But as all questions have there answers...so did these ones.
We found a very good place called Morya Lodge(if i remember it correctly) and it offered pretty decent accomodations with luxuries like balcony as well.Once the place was all set, it was time to take that much fought for sleep...which had shown its true colors throught the drive.
Both myself and rathore simply migrated from this world of mortals for the next few hours.I being an ardent sunset fan wanted to grasp a view at GP pule too...but my body had some other plans.It was wandering in the void of my dreams when our dear sun was throwing its last lite.
Sunset gone..we finally woke up somewhere close to 7 or 7.30 in the evening.And pretty obviously the first thing that we thought off was food.and so it was time to hunt for the same. Started off rather candidly with some local chivda and moongfali...then on the beach we had some nariyal Pani(coconut water)...but there was no sign off , as rathore puts it,tan ko lagne wala khana. Battle weiry we decieded to take a break from the hunt...and found ourselfs some decent rocks by the sea for contemplating our future course of actions.
Here let me describe you the whole scene,its a full moon ,in front of us is the vast and endless expanse of the sea...we ourselves are on a stretch of a white sand beach...audience to the this great jugalbandi of nature. There is nothing more that I can express in words.It was mesmerising.
Not a place where anything could trouble you rite....wrong...we and rathore in particular has this magical ability of creating trouble out of thin air.His wallet probably wanted some fresh air too and Mr. Rathore the good human that he is...just let his wallet out in the fresh air and put it on the rocks, where we were sitting. Eventually our stomachs got the better of the surroundings and we decieded to continue with our hunt..also we needed to make a couple of fone calls. Now when it was time to pay for the same...dear Rathore thankfully discovered that he had let the wallet have a little too much air...and had forgot it on the rocks. Now here was a man with his a** on fire...and theres no other option left in such a position then to run and so he did...and later confirmed that those were the fastest few hundred meters of his life.Thankfully we weren't entirely out of luck..and found the wallet safe and sound...and can joke abt it now.
(Mis)Adventure done...we were looking for a place to eat..walked across the whole town and finally decieded to eat at the MTDC restaurant after a short break at our abode.Had a sumptuous whole hearted dinner...and it was time to go back to the beach. After a little wading(as rathore chose to name our walk on the beach) we found ourselves some more rocks to lie upon. Finally returned back to our abode at arnd 1 in the nite. the other tourists were supposed to join us sometime in the nite..till then we were just finalising onm our plans for the next day.We had found of a place called jaigarh fort in the vicinity..and although rathore and myself being such ardent critics of Shivaji Maharaj's forts..planned to have a look at this one too.
Early to rise was the motto...but yet again it was foiled when we woke up at almost 8 and came to know that our other tourists had some other plans.They wanted us to join them in their holi celebrations on the beach...rathore and me just looked at each other and smiled...Left our fellow troopers(thats what I am goin to call them from now on) to get ready and we headed straite for the beach.Went to our pet rock..and loused.Our troopers joined us there and we had some nasty fun in the sea.Definitely a unique way to celebrate our holi.Clicked some Dil Chahte hai style snaps...with me posing to eat the Stars keys in place of the fish that aamir khan disguised to eat and the likes.Had a quick break fast again at MTDC...and went back to our abode to change as we had got skin wet.and also to pick up some stuff.Till then the troopers too were back from the beach.
We parted ways with them and headed for Jaigarh.Jaigrah is some 33kms from Ganpatipule...the fort itself is not all too scenic from inside...but the view from its out posts is amazing....some branch of the sea makes its way to bottom of the port and adds to its beauty.Another incident..as rathore has mentioned somewhere in his prior posts in relation to the camera itself...I quote "the severity of the itch will be maximum at the part where it is difficult for your hand to reach"..and this time the place was impossible to reach by hand. Our camera role got over and there was nothing remotely similar to a camera role that could be bought in the vicinty. So we finally mourned on it by sitting on the entrance of the fort listening to some Kishore Kumar classics(thanks to my sony walkman).We have had a few glimpses of the sea enrout to the fort...and on our return we decieded to explore one such trail to the sea...and it turned out to be a treasure of sorts. In the backside of a small habitation almost sitting there like a kitchengarden was an untouched beach...just lied down in the sparkling clear waters of the sea with our backs to the sun. Thankfully we were short of camera roles...otherwise the censor board wud have come hard on us for this one.Reached back at our abode and to our surpsirse our troppers were taking a hike somewhere.Went and had our unch at MTDC...and were forced for a real looooooooooooong walk on the beach in the overhead sun.Another experience of sorts.Our troopers were finally back and with some confused plans for the evening we retreated to a deep slumber..
final part to follow...
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
GP pule....Part 1
This may seem like a devilish ploy but its one way to bring the proceedings to an end...Deep Purple @ the end of a wild concert.
And so is this travelogue...a devilish ploy.This adventure as all other prior ones had its own share of madness and magic.
So here I go...
I kicked off with a routine day to office on thursday...and was already packed to go to rathore 's place at Vashi directly from office. Picked up Rathore from his office somehwere between 8.30 and 9 dropped my bag at his place,and set off yet again for a little pre trip shopping. But it turned out a lot more than mere pre trip stuff that I shopped...imagine...I bought a cell phone...JLT.
Now the plan was to start as early as possible, because we were anticipating some 7 hrs of driving...to cross over the 350 kms to ganpatipule. Now what qualifies as early for any sane character...5...4.30...4....no,not for us mad characters. We dozed off late at arnd 1.30...but I can say for myself I effectively slept for just 1 hr...Thanks to those flying blood suckers...and part to the excitement of the trip..I was already up by 3..and to my surprise even rathore was awake. Now I was raring to go...but Rathore induced some sanity...and we finally were ready by 4.30 after a mast chai.
Kickstarted the Star to life...and just let it warm up.The trip meter was set to 0..and we were all set.That was 15 minutes to 5.After almost an hour of riding through the darknes and early morning(lateeee nite) chill...both of us were craving for the sunrise.Rathore more so..because he didn't have the warmth of the biker jacket that I was wearing. Topped up the Star at some 81 kms after start from a Reliance filling station.The sun was just rising in the east and the Stars headlites were still shining when we ripped through Magathane at almost 80 Kmph..Must definitely have woken up a few sleepy residents there.
The clean tarmac was helping my cause quiet a bit...as I quiet often touched 100kmph..and even managed to remain at that pace for some time.First stop was a little prior to Mahad after 157 kms of continious driving. topped up our stomachs this time with some Idli ,dosa's and the likes...and yeah...definitely some mast chai.Me opting for a coffee though. Started again after chilling out there for close to 45 minutes.
Now we had hardly gone 30 or so kms when we had to stop yet again on the middle of the ghat.Reasons are as starnge as they come....I dozed off ...while driving...not once but twice.And at the second one I actually spotted a chai wala when my eyes opened.Rathore too had dozed off more than a couple of times..so this was a welcome respite.
In the process we had already crossed over the left turn to m'baleshwar that we had taken the last time.And we were on uncharted territory now. There on it was ghats and more ghats...atleast 4 as per my count.But the road was a beauty....with its smooth twists and turns...and fading green and yellow trees all arnd. i never needed to slow down.
Next stop was 50 odd kms prior to Ganapatipule at a place before or after Sangameshwar.And the customary Bhurji Pav followed. Also there hadn't been any foto sessions...and the photographer in Rathore spotted a perfect spot behind the eating place to inagurate the foto shoot. Click click click click...the shutter snapped and the three of us were captured on film forever.
Rode on , it was somewhere close to 11 or 11.30 in the morning.Looking for rite turn to ganpatipule ,crossed another small ghat...and when the turn finally was there...we missed it..and went ahead...but not too...far because I soon realised...and a little inquiry confirmed my doubts.Turned back...and took a left turn instead of the actual right.
The surroundings changed drastically here....till now we had been through roads which had lots and lots of vegetation arnd...but this one ,SH106 was almost like in the middle of nowhere.Small hillocks and vast plain on both sides of the road...with the distinct red/orange konkan soil keeping company.
Reached finally at 1, but only after another round of poses infront of a milestone. Rathore later explained to me that, he had something going with these milestones...so he always made us pose infront of atleast one.
Now before we could drop of to sleep we first needed a place to do that.Also we needed to book room's for another grp of tourists...rathores roommates...and some frnds of frnds,who were supposed to join us there sometime in the night I guess.Now its already tuff to find a place to stay for just the 2 of us on a long weekend , imagine finding a place for all of 14 ppl.The prospect of a couple of nites on the beach were looming large on us yet again.We even checked out a tent on the Beach..offered by MTDC..by far the most lucrative option...was hopelessly available just for a day.
Question marks all around.... to be continued...
And so is this travelogue...a devilish ploy.This adventure as all other prior ones had its own share of madness and magic.
So here I go...
I kicked off with a routine day to office on thursday...and was already packed to go to rathore 's place at Vashi directly from office. Picked up Rathore from his office somehwere between 8.30 and 9 dropped my bag at his place,and set off yet again for a little pre trip shopping. But it turned out a lot more than mere pre trip stuff that I shopped...imagine...I bought a cell phone...JLT.
Now the plan was to start as early as possible, because we were anticipating some 7 hrs of driving...to cross over the 350 kms to ganpatipule. Now what qualifies as early for any sane character...5...4.30...4....no,not for us mad characters. We dozed off late at arnd 1.30...but I can say for myself I effectively slept for just 1 hr...Thanks to those flying blood suckers...and part to the excitement of the trip..I was already up by 3..and to my surprise even rathore was awake. Now I was raring to go...but Rathore induced some sanity...and we finally were ready by 4.30 after a mast chai.
Kickstarted the Star to life...and just let it warm up.The trip meter was set to 0..and we were all set.That was 15 minutes to 5.After almost an hour of riding through the darknes and early morning(lateeee nite) chill...both of us were craving for the sunrise.Rathore more so..because he didn't have the warmth of the biker jacket that I was wearing. Topped up the Star at some 81 kms after start from a Reliance filling station.The sun was just rising in the east and the Stars headlites were still shining when we ripped through Magathane at almost 80 Kmph..Must definitely have woken up a few sleepy residents there.
