus which moved at 0600 hrs... and we were in Govindghat by 0645 hours....


~The Gate system at Joshimath... to avoid any jams on the small road ahead !!!

We just could not stop looking at the mountains when we reached Govindghat.. the view was magical.. clouds all over.. huge majestic mountains... lovely wind...


~ Got down of the bus at Govindghat... the view was too beautiful to move from there...

and then we received a shock !!!!

we had thought that we could take a cab/taxi something to Ghangria... but this is where we realised that we had to walk 13 kms to reach Ghangria also known as Govinddham... anyway... li'il we could do about it... so we starting walking... and realised it in the first 500 metres that it was not going to be easy... though the weather was good.. there was no sun.. and it was kinda cool too... we were still all in sweat... and we had bags which weighed over 10 kgs each... it was going to be one challanging journey...


~ Rafting anyone :) the sound of the waters could tell you about its might too...

I just could not take it anymore after about 6 kms.. and had to hire a pony... no no.. not for myself.. but the bag... talking about ponies... this entire path had a never ending smell of horse shit...

so basically you would breath air.. walk on stones.. listen to a small but very mighty river and smell horst shit on this way from Govindghat to Ghangria... there are plenty of small shops all along the path where you can get cold drinks (the 500 ml bottles) for 25 bucks... glucose buiscit packets for about 10 bucks... and anything to eat... and if it is packed... it is going to be awefully expensive.. and the prices would increase as the altitude increases....

We reached Ghangria around 1500 hours... very tired.. and very hungry.. and it had also started raining a li'il... and we did not have our raingear with us.. it was in the bag.. and the bags with the TattoWalla... who had already reached about 30 minutes before us...


~Our hotel at Ghangria

we had a quick afternoon meal... well.. for a meal we had some noodles... and then we checked into this small but decent hotel called the Hotel Pritam...

We were too tired and it did not take us more then 30 minutes to fall asleep... which means were already in deep sleep by 1600 hours....

We woke up around 2000 hrs... i guess we were hungry.. and then had a nice walk around the place... and some bad dinner... and some great Gulab Jamuns ( tat too at a price of just 5 bucks each)... now with everything so bloddy expensive there.. this treat was more then wat we could ask for... anyway...after having the sweets we headed back to our hotel... applied some move on the legs... they were in real bad pain.. and then went off to sleep to get up early next morning...

Monday, 11-Jul

Woke up at 0430 hours.. thanks to the alarm in my mobile... an alarm clock was all it could have been used for.. coz there were no signals i could catchafter rishikesh.. anyway.. that was something that i really liked... no one could call me up... away from the world....

so by 0530 hours were out of the hotel.. had some biscuits and some tea at a tea stall and then started our trek for Hemkund Sahib.... had no clue what were heading for... we thought what we had experienced in the last three kms to Ghangria was the worst that could happen.. it was a climb at 45 degs.. and we were walking on stones... had to look at every stone we were stepping on... otherwise would end up having some strained muscles.. and fractures...

anyway.. we knew it was going to be tough... 6 kms... and moving from 3049 m to Hemkund Sahib @ 4329 m.


~ 100s of Ponies are there in the morning... costs about150 bucks to reach the Glacieron the pony and then walk from there...

We were walking on a path which was not one of the best laid.. i remember looking at every stone that i kept my feet on...


~ The kinda path we were walking on.. this is a better part of the entire way...

But trust me.. it was worth it... the views that we had from the way.... the air that we were breathing.. the faith that we witnessed... it made it all worth it... people of all ages.. kids, women, men.. old or young... everyone was determined to climb up and reach the Gurudwara...


~ Look at the steep climb... some determination it takes to do this trek...


~ What a view... made all the pain worth it...

Finally after walking for over 4 hours... crossing a Glacier.. and climbing up over 1200 steps ( there were two ways to the Gurudwara after the glacier.. we could take the stairs or the slope.. we chose to walk on the steps... knowing that it is tougher to climb up the steps.. we still took'em... wanted to reach faster actually)


~ The Glacier we had to cross to reach Hemkund Sahib... looks scary.. and was too..


~Ice on my hand... and me on a Glacier...

The view at the Guru Dwara was breathtaking... it was just too beautiful to be described in words... i do not know enough adjectives to describe what i saw... so will just stick to some pics...


~ The lake near Hemkund Sahib...can't believe i actually dip my feet in it...


~Hemkund Sahib

I managed to gather enough courage to dip my legs in the lake near the GuruDwara and wash my face with the water.. it was freezing cold... can't tell u how bad i was shivering after i did that dare.. and there were ppl who were taking a dip in there.. .phew.. how did they manage it.. is something that they only know... to make things worse.. it started raining.. which dipped the temprature to sub-zero level and then the only pair of socks that i was wearing got wet... man !!! i was not in a good situation there...

went inside the GuruDwara...

came back...

had some hot and really tasty Khichdi and Tea at the Langar.. and then started walking back...
which turned out to be more painful and long then we expected.. every time i was keeping myfoot down on a stone.. the entire leg used to cry out loud in pain.. from my ankles to my knees... it seemed that i just could not take it any longer.. but still there was no other option but to carry on... and so we did...

and reached Ghangria at 1500 hours... with almost broken bones.. had managed to save myself from slipping a couple of times as well... the knees and the ankles were in pain like hell... and yet there was a satisfaction of achieving something that a lot of ppl do not...


~ Ghangria when we came back from Hemkund Sahib...

before we could sit down for lunch in our hotel.. there was a huge sound of stones falling.. and it was just behind ourhotel... we had to run hard to save ourself... the sound made us feel that a stone could hit us any moment.. but we were lucky.. though the noises were scary... the landslide was at a distance... so no harm done to anyone...

had a good lunch.... and then were off to sleep by 1630hours... not before applying lot of Move to our legs... this is were we realised how soothing these lotions can be...

got up around 2000 hrs for dinner... had a quick bite.. and then our favorite Gulab Jamuns and went off to sleep again by 2200 hrs... tmrw was going to be a long day... we had to go to the Valley of Flowers.. and then back to Govindghat....

Tuesday, 12-Jul

Woke up early morning... but coz we were so damn tired.. justcould not get out of our beds... managed to somehow get moving at 0530 hrs... the legs were still in a bad shape..lots of pain still.. but we had to do it...
so packed our biscuits.. and some peanuts... and started for the VOF....


~ a bridge that we had to cross on our way to the Valley...

soon after we entered the gate.. we realised we were in a different world... i could only hear a small river flowing nearby.. and could listen to the insects... even breating heavily would be considered noise there...

it was just to beautiful.. and right now.. i hate my vocab.. i just cannot find enough words to write what i felt... just cannot :(

anyway... the pics might just help...


~ Though this was not the peak time for flowers... we still managed to catch up with a lot of them...

We were again walking on some steep paths.. though the pain was there... the beauty of the surroundings.. kept the thoughts of the pain away...


~The trek is too beautiful... steep but beautiful... tiring and relaxing...

Crossed two small glaciers.. and two landslide areas with complete care... and got stuck at a glacier about 500 metres from the Valley... it looked too dangerous to move ahead on that.. though i had a stick with me.. i was not sure i should move ahead... i was scared.. coz there were no one around to help... and a minor mistake there could have meant... death... that too in cold waters... just could not take that risk.... so stayed there for sometime.. enjoyed the view.. and headed back to the hotel.. so that we could start our journey to Govindghat from there...


~ This is what the Valley of Flowers looks like...


~The Valley of Flowers... all nature.. pure as pure can be...


~ The glacier we could not cross... Aro became too sad after this... though i was kinda content with watever we managed...

We were back in Govinddham (Ghanngria) by 0930 hrs.. had some heavy breakfast, hired a pony to carry our bags and then moved started for Govindghat by 1015 hours... Had to walk for another 13 kms... we knew its going to be a tough walk ahead... and were determined to make it through...
so we started...


~ Some camp just before Gangria... probably was an Army camp... also had a helipad there..


~ Walking in the middle of the nature with almost dead feet... pain and pleasure together...

We reached Govindghat by 1500hrs...


~ These shoes were brand new when i moved out on friday.. and look at them now :)

this where i saw remains of a tragedy which struck the small town a few days back.. a flash flood... about 11 people lost there lives.... and about 230 vehicles were destroyed beyond recognition... 200 two wheelers and about 4-wheelers... the area was still being cleared and the scooters and the bikes were being dumped at the sides... it was scary to see the state of these....


~ A bike as good as waste in GovindGhat... reminds me of the power of Nature...

had to wait till 1715 hours before we got a bus for Badrinath.... we had again missed the previous gate by just about 15 minutes...

what we landed into was another jam.. because of a landslide... waited for an hour for that to clear up... and then decided to go back to Govindghat for the night... we were already too tired to take it any longer.... and then God knows that came to our minds... both of us decided to get back home...
the decision was quick and was not questioned by anyone of the two.. so we took at jeep to Joshimath and landed at the same hotel... where the owner was really glad to see us...

Talked to him for a good 45 minutes before we went to the room... then i rushed to get the tickets for the first bus out of Joshimath to Haridwar...
had a great dinner after a nice warm bath... and slept after repacking the entire stuff by 2200 hours...

Wednesday, 13-jul

Got up at 0330 hrs... and move out by 0400 hrs to take the Himgiri Express to Haridwar.... the drive back also involved a lot of sleep... beautiful sceneries around... some fotografs...


~ The Himgiri Express parked at a place called Teen Dhara...


~ Notice the small white car being pulled up...please drive very carefully always...


~C the Earth Movers in action again...

