That was not the first time I was carrying that look on my face. I felt lost even though I knew right where I was standing. People strolled past each other like the people before them were invisible. Loud music geared up the people who were in their early phase of intoxication.
I quickly checked my pocket to see a message from dip. She was supposed to meet me there. As I walked with family pack (my x colleague) piercing the crowd, I could see people wearing weird hats which read Had KF?. Now, who in their proper sense would wear something that unfashionable? Soon I could see the lot. 80% of the crowd were proudly presenting themselves with the KF hat. Some had devil horns and some angle ring.
Wow!! I exclaimed.
My face still reflected the same expression as it did earlier. But this time I was standing in the crowd near a counter, waiting for my long lost friend.
“…nu….” I heard someone say. Dips was walking swiftly towards me with her usual grace. As we hugged each other I realized how the distance, that we had all this while, never mattered. Meeting her after such a long time brought back old memories.
“I missed you” she said. Soon I could see guys behind her. She introduced me to those friends of her. I could not get their names, but it didn’t matter as I knew there wouldn’t be a need for the same. With a special request from dips, I had to make a guest appearance to the ‘Super Loo’ (this is not my idea of a name, the toilets was named so).
We started our usual drink, a can of milk. We never forget our values & where we come from. In our childhood, we were taught how milk is nutritious and keeps us healthy. To boost out morale we all got one can each.
Once we were done we walked around swaying like daffodils. William Wordswoth, in his poem Daffodils, describes the bliss of solitude he feels when he finds an array of Daffodils beside a lake. In this context, we felt like the daffodils, swaying around with stupid hats on our heads talking to strangers who greeted us like long lost friends.
I was still in pain because of my lower spine problem. But the can of milk provided me sufficient energy of overcome it. I managed to stay put on the mechanical bull for 45 secs, which was appreciable. Then I took my chance with the artificially set rock climbing task. It was a piece of cake. I was glad to see dips make it to the top. Guess the milk gave her strength to overcome her fear.
After enjoying the fire show and the violin performance, we decided to go to the main ground for the Lacuna coil live. I have been a Lacuna coil follower for a while now. Ever since my cousin Nit shared a video of the band, I’ve fascinated to be at their concert. So this was a dream come true.
We still had 15 mins left. We met a group of German guys. They told us about their experience in India, why they were here and how different the fest over here was. One guy put a rose on my hair. It was funny and weird. We finally said our goodbyes as Christina spoke.
There I was tearing my way through the crowd, desperately wanting to reach the first row. Once we were there, I got into the trance and started enjoying the music. She started with the song ‘down’. The entire crowd sang along when they performed ‘Heaven’s a lie’. It was beautiful.
I was offered a bite of burger. The people around me were enjoying their burger as they were listening to the music. I took a bite and realized that it was not a Mc D burger; it was some other brand, with extra cheese. Still I continued to enjoy the music, head banging for a while. My friend family pack stood there beside me throughout the band’s performance.
I went back and joined the rest of the group once the performance got over. We sat there and enjoyed our Flavoured Mega Burger, the one without cheese. As me and dips watched a group of guys dancing near a table, one of them actually on the table , we walked straight to them and acted like people who s throwing money at them. Then we got on the table and danced for a while.
It was stupid, but we still enjoyed it. We spent some time chatting and dancing. Once we struck the height of boredom, we decided to leave. We enjoyed a decent meal at Empire after which Family pack dropped me home.
As I went off to sleep that night, I realized how happy small arbit things make me. I enjoyed that night and will always cherish this memory.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Saturday, October 23, 2010
The Team outing
“Its past 4.30”, I heard Ms Mumbai say. “Why don’t you shut down your system, Ms Lotus is waiting for you”.
It was a Friday evening and my colleagues and I were all set for our team outing. I was not really enthusiastic about it as we were all set to go for a round of bowling and dinner.
