To Kaashid...

Most of the times in our lives...we travel to reach a goal, and in the process we loose site of what the road has to offer to us.but I have learned my lessons rite that its the path and not the goal that matters....atleast when you are riding your way to it.And so it was for this ride.The original idea was to reach Kashid...meet up with Abhay who was already there on some team building tour of his. But as soon as I mounted my bird...i knew..that the destination was immaterial now and i could just head on in any direction from here...and it would be pure magic all the way and any way.

So we started on an overcast morning this Sunday at arnd 6.30...with the faintest of idea of what the rain gods had in store for us. But whatever it was..we were strapped and ready for it(I guess???)There was enough fuel in the birds tank to take us out of mumbai...so we skipped the fueling part to start with. Just rejuvineted our pockets with some money and we were off. Hardly a couple of kms on the palm Beach road...and it started to pour down like therewas no tomorrow. And by the time we could actually get a clue of what was happening....it was already back to just overcast again, with one subtle difference....we were drenched.Atleaset i was.But I was prepared for it...this was meant to be a ride in the rains. But it so turned out that this was the lone shower in our so called rain trip for the first leg. Nonetheless it was fun to start with.

The weather was perfect for driving from here on...with wet and dry patches of road to run on, making me vary my speed.I usually am pretty quick on the roads...but the collage of wet and dry slowed me down to a good extent. and it was well worth it....bacause it allowed me to look around what I usually miss while driving.The sky was a darkish gray...one of my favourite colors.And the rain clouds just mounting on....sometimes i just wonder if i could fly away on top of the clouds and lay in the fluffy cottony material for hours together...never to return back.

Back on the road...in apparently no time we were at Pen....and rathore was torturing me to stop for a mast chai.The chai flowed in with a little bit of debris in the form of a couple of vada pavs and bhajiya.Moving on....there is this phenomenon on this specifc patch started some where before Pen almost till the left turn of Wadhkal naka....they call it the rumbling strips.They are basically are a set of 6-10 closely spaced speed breakers....they definitely serve there purpose perfectly...but they also go far beyond it and as rathore rightly puts them...are a real pain in the ass!!!We always wonder....and its better expressed in hindi ...."ki jis bechare ne inhe banaya hoga use har passer by kitni gaaliyan deta hoga".

Further on...we quickly crossed Alibag and took the left turn that headed for Murud. Last time around on our first riding adventure of Alibag- Murud we had traversed thi route. We were trying to make out the exact same spots and offroad advetures we had undertook the last time. Clicked some wild snaps....on the road(literally on the road...rathore sitiing on it and me actually lying down on it). The surroundings were greener and majestic that we had visited the last time. Turned a curve and there it was a spread of white sand....kissing the sea. Our eyes literally twinkled at the site. but we had a task at hand before we could hit the beach....we were supposed to meet Abhay...who was in some resort starting from P or S...because that was all rathore could remember of the the name that Abhay had told him....

So began the hunt....

time to ride...

yes...its ride time yet again.
It has been close to 3 months now since we last made a journey to our wild sides....on my bird.But the drought is getting over this weekend...when we hit the road again with a splash this time. Its pouring cats and dogs in and around mumbai....and what better time to roam the roads rather than this.
The destination yet again is immaterial. Its the fun of riding again ...that has kept me and rathore on the edge of our seats all this week.
This ride holds a special significance for further reasons as well...as this ride could turn out to be the last one for this year...as i am scheduled for an overseas assignment on behalf of my employers for the next 6 months.
It comes between a hectic schedule for me....there are a lot of important things happening in my life as of now...and I have been shuttling between various destinations over the last couple of weekends. All said and done.....
Kashid here we come............

Chennai Monologue...

Its been a long time since me doing any activity on this big and bad blogworld. Work pressure ...or my lethargy whatever you call it, can be held in court for it.

but now that I am actually writing somethin....lets get back to the why's of it.
Firstly, as the title suggests...its something to do with Chennai....infact the root cause and the sole reason for this blog is Chennai. Now this blog is being written from a huge office building sparsely occupied by people as of now...me being one of the fateful occupants.

Secondly....the word monolgue doesn't mean that Chennai is speaking something to you....because that is what is the literal meaning of a monologue (don argue...cause i looked it up in a dictionary)...but it is there because the combination rhymes with the famed theatre act....Vagina Monologues which sounds really sleezy...and since its my blog...I deciede what it is called.

So it must be obvious by now that I am in a twilight zone.
There is a long story in the hindsite......and let it remain one.
Chennai.....land of THE LADY.State capital of Tamil Nadu. This being my first visit to the place...i have tried not to come with any assumptions and apprehensions. But these comments its damn hot, its sticky , you can't communicate there....are still ringing in my ears. And all the 3 comments have proved to be true. And have further strengthened my unwillingness to visit south indian destinations.
Temperatures ranging in mid 40s and humidity that could make Mumbai look like a hill station.
The best part I am alien to the people here....They don understand what I speak and neither do I understand their language. Got the first glimpse of it the moment I stepped out of the airport. and later on when I tried to board a rickshaw to reach my office. and will keep having these experiences till the time I am here. Its really frustrating and even funny at times.
I will be staying here till Wednesday morning....and I hope to see a couple of places...at the least the famed Marina Beach. I also seem to have found some mumbaite company at my place of stay. Looking forward for a evening out with them today.

Its now time for me to go back to my twilight zone......in the dilapidated world of software.
So long.....