We were in haridwar by 1600 hrs.. looked for a place to keep our bags... and then moved to the Har ki Paudi... stayed there for while.. before going to the famous Mohan Ji Poori Wale.. to stuff our tummies with Poories, Halwa, Kachories, and Gulab Jamuns... then had some good Lassi... followed by a fantabolous pan....


~At Har Ki Paudi in Haridwar

bak to the Bus stand by 1715 hours.. and took the first bus to Delhi.... a failry decent bus.. the front seats again.. so that we could get enough leg room.... though we were expecting to reach delhi by 2200 hours... a Jam struck again.. and this time near Khatauli... just before Sakauti... spent a good 2.5 hours there before we reached the ISBT late night around 0100 hours...

it was a trip well done... too muchhard work.. and surroundings that i had never seen before... i would like to go again to the same places... but then this time i would act a li'il more intelligent...

we managed the entire trip in somewhere around 2500 bucks per head... and here are a few learnings from the trip :
- Start working out atleast a month in advance when you are planning such long treks...
- Stop smoking for this time period at least....
- Always carry a pair of socks with you ;)
- A stick always helps when you are climbing up or down...
- Always look before you step forward... make sure that you do not step on the wrong side of the stones...
- Carry along with you loads of will power and mental strength....

waiting for another trip already... well.. thats what i am .....


~Weather back home was great as well... took this foto after some good showers on Thursday

The pictures from the trip are available HERE.

fLaT TyRe !!!

exactly 12233 kms after I got the car.. i had my first flat tyre today.... even the tyre had to choose a day like today for rest... all mud around the tyre.. and now after i changed with the Spare... i have my entire Boot Space in mud.. and the Brand new tyre all soiled too .... will wash that tyre before I put it back in the car !!!!

Tmrw I would be out of delhi for a good nine days... the plan is to go to Joshimath and then decide where I can do from there.. depending on the weather...

Looking forward to see a lot of

• Rain
• Clouds
• Hills
• Snow
• Flowers
• Lakes

May Gob be with me...

FinALLy

a week and a half to go before i get out of here... next friday is when my first of its kinds trip begins.. and i am really really looking forward to it... i have always read about the valley of flowers.. and i know that there is a place called AULI where you can find snow 12 months in an year.. and i have heard that Badrinath and Rudraprayag are beautiful places to be in... and now is the time when i am going there to be a part of that magical atmosphere...

i am really excited about it...

going from Delhi to Rishikesh to Joshimath to Govindghat to Ghangeria to Valley of Flowers to Gangheria to Hemkund Sahib to Gangheria to Badrinath to Joshimath to Auli to Joshimath to Tapovan to Joshimath to Rishikesh to Delhi...

phew... 8th July to 17th... Nine Days of bLi SS !!!

p.s. any thoughts and suggestions.. more then welcome....

iS iT?

I remember reading somewhere...

"Men Give Love To Get Sex, Women Give Sex To Get Love."

Is it?

hEaVy hEaVy !!!

how does it feel to have a lot inside you... and a deep desire and need to take it out... and not being able to find anyone to speak about it... i dunno whats happening to me these days... i seem to angry with everything around me... my ma my pa my friends who are not there... my days.. my evenings... bless me God for i need these days to pass by me....

if anyone would ask me what happened.. there probably would not be any answer to tat question.. coz i myself do not know... just another one of those days i guess.. where you feel that the world is just not right.... am thinking too much... too much...

on a lighter note... saw two movies.. ok three in two days... Batman Begins on saturday night... Parineeta today... liked both the movies.... worth watching for everyone who has not done that yet...

loved one song of Parineeta.. just loved it... Pihu Bole... beautiful...

EgO SuRf :)

Well.... i remember this activity with the name ego surf...
what you do is that you type your name in the Google Search bar... and then click on search.. and see what comes up...

to my surprise and delight.. the first three results were from my blog when i searched for prashant bhardwaj.... Go ahead... try it out yourself... but do not blame me for the results *colonD* (stole this term from Tushar's Dictionary)

AMD FiNaLLy !!!

:) why this smile...welll this is my first post from my home machine.. yippieeeeeeeeeeeeeee
i bought a new computer... something that i have been thinking of for over an year now... and my favorite brand (don't ask me why) AMD is in my house...

i have a AMD 2400 XP machine with a 80 GB HDD and 512 MB of ram with a 333 mhz FSB... this babe is working like a rocket right now... compare it to the last one that i had... hehehe... 530 mhz celeron processor with a 64mb ram chip... now thats what you call a jump... world record of sorts... is it?


I am happy :)

SuCCeSS sToRiEs !!!

Ma circle is getting better....
which circle... friends' circle... why is it getting betta'... well here is why...

2001 : I knew ppl who were struggling hard to get a job, who were still not sure of how life is going to treat them and they were annoyed, frustrated with the kinda market we had... a pack of strugglers.. ppl who did not want to give up and had the guts and sprit to move ahead and fight the present for a better future... even i was struggling to get a place somewhere in the industry... IT did not like me.. BPO did.. and i joined it..

2003 : had made a lot of new friends in the last two years... and had seen them grow along from agents to L2 techs and team leaders.. and the ones who were with me in my masters... got jobs.. some good.. some ok sorts.. but still carried on... i was also moving ahead.... though not vertically but was maturing as a professional...

2005: another two years of hard work and play together... moved from being an Technical support associate in Wipro spectramind to a Team leader in Hughes to a Process Architect with IBM. my friends... the new and the old... moved up and ahead too...

Waquar, Ashish Saxena, Rupak , Sunil, Ashutosh, everyone is doing well.. they are from my PG batch of 2001
Waquar with HFCL.. and married too :)
Ashish Saxena.. finally where he wanted to be... in the core Telco work with Wipro banglore...
Sunil and Rupak with Agilent technologies...
Ashu with Motorola... he recently bought a flat for himself in Pune... good news !!!

I still remember the days when Me, Waquar, Ashish and Ashu were trying to get some companies to do a campus interviews in 2001.. what a tough time that was..

am missing out on some names here coz i am not sure where they are doing what... i guess sheetal and priyanka are in b'lore as well...
Ashraf is in Europe, Gaurav is in UK too...
and Pradeep Duggal... he joined the Indian Army in the third sem of our PG... and we have not been in regular contact since...

Jassi, Dipayan, Maya, Mansi, Aditya, Ashish, Batra.. all of them from my spectra group...
Jassi now a Group Lead in Spectra,
Dipayan a team lead in Daksh,
Maya and Mansi doing well their respective research firms,
Batra still with Wipro Banglore... he joined it after we worked together for about an year in spectra...
Adi with Microland as an assistant manager...
Ashish with his own business in digital printing.. and happily married to his long time gurlfriend Deepti, infact he still prefers calling her his girlfriend then wife...

some names that i still remember and have no clue about what they are doing..
Amit, Nash or Navneet ( i guess he is with Oracle these days), Gagan ( i used to call her Gabbar :), Dipankar, Bruce aka Vikram, Joshua, and lots of them more...

Coming to Hughes now.. a place where I think i learnt the most out of all the places i have been...
bad boss good boss bad management good management appraisal hikes work culture magicians escalations emulator green belt six sigma love hate growth

there is so much that happened there

mine was the first batch to take voice in Hughes.. and i was the ONE who took the first ever voice call which came to Hughes BPO.. actually technically it should have been Aditya Anand.. but that idiot dropped the first call.. hehehe.. so its me now :) and for some reason.. Jadoo ( our intranet site in Hughes had Manish Jain's name and foto for his historical moment) aaaaaaargh.. anyway... first batch for voice.. lotsa things to do.. all of us from the BPO background.. and also knew the opportunity that was there... me and narang were fortunate enough to realise it with Nishant who was a Team lead then... and started working on the idea... helped us a lot and it was not long before we guys were recognised and were handling teams on our own.. Team Leaders to say !!! hughes is another story to write actually.. some other time may be.. that is not the intent of this post actually...

so from ppl who were taking calls for 8 hours a day and more at times...we moved to being team leaders, assistant managers, and managers and program managers...

Me Aro Sanjit Arun Sudip Sunil Shaji Hati Jai moved from being agents to Team Leads
Narang moved from being an agent to a Team lead to an Asst. Manager to a Program Manager now...
Nishant amit now are managers from a move from Team Leaders to Asst. Team Leaders...
Vikas Naveen asst managers from being agents to Team Leads and to the current post...
Somu from a Team Lead to an Asst Manager to Business Development for HSS or FSS...

i think i have missed out on a few names here too.. but then what the heck.. remembering so many ppl and so many names 14 months after leaving the company is a good deal :) so ppl whoz names are not here.. do not mind... just lemme know you are missing...

and my friends from my locality.. from the net also deserve a mention here...
Pawan aka tiger... IIM Indore.. eh...
Neha the scientist Issar :) in Paris trying to figure out why don't mosquitos have malaria...
Gaurav Japan Srivastava.. the Japani fotographer.. who still remains the same fella for me even though we were not talking for over 4 years... my teacher in fotography too..
And the person who is the reason why I wrote this post.. Bharti... how did that happen.. well i do not know... she is now an Architect from the School of Planning and Architecture.. and was very very tensed before her jury.. and i was kinda concerned too.. but as expected she is thru... done with her jury.. and a happy architect now :) with a lot of time with herself.. we discussed something in detail about dreams which i might post sometime later....

was talking to her yesterday.. and thought of all the ppl i know who are success stories in themselves... ppl who have fought the present and crossed the hurdles that came in their way... and are where they are today...

I am proud of all of my friends whether you see their name here or not....