The clean tarmac was helping my cause quiet a bit...as I quiet often touched 100kmph..and even managed to remain at that pace for some time.First stop was a little prior to Mahad after 157 kms of continious driving. topped up our stomachs this time with some Idli ,dosa's and the likes...and yeah...definitely some mast chai.Me opting for a coffee though. Started again after chilling out there for close to 45 minutes.
Now we had hardly gone 30 or so kms when we had to stop yet again on the middle of the ghat.Reasons are as starnge as they come....I dozed off ...while driving...not once but twice.And at the second one I actually spotted a chai wala when my eyes opened.Rathore too had dozed off more than a couple of times..so this was a welcome respite.
In the process we had already crossed over the left turn to m'baleshwar that we had taken the last time.And we were on uncharted territory now. There on it was ghats and more ghats...atleast 4 as per my count.But the road was a beauty....with its smooth twists and turns...and fading green and yellow trees all arnd. i never needed to slow down.
Next stop was 50 odd kms prior to Ganapatipule at a place before or after Sangameshwar.And the customary Bhurji Pav followed. Also there hadn't been any foto sessions...and the photographer in Rathore spotted a perfect spot behind the eating place to inagurate the foto shoot. Click click click click...the shutter snapped and the three of us were captured on film forever.
Rode on , it was somewhere close to 11 or 11.30 in the morning.Looking for rite turn to ganpatipule ,crossed another small ghat...and when the turn finally was there...we missed it..and went ahead...but not too...far because I soon realised...and a little inquiry confirmed my doubts.Turned back...and took a left turn instead of the actual right.
The surroundings changed drastically here....till now we had been through roads which had lots and lots of vegetation arnd...but this one ,SH106 was almost like in the middle of nowhere.Small hillocks and vast plain on both sides of the road...with the distinct red/orange konkan soil keeping company.
Reached finally at 1, but only after another round of poses infront of a milestone. Rathore later explained to me that, he had something going with these milestones...so he always made us pose infront of atleast one.
Now before we could drop of to sleep we first needed a place to do that.Also we needed to book room's for another grp of tourists...rathores roommates...and some frnds of frnds,who were supposed to join us there sometime in the night I guess.Now its already tuff to find a place to stay for just the 2 of us on a long weekend , imagine finding a place for all of 14 ppl.The prospect of a couple of nites on the beach were looming large on us yet again.We even checked out a tent on the Beach..offered by MTDC..by far the most lucrative option...was hopelessly available just for a day.
Question marks all around.... to be continued...
Thursday, March 24, 2005
here we go again....!!
Thump Thump Thump....Such a sweet sound....blend it with some black tarmac beside the sea...and give it a couple of crazy but adventurous free spirits..
A perfectly heady cocktail...
So thats how its gonna be this weekend...this cocktail is gonna flow on the beaches of Ganpatipule and the likes...over a duration of 2 and 1/2 riding + static days.
Ganapatipule as the name rightly suggests is more a holy spot rather than being a party lovers paradise.But the free spirit requires peace and calm...and there is no better place in the vicinity(or atleast I think so...:-)
And at some 350 Kms from the bustling mumbai...it just could turn out to be a bikers paradise.
Cheers...to The Star, rathore and myself...and may we return with many a wild stories to tell!!
So,Here we go....Thump Thump Thump...!!!
A perfectly heady cocktail...
So thats how its gonna be this weekend...this cocktail is gonna flow on the beaches of Ganpatipule and the likes...over a duration of 2 and 1/2 riding + static days.
Ganapatipule as the name rightly suggests is more a holy spot rather than being a party lovers paradise.But the free spirit requires peace and calm...and there is no better place in the vicinity(or atleast I think so...:-)
And at some 350 Kms from the bustling mumbai...it just could turn out to be a bikers paradise.
Cheers...to The Star, rathore and myself...and may we return with many a wild stories to tell!!
So,Here we go....Thump Thump Thump...!!!
Thursday, March 10, 2005
Vela vows...
Its another vela day at office...with no work what so ever. I just wonder a little too frequently these days, that how does my company afford to carry me as an extra baggage for free.
Although the bagage doesn't care until it gets its salary credited on every 28th..but still...heres a hazard of a thinking baggage.
Anyways...there are so many things beyond (no) work in life....like having fun. And I sure know how to extract that to the fullest. Will flash back a little.
Weekend was totally inactive, with the exception of a cool movie in the evening on Saturday with Neha..and a time killing ,window shopping expedition with my cousin on Sunday. but there wasn't any exception in atleast one thing...the amount of money spent in the weekend was almost equal if not more to the amount of money I happen to spend on a happening riding weekend of mine. And it is all the more painful since I didn't do anything...sad ,real sad!!
Come monday....I was a little apprehensive on my work front with my new project not yet decieded....and me still waiting to get a confirmation on certain things that were pending. Uneventful . Tuesday was no better either to start with....but I didn't want to give it the very same sad ending as my other previous days. So called up Rathore. He wasn't feeling all that well that day...but I insisted , he said YES as usual and I was on my way to Vashi. Rathore still hadn't shifted gears to the wake up mode when I reached Vashi half an hour later...so I too decieded to laze a bit...started watching 'What women want'...real nice movie...and I definitely wud like to have Mel Gibson' s power to know what women are thinking...imagine...too good!!
Finally Mr. Khumbhakaran Rathore decieded to break his slumber and woke up to this world with a hungry stomach as always. As usual decieded to go to McD's..but not the easy way...we decieded to go all the way to Panvel..some 20 odd kms from there to put off our hungry stomachs. This is what is the definition of fun....thump arnd on the Star just for the heck of it.
Had a real refreshing drive...and the star left us craving for more... ended the day with a cool flick...'socha na tha'..I find the leading lady of this movie...Ayesha Takia kinda sweet. I had liked her in 'Dil maange More' as well.
Come Wednesday and after a non happening day at office...I was back to Vashi. And there we accidentally discovered a cool shopping place called Megamart...it has all the brands at a reduced price....and both of us just plundered the place...me buying a gab ,a biker jacket(Yes..finally!) and a couple of T- shirts. Rathore too dug in with a couple more T- shirts.
Yet again ate at the McD's albeit at the vashi one today after a visit to planet M.
Ended the day with looking for the highlights of Sehwag's heroics in todays session of the match and finally watching Lakshya and reading....
PS: Rathore's guitar is sounding perfect now...miraculously.
Although the bagage doesn't care until it gets its salary credited on every 28th..but still...heres a hazard of a thinking baggage.
Anyways...there are so many things beyond (no) work in life....like having fun. And I sure know how to extract that to the fullest. Will flash back a little.
Weekend was totally inactive, with the exception of a cool movie in the evening on Saturday with Neha..and a time killing ,window shopping expedition with my cousin on Sunday. but there wasn't any exception in atleast one thing...the amount of money spent in the weekend was almost equal if not more to the amount of money I happen to spend on a happening riding weekend of mine. And it is all the more painful since I didn't do anything...sad ,real sad!!
Come monday....I was a little apprehensive on my work front with my new project not yet decieded....and me still waiting to get a confirmation on certain things that were pending. Uneventful . Tuesday was no better either to start with....but I didn't want to give it the very same sad ending as my other previous days. So called up Rathore. He wasn't feeling all that well that day...but I insisted , he said YES as usual and I was on my way to Vashi. Rathore still hadn't shifted gears to the wake up mode when I reached Vashi half an hour later...so I too decieded to laze a bit...started watching 'What women want'...real nice movie...and I definitely wud like to have Mel Gibson' s power to know what women are thinking...imagine...too good!!
Finally Mr. Khumbhakaran Rathore decieded to break his slumber and woke up to this world with a hungry stomach as always. As usual decieded to go to McD's..but not the easy way...we decieded to go all the way to Panvel..some 20 odd kms from there to put off our hungry stomachs. This is what is the definition of fun....thump arnd on the Star just for the heck of it.
Had a real refreshing drive...and the star left us craving for more... ended the day with a cool flick...'socha na tha'..I find the leading lady of this movie...Ayesha Takia kinda sweet. I had liked her in 'Dil maange More' as well.
Come Wednesday and after a non happening day at office...I was back to Vashi. And there we accidentally discovered a cool shopping place called Megamart...it has all the brands at a reduced price....and both of us just plundered the place...me buying a gab ,a biker jacket(Yes..finally!) and a couple of T- shirts. Rathore too dug in with a couple more T- shirts.
Yet again ate at the McD's albeit at the vashi one today after a visit to planet M.
Ended the day with looking for the highlights of Sehwag's heroics in todays session of the match and finally watching Lakshya and reading....
PS: Rathore's guitar is sounding perfect now...miraculously.
Monday, March 07, 2005
Lite at the end of the tunnel...
The title says it all...
After a brief stint of disgust...life seems to be throwing some sunshine for me.
Will like to cut paste something that a friend of mine sent me....pretty relevant I think...
here goes....I quote...
Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away that they
were meant to be there...to serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson or help figure out who you are or who you want to become. You neverknow who these people may be but you lock eyes with them, you know that very moment that they will affect your life in some profound way. And sometimes things happen to you at the time that may seem horrible,
painful and unfair, but in reflection you realize that withoutovercoming those obstacles you would never realize your potential, strength, will power or heart. Everything happens for a reason. Nothing happens by chance or by meansof luck. Illness, love, lost moments of true greatness and sheer stupidity all occur to test limits of your soul. Without these small tests, life would be like a smoothly paved,straight, flat road to nowhere safe and comfortable but dull and utterlypointless. The people you meet affect your life. The successes and downfalls thatyou experience can create whom you are, and the bad experiences can belearned from. In fact they are probably the most poignant and important ones.If someone hurts you, betrays you or breaks your heart, forgive thembecause they have helped you learn about trust and the importance of being cautious to whom you open your heart. If someone loves you, love them back unconditionally, not only because they love you, but also because they are teaching you to love and open your heart and eyes to little things. Make every day count. Appreciate everything that you possibly can, for you may never experience it again. Talk to people whom you have ever talked to before, and actually listen. Let yourself fall in love, break free and set your sights high. Holdyou head up because you have every right to. Tell yourself you are a great individual and believe in yourself, for if you don't believe in yourself, no one else will believe in you. Create your own life and then go out and live it.