‘What’s the point’ I thought, ‘I can’t play’. Not that I sucked at bowling, but due to my recent mishap I had a minor back injury which ceased me from lifting any heavy object or from bending. And to my luck Bowling constituted both these No’s.
I reached the venue with Ms Lotus, the friendly and sweet girl from our counterpart sub team. Apparently I had to travel in a mosquito, the 3 wheeler vehicle. Why do I call it mosquito? Well I’ll update that in my next post.
Anyway, the ride was bad. I had not taken my vehicle as I was scared of causing discomfort to my back. But the mosquito ride put my usual ride to shame. It was the heights of discomfort. The driver made it a point to drive on every pit on the road. I thanked my stars as we safely got out of it.
Tosh and his reviewer (veggie) were at the entrance of Amoeba. It felt really good to meet the guys from our other office. “Where are other” I asked Veggie. From nowhere someone tapped on my head. I turned to see Smokey and my reviewer (well now this is really hard; I can’t find a suitable name for my reviewer) walk away. Probably they were out for a sutta, I thought.
We went upstairs to find many familiar faces. It was quite formal for a while but the all wear pretty geared up for the game. I was playing the role of the boring person in the group who looks after all the ladies bags. That was strange, as I had never been in those shoes. I was always at the other end wondering why some people stood back and just watched others play.
I sat there, feeling like a loser till the DJ played my numbers. Well that surely made my day. I was sitting there tapping my foot lip-syncing every word that was being played. Not that I was sitting there alone, I had my buddy there, sitting next to me. We were watching the two teams play.
“Only if I could play, I would have surely added to the score,” I told buddy, “I would play in HK’s team, just like the last time”.
Buddy thought otherwise, he thought that it was better if I refrained from playing till I could get a proper diagnosis done.
We chatted for a while, till the game got over.
We then had a photo session. I didn’t know most of the people from the counter sub team. Our interaction was limited to just exchange of smiles.
For the first time I saw my reviewer in a new form. He was not the snub serious person whom I interacted with on a daily basis. He was different. That just reminded me of how I used to call him an un-cool person, and he used to tell me that he is not the same when he is at work and otherwise. He was not lying.
He was jumping around like a kid at the carnival, enjoying every single bit of it. So true, first impression is never the last impression.
Café Masala, the restaurant where we had our reservation, was on the 5th floor of Eva mall. I stalked around the mall with buddy. I could get a proper look at the camera I was intending to buy. We also checked out few keyboards (musical instrument) and apple laptop.
After a while it was time for dinner and we went upstairs. It was quite strange to enter Café Masala, with a different group of people. Normally I go there with my other friends after a visit to Vaayu, the next door hangout place.
But for a change, I actually got to see the interiors of Café Masala. It had a nice ambiance. The sight of UB city enhanced the beauty of the night. The table was set for 25 people. It reminded me of a train, though there are passengers at the other end going to the same destination, you never really know what might be going on at the other end of the train.
I sat adjacent to Ms Mumbai who kept telling me how hungry she was. She made me realize that there were mice playing football in my stomach. Buddy sat opposite to me and Smokey placed himself next to him. My senior sat next to me and Veggie on his other side. That was it. I was ready to attack the food. I did not know what was going on at the other end of the table. Colleagues from the other sub team were seated opposite to HK RJ and GH. PP sat diagonally opposite to Ms Mumbai at the farthest end of the table.
It was quite funny to watch Veggie eat. As she was a very careful about the food she had. We were engrossed in random conversations like, Veg food, Smokey not drinking as it was Friday, why Buddy was in formal attire, How Ms Mumbai would be going back home, Why Tosh was sad of late and the pure veg item- Green Chilly.
Buddy and Ms Mumbai left early and their seats were occupied by Tosh and Veggie.
I watched my reviewer eat the green chilly with ease. I couldn’t believe my eyes at first. Realized how stupid it was of me to try it. It was strange, to be just a spectator for a change, watching Tosh behave like a (……… sorry I can’t describe it), my reviewer talking and acting like a kid and Smokey actively participating in all the conversations.
