Waiting for the monsoons.

The end of summer,
The end of pains,
The end of the humidity,
And the start of the rains.

Oh the monsoons,
the monsoons are arriving,
the sky is greying,
and the wind is whistling.

Hailstorms and flooding,
thunder and lightning,
Shadows and sunshine,
Oh ! The landscape so fine !!

Umbrellas and raincoats,
Gum boots and paper boats,
Alike, the kids and folks
Can't wait to get soaked !!

Come one come all,
Enjoy the rains,
till cometh the fall.

Thats all of how I can express my feelings. The heat and humidity these days is at its peak. And mumbaikars are waiting for the monsoons to get underway. When it does start finally, it'll be raining all day everyday. And like everything in mumbai which changes fast, so will the opinion of people. They'll be saying "When will the rains end?"

Lack of enthu.

For starters let me tell you this....I am in quite a strong, hateful and edgy mood today. I cant say that I didnt laugh today at all. But this was a day when I laughed with devilish satisfaction. More of the sneery, smirky, smug, sadistic type of laughter. As I was telling ron, one of my best friends, I hate when people dont show enthusiasm. Enthusiasm of any kind at all.
Its not that I deny that some people dont have many activities, hobbies or interests. But then its impossible for anyone to have no topic of interest at all. You might say that they have interests other than your own. Possible. But some people, just go in a trance like state and seem to be staring at some sort of void in the air, when you are speaking. After sometime you start feeling whether you yourself are talking in an alien tongue or whether you are a brainless git.
The reality dawns upon you later on and you realise that the person with whom you are speaking with, lacks enthusiasm in any topic you come up with and he is the one who's a brainless git.

Winning

I played and I lost,
But never a regret there was.
Coz somewhere in my heart,
I knew that I had taken part.

But tommorow's another day,
I know I'll find a way,
I'll reach for the far,
And beat the stars,
And shine like the sun,
And feel like the one.


As kids we were told that participation in any competition was important rather than brooding over the results.
I dont think so.....I beg to differ now. Winning is important. How to win is something which has to be learnt. And that comes when you actually participate in the competition and lose. You lose and you learn. What you learn helps you to win. It helps to brood over what went wrong. It doesnt help to just participate. Nobody gives a shit if you participate. You have to participate to build your own experiences.
(What have I written? Does it even make sense?)

The not so green thumb.

So I saw this kid watering the young saplings which are planted in our building compound. He was being advised on how to water them by his grandpa ("Lower the hose, son....dont spray a jet near the base, you'll damage the roots"). The kid, for fun, or because he was annoyed with his grandpas constant lecturing.......sprayed some water on grandpa's shirt. I was passing by and smiled.....smirked, rather. This was the same old fellow who had stopped us from playing cricket in the building premises when we were young !!! Anyone troubling him makes me happy and I feel a natural bond to the person who troubles him !!! I mentally made notes to give the young kiddo a huge bar of chocolate later on !!!