"If you take your eyes off your goals, all you see is obstacles."
...the end.
Life definitely has its small lessons and they are spread everywhere...and at most points in our life we are so engrossed in the winning and losing part of it that we miss out on these subtlities.
This may sound like a loser s excuse to non competence, but its all about reading between the lines. For now I just hope to defy Metallica's famous lines "and it seems to be a soothing lite at the end of your tunnel...is just a freight train coming your way"
To hell with Optimism!!!
Cheers...
After a brief stint of disgust...life seems to be throwing some sunshine for me.
Will like to cut paste something that a friend of mine sent me....pretty relevant I think...
here goes....I quote...
Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away that they
were meant to be there...to serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson or help figure out who you are or who you want to become. You neverknow who these people may be but you lock eyes with them, you know that very moment that they will affect your life in some profound way. And sometimes things happen to you at the time that may seem horrible,
painful and unfair, but in reflection you realize that withoutovercoming those obstacles you would never realize your potential, strength, will power or heart. Everything happens for a reason. Nothing happens by chance or by meansof luck. Illness, love, lost moments of true greatness and sheer stupidity all occur to test limits of your soul. Without these small tests, life would be like a smoothly paved,straight, flat road to nowhere safe and comfortable but dull and utterlypointless. The people you meet affect your life. The successes and downfalls thatyou experience can create whom you are, and the bad experiences can belearned from. In fact they are probably the most poignant and important ones.If someone hurts you, betrays you or breaks your heart, forgive thembecause they have helped you learn about trust and the importance of being cautious to whom you open your heart. If someone loves you, love them back unconditionally, not only because they love you, but also because they are teaching you to love and open your heart and eyes to little things. Make every day count. Appreciate everything that you possibly can, for you may never experience it again. Talk to people whom you have ever talked to before, and actually listen. Let yourself fall in love, break free and set your sights high. Holdyou head up because you have every right to. Tell yourself you are a great individual and believe in yourself, for if you don't believe in yourself, no one else will believe in you. Create your own life and then go out and live it.
"If you take your eyes off your goals, all you see is obstacles."
...the end.
Life definitely has its small lessons and they are spread everywhere...and at most points in our life we are so engrossed in the winning and losing part of it that we miss out on these subtlities.
This may sound like a loser s excuse to non competence, but its all about reading between the lines. For now I just hope to defy Metallica's famous lines "and it seems to be a soothing lite at the end of your tunnel...is just a freight train coming your way"
To hell with Optimism!!!
Cheers...
Thursday, March 03, 2005
Rude Awakening
Its actually just a minor glitch in the otherwise peaceful and smooth life of mine, if you look at it from the higher plain. But deep down its something that has shaken me.
Yesterday I undertook a Client Interview...as in the client was trying to judge me if I was good enough to work on his project..and it so happened that he found me unfit for the same.
Simple ...rite? But I know what that actually means. He asked me certain basic questions about what I happen to boast off on my CV. I was visibly confused abt them ...and un convincing to myself while answering them. And I was still secretly hoping till yesterday that...I just mite clear the interview on my Luck. And it was really good of my lady luck to desert me on this....because it showed me my real standing as far as my professional credentials are concerned.
I am not a really ambitious person...and I am fairly happy when I am a little busy with some decent work. But I do believe and want my self to follow is that...whatever I do i do it the very best way that it can be done...and I guess i have failed myself on that.
Bottomline....study man study!!!
Yesterday I undertook a Client Interview...as in the client was trying to judge me if I was good enough to work on his project..and it so happened that he found me unfit for the same.
Simple ...rite? But I know what that actually means. He asked me certain basic questions about what I happen to boast off on my CV. I was visibly confused abt them ...and un convincing to myself while answering them. And I was still secretly hoping till yesterday that...I just mite clear the interview on my Luck. And it was really good of my lady luck to desert me on this....because it showed me my real standing as far as my professional credentials are concerned.
I am not a really ambitious person...and I am fairly happy when I am a little busy with some decent work. But I do believe and want my self to follow is that...whatever I do i do it the very best way that it can be done...and I guess i have failed myself on that.
Bottomline....study man study!!!
Friday, February 25, 2005
Drive On....Final Part
Next morning...that was the second day of the trip ,we had planned to get up and start at 9.But as usual there were further seen and unseen circumstances to handle...
Seen....that both me and Rathore feature in the creme de la creme when it comes to sleeping late. And Unforseen....that our attendant wanted to make a little dough out of feeding us a couple of precious plates of POHA(imagine a plate for 15 bucks)
Finally surpassing these...and after a cup of 'mast chai'...I warmed up The Star...for a long drive ahead. We had decieded to take a roundtrip to mumbai this time...as in...we reached Mahabaleshwar via the Mumbai-Goa NH-17...and were returning back to Mumbai on a different route which was via Pune, Lonavala...So the high level plan was simple ,to leave Panchgani by 12..and finally reach Mumbai(Vashi at Rathore's place) before Sundown.
We started off a little off time...but not too late....passed the scenic Vienna lake yet again on route to Panchgani.The road was a visual treat...with not so high mountains on one side and not so deep valleys on the other...we made a couple of stops ..one to click some snaps..and the other one to pick up some stuff like jams, gulkand..and certain others...but we skipped the supposed speciality of Mahabaleshwar/Panchgani..the strawberries.
Our target in Panchgani was the famed table top mountain..and as the namely rightly suggests its the top of a mountain but its flat.There were a lot of horse rides available....but we were on a horse of our own....so just took a slow drive through the dusty plateau...posed for a couple of stone Background snaps and headed back. I guess my dear frnd Rathore has some heart break story attached to some caves...so yet again he almost jumped from the Star on seeing the left turn to Rajapuri Caves. I obliged my frnd by turning left...but the obligation soon turned out to be headache....because the Caves were no where to be seen even after a good 5-6 kms of ride.And the road also wasn't all that good.Finally after crossing a couple of villages and a few wrong turns...we finally reached the end of the road in the village of Rajapuri...and the caves were a small trek from there.The caves turned out to be the holy abode of 'Bhagwaan Kartikeyan' the first son of Lord Shiv..and not some ancestor of our F1 man Narain K.
The ride back till Panchgani was all uphill...and the Star showed its raw power as we eased our way up.At the end of this offroad(almost) adventure...we three were under a blanket of dust....and our stomachs too were craving for some good food.So decieded to take care of both the things in one stop.After a small difference in opinion I exercised my rite as I was driving and dived into a good looking place called the Ravine.Rathore later agreed on my decision after seeing the place.freshened up and had a nice lunch there of Dal Tadka , Veg Pulav..and Omlette.
Finally left Panchgani at 2.Pune was some 100 odd kms from here.Decieded that we won't be making any further stops till Pune...and the road turned out to be a dream....first it was downhill from Panchgani...and then on it was a wide 4 lane road with sparse traffic....almost till Pune.I just let the Star rip...and touched the magical 100kph...many more times. We averaged close to 80 on that stretch...and within a little over an hour and a half...we were reckoning at the gates of Pune. But the fast drive did take its toll on our already mellowed rears.And we were visibly uncomfartable by the time we entered Pune.Had a life giving apple Milk shake on MG road ,Pune and headed straight for Lonavala...where my friend Shash was waiting for us.Had amazing cold coffee there...rathore opting to have a hot flavour of the same. Started from Lonavala at arnd 5..and entered vashi at 7 after a minor traffic jam.Headed straight for the foto developers shop and from there to McD's.By the time we reached rathore's place...we had done 550Kms of magical driving over the last couple of days.
The ride will be etched in our memories for the amazing roads that it offered us...throughout, the adventurous detours that we took, the spell bounding ghats that we overtook and offcourse the great time that the 3 of us had together.
With plans of our next trip already doing rounds in our hearts and mind..we closed this journey.
Cheers...
Seen....that both me and Rathore feature in the creme de la creme when it comes to sleeping late. And Unforseen....that our attendant wanted to make a little dough out of feeding us a couple of precious plates of POHA(imagine a plate for 15 bucks)
Finally surpassing these...and after a cup of 'mast chai'...I warmed up The Star...for a long drive ahead. We had decieded to take a roundtrip to mumbai this time...as in...we reached Mahabaleshwar via the Mumbai-Goa NH-17...and were returning back to Mumbai on a different route which was via Pune, Lonavala...So the high level plan was simple ,to leave Panchgani by 12..and finally reach Mumbai(Vashi at Rathore's place) before Sundown.
We started off a little off time...but not too late....passed the scenic Vienna lake yet again on route to Panchgani.The road was a visual treat...with not so high mountains on one side and not so deep valleys on the other...we made a couple of stops ..one to click some snaps..and the other one to pick up some stuff like jams, gulkand..and certain others...but we skipped the supposed speciality of Mahabaleshwar/Panchgani..the strawberries.
Our target in Panchgani was the famed table top mountain..and as the namely rightly suggests its the top of a mountain but its flat.There were a lot of horse rides available....but we were on a horse of our own....so just took a slow drive through the dusty plateau...posed for a couple of stone Background snaps and headed back. I guess my dear frnd Rathore has some heart break story attached to some caves...so yet again he almost jumped from the Star on seeing the left turn to Rajapuri Caves. I obliged my frnd by turning left...but the obligation soon turned out to be headache....because the Caves were no where to be seen even after a good 5-6 kms of ride.And the road also wasn't all that good.Finally after crossing a couple of villages and a few wrong turns...we finally reached the end of the road in the village of Rajapuri...and the caves were a small trek from there.The caves turned out to be the holy abode of 'Bhagwaan Kartikeyan' the first son of Lord Shiv..and not some ancestor of our F1 man Narain K.