Amidst all this PP gave a small speech on public demand, which was barely audible at our end. Smokey was trying to capture it on Veggie’s cam. Was I deaf? I could not hear anything that was being spoken at the other end, how could the camera record it??
Anyway, we waited for Tosh to finish his last piece of Cake, which was offered by GH. Someone around thought that GH was upset only because he was not allowed to drink. Lolz
We walked out realizing that Café Masala, would never make any booking on my reviewer’s name, after what they witnessed that night. The booking was for 25 people, but I am sure that the food consumed was for more than 50.
Outside the restaurant, there was another photo session, after which we parted our separate ways. Thanks to my reviewer, I reached home safe and sound. We had to travel with the car windows down lest we die of lethal gas. The way RT and my reviewer were commenting on every one on the road was damn funny.
That night I realized lot of things:
- being a spectator is not always bad
- First impression can be wrong
- Tosh can eat a lot.
It was a Friday evening and my colleagues and I were all set for our team outing. I was not really enthusiastic about it as we were all set to go for a round of bowling and dinner.
‘What’s the point’ I thought, ‘I can’t play’. Not that I sucked at bowling, but due to my recent mishap I had a minor back injury which ceased me from lifting any heavy object or from bending. And to my luck Bowling constituted both these No’s.
I reached the venue with Ms Lotus, the friendly and sweet girl from our counterpart sub team. Apparently I had to travel in a mosquito, the 3 wheeler vehicle. Why do I call it mosquito? Well I’ll update that in my next post.
Anyway, the ride was bad. I had not taken my vehicle as I was scared of causing discomfort to my back. But the mosquito ride put my usual ride to shame. It was the heights of discomfort. The driver made it a point to drive on every pit on the road. I thanked my stars as we safely got out of it.
Tosh and his reviewer (veggie) were at the entrance of Amoeba. It felt really good to meet the guys from our other office. “Where are other” I asked Veggie. From nowhere someone tapped on my head. I turned to see Smokey and my reviewer (well now this is really hard; I can’t find a suitable name for my reviewer) walk away. Probably they were out for a sutta, I thought.
We went upstairs to find many familiar faces. It was quite formal for a while but the all wear pretty geared up for the game. I was playing the role of the boring person in the group who looks after all the ladies bags. That was strange, as I had never been in those shoes. I was always at the other end wondering why some people stood back and just watched others play.
I sat there, feeling like a loser till the DJ played my numbers. Well that surely made my day. I was sitting there tapping my foot lip-syncing every word that was being played. Not that I was sitting there alone, I had my buddy there, sitting next to me. We were watching the two teams play.
“Only if I could play, I would have surely added to the score,” I told buddy, “I would play in HK’s team, just like the last time”.
Buddy thought otherwise, he thought that it was better if I refrained from playing till I could get a proper diagnosis done.
We chatted for a while, till the game got over.
We then had a photo session. I didn’t know most of the people from the counter sub team. Our interaction was limited to just exchange of smiles.
For the first time I saw my reviewer in a new form. He was not the snub serious person whom I interacted with on a daily basis. He was different. That just reminded me of how I used to call him an un-cool person, and he used to tell me that he is not the same when he is at work and otherwise. He was not lying.
He was jumping around like a kid at the carnival, enjoying every single bit of it. So true, first impression is never the last impression.
Café Masala, the restaurant where we had our reservation, was on the 5th floor of Eva mall. I stalked around the mall with buddy. I could get a proper look at the camera I was intending to buy. We also checked out few keyboards (musical instrument) and apple laptop.
After a while it was time for dinner and we went upstairs. It was quite strange to enter Café Masala, with a different group of people. Normally I go there with my other friends after a visit to Vaayu, the next door hangout place.
But for a change, I actually got to see the interiors of Café Masala. It had a nice ambiance. The sight of UB city enhanced the beauty of the night. The table was set for 25 people. It reminded me of a train, though there are passengers at the other end going to the same destination, you never really know what might be going on at the other end of the train.
