दूरी (Doori)

Wrote this as a comment on Swati's blog... liked the words and thought of putting them on Chai Ki Dukaan as well !!!

एक कुआँ है
एक प्यासा है
प्यास का एहसास भी
ज़रा ज़रा सा है

थोड़ा आगे बडो ,
प्यास भी बढेगी
दिल से हटाओ तो
दूरी भी हटेगी

पर सिर्फ़ एक कदम चलोगे
ऐसा तो नहीं बोला है
वहां तक कैसे पहुंचोगे
राज़ नहीं खोला है

तो चलते रहो
बड़ते रहो
दूरी ज़रूर ही कम होगी
कुछ ही देर में हर खुशी
भरपूर और हरदम होगी !!!

ek kuan hai
ek pyasa hai
pyas ka ehsaas bhi
zara zara sa hai

thoda aage bado,
pyaas bhi badegi
dil se hatao to
doori bhi hategi

par sirf ek kadam chaloge
aisa to nahin bola hai
wahan tak kaise pahunchoge
raaz nahin khola hai

to chalte raho
badte raho
doori zaroor hi kam hogi
kuch hi der mein har khushi
bharpoor aur hardum hogi !!!

Workout need identified !!!

My left thumb is swollen today ! It probably needs a regular workout !!!! the bugger is just getting fatter by not doing anything at all...

I type with both my hands and mostly use all my fingers and the right thumb (for the space bar) but the poor left thumb is left out except for the ocassional left click or a left button press (I use keyboard for most of my shortcuts)

Or maybe I just slept on it !!!

;)

The journey begins !

Fill up the reservation form... look at the train numbers, plan your start and end or midway points and refill the form

Stand in line at the reservation counter hoping to get the tickets for the train which is your first choice

Those 10 minutes at the counter talking to the person at the other end getting the best route

The lack of change... how on earth am I supposed to get the three 10 rupee notes, and the two 5 rupee ones, and the other change !

Anyway, the ticket is in my hand now ! The white grey dot-matrix printed Indian Railways ticket ! Hey, but I cannot read it properly... what time is my train? and from?

oh wait, it has been printed on the line just above !! OK, well, the information is there... Coach S4, Seat 30 (wonder who would be sitting next to me)

I wish its a beautiful girl :) and without her parents or the boyfriend!

Last minute Auto rush !!! and the bugger is driving so slowly that I could walk faster to the station.

Anyway, I am here now... which platform? The board is not working, hey, the Kuli ! Let me ask him... they always know !!! Yes sir I am right... its platform 12, darn, the other side of the station !!! Run !!!

Sir ji, late hai train !!!

Oh thank Gawd !!!

take it easy !!!

A nice stroll up the stairs, on the overbridge, with people and more people and some more in the space left... walking, looking around, rushing for their platforms, anxious because they are late, or early or excited about meeting someone, or just being...

But hey, where is the train?

Oh, they are still shunting the bogies... will be here in a few minutes... and there it is !!!

A1, A2, .....A4, S14... what the fkk... now run !!! S4 S4 S4 S4 S4... uncle sambhal kar zara...

S4 S4... haan yehi hai s8... peeche likha hai...

S4 S4 S4... saali itni lambi train...

S4... kaash ye wala S4 hota.. this group of girls would be sitting somewhere near me then...

S4... arre auntie jaane do...




phew !!!

The reservation chart finally....

So lets see.. how many girls in my compartment today...

F
F
F
F
F
ah !!! F - 56 --- darn !!!

F
F
F
F F6... sweet...

F
F
F
F
23.. ah... Vaijanti Devi !!! crap !!!

F F
F
F
F
24 Kalpana Arora... hmm...
M27 Aakash Arora... inki to !!!

F
F
F
F
F...

uff.. sabse sada hua dibba mera !!!! CRAP !!!!

anyway !!!

Lets just get on the train !!!


Auntiji ye meri seat hai !!!
Oh !!!

Wahan baith jaoge beta?
umm... ji...

Mera bag hata do wahan se... idhar de do.. aaram se baith jao !!!
ji auntiji

bleddy hell... inko kaise bolun I wanted the window seat !!!! I WANTED THE WINDOW SEAT !!!


anyway... that probably means I will sleep better at night.. the top berth is not that bad afterall !