The ride back till Panchgani was all uphill...and the Star showed its raw power as we eased our way up.At the end of this offroad(almost) adventure...we three were under a blanket of dust....and our stomachs too were craving for some good food.So decieded to take care of both the things in one stop.After a small difference in opinion I exercised my rite as I was driving and dived into a good looking place called the Ravine.Rathore later agreed on my decision after seeing the place.freshened up and had a nice lunch there of Dal Tadka , Veg Pulav..and Omlette.
Finally left Panchgani at 2.Pune was some 100 odd kms from here.Decieded that we won't be making any further stops till Pune...and the road turned out to be a dream....first it was downhill from Panchgani...and then on it was a wide 4 lane road with sparse traffic....almost till Pune.I just let the Star rip...and touched the magical 100kph...many more times. We averaged close to 80 on that stretch...and within a little over an hour and a half...we were reckoning at the gates of Pune. But the fast drive did take its toll on our already mellowed rears.And we were visibly uncomfartable by the time we entered Pune.Had a life giving apple Milk shake on MG road ,Pune and headed straight for Lonavala...where my friend Shash was waiting for us.Had amazing cold coffee there...rathore opting to have a hot flavour of the same. Started from Lonavala at arnd 5..and entered vashi at 7 after a minor traffic jam.Headed straight for the foto developers shop and from there to McD's.By the time we reached rathore's place...we had done 550Kms of magical driving over the last couple of days.
The ride will be etched in our memories for the amazing roads that it offered us...throughout, the adventurous detours that we took, the spell bounding ghats that we overtook and offcourse the great time that the 3 of us had together.
With plans of our next trip already doing rounds in our hearts and mind..we closed this journey.
Cheers...
Thursday, February 24, 2005
Drive On..Part 2
Yawwnnnnnnnn.....I had secretly changed the alarm to 3.25 without Rathores knowledge.
But there were too many natural alarms to wake me up long before that....There was this murga....which had gone bersek I guess....kept going with his morning cry.."murge ki baang"...in the middle of a hot afternoon...imagine that....it just keeps goin kudckooooooooooo..every now and then...It was damn irritating.
Then there was this guy who was the attendant at the cottage...he came asking if we wanted to eat something....and the prospect of a garma garam dal - chawaal was all too to tempting to resist.
After all these adventures....we still managed to start for our M'baleshwar Darshan...by 4PM...and that too after a decent rest.
The next thing on the agenda was a "mast" chai as my dear rathore states it.He has this strange idea of it...some specific additives that he always needs...I don even know of them.We were basically lost in the middle of a market..and we had no idea where we wanted to head to...so gulped a couple of 'cuttings' before starting of in one of the directions...where there supposedly were 12 site seeing points..the prominent one that I could make out was the Arthurs Seat.There were also mentions of a few temples when we were leaving from Mumbai....but both of being such devotees..decieded to ditch the holy places competely..and let the God s rest.
We finally reached this Arthur seat after a long but scenic drive....but there was quiet a lot of traffic both ways. And pretty obviously there was a big crowd too.
Here again there something abt the crowds that rathore and myself both do not like...and we weren't actually enjoying this one too. And the spot also was alet down of sorts..as in all the 12 supposed view points were meant to view a single panorama albeit from different angles and altitudes. So we decieded to flee away from this place as fast as possible....and after a couple of detours ..we finally came to Kates (or Cats as rathore named it) Point....supposedly a sunset point. The approach road was a beauty ...as in it was a single lane road and a wall of greenery on both sides....a very very pretty site. We didn't wait there till sunset...because there was a good half an hour for that and as rathore put it..."Bahut sunset dekhe hai yaar Mumbai mai.."..we headed for Lake Vienaa..of which we had some glimpses from the various points.
After another set of directions we reached the Lake...and it was a pretty site....we decieded to go for a round of boating...That was one of the best parts of the trip....there was a slight chill in the air...and once on the lake it was very peaceful...The twilight sky , the blue waters of the lake...perfect for a romantic boat ride.....but alas...I was snapped back to reality when I turned my head to see this creature named Rathore siting beside me...what a shame...and all the romaticism went whoooshhh!
We headed to a decent eating place from there...had a couple of 'mast chais' followed by a round of Dum Aloo and Tandoori rotis....it was getting chilly by now...and we were also feeling a little dirty(??). So we were just dreaming if we could get a heavenly hot bath and a Bonfire to top it.And our dreams turned to reality as we prepared ourselves for the bonfire...with 'Yeah jo des hai tera' in the background....thanks to my walkman which had an inbuilt speaker too.
Had a little chat with our attendant Mahendra over the bonfire ...of his where abouts ...and what he does..and how much he has studied and all that. He was surprised to know that we were teetotellers(ahmmm...well am not one actually..but my buddy definitely is...). and a further round of snaps....
Finally our batteries went low at arnd 12...and we dozed to Shankar Jaykishan's eternal music...
The last and final part to follow...with the return ride!!!
Cheers...
But there were too many natural alarms to wake me up long before that....There was this murga....which had gone bersek I guess....kept going with his morning cry.."murge ki baang"...in the middle of a hot afternoon...imagine that....it just keeps goin kudckooooooooooo..every now and then...It was damn irritating.
Then there was this guy who was the attendant at the cottage...he came asking if we wanted to eat something....and the prospect of a garma garam dal - chawaal was all too to tempting to resist.
After all these adventures....we still managed to start for our M'baleshwar Darshan...by 4PM...and that too after a decent rest.
The next thing on the agenda was a "mast" chai as my dear rathore states it.He has this strange idea of it...some specific additives that he always needs...I don even know of them.We were basically lost in the middle of a market..and we had no idea where we wanted to head to...so gulped a couple of 'cuttings' before starting of in one of the directions...where there supposedly were 12 site seeing points..the prominent one that I could make out was the Arthurs Seat.There were also mentions of a few temples when we were leaving from Mumbai....but both of being such devotees..decieded to ditch the holy places competely..and let the God s rest.
We finally reached this Arthur seat after a long but scenic drive....but there was quiet a lot of traffic both ways. And pretty obviously there was a big crowd too.
Here again there something abt the crowds that rathore and myself both do not like...and we weren't actually enjoying this one too. And the spot also was alet down of sorts..as in all the 12 supposed view points were meant to view a single panorama albeit from different angles and altitudes. So we decieded to flee away from this place as fast as possible....and after a couple of detours ..we finally came to Kates (or Cats as rathore named it) Point....supposedly a sunset point. The approach road was a beauty ...as in it was a single lane road and a wall of greenery on both sides....a very very pretty site. We didn't wait there till sunset...because there was a good half an hour for that and as rathore put it..."Bahut sunset dekhe hai yaar Mumbai mai.."..we headed for Lake Vienaa..of which we had some glimpses from the various points.
After another set of directions we reached the Lake...and it was a pretty site....we decieded to go for a round of boating...That was one of the best parts of the trip....there was a slight chill in the air...and once on the lake it was very peaceful...The twilight sky , the blue waters of the lake...perfect for a romantic boat ride.....but alas...I was snapped back to reality when I turned my head to see this creature named Rathore siting beside me...what a shame...and all the romaticism went whoooshhh!
We headed to a decent eating place from there...had a couple of 'mast chais' followed by a round of Dum Aloo and Tandoori rotis....it was getting chilly by now...and we were also feeling a little dirty(??). So we were just dreaming if we could get a heavenly hot bath and a Bonfire to top it.And our dreams turned to reality as we prepared ourselves for the bonfire...with 'Yeah jo des hai tera' in the background....thanks to my walkman which had an inbuilt speaker too.
Had a little chat with our attendant Mahendra over the bonfire ...of his where abouts ...and what he does..and how much he has studied and all that. He was surprised to know that we were teetotellers(ahmmm...well am not one actually..but my buddy definitely is...). and a further round of snaps....
Finally our batteries went low at arnd 12...and we dozed to Shankar Jaykishan's eternal music...
The last and final part to follow...with the return ride!!!
Cheers...
Monday, February 21, 2005
Drive On...Part 1
Time : 0600 hrs.
Place : Vashi ,Somewhere in Sector 17
Date : 19th Feb
I am making it all sound like a mission...because we really were on the verge of undertaking one.
This is the voyage of three crusaders...Rathore my Pillion, my Bird...The HighwayStar...and Me...en route to a hell of a time. A mission because we were starting off with a plan to cover close to 600Kms in a couple of days...with some infamous ghats to surmount. But we the trio were showing no nerves at all....infact the excitement had got the better of us.
I'll flash back a little n then restart from here. Friday I had been to office , left early to meet Anshu..one of a real old and close frnd of mine. So cud reach vashi only by 10.30 in the nite.Had already done close to 100kms on Friday itself and this was even before the trip had started.Then were roaming arnd in Vashi with Rathore and his frnds..till almost 12 in the nite. We were initally planning to leave by arnd 5 in the morning the next day...but that was history ...and the starting time had been posponed to 6.
And we finally started just 15 mins late...06:15AM. Fuelled up initially , only enough to reach the outskirts of Mumbai...because the petrol is cheaper outside mumbai. It was still dark and I was just warming up with moderate speeds of 60-70 Kph. Reached the Panvel McD in 20 mnts. Took a right turn from there towards Pen on NH-17. Tanked up at arnd 7:30...the odometer read...45..or something. The sun was rising in the East...and it was all misty and beautiful.Our stomachs were craving for food by now...So finally stopped at 8.30 at a roadside dhaba.....and a sumptuos and customary Bhurji Pav(S) and Chai(S) were to follow...I have put the S in brackets just because the actual number wud prove to be an embarrasment. Also had an interesting chat with a couple of Truck Drivers there...they were inquiring of our whereabouts and we theres...and it turned out they were driving all the way from Punjab. These guys narrated a few ride stories of theres...and cautioned us for avoiding nite riding.....we just nodded our heads in approval to them....and looked at each other and smiled...
During this time I had already made a couple of failed attempts to touch the magical 100Kph...But I was eyeing it badly....we also had our first round of snaps...all poses and all..
Rode on...and rathore kept yelling all the time at all different places to stop....and when finally I used to slow down...we used to deciede against it...
