Kahaan Ke Idiots! Aaaaall izz well :)

I had started this blog after I watched 3 idiots for the first time on the 27th of December, but somehow found myself out of words. The movie was brilliant...I hadn't laughed like that...or been moved like that during a film in forever! But still I just couldn't get past the rather tacky title! So I decided to get back to it.

And today I have..having watched the movie again :)...

Don't really want to analyze it...break it down...and what not...but I did leave the hall wishing I were more like Phunsuk Wangru! What would I not give to have that kind of certainty of purpose..of passion for SOME field...I mean I like what I do...I have loads of fun travelling...yet given a choice...I'd rather bury myself in a book or randomly surf the net than go to office! What does it take to want to wake up at 3 in the morning wanting to go back to work...What makes passionate people tick? What makes Aamir Khan re-invent himself and bring a 20 year old character to life at the age of 44 ...when others his age are either frustrated with their work...or longing for retirement! What makes Paulo Coelho get up early every morning and dedicate himself to writing...What makes Amitabh Bachchan...at an age when many Indians practically give up on life...hit the gym at 5...and do more in a day than I probably do in a month!

All these people have that spark...have flamed that fire within...but how do you and I do the same?? I have tried listening to my heart...it is by far the most confused thing on this entire planet! Doesn't really help!

Sigh...someday...I will know...till then I shall continue to hope ... Dil pe haat rakh ke bolungi...Aall izz Well :)

Sing Sleighing Songs Tonight!

It is THAT time of the year again...There's a chill in the air...Santa Claus movies on TV...plenty of hot soup/ hot chocolate in the kitchen...a collection of books to read...no more office till next year...Christmas is heeeeeeerrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeee!!!

This is one festival that has crossed the religion lines world over. There is a warm fuzzy feeling in the air despite the cold...people go out of their way to do their bit of good in the world...spirits are high (pun intended) and people are happy in general. It brings back memories of school days when we dressed up in "Fairy Frocks" and "Baby Tuxedoes" and sang Christmas Carols before the entire school! This was usually followed by a Ho-Ho-ing Santa (one of our fattest classmates :D)...who threw sweets down...and distributed cakes in the end....They were FUN days!

I had once read about some generators that scientists have set up that detect the mood of the world...to paint a picture...imagine bulbs lighting up across continents (yeah..even in Africa) when the world consciousness rises up in support of or against something. Apparently made the generators work overtime during the last US elections...I'm sure the same happens during this time of the year!

So let's get our act together...reflect on the year gone by and draw up our New Year Resolutions...do something awesome for the people we love...be creative...be happy...Just enjoy the moment...

Star Struck

One minute I was admiring the topmost floors of our hotel that seemed to disappear into the afternoon skies...and the next minute I hit the floor hard ... cheek first ... "Welcome to Dubai," said a sarcastic voice in my head as I pretended that it was no big deal and collected pieces of luggage from the floor in front of my new manager. The hotel was gorgeous inside too, but things were swimming around and my colleagues' voices came from somewhere far away as I tried to clear my head after my latest fall.

It wasn't my fault. After getting out of the massive airport, post a 4 hour marathon in-flight movie session, you somehow feel like you are part of some glitzy hollywood set. Buildings seem to swim upwards out of no where. They turn at angles you never thought they could...they lean towards the ground...the make waves in the air....or simply disappear into the sky. If that wasn't enough, the glass exteriors reflect sun's rays from every possible direction right into your eyes, till you start getting weird bright flashes in your head.

After the shock and awe ride from the hotel, how on earth was I supposed to see that tiny little step that came out of no where and tripped me and made me see a whole new set of stars...

So with an aching cheek, a purple shoulder and a painfully swollen hand began my trip in Dubai. Apart from the glitz and the sheikhs...it almost felt like home...probably pre-partition home...considering the large Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi diaspora.

