Oath of a trip enthusiast.

These days I am quite skeptical of planning out a trip with my friends (friends here mean the group of my 5-6 closest friends) . The reason being that whenever a plan is made its almost always cancelled. There is a popular saying that rules are meant to be broken. In my friends' group case 'Trip plans are made to be cancelled'. No doubt that we have been to some of the most unforgettable trips and tours. But then even those plans were always made by a single person (my friend Irfan, bless him, God !!) Rest all of the people are experts at ruining plans, citing 'genuine' reasons like......
1) I have no money. The trip is out of my budget.
2) I have some work. (Right ! We have none.)
3) My parents wont allow me to go. (Why? Are we cannibals?)
4) The season is not right.
Personally, I am not a plan ruiner and take an enthusiastic part in planning a picnic. But when others are not enthusiastic, I lose my cool. I am never one to make up one of the above excuses.
1) No money.....Ya right....its going to cost a fortune and nobody's going to loan you any! Its not like we dont have money at all. All of us are working individuals now. Even if we dont earn very much we arent beggars !! . And when an excellent opportunity for a holiday comes your way, you should grab it no matter what !!
2) Work.......Right we have none !!! Work work and work, you have to, all your bloody life. Holidays are planned to get a break from this very work. Its ok to keep it aside for some time and go out with your friends, when you all have a good long weekend.
3) Wont be allowed: Why? Are we cannibals? Are we going to eat you? This was a favourite excuse when we were younger. Now its not. But plans are still cancelled. So who'll bother giving this reason? (Please note that I am referring here to an all boys group !!)
4) If the season is not right, you have to plan going to some place where it is right.

There have been so many times that we have got stuck up because we have no transportation. But then we always had options of hiring vehicles.
There has been so much of trip cancellation now, I have already sort of joined a trekking group through an office colleague of mine. They go on treks regularly. I am also seriously thinking of going somewhere myself with tour companies. No kidding ......these are the only ways that I am going to enjoy seeing places.

My best friends wedding (Part 2) : The party !!!

There are fun times which you never forget all your life. KCs wedding reception party was one such occasion. It had everything......meeting old friends....music......dancing......food.....drinks. It was more of a 'party' than a 'reception'. You can say we saw a mix of traditional and modern ways of celebrations on the same day.
We arrived early.....the party had not started then. We had bought KC and his wife gifts....which we had selected after great deal of contemplations, discussions, brain storming and brain stomping!!. Buying a gift had never been so difficult for us......thats cause we never gave gifts to anyone in our group for birthdays or anything else !!! But since this was KCs marriage we wanted to pick out the perfect gift for him and his wifey. Bhabhiji had suggested diamonds.....she was either joking or being seriously stupid......as diamonds were way beyond our 'reach'. I will always remember the way....me and rohan and others discussed the different kinds of gifts for him. I remember that I had asked some of my friends and colleagues for gift ideas....
In the end we bought them nice wrist watches (and added a packet of _____ as an additional gift to KC.).
Anyway, on the night of the party, we were the first ones to arrive. People began to come in slowly after that.
KC and bulbul came in after some time. KC once again looking smart in a black blazer and bulbul beautiful again in a black coloured dress. The party started with the arrival of the couple. Drinks and starters were being served. People were being introduced to each other. An hour later the music started.....people started stepping rhythmically. Slowly the tempo picked up and the floor was now alive with enthusiastic dancers.
I dont ever remember dancing like that before with my friends. We all have been friends for so long now.....and yet the only time we danced together was probably when we won our locality cricket matches !!! KC and bulbul looked so happy......Indeed by the time the party was well into the night....all the people in the party were happy....some just happy and others alcoholically happy.
There were some truly unforgettable moments.....KC and bulbul waltzing..... KCs brother and KCs bhabhi doing a jive.........People hugging each other simply because they were happy (and drunk, of course !!!)......KCs brother pulling me onto the dance floor and asking me to dance......My friends all looking very joyous.......Jitu dancing so well......rohit dancing like he always does......
At the end of the day (night, I should say) of wedding KC thanked us for supporting him thru his thick and thins...we hugged each other. The first from our group to get married is KC. We all wish him and bulbul a very happy married life.