Seeing the kid water the plant I remembered an incident. When I was in the 3rd grade, one of our teacher had asked us to plant a small sapling in a small pot at home (Instructions were pretty much basic. We werent told what to plant, that was for ourselves to find out. The pot was to be a small cup....An ice cream cup would do.). We were asked to record the growth in its length every day and its overall progress. The small plant was to be bought to school and shown to the teacher. Marks were supposed to be given on how healthy the plant appeared and how much the growth was. I was very excited, initially, and was looking forward to planting. However school time enthusiasm was forgotten once I got home. In fact, I forgot all about it until the very last day of the 'dead line' of 'submission of the sapling', which was some 15-20 days from the date on which the teacher had given us the project. Now, its agreed that you can't grow a 'tree' in 15-20 days, but I know (now, of course) that mustard seeds if planted in soil can grow quickly. However knowledge was of no consequence !!! The reality was that I had totally forgotten about it. Even if I did know it then, what was the use, if it had slipped completely off my mind? The teacher reminded us once a week, but even then I forgot. Then one day the teacher said, "Children, bring your plant tommorow, I hope they are growing well and you are watering them regularly."
It was then that I remembered !!! Oh yes, the plant ! I havent planted them !!! Oh what will I do?. And while everyone was happily discussing how well their plant had grown, I was left pondering on how to achieve a miracle. Usually mom was more 'demonic' and less 'angelic' when such kind of careless situations turned up....(I am sure every mom is.) and I wasnt exactly willing to tell mom to perform some kind of miracle.
I had an idea, of course. Next day (On day of submission.) I went downstairs and brought some 'soil' from the very place the kid was watering the plant today !!!
I remember scooping a handful of 'soil' in an old ice cream cup. So, I said to myself, "There's the soil". Now comes the plant. So I simply uprooted a weed-like thing from the ground, kept it in the soil collected in the cup and just packed some soil around its base. I put some water on the soil....and sprinkled some on the plant....it had to look fresh. It looked like a plant to me.......all fed and watered !!! The soil looked a bit more light coloured to me.....maybe it was because it did not have enough water, so I put some more. I punctured 5 holes at the base of the cup so that the extra water would drain off. And there it was....a nice plant. Grown by a cheat. I was proud of myself, even somewhat confident that I'll get good marks off it !!! I took the plant to school and showed it to the teacher. The teacher took one look at the plant and understood, of course. She simply pulled it out easily (of course.....if its not actually planted it comes off easily, isnt it?). She simply asked me, "What is this nonsense? Didnt I ask you ages ago to plant something? You havent done it and dare to bring this .....this 'fixed' plant to me? you'll get a big zero!! Get out of the class and kneel outside." So there I was, kneeling down outside the classroom, caught cheating and then 'humiliated' in front of my classmates !! Later on, I learnt that even the 'soil' I used was not soil,actually, but rather the loose gravel, used by the construction workers, who were repairing the building columns, at that time !!! Whenever, I think of this incident, I laugh. One things for sure, though. I never did have a green thumb anytime in my life, not then and not even now !!!!

Shape of the clouds and the dark sieve !!

Its been a very hot summer and hence cool beers or cool breezes are a pleasure. Since I dont prefer beer, I suggested that we ride down our bikes to the nearby 'hilly place' to enjoy the latter. Two of my office colleagues + friends were game. So we set off after office, SSR sitting pillion with me and RAA riding single. The ghat to the hilltop is always an enjoyable drive or ride, depending on whether you are in a car or on a bike. We reached the hilltop, parked our bikes and started the small trek to the peak. And we were glad that the cool breeze, we had come for was indeed there !! We reached the peak. While the other two of my friends were enjoying the scenery,
I took off my T-shirt, kept my bag on the ground and using it as a pillow, lay down on the earth. I closed my eyes for a moment and opened them again, and saw the vastness of the sky above. The soft cotton balls (the metaphor is commonly used) were far off, moving at a swift pace. I tried to imagine their shapes like I used to do when I was younger. But I couldnt make anything out of them. Nor was it a rabbit, nor an elephant, nor an old man, nor a house. Didnt think much of that then. What's there in a cloud anyway? They come, they go......they bring rains at times...Whats the big deal if it doesnt seem to be shaped like a monkey? When I sat up I saw a truly wonderful sight of the sunrays being filtered through gaps in some of the dark clouds. I was mesmerized by that lovely light amidst the dark sieve of the clouds and so were my friends.
Now, I dont know whether I am stupid to say this or anything, but later on for a moment, I actually regretted not seeing the clouds shaped like something. Am I losing my creativity or imagination, which was stronger when I was young? It was fun back then, seeing the cloud form some shape, letting your imagination run......is it not fun anymore? Has practical life taken away all my imagination, aspirations, dreams?
I saw the sunrays being filtered.....and thought of how wonderful the sun was........and then I completely missed the thought of why those sunrays got their identity and the focusing effect......it was due to the sieve like dark clouds !!!
Sometimes we are so overawed by the bigger picture that we totally miss the finer points which makes the bigger picture so much worth its value !!!

Lectures = meetings / presentations

Its one of those things that you remember out of the blue someday. It used to be mom who used to teach me marathi subject. My mom is one of the best teachers of the subject. That's what I used to hear from her tution students. Thats because I used to close my eyes while pretending to hear mom explain. I used to tell mom that I am listening to her and just that I can concentrate better if I close my eyes. After I closed my eyes, I would, of course, fall asleep. Mom isnt stupid and she used to make me get up, sit upright and ask me questions. Mom has a golden heart too.....and was at times content to see me sleep!! She let me sleep for about half an hour and then used to wake me up and start explaining chapters. Although I did sleep during the explanation time, it wasnt because mom was a bad teacher or boring or anything. It was just that I would feel sleepy after my lunch.