I sat adjacent to Ms Mumbai who kept telling me how hungry she was. She made me realize that there were mice playing football in my stomach. Buddy sat opposite to me and Smokey placed himself next to him. My senior sat next to me and Veggie on his other side. That was it. I was ready to attack the food. I did not know what was going on at the other end of the table. Colleagues from the other sub team were seated opposite to HK RJ and GH. PP sat diagonally opposite to Ms Mumbai at the farthest end of the table.
It was quite funny to watch Veggie eat. As she was a very careful about the food she had. We were engrossed in random conversations like, Veg food, Smokey not drinking as it was Friday, why Buddy was in formal attire, How Ms Mumbai would be going back home, Why Tosh was sad of late and the pure veg item- Green Chilly.
Buddy and Ms Mumbai left early and their seats were occupied by Tosh and Veggie.
I watched my reviewer eat the green chilly with ease. I couldn’t believe my eyes at first. Realized how stupid it was of me to try it. It was strange, to be just a spectator for a change, watching Tosh behave like a (……… sorry I can’t describe it), my reviewer talking and acting like a kid and Smokey actively participating in all the conversations.
Amidst all this PP gave a small speech on public demand, which was barely audible at our end. Smokey was trying to capture it on Veggie’s cam. Was I deaf? I could not hear anything that was being spoken at the other end, how could the camera record it??
Anyway, we waited for Tosh to finish his last piece of Cake, which was offered by GH. Someone around thought that GH was upset only because he was not allowed to drink. Lolz
We walked out realizing that Café Masala, would never make any booking on my reviewer’s name, after what they witnessed that night. The booking was for 25 people, but I am sure that the food consumed was for more than 50.
Outside the restaurant, there was another photo session, after which we parted our separate ways. Thanks to my reviewer, I reached home safe and sound. We had to travel with the car windows down lest we die of lethal gas. The way RT and my reviewer were commenting on every one on the road was damn funny.
That night I realized lot of things:
- being a spectator is not always bad
- First impression can be wrong
- Tosh can eat a lot.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
The Journey - Part 2
Its amazing how small things in our daily lives bring back childhood memories, the tingling sensation of fresh grass at the feet, the adrenalin rush caused while chasing your kid brother in the backyard or the sand gust at the beach. What was it about that place that made me fall in love with everything around, the wind, the lights and also the people?
I was on the roof of the Chabi. How did I end up there? Well that is where it all begins.
A smile stretched on my face as I stepped out of the Motel. We were heading back to B-city. I walked with heavy steps towards the vehicle. Of course I was glad that I was going back. But just the idea of leaving Hassan terrified me. I wanted a vacation, away from pollution, away from the constant bickering of people around me, away from work and mainly away from dreadful thoughts. The time off at smiley’s wedding was coming to an end; and that was breaking my heart.
The drive back was like having an ice-cream; smooth and relaxing. I feel bad when the ice-cream in the cup reduces after few scoops. The trip was just like the cup of ice-cream, it was coming to an end.
Lot of things happen during the return trip; we touched out previous record and raised it to 165kmph, Well Garu tried to capture the moment, but was unable to do so cause of the speed, I learnt to identify a White-Browed Wagtail, had an annoying time trying to avoid the baldy in Alto, took the wrong route twice and also had a pit stop at the CCD.
The return trip was like a Hollywood movie, there was no dragging of time and it provided us an instant gratification. Time flew by faster than our speed.
Soon we reached the station, where Garu was supposed to board the train to H-city. After 2 long and beautiful days, I did not have the heart to leave Garu at the station. It was an emotional departure. But sadly, destiny called.
As we reached the city, Birdy checked with one of his friends if we could drop by at his workplace to drop off the vehicle. The vehicle was a rented one. Birdy’s friend Jerry helped us get it using his influence. Once Jerry gave us thumbs up, we headed towards the hotel Chabi, the place where he worked as MOD.