With one weekend in hand to check out Dubai, we decided to make the most of it. So our first Friday was spent shopping for 7 hours straight at the famous Dubai mall (whoever said Dubai was a shopper's paradise was solely talking about the variety...the prices are crazy)...post which we ended up in a colleague's friend's house and had the most amazing time ever! Since IIFT I hadn't gotten together with interesting people and just talked away about almost everything under the sun right through the night! It was brilliant!

The next day we decided to go for the much heard of desert safari. So off we went "Dune Bashing" in Land Cruisers, followed by bike rides and camel rides in the desert...and then the whole desert camp feel...complete with Lebanese food, sheesha, falconry and a belly dancer!

Driving down the roads at night is even more amazing, as the city cools down...and the buildings light up...the exotic Burj Al-Arab changes shades ever so often...this city indeed never sleeps...

My best moment there however took place when I was coming back on the last day from my final shopping trip to one of the malls. I got a Pakistani driver, gave him the wrong address and then shouted at him for making me get lost. But he was the best! He patiently called his friend, found out what I was talking about in punjabi, patiently explained how I had got it all wrong...and then told me all about his family that had spread across the globe. He was from Sialkot, from where my grand mum has come too...and so we discussed how the partition had been the worst idea ever...and how the leadership was at fault...

I feel an instant connection with Pakistanis...whether I meet them in Buffalo or Dubai..maybe because one set of my grandparents came from there...Don't know...but would love to go there sometime...

It Rock-ied!

September 20th,12.35 am: As the wheels of the plane finally hit the ground...I looked at my colleague in joyous disbelief...We had finally come back home (It seemed impossible 24 hours ago...when we were re-arranging luggage at San Francisco airport...and then carting super heavy bags to the farthest Gate there!)

Delhi is brilliant! The air smells awesome...like always :) ... I was seeing my family after 3 whole months! The roads of Delhi are beautiful! The entire trip felt like a distant dream all of a sudden...To think just a week ago I was galavanting on the streets of SFO...

September 13th, 11:00 am: The 9 of us finally got up and got ready to visit the city I'd heard so much about! It wasn't easy...being Sunday and all...but it was my last weekedn in Salinas, and I couldn't go back without going to San Francisco!

So off we went...and 2 hours of a sleepy car drive later...we finally reached the city. The streets of San Francisco are gorgeous...they remind you off a giant roller coaster! You go up a slope...till you reach a peak of sorts...and then just when you think you've reached the end of the earth (there are blind spots in the roads...when you reach a particular point...you can't see anything ahead of you! It's like you are purposely driving off a cliff!)...a steep downward drive begins...it was brilliant!!

So we climbed over mountains...drove past some very weird looking lounges (they had names like "Black Magic Voodoo Lounge")...and reached the famous Golden Gate Bridge!

The bridge is red ofcourse...and an architectural wonder if I ever saw one! We actually walked across the entire bridge! Never in my dreams had I thought I'd be doing something like that! The wind is so strong that you literally have to push against it to go forward! It was awesome!

That wasn't all! Next we ended up in what can only be described as paradise on earth...The Ghirardelli Square...Located at the Fisherman's Wharf...It is home to the bestest chocolates ever! (No offense to Lindt...I love you too :D ) ...So there we were ...standing before MOUNDS of chocolates of every kind...sampling their new caramel chocolates...feasting our eyes on GIANT chocolate slabs...and to commemorate the egyptian artifacts exhibition that was in town...they had chocolate pyramids and King Tutankhamuns!!!! It was a classic case of Egypt meeting Willie Wonka!

It was too late in the evening to check out much of anything else...so we got bundled into a massive SUV...and went home singing a mix of hindi songs..and Hollywood classics! Speaking of Hollywood...

September 5th, 10:00 am: My cousin and her husband picked me up from my hotel in Salinas...and off we were on a 350 mile ride to LA! Never thought that was going to happen...what with the severe cash crunch that I was facing! But there I was...speeding past the giant sand dune-like hills...going to a city I had heard so much about!! Enroute we stopped over at Santa Barbara...my mum used to love watching the soap that went by the same name... and the city/town was adorable!