Sun le tu dil ki sada.

Sun le tu dil ki sada........Pyaar se pyaar sajaa...
Sun le tu dil ki sada .......Pyaar se pyaar sajaa....

Meri aawaz kaa teer....
jayega Dil ko bhi cheer...
Khoye nafrat...
Laye ulfat....
Ye aasar hai.....meherabaan...
Sun le tu dil ki sada..Pyaar se pyaar saja...

Pyaar rasta hai mera...
Aisa raahi hu tera....
Naa rahu main...
Naa rahe tu....
Par rahegi daastan...
Sun le tu dil ki sada..Pyaar se pyaar saja...

Do dilon ki yeh lagan...
Jaane dharti aur gagan....
Tu jahan hai...
main wahan hu...
Jism do hai....
Ek jaan....
Sun le tu dil ki sada..Pyaar se pyaar saja...

These are the lyrics of a wonderful song from the film Tere ghar ke saamne sung by Mohd Rafi, one of my favourite playback singers. Kyaa dard tha unki aawaz mein !!!

My best friend's wedding (Part 1) - The marriage

The day had finally arrived. 'KC weds Buls' was the invitation. I was still to come out of that state when you say.....Huh? Yesterday, I was a kid.....today my best friend is getting married.
My best friend's wedding took place on the 18th April 2009. I am writing this date in this post because I am bad at remembering birthdates and anniversaries. So its good to make a note of it. Next year I'll remember to wish my friend KC and my bhabhi-friend bulbul a happy anniversary. KC called me up in the morning and told me again to be there for the wedding. (As if I would'nt !!!). Me and irfan arrived at the temple hall exactly at 11:30 am as he told us. Rohan came up later. Slowly the hall filled with people. There were kids and older men who looked like KC so we came to the conclusion that they must be his cousins and uncles respectively (haha!!) . After some time of waiting I saw both of them climb the stairs and walking hand in hand. It was KC and bulbul.......KC looking very smart and handsome in that slim fit formal shirt, his face looking bright and happy (the facial helped also, i guess). Bulbul, looking gorgeous, in a lovely saree, carrying herself gracefully, with her hair tied up in an elegant knot. Both looked very happy. Before the 'vidhis' started, KC was made to wear the traditional 'pheta' or 'pagdi'. The pheta fitted him like a song. Never before having seen KC in that traditional pheta we found it quite funny and laughed. The 'vidhis' started after that. KC stood up for the vidhi and it was at that moment....when I saw him in the pheta standing beside the guruji for the 'mangal ashtak' vidhi......that I really came to terms with the fact that my friend was finally getting married !!! Until then everything seemed to be so unreal....just like a dream. It was just like , you know when things are going to happen, but still, you dont come to terms with it until they really happen !!! As I saw Kedar (KCs brother) playfully throwing 'akshatha' with unnecessary force.....this scene seemed to roll in slow motion in front of my eyes......and I was reminded of my younger days when I went to KCs place to play.....and he had these physical fights with Kedar...for the cricket bat. When I came back to the present the 'mangal ashtak' was over. Kedar told us to proceed for lunch. When I went downstairs, I realised that my footwear was missing. I had kept it at the entrance but it wasnt there anymore. Oh boy !! I thought !! Its KCs wedding and my footwear is bring stolen !! I had another 'vision' in which an older looking KC and bulbul were telling their kids...."Look children, here is your uncle, whose 'chapals' were stolen in our marriage" and all of them laughing !!!
I grinned to myself. "I am getting too many 'visions' "I said to myself and went to the nearby store to buy a new pair of flotters. We had lunch and left for home. There was going to be a reception party in the evening and I wanted to sleep in the afternoon so that I was energetic to dance in the party !!

