It happens

Old friends. You were free, you found me, We chatted long hours, we had fun; Even though we were far away we enjoyed each other’s company; Then, you had to move on with other things.. We Lost Contact. I decided not to mingle so much with anyone.

New Friend, just happened. Did not talk much, as decided. But still, got used and began to enjoy the company.. Now have to move on again.. And I decide not to make friends again..

Colleagues. Did not intend to be friends. But, you always wanted me to speak, speak something, speak something more.. It was not easy.. Meanwhile u told me stories, and scolded me like a friend.. I tried hard.. ‘To speak or not to’, only to realize that it hardly matters.. Now we have to move on again.. And I decide not to think about anything, anymore.. Just Chill, Chill, Just Chill.. :)

A hug that made the difference..

I come to office today and read this line in a forwarded email: A hug is the shortest distance between friends.
Then as memory recalls: We were completing this company training and getting our postings to different locations.. Some guys from the other streams got their posting a month before us.. One of my good friends was among them.. He was the first to receive the black tag, which was kind-off an achievement for every trainee.. I was very happy for him.. felt like hugging him so tight at that time, but had to control those feelings :( That hug, missed that day, has maintained the distance between us till date!

Haunted by boredom.

I'm bored to the core.. donno from where it all came, but it's with me today.. ALL DAY!
GTH man, jus get out. But its not going. This morning, I woke up with a heavy head, did something for 2 mins, n went back to sleep. Then woke up again after a lil less than an hour, started getting ready to go to office. Everything moved slowly, I din progress a bit.
Kya yaar... pata nahi wts going on!
I'm not working the least bit. Got late to office, Talked to my best fren on the way, continued, n then reached finally reached my cubicle. Trying to read some scripts since morning, but in vain. Then I decided to pass some time until evening, put on my ear phones, n without my knowledge I started humming 'more than a friend'. My lead, n a colleague, sitting in the neighouring left n right cubes stood at once gesturing me to soften down. I was so embarressed..that too deeply! ummmmmmm! I jus pulled out my ear plugs, tried to hide my face. OMG!
*(&X(%X^Z** ........ dinno wt to do!
Jus then I got a ping for a team discussion. Right timing, we were all distracted from my topic.
Chalo, that was good enough to get me out of the embarressed mood.
btw: small boss jus peeped in, and he has told me the next time post, write 'My lead is handsome' and I won’t do tht :P

Curry leaves

All my classmates gathered for a class photo @ the lib entrance. Then, our valedictory_function()-cum-official_farewell began… It began..with an invocation song. The hostesses uttered some not-so-famous quotes appropriate for the closing ceremony of the dept association. Our staff coordinator listed out the activities of least interest carried out during the year. Princi spoke for more than 20 mins. He loves to speak. That even makes the function long enough to be noticed. The already known winners received their (kind-off) delayed certificates. A few clapped and got bored. Few others clapped just to have the fun of hearing the clapping sound. Few “prejudiced” awards were given to selected outgoing students. Literally, everyone was bugged up. Sitting like dummies, without the power to raise a voice (neither in protest nor praise…) but I was busy. Busy wondering whether what I had prepared to speak as feedback would be appropriate. Should I or should I not say what I wanted to say?

I wanted to speak. I wanted and this was a moment long awaited – 2yrs! And so I went up the stage n spoke, just because of those few good people whom we appreciate in the dept. I was shivering (a bit) wondering how it’d be. And it was fun! Absolute fun and I can happily say, it was the best part of the function that day! Big shouts for those who deserved, as I took their names, and chilled silence for those who didn’t. We all were happy. Some grateful. Everyone appreciated and I was satisfied. And..for that one day, princi knew me :P

It was like a different refreshing flavour..like the one produced by adding curry leaves to the garnish! :) lovely!

Excerpts from mobile dairy:

21st May 2009 (evening):
With an incomplete project in one hand and clothing for 3 days in another, we students are being taken- for a proj competition. lol... looks like d dept is making up for all its tortures in d past semesters by taking us for a compulsory picnic :)

We’r on our way to Hassan. After all d hotch-potch at home, of attempting to study for ia n not attending it, instead being taken on this trip, n hurriedly completing some parts of the project while learning a lot of new things so quickly, n now d cool ride.. feels gr8!
Things are turning out to be exactly opposite.. had thought it’d be very hot, but it rained all night..n d lone driver had a tough time. Its 24 hrs since he woke up, n 13 hrs since he started driving. Journeys like these keep me awake these days.. though I dozed off a few times with d sound of d heavy downpour last night. And since 6am d scenes outside have been eye cooling. We even took a wrong route with a lake on one side n a railway track on another, n came back, but it was d most beautiful route till now. Most wrong routes are often d most beautiful n adventurous ones, n I love them :) They’ll come for a very short time but leave behind memories for a lifetime. Later today will be reg n resting day. Will update later :) chao! Gudde!