Finally reached the LA county where my other cousin lived...just to find her card covered with ashes (the forest fires had just begun to get under control)...it was a perfect little neighbourhood...where I met my perfect little niece for the first time! She had just turned 6!!

The next day...we all went to Santa Monica to meet my other aunt...the beach was GORGEOUS...it was all sand 'n' sun...and gorgeous people having loads of fun! After 2 and a half months of continental-ish food...I finally got to eat chaat and Indian stuff here! Just loved it all!!!

That wasn't all...what had begun as an awesome day...turned into fantasy as I made my first trip to Hollywood! It was unreal! There were people in costumes all over the place...the white letters stood out on the hill...the Kodak Theater looked forlorn minus all the stars and glitter...the streets had an air of celebration about them in general...and then there was the Star walk and cemented hand and foot impressions...I almost lost it when I saw Matt Damon's signature...never had I thought I'd ever be this star struck!!! Also saw Madame Tussauds wax museum!

On the way back we went to a place that was right out of the fairytales! Tiny cottages lined both sides of the road...holiday makers walked around at a slow easy pace...the giant windmill overlooked it all...it was Solvang...a tiny Dutch establishment in the middle of no-where! Just like the 17 mile pebble beach drive...

August 28th, 10:00 am: It was my first trip outside Salinas on the west coast...We went to a town called Monterey...and drove on further to what looked like an isolated stretch...It was the Pebble Beach...17 mile drive...with 24 tourist sites...including some gorgeous beaches! It was a dreamy affair as always...with mansions being built into mountain sides...like they had always been there...the gorgeous blue pacific ocean on one side...and red 'n' green vegetation covered hills on the other. These were cold beaches...and we practically froze when we went into the watre...but it was so totally worth it!!! They were 17 miles of bliss...you feel closest to God when you see a natural wonder so beautiful!!

Speaking of natural wonders...the Rockies are a different class altogether!

August 19th, 11:30 pm: I had been up since 4 in the morning to catch my flight from Buffalo to Salinas...as a result...instead of sticking my nose to the window in the place and taking in the scenery...I had slept through most of the trip...thankfully woke up about half an hour before landing...and stuck my nose to the window...expecting the luscious green of the forests and blue of the rivers in US...got a total shock! The terrain was rising up...there were scattered mountains...almost like scars in the earth...and sand covered peaks...that looked like snow from up in the sky! The only thought that came in my mind was that I didn't want to crash there ever! After a while, when I finally got used to it...I started finding it pretty (just another example of my very fickle nature)...it was a totally other side of nature than I had been witnessing earlier...but it was a powerful image none the less!

And finally came San Francisco...The landing is gorgeous! You feel like you are about to land in water itself...when suddenly the air strip appears out of no where!

September 20th, 3:00 am: Having unpacked..and settled in completely...I smiled as I thought of the days gone by...Loved it then...and love being back home even more after so long!!!

Finally Made it!

Carrie Bradshaw said it...but I didn't believe it...One of my bestest friends said it...Still didn't believe it...My cousins said...Ted and Barney said it...Lily said it..Ross said it...Rachel said it...OK you get the picture...

New York is AWESOME!

A fortunate chain of events led to it ofcourse...First...I got to know that my best buddy from school lives in New York...got excited...but doubted how I would ever afford my flight tickets...After all...Chicago was pretty far away from New York...I wished I were in Buffalo...

No sooner had I thought that...the company told me pack your bags and get your butt to Buffalo...so far so good :)

Then...the airlines that brought me from Chicago to Buffalo broke the handle of my suitcase...They didn't replace my suitcase..but...Ta-Da..they gave me a 150$ E-certificate that could be redeemed against any flight!

So I got cheap tickets...got to see my friend after ages...and yes...I got to New York!!! It was brilliant!!