I was visiting the place for the first time. The hotel was beautifully designed, mainly for the business class. Jerry took us around the place acquainting us with the configuration of that place. He also offered us scrumptious dinner. The best of all was the roof. Bcity was at its best. Displaying the night lit beauty of the deserted, but otherwise crowded street and the wind adding to the pleasure.And finally I was there, at the top of the world enjoying every bit of it. The last bit made my day and also the trip. As I left the place I had the same smile stretched on my face, which I had earlier in the morning that day. :)
I was on the roof of the Chabi. How did I end up there? Well that is where it all begins.
A smile stretched on my face as I stepped out of the Motel. We were heading back to B-city. I walked with heavy steps towards the vehicle. Of course I was glad that I was going back. But just the idea of leaving Hassan terrified me. I wanted a vacation, away from pollution, away from the constant bickering of people around me, away from work and mainly away from dreadful thoughts. The time off at smiley’s wedding was coming to an end; and that was breaking my heart.
The drive back was like having an ice-cream; smooth and relaxing. I feel bad when the ice-cream in the cup reduces after few scoops. The trip was just like the cup of ice-cream, it was coming to an end.
Lot of things happen during the return trip; we touched out previous record and raised it to 165kmph, Well Garu tried to capture the moment, but was unable to do so cause of the speed, I learnt to identify a White-Browed Wagtail, had an annoying time trying to avoid the baldy in Alto, took the wrong route twice and also had a pit stop at the CCD.
The return trip was like a Hollywood movie, there was no dragging of time and it provided us an instant gratification. Time flew by faster than our speed.
Soon we reached the station, where Garu was supposed to board the train to H-city. After 2 long and beautiful days, I did not have the heart to leave Garu at the station. It was an emotional departure. But sadly, destiny called.
As we reached the city, Birdy checked with one of his friends if we could drop by at his workplace to drop off the vehicle. The vehicle was a rented one. Birdy’s friend Jerry helped us get it using his influence. Once Jerry gave us thumbs up, we headed towards the hotel Chabi, the place where he worked as MOD.
I was visiting the place for the first time. The hotel was beautifully designed, mainly for the business class. Jerry took us around the place acquainting us with the configuration of that place. He also offered us scrumptious dinner. The best of all was the roof. Bcity was at its best. Displaying the night lit beauty of the deserted, but otherwise crowded street and the wind adding to the pleasure.And finally I was there, at the top of the world enjoying every bit of it. The last bit made my day and also the trip. As I left the place I had the same smile stretched on my face, which I had earlier in the morning that day. :)
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
The Journey- Part 1
As I was rummaging through my bag for my wallet, I heard Birdy say, “let’s go!”. It was weird how things were changing so hastily around. The number of people who were to make through the trip had fallen from 9 to 3. But somehow it did not make much of a difference to me. All I knew was that, I wanted to reach Hassan on time.
Little did I know back then that this would be more than just a travel from Bangalore to Hassan; it would be a journey.
I often find it hard to frame my thought. But Birdy did that for me by describing what made a trip, a journey. “Travelling”, he said, “is when the destination is more important. A trip is when the journey and not the destination, is important”. Well, those words said it all.
I sat there in the front seat like a dreamy li’l kid watching Birdy and Garu talk about lenses, apertures and focal lengths, which actually took me back to my College days where I had to study the types of microscopic lenses. I shook my head and thought that Greek or Latin would be easier to understand.
But then the topic changed. It was more about roads and mile stones.
Two and a half out of the three of us were starving. Well, I count my appetite as half as its well known that I cannot compare with other’s. The growling noise that our stomachs made would have put Lions to shame. All we had with us was 450 bucks. Unable to find any ATM at a stretch of few miles, we decided to suffice our craving for food with the little food that we could afford. That is when we found heaven on earth - Manoj Dhaba!!!!!
The best dhaba I have ever been to. We did not eat a great variety. All we had was dal and roti. And believe me when I say this, the food was scrumptious. I had 4 roties in a row, which has never happen before, ever. Altogether we had 16 roties and 3 dal curries.And the whole lot fit well in our budget.