22nd May 2009 (night):
Had a tiring day…along with d enjoyment of being with classmates.. Its fun to stay together like this…like, in a hostel…for a short time! Learn co-ordination… jus for those 2 days…while d thought might remain for abt a week :P Doing daily daily chores together scares off laziness coz otherwise u are sure of not getting a bathroom…in time, now warm water, or, not even plain water for that matter. Oops, need to wake up early tomo for this.. but m planning to be at leasure. For a change, hanji is seeming calm. It’s midnight n everyone is sleeping. They even seemed to be sleeping during d journey! M still here(awake), though I was awake in the bus too. But now I can see 2 mobiles, n even d words m typing are looking double! Guess I need rest :) good night.

23rd May 2009 (night):
I wanna go home!

24th May 2009: (nothing written in mobile diary.. I was jus happy, I’d be going home.. hehehe. And sir took us for a 1 hr tour to halebidu :) this was good, compulsory picnic from d dept :)

My Best Friend’s Wedding – 1.

It was time for the wedding bells to ring for the first girl in our group of super seven. Wow! We were excited, but I tell you.. when I seriously thought about it, I was scared. She met him, they became friends, and profited reliance communications for quiet a few months:) They kept visiting each other’s places everytime they could, not letting any opportunity go by. Then their marriage date was fixed and my dear friend kept herself busy throughout the day, everyday, with lots of shopping and other prep for her D-day (And of-course with reliance)

Now our gang had got a chance to get together again.. n none wanted to miss out this chance. All of us waited excitedly. Nivi madam had started planning well, 3 months in advance and I would say to her.. its still December Nivi.. long time to go.. n we are not the ones getting married to our respective hubbies :P (had to extend the sentence ‘coz dostana has affected people’s minds A LOT)

Finally the day came, four of us were to travel together with the bride’s cousins n relatives, n catch up with another friend at the destination. One of our gang members couldn’t come ‘coz of work n we.. hell, missed her soo much:) The travel was good, we caught the last seat in the bus n made a hell lot of noise. Got some good n mocking expressions too.. ‘coz when we sang, we entertained the kids in the bus, but later.. one uncle plugged his ears with ear-phones. God! That was so rude:) still we had a good laugh, n that was good. Oh yes.. how could I forget.. The best song was sung by shrado.. she was singing ye dil, deewana (from yes boss) in such a draggy way that Nivi had to shake her head vigorously to get shrado back to the actual tempo of the beats. Lol, this act was too good, simply unforgettable.

It suddenly started to drizzle n then came the rain for just a few minutes. I got my hands wet through the window:) n before we noticed two of them started dreaming.. n we, the other two (bekaar people), wanted to get them back mentally, with us! So we started teasing them.. n while they enjoyed it, we too had fun.. n then something happened, Nivi got angry on us:( guess we laughed instead of just smiling.. Sorry yaar Nivi.. Bhulado, bhulado wo batein purani jo dil ko satati rahi.. (now I don’t even know if this song is appropriate, but am singing it for you, ok?..ok.)

If it wasn’t for these my friends, there was one thing I would never forget in my entire lifetime (only while attending functions), and that was.. forgotting my sandals at home. I was wearing shoes while traveling n Prags was imagining me wearing shoes (with socks of-course) on the saree/chudi/whatever-a-girl-can-wear-for-a-marraige-other-than-jeans:D All I could do was.. stare at my shoes n wonder why they looked the way they looked. Well, I have no comments here, just a big ThankQ for the borrowed sandals, hehe.. but size matters you see.. n I can proudly say WE FIT PRETTY WELL INTO EACH OTHER’S SHOES :D

Then, we finally reached the destination n enjoyed a very comfortable stay at the hotel. The bride looked simply beautiful, like a doll, in all functions, even while missing on most of her sleep continuously for those 2 days. I was remembering scenes from mythological tele-serials.. ‘coz she looked like one of those actresses.. n we just kept looking at her constantly. Devi-ji was stunning, excited, n was enjoying every moment. I haven’t, n will never see a bride like this. Bhari!!!

Then the next day, we stayed back while all others left to their homes. We did some ultimate shopping with juhi n made a new friend.. sada. :) Now we can travel often to Pune;)  Every moment in the hot sunny day, the music n drousy people in the mall.. were nice.. n our eating plans flopped, we got full too soon, couldn’t eat even one khulcha easily!!