Good going everyone... Keep walking...

x-pReSSion, FiLmi iShTyLe !!!

my latest hobby... browsing thru Economic times website and look for something interesting to read online.... this interesting is something that might be talking about some companies... their plans to grow and diversify... whats new coming to india... what the latest happening in some industry...

and here is what i stumbled upon... not really applicable for me as of now... but whenever the need comes i just might go back to this link and take a few tips.... till then... if you were wondering on how to..... go ahead.... Express your love, filmi style!!!

WaLKiNg ArOuNd !!!

I have been googling around the last few days... not doing anything worthwhile.. just wasting away time... *i think i need to get more serious about a couple of things in life if i have to move ahead... and if i do not realise this.. i just might be too late !!!!* anyway... we will discuss that later... me and me and me... there is so much other then me happening here....

read thru Auburn's blog to help myself decide on having Water or Coke to take care of my thirst...

And Alka's blog to read about the pains a girl goes through... though i think there is much much more to that in a relationship.. this post of hers only talks about the sad part...

Was happy and suprised to see my name on the Indibloggers list.. i have no clue how my URL reached there... and it was good to find out some ppl actually came to my blog from there too... am I on the world map here ;)

Tushar managed to eat a packet of Taka-Tak and liked it too.. and has given some valuable inputs to help Haldiram's do a better job with this snack....

Though an old post.. and very interesting... Tipsy Topsy's rowing exp in Nainital.... though me and ma friends did not really like that place on our two day trip to bhimtal and around.. and are not going back there at any cost.. but i kinda know a lot of ppl who like going to Nainital.... well their call.. who am i to decide for them....

RaVi hAnDa has some good tips for guys here.... Worth reading !!!! and specially for those who are the target in Alka's blog....

Kayla mixed emotions reminded me of the times when I was about to complete my schooling, my grad and my post grad... what great times were those...

and why was I googling.. well i want to go the valley of flowers this july.. and i have no clue on how to make the itenary... need to figure out a lot of things.. and guess would need to buy some camping gear and a bagpack too... lets see how it works for me....

wish me luck everyone...

oh.. and ... yippieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
the weekend is coming :)

oUt WiTh iT !!!

have been thinking about this for a few days now... communications, conversations, relations, expectations everything mixed up... was wondering why and how people who were friends once tend to move away from each other...

is it that our lives take different turns with time... or our priorities differ... or as Raina says "out of sight.. out of mind"... not really sure...

i am wondering why ppl who once used to be an integral part of my social circle are now nowhere to be seen.. except in some old photographs or some occasional phone calls which are good enough to remind me of the great times we had...

where did the distances creep in from... how come "moving on" became leaving the great present behind...i must say in a lot of cases.. i stopped making any efforts to be in touch... there used be so li'il to talk about.. and at times i feel.. just a casual hello call would have done wonders to keep things alive...and in some of the cases.. where i did some sincere efforts to keep in touch the magic "two way communication" did not happen and eventually those relationships came to a halt...

during all these letting go times.. i managed to earn a lot of new friends... and continued with letting the olders ones go !!! and somewhere down the line i feel that life has become more like a automobile assembly line... where things come to get together... they grow together for a while.. and then comes a time.. when the near perfect piece of machine moves on.... leaving the assembly line there... to think of the good and the bad which got into the machines when they were there...

is this note getting too pessimistic.. well that was not the idea.. the idea was really to find out

why ppl go away... why do we let the best of our friends move away knowing that they are invaluable for us...

why do we part saying that i will be a phone call away.. and not that i will call you sometime...

why do we part saying that i am gonna crib if you do not write an email... and not that i will try and write to you...

why do we part saying "bye bye"... and not "see you"... ( this reminds me of Aarti... who never used to say Bai... she always said C U... good goings Aarts... God bless...)

phew... too heavy a note.. but i am feeling kinda light after getting all this junk outta my head...
time to read the lyrics of a song and try to humm whatever i remember of the music....

Somebody once told me

The world is gonna roll me

I ain't the sharpest tool in the shed

She was looking kind of dumb

With her finger and her thumb

In the shape of an "L" on her forehead

Well the years start coming

And they don't stop coming

Fed to the rules and I hit the ground running

Didn't make sense not to live for fun

Your brain gets smart but your head gets dumb

So much to do so much to see

So what's wrong with taking the back streets?

You'll never know if you don't go

You'll never shine if you don't glow

Hey now you're an All Star

Get your game on, go play

Hey now you're a Rock Star

Get the show on get paid

And all that glitters is gold

Only shooting stars break the mold

It's a cool place and they say it gets colder

You're bundled up now

But wait 'til you get older

But the meteor men beg to differ

Judging by the hole in the satellite picture

The ice we skate is getting pretty thin

The waters getting warm

So you might as well swim

My world's on fire how about yours?

That's the way I like it and I never get bored

Hey now you're an All Star

Get your game on, go play

Hey now you're a Rock Star

Get the show on get paid

And all that glitters is gold

Only shooting stars break the mold

Hey now you're an All Star

Get your game on, go play

Hey now you're a Rock Star

Get the show on get paid

And all that glitters is gold

Only shooting stars...

Somebody once asked

Could you spare some change for gas

I need to get myself away from this place

I said yep

What a concept

I could use a little fuel myself

And we could all use a little change

Well the years start coming

And they don't coming

Fed to the rules and I hit the ground running

Didn't make sense not to live for fun

Your brain gets smart but your head gets dumb

So much to do so much to see

So what's wrong with taking the back streets

You'll never know if you don't go (GO)

You'll never shine if you don't glow

Hey now you're an All Star

Get your game on, go play

Hey now you're a Rock Star

Get the show on get paid

And all that glitters is gold

Only shooting stars break the mold

Thanks Smashmouth....NOW ME IS FEELING BETTER :)

RiDiNg mY fRiEnD's DrEaMz !!!

Riding my friend's dream... literally.... last to last weekend i was in Gurgaon... just to catch up with old friends... yes old... the reference is to their age :)Why am i writing about something that happened a fortnight ago right now... well coz the picture proofs of that meeting came yesterday... hang in there you will know what am i talking about !!!

so i meet aro.. at his apartment... yeah.. thats wat they call in in the firangland.. an apartment... where he treated me to a chilled mug of LASSI :) and i had it in a huge BEER MUG... well why.. just to get the feel of having beer ;) anyway... and after some usual and unusual stupid and not so stupid convos about life, and the extra terrestrial ( that would be him) and shuffling the settings of his deck and the TV, we decided to go to Hughes....

Narang was there in the evening shift.. and it was great to meet him as usual... he listened to the new amp and the tube in my car.. and was happy and satisfied with the output though agreed that it needed some minor tweaking for a better performance...

so the time came.. and i was excited to see what i really was there to see... his new old bike... well new coz he bought it recently.. and old coz its a 1987 model... is he crazy... yes he is.. and the bike is crazier... its a Yamaha RD 350.... hearing it growl when he kick started it was amazing.. and i had no clye what it was capable of until narang asked me to sit at the back seat and hold on to him... i heard that our loved Abhijit Hati freaked out after 5 mintues on that bike and i was advised to be careful..... so i was... and trust me i was holding narang for good... i almost fell when he accelerated the bike... what else do you expect from a raw insane power pack which can go from 0 to 100 kmph in 9 seconds flat....

what followed next was a long short drive... long thanks to the kilometres we covered.. and short thanks to the time it took.... the bike was roared like a lion and get respect automatically on the road... phew what a ride that was....

thinking about the kinda bike enthusiast narang is.. it would not be long that this baby is going to shine and move like a brand new one... enough of words...

time for some fotos now....







and for those who want some tech details.. here is what you might like to read about the bike....
1987 Rajdoot RD350 LT
- 0.5 Bore running Genuine ART pistons.
- Stock Mikuni Carbs with 165 Main Jets.
- Original Jap Points
- Stock Pipes
- Wire Mesh Filter
- Genuine Yamaha Chain Set with 17 teeth Front Sprocket.
- Stock Seat.
- Paint and decals are intact.
- Tops out at 140 ( Speedo ) (* trust me this happens with this bike*)

this would be worth another foto shoot.. in day light and when narang is back in India after his trip from Mexico with the parts and accessories he needs to get this baby burning the road !!!

MiSSiNg HeR !!!

did not expect this day to end at this kinda note...

i really miss neha... after she has left for paris ... i find it so tough to talk to anyone about whats really happening inside ma' mind now....

there is no one who says.. nai nai anymore...
there is no one who tells me.. aise maje nai aate na...
and there is no one who will stand in front of my and make me realise where i went wrong in that day where i think everything went just right...

i kept writing emails at a regular interval for a few weeks after she was gone.. and got some replies too.. and then the frequency reduced.. and its almost nill now....

i guess the last i wrote was about the fotographs that i clicked on the rafting trip.. and then not much... but in the the brief email convo that we had last week.. seems that my feelings.. which were a mix of sadness.. and anger...came out kinda hard and she is feeling bad about me complaining...

she had left saying that i better keep writing to her regularly or else she will crib and get angry... and here it was the opposite... i got angry and i was cribbing...why.... one simply complicated reason.. expectations... i was expecting that once she settles down in paris she would have a better internet connection and would be able to write more often then not... and failed to realise that because her project would be starting she wouldbe working reeeeeeally hard on that which she is...

well whatever be the reason... i am not getting those small happy one liners that would do me good.. that would keep me happy... i am being selfish here.. i know...

i think this blogging thing is not doing much good here... coz she knows whats happening here... and i do not have a clue about what my dearest friend is doing...

missing her bad today :(

ByE ByE WeEkEnD !!!

umm.. the weekend is about to get over... and back to office... how come time moves faster when its a saturday or a sunday... and for some reason.. the clocks.. the watches of the world slow down when its weekdays....

anyway... first half of saturday spent in taking care of the Aircon in the car... and the result... well... chilling it is.... literally...

second half spent in sleeping and watching two too good movies.. Kangaroo Jack and Dil Chahta hai... add one to the number of times i have seen DCH... even i do not remember it anymore....
sunday morning.... ummmmmmmmmm... who wants to get up... no one.. but i had to.... coz we need to take care of the kitchen machine which has conked off.. and the only place where it can be repaired is Narayana.. yes... for ppl who know where i live... its kinda awkward.. but the brand that we have is Sumeet.. and the only service centre is supposed to be there in Narayana.... well... it was supposed to be there as we later found out... they have closed down their operations in Delhi :( haard luck... neva mind... we can get anything repaired here in india... and to our luck... we managed to find one guy who knew exactly the problem we were having with the machine.. and after some initial diagnosis.. and a quick response on the repair estimate he assured a machine as good as new in about 10 days.... why that long.. welll some parts need to be shipped to Nasik and a new one needs to be arranged from there...

back from there around 1900 hrs... went for a haircut... what a feeling.. back to my usual short hair.... too good in summers i tell you...

and yes... talked to aro.. about my financial state in the month of june.. we had planned to go to ranikhet.. but thats not gotta work out thanks to the kinda money i have spent in the month of may :( but i am happy.. all of these were long term investments and in things that i wanted and finally got.. so no regrets...

and july is to welcomed with a trip to the valley of flowers... lets see how it works... out....