So the bags are sett, the walkman is out !!! the tapes are out too ! what do we listen to? Wait... save the battery !! aise hi baitha reh abhi...

Magazine !!! haan.. get some !!!

Chai? haan ek cup wo bhi ho jaye!!!


Auntiji main abhi aaya...
haan beta

ok... , chacha chauhdhary, billu, pinky, archies, apna bhavishya badlein, kismat aapke haath mein, competition success review, manorama, sarita, manohar kahaniya, limca book of records, reiki kaise karen, phew.. too many... just pick up a few random ones...

oh.. paani ki bottle... ek wo bhi... aur biscuit? haan parle ji... do packet...

chalo beta bhago before auntiji calls the police thinking you left a few bombs in the train !!!

back on the seat... all set with magazines, food, music, a lost window seat, people...

A Journey Begins....

Weekend in Pictures !!!

So like I said in my previous post, here are some more pictures from this weekend !!! Enjoy :)

I knew I was late for the sunrise :) when I saw this :P

I thought I should just sit there and relax, but on second thoughts went for a longer walk!

The temperature was more than freezing point, and snow has started melting, giving way to some very beautiful reflections...

The Milwaukee Arts Museum with its wings still closed

The breaking ice in the Lake Michigan

Reflections like I said...

One of the benches in a park near my apartment...

Came back home and decided to make myself more camera happy ! Took a few pictures at home as well.. like the two above and two below...

And Sunday was a pretty lazy day, like always except that we went out for a Indian Buffet Lunch and then to North Point park...

Ganeshji I got for Gaurav's car...

The Lake Michigan...

That's ice or lets say a part of the Lake Michigan which is frozen as of now, and Gaurav was pulling Deepali and she was just sliding :P

Scary, slippery, and very beautiful... That's how a frozen lake can be...

But the ice is melting... Bright Sun is one of the reasons :)

Some people were far into the lake and enjoying ice fishing... in the background you can see some buildings of downtown Milwaukee... on the extreme left you see some bit of Milwaukee Arts Museum and the third building from the left is my office...

So another weekend is over... like I had said before.. Saturday morning pictures were a very soul satisfying experience for me... My love for B/Ws is increasing with every decent picture that I can manage... I am happy I am able to do more experiments with B/Ws now... Click HERE for a slideshow of some pictures from Milwaukee that you have not seen on Chai ki Dukaan.

and I am currently hooked on to "Bhor Bhayee" from Dilli-6... Shreya Ghosal has sung it beautifully! Oh, and "Genda Phool" too from the same movie... beautiful folk lyrics, and brilliant hip-hop-ish beats... unconventional and groovy !!!

Hope the week starts good for everyone !!! Enjoy :)

puddle puddle jump jump

I wanted to wake up early today to go out and see the sunrise, but I logged on to gmail, and while was talking to a few friends got late for the sunrise...

Still went out and had fun walking around !!!







Brought back a few good pictures, some very nice smiles, a few good morning wishes, a lot of fresh air in my lungs, and loads of soul satisfying happiness !!!

Some more photographs to follow later... till then enjoy life !

kate lee by चायबाज़ रोनोदिप (Chaibaaz Ronodip)

Enjoy this picture from a Tea Shop in Calcutta, India... a city that I love to love... I think after Delhi, Calcutta (or Kolkata), the city that I have walked the most in...

I am in love with Kolkata and would love to spend a week (maybe more) just walking around the corners and streets... I feel that city still has a lot of character and its old age charisma to share... I still remember walking around Hawrah, taking that ferry to BBD Bagh, walking from there to Chaurangee, and then to Robindro Shodon and finally taking a shared cab from Exide to Korunamoi. You can view the pictures of my date with the city (14th Oct 2006) here.

About the photographer... Ronodip or Rawnie as he likes to call himself is the younger brother of my darling friend Tanu (who happens to put life and soul into every picture that she takes herself). Her excitement knew no boundaries when Ronodip got a camera, and Ronodip really has not disappointed with his pictures either... From what I have observed he likes taking high contrast pictures both in color and b/w and is doing a fantastic job in capturing moments from around him. You can enjoy more of his work here.

With time and the right direction he is going to go places for sure!

Welcome to the chaibaaz family Rawnie !