After shopping we had a nice dinner at shrad’s uncle’s house, n left Pune to Belgaum.. it was a horrifying bus.. lol.. Many scary things happened.. Broken glass window next to me, the urge to talk all time, shhhh from one ajja-ajji, shifting seats, touching someone who was sleeping on the last seat.. by mistake, sleepy people looking like dead bodies, n then.. one stupid fellow from behind looking at us or the open window next to me.. n my expressions as I was narrating his movements to Prags.. Ah! This was something different, I was really scared, for the first time.. that’s why we din sleep all night.. kept talking.. n indeed it was a wonderful chat:)

All said and done about our Pune trip, We’r waiting for the next marriage now.. ;) isn’t it girls?

It pricks sometimes..

Achievements.. we get them, and then comes the celebration part. We think of everyone who could share that joy with us. First come the people immediately beside us at the time we hear that delightful news, then come our family n friends, with whom we share the laughter, fun, excitement, thrill.. jumping around, spreading smiles with twinkling eyes.. We immediately message the ones far away and they reply so instantly that we don’t have enough time to hold all those moments together.. we laugh and laugh, for few minutes with each one, on every call.

And then we think of our colleagues, our teachers.. but little do we know at that moment how little they’ll get involved in that joy. We excitedly go ahead the next day.. to meet them.. and share with them.. that joy for which we had waited for so long.. and finally when we meet them, nothing much happens! Nothing but an expression of outward “wow” or “oh, that’s good” and a plain dry smile:! And my happy balloon, which had reached the moon, starts to leave the air out from a tiny hole sometimes, and sometimes from a big one.

Then I think of things that matter most, things that happened way back at home, things that added so much joy to that achievement few hours ago, and things that now prick my balloon of joy! For here, there’ll always be better people, with better grades than me. People who’ll compare our grades, and people who’ll not even bother to ask.. I suddenly become invisible to them in the presence of my mates with better grades. That’s when it pricks. But I don’t bother, for I remember my little happy community of happy “frenz” with whom I’ve shared that bundle of joy already.. and a few more whom I now meet. Then I patch up the hole and blow the balloon again. And then it flies constantly, without interruption, there.. high up in the air.. :)

Re-Union

Many re-unions happening around here.. I found them to be of three types – 1. A school/college re-union where all batches meet, and u can see lots of faces, most of which will be unknown, and you’ll end up hanging around with your chosen group of few with whom you had decided to attend that re-union! Lol, So what difference did you make by attending it?

2. A class-re-union where the entire or most of your classmates meet-up and you spend some good time meeting people, recollecting forgotten faces and enjoying with them and finally getting re-connected with contact numbers, work/home addresses, etc including the discussion.. Are you on orkut? Kool, I’ll add you there. Or the lazier ones might say Add me! Anyways, fewer the better.

Meeting people after a long time is usually surprising, when they come along with their kids (a 6yr old, and another 2 ;) lol, that's when they leave you speechless, if it's too much for you to digest. That's not the case with my friends, not as yet.

And 3. Your group-re-union of intimate friends with whom you are always in contact and still wait excitedly to meet them and finally when you see them in front of you, happy eyes shed tears of joy (if not at the beginning at least at the end! ;) When with them you forget about time, and you just can’t stop talking even though you had talked the last night, or you talk nothing but still enjoy the silent conversation. Then, life simply seems worth living :)

Whom are you messaging?

“Who is that messaging you so late in the night?” Mind you, it was just a while past 11:15 pm.

Arey yaar, you just can’t stop yourself from being amused on reading a joke-sms. You tend to smile, usually alone – simply because the others around don’t know about the joke. Butterflies start fluttering in your stomach and you giggle.. by yourself, in a very controlled manner, yet displaying external signs of your amusement to the others around.

Things get worse if you just can’t read out the joke, aloud. You quickly want to share it with someone and select the ‘forward’ option and there it goes..

Within no time.. rather, at an unexpected time.. you hear mom’s voice..

“Who is that messaging you so late in the night?”

You hear.. “Who is that still awake?”

You to mom – “Chill mom! Am just forwarding, not chatting.”

You to yourself – mom! Its just past 11. Don’t expect everyone to go to sleep so early. Am the only one, ********, of that kind. The world is out there, totally awake and alive!

Just then you get a chat-sms – a comment, probably, on that joke u just forwarded. And you are in a fix of mixed emotions. Expressions dont know what to say.

Yes, your heart jumps, eager to continue the chat. But first your eyes look at mom’s whereabouts, the fingers waiting desperately to start playing on the keypad.