ChEeRs 2 mY fRiEnDs !!!

I have reasons to scream loudly today....
no no.. not because i am in pain or something..
but because i am happy...

what happened... yea...nice question...

well here is what happened...

Narang calls up and tells me that there is something that he wants to tell me, before i find that out from anyone else... and i was like what... and he tells me that

• he has been promoted to the position of a PROGRAM MANAGER.. that is a jump of two vertical positions from where he is right now...
• he goes to the US to transit the Flextronics America's IT helpdesk.. so will spend a good 2 months there in Mexico, which has the Flextronics Headquarters and houses over 25000 employees.

he would be going there with Soumya... another very dear friend who is a part of the BD team in Flextronics....

and that brings me to another good news... Naveen Katlaria is the next Assistant Manager in DIRECWAY now... one of the coolest fellas i have met.. and we have been childhood buddies...
i can cry with joy today... and i can dance with happiness as well...

NeW KiD oN 'd' bLoCk...

I have been trying to put up my foto-log for the past few days... after some effort... it has come up.. and looks nice too...
now wat i would be waiting for some critical appreciation...
lets see when where who...
someone would just look at a foto and like the place/object/person captured....
someone would like to think that (s)he could have taken a better foto...
someone would like to tell me how i could have taken the same foto in a better way...

i see a lot of things coming my way....

would i be able to click with all of them... lets find out !!!

RiShiKeSh AgAiN WiTh FoToS !!!

Playing beach volley ball just while the rafting was being prepared for a great trip down the ganges....



From left to right... Caroline, Adams, Waquar, ME and Toosh.... All set in our rafting gear with the life jackets, our helmets, and the paddles... the life jackets and the helmets we brand new... what a feel that was.....



After we crossed some rapids there was a lot of distance which was flat and without any rapids... there all of our got out of the raft and were floating in the river.... in this foto.. very near to the raft....



And in this Waquar and me are trying to get Toosh back to the raft.... trust me it was not easy to swim with just one hand being into play....




Just before we were about to reach ram jhoola.... strong sun... tired though excited bodies...



And me... with the helmet off... in front of the raft.... what a trip this turned out to be.... three trips and the first one where i could managed to get the pics....

and by the way these are the pics from my new camera used more or less in an auto mode.. with a fuji proplus 100 roll !!!!

nice eh !!!!

CoNdiTiOnEd 2 LoVe !!!

I had an interesting discussion with a friend yesterday...

she would be getting married pretty soon.. and said that she was "conditioning herself to love the person she is going to get married to".Somehow i felt that is not how things are going to work for me... i do not think i need to make myself love the person i am getting married to... it would happen.. with time ofcourse... there is not need to work hard towards it at all...

what i feel would be the key to any successful relationship would be respect for the other person as a person... if i can respect the other person... i think i will hear what (s)he has to say... also try and understand it... and from there move towards things like compromise, trust, not to forget love, affection and all those...instead of telling a person that i love her i rather tell her that i respect her for what she is.. and what she is not... and let things and feelings take their time to develop....

i have not been able to write all what i had in mind... i guess i am short of words here....

rightmore might write more !!!!

AnOtHeR 1

I am waiting for the girl of my dreams... till then... i live in reality !!!!

Prashant Bhardwaj

17-05-05

2200 hrs

WaH wAh

Of all the grey that I have, seems that I have more on my head than in my head.

Prashant Bhardwaj

17-05-05

1330 hrs.

RiShiKeSh & BaCk

back to delhi.... back to summers.. back to heat... this weekend seemed longer then it really was....

i jumped from a 22 feet high wall into the ganges....
i travelled in the lovely UP roadways and Uttranchal roadways buses for over 12 hours...
i slept most of the time during time mentioned above in just about 20% of the space that i usually need to sleep...
i waited at har ki pauri for the aarti to begin for over 2 hours...
i saw the friday sun setting in delhi...
saturday morning sun-rise in Rishikesh...
saturday morning sun-set in Haridwar...
and i slept the entire day on sunday....
not to forget that I got back my oldie goldie Maruti 800 after the grand work done on it....

too much to do for a weekend... here is how it all started....had planned for a rafting trip.... yes.. i went for one about a month ago... so what... second trip to the ganges was planned for the weekend of Friday the 13th.... left home around 2200 hrs with Waquar and Tushar and in about an hours time.. reached the ISBT only to realise that the next.. and last 2*2 push back deluxe bus to rishikesh was to leave the ISBT at 0000 hrs.... almost every bus was going to rishikesh.. and we three did not bother.... and to our unpleasent surprise that last bus did not turn up :( and we were left with no option but to take a up roadways to rishikesh... fare just about 116 bucks to rishikesh.. comfort... none... we still planned our way towards the last seats of the bus and tried to lay down so that we could just pretend to be asleep when someone comes and we can continue that way till the end of our journey... but fate had something else in mind... that damn bus was full.. and I had to move from almost lying down to sitting on two seats... and continue that way till rishikesh.... trust me it was not the most comfortable way to travel...

we reached haridwar.. in the morning.. around 0530 hours... and it was a wonderful temprature there... saw the ganges when i woke up..and a cool breeze welcomed me as well... and this time i did not get back to sleep... was awake till rishikesh with my camera in front of my face so that i could take some good pics.. lets see what have i managed to capture when the fotos come....
in rishikesh around 0600 hrs.. with no shops open... asked a few rafting agents about the status.. and managed to get some place in a raft... from shiv puri to rishikesh..though i reeeeeally wanted to do that 27 km stretch.. but no space... so 450 bucks.. and shivpuri to rishikesh is what we had to settle for....

went to the river banks after we finalised everything... and stayed there for a good one hour... what a feeling that was.. really cool strong winds.... and the sound of water flowing in its full glory.... why is delhi not on the banks of ganga i was wondering..... and then realised that it would have the same fate as the yamuna... so i dropped the idea of doing something to get it closer to Delhi...

started for shivpuri at 0930 hours... and to give us company were two foreigners and one fella who was an indian but his accent highlighted his amount of conversation with the two UK based friends he had... Adams and Caroline.. and this guy was Charandeep....

this journey from rishikesh to shivpuri was interesting too.. as i was sitting at the back of a Tata 207 ( a small pickup truck) and it was fun standing there and enjoying the breeze hit my face while our driver was negotiating sharp turns on the hills and i working hard to hold on to the bars to save myself from falling :)

anyway... we reached the place from where we had to start... used a specially designed pump to inflate the lovely blue coloured raft !!! brand new bright red life jackets.. and smart looking yellow and blue paddles....

we were in the river at 1145 hours finally... first time for waquar and tushar.. and both of them were visibly excited... third time for me.. and i was looking forward to a great experience again... the water level was high.. and the current sharper.. but to my surprise the rapids were easier this time.. coz the raft was just gliding over them.. comparing the exp to the previous ones.. it was not as exciting... but the over experience was not any less then the ones i had before...
i managed to overcome my fear of height and water (combined) and managed to jump from a wall 22 feet high into water this time... i could feel my heart beating just before i jumped... but once i jumped.. i could do that again.... i probably would next season....

finished rafting by 1430 hours.... and were off to haridwar after having a light lunch at madhuban restaurant.... we were feeling very very sleepy... and had a good power nap... all three of us on our way to haridwar.. it was terribly hot.... and once in haridway we were only looking for a shade near the Har ki Pauri to rest... we managed to find a good place below one of the bridges.. and sat there for a good one hour.. before deciding to check out the local market and have lassi... (which was my idea) somehow i know all the good and inexpensive places to eat.. not only in delhi but outside too :)... anyway.. an hour later... me and tushar were back in water.. for a holi dip at the "har Ki pauri". the flow of water was too high.. and i could barely manage to stand even though i was holding the safty chain tightly... anyway.. managed to kill some good time there and washed away a lot of my sins... before changing to fresh clothes... looking for a good place to sit and then enjoying the Evening Aarti !!!! What a lovely exp. that was....

starting back to delhi soon after that... and was back home at 0300 hrs early sunday morning.... so much for the second rafting and a religious trip to haridwar and rishikesh !!!!
__________________________________

sunday evening spent in taking care of my old 800.... it was with the mechanic for about two weeks now.. where it was being restored... new paint... new interiors... an overhauled engine.... suspension and steering overhauled... its moving as good as new now... i decided to put in new tyres as well.... total cost of 5 tyres after the wheel balancing and alignment came to 5600 bucks... and the total expenditure onthe car about 30K INR... i think its worth it... and definitely better then going for a new car...

will post some pictures of the new car too... soon....

so much for now.... will write more... waiting for the fotos to be developed soon.. lets see how soon i can get them printed and scanned !!!!

