Mere mann yeh bata de tu
Kis aur chala hai tu...

Sach Is Life…

Yesterday, my favourite obsession in the cricketing world turned eighteen. And like always, yesterday too, he delighted. Thanks Sach, even though you missed that ton.

And a sincere request to all the media vultures circling overhead, calling him crappy names and all… BUZZ OFF.


PS: The Man got the ‘Man of the Match’ award yesterday. It carried a channel logo. 9X. Symbolic eh…

Time Travellers…

Went time travelling with friends the Sunday before the last.
Actually, it all began as a simple trek. Lohgad Fort. It’s at a place called Malavali. The station after Lonavala.

Drove down in the middle of the night and parked ourselves on the bridge overlooking the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. Clicked snaps with the headlights of oncoming cars providing the only lighting and generally just sat around on the road with not a care in this world.

Early morning the trek began. And not much of a trek it was. A couple of hours and we were at the Fort. But the Fort more than made up for the short trek. Absolutely magnificent it was. Unlike a couple of others I’ve seen before, Lohgad still stands proud in all its glory. The fortification has stood the test of time very well.

On entering we had to pass through a number of arched gateways, each called as ‘Dwaar’. Once inside, we realized to our absolute delight that there was none of the regular picnicky junta around. Part of it can be attributed to our first light start. The picnic people usually roll into town a bit after we are all done. So there, we had the entire Fort to ourselves. And the feeling it evoked was something that defies words. We could truly appreciate that we were standing on the same hallowed ground once tread upon by mighty warriors. It was like going back in time, for real.

After taking in the blissful silence we set about exploring the Fort. There’s a small lake here that, if you are to believe the legend, has been created by elephants that were made to stamp their feet on the ground. And even more startling is the fact that it is very close to being perfectly circular. There are a couple of shrines and a ‘kundh’ as well. But the best part is this offshoot of the ‘Tatabandi’ (fortification), which is slightly difficult to get to. You have to climb down a slightly dicey rock face to get there. And the experience that follows makes you feel like a King. (Apologies Lady readers, but I don’t think Queens did this back then). What I’m talking about is the walk along the fortification. You are right on the edge, but strangely, you feel perfectly safe. We went all the way to end and then sat on the edge, surveying the land below like the Kings of this world. Everything looks so magical and peaceful from up there. At a distance you can see the Expressway and the Konkan Rail. It was a moment so reminiscent of ‘Dil Chahta Hai’. Now that’s what I call a high!

I’d always found a visit to the mountains to be a very humbling experience. This one had another very special dimension as well!


PS: Driving back on the Expressway the Speedo saluted 150! Better still, the Rev needle was only kissing 4. So we had some way to go. But then, three worried looking faces made me ease off. We’ll keep the scares for later ;)

Pampered…

Lying down on the terrace, I looked up at a clouded sky.

I wanted to see stars, he indulged me with a firefly!

Fake...

You fake
Your happiness

You fake
The sorrow

You fake
The moment

You fake
Tomorrow

Dream On...

Yesterday someone told me this…

“Dreams aren’t what you get when you are sleeping. Dreams are what don’t allow you to sleep.”

Which made me think. What’s my dream? Or do I even have one!

So I sat around, thinking (Don’t do mucha work anyway!).

The conclusions I came to were these.

I don’t have a dream, I’ve many.

Want to have my very own BMW, brought with my hard earned… well… my money. Want to own a home in New Zealand. (Never been there, but from whatever I’ve seen, I know I love the place.) Want to build a Beach Resort back at that heaven of a village. Want to have my own Restaurant. Perhaps a Travel Company. Want to make the folks proud. Want to go on a road trip around India, leaving no corner unexplored. (Was even contemplating becoming a bus driver just to this end!) Want to live a life with the one I truly love. Make sure am there for her, as long as I’m around, and then some. Be the best Father my yet to be kids could ever ask for! Be a friend my friends could be proud of. Be as much of a good person as I can be.

But then I thought that all of the above could also be classified as desires, right?

So where does that leave my dream…

Well, it goes something like this – When it’s time for me to go, I want to look back at my life and be able to say, honestly, I did all right…

Back To The Fold…

Was getting ready for the grind today morning when I noticed something. The handkerchief was folded with the right side out. Took me back a few months, when she used to do it. It was probably one of her favourite chores. Taking the kerchiefs from the drying line, fold then, and pat them down, ever so lovingly. And the thing was, she never seemed to fold them with the right side out. Not that she could see much. But still, ten times out of ten, she would get it wrong. And the next day, to my utter exasperation, I would have to fold it the other way just as I would be running late.
But today everything was right, yet nothing was. And for the first time I found myself wishing the kerchief would be folded wrong…