I remembered because, even today, if there is an important meeting going on, with a dead serious topic of discussion....I cant help but feel sleepy, restless and bored. No matter how interesting the presentation, how good the presenter, however good the length of the presentation / meeting may be.

Blogging woes.

A friend of mine has a blog. He recently wrote a post on his blog. I read it and told him so this evening. "Yes, That one....ya....wrote it last evening. Although it didnt turn out quite the way I wanted it to."
Ya. It does happen..... lots of times doesnt it?

You want to write something......but you cant think of a topic.
You dont want to write something but you are feeling trapped and lonely and want to release some frustration and express it in some form of the other and feel that your blog is the best way to vent it out.
You had a fixed topic in mind to write about, but when you started writing....you drifted away from the issue....
You didnt have a fixed topic but whatever you wrote came out well.
You remember some incident, feel like writing about it.......but somehow after writing it down...it doesnt seem to be like the same incident !!!
You start writing about a serious topic and when it is written down....it sounds rubbish !!
Sometimes you are just tired and cant write..although you want to...

Lots of other factors that way or the other. I henceforth cristen them as the 'Blogging woes'.
Wonder how professional writers handle these kind of woeful mood swings?

Those who pray and those who care,
Please say that he is still there.

He created Adam,
He created Eve,
He created their love and he created the seed.

He was generous and he was kind,
He was gracious and he didnt mind.
Those who pray and those who care,
Please say that he is still there.

Man became selfish and he became blind,
He created a kingdom ruled by might.
He wanted power, he wanted fame,
He wanted to be known and killed for gain.

He progressed and so he thought,
And so the precious territories for which he fought
After the war came the peace,
And then came again, a bloodfeast.

And so it went on and on,
And in the end became a norm.
This is the story of mankind....and so it will continue till the end of days,
Till he changes his self destructive ways.

And so I say, to those who pray and those who care,
Please hope that God is still there.

-By
Me. (Hoping that God is still everywhere on earth as per popular belief. Contrary to popular belief, I believe God left this place a long time ago, seeing man being such an arrogant bastard that he is today !!!)

Jawhar-Sajan-Kelwa: Part 2

So after taking the right left turn for Palghar, we finally felt relieved. We still werent sure that we would have a place to stay the night of course. But at least we had found the correct route and even that was something !! In fact it was something of an achievement after a botched up journey. And then surprise surprise, we found quite a nice place to stay called 'Kelwa beach resort'. This resort had cottages as well as some dorms. We rented a cottage for a 1000 smackers each (There were 3 of us) . The room rent included our dinner and breakfast. It had a small gate which opened out to the Kelwa beach. We dumped our bags in our rented cottage and headed straight for the beach. We stripped to our water gear..... Irfan wore his swimming trunks, rohan .... his boxers and me in shorts. We tore towards the water like young kids towards an ice cream man. The touch of sea water was so soothing after a whole day of travelling. We spent a quite a lot of time in the water. It was so cool and so refreshing that I didnt feel like leaving at all. Back at the hotel all of us had showers and then sat down outside. (The cottage had a small sit-out). As always, we had a lot of fun chatting. Long soulful chat, where we discussed life, people, cricket, IPL, relationships etc. After this was time for dinner. There was a buffet dinner. There was kofte ki sabji, dal, rice, rotis and ravas fish fry and custard for dessert. I liked the ravas fry, especially. After this we came back and slept like logs till 8 in the morning. I was the first one to get up. I ordered tea so that the other two would get up and I wouldnt get bored sitting there alone !! After tea we went to the beach again to take some photos and shoot some videos. It was low tide and the waters had drawn back so much that we had to walk for atleast 5 minutes to get to it !!! Kelwa beach.....I observed, is not as clean as, maybe, say, Kashid. But its still good enough to have a fun time ! We had breakfast and left the place at around 11:30 A.M. As we had not included lunch in our package the manager of the resort tried to tell us that we had to check out at 10:00 A.M (It was actually because some other people had booked the room for the day and were checking in early.). But since we had no such prior information from him about the check out time, we had a little argument with him. Rohan raised his voice a bit (or maybe his voice is a bit strong !!). Anyway, the manager was a bit intimidated and he 'adjusted' our check out time to 11:30 A.M !! We played some table tennis and left the place at around 11:15 A.M. We took turns to drive the car. Return journey was via Mumbai - Ahmedabad road. I wouldnt say it was the best of our trips. But I would say that it was one of the most adventurous and fun trips I'd ever had !