And, the journey continued…..
It’s strange how something’s in life just falls into its place. This trip described that phrase well. It was so easy going. No one offered us any unsolicited advice, no differences of ideas, no one snagging or cribbing about anything totally irrelevant and also no bee stung faces.
It was peaceful just like it was supposed to be. The roads were good. Though it has an “Indian” aspect, displaying lot of ‘Take a diversion’, ‘road under construction’, and also vehicles following a US lane drive pattern, we could effortlessly touch 150kmph.
We talked about random things, Garu’s discovery a-Deiti , Indian roads, cars; and also about how strange it was to see 2 of our friends getting married. Birdy tried his best to teach me to identify cars by the way they look. Well I did learn a little. Throughout the trip I kept trying to name the cars that crossed us. In fact I guess I learnt a lot …
We had a pit stop at some place an hour away from our destination for a cup of tea and another one to watch the sunset. It was a serene scene. The sky portrayed a painter’s imagination beautifully displaying a field behind a huge tree and few distant tiny windmills at the far hill under the multicoloured sky, which reflected the colour of fresh grapes and oranges. The beauty described itself.
The last hour of the drive was not as eventful as the rest of it as we knew that the drive would end soon. Also the city roads which were best suited for bullock carts gave us a tough time.
But finally we were there… destination Hassan.
Little did I know back then that this would be more than just a travel from Bangalore to Hassan; it would be a journey.
I often find it hard to frame my thought. But Birdy did that for me by describing what made a trip, a journey. “Travelling”, he said, “is when the destination is more important. A trip is when the journey and not the destination, is important”. Well, those words said it all.
I sat there in the front seat like a dreamy li’l kid watching Birdy and Garu talk about lenses, apertures and focal lengths, which actually took me back to my College days where I had to study the types of microscopic lenses. I shook my head and thought that Greek or Latin would be easier to understand.
But then the topic changed. It was more about roads and mile stones.
Two and a half out of the three of us were starving. Well, I count my appetite as half as its well known that I cannot compare with other’s. The growling noise that our stomachs made would have put Lions to shame. All we had with us was 450 bucks. Unable to find any ATM at a stretch of few miles, we decided to suffice our craving for food with the little food that we could afford. That is when we found heaven on earth - Manoj Dhaba!!!!!
The best dhaba I have ever been to. We did not eat a great variety. All we had was dal and roti. And believe me when I say this, the food was scrumptious. I had 4 roties in a row, which has never happen before, ever. Altogether we had 16 roties and 3 dal curries.And the whole lot fit well in our budget.
And, the journey continued…..
It’s strange how something’s in life just falls into its place. This trip described that phrase well. It was so easy going. No one offered us any unsolicited advice, no differences of ideas, no one snagging or cribbing about anything totally irrelevant and also no bee stung faces.
It was peaceful just like it was supposed to be. The roads were good. Though it has an “Indian” aspect, displaying lot of ‘Take a diversion’, ‘road under construction’, and also vehicles following a US lane drive pattern, we could effortlessly touch 150kmph.
We talked about random things, Garu’s discovery a-Deiti , Indian roads, cars; and also about how strange it was to see 2 of our friends getting married. Birdy tried his best to teach me to identify cars by the way they look. Well I did learn a little. Throughout the trip I kept trying to name the cars that crossed us. In fact I guess I learnt a lot …
We had a pit stop at some place an hour away from our destination for a cup of tea and another one to watch the sunset. It was a serene scene. The sky portrayed a painter’s imagination beautifully displaying a field behind a huge tree and few distant tiny windmills at the far hill under the multicoloured sky, which reflected the colour of fresh grapes and oranges. The beauty described itself.
The last hour of the drive was not as eventful as the rest of it as we knew that the drive would end soon. Also the city roads which were best suited for bullock carts gave us a tough time.
But finally we were there… destination Hassan.
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