Chai ki dukaan: by Chaibaaz Sunny (चायबाज़ सन्नी)

Chai ki dukaan: The tea shop, originally uploaded by SunnyWinterZ.

Time for some more Chai :)

The picture comes from a small tea stall in Banaras, UP, India... The city of a million and more stories, located at the bank of Ganges and said to be the oldest living city in the world... Banaras. Also known has Varanasi or Kashi.

Sunny, who has taken this picture is one of the very few people who proves that its not really the camera but the photographer who takes pictures. He is capable of producing excellent pictures, using his basic point and shoot camera and is a source for inspiration for many!

Click here to enjoy some more of his work.

Some call it religion some call it music

I call it PEACE !!!

Since childhood, I remember mom chanting Sanskrit shloks in the morning, and Pa chanting them during his meditation in the morning and evening..

I think the love for the word (ॐ) OM comes from Papa's chanting of it, and the environment it creates at home every time I hear it from him, in addition to one out of body experience I cannot forget EVER.

Also since a very very long time, I have found peace in listening to Sanskrit in the form of chants, and one of my favorite happens to be the Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra...

ॐ त्रयम्बकं यजामहे सुगंधिम पुष्टिवर्धनम
उर्वारुकमिव बंधनान मृत्योर मुक्षीय माम्रतात

tryambakaṃ yajāmahe sugandhiṃ puṣṭi-vardhanam

urvārukam iva bandhanān mṛtyor mukṣīya māmṛtāt

I am not a very religious person, but I have a very very strong faith in something which is beyond me or anyone I know... I can call him Uncle God for the lack of a better word at this point of time, though Mom Dad, are also very apt words in case you are not too keen on using the God word :)

Coming back to this Shlok, I feel at a lot of peace when I hear it, and a few more which I might talk about in some of the later posts ! It is apparently one of the most powerful as well as per the learned. And then when I chant with it, I speak Sanskrit, which happens to be my most favorite language !

Some information about it below from Wiki . In case you are interested in buying the CD with it, please do not buy anything other than TIMES music. It has been rendered beautifully in that album. or ask me for the mp3, I can send it to you.

A trip down the Memory Lane :)

I was talking to Tunna a few days back she told me about something that she was thinking about... memories associated with long lost friends and they coming back with something that happens today... She even wrote something and sent it to me and wanted me to write about it...

Here is what she had written :

I am sure it must have happened with all of us....some things, some incidences...trigger our thoughts for someone.... The life seems to be moving fine....we all busy with chasing our dreams...but in midst of this madness how come thoughts of someone find its way... I was sharing these thoughts with one of my collegues...and the reply came.." are u unhappy" And i realised i have made the mistake of sharing my precious feelings with some idiot..i dnt have to be sad to be missing... I thnk ppl still dont realise someone can be missed with a smile...some moments wen run thru...jus leaves u wth smile.,..and only smile... this one is for all ( ths all is not the large...actually very few) my dear friends i have not been able to speak in a long time....i miss the time spend,.,..wth time i value u even more...
__________________________


I feel good friends are like old letters that over a period of time might hide under a pile of books or other things, but when you are cleaning up your mess, you are bound to reach that letter again, read it, sit back and relax, and think about the great times you two had together... even make an attempt to find out where they are and get in touch with them again... distances, times, circumstances suddenly do not matter in such cases....

Good friends are also like the songs that you once loved and could listen over and over and over again, and then with time you moved on to listening some new numbers, new singers, etc, and suddenly that song plays back on the radio and you are reminded of how much you have loved, and missed that song too... just that you might not have realised it... and you just get back home and find the music you 'love' to love...

There are people I associate with, who have been fantastic friends and probably they are today as well, but with time we lost touch... I am not sure where they are, what are they upto, and in some cases I am in touch with them as well,

And all this while I make new memories everyday...


Some of the people and my memories that have some space in one of the other corner of my head and heart ...