Ultimately we did stop....and this time it was me who was yelling to show Rathore the roadside caves. It was heating up by now....and the caves were a little hike upwards. Another round of poses and a cool bottle of water later...we were back on track. We had just crossed Mahad at that time. Here I must make a mention of the roads...and there is just one word for them...mesmerising.They were smooth as silk...it was almost like a Black Carpet rolled on and on into the wilderness...for me to cruise on...and i finally kissed 100Kph with a careful High fives with Rathore. We took one more stop before finally leaving NH-17 to turn left for Mahabaleshwar.Then on it was all uphill...with all its twisting and turning roads....I put my head down...and just drove on....
Here we were looking out for a diversion to the famed Pratapgarh Fort..and we did find it some 18kms before M'baleshwar. Beautiful drive upto the fort...with trees lined close to the road on both the sides...and an odd vehicle crossing.We were already decieded on one thing...that if comes down to any kind of climbing on foot for the fort...we 'll ditch the whole idea.And incidentally there was some climbing to be done.We were just contemplating on this when I got a call from my mom...and she was startled to hear that I was almost reaching M'baleshwar. There was also an official matter to be sorted out for rathore.
This is strictly a personnel view...and is not intended to heart anyone and Rathore seconds me here...but the Marathas..and especially Shivaji Maharaj have made really blant forts. As in you do all that hard work to climb...and theres nothing to look at once you reach....apart from the walls and stones. This was another reason for us decieding against climbing the last few steps.
Here my dear Rathore was back to his careless best...this time he left his specs somewhere.And the horrible south Indian food that we had there was a death blow to the already sullen mood.
From then on till M'baleshwar..it was a quiet drive...with both of us in our own zones...and the Star in its own.
Reached M'baleshwar at 2...and straightway were carried away by a local to his cottages...this was to be our abode for the nite...By now we were feeling the drive on our rears...and we decieded on a quick nap....with promises of getting up by 3.30................zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....
Place : Vashi ,Somewhere in Sector 17
Date : 19th Feb
I am making it all sound like a mission...because we really were on the verge of undertaking one.
This is the voyage of three crusaders...Rathore my Pillion, my Bird...The HighwayStar...and Me...en route to a hell of a time. A mission because we were starting off with a plan to cover close to 600Kms in a couple of days...with some infamous ghats to surmount. But we the trio were showing no nerves at all....infact the excitement had got the better of us.
I'll flash back a little n then restart from here. Friday I had been to office , left early to meet Anshu..one of a real old and close frnd of mine. So cud reach vashi only by 10.30 in the nite.Had already done close to 100kms on Friday itself and this was even before the trip had started.Then were roaming arnd in Vashi with Rathore and his frnds..till almost 12 in the nite. We were initally planning to leave by arnd 5 in the morning the next day...but that was history ...and the starting time had been posponed to 6.
And we finally started just 15 mins late...06:15AM. Fuelled up initially , only enough to reach the outskirts of Mumbai...because the petrol is cheaper outside mumbai. It was still dark and I was just warming up with moderate speeds of 60-70 Kph. Reached the Panvel McD in 20 mnts. Took a right turn from there towards Pen on NH-17. Tanked up at arnd 7:30...the odometer read...45..or something. The sun was rising in the East...and it was all misty and beautiful.Our stomachs were craving for food by now...So finally stopped at 8.30 at a roadside dhaba.....and a sumptuos and customary Bhurji Pav(S) and Chai(S) were to follow...I have put the S in brackets just because the actual number wud prove to be an embarrasment. Also had an interesting chat with a couple of Truck Drivers there...they were inquiring of our whereabouts and we theres...and it turned out they were driving all the way from Punjab. These guys narrated a few ride stories of theres...and cautioned us for avoiding nite riding.....we just nodded our heads in approval to them....and looked at each other and smiled...
During this time I had already made a couple of failed attempts to touch the magical 100Kph...But I was eyeing it badly....we also had our first round of snaps...all poses and all..
Rode on...and rathore kept yelling all the time at all different places to stop....and when finally I used to slow down...we used to deciede against it...
Ultimately we did stop....and this time it was me who was yelling to show Rathore the roadside caves. It was heating up by now....and the caves were a little hike upwards. Another round of poses and a cool bottle of water later...we were back on track. We had just crossed Mahad at that time. Here I must make a mention of the roads...and there is just one word for them...mesmerising.They were smooth as silk...it was almost like a Black Carpet rolled on and on into the wilderness...for me to cruise on...and i finally kissed 100Kph with a careful High fives with Rathore. We took one more stop before finally leaving NH-17 to turn left for Mahabaleshwar.Then on it was all uphill...with all its twisting and turning roads....I put my head down...and just drove on....
Here we were looking out for a diversion to the famed Pratapgarh Fort..and we did find it some 18kms before M'baleshwar. Beautiful drive upto the fort...with trees lined close to the road on both the sides...and an odd vehicle crossing.We were already decieded on one thing...that if comes down to any kind of climbing on foot for the fort...we 'll ditch the whole idea.And incidentally there was some climbing to be done.We were just contemplating on this when I got a call from my mom...and she was startled to hear that I was almost reaching M'baleshwar. There was also an official matter to be sorted out for rathore.
This is strictly a personnel view...and is not intended to heart anyone and Rathore seconds me here...but the Marathas..and especially Shivaji Maharaj have made really blant forts. As in you do all that hard work to climb...and theres nothing to look at once you reach....apart from the walls and stones. This was another reason for us decieding against climbing the last few steps.
Here my dear Rathore was back to his careless best...this time he left his specs somewhere.And the horrible south Indian food that we had there was a death blow to the already sullen mood.
From then on till M'baleshwar..it was a quiet drive...with both of us in our own zones...and the Star in its own.
Reached M'baleshwar at 2...and straightway were carried away by a local to his cottages...this was to be our abode for the nite...By now we were feeling the drive on our rears...and we decieded on a quick nap....with promises of getting up by 3.30................zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....
Friday, February 18, 2005
Curtain Raiser!
As the name ritefully suggests...this really is a sneek peek at what is up and coming in my life.
Pretty predictable actually...its another Road Trip shaping up...
Infact allz planned..and am all packed and strapped for it.
This time around we are leaving the winding coastal roads of Konkan behind...and heading deep into the Sahyadri highs. Its actually a plain deep into the mountains...
okay...I'll give you the name...Mahabaleshwar. The travel team remains the same Trio of Rathore , myself and my newly named HighwayStar...my Bird.Well the Bird was supposed to be Serviced today...but a miscalculationon my part led to the postponement of the same. A blessing in disguise I guess....As i will be able to service it after the trip...
The usual stuffs been packed up....and the engineers that we are ...rathore and myself have come up with a checklist sort of a thing ...Thanks to Mr. Excel!!!
I seem to have worked according to it...but theres always a chance of the odd error...Alas...I am a mere mortal you know.
So all packing mishaps on my part will be taken care of by Mr Rathore....reading this na??
So all cheers for us....The Travelogue will follow....
Pretty predictable actually...its another Road Trip shaping up...
Infact allz planned..and am all packed and strapped for it.
This time around we are leaving the winding coastal roads of Konkan behind...and heading deep into the Sahyadri highs. Its actually a plain deep into the mountains...
okay...I'll give you the name...Mahabaleshwar. The travel team remains the same Trio of Rathore , myself and my newly named HighwayStar...my Bird.Well the Bird was supposed to be Serviced today...but a miscalculationon my part led to the postponement of the same. A blessing in disguise I guess....As i will be able to service it after the trip...
The usual stuffs been packed up....and the engineers that we are ...rathore and myself have come up with a checklist sort of a thing ...Thanks to Mr. Excel!!!
I seem to have worked according to it...but theres always a chance of the odd error...Alas...I am a mere mortal you know.
So all packing mishaps on my part will be taken care of by Mr Rathore....reading this na??
So all cheers for us....The Travelogue will follow....
Friday, January 28, 2005
Fast Track!!!
Made a quick trip to Lonavala on the Republic Day...
And it was so sudden that even I did nt know till the last minute.
It all started to brew up on the eve of the Republic Day....when I came home early from my supposed place of work(where I have no work these days) ...and was rattling my brain empty with the thought that the next day is an off. Watched 'When Harry Met Sally' for the n th time...(I happen to own its VCD...and a player to play it as well) , just to spoil my mood further...with all that romanticism.
Got up early the next day...early...if 8:30 qualifies as that.I don know if there is something wrong with me here...but it always happens that whenever I have the luxury to sleep late....I cannot ...just cannot.I was gearing up for a long and boring day ahead...started off rather candidly with a decent tennis match between Sharapova and Williams...which later Sharapova happened to lose...got bored of that...by this time I was already starting to feel like riding...so I called up my buddy rathore...but this bloody chap did nt pick up the fone....so with grt despair i decieded to put all my riding plans to rest..and started to read.....but by 10.30...enough was enough..I called this chap again....and finally he picked up...
I just casually asked him....ki dost lonavala chale....and the dude that he is....straightaway said CHALO...without even giving it a second thought.
And lo and behold.....I was racing away to Vashi...on my Bird of course Reached the gates of DAKC at 11.30.Picked up rathore from there after a little wait.
Also, there was some other stuff that I needed to pick up...bought a walkman which could record...for a recording that me and my frnd Kritik are gonna come up with...well abt that later....
So finally left vashi at 12.30 after a quick bite at McD's
Last time arnd...I was still in my running in period with the bird...so i had a speed limit of 60.
But this time arnd ...with almost 1500kms under my belt....I was ready for some high speed driving...and I did that for sure....with almost at 80 throught the drive. But i am sure I can go faster than this...pretty easily....
Reached Lonavala by 2....75+ kms in some 90 odd minutes..pretty decent uhhh??
One of closest frnds Shash is posted at Lonavala...hes serving as a officer in the Indian Navy ...and is doing his graduation from Lonavala. Its hard work for him...but damn cool for me....
I had informed him before hand of my arrival ...so we met him at a local chinese joint...had our lunch there.....will specifically remember the horrible tomato soup that we had there.