EoS 3000v Date !!!!

Another day gone... and it ended giving me something that i was waiting for a very long time... my new EOS 3000v Date camera !!! got this baby bundled with the EF 28-90 lenses for a nice price of 11500 bucks...

for the last few days i was eating Gaurav's head with all the seemingly stupid questions... though he being a professional fotographer for over 2 years now... was patient enough to listen to me and answer as many questions as he could.... we decided to go to Chandni Chawk to find out what the market was really like on saturday.. and see if i can find something that suits my level and pocket equally nicely....

there was no intention of a purchase... the idea was to do some research only... so there we were in one of the biggest photographers paradise at around 1030 hrs... not many shops had opened by then.. and we could talk to a few shops.. and one of the guys showed me 4 camers... the EOS 66, EOS Rebel K2, the EOS 3000V and the nikon f75. the first two under 10K, EOS 3Kv for 11500 and the F75 for about 14K.... nikon looked better in terms of the body quality... features not much different... canon better in terms of money.. and the one that i bought.. too cewl in terms of the feel good factor... and when i am to move up to digital SLRs in sometime.. it made sense to save money....


so we decide we want to buy that camera... did some price verification at a few more shops... did not realise that we had spent over 1 hour in that shop looking and talked about the various options that we had... anyway... we were hungry and did not want to loose the opportunity of treating our tummies especially when we were in chandni chaowk.... our first stop... "Gali Paranthe Wali".... ummmm.... paneer parantha... mix parantha, dal besan parantha..... and curd made from cow milk...pet bhar gaya.... and now that we wanted to burn some calories after being filled with guilt and the fat.. we decided to walk to Fatehpuri.... and then have the famour rabri faluda at Giani's.... umm... lovely stuff there... and we were too full and it was too hot to walk back to lal-quila.. so we took at rickshaw..who effortlessly drove in the middle of the road where rickshaws, cars, two-wheelers, autos, jeeps, and pedestrians beautifully coexistt...... we got down in front of the ICICI bank but the damn ATM was broken.. so i decided to give SBI some money.. 55 to be precise and take some money outta their ATM.... took out the money... bought a relay for the inverter which papa wanted.... and 10 CLF tubes... for 17 bucks each.. they usually cost anything between 25-40 bucks in noida... so money well saved....

our next stop.. the camera shop.. where i made the payment for the baby you see the foto of in this post.... fuji proplus pack of 5 for 220 bucks.. and a nova b/w roll for 37 bucks... and a UV filter for 25 bucks... did not like any of the bags... and so we fitted the camera in the bag that i was carrying and moved on to monestry.. where gaurav wanted to buy a jeans from...bought the jeans... walked around place.... and then back to the buss adda.... or ISBT as ppl know it... took at DTC back to ghar..

reached home happy :) lets see how much i improve with time... there is a lot of things to learn..... life's beautiful.... does that look equally cewl from the other side of the camera... TIME WILL TELL.....

LaDKi WaLe AaGaYe !!!

Some family came to see me....
after all my parents want me to get married... the father and the brother of my may be to be came to meet ma parents and me..

I am asked a simmple question..

beta would you like to get married?
no, i like myself to be treated as someone who is willing to get married.. and then when everything finalises i elope with the person i choose for myself... for some reason that does not workout.. and i have to come back home to be displayed in front of another family...

do you know how to cook...
yup.... though that is not really appreciated by the ppl who eat what i cook...

do you know how to sing...
yes... i was one of the finalists in the African Idol....

what are your hobbies...
listening to music...cooking... and other ghar ke kaam...

and they say to my folks... hamein ye ladka pasand hai....

isn't this wat most of the girls who get treated as objects when someone or the other comes to see them, would like to happen to a guy... why not for a change the guy is displayed at his place.. and someone asks him if he knows how to cook.. and if he can wash clothes.. and if he knows how to use the sewing machine... i am sure lotsa gurls out there would like to see this happening... unfortunately this is something not really happening !!!!

coming back to what is going on at my place....

beta is ladki ne MCA kiya hai.. and she is working in some MNC.....
beta us ladki ke papa kisi school mein princi hai... ladki ke baare mein abhi kuch pata nai hai....

this is getting really scary now... do i have to decide if i want to spend the rest of my life on this planet in one day... that one day when i would meet the gurl my folks probably would think is the best for me... actually they will not take any call before i decide what i really want to go ahead for.. but still the first level of filtering is being done by them...

i am thinking about the kinda gurl i would like to spend my life with.. reealy thinking now.. and also thinking about what kinda gurl can manage to spend her life with me.... oh boy !!! some brain needs to go into this...

i am shit scared... what is going to happen in the next few months and how i am going to live through it... upar wala jaanta hai !!!!

TiMe, CaRs DifFeReNt ; pLaCe, cLoThEs SaMe !!!

This is a mix of two fotos.. the one with the zen was clicked about an year and half ago.. when me, aro and Narang had gone to attend Jai's wedding in D'doon...

incidently i was wearing the same clothes... and aro had the same t-shirt... we were standing on the exact same location.. in the middle of the Rajaji National Park...

some nostalgic moments these were !!!! missed you narang here :(

rAdHe rAdHe !!!

Radha in her full glory at Mama's place !!!! Ain't she an absolute beauty :)

Nazar na laga dena ;)

NeWs @ 12 !!!

my net connection was down.. this post was supposed to be published on April 30, at 0000 hrs... par ka karen.. netwa nai na chal raha hai abhi.. baad mein postwa karenge... starting in english.. and then turned to hinglish... looks like ending up like a PJ... ehehhee... but i enjoyed writing it... lets see how many ppl enjoy reading it too :)

What a day this turned out to be... from not having my boss in the office.. to one very very important meeting not happening...to me attending the entire class of PM... to sending atleast 25 sms' to Bharti and Anshu... to meeting Ajay and Alok... to dropping Waquar and Saba on the train *they were going on their honeymoon*

Ab samachaar vistaar se....

aaj subah hamare sootron se pata chala ke prashant ki boss office nai aa rahi hai... cycle-o-logically aisa hota hai ke boss office mein na ho to employee ko achcha achcha lagta hai.. prashant, jo ki noida ke niwasi hain unhe bhi aisa hi laga.... generally general feeling hoti hai !!!!
phir kuch vishwasniya sootron ne bataya ke ek zarorri cabinet meeting jisme ek aham faisla liya jaana thaa wo nahi ho rahi hai... is baat ko lekar kaafi vidhayako mein asantosh ki sthiti paida ho gayi hai.. shayad ab ye meeting somvaar ko ho :)

ab agli khabar... gaurtalab hai ke... office se late hone ke bawajood.. prashant ghar gaye.. khana khaya aur phir apni class mein pahuch gaye... wo bhi time se.. aisa kabhi nai hua hai... par aaj hua... ye prashant ne kaise kiya... iski exclusive story dekhiye aaj raat 11:30 par theek sasur bhi kabhi damaad the ke 6th repeat telecast ke baad :)

aayie ab aapko le chalte hain sms ki duniya mein.. ek aisa aavishkaar... jiska istemaal karke aap kabhi bhi kahin bhi kisi ko bhi 3-4 line ka sandesh bhej sakte hain... aaj noida ke prashant babu ne "limca book of world records in india only" mein aane ki koshish karte hue karib 25 sms bhej diye... apni do doston ko... anshu aur bharti...anshu unke school ke zamane ki bahut pyaari si dost hain.. aur bharti building banane ka kaam kaise karte hain wo seekh rahi hain.... wo bhi lagta hai kuch dino mein achchi dost ban jayengi... prashant babu ka ek exclusive interview aap pad sakte hain hamare akhbaar... "rozana wahi kabaaad".. oops khabar ke agle hafte ke weekly edition mein...

*Breaking news* abhi abhi pata chala hai... ke prashant ne sms karte karte apne seedhe haath ke angoothe mein chot kha li hai... lagta hai wo ab kaafi dino tak sms nahi kar payenge.. par india cricket team ke physio unke saath hain... unka ilaaj karne ke liye... waise bhi unko koi aur achcha kaam to hai nai...

Karib 3 saal ya shayad 2 saal baad aaj ajay chopra aur alok gupta ki mulakaat prashant bhardwaj se ST Microelectronics ke noida office ke bahar hui... ye teeno dost ek doosre se milkar kaafi khush dikh rahe the... wahan se teeno radha ke saath Cafe Mocha mein gaye jahan par ajay bhai menu card se khud ki hawa karte rahe kyonki unko garmi lag rahi thi.. aur alok, aur prashant ke saath Mocha Shake ka anand bhi uthate rahe.. wahan se un logon ne lavanya naam ke ek dhabe ki taraf prasthaan kiya.. jahan par unhone masta khane ke saath live ghazals ka bhi maza liya....

ab din ki aakhri khabar.... Waquar aur unki patni Saba aaj raat ko Raanikhet express se Pithoragarh ki taraf rawana ho gaye... Prashant babu khud radha ke saath unhe purani dilli railway station chorne gaye the... waquar ki shaadi 27march ko unke hi gaon mein jo banaras ke paas hai bade dhoom dhaam se hui.. aur aaj se unke pehle honeymoon ki shuruwaat bhi ho gayi... aayiye hum sun dua karen ke unki is shaadi se hamare naujawano ko pyaar, ikraar, izhaar, intezaar, wagerah wagerah karne ki seekh mile.. hamari shubhkamnayen waquar bhai ke saath hain...

aur ab mausam ka haal...dilli mein dopahar ko garmi hogi.. aur shaam ko mausam achcha rahega....jahan burf giregi wahan thodi si thund hogi.. aur barish jahan hogi wahan par boondein girne ki sambhavna hai...

hamare news channel... roz wahi kabaad.. oops again... roz wahi khabar par khabron ka silsila zaari rahega... dekhte rahiye....