If the field is clear, you enjoy the singles.. else, grumble on your invisible handicap! : )

The proposal

Ah! It was a wonderful day. Princess and her friends were together again (at another bachelor’s B’day party), talking out through long hours and having fun. They spoke, spoke and spoke. Discussions that lead to no conclusion are always the favourite topics among guys, coz they love debating with girls on the silliest topic on earth. Bla bla bla.. it went on.. They began speaking about relationships, proposals, etc.. Then they made pairs/groups and enacted some funny acts.. (Now, the dialog between Princess and her friend while they were asked to enact the proposal scene..)

“If I were your crush, how would you propose me?”, Princess asked.

“I’d do anything that u’d want me to do for you..”, he said.

“Anything?”

“Yes..”

“Ok, then.. Would you sing for me?”

“Sure..” he said and bent one knee, as-if ready for the show..

“What would you sing?”

“Anything that u’d like..”

“I like Christmas carols.”

All eyebrows up! Eyeballs turning left and right.. Bursts of laughter surrounded us for a really long time. It was fun!

: )

It’s always friends..!!!

Sometime back, during vacations, a house in our neighbourhood was robbed; and robbed heavily. The family had been on a week long holiday for the rarest of times. And for some reason the robbers had their selected list of items – Branded clothes, Some money left open, and Mangoes! Yes, they robbed mangoes too.. Ate a few, left the peals there and took away the rest. Indeed, they were hungry robbers! (I wonder if they took away the shoes as well.. If at all they had planned for a Feast.) No electronics were even touched! Surprising! Coz they all lay there.. open.. Only ‘they’ knew why?!!!

Rumours spread. Such a planned and dined robbery was sure to be made by some known fellas (bastards). Known fellas are called friends, right? May not be best friends, but friends.. yeah!

It’s always friends..!!!

Similarly, only a friend can betray. For, for a friend to betray someone, one must have the privileges of a friend.

That’s why.. It’s always friends..!!!

Also, you do things, things in secret, and you wish them to be secret always. But you are caught. And when you are caught, it’s got-to be either by a cop Or a friend.

It’s always friends..!!!

Fantasy:

Fantasy = daydream, fancy, hope, vision, flight of the imagination, castle in the sky.

I always had a fancy thought, as a kid of std. four or so, of seeing everyone traveling only on cycles, and the reason was it’s eco-friendly nature.. I used to think proudly. So then.. there would be nothing like rich or poor. Only one’s ability would decide where one would reach.. hehe!!

On thinking about our graduation day, I always got the vision of all of us -friends- wearing the black cap and holding a white paper roll in the hand.. all standing on the steps for a class photo. And then.. we take off the cap and flung it in the air together.. wow! it’d look so nice.. Feel even better - a sense of achievement. My friend even told me that such a thing doesn’t happen in our college.. but the word graduation still brings to me the same vision. Got lots of would-have’s (things I’d do) with that photo :)

A little sweet, a little sour, a little close, not too far.. all I need is to be free..

on our Visit to the cement factory

We had been to visit my friend’s cement factory.. one of the much awaited things to do. Had thought thought ’n thought, said said ’n said, but nothing was done in this case, for semesters.. until yesterday. So.. gathered all friends together and made the day totally ours.

We left home early in the morning, but started the actual journey out of the city a bit late.. a lil bit. Similar was the case while coming back. And that happened because of unmentionable reasons. Unmentionable because.. it’s about the rare expertise girls have in finding and following routes. Oh! Before you think otherwise, let me tell you.. we’r really good at this, better than most most most others :) And such things happen only because we want to stay connected, ’n saath-saath, so to say.

On-the-way-rides were fun both the times.. even with the normal chatting, music, and the country-side views.. and the not so normal search-the-right-ways. This becomes a vital issue when u don’t know where the shortcut turn is and are trying to find it in dark evenings. Add to it.. getting caught in the mini traffic jam.. ’n thus becoming a lil restless. But how else do u learn?.. learn to discover, use read the notice boards meant to guide travelers, get out of the situation ’n feel a sense of accomplishment, and.. learn to listen! So, such things must happen. What’s the fun if u go the right way always.. isn't it? (we should sometimes go to the left also;)

Btw: I missed out something.. my driving session:

On our way back home, I was asked to hold the steering wheel for a while, kind-of an open invitation to me to try my hand at driving for the very 1^st time.. wow!!.. I caught it tight at first.. trying to understand the movements.. (of the wheels that I couldn’t see.. and the curves of the road that didn’t actually move).. and the moment I stopped trying to understand.. I instantly, fell in love with it! With a wonderful guide, teacher, friend on the hot seat, I did not have the slightest hesitation of what I was doing. Neither did I have to accelerate, nor apply the breaks, nor do anything with the clutch. While I was enjoying this.. there were 4 of them on the back seat.. on full alert (coz the speed was nearly 100) Hehe, they, who were till that moment relaxing, almost tired and half asleep, were now.. I can say.. on their toes, ready to scream at any moment. But they got no chance.. instead they they too began to enjoy the ride..(I thought so, because of the pictures taken at that moment). So now I feel.. aa.. well.. Confident, that I too can someday take anyone for a wonderful ride on the country side.. :)

