One evening at the multiplex…

When three guys, tired of their regular grind at a b-school, feel like a break, this is what they do..

Bala, muni and I go out for a movie coz it’s a Tuesday and more importantly, we’re all free together. Tuesdays are special here, coz Hutch gives an offer to all its sincere customers, whereby you can get one free ticket with the purchase of one silver class ticket at Fame Adlabs, one of the most expensive multiplexes here. Getting a ticket for half price there is almost the same as buying a regular ticket anywhere else. But since we’ve never been there before and because Hutch has decided to honour our loyalty to them, we decided to make use of the offer and go for a movie.

So we land up at Fame and we see 2 lines. One with 3-4 people and the other snaking its way almost to the vehicle entrance of the multiplex. We ask the guard and he tells us that the really long line is the one for Hutch customers. Guess there are a lot of smart people like us here who are loyal customers to Hutch. Anyway, we stand in the line and that’s when we notice a board that says, on Tuesdays Hutch gives its one plus one offer and on all other days, Fame give a buy 2 and get 1 free offer. Since we were anyway 3 in number, it would have worked out to the same thing. The whole Tuesday plan seemed quite foolish all of a sudden.

Anyway, we continued to stand in the line and we were just trying to figure out what movie to watch. After a lot of haranguing, we came down to a movie and that seemed to be the only one worth watching there. But it was due to start in 5 minutes.

The extremely long Hutch line took such a long time, that by the time we reached the counter, we were over 20 minutes late into the movie. Suddenly, all 3 of us lost interest in watching the movie. We were anyway late, and we could get the same deal on any other day even without being loyal Hutch customers.

But since we had anyway stood in the line for such a long time, we decided to make the most of it and on reaching the counter, with an absolutely straight face I ask the usher, ‘can I have 3 tickets to the da vinci code please?’ usher is totally confused. He checks his system and says that movie isn’t running. Bala tells him that the posters are put up outside. Usher gets confused and confers with another fellow usher. Both of them are totally confused now. Bala and I continue to insisnt on da vinci code tickets only, as we are extremely loyal Hutch customers and also spent the last half an hour standing in the queue. Usher is trying his best to convince us that the movie isn’t running, and finally when people behind us realized what we were upto and started yelling at us, we decided to call in quits and left the place.

Man, what a good laugh we had. And since we saved 200 bucks by not getting the discounted ticket at Fame, we decided to put the money to good use and went to an Italian restaurant very originally called Little Italy. But the place was awesome not because they had Cobra beers or good food or even a live band performing, but because there were real live Italians sitting on the table next to us looking as beautiful as a European could possibly look. 4 super pretty girls and one negligible guy. All 3 of us with 3 Cobras down just couldn’t take our eyes off of them.

Finally, when we realized we cant possibly spend any more cash there and that we has really overstayed our welcome, we decided to leave and go to our good old friendly neighbourhood multiplex called Fun Republic and watched a fun movie called Woh Lamhe and the recent convert to Hindi movies, bala, decided to convert back after watching that movie coz he’s never ever gonna go for another hindi film after this!
But overall, good, unadulterated fun at Bombay..

The day I redefined irresponsibility

One of my biggest weaknesses is my callous carelessness, and on 2^nd September, 2006, I went overboard with this weakness and nearly messed up so many things. It was with the pure grace of God and tons and tons of luck that I actually made it through and rejoined my parents in probably one of their most important days of their lives.

Well, to start off, I had a flight to catch at 11:15 a.m. and I had gone to sleep at about 4 a.m. that day after going clubbing with my friends from college. I knew while hitting the sack that I had a flight at 11:15, but I was so confident of waking up on time as I’ve always managed to wake up before 7. But I guess the fact that I was little drunk while going to bed and that I had tired myself dancing prior to that, made me over sleep, and I had slept till 10:30. Just 45 minutes before my departure.