LiFe iN d'ReAr ViEw MiRrOr !!!

One of the fotos I like to like... the contrast between what is there in the front of the car and what i see in the rear view mirror....

Solid plain rocks vs. Mountains full of trees....

for some reason I have always been facinated by what i see in the rear view mirror of my car.. and i use that not only to see who is approaching me but also to find more about them... how ppl look in extreme heat.. and what are they doing when its a cool morning breeze splashing their faces... or when they are stuck in a traffic jam... there are so many shades of life that this rear view mirror shows me everyday... everytime i look into it... sometimes empty roads.. sometimes ppl rushing like mad.... sometimes strong sun... and sometimes (like today) RAIN *it was very beautiful today while coming back from office by the way*

Do i see some part of my life in this foto... i think i do...

rAdHe rAdHe !!!

Me and my Babe... somewhere between Chamba and Dhanaulti :)

tHoSe wErE d'DaYs !!!!

Was talking to a friend of mine... about the movie theatres in Delhi and NCR and reminded myself of the first ever movie I saw at Priya's... Call it an embarassing moment or a innocent mistake of a young boy :) whatever... this is how it happened...

Once upon a time.. ok 1996 to be precise, a young boy named Prashant went to see a movie at a movie theatre called Priya in Delhi... when he reached there he promptly went to the ticket counter and bought two tickets for the balcony, one for himself.. and the other one for his friend who tagged along with him for the movie... the movie he wanted to see was "Desperado" Antonia Banderas and the ummmmmmm Salma Hyke.... So he enters the hall with his friend and takes the great centre seats from where the movie exp of that action movie would be great !!!The movie did not start on time.. however there were a few movie trailers of various movies and then this loooooooooong trailer of a movie called "Miracle on the 24th Street".... this trailer looked like a movie itself, and when it did not finish for about 45 odd minutes, and Prashant really got restless looking at the santa and the young kids on the screen when he was expecting Antonio Banderas to kill the bad men with his gun.. he finally decided to talk to the person sitting on the next seat.... he asked the guy... "Sir ji, what movie is this?", the man sadly replied, "I have no idea, I came here to watch Desperado!!!" and Prashant was back on his seat.. looking at that sweet movie about christmas.... finally the movie got over in about 90 odd minutes.. and when he came out of the hall.. he found out that Priya was playing both the movies though at different times.. and by mishtake he had bought the tickets of the show when they were showing the Miracle movie....

those were the days... when we used to move around on scooters without licenses.. and always had only enough mooolah in our pockets to bribe the policewalas if they catch us...
those were the days when college gurls were really attractive, specially coz they could wear whatever they want.. even when they went to their classes...
those were the days when we got punished for not standing in a straight line during the morning prayers in our school...
those were the days when we used to plant small bombs in the school toilets around diwali....
those were the days when we used to talk to our juniors as if we owned the school...
those were the days when we used to steal sodium out of the chemistry lab and put in the water sink to see it explode...
those were the days when we used to sneak into the commerce section as soon as our classes were over...
those were the days when we used to stand outside the class in the entier period coz we were late for the class...
those were the days when we used to reach home in the afternoon and sleeep till evenings....
those were the days when we used to stand on our bus stands in the mornings and check out gurls from other schools...

those were the days that still make me feel nostalgic and want me to go back to them.... missing you life !!!!

9998.....

9998 : This is what i see on my car's dashboard tonight... just 2 kms short of a 10K mark in about 6 months.... there is a lot that has happened in these last few months...

1) I feel i have matured personally and professionally; Saying this because I feel more calm and composed these days to myself...

2) I feel bad (at times) not to have friends who are around me all that time... after I left hughes.. i could never feel comfortable around any new ppl except very few. Neha is one of them... though she is off to paris for a looooooooong time; Pawan is another.... though we talk quite often.. the sad part being we have not met yet... I have not managed to get along well with a lot of ppl in the Office on the personal front... i do not like being in the corporate at times... and i feel the primary reason is that the kinda of sporty competition that I have lived in Hughes is nowhere to be seen here.... everyone is only about making sure that the other does not get any credit for what they do... every wants to score points as and when possible... and in any way possible...

3) i still love my car from the core of my heart... looking at her, her fotos... makes me soooooooooo happy.... i have the wallpaper of the car on my desktop.. and trust me she is just awesome....

4) I am seriously getting inclined towards photography... its good that i did not rush into buying a camera and have decided to do my homework before I get into a huge investment.. which can be anything between 40-60K

5) Ma and Pa are getting serious about getting me married... and having a daughter for themselves.. i think they cannot take me anymore... hehehehehe.. they have given up and seriously want someone else to come up and take care of me and handle me:) i at times think how things would change after we have two kids in this house... one me and the other meri BIWI

life is interesting and boring at the same time !!!! funny yet quite.... hectic yet calm... lively yet lazy !!!!

might be continued.....

Dilli-Rishikesh-Chamba-Dhanaulti-Mossourie-Dehradoon-Dilli

Steering wheel in the hand for two days.... and now the keyboard of this laptop... trust me it reeeeealy does not feel good... I am already missing that cool air... something that could make you shiver in the hottest of sun as well... something that tells you what being pure is really about... umhum..... what awesome two days these were....

16-April; NOIDA; 0545 hrs....
8818 kms on the dash !!! Me, Aro and Martina leave NOIDA... we had not planned anything for the next two days..and were in a mood to take it the way it was coming.... though we were a good 2 hours late then the planned time to leave.. the early morning sun was still not there to greet us.... moving from noida towards haridwar at an easy 80 kmph i was realy enjoying the morning breeze... while listening to the Mahamrityunjaya Matra...Drove for about three and half hours before all three of us decided to stop and have tea... so there we were 8978 kms on my dash, 0930 hrs in my watch.. and about 60 kms before Haridwar we took a break..... Sat on the "charpais" in the Mansarovar Restaurant , surrounded by thick trees and a sweet smell of wet soil (the owner had just sprayed the entire area with water)... it was good feel... this is when i am usually in the office.. working on something or other.. and today i was walking around with a Nikon n65 thinking where should i take a few pictures from... what a striking difference between friday and saturday :)I think we were there for about 45 minutes... and then moved to Haridwar... instead of going to Har Ki Pauri, we decided to take a different road and try reach the banks of the actual river in the car itself.. and managed to do that too :) the flow of the river is actually diverted towards the bathing ghats and that is why the river itself did not have a lot of water flowing.. which made it really easy for us to just pull up our pants and walk inside the water for sometime :) :).... and then take a bath as well... ummm... the water was reeeeealy cold and once out of the ganges.. i was as fresh as ever.. not at all tired... ready to drive !!! took some fotos around the place.. and finally moved out of haridwar around 1130 hrs...

Driving from Haridwar to Rishikesh is a good exp. The road is good.. and is between the rajaji national park.. so you can ( if you are lucky) can see some deers at times.... monkeys lotsa them :)... sometimes inside the cars.. and sometimes outside .... reached rishikesh in about 45 min... the plan was to stay in rishikesh overnight.. and do some rafting in the morning on sunday !!! Aro checked out a couple of hotels.. but i decided to move ahead.. and see if can get some better options... and this is where things changed.. I saw this booking office for rafting and all and decided to check out if we could go for rafting righaway... and the good news was that we could... from Shivpuri to Rishikesh... checked two places.. one wanted us to pay 450 bucks per head.. and we would be picked up from that office around 1500 hrs and start rafting by 1600 hrs... we were fine with this arrangement.. when I decided to walk into one more office and see what he had to offer... and here was the offer : 400 bucks per head..Shiv Puri to Rishikesh... and we had to move rightaway :) Aro reeeally was not keen on this.. but me and Martina forced him to go.. and we paid the guy 1200 bucks and sat in the Amby which was to take us to Shivpuri... Martina was kinda suprised when we told her that for about 20 odd years Amby was the car which was driven on Indian roads...

anyway... we had to take a sumo from some distance ahead.. and then reached shivpuri... Aro was shit scared and me and martina were enjoying the looks on his face while was busy looking at the Ganga and the rapids that he would actually get in... hehehehehee.. it was a good drive....
finally we were at the banks of Ganga in Shivpuri... Three rafts... 24 ppl... 4 different groups... i was kinda uncomfortable with this.. coz on a raft its always good to have ppl who you know a li'il or more.... coz rafting is one "team" exercise that I have seen.... however the raft we took was a good heterogeneous mix of ppl... Me, Aro and Martina... Two more german girls... two guys from somewhere in India...makes it a total of 7 ppl and our instructor.... I took that front left space... martina behind me on the left.. and because Aro was really scared... he took the last place on the left just next to the instructor !!!! Aaaaaaand there we go... finally in the river.. did some small warmup exercises... Front Paddle.. back paddle...left front right back... left back right front... and STOP !!!!