It is one amazing city! Vibrant...energetic...not too clean as compared to the other towns I'd been to (makes you feel at home :D)...but it doesn't have that annoying Bombay run-for-your-life feel to it...

It's pedestrian friendly (if you ignore the speeding cabs with desi drivers :P)...you see people of all shapes and sizes walk around everywhere...it is one city where you finally feel at total peace with the way you are...it sort of encourages you to be who you are...It is literally a pot pourrie of people from across the world!

So I breakfasted in Sarvana Bhawan...lunched on fruit near a meteorite they had presevred in one of the museums...had tea with yummy tacos...and dined on Italian (though pears just don't go with pasta)...

I met school mates I hadn't seen since school ended...

Went to Liberty Island and Finally saw the statue I have been seeing all ove rthe place since I was a kid...

Visited the much heard of Central Park...the monumental New York Public Library...saw dinosaurs and blue whales come to life at the Museum of Natural History... got lost in the most beautiful pieces of art created by man...that were preserved in the Metropolitan Museum of Art..TOUCHED Egyptian artifacts...and believe it or not...ate Indian-chinese food at a restaurant called Chinese Mirch!

All thanks to my friend of course...who makes the most awesome and proactive tour guide ever!

I was half dead by the time I stepped into my office on Monday...where I walked into doors...looked blankly at my boss everytime he said anything...and slept through a major meeting...

But believe me...it was worth it...

Sunday night...as I stood by the East River...and watched the New York skyline light up in the dark...I knew I'd be back there someday...

But for now...I have to carry 30+ kg of luggage in a broken suitcase (my dad got sentimental about it...doesn't want me to leave it here...one of his favourite bags) all the way to the west coast...to the tiny town of Salinas...Let's see where this journey takes me...

Of Giant Waterfalls...and Dancing Rainbows..

I always loved fairytales...and I think I'm finally living one too now...No...Not in love...just FINALLY got to see the Niagara Falls!

It is unbelievable! They were majestic...even from a distance. The closer you get to the Falls...the windier it gets...and you can already feel the mist in your face.

Hundreds of tourists thronged the place...but for once....I didn't mind the crowds...

After about half an hour of waiting...the time finally came. So we dawned our blue robes (er...raincoats)...and stepped into the majestic "Maid of the Mist"...and off we were into Dreamland!

The mist is intense...our faces were drenched within minutes of being out there...and then...people gasped...as the first faint rainbow was spotted over the first stretch of falls...It was breathtaking!

And then the ferry glided forward towards the "Horse Shoe" falls(called so because of the arc/horse shoe shape they form). We could see the people on the Canadian side of the border gaze at the falls with as much wonder...and then...another gasp came from the crowd...A rainbow had appeared right by the side of our boat...not a faint-can-see-a-few-colours-kind...but a full on Arc...it had appeared in the mist...just as we approached the heart of the horseshoe falls ...

Imagine this...you have only seen the Niagara Falls in google images so far...you have no idea that you will ever see it in your life...and then you find yourself...right in the middle of what can only be described as nature at its most powerful...yet gorgeous best...with a rainbow by your side...and a few more lining the falls...

If that isn't a fairytale...I don't know what is...

Life is beautiful :)

And Hello Buffalo :)

Here's a discovery I've made (If not believing what a hundred people have been telling you...and then discovering something to be true is a discovery...)...Towns in the US look all the same! Towns/cities/villages...whatever I've been hanging around in...If you'd blindfolded me and taken me out of Mettawa and let me out in Buffalo...I swear I wouldn't have known!

All the pretty houses, cute babies...greenery...and what not I'd said Bye to there...they are exactly the same here! It's better in fact because I'm walking distance from all the departmental stores (STILL haven't gone to Walmart...criminal offence!).

So life goes on...work gets better...relatives are coming down to Buffalo from Toronto...and I'll finally get to see the Niagra Falls!!!