I woke up with such a start. Hurriedly put on the same clothes I’d worn the previous day. Threw in a pair that I had selected earlier for the function. Grabbed my flight ticket and was out of the house in less than 3 minutes. Thankfully I found an auto just outside the apartment and I told him to rush to the airport and money was no object. He was going at a pretty normal rate though despite my hollering every now and then asking him to hurry up. On the way I turned on my phone which was switched off until then and was one of the biggest reasons for my not waking up because either mom or sin would have normally called in the morning. I see 2 messages from mom there asking me what’s going on. I didn’t have the nerve to call her back. I was just too tensed. The time was 10:40. I called Kingfisher help desk and told them about my predicament and that I was rushing as soon as possible. They told me that the counter closed half an hour prior to the departure and I would be able to make it if I made it to the airport in 5 minutes. I thought I would, but it was nearly 10:50 by the time I got out of the auto. Thanks to his slightly above average speed and the always reliable chock and block traffic of Mumbai. Anyway, I thankfully knew the counter of Kingfisher as I had traveled by it the last time and it happens to be in the older terminal and not the new one. So I asked the auto driver to go there, but he still takes a wrong turn and I asked him to just stop as I was all ready to run now. I got out of the auto and took out my wallet to pay him, and that was when I realized I spent the entire amount of 1000 bucks the previous night at the club. I was left with just 15 bucks. I gave this to him and asked him to go back to the place he picked me up from and I would ask my friend to come there and pay him the money, but as of then, I really had to leave. I didn’t even give him a chance to be understanding as I just left him after that and began running. On the way I even dropped some coins I had in my wallet and was now officially broke. But nothing mattered as long as I just made it to the flight.

I rush all the way to the counter and its 10:55 now. I cut the line and go straight ahead and they person there tells me I’m too late!

I was heartbroken. I didn’t know what I was going to do. There was a person next to me in the line who was trying to help me out by scolding the Kingfisher guy at the counter saying it’s their fault that passengers get late as they have so many counters and things are so complex and end up moving very slowly. That guy just said sorry, but there was nothing he could do. So, dejected, I started walking back. Wondering how I’m going to explain this to mummy. 5000 bucks down the drain, and I mostly may not even get another flight to Cochin and might miss the entire function. I was just feeling extremely terrible, when the guy at the counter calls me back and says he will print the ticket for me. I couldn’t believe what was happening. He asked me for a choice of seat and I told him “anywhere” and thought to myself “as long as I am on that flight”.

The moment he gave me the ticket, I ran to the security check, sent my phones in another persons tray and he was a sweet old man was telling me not to run away with his stuff. I told him that there is a good chance that I would leave behind my stuff for him because my flight was in ten minutes. The time was 11:05. After the security check, I began running and realized that I did leave my phone behind, so I ran back to pick it up and that was when Jeetu called me. I told her that I was running to catch the flight and that I might just make it. And when I reached Gate 6 which was for Cochin passengers, I didn’t see anyone there. I thought I missed it and when I asked the guard, he told me that the gates have not yet opened. That’s when I realized that probably the reason I got the boarding pass was only because I didn’t have a check in baggage and that the flight had got slightly delayed.

Anyway, I finally got time to breathe. Went to the toilet, washed myself up, waited till I started breathing normally, called bala and explained the situation to him, called mom and told her that I’m on my way, and soon, by 11:15, the gates had opened and I was on my way to the plane. Well, things didn’t stop there. My adventure was bound to continue. There were small glitches, like I asked for non veg meal and ended up with veg and only realized it when I was close to finishing the food. I was so annoyed with the fact that I didn’t even check the label on it before opening the food. Anyway, the way the day was going, this was not even anything to be upset about. In fact I was more than grateful to the Kingfisher guys to have at least allowed me to fly.

Well, I got off at Cochin at about 2. Walked out and was looking for a phone booth to call Raju uncle and just then I noticed him sitting in the waiting lounge and at the same time realized that I would have been able to call him anyway because I had even dropped the last bits of change I had while running away from the auto driver in Mumbai. Seemed like luck decided to stick around with me for a just a bit longer. Well, uncle was sweet enough to take me till the bus stop and put me into a bus headed for Kottayam. And just before alighting, he asked me if I had any cash! Thank God for that, because if he hadn’t asked me, I wouldn’t have been able to pay the bus fare and would probably have been asked to get down in the absolute middle of nowhere. That’s when I explained my situation to him and uncle gave me 150 bucks to keep. The bus fare was just 48. Anyway, got into a bus around 2:45 and it was really crowded, but I had no qualms and knew not to crib about anything after the irresponsibility I showed during the day. A normal journey from Cochin to Kottayam would have lasted about 2 hours, but this one took nearly 3 hours to get there, mostly because of the road blocks in lieu of the ongoing Onam celebrations. When I got off, Anita aunty was waiting for me and she told me that Jomi Uncle, Puttu, Vinu and Amachi were also there waiting with her, but since I was getting so late, they left and went back and only she was waiting. Well, the 2 of us got into the Tavera that was booked by dad for running the errands during this period and I reached the hotel by 7. Freshened up, wore the same undies I’d been wearing since yesterday as I forgot to bring a new one in the hurry I left home, ate my first decent meal of the day and then went to church.