Went through rapids like Return to Centre, Roller Coster, Club House, and finally "No more Rapids"... back in rishikesh at 1745 hrs... wat a water trip this was... awesome... changed our clothes and had food in Madhusudan Restaurant.. this was something on the lines of ISKON... they had a temple and a small restaurant and a guest house as well... good food.. and very very cheap... 219 was the bill for the three of us... and me and aro as usual were really hungry and ate as if this was the last time we were getting food :)
Time to decide what we want to do next... we asked a couple of ppl as to where could we go from there.. and out of the many options that we got we chose "Chamba" as our next spot... 60 kms and about 2.5 hours away.. considering that I had never driven on the hills, we decided to move to Chamba... started at 1915 hrs... distance on the dash at this hour was 1915 kms... It was dark, it was hilly and it was my first drive on the hills... so a lot of excitement... and exactly 2 hours and 60 kms later we were in Chamba.. the small hilly town was already asleep and we had to find the Garhwal Nigam Bunglow to sleep... on our way to that place.. we saw this small but ok sorts of a hotel.. and decided to stop there... we were not hungry... coz we had great food back in rishikesh about 2 hours back... so we decided to call it a day !!! Aro as soon as got inside the bed got up again... saying that he was feeling as if he was still in the raft :) and was moving like that.. hehehehehe... but we convinced him that he was very much on a bed which was on firm ground and could sleep as well.. so he went off to sleep, snoring away to glory while Me and Martina decided to take a walk around the place for a while before we get into our beds....had tea at 2230 hours.. and then finally got inside the rooms and slept.. We took a single room and got an extra bed for her inside that room.. and her bed was right next to the window from where could see the valley, and the small lights here and there !!! good view..

17 April:
Some disturbance in the room wakes me up at 0600 hrs.. and look out of the window to see the sun just about to come up from the hill in the east.. so even though i wanted to sleep more.. i got out of the bed so that I do not miss this view !!!It was chilly outside... there was no sun so far at the point where I was standing... and the air was very cold.. and i did not have any jacket or anything... enjoyed that feeling for about 15 minutes before the sun was there in front of us... we decided to have a quick breakfast and move from Chamba.. the route that we had to take was go to Dhanaulti and then to Massourie on our way to Dehradoon... We had to decide that we want to go back to Haridwar from D'doon or straight to Delhi once we reach there... so we moved outta Chamba at 0830 hrs ( 9118 kms).... Only a part of the road between Chamba and Dhanaulti is good, most of it actually is in a bad shape... we stopped at quite a few places to enjoy the surroundings...there were no sounds except the air... cannot decribe that feeling in words... no way possible...the hills were full of Buransh... a deep red flower, the juice of which is supposed to have a high medicinal value... at a lot of places on our way... the red petals of the flower were there.. which had fallen off the trees at higher mountains.... Drove past Dhanaulti, as we did not feel that it was any more beautiful then wat we had seen in the past few kilometres.... though i was driving very slow enjoying the cool breeze and the scenic looks of the place.....

Reached Massourie at 1200 hrs ( 9176 kms) and I did not like that place.. too crowded... not the kinda hill station i would like to be in... reminded me of Nainital which I really hated when I saw it for the first time.... we thought we would go to Kemty falls but it was a good 15 kms away.. and we would have to be back on the same road... I was in no mood to drive to that place after having a look at this town.... it for sure would be full of tourists and families... who would never take a chance and go to a town which most do not frequent !!! anyway... we parked the car there only.. and walked to the market... had some food there... and some mango shake... on our way back.. bought some grapes and bananas.. so that we could eat them on our way back !!! and finally managed to leave Massourie at 1325 hrs...

The road to D'doon is very well laid.... and it was real fun driving on this road !!! though I was careful about not picking up speed which I cannot control... though it was the first exp of hill driving.. i was enjoying it like anything... tooooooooo GOOOD !!!

Once we reached D'doon, we were not in a mood to go to Haridwar again.. so we took the way to Roorkee from there which goes through the Rajaji National Park and managed to get on that highway at 1430 hrs ( 9210 kms)... As soon the hills end there is a road for about 50 odd kms which is a straiiiiiiiiiight road... managed to touch 120 kmph on this road without any problems and was driving b/w 100-120 for about 15-20 minutes... too bad the traffic started building up soon.. and had to get back to a comfortable 80-90 zone !!! Reached Roorkee.. took a turn towards Meerut, stopped at Khatauli for a quick bite and was in Delhi by 2115 hrs (9475kms)... Thinking about another day in office.. and how bad i wanted to be back in Chamba :(
Anyway....here i am today.... writing about whatever happened in the last two days...rafting from Shivpuri to Rishikesha total of 40 litres of Petrol used and 650 kms covered. No refuel needed on the entire trip thanks to the huge 48 litre petrol tank of the car.about 120 kms of driving in the hills which was fhinomenol !!!the way my car worked on this trip is something that strengthens my trust in Fiat... it was absolutely effortless.. and I was not at all tired when I reached home in the night !!!

Here is something that I thought of right now:
40 litres of Petrol : 1500 rupees
17 kms of Rafting : 400 rupees
Food for three in Rishikesh : 219 rupees
The feeling of not being tired at all at the end of a two day 650 km drive : Priceless :)

Oh yes.. did i forget writing that we managed to take over 70 fotos in these two days? Thanks to my dear friend Rupak who was kind enough to give me his NIKON N65 :)

CaN't wAiT 2 LeAvE hOmE

I have not been able to sleep tonight.... too excited to think about getting to drive for a long distance... and mosquitos as well.. hehehe... so i get up at 0130 hrs after going off to sleep at 2300 hrs yesterday to fight some of these small but irritating creatures... someone temme what role do they play in the entire food cycle !!! i am missing neha right now... for a couple of reasons... One there are chances that if she was here in india.. she would have joined me on this trip.. which would have been jussssssssst wonderful... and two she can tell me about the mosquitoes...
ok coming back to the trip thingie.... Aro is still in the office and there is no cab that can drop him around NOIDA till like 0630 hrs... banking on our manager Amit to drop him to NOIDA !!!! now when would he leave office... lets see... I really wanted to start early so that we could beat the early morning traffic and reach Rishikesh as early as possible... around 1000 hrs is when I think we would be able to reach if we leave around 0500 hrs.... Lets see when do i leave and when i reach there... the idea is to drive up in the mountains for another 100 kms before we stop.. spend the night there and then come back to rishikesh on sunday morning to do some rafting and stuff...
but then u never know... once me and aro meet.. we might just change the plan of where we are going :) might go to chandigarh as well... or is Jim Corbett a good idea?... lets see...

bai bai for now... the next i think i would write on would be monday..... till then this is your host and buddy Prashant signing off !!!! Have a wonderful weekend :)

Arz Kiya hai !!!!

I never thought ke main sher bhi likh sakta hoon !!!! But then what the heck... Writer to sabke ander hota hai :)
to sahibaan meherbaan kadardaan paandaan peekdaan meri jaan kabristaaan... arz kiya hai :

Kuch is tarah chalte rahe andheri raat mein hum,
ke manzil ka pata nahi aur chalna chor nahi sakte...

JuSt LiKe DaT !!!

Doooooooo Try This At Home !!! :)

A ten year-old Jewish boy was failing math. His parents tried everything
from tutors to hypnosis; but to no avail. Finally, at the insistence of a
family friend, they decided to enrol their son in a private Catholic school.
After the first day, the boy's parents were surprised when he walked in
after school with a stern, focused and very determined expression on his
face. He went straight past them, right to his room and quietly closed the
door.For nearly two hours he toiled away in his room with math books strewn
about his desk and the surrounding floor. He emerged long enough to eat, and
after quickly cleaning his plate, went straight back to his room, closed the
door and worked feverishly at his studies until bedtime. This pattern of
behaviour continued until it was time for the first quarter's report card.
The boy walked in with it unopened, laid it on the dinner table, and went
straight to his room. Cautiously, his mother opened it and, to her
amazement, she saw a large red 'A' under the subject of Math. Overjoyed, she
and her husband rushed into their son's room, thrilled at his remarkable
progress.
"Was it the nuns that did it?" the father asked.
The boy shook his head and said, "No."
"Was it the one-to-one tutoring? The peer-mentoring?"
"No."
"The textbooks? The teachers? The curriculum?"
"No", said the son.
"On that first day, when I walked in the front door and saw that guy nailed
to the Plus Sign, I KNEW they meant business!"

iNdO - GeRmAn TaLkS

Have been thinking of writing for a few days now.. but just could not get started... the feeling has to come from within to come out with words.. here is what is happening to me in the last few days...
friday april 08..... martina had to come from goa and i was supposed to pick her up from the station...
*flashback*
neha wrote an email saying that some friend of hers was starting on a world tour and india was her first destination.... i was to take care of her when she reaches delhi... and plan her trip around here... martina called from goa on the 6th and told me that she was taking a train that leaves goa at 0500 hrs and reaches delhi at 1700 hrs the next day.. this is where the conversation ended... and i could not find out which train she was taking... finally she called me on the 7th and told me the train number... now i knew which train she was coming in... i still did not know how i will recognise her and how she would know me...

*back to the present in history*
she called me after getting out of the station.. and we met..... i was prepared to use all the accent i learnt in my call centre exp.. roll all the "r"s and let her know thati could speak english well as well :) anyway it was a comfortable introduction.. and we could talk easily... we still had to figure out where she is going to stay... so we moved out of the station... ate raj kachauri at Comesum... and i had a tough time explaining to her what all was there in the dish :) forgot what half of the ingredients are refered to as in angrezi... anyway... from there to Humayun's tomb.. and found out that she was not really interested in forts or castles.. but was very keen in having a look the city.. get to know india from inside.. and not from a tourist point of view....

over the next two days... we talked about india, its culture.. differences in india and germany... how thoughts differ in the two countries... we talked about the gita, Brahma, Shiva, Vishnu, Pushkar, Ganga, Mahabharata, Pandavas and a lot of other things...we went around the city.. went to dilli haat, india gate, upsc chaat wala, sunday book market at darya ganj, a friend's reception, metro rail, CP, eatopia, noida etc etc.... and the best part.. she spent two nights at a friend's place in def col... he and his wife really took care of her, and she was very happy to be there...

sunday evening.. she went to jaipur and would be back to delhi on friday night... so that we can go to rishikesh for river rafting on saturday morning !!! There were a lot of small small things that I have missed out on.. but i guess i would be able to speak about them instead of putting them in printed words...