’n ya, the cement factory was.. like a cement factory.. well managed, out of the city, with efficient labourers ’n good machinery to produce good product, comfortable guest rooms, real good cooks, and a jhoola :)
As for the factory’s cement processing info, any chemistry book would give u the details. That’s why I did not mention it. Don’t mind ok.. ;)

Sirsi Talk (Season -2)

[Written on public demand ;)... or call it the panch-request(read as: punch-request)... after reading Season-1]

We again went on a trip to Sirsi this holiday season. This time.. with the complete hum-panch group, as compared to the trio of season-1. While going, we were a little impatient to finish-up with the journey. The bus was noisy. This time.. the plane, on the way to Hubli, had already taken off, but, it was moving pretty slowly, to our surprise. And the nine Bahubali statues still lie there, but with little maintenance. Also,every town now, I guess, has this new fashion of possessing a new, meagerly-used bus stand along with the rushy-pushy old one.

This time our stay was divided. One night in this house, and another night in the other. What to do.. two families, two homes, two nights, requests/demands from both sides, and our convenience! :D
Our days were on roaming - visiting, repeating some journeys along with a few new ones, recalling..was like revising memories of season-1.., still making it a new experience as we panchams were together. We enjoyed with everyone, be it at home, out, dining table, bus, bed or bathroom! :P

These days were like.. made to fulfill our wishes.. wow! Felt so good, and satisfied as we saw them happening one by one. The visit to the rocky waters, and the amazing field-like view of the flowers in the nursery.. were among those special wishes. This time we had been to the Krushi Mela, organized by ‘some’ organization, in favour of the local farmers. They had a beautiful show set up for everyone to enjoy. The flower nursery was also a part of this exhibition. In the centre of the ground was a live musical, dance, comic show going on. This was surrounded by stalls.. of all kinds. I’ll talk about my favourite few.. The silkworm stall displayed the entire life cycle and the method of silk production with real keedas(silkworms). It seems that a single worm produces almost 1000 meters long silk thread. Rich keedas, aren’t they? Other wonderful things were the tents.. skillfully decorated, one with paddy, another with jackfruits, another with coconuts.. of all types.. and another with areca-nuts... That was one amazing style we saw for the first time. Also, the trees there were beautifully lit with lampshades, side-lamps and other small bulbs. It gave a really pleasing sight in presence of the single-lingual crowd that I don’t like. Thus distracting me and giving a good feeling of having attended the display. (Btw: crowd is what I don’t like and single-lingual speech is what I don’t hate;) They also had handicrafts made of cane, jute and wood. Another interesting thing was.. the natural plate making factory – a bull tied to a machine took rounds continuously while the machine produced dry, leafy, strong-enough food-plates. Wonder how the bull didn’t seem to feel dizzy! :-?

The next day.. we had the most wanted thing to do.. trip to Yana :)
Hired a vehicle and fled off to the rocks, all excited! It was the ghat section. But no dizzy-bizzy feeling.. all were into the singing mood, enjoying the ride and the ghaty scenary. To our surprise, uncle was taking a video; and we did not know it was our’s until we saw it at home later that night.. mast video bana hai, comedy knows no bounds in there! :D
Ok!! so.. after completing the long journey.. we began our trek towards the yana rocks. The walk was good.. enjoyable, amidst thick trees and a narrow pathway. Soon we heard the sound of water flowing.. though we saw it only a few times, it generated a feeling of ‘wow!’ from within. After the walk, there were big, uncomfortable steps to climb. But the sight of the huge, cracky-looking rocks and the exitement to reach them finally, was enough to get us moving. It seems that the continuously flowing water has made a Shiv-linga.. on the rock, and so they have made a temple over there. And that was the reason for us to go over.. round the temple, on rocky, amazingly beautiful pathways.. bare-footed. Later we got nicely roasted on foot, because this place is a manganese storehouse/ore. So imagine how hot the mud would be. Ah! We heard lots of screams and shouts. We climbed everywhere possible, and relaxed in the marvelous scenery. Photo sessions were continuously going on. Unmentionable Comics happened at the tap-waters. We were told that there are 61 such rocks in the entire forest area, but we saw only two -huge ones.