Jawhar-Sajan-Kelwa trip: Part 1

So finally I had my trip. It was all thanks to irfan once again, who once again managed to get hold of his car, so that we could make a quick journey. One day before the trip, I went to two or three travel agents to ask their rent-a-car rates. I was discouraged by the exorbitantly high rates (We were going to make a 2 day trip and we hadnt booked a place to live. We were just going to go to some undecided place and book a resort on the spot. So there was no point in booking a car just like that.) It was finally Irfan's call in the evening that shook me from my deadened and discouraged state. He told me that he had his dad's car at his disposal for two days and that we could finally go to someplace. It was decided in the evening that we (three of us...Rohan, Irfan and me) go to Jawhar, a hill station in Thane district, a little off the Mumbai-Ahmedabad road. Next day we started at around 0945 hrs (after casting our votes for the Lok sabha candidates.).
We took the Bhiwandi route (like idiots). This is because we did not know how to go from the Mumbai - Ahmedabad route. So we took the route to bhiwandi via Shilphata and then mumbra. We went through what seemed to be like the most interior part of bhiwandi....before we finally came out and started cruising towards Shelar and then Waada. On the way we stopped in Waada for some wadas !!! The road was nice and curvy after that and Irfan was having a time of his life driving his Hyundai accent. Before Jawhar, there was a ghat. On reaching Jawhar....we started at once to look for places to stay. Jawhar is a hillstation and is quite good for its view and all. But we realised some time later that it hasnt got any places to stay in and not much to see at summertime and that we should come down here in the monsoons !!! We were disappointed. We even searched for places to eat, but there was hardly any decent place to eat, let alone to stay in !!! We decided to head to Sajan which is just some Kms away from Jawhar. We had read about Sajan having a nice nature trail resort. On reaching the resort, we found that it was fully booked and once again it was not a hotel, meaning that there was no food. Again it was disappointment for us. It was 2:00 pm, our stomachs were rumbling with hunger and we had not even found a place to stay. We decided now, to head to Palghar, which is a coastal town, and has the famous Kelwa beach. We were hoping that we get a good place to stay in Kelwa !! Thinking that we should probably eat the first place we see now, we stopped at a dhaba which was fairly decent looking. We had a filling lunch and started off again. Just minutes later, we reached the highway, and wondered how bad our luck had been. Minutes earlier we had stopped at a Dhaba thinking that there would be no better place to eat on the path ahead and now just a few miles down, the road connects to the highway, where there are plenty of hotels to eat !! In the way we kept asking Irfan whether he wanted to take a break from driving his car. But he was enjoying the drive and had no desire to break off his rhythm. We took a right turn and headed towards the Palghar turn / cutting and kept driving. After going on for almost 25 Kms and passing a toll booth, we realised that we had left the Palghar turn behind. We took a U-turn, paid the toll again and headed back again.
Now it is said that man learns from his mistakes. But apparently we did not, that is because after driving back 25 Kms we drove another 10 Kms in the opposite direction and still hadnt found the Palghar turn !!! We stopped to ask someone. We found a scrawny looking man and asked him "Where is the Palghar turn?".
"Where do you want to go?" he asked.
"Palghar" we said.
"Then why did you come here?" he asked.
(That was a STUPID question.
Because we knew that the Palghar turn was behind and came ahead just to see your face and ask you directions of some turn already knew, BOZO !!...thats what we thought )
Anyway, he gave us the right direction. We were about to take a U-turn. When the U-turn was about to be taken, Irfan asked us whether we want to go to Palghar or head back to Mumbai? (Till this time we had travelled a lot, were hungry again and had been to the wrong places, taken the wrong routes and we were finding a place, where we were not sure whether we would even find a place to stay, so the thoughtful question from Irfan !!) After some contemplation, rohan and me were all for finding Palghar. So we took the U-turn and finally after going to and fro on the same highway for around 50 Kms we found the correct turning for Palghar. Hurrah !!!
Later on Irfan commented that
Life is just like the journey we had that day......we come to right place after going through so many wrong turns, so many treacherous climbs and descends. So many people, give you directions, few of them are right and many others, wrong. Also there are times when you decide, whether to head back to the safety of your homes or go on bravely in hunt of unaccomplished challenges, inspite of all the disappointments on the way !!!
(To be con'td)