This burthday was different too... this time i was wondering about the amazing difference in what she was going at an age of 20 and where I was at 26 years...brought me a thoughts of wondering about what all i have done in the past all years of my existance.. and what i really want to do... where do i really want to go... what is it that i am aiming for in my life... there are a lot of questions that are hitting me from everywhere.. and i am trying to figure out how to move ahead on my way to these answers...

HePpY BuDdAy 2 Me !!!

10-04-05 0907 hrs :

So the budday night starts with a call... i pick it up..and its from a "private number"... well.. who can it be... and its my dearest friend... Neha.... she was calling from her Lab in Paris.... we talked for a while... and then kept the phone down.... i think i got two messages during time time.... and even Aro called... i for some reasons never have felt that my birthday is a special day.. but then so many ppl calling me, wishing me... make it so very special for me.... Neha, Bhoomi, Vinod Mama, Danu Dimple, have called me so far... and i have messages from Raina, Nidhi, Adi, Aro, Bindu ma'am, Batra Bawla, Pawan, Dinesh Chacha and my cousins there, Sudip, Priya Rajpal.... and ofcourse.. my cousins Ashu, and Puneet are here with me... When I was talking to neha in the night... they were putting a candle on the cake they brought for me... after I do not know how many years i cut a burthday cake.. it was very sweet of them :) And mom dad are here to gimme all the wishes I need to have a life better and happier...will write more !!!! there is a lot to happen :)

1900 hrs...
Waquar called... Neha's dad called... Batra Called.. Neeraj called... Aro called... ruchi called... Maya didi called...... i am feeling important today... I also got a bouquet in the morning today.. lotsa roses.. and i do not know who sent it across... secret admirers.. or some friends who forgot to tell his/her name to the flowerist... welll... time will tell... still sometime to go before the day ends and i complete 26 years of my existence on this planet earth... lets see how the next few hours go by :)

God bless me !!!!

TaLkiNg 2 StRaNgErS !!!

Tareekh : 5-April'05
Jagah : Cafe Coffee Day
Waqt : Raat ke 9:30 Baje

Me and Tushar had dinner outside yesterday... and then we went for a walk in sector-18.... went to the cafe coffee day in Centre Stage Mall and that is where this discussion started... though Tushar did not do much other then nodding his head and agreeing to me for most of the points but still I feel it was a good conversation...

ME : Yaar, I want to get a part-time job in McDonalds. No no.. not really McDonalds but a cafe like Barista or Cafe Coffee Day.

Toosh : Good idea... but then we do not have that kinda coffee bars where you would be respected as a professional and ppl would like to get into conversations with you. Not like what we see in TV serials on Star or Zee Cafe where you have a coffee bar and ppl come there, meet friends, and talk over coffee or muffins or donuts and the owner of the cafe or for that matter someone who works there is also a part of your conversations and your friend list....

*and this is where the talkative devil in me came to life, and I started speaking about what i felt and Toosh kud only say hmm or nod his head*

Me : Very true... I can only stand over the counter and serve.. nothing else... but then there is another thought that comes to my mind... why don't we have new friends being made in such cafes... or for that matter.. how many times do you remember yourself approaching a group or an individual to talk just like that... now, why does that happen.... here is what i feel why that happens :
1) Most guys are looking for women with whom they end up in a dark corner of a street with or in bed with... and not really looking around for friends...
2) Most women know that they are being looked at and approached only to be treated as sex objects.. and definitely do not like to be approached by strangers...
3) The genuine guys also get treated as some road side onlookers who are only looking around for girlfriends.
4) I have not seen a gal ever approaching a guy, probably because she will be treated as a despo or something...
*This is where I stopped*

*afterthoughts*
This is something that happens or does not happen out on the streets, in the malls, in the cafes, in restaurants... as Tushar said rightly that we have so much fear of rejection in our minds that we do not even smile when we have an eye contact with ppl while walking driving... we carry our expressionless face just perfectly during all those moments which otherwise would help us break the ice !!!

I feel that once we start feeling that what we do not have to start off with any relationship whether short or long term thinking that we have to achieve something out of it.. but take it as something that carries on.. something that does not endup in bed or in a car... something that is for your mind and for yourself as a person...

There are a lot of things that I am thinking at the same time right now.. from why don't we have good thought provoking conversations to making new friends and new places to why don't we approch people without the fear of being rejected....and i think i have mixed up some of the many thoughts that came to me...

might be continued...
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OrKuT MeEt - PhoTo

Aseem, Me and Jassi (L to R) @ Barista in Ansals Plaza...

OrKuT MeEtS iN DeLhi !!!

So orkut finally meets in Delhi... some faces some ppl who i had met virtually came alive... had read them for sometime.. but seeing them in person was a thought that made me nervous, that made me excited, thoda sa tense... if it was not for aseem, who i know for more then an year now, I would have been really uncomfortable meeting this new gang...

so there I was in Ansals plaza, at 1850 hrs... well 10 minute ahead of time.. and as expected, there was no one to greet me as a celebrity in the Barista :) so i got up and went to place where I feel at home... Music World... looking at all the movies that I want to watch, and the ones that I want to buy... i picked up Lakshya, i like that movie a lot... but later i kept it back... at the end of my 20 odd minute visit to the music world I came out happier with Top Gun, Face Off, That thing you do, and the hindi comedy Masti....

back to barista around 1925 hours... ask the counter fella if there are ppl from Orkut there... and he looks at me with a face which tells me that he has not heard this word ever... anyway.. i order my fav. Mango smooothieeeeeee.. and settle down on a table near the rear exit of the coffee bar... meri kismat.. the only newspaper i could manage to get to read there was "financial times" i do not have a clue about what was written that paper..except that one article about cars and insurance caught my attention and helped me learn something more about the entire insurance thingie... while i was reading that.. some guy came and asked for the paper.. and took that greek of a paper away from me :)

anyway... called up aseem to find out where he was and he with jassi praji and the night nisha managed to reach there around 1940 hours... IST is it? Indian Strechable time :) and talked for a while.. after the introductions and were joined by Bhaskar and another friend of his... Can't remember his name... did he even tell it? can't even remember that... anyway.. i finished my smoothie... we took a couple of pictures of the gang... nisha and jassi went to the bookshop to get some tarot cards, and me, aseem, bhaskar and his friend continued talking.. it was good to see that there was a good amount of comfort in that meeting...

Getting bored of sitting in barista, we moved out to the amphie theatre... and sat there for a while, before jassi and nisha joined us back... now we decided to eat... offered jassi some south indian food, and he hated the idea.. hehehehe.. he has been in banglore for a while now.. and going to hyderabad.. what else do you expect... nisha wanted to have a burger... and she wanted to have it from pizza express for some reason... bhaskar and the friend, were open to eat anywhere.. i suggested bangali sweets in south ex. but that did not click.. so my next proposal was to go to my fav. restaurant in the India Habitat Centre, Eatopia... i just love that place.... so we all agreed to meet there again... in a while ofcourse... CUT !!!

Dilli meets in eatopia : Scene II : we met again... took some pictures again.. and talked... aseem and jassi and nisha went and ordered some food and got it later too.. so that we all could eat... nisha maidam got some nachos and some sauce.. which would now be famous as "Papad ke tukde and Tamatar ki Chatni"... and we also ate some tandoori rotis and makhni dal :) masta food i tell you... spent about 45 odd minutes in there.. and then decide to call it a day... hoping to meet again soon... for another wonderful evening....

here is something about all the ppl i met

Aseem : still the same cool dude always good with words and has a lot of energy...
Jassi : very calm quiet and a composed fella... very talkative on orkut and a completely different individual in person for starters i think.. i think i takes his time and starting to speak.... thoda bolo par achcha bolo.. aisa wala hai wo !!!
Bhaskar and his friend : Engineers in making, bhasker from NSIT, and his friend from DCE... good fellas..nice company.. good to talk to...
Nisha : dominating and authoritative lady... does not understand what is written "agar hum hindi ko english mein likhen..." :)
and finally me: as good or as bad as ever... talked to everyone, was nervous in the beginning, though i am sure no one noticed...and quite comfy later... a part of the gang !!!

chalen.. bas karte hain... this was all about this meeting on the April Fools day.. turned out to be one day I would like to remember for a long time...
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This day also reminded me that it was one complete year that i had left Hughes... time really flies by....i feel good that I still am in touch with a lot of ppl there.. and have not lost out on the gem of the friends i have made in that organisation...
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chalo chalta hoon.. aaj saturday hai.. chutti ka din.. ma badaulat thoda aur aaram karna chahte hain :)

TeCh uPdAtEs !!!

Some technical updates to the blog have been done...

• Now the posts would be displayed before the content on the left side so that everyone has quicker access to the my posts, the accessories will open later... Idea courtsey Tushar bhai !!!
• There is a small poll on the page, about why ppl blog... just two votes so far on that.. lets see how it moves ahead...
• There is a link called world map.. credit goes to missnupur's blog for this link... if you click there.. it opens a page with a world map where you can place a pin and write a comment.. that way i can know where are you reading ma blog from...

There is something going on in my mind... par abhi nai likhunga.. shayad kal !!!! lets see...