And then, when we did not want to get out of there.. hunger was the key.. we went to Honnavar, got our stomachs over-full and left to see the Sunset at Murudeshwar.. another wish from season-1 fulfilled here. No jatra this time.. I was heartily glad :) wow! but the beach was full:( ~~lovely waves though :)
And as it was just a few minutes to sunset.. we saw masses of people.. don’t really know if they were young, old or kiddos.. all being drawn towards the Sunset Point. It was indeed a worth watch, with all the effort rewarded instantly. (Not like our stupid exams, with delayed unsatisfied results). The Sun must be feeling so precious, so much loved, that so many people flock to see him, time and again.. Everyday.. at different places. Lucky he.. enjoy!!.. both he and we, the Showman and the Audience :D

Then next day we came back home.. that’s it. But the journey was funnily enjoyable. Playing background vocal music for the fellow travelers, we sure made their journey memorable, but the happier ones were we. One fellow was getting a little restless.. felt like giving him one box on his face.. but he behaved himself well in advance. At lunch time.. we irritated the conductor.. went to buy biscuits and he had to wait for 1 full minute extra. There was no lunch, but we played food-antakshiri.. this is one nice game, playable anywhere, anytime, with anyone. We reached one-n-half hour early and that was indeed a very pleasing end of the journey :)

The 'Sachin' Incident.

This happened a few months ago at college. It was noon. Nivi and I had been to the library for some work. After having done with it, we happened to walk towards the mini cross-road (one leading to the lib and another to the café).

Nivi wanted to meet a friend from another class.. whom we usually find almost anywhere in the campus, cross-roads included! Normally this place is crowded. But that day we could actually count the ones present.

There was one group of boys standing on that way. We passed by them and something happened. Suddenly I turned, thinking that I had seen my friend’s classmate.. (naturally.. wanting to ask him where we could find her). I called out.. Sachin. He didn’t hear. So I called out once again, this time a lil louder SACHIN. And all of them looked at me. But this fellow wasn’t looking like Sachin. For a while I wondered YYY????

Soon I realized.. almost everything.. my misunderstanding, his not being him and possibility of people watching (but... amm.. probably his green shirt was the culprit). Ah!

Sorry.. I thought you were someone else.. I said and took an about turn. My shoulders up! Tongue out..to the left.

And this side I find Nivi laughing at me, at my funny act (as she thought it was).

That wasn’t the end. I began explaining to her why all that happened.. the causes, reasons.. After all.. it was she who wanted to meet that madam. I just happened to have a helping heart at that moment, that too.. one completely out of the way :D

And among that laughter and those live facial expressions.. as we walked with all possible hand movements, I saw hero (another fellow!) coming towards us. He met us within half a minute after that incident. Thank God! He didn’t witness it all.. I thought. But what would have happened?.. Just that his gleeful face would continue to smile a little longer.. for the reason being me and wouldn’t that be nice?.. Naa!.. I shared this with quite a few friends that day and many times wondered yeh kyun hua?!!! :)

I’m left alone :(

They come, they sit, they talk, they laugh,
They go away…I’m left alone.
I’m forced to come, I’m forced to sit,
I try to talk and laugh the same way,
I feel I can’t.. I’m left alone.

They come their way, they do their will,
They sing their song and go away…
I come my way, I sing my song,
I try to be the same I was..
I feel I can’t.. I’m left alone.

They see a dream, they have a wish,
They fulfill their desires and go away…
I get no sleep, I’m scared to wish,
With a blank vision.. I’m left alone.

They try to get me involved, I be with them.
They try to make me happy, a (false?...not really!!) smile I put-up.
They enjoy.. I try to.
And when they want they go..
I feel like waiting.. I feel I’m left alone.

They keep the atmosphere glowing
When they are not there, I feel like crying.
With a dark cloud and a heavy heart.. I’m left alone.. I’m left alone.

They are my thoughts.. oh yes! They are mine
At cloudy times they come and shine,
They make me glad and I’m no longer sad,
I’m happy they are mine.. at least THEY are mine :)

---

These were his thoughts.. when he fell hard..
or it must have been even harder..
I know not how much..
but yes, they sure were close to this.

I love...

It’s been a long time since I’ve loved a day so much. It began in a very similar manner like any other day. I just did not want to get out of bed even though I was awake... Hmm...so goes a saying..."Every morning you are given a choice, either to go back to your dreams or to get up and chase those dreams". No. I did not wake up with this thought :D (just remembered it now...while it is time to rest again).

But I had to get ready, dress up.. pretty soon, then go attend those ever boring lectures for hours together. They seem like ages, but are much better than the company of those dangerous, gloomy, weakening thoughts. Work keeps me busy and I love it. However trivial it might seem to be...still it is the best way to pass time.

Did I say pass time? Well! Today, time just passed...gleefully...and I noticed it.