Then we were off to the Naval Base...and to Shash's abode....TPed there for a couple of hours....were listening to Rabbi....'bulla ki jaana'....lovely song...and a lovely album altogether.
Well discovered a couple of Rabbi tunes on my guitar as well...;-))
Stole the CD from shash...and headed towards the sunset point...
Its a real serene place....and as the name suggests is supposed to be a point for viewing the setting sun....i specifically like sunsets more than sunrises....may be something to do with my character traits. The place is amazing.....and if you actually keep shut you can hear...or rather feel ( as Rathore corrected me ) the silence...
It was time to go back now...with Sun already set...I was up for some nite riding.
Stole a hot Coffee at Lonavala before starting back....we had decieded that we'll take it easy with the speed...because it was dark....
But as soon I touched my birds accelerator...all the decisions were part of the exhaust....
Drove back touching 80 almost all the time... and we sure had a few scares in the ghat....with 0 visibilty and that kind of speed.
But we definitely made it back...and were in Vashi center One at the stroke of 9.
This time arnd it was more the thrill of the ride than anything else that we enjoyed.
Ended the day with a B'day treat from me offcourse...to Rathore at Smokin Joes ...and slept to the tunes of Rabbi......Bulla ki Jaana mai kaun???????
And it was so sudden that even I did nt know till the last minute.
It all started to brew up on the eve of the Republic Day....when I came home early from my supposed place of work(where I have no work these days) ...and was rattling my brain empty with the thought that the next day is an off. Watched 'When Harry Met Sally' for the n th time...(I happen to own its VCD...and a player to play it as well) , just to spoil my mood further...with all that romanticism.
Got up early the next day...early...if 8:30 qualifies as that.I don know if there is something wrong with me here...but it always happens that whenever I have the luxury to sleep late....I cannot ...just cannot.I was gearing up for a long and boring day ahead...started off rather candidly with a decent tennis match between Sharapova and Williams...which later Sharapova happened to lose...got bored of that...by this time I was already starting to feel like riding...so I called up my buddy rathore...but this bloody chap did nt pick up the fone....so with grt despair i decieded to put all my riding plans to rest..and started to read.....but by 10.30...enough was enough..I called this chap again....and finally he picked up...
I just casually asked him....ki dost lonavala chale....and the dude that he is....straightaway said CHALO...without even giving it a second thought.
And lo and behold.....I was racing away to Vashi...on my Bird of course Reached the gates of DAKC at 11.30.Picked up rathore from there after a little wait.
Also, there was some other stuff that I needed to pick up...bought a walkman which could record...for a recording that me and my frnd Kritik are gonna come up with...well abt that later....
So finally left vashi at 12.30 after a quick bite at McD's
Last time arnd...I was still in my running in period with the bird...so i had a speed limit of 60.
But this time arnd ...with almost 1500kms under my belt....I was ready for some high speed driving...and I did that for sure....with almost at 80 throught the drive. But i am sure I can go faster than this...pretty easily....
Reached Lonavala by 2....75+ kms in some 90 odd minutes..pretty decent uhhh??
One of closest frnds Shash is posted at Lonavala...hes serving as a officer in the Indian Navy ...and is doing his graduation from Lonavala. Its hard work for him...but damn cool for me....
I had informed him before hand of my arrival ...so we met him at a local chinese joint...had our lunch there.....will specifically remember the horrible tomato soup that we had there.
Then we were off to the Naval Base...and to Shash's abode....TPed there for a couple of hours....were listening to Rabbi....'bulla ki jaana'....lovely song...and a lovely album altogether.
Well discovered a couple of Rabbi tunes on my guitar as well...;-))
Stole the CD from shash...and headed towards the sunset point...
Its a real serene place....and as the name suggests is supposed to be a point for viewing the setting sun....i specifically like sunsets more than sunrises....may be something to do with my character traits. The place is amazing.....and if you actually keep shut you can hear...or rather feel ( as Rathore corrected me ) the silence...
It was time to go back now...with Sun already set...I was up for some nite riding.
Stole a hot Coffee at Lonavala before starting back....we had decieded that we'll take it easy with the speed...because it was dark....
But as soon I touched my birds accelerator...all the decisions were part of the exhaust....
Drove back touching 80 almost all the time... and we sure had a few scares in the ghat....with 0 visibilty and that kind of speed.
But we definitely made it back...and were in Vashi center One at the stroke of 9.
This time arnd it was more the thrill of the ride than anything else that we enjoyed.
Ended the day with a B'day treat from me offcourse...to Rathore at Smokin Joes ...and slept to the tunes of Rabbi......Bulla ki Jaana mai kaun???????
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
marriage...and heaven!!!
I am just back from a close friends marriage...and it was quiet an experience.
Had loads of fun.....especially at the place where I spent my 4 golden and not so golden years of engineering...visiting all those Beans, CCH's, Spice & Ices ' i was getting all nostalgic...(note the names of the places...all of them are meant for eating...rather hoggin)...
Then meeting up with lots of college buddies...and reliving our moments together....enigmatic...truely.
It also occured to me.....that the friend, who just got married....missed all of it....and mite happen to miss all further ...(mis) adventures of ours. And that too just because he is married.
While I was witnessing this holy bonding....it further dawned upon me that I probabaly wud never be able to psyche myself enough to get married....forget the life after...even the whole process of going through the process...is a ceremonious torture...uffffffff!!!!
No....not my cup of tea definitely......
Any takers???
Had loads of fun.....especially at the place where I spent my 4 golden and not so golden years of engineering...visiting all those Beans, CCH's, Spice & Ices ' i was getting all nostalgic...(note the names of the places...all of them are meant for eating...rather hoggin)...
Then meeting up with lots of college buddies...and reliving our moments together....enigmatic...truely.
It also occured to me.....that the friend, who just got married....missed all of it....and mite happen to miss all further ...(mis) adventures of ours. And that too just because he is married.
While I was witnessing this holy bonding....it further dawned upon me that I probabaly wud never be able to psyche myself enough to get married....forget the life after...even the whole process of going through the process...is a ceremonious torture...uffffffff!!!!
No....not my cup of tea definitely......
Any takers???
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
"The Day"
After so long....and it wud have been longer if not for today.
Now the obvious question wud be ..whats so special about today.
Well it so happens ..that on this very same day a few(????) years back...i decieded to land upon this earth and make it mine for some time.
I am sure that I haven't been succesful as yet in the"making mine" mission on earth....
But I sure discovered one thing over the last 14 hrs or so of my B'day ...that i sure have 'made mine' a lot of people...
With all the forget fullness that I have shown over the years of missing almost everyones b'day some or the other time....its sure feels good that they all called me to wish me on mine.
But in retrospect , that I look back now....Its been a real cool life...with all its twists and turns...and I have enjoyed every moment of it till date.
I don know how many more such days I am destined to see...but I sure hope that as many are there...I am always able to feel the very same way as today....
Alive...and Rocking!!!!
Cheers...to me!!!
;-)
Now the obvious question wud be ..whats so special about today.
Well it so happens ..that on this very same day a few(????) years back...i decieded to land upon this earth and make it mine for some time.
I am sure that I haven't been succesful as yet in the"making mine" mission on earth....
But I sure discovered one thing over the last 14 hrs or so of my B'day ...that i sure have 'made mine' a lot of people...
With all the forget fullness that I have shown over the years of missing almost everyones b'day some or the other time....its sure feels good that they all called me to wish me on mine.
But in retrospect , that I look back now....Its been a real cool life...with all its twists and turns...and I have enjoyed every moment of it till date.
I don know how many more such days I am destined to see...but I sure hope that as many are there...I am always able to feel the very same way as today....
Alive...and Rocking!!!!
Cheers...to me!!!
;-)
Tuesday, December 28, 2004
Yippieeeee -2!!!!!
I'll continue from where I left...the problem was...As it happened to be 25th of December, all the respectable and the not so respectable lodges and hotels were all packed to the brim....and as we explored further...it started to dawn upon us that we mite actually end up sleeping in a Hanuman Temple verandah...or even worse(or better) the beach itself!!
But then by a pure piece of good fortune...and my ability to read Marathi...we ended up staying in a very sweet lady's drawing room. Once finding the place for the nite...we headed back again to the beach...
The sea always gives me an intimidating experience...its vastness and the awesome power that it beholds. There we were..with our backs on the beach...sea in front...and the clear star studded sky above us.....pure magic!!!!
I reiterated the promise to myself that someday I 'll buy a telescope and be an amateur astronomer.
We had our so called dinner at a beachside chinese stall...with dogs surrounding us....grrrrrrrrrrrr!!! And the count of Colas moved on to 4 for the day with 2 more added here on the beach.
Returned back to our abode for the nite...clicked a couple of snaps...and chat ed our way to sleep.
Morning 6 and we were up and ready to rock again.Over the last evening we had gathered enough information regarding Murud..so we were just raring to go now. Had a parting snap with our sweet aunty...exchanged some telephone nos...and with promises of coming back we were off again to the beach in hunt of "ek cutting chai ". The addict that my frnd is....I almost feel...and its a joke amongst us frnds that he has more chai in his veins than blood.
The road from Alibag to Murud via Kashid...was as expexted....very very beautiful. And the early morning mist was like an icing on the already enticing scenary. We took a couple of offroad trails and undoubtebly they were the best parts of the drive.
We halted at a beautiful white sand beach for a second cup of chai...and a small break. As we were sipping our teas..we discovered that this was none other than the famous Kashid beach.
We made it our own by clicking a couple of snaps again.
Next stop was ....our supposed final destination Murud Janzira...we skipped the Murud beach on the way...and parked my Bird on the Jetty from where we caught a boat to the fort which is a kilometer or so inside the sea. It was supposedly the last frontier for the famous maratha warrior Shivaji Maharaj , which unlike ,India for aussies, he was never able to conquer.
It was getting hot now...and we just incremented our Cola count by 1.We ditched the idea of a beach party at Murud.Instead we headed straite back to Kashid beach again. Chilled out there for almost 3 quarters of an hour. Had our stomachs filled with some Bhurji Pav...and finally some water!!!! That was 2 PM Sunday.We were planning to reach back Vashi by 5.