As for football is concerned...I have been watching a lot of girly football...In the US...girl fooball is considered pretty cool! Stanford women Vs California something....But they are shrill...So Club America Vs Inter Milan was a refreshing change...till Inter Milan lost to amateurs in the penalties! Maurinho's face was worth looking at...don't think it was live...but loved it nevertheless!

Weird things happening in the sporting world alright...Flintoff apparently ended England's 75 year old wait! Thrilled for them!

And to wind up...TODAY is the 40th Anniversary of the Big Foot on the Moon...On 16th they merely took off...So much for my love for it...(though it was a big step that they took in the figurative sense :D)... Happy Birthday Moony Foot!

Goodbye Mettawa :(

For the first time in a long time I feel awful leaving a place (OK not that long..happened at IIFT last)...It's my last day here in Mettawa...and after an awesome month...it feels almost like home...

Gave away my left over groceries to people who still have time left here...left the bucket I lovingly bought at the Dollar store...Said my goodbyes to the fairytale houses, cute babies, awesome office, and colleagues...Sat on my suitcase and finally got it to shut...and now it's literally leaving on a jet plane...Don't know when I'll be back again...

Anyway...off to Buffalo tomorrow...with all its "Don't go out after 4 in the evening alone" stories...Hoefully it'll turn out to be just as awesome...and will be writing a similar mail for it in August :)

But in the US...Chicago will always be my first Love :)...Hope I get to come here again :)

Moony All the Way...

"That's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind".... 40 years ago on this very day Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin set foot on the moon(He got the name "Buzz" coz his little sister mispronounced Brother as Buzzer according to Wiki)!

I wasn't there 40 years ago ofcourse, but I remember obsessing over it during my I-was-born-to-Be-An-Astronaut phase. The feelings came right back when I visited the Planetarium here last Sunday...they were celebrating the Man on the Moon phenomenon all month...and had awesome setups...instruments...galaries ...and EVERYTHING about the Mars Pathfinder...instruments I could actually TOUCH...ancient astronomy lessons...ancient astronomy student diaries!!! It was a dream come true (except for their 3-D show..such a disappointment!)

The moon...an inspiration for poets...a hope for lovers (at least in the movies and all things theatrical)...a hope for the forlorn too (The moon and the stars are always the same wherever you go or whatever you are going through)...and I swear to God...because of the lack of pollution here.. it looks MUCH bigger and MUCH closer to earth from where I am... It is gorgeous ...

Remember the scene in Apollo Thirteen...Tom Hanks keeps playing hide and seek with the moon using his thumb...and then he comes close enough...but cannot land...could be a metaphor for a lot of things in a lot of lives...Afterall...at the end of the day...We all wish for the moon...

Anyhow...getting to the point...a deluge of media coverage going on here today (16th July)celebrating the 40th Birthday of the Mighty Footprint...so I thought I should have something to remember it with....Really don't know where I'll find the moon right now...so thought i'd write about it :)

Chicago Times ... Contd

Finally went downtown! All by myself...in the gorgeous city that's Chicago! It's a whole new experience figuring out things on my own! Coming from a superbly protective family, and a darling dad who says "Be more independent" and then makes all the boulders on your pathway vanish without telling you, I never thought I would be actually roaming about another continent all by myself someday!

So I took a train from the Mettawa station (First thing I did was blow up a lot of money going to the wrong station! The ONLY time I've been taken for a ride here...happened to be one of the 2 Indian Cabbies I met! Though the other was a gem of a man!). Anyhow...a far cry from the trains in Mumbai...I travelled sitting down, in an extremely clean and air conditioned compartment, surrounded by the old and young, watching the greenery roll past me as the train sped to Chicago.

Once I reached town, I decided to get more adventurous and figure out the bus routes (something I've never done even in my own city, leaving apart the DU days...besides, cabs are WAY too expensive here :D).