The walks with Nimisha and Taru, to bus stands other than our college stand so that we could miss the bus and spend more time talking and walking together,

Me and Nimisha going to Taru's place one morning and singing together throughout and even on our way back,

A holi riot at Abhay's place when we took out buckets of water from his bathroom and socked everyone wet in the room (God only knows how his mattresses and other stuff would have dried; must have taken ages; the entire house was a water hole),


Me and Kapil bhai walking and discussing our scripts and singing Sa Re Ga Ma from Chupke chupke ( apparently we two used to sing it very well),

My IIIrd standard fight with Sandeep when I had beaten him black and blue in the school bus and over years we turning to best pals EVER ( every evening we were sure to spend atleast 2 hours walking around the entire sector and talking whatever nonsense)


The ice cream after getting off the school bus and dividing the payments between Sandeep, Neeraj and Me... the bugger Aakash never used to pay...

The duplicate film roll that we bought from a shop on our Xth standard farewell and the messed up pictures that we go from it.. Neeraj you ass, I had asked you to buy the roll the previous day

Working with Meghna in the street plays and spending so much time talking about everything under the sun

Taking Himanshu's bike for the interview at Spectramind.. the poor guy waiting for me till like 10 in the night in his college only because my interview formalities had not finished


Narang always telling me that I was making a mistake when I was going around with Shikha in Hughes

Adi, Me, Aro, Anmol, KB, Narang singing, "Babuji Zara Dheere Chalo..." before we used to start our shifts :D and anmol's typical my name is arthurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, and me Aro and Narang adding the "teri maaaaaaaaaa kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii" in the same tone :D


Loads and loads of conversations with Aro and Tushar in the last 5 years !!!

Haircut Trips to Ganga Shopping complex with Tushar...


Ankur calling the Pangong Tso, Tso Moriri at Diskit :D and that too in a video and his dialogue about the stuck vehicles on our way to Pangong... Aaj to Phencho dekh kar hi jayenge !!! and that Saale firangi, this in India, yahan everything has a jugaad :D


And how can I forget the Up-32 at Khardungla :)

Strange enough, I do not remember much about Ahlcon and those two years that I spent in that school, except the fact that I really liked and respected my physics teacher, Mrs. Archana Deepak!!!

There are million memories more... Can write a book about them :) there are some sad ones too, and even though I remember them, I choose to not talk about them here... no point !!! life is happy !!


Have a happy weekend !!! God Bless :)

Stills :
Deepu and Aro with Ankur's daughter Neitya at the gurudwara Nangal Sahib
A lovely bunch of kids in Ambikapur, Chattisgarh
Deepu, Kavita and Anjie at the south group of temples, Khajuraho
Kids in Ambikapur, Chattisgarh
Two friends at the Hauz Khas Monument, Delhi
Bunch of kids in Moradabad
Deepu, Anubhav, Me and Ankur at the North Pullu, Ladakh
The Up-32 family at Khardungla pass, Ladakh :)
Tushar and me near Ram Jhula in Rishikesh

The Joy of Film

NOTHING, and I mean nothing in this world beats the romance of clicking B/Ws on Film... was going through Aro's Picasa stream today and found this picture of mine...

Though the picture is very badly processed, there is something about it that I like... I guess the grains more than anything !!!



This is from a day when we had gone to Chandni Chawk just to have breakfast.. Nigodi Poodi and Bedmi Halwa (you saw a picture of it in the previous post; another picture in this post too)...

Click here to read more...


I might buy an old film camera sometime with a 50mm lens (should not cost more than $200) and use it for my street portraits... not sure.. lets see !!!

और कहीं दिन बीते...

आज सोया तो सपने में सपना था...
के नींद खुले तो कहीं और...


किसी और शहर में...
किसी पहाड़ की गोद में...
किसी नदी के किनारे...
कहीं दूर किसी स्टेशन पर चाय चाय की आवाज़ से..
किसी छोटे बस स्टैंड पर पकोडे की खुशबु से...
बस कंडक्टर की सीटी से...




और दिन बीते कहीं
बातें करते
किसी छोटी सी गली में घूमते घूमते
एक छोटी सी चाय की दुकान पर बातें सुनते
चाय पीते रस खाते मट्ठी खाते
और फिर एक और प्याली चाय पीते
कुछ राह चलते लोगों की खेरियत पूछते
कुछ बच्चो के साथ पिट्ठू खेलते
कहीं एक नाव में नदी पार करते
किसी खेत में एक डंडी लेकर घूमते
गाँव में सर्दी की मीठी मीठी धुप का मज़ा लेते


और कहीं दिन बीते...