When in the morning I was late for the bus and got mama on her nerves on this,

When I enjoyed the breezy ride on the way to college, When the class got totally packed…for attendance...and shruti had to use a plastic chair and sit in the middle of a passage between the rows, blocking the way on all sides :D (well, that’s the chair...a special one...that nobody wants to use. There are about 3-4 of them actually...hehe).

Then, I loved it When akshata taught me a few Vedic tricks on mathematics, When nivi and me discussed some real good algorithmic stuff together, When we(sneha, nivi, manu, juhi and me) jumped to see who could touch the name plate on the door-top...hey!! sneha and juhi did not jump :P

Then...When we were so few for the last class that turned out to be so interesting with effective mind processing and kool eye-contacts, When I felt the lunch weighing me down, When I loved the way I pampered myself and then the oh! So masti-bhare labs we love, where we have applied for more efficient printers...that will surely be considered in benefit of our juniors. Loved them so much today that I came home and wrote down all that we had done till now :P

and after all that, spending a lovely time at home...here I am ready for the break...cya! :)

vacating the mind of vacation thoughts

Yeh hawa, kehti hai kya, samjho, meri jaana, meri jaana...

This is the song I must have played more than 15-20 times in the past few days…just love to hear it, hum it, listen to it, utter it and that’s it…I said…that’s it!

THAT’S IT echoed somewhere in the back of my mind. But there it was, on my lips…I was singing it again! :)

[smiling]…dil kya kare jab kisiko..

Pata nahi kyun…but the state of my mind might just be the right reason for me to sing yeh hawa…an unsteady, wondering state of mind.

These holidays have been no different from the past ones…(the semester vacations received in bits, of which you can hardy relish a byte) and yet very different. It included every basic characteristic from each of its ancestors > some work that needed to be done like… cleaning the wardrobe, the book shelf etc. > taking a look at the messy room and attending to it > the unplanned trips…forming fond memories > irregular visits and meetings…that keep you involved for most part of the day and give you a feeling of WOW! I’VE DONE SOMETHING > the rain…yes, the lovely continuously pouring rain, which creates a pleasant atmosphere with the sound of every drop, cutting off all your meetings while it comes to meet the earth!! > and other times…really long ones…which leave you wondering as to what to do next…leave you with one big question mark…bigger than yourself, bigger than your world > and then a few efforts to write something that went in vain…which now I guess is undone :) And then there was some placement activity too.

A glass of water in this vessel and another in that. One, for the noodles she wanted, and the other for my tea. Ah! Chores apart..

So, here I was supposed to be enjoying my holidays and they continued…without ever stopping the search…the search for something that was missing, something that was making me anxious all the time.

Mama, I cry, she isn’t here. And by the time she comes, I’ll be fine.

To phir aaaoo...is the song running on tv and I decide to stop here…got-to go have the refreshing cup of tea :)

Sirsi Talk

Our trip to Sirsi began early that morning at about 8:30am. The journey was good, with our talks including topics about friends, reduced number of holidays, roads (remembered quite a bit of Civil Engg.), birds (peacocks) and Orkut too.

On the way we were astonished to see the air-plane move on its track...(along with us) and the Bahubali statues, close to Hubli. We also delivered a SIM-card on the way to a friend at Dharwad, which took some effort from the receiver missing us at the old bus-stand and then moving ahead to catch up at the new one. We did a bit of pet-pooja… munching some snacks. And then, singing throughout till the end of the journey was real ‘strain-buster’. So, we did not get very tired. With the two singers on my either side, I was indeed into the game complementing and supporting both of them. It was exciting.

We reached Sirsi in the afternoon at about 2:30pm. Lunch time :)

We had the typical ‘Sirsi food’ including sambar, tambli, hashi and appehuli daily. Early that evening we had been to see a few places within the town like Maarikamba Temple, Raghvendra Math and St. Anthony’s Church. The sunset there was awesome! We then had GM...t’was spicy n’ tasty... and sapota-shake and went back home.
The next morning we had the benne paper-dosa (the butter being optional), which was our morning break-fast almost everyday. Heading towards Sahastralinga, we travelled partly by tempo and partly by Rick. An uncle accompanied us there. Blessed by the Sharavati river it makes a nice water place for an enticing picnic. We seriously missed the other friends a lot. Took a few snaps...snaps se yaad aaya, I re-wound Pragati’s camera role. Oops! But then later told uncle and got it done well. Ah!

You know, the people there are so kind. Go to anybody's house and they'll serve you home-made banana chips. And every-one there has a fixed menu for the guest to choose from. It goes like this: “What would u like to have?
1) tea
2) coffee or
3) kashai (now, this new drink is ‘flavored milk’)”.