And so ... it was My Day Out in Chicago ... with gorgeous skyscrapers...REALLY cute kids...fairly cute men (yeah...finally saw them :D) and a spring in my step. Went about like a tourist...with a massive camera hung around my neck (dropped the camera idea next day...way easier and more enjoyable to walk without it).

It was a perfect day...went for a tour...sped to the 94th floor of a skyscraper to get a 360 degree view of Chicago...visited the "Giant Bean" at the Millenium Park...and got back home...dog tired...but crazily happy.

Next day was even better! Architectural tours don't give you a view of the skyline and a feel of the city...as much as the grassy slopes outside the Planetarium do!

It is a beautiful green stretch between the Shedd Aquarium and the Adler Planetarium...at the bank of River Michigan...directly in front of the Chicago skyline...It is one of the most heavenly experiences I've ever had! With the cool wind (ya..not breeze) blowing gently across your face...the grass all green and spongy beneath you...the crystal clear blue waters in front of you...awesome white speedboats cutting through the water with all their might...and then...the skyline... you have to be there to believe it...

Everything was wonderful...and I never thought 24 days staright away from home would be alright (IIFT being the ONLY exception to the rule!)...but I'm in love with this place...with my cooking (Ya...got my count of burnt (literally to charcoal) dishes upto three today)...pity I'm leaving soon...I hear Buffalo isn't half as safe as this town (and Chicago has a shootout a day!)...

Well...time for a new city...a new adventure...and a Looooong overdue reunion with one of my Best Friends in New York over one of the weekends!

Hope to see you again Chicago...

Chicago Times

It has been nearly 3 weeks and I haven't blogged about Chicago yet...SHAME on me! Because it is B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L....actually Mettawa is...a town on the outskirts of Chicago (I am YET to go downtown!).

For all of you who are Star World/Movies/HBO freaks...imagine living in one of those channels...THAT is what this feels like! Mettawa is unbelievably green (though not greener than Munich where I had a stop over...THAT is like heaven on earth...like what earth was meant to be!)...Anyhow...The roads are smooth and pretty...surrounded by trees so green that you can keep staring at them forever (though I'm told it's all white snow and no foliage in the bitter winters that this city faces).

The homes...they are Perfect! It's the neighbourhoods depicted in The Wonder Years...with a hundred times prettier houses and cuter babies and gorgeously groomed dogs!

The shopping malls can be lived in...and Shiv Sena will freak out if it ever gets here and checks out people's clothes (or the lack of it)...figures be damned...Americans will wear whatever they find :P

Then ofcourse, there is the odd experience or two...

You call 911 accidentally and don't give it a thought (the outside dialling code in the hotel is 91..and there's many a slip between the other digits :D)....Just to get a lot of banging on your door and the receptionist panicking outside...having gotten calls from the police fearing the worst!

Or the day when I ordered POPCORN...and ended up with Porn on my TV...

Or today...when I aimed the Starbucks cup opening wrongly at my mouth and got tonnes of hot chocolate on one of my fave shirts!

Life is good...office is gorgeous and at walking distance from my place...I am learning how to cook (FORCED to since I have a kitchen and Americans are hardcore non-veggies!)...

I am Lovin' it :)

The Intellectual Times of India!

"America will do whatever it can to keep chaos alive in the world...or where else will it sell its weapons......??"

"Terrorism is just a symptom...till they address the root cause, which is education, lack of work opportunities...people will senselessly continue to kill.."

" Don't say mosques and madarsas are terror hubs...it's a blasphemy against all Muslims...when people start taking weapons inside mosques...they become nothing but terror hubs...and those people who kill innocents and violate peace in the world ... are not even considered Muslims."

These profound statements came from none other than my office cab driver! The conversation started pretty randomly...my colleague and I had been wondering which of the two..between Sunnis and Shias...were the more agressive sort? My driver, being a devout Muslim, soon joined in.

You can get your dose of knowledge from anywhere during the day I realized...I probably learned more in that one and a half hour ride than I had done in office that day!