So from here on it was a steady bike read through Alibag ,Pen...and almost till Panvel.
Had the last cola of our trip somewhere close to Panvel at 4. That finally brings our cola tally to 6.Pepsi, Coke , Thums Up...any body listening...do sponsor this trip of ours guys.
Bang at the stroke of 5 we entered Vashi...and that was the end of this journey...but the adventures were still far from over for us guys....
This and more may be later...but that brings me to "THE END" for Yippieeee!!
But then by a pure piece of good fortune...and my ability to read Marathi...we ended up staying in a very sweet lady's drawing room. Once finding the place for the nite...we headed back again to the beach...
The sea always gives me an intimidating experience...its vastness and the awesome power that it beholds. There we were..with our backs on the beach...sea in front...and the clear star studded sky above us.....pure magic!!!!
I reiterated the promise to myself that someday I 'll buy a telescope and be an amateur astronomer.
We had our so called dinner at a beachside chinese stall...with dogs surrounding us....grrrrrrrrrrrr!!! And the count of Colas moved on to 4 for the day with 2 more added here on the beach.
Returned back to our abode for the nite...clicked a couple of snaps...and chat ed our way to sleep.
Morning 6 and we were up and ready to rock again.Over the last evening we had gathered enough information regarding Murud..so we were just raring to go now. Had a parting snap with our sweet aunty...exchanged some telephone nos...and with promises of coming back we were off again to the beach in hunt of "ek cutting chai ". The addict that my frnd is....I almost feel...and its a joke amongst us frnds that he has more chai in his veins than blood.
The road from Alibag to Murud via Kashid...was as expexted....very very beautiful. And the early morning mist was like an icing on the already enticing scenary. We took a couple of offroad trails and undoubtebly they were the best parts of the drive.
We halted at a beautiful white sand beach for a second cup of chai...and a small break. As we were sipping our teas..we discovered that this was none other than the famous Kashid beach.
We made it our own by clicking a couple of snaps again.
Next stop was ....our supposed final destination Murud Janzira...we skipped the Murud beach on the way...and parked my Bird on the Jetty from where we caught a boat to the fort which is a kilometer or so inside the sea. It was supposedly the last frontier for the famous maratha warrior Shivaji Maharaj , which unlike ,India for aussies, he was never able to conquer.
It was getting hot now...and we just incremented our Cola count by 1.We ditched the idea of a beach party at Murud.Instead we headed straite back to Kashid beach again. Chilled out there for almost 3 quarters of an hour. Had our stomachs filled with some Bhurji Pav...and finally some water!!!! That was 2 PM Sunday.We were planning to reach back Vashi by 5.
So from here on it was a steady bike read through Alibag ,Pen...and almost till Panvel.
Had the last cola of our trip somewhere close to Panvel at 4. That finally brings our cola tally to 6.Pepsi, Coke , Thums Up...any body listening...do sponsor this trip of ours guys.
Bang at the stroke of 5 we entered Vashi...and that was the end of this journey...but the adventures were still far from over for us guys....
This and more may be later...but that brings me to "THE END" for Yippieeee!!
Monday, December 27, 2004
Yippieeee!!!!!!
The title says it all......i am all too excited...
It doesn't require any supernatural powers for guessing the reason....
Am back from a simply superb and amazing ride....on my glittering BIRD.
This is the 1st part of a lsit of a couple more.
Travelers : 3 in number...My frnd...Thakur, myself..and my sweetheart...My Silver Thunder Bird!
Destination : Just for the Sake of it...Murud Janzira...Some 160 odd Kms south of Mumbai on the captivatingly scenic Konkan belt. But finally justifying the tiltle of my Blogs..."Road to Nowhere"...it was the route and not the final stop that was the destination.
The Road Trip : It all started taking shape when my Indore trip got cancelled due to non availability of tickets in any form of Transport...Trains and Buses. ( I don count Airways as a mere means of transport..Its still a luxury for me). That was late Wednesday evening...and early Saturday afternoon I was already on my way to Vashi to pick up my pillion and the 3rd of the Travellers..Rathore.As usual....we got late...or atleast we thought that we did...
Because there was too much stuff missing from our travel kit..(if you can call it a KIT ..that is).
To name a few...I didn't have a helmet...and we did not like the back pack that Rathore had arranged for carrying our stuff.We had a pair of shades to buy...and finally Lunch!
We finished the top three and finally left Vashi railway station at 4 0'clock with some 1900rs ..odd in Cash, a smart back pack...,an old sachtel(my stuff), first of the 500Mls of Thumbs Up,A couple of helmets... cool shades inside them...and hungry Stomachs.
That was 4 in the afternoon..and we were on NH -17 speeding towards Panvel...where we planned to have our Lunch...or snacks(whatever...Basic idea...stuff our stomachs with something).
4.30 we dived into the drive in of the McD's at Panvel...we did a circus stunt there..of just driving thorugh ..and finally decieded to halt there and sit and eat inside. gr888 idea...after a couple of burgers, finger chips...and second round of Colas(mark the second...and keep counting)....we were ready to hit the road again...
So we were off again...after a few directions from the roadside dhaba walas...we set our sites on Pen..the next destination. Suddenly, out of nowhere this Rathore guy starts yelling...that we have not even clicked a foto graph..and we need to stop and all.....I ,after calming myself from the shock that he gave me, stopped in the middle of nowhere for our first Snap.
Reached Pen within time...after another set of directions from the locals...we were en route to Alibag. We originally had decieded that we will be staying in Murud for the nite, but that thought was already vanishing with the fading lite of a cold(????) December evening.
On the way ...we saw one of the wonders of the World, Don know which wonder list it fits into....but it definitely forced me and my buddy to wonder over our combined general knowledge. It basically was a Ispat(Steel) plant, but it proudly endorsed the title of being one of the wonders.Amazing!!!
Reached Alibag at some 15 minutes to 7.headed straite for the Beach...Big mistake.There was a lot of anguish waiting for us...that and more in the next part of the series.
It doesn't require any supernatural powers for guessing the reason....
Am back from a simply superb and amazing ride....on my glittering BIRD.
This is the 1st part of a lsit of a couple more.
Travelers : 3 in number...My frnd...Thakur, myself..and my sweetheart...My Silver Thunder Bird!
Destination : Just for the Sake of it...Murud Janzira...Some 160 odd Kms south of Mumbai on the captivatingly scenic Konkan belt. But finally justifying the tiltle of my Blogs..."Road to Nowhere"...it was the route and not the final stop that was the destination.
The Road Trip : It all started taking shape when my Indore trip got cancelled due to non availability of tickets in any form of Transport...Trains and Buses. ( I don count Airways as a mere means of transport..Its still a luxury for me). That was late Wednesday evening...and early Saturday afternoon I was already on my way to Vashi to pick up my pillion and the 3rd of the Travellers..Rathore.As usual....we got late...or atleast we thought that we did...
Because there was too much stuff missing from our travel kit..(if you can call it a KIT ..that is).
To name a few...I didn't have a helmet...and we did not like the back pack that Rathore had arranged for carrying our stuff.We had a pair of shades to buy...and finally Lunch!
We finished the top three and finally left Vashi railway station at 4 0'clock with some 1900rs ..odd in Cash, a smart back pack...,an old sachtel(my stuff), first of the 500Mls of Thumbs Up,A couple of helmets... cool shades inside them...and hungry Stomachs.
That was 4 in the afternoon..and we were on NH -17 speeding towards Panvel...where we planned to have our Lunch...or snacks(whatever...Basic idea...stuff our stomachs with something).
4.30 we dived into the drive in of the McD's at Panvel...we did a circus stunt there..of just driving thorugh ..and finally decieded to halt there and sit and eat inside. gr888 idea...after a couple of burgers, finger chips...and second round of Colas(mark the second...and keep counting)....we were ready to hit the road again...
So we were off again...after a few directions from the roadside dhaba walas...we set our sites on Pen..the next destination. Suddenly, out of nowhere this Rathore guy starts yelling...that we have not even clicked a foto graph..and we need to stop and all.....I ,after calming myself from the shock that he gave me, stopped in the middle of nowhere for our first Snap.
Reached Pen within time...after another set of directions from the locals...we were en route to Alibag. We originally had decieded that we will be staying in Murud for the nite, but that thought was already vanishing with the fading lite of a cold(????) December evening.
On the way ...we saw one of the wonders of the World, Don know which wonder list it fits into....but it definitely forced me and my buddy to wonder over our combined general knowledge. It basically was a Ispat(Steel) plant, but it proudly endorsed the title of being one of the wonders.Amazing!!!
Reached Alibag at some 15 minutes to 7.headed straite for the Beach...Big mistake.There was a lot of anguish waiting for us...that and more in the next part of the series.
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
Swades....
Posting after quite a while.....and that too not a genuine one...
But this ones as good as an original....becuase its from my frnd and roommate Sambit.
So I quote ..."
Have u ever quizzed yourself why we like watching movies so much even though v are aware its just a make belief........more movies.....more stories.....more action...........a romantic movie to enliven our romantic dreams , an action packed flick to catch up on the latest styles and some real cool looking and dressed actors and offcourse a "Hot item number" in between the movie......an art movie as they call it to act as a food for thought of different perspectives to relationships and the problems..a family aka Govinda entertainer to completely freak out......an all out emotional, hypersensitive , over exaggerated drama to go in remember our loved ones , miss them for sometime.......and dats it.....
We come out of the theatre..and life moves on right...ya it does....Just a couple of days i saw Swades and being a literate engineer and a sound one at that....i still couldnt bracket it against any of those categories i mentioned above.......Since time immorial we have been talking about the Politicians not doing too good a job......Sachin not firing , Ganguly not doing too bad....and Dravid doing always good......but wat does Swades talk about......Hymm difficult to put it in words but i wil still try without giving away the story to all of those who wud read this article and yet havent seen the movie......Swades talks about GrassRoot India , a subject realized by every Indian but taken up by None. It talks about poor farmers who face the challenge of leaving there house in the morning and returning home with atleast a bread to feed there children in the face of unimaginable adversities and atrocities..It talks about those rich Sarpanches who are considerate to there subjects , but yet highly discriminate them with the caste eye. It talks about those still so existent morals of finding happiness in doing other's good even though everything around you is falling apart..... It talks about Poverty and Swades as the movie's caption rightly goes is about "We - The People of India".