Coming back, later that afternoon we went to Banwasi. The Kadambas once ruled there. Hence there is this Madhukeshwara temple. The temple is built in the name of Lord Shiva with a honey coloured ‘Shiv-linga’ installed in the place of worship. It was built gradually over the centuries. There is a big chariot made of black rock which is taken in procession during the festival. A smart Nandi, about 10 feet tall, also, cut out of a rock, is seated in all its elegance in front of this temple looking at the Shiv-linga through it’s left eye, while looking at Goddess Parvati seated in the adjacent temple through it’s right. The pillars of the temple display images as should be seen though concave and convex lenses, partly, but both in the same curve of the pillar - A mark of great engineering work and architecture. We did Bharat-darshan too...because the Kadambas have collected statues as memoirs from all over India and installed in the surrounding area. The trees required for worship were planted in Pampa-vana, named after the great poet Pampa. The Varada river flowing though this place is a treat to the eyes and looks just like wallpaper on the PC.

The next day we got into an almost empty bus to Honnavar.
Singing along was so much fun as the only people alive, except the driver, were ‘we’!!! Others were simply waiting to reach their destination, I guess. There were lots of fruits being sold on the station like the local jumbo and some veggies. We stayed at Savitakka’s home (nivi’s aunt). The same day we visited the Karikanamma temple on the hill. The scenary there was wonderful. The view included the deciduous forests (on the mountains covering almost all the three sides visible), and the Arabian Sea at a distance giving a feast to the eyes. I seriously wished I had a handicam. Oh!!! for that. Then, getting into the cab again we moved ahead towards Idgunji, where residents told us that the Ganesh idol in the temple was installed by Narad-muni. Artistic handicrafts made of cane were being sold outside. We then headed towards the Murdeshwar. From quite a distance we could see the huge idol of Lord Shiva which is located near the temple. To our fate, it was the day of ‘jatra’ (festive day), which had dragged lots of devotees there and we had to walk enough though the crowd. This was just another reason for us to miss the sunset. These feelings were soon replaced by wonder and awe as we approached the Big Statue of Shiva. One of his arms is damaged, actually broken, due to lightening during the last rains. But there’s nothing to worry. It’s under construction:). There is a pillar made of real gold situated in front of the temple which is on one side of the statue, while on the other side, there are hotels. We saw an old couple seated outside in one of the balconies gazing at the majestic Shiva. The sunset point is supposed to be another scenic place.

The next day, we spent quite some time at home, enjoying auntie’s delicacies. Later that afternoon we drove to see the railway on the bridge. The picturesque river with small islands wasn’t getting out of our sight. We simply marveled at it. There is a road bridge also, of about 1km. At a short distance across the road bridge is the Kaserkod beach where we played and strolled-by for quite some time before moving on for a boat ride, on our way back home... Imagine 4 people seated on a single motor-bike. We surely were an amusement for the passers-by.

Next morn, there was a twist for all of us. We made an unexpected visit to Roopa’s house(@ Kumta) while going back to Sirsi. We sure made her happy. This was the cause for our ‘double breakfast’ that morning.

Nivi’s father’s ancestral home is in Goran-mane while her mother’s is at Jaji-mane. I’m sure you’ve not got these Kannada words:). Both of these are villages nearby Sirsi. People have made their homes close to the farms which are located on the mountains. Hence there was no network for our mobile. Though, there were basic facilities including electricity and a landline telephone connection.

Every family has a well, for water, used at home as well as in the farm. Since the food crops do not provide sufficient income, villagers grow areca-nut (adike), banana, vanilla and pepper too ‘all-in-one’. Luckily, we got to see how the worker removes the areca-nuts from trees and slides the bunch down to ground on a rope tied to him, while another worker collects them at the other end of the rope. Using a simple ringed cloth he slowly and carefully moves from one tree to another with much ease. T'was brilliant. A part of these areca-nuts are then pealed of their skin, boiled and then allowed to dry in the Sun on an over-head roof called ‘betta’. Another part of adike is dried with the skin to produce another variety. Totally the farmers produce about 6 varieties, which are then converted into a whole lot of 16 varieties in the market.

We spent a whole evening at the fire-place outside the house where they boiled the adike. It was a cool moon-lit night. With the stars above, in between the palms and other trees, we recalled past memories. Ajji served us some more mouth-watering dishes which made our stay ‘perfect’.

We soon drove to Sirsi. All excited to give an actual description of our trip to all at home, we got into the bus. Again the 6-hour long journey just passed off in a short time. This time it was without those ‘hit ho ya flop’ bollywood songs. Finally, the journey was made memorable by our very own Belgaum-sunset and the leafless birdie trees.

:)