English is a very funny language....some 'peoples' make it even funnier !!!

A certain Mr. XXX from my office (he is from another department) had arranged a picnic for his department people. Now, this department is 30 strong. 7 guys from his department confirmed that they would like to go for the picnic. Apart from the 7 nobody else was going. However later on even these 7 fellas dropped out citing personal reasons. . So Mr.XXX wrote a mail to everyone in his department......It goes this way....

"PICNIC CANCELLED, PICNIC CANCELLED
No Confirmation is received and the peoples who already confirmed now taken the deviation for picnic. No picnic will be arranged henceforth.
Regards,
XXX"

(Note the usage of the english language.....very funny......deviation is a very commonly used official term in our company.)

Now, it so happened that another fellow from that department fwded the mail to RV, a guy in our department. It so happens that, earlier Mr XXX had tried to arrange a cricket match in the same fashion with our department's cricket team.....and that had also been cancelled on account of the non-availability of his department's cricket team members...

RV wrote a mail to Mr. XXX saying.....
Sorry to interrupt, but if you can’t arrange for a simple picnic program…..why did you ask us to arrange for a cricket match……….?
No thanks or regards,
RV

Mr XXX saw the reply.....he wasnt at all happy that the mail (the one about the picnic being cancelled. ) which should have been circulated within his department only, was sent to RV who is from another department and who made fun of him. Mr. XXX thought that the mail was 'divulged' to RV by some lady who is in Mr. XXX dept.

Mr XXX then sent a 'scorcher'....to RV.....
"It seem that someone ( I don’t know who but I don’t want to insult a Who.. , she is atleast loyal with the one who pays her ) from my dept have stabbed my dept.
Do you feel that arranging a picnic with such peoples is a simple program? I don’t bother about such peoples also. But still it was managed and cancelled because two of my friends are not available for the picnic due to genuine reason. Anyway there is no personal with you. I don’t want to loose friends. Atleast like u. I don’t want to stretch this issue which may create a nuisance to us and all ,who are involved in this mail. I havenot copy this mail to anyone.
Requested to you ( atleast) Become a wise man.
I don’t want to start a day with such mail.
With Warm Regards
XXX"

Wow !!! I know I arent an expert in the english language.....but this is simply horrible grammar, vocab and spelling....I dont know how this fellow writes his official mails?

Little cousin sister's day in...

My little cousin sister had the day of her life yesterday. Summer holidays have started for schools and she had invited 6 of her friends home. The little girls had a gala time. Everyone's mom left them to my uncle and aunt's place at around 10 in the morning. They had a fantastic lunch of aloo parathas made by my aunt whos an expert cook. The first thing they did, after that, was to organize a small skit....'Cinderella'. They prepared and handed out small hand-written invitation cards on nice colourful papers to everyone in the house. Me, my dad (me and dad were there for a visit), my uncle, my aunt, my grandparents. My invitation card bore the following script:

Ravi Dada
You are invited to see the following play:
Name: Cinderela (That was the spelling)
Time: 3:00 P.M
Venue: Hall (This 'Hall' meant the living room of my uncle and aunt's place)

My cousin sister had 'directed' the play. She played the role of Cinderella. All of us sat on the living room sofas as 'audience'. They had a makeshift 'curtain', a bedsheet held on by two girls. The curtain was dropped (The girls quickly scrambled away pulling the bedsheet!!)

The skit was quite cute and was quite well made. They even had a sequence where the prince and cinderella danced in 'ball-room' style. 'Blue danube' was played on a mobile phone with speakers, while the prince and cinderella danced. There was some giggling in the middle of the play and some prompting too !!! And they forgot the last scene where the prince and cinderella hold hands and the fairy godmother showers flowers on them !!! The 'fairy Godmother' came out and giggled "Hey Cinderella, you forgot the flowers scene !!!" As my elder sister would say .....'Cho Chweet !!!'