Mohan Bhargava played by Shah Rukh Khan is a Project Manager working for the Global Precipitation Project in NASA.(Marks the foray of Bollywood movies into NASA). Mohan in the midst of all his successes and his heightened career , starts realizing that he is missing something in his life......Finally he decides to go back to India to find wat he has been desperately missing...and just then his life changes....takes a right turn where he finds Honesty..then takes a left turn where he finds Integrity...and then a U Turn where he finds his Love, Happiness and His Life back.
Look out for that scene which gives the aerial view of India from the inside of the Plane with Shah Rukh looking down from the window !!! The cinematography which starts building from that casting scene just keeps getting classier throughout the movie till the ending parts of the movie showing Shahrukh in NASA with Rehman's score which has been stunningly picturised !!! Gayatri last seen in some ads and serials makes an astounding debut as an idealistic, unmateristic woman who is shown thoroughly dedicated to the cause she believes in. Soft-spoken but yet quarrelsome she just excels in the movie...and the scenes which have her are undoubtedly the more beautiful ones owing to her stunning Indian Looks!!!! I still am having problems getting her out of my mind !!!Gosh !!!
Ashutosh Gowariker after making a Lagaan to come back with a movie of this stature is far more then commendable.........It just goes to show that when you believe in something you do completely....even a mundane story with a bunch of people playing cricket can be presented as a spirit of unity and fight......and so is the case with Swades....the Only similarity being that both of his movies are based on Grassroot India....Hats off to him to venture into a line where none of the top of the line directors of todays age dare to venture...
The supporting actors are all brilliant in the movie.
And Finally Shah Rukh Khan...wat do i say about this man.....I loved his movie Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa....its stil in my all time fav list....as a matter of fact its his favourite movie as well.......He was this cute lovable guy in Raju Ban gaya Gentleman..Then came DDLJ..in the middle..in most of his films he used to ham so much..that i used to cringe seeing him act.....but since the last 2 or 3 years..he has metamorphosed into a more mature and controlled style of acting....In Swades i have to say he is flawless ..i mean being a more a critical viewer that i am...i just found him reaching dizzy heights of acting in the film..watch the scene where he is sitting in the train..and a kid would come and request him to buy water from him at 25p per cup..
Watch the movie for Shahrukh's acting , one of A.R. rehman's finest works ( the range of sounds he has given in the background scores starting from the more rustic and rural ones to the more sophesticated urban ones are awesome leaving apart the classy songs of the movie ), Gowariker's brilliance , Gayatri Joshi , breath taking cinematography and lastly for such a genuine , heart touching story .
Sambit.
".....The end!!!
But this ones as good as an original....becuase its from my frnd and roommate Sambit.
So I quote ..."
Have u ever quizzed yourself why we like watching movies so much even though v are aware its just a make belief........more movies.....more stories.....more action...........a romantic movie to enliven our romantic dreams , an action packed flick to catch up on the latest styles and some real cool looking and dressed actors and offcourse a "Hot item number" in between the movie......an art movie as they call it to act as a food for thought of different perspectives to relationships and the problems..a family aka Govinda entertainer to completely freak out......an all out emotional, hypersensitive , over exaggerated drama to go in remember our loved ones , miss them for sometime.......and dats it.....
We come out of the theatre..and life moves on right...ya it does....Just a couple of days i saw Swades and being a literate engineer and a sound one at that....i still couldnt bracket it against any of those categories i mentioned above.......Since time immorial we have been talking about the Politicians not doing too good a job......Sachin not firing , Ganguly not doing too bad....and Dravid doing always good......but wat does Swades talk about......Hymm difficult to put it in words but i wil still try without giving away the story to all of those who wud read this article and yet havent seen the movie......Swades talks about GrassRoot India , a subject realized by every Indian but taken up by None. It talks about poor farmers who face the challenge of leaving there house in the morning and returning home with atleast a bread to feed there children in the face of unimaginable adversities and atrocities..It talks about those rich Sarpanches who are considerate to there subjects , but yet highly discriminate them with the caste eye. It talks about those still so existent morals of finding happiness in doing other's good even though everything around you is falling apart..... It talks about Poverty and Swades as the movie's caption rightly goes is about "We - The People of India".
Mohan Bhargava played by Shah Rukh Khan is a Project Manager working for the Global Precipitation Project in NASA.(Marks the foray of Bollywood movies into NASA). Mohan in the midst of all his successes and his heightened career , starts realizing that he is missing something in his life......Finally he decides to go back to India to find wat he has been desperately missing...and just then his life changes....takes a right turn where he finds Honesty..then takes a left turn where he finds Integrity...and then a U Turn where he finds his Love, Happiness and His Life back.
Look out for that scene which gives the aerial view of India from the inside of the Plane with Shah Rukh looking down from the window !!! The cinematography which starts building from that casting scene just keeps getting classier throughout the movie till the ending parts of the movie showing Shahrukh in NASA with Rehman's score which has been stunningly picturised !!! Gayatri last seen in some ads and serials makes an astounding debut as an idealistic, unmateristic woman who is shown thoroughly dedicated to the cause she believes in. Soft-spoken but yet quarrelsome she just excels in the movie...and the scenes which have her are undoubtedly the more beautiful ones owing to her stunning Indian Looks!!!! I still am having problems getting her out of my mind !!!Gosh !!!
Ashutosh Gowariker after making a Lagaan to come back with a movie of this stature is far more then commendable.........It just goes to show that when you believe in something you do completely....even a mundane story with a bunch of people playing cricket can be presented as a spirit of unity and fight......and so is the case with Swades....the Only similarity being that both of his movies are based on Grassroot India....Hats off to him to venture into a line where none of the top of the line directors of todays age dare to venture...
The supporting actors are all brilliant in the movie.
And Finally Shah Rukh Khan...wat do i say about this man.....I loved his movie Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa....its stil in my all time fav list....as a matter of fact its his favourite movie as well.......He was this cute lovable guy in Raju Ban gaya Gentleman..Then came DDLJ..in the middle..in most of his films he used to ham so much..that i used to cringe seeing him act.....but since the last 2 or 3 years..he has metamorphosed into a more mature and controlled style of acting....In Swades i have to say he is flawless ..i mean being a more a critical viewer that i am...i just found him reaching dizzy heights of acting in the film..watch the scene where he is sitting in the train..and a kid would come and request him to buy water from him at 25p per cup..
Watch the movie for Shahrukh's acting , one of A.R. rehman's finest works ( the range of sounds he has given in the background scores starting from the more rustic and rural ones to the more sophesticated urban ones are awesome leaving apart the classy songs of the movie ), Gowariker's brilliance , Gayatri Joshi , breath taking cinematography and lastly for such a genuine , heart touching story .
Sambit.
".....The end!!!
Monday, November 01, 2004
Calvin & Blogs...
It has come down to this now.Its a Monday and am frantically fighting to keep myself awake.Be it reading a Java Networking book(Yawn.....) ,a Pals blogs on this very site or some Calvin & Hobbes genius.
I haven't been slogging at my work lately, but this is hites. I am actually searcing my old mails to find some pending work that I might have forgot ...and alas whatever little work that I find from them....the monday blues prevent me from undertaking that too.What a mess!!!
And all this lethargy is getting to my nerves...am really pissed off as of now.I am just knocking my brains empty when this idea of writing this blog finally trickles down from some (still)sane corner of my mind.
I guess it actually some time helps if you write things out.The basic idea is to get things out of your system.Now writing it out gives a double advantage.Firstly, and most importantly, you don need an audience to actually sit and listen to whatever crap you are dishing out and Secondly,It clears out your mind to a good extent and you are left with an admirable(????) piece of literature.Which you can later flaunt off.
Atleast, it seems to work for me.
So my purpose is solved.
Back to work hunting!!!!
I haven't been slogging at my work lately, but this is hites. I am actually searcing my old mails to find some pending work that I might have forgot ...and alas whatever little work that I find from them....the monday blues prevent me from undertaking that too.What a mess!!!
And all this lethargy is getting to my nerves...am really pissed off as of now.I am just knocking my brains empty when this idea of writing this blog finally trickles down from some (still)sane corner of my mind.
I guess it actually some time helps if you write things out.The basic idea is to get things out of your system.Now writing it out gives a double advantage.Firstly, and most importantly, you don need an audience to actually sit and listen to whatever crap you are dishing out and Secondly,It clears out your mind to a good extent and you are left with an admirable(????) piece of literature.Which you can later flaunt off.
Atleast, it seems to work for me.
So my purpose is solved.
Back to work hunting!!!!
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
I am a liar!!!
I had written this a couple of months back when I was listening to the ditto titled Bryan Adams number.....
Not sure if I can reproduce my orginal writing word to word....but here goes nothing!!
Contradiction Contradiction Contradiction!!!
This lines a total contradiction...an ideal for an example of contradiction.
Lets see how...
Going by the premise ....that Its true. It means that the first person is a liar...but if thats the case...well...well...well...hers' your first contradiction.
Now taking the second premise that ...its false.That means the first person is speaking the truth, which is not possible because of what hes saying...contradiction again!!!
So...from a famous novel ...which says...if there is a contradiction...check your premises....
The following wud be the only answer...EAT this!!!
Not sure if I can reproduce my orginal writing word to word....but here goes nothing!!
Contradiction Contradiction Contradiction!!!
This lines a total contradiction...an ideal for an example of contradiction.
Lets see how...
Going by the premise ....that Its true. It means that the first person is a liar...but if thats the case...well...well...well...hers' your first contradiction.
Now taking the second premise that ...its false.That means the first person is speaking the truth, which is not possible because of what hes saying...contradiction again!!!
So...from a famous novel ...which says...if there is a contradiction...check your premises....
The following wud be the only answer...EAT this!!!
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