Minneapolis and the kabootar and the baby hunter

One of my fondest memories of all times would be driving around in sub-urbs of Minneapolis with Pritam, Deepak, Lakhan, and Sapna with Delhi-6 songs playing!!!

I remember this weekend where we must have heard Sasural Genda Phool and Masakali atleast 50 times or maybe more!!! I think this was the weekend when I met Pritam's baby hunter for the first time!

As per Pritam this was a hunter who was still a baby... not to forget that we are talking about a Nissan Xterra here! To accept that it was still a baby at that size was very tough for almost all of us... And somehow the title baby hunter, tilted towards the car being someone who hunted babies more!!

Nevertheless, the whole Minneapolis downtown gang and the cars, and the drives are some thing worth remembering for a very very long time to come!!

1.1.11

This year has been an year of deaths!!!

and no DEATH is not always bad... at times it is, however for a relatively short duration of time as compared to time itself!

I knew some who died this year, I did not know a lot who did! but irrespective of this, I grew closer to death, my own, of people who are close to me and mean a lot to me, and the concept of death as a whole!

DEATH always leaves a VOID... it was surprising how I felt when some friends lost their near and dear ones this year! I did not know this people except that I knew they were there!

People leave, and they do that for good! leaving behind an emptyness.. something that you feel when you are shifting your house after years of staying there... You do not see the walls, you see what was there on those walls... you don't see a corner, you probably see your favorite program which was on the TV last night...you don't see a door, you think of the last time you opened that door and walked into the warmth of your home... you don't see a kitchen, you see the dishes that were there which your mom cooked last week!!!

The year is also coming to an end! Its dying! we cannot save it either, and that's a fact... time does not stop, and there is no point trying either! My options being, either to welcome the new life in whatever form that its coming, or to cry about what has been lost!

While I am still not able to come to terms with the concept of death and its brutal existance.. ok... not brutal, but existance!! I am looking forward to 1.1.11

Point and Beep

I find it funny that a lot of people stretch their arms to point towards their cars while using remote locking!

To each their own

A still from one of my favorite places in India... Old Delhi

Every saturday Hindus offer Mustard oil, and earthen lamps with mustard oil to Shani Dev in India. Shani is one of the "Navgrah", 9 planets and is the elder brother of Yamraj, God of death! Shani is probably one of the most feared ones however if placed favorably in a horoscope does wonders!

Anytime Tea Time - Chaibaaz Paavani (चायबाज़ पावनी )

Paavani is a flickr and blog-friend for quite sometime now, and I was really glad to see a T-photograph on her flickr stream! My immediate reaction was to request her permission for posting the photographs on Chai ki Dukaan and am thankful to get a nod from her!

An exceptionally talented photographer, a good writer and a design researcher, she is one of the photographers that I follow and learn from! Please do enjoy her photography work by clicking here.

Welcome to the ChaiBaaz Club, Paavani!

What a loss!

Lost the best of my street shots from Panaji, and some really beautiful pictures of Pooja!

Memory - 1GB
Cost - a few thousand rupees
Actual worth - Priceless!


I am so angry right now, that I don't even feel it! The photographs were just alright the last time I was viewing them on the camera, and now the bloody card just does not want to work!!! the photographs are all messed up of whatever i can see in the thumbnails... the camera freezes when I try to preview the images on it! what a loss!

On the brighter side, it gives a big reason to go back to Panaji sometime!

Where do they go?

We were driving out of South Goa this weekend for a day trip to Panaji and other places of interest in North Goa, when Pooja asked me this question...

"Prashant! Where do people who get married in Goa, go for a Honeymoon? "

Similar

Ram Charitmanas and Christmas are made of the same alphabets!

Very Very Tasty Tasty

Tasted the chilly fog in the morning!

Fell in love with Delhi Winters all over again!!!!

Ah! time for some tea in the warm morning winter sun!

Who do you call?

You are in a meeting!!! The phone is silent!!!

When you finish the meeting, there are three missed calls on your phone..

1. Your Boss

2. Your Wife

3. Your Best Friend

Who do you call first?

And why? :)

The Golden Mean

Very interesting video!!!

Room gets a whiteboard!

Any idea what can I write on it? :)

Saturday has been both lazy and rewarding so far! Nice!

What is! what would be?

I remember listening to this song, and songs like these on the radio when I was a kid! Felt good about the simplicity of messages being given via these!!!

Cut to today, when what I see all around is a strong negative vibe about almost everything which happens in one's life! Jobs/ Family/ Infrastructure/ Government/ Policies/ Taxes/Curruption and what not!

These songs had extreme positivity and commitment in them! And I think what we are today is not because of what we do today, but what people and leaders about 30 years ago did! We are only seeing the fruits of whatever effort in whatever direction they put in! and if someone starts a change today, its going to be visible in only about a decade or maybe more!

I feel extremely sad at the kind of country that we are going to pass on to the new generation! Am I talking like a concerned father? :) I think marriage does that to people! I am thinking of what can I do to give my kids a better world to live in!!!

Oh, and if it interests you, you can see the kid Aruna Irani @ 1.57 minutes into the first song and again at 2:49

Movie Weekend!

You would know that you have just seen Golmal 3 if

1. You have experience an overdose of primary colors for about 140 minutes

2. You managed to keep your sanity through a similar duration of nonsensical slapstick (made to look like situational) comedy

3. You went inside the cinema hall expecting nothing but senseless comedy, but see a lot of senseless action and melodrama instead

4. You did not expect anything or get anything from the dialogues or the script anyway

5. You feel that Golmal 1 was a different league altogether

6. You feel that Tushar Kapoor spoke a little too much for being a dumb. (Can't forget how hilarious it was to see him do his act in Golmal 1, Rohit Shetty things that overdose of that would make for a funnier movie; He is just simple a simpleplain dumb or what???)

7. You have not managed to laugh for more than 30 minutes during the entire movie! Half of which could have been because you were laughing at yourself!

Anyway!!! I also managed to watch Twilight, sunday evening, and liked it! not amazing, but it got me thinking about how selfless people could get when it comes to love! or can they?

Grand Entry

Entry to the Basilica of Sr. Mary in Downtown Minneapolis.

Two steps

There are only two steps that are needed to reduce issues in one's life!

1. Find Problems

2. Resolve them

and when i say Find problems, I really do not mean that one needs to go around looking for one :) or to create one if they cannot easily find one!

There is a third step too, which can be mixed with the two above!

Have tea while you do the two above!

The Fall has gone...

But the feeling remains!

All in One Weekend

This weekend was such a tiring but satisfying weekend!

Went to

- Chandni Chawk in Old Delhi for lights, and wall-clocks

- Khari Baoli in Old Delhi for Candles and Dry-fruits

- Sadar Bazaar near Old Delhi for Crackers and Fireworks

- Cottage Emporium in Central Delhi for solid wood furniture

- Uttar Pradesh Shilpotsav in NOIDA for handicrafts and snacks

- Jwala Heri in West Delhi for random Diwali shopping

Every single time I visit the markets in Old Delhi, I love that place more than the last time!

Felt like a friday

Been a very strange week this one!

Since Monday, every day felt like Friday! not because it was festive, but something inside me really wished that the next day is a Saturday (read a holiday), and now that its Friday finally, it does not feel like one at all!

I, however, am still waiting for the saturday :)

I think I need to go dancing!!!

Champ of the month!

Getting an award when you cannot substantiate why you "should" get it is more of an embarrassment than a matter of pride!

Maybe I am being overcritical of myself, but I am not really sure why I should have been awarded at work as yet! Am far from what I need to achieve!