So we discussed the whole gamut of questions...terrorism...America...Taliban...the fact that all Muslim terrorist groups were at some time (usually the initiation period) funded by the US...Chechnya...Taliban..Al Qaida...the man had an opinion on everything! Mostly logically sound ones!

We even came to Muslim traditions..." 4 wives...and no more allowed...you are allowed ATMOST 4 wives," he said self-righteously...Whatever happened to commitment to one person we asked..."Like you guys are committed to one person all your life," he snorted....Valid point!

He did however explain the full commandment...you are allowed more than one...ONLY if the current wife allows it...in the last 400 years, none of his ancestors had had more than 1 wife!

Another point of dissent was "Talaq Talaq Talaq"...How can you justify that we asked...there have got to be some constitutional rights given to the poor woman...and how can just saying "Talaq" 3 times end things?

He explained all about "Meher"...the amount the father of the bride decides on...and which is to be provided to the bride as promised by the groom's family...Accorsing to him there were provisions for all these things defined...by their religion and the Muslim Personal Law Board...as for the triple Talaq..."Once you decide to separate only..what's the point of all the courtroom drama..,"...he said with a wry smile...Point taken sir !

So on and so forth the banter continued...I was never anti-Muslims...but now I saw them in a whole new light...

Been keeping my eyes and ears open ever since...our driver was more awesome than a lot of people I've met before! Long live our country! :)

Of Mulayam and our Youth...

Elections are back, and so are the promises...the weirdest being SP's "Ban English schools and computers and all other machinery that gives unfair advantage to the rich" rubbish. When I read it the first time, I thought it was a strange output of my forever sleepy countenance. But no...the man was actually promising to take us back to the pre-industrial revolution era. To top it all, Nafisa Ali (who I did respect until now) and Sanjay Dutt (ya don't really care bout him) supported this junk!

Seriously, what exactly is Samajwadi Party's gameplan for the coming years? Reduce UP into a MUCH worse condition for the next 5 years, and promise to bring computers/ machines and English into the state in the subsequent elections? It is alarming to say the least!

And you know what's even more alarming than this? When the exalted "youth" of the country were asked for their comments on this, they all seemed to equate it with the annual "Ban Valentine's Day" ritual that we witness regularly. For God's sake you Roadies/Splitsvilla obsessed freaks, it is NOT the same thing! Wonder what the youth of UP have to say about this...never thought I'd see such dumbing down of people... for all the English, computers and technology that we are exposed to...

Delhi!

Do you know what is the first thing I do when my flight lands from Mumbai to Delhi (and they finally let us out of the craft after going round 'n' round in circles for half an hour :D) ?? ... I breathe in deep... It is amazing...the air in Delhi smells like something else altogether...You can smell the remnants of winter, and a hint of spring...and then ofcourse...there is the awesome smell of planes all around you...and the lack of humidity...it is DIVINE...it's like I had been holding my breath for months at a stretch in Mumbai...and I am FINALLY able to breathe! It feels AWESOME!

So I'm back in Delhi...for good :)... Home feels all the more amazing, and the enjoyment is all the more intense, because I'm not doing the countdown (3 more days and I have to go back...2 more...you get the point!)... Everyone is still pampering me ( apart from my bro...who will NOT give me the remote...and continues to worship that @#$@#!$#@$#@$ Raghu Ram)... Food has never been better ... CNG ensures that no one thrusts smoke down my throat on traffic lights even if I'm in an auto... I just met up 2 of my old room mates from IIFT ... AND visited PVR Saket after aeons for "Confessions of a Shopaholic" for 50 bucks in a multiplex :D! Life can't get better :D .. Touch wood :)

Feels great to be writing again... I go AWOL from blogspot for more than 2 months at a stretch... it just shows I've lost it!

It's back to blogging... back to eating good stuff... back to breathing air without killing my lungs...it's back to LIFE!!

Long Live Delhi! :) :) :)