It was then Ice cream time for the young ones....and giggling continued all the time. Then they went downstairs to play...and then one by one all their mothers came to pick them up. An enjoyable day for them.

I remember those days when my mom used to leave me at KCs place and then we used to play all day.....It was so special to visit a friends place. Still is.........but back then it was once in a bluemoon opportunity to visit a friend's place!!!

Good luck and bad luck.

Luck never takes sides. Everyone has equal distribution of luck. If I am out of luck today, its just that my time is bad. Tommorow, if the times are good, it does not mean that I am just plain lucky. Conclusion .....

Luck is fickle,
But Luck is fair,
Good luck, while it lasts,
Enjoy your share.

Uncle and uncle's bhabhijis

My sister giving me a niece. My best friend KC getting married. Another one, Dr NNA, with his engagement fixed in May. Suddenly, I feel very grown up. Things have changed pretty much pretty soon. My niece will call me 'mama'. Someone who'll call me 'uncle' is something I have to come to terms with. Anyway, mom told me the news on the phone. The baby was born on 7th April 2009...So that's her birthdate. She's an Arien. Curiously, its on the same date as my best friend's KC's birthdate, which is 7th June. The phone rang at 2030 hrs IST on 7th April. Mom told me "The good news has come."
My best friend whom I've known for the past 20 years will be marrying his lady love. And I will have someone whom I'll call 'bhabhi' (Bhabhi is actually brother's wife, but since friends are like brothers, their wife is also called as 'Bhabhi'. (I'll address her by her name of course....but still....she'll be a bhabhi). Congratulations to the lovely couple !!! I've been asking my friend, what gift he wants for his wedding. He says he doesnt his own house to keep gifts. So I told him that I cant afford to buy him a house, but he can ask for anything else !!! If he doesnt tell me, I'll ask bhabhiji and if she doesnt tell me either.....I'll give them a 'Food bazaar voucher' which I guess will be totally useless for them !!!
NNA has been out of contact for a long time. He makes his special appearances only during the ganeshotsav festival at my place. Still it was a pleasant shocker for me to hear that hes getting hitched....He's the kind of guy who would say...."Shaadi kidhar yaar, abhi? Abhi tak to mera MD karna baki hai." Congratulations to him too. Wasnt in contact with us for a long time. Now, he wont remember us at all !!! Meri aur ek bhabhiji.

Summer time.

I am writing this post because I am glad I am home and not outside. I had just been out in the open right now and the sun is blazing away all its atomic power and dazzling and roasting people on earth in mumbai. Thousands of things have been said on global warming and its effect, but frankly, I have never before experienced such a solid heat wave in mumbai. It was a recorded 40 degrees high in the shade, at colaba the day before yesterday. It seems like if you drop an egg on your head it will fry. A drop of water falling on the trunk of a car sizzles like 'tadka dal' (Smack !!! That makes me hungry !!!) Mumbai summer brings with it more pains than pleasures, just like the mumbai monsoons. The summer heat certainly has effect on people's brains too. For instance, everyone in office, yesterday, seemed to be blowing their tops more than usual. It was'nt unusual for my boss to blow his top. Thats coz' he does it everyday !!! But yeah, weather does have an effect on people. Heat makes you feel irritable and anger, just like sweat, surfaces more often than usual. Mumbai summer- The advantages: Mangoes and 'Kayris' sweet mangoes, when eaten transport you to seventh heaven, lip smacking and satisfying juicy and ripe.....and Kayris (raw mangoes).....put some salt and chilli powder on them and what you have is a delightful snack....my mouth starts watering thinking about kayri.
So apart from mangoes and kayris, I am waiting for summer to get over and rains to start.
The song goes......we're all going on a summer holiday......
I realised it a long time back that its for California, where the summers are fine.........not for mumbai where the heat is unbearable.