It was finally in the peace and quiet of that church which I’ve gone to almost every time I’ve come to Kerala that I found peace in myself for the first time in the entire day. I was so thankful to have actually made it and rejoined with my entire family and was there with my parents on the day they were realizing their dream, that of building their dream home at Kottayam. And I was really glad I made it. Most of the family was there and we were all having a good time and I got to appreciate the work of my dad who had put in everything he had into making his dream come true and I was so glad I actually made it on this very special day of his.

My first day of summer internship at HLL

Clean shaven? Check

“smart casuals” as per Anuj Dutt’s mail? Check

Prepared for ‘Corporate Strategy’? Check.. But take the book along any case

Read Anuj’s “instruction” mail once again? Check

Alright… with that, I was ready to leave to the HLL Training Center at Worli Sea Face at 10a.m. on 15^th April 2007, a beautiful Sunday morning.

Did a pit stop at the church, where I said a quick prayer and grabbed a bite and was on my way to Lower Parel in the Mumbai trains. It was a steam bath, both while buying tickets and sitting in the train… was just hoping that all that perfume and deodorant that I used in the morning is of some use.

On reaching ‘Gulita’, which was the HLL Learning Centre’s name, I run into the first summer trainee there.. Arun from ‘A’! Later on, I met Sourab from ‘B’! Then Vishwanath from ‘L’! Man, these guys don’t even say IIM before that, coz its anyway understood here! Almost everyone is from an IIM!!

Anyway, I was quite relieved to see the tension on everyone else’s faces. They all seemed as, if not more, lost and confused than me. Then I found out that we need to change our shirts and shoes into the one’s that were given from HLL and mine were lying in the room that was allotted to me, which was in another hotel, called Hiltop Hotel, a short distance from Gulita. So I walked up there, found my room and met my would-be roommate, Sairam. We were just getting acquainted, when he says ‘Man, they are just gonna feed us gas today.. well, everything about this stream is gas anyway!!’ and then he offers me a smoke. My kind of guy! I knew we’d get along instantly!!

After some more chit-chat, we made our way to the lobby, where we met some more fellow interns, and all of us headed to Gulita, where we had lunch. After lunch, we were asked to enter a particular hall, and I somehow landed first in line there. But Shreya from ‘B’ was next to me and I offered her to go in first. She got a garland and a laddoo from two pretty ladies in silk sarees! So sweet! Then I also went in wearing my garland and having my laddoo, when I noticed, my name was missing among the name tags that positioned around some well arranged décor pertaining to the theme of the summer course at HLL this year, Pathshala. I couldn’t even enjoy the ambience that was set up much, as I was anxious to find out what happened to my name tag. I find Anuj wandering around and asked him and he said he would look into it. Apparently, they thought I wouldn’t be coming today and so didn’t bother to arrange for my name tag and other material. I did indeed tell them that my exams would be starting and hence wouldn’t be able to make it until the 30^th. But I intended to go for the first day and it turned out to be a communication snag.

The whole thing was so embarrassing! I was just thinking to myself that I have to do this everywhere! Just have to do something that makes me stand out, no matter how hard I try to remain inconspicuous.

Anyway, the embarrassment didn’t last too long, as Shikha, the resource coordinator next in line after Anuj, assisted me to a seat and Haremb, the guy from HLL I befriended during the placement process brought me my paraphernalia.

Soon got settled in and Anuj gave an opening talk and handed the mic over to the emcee for the day, who was a guy I actually knew quite well. His name was Rehman and he was one of the finalists for the MTV VJ Hunt. The reason I knew him was because he was in my round during the preliminary round of the VJ Hunt contest when it was held in The Club, Bangalore. Yea, I had also tried my hand at it, but Rehman was clearly the best entrant for that day and we all knew he had a pretty good chance of making it to the top. But don’t really know what happened to him after that, but I’ve seen him emcee quite a few shows in Bangalore and now he seems to be into this sort of outbound training programs for companies in Bombay.

Anyway, he came up, introduced himself and all of us to the itinerary for the day, broke us into 5 groups and got us working on the first task; choosing a leader and a name for the group. We had one person in our group who was not wearing the kurta HLL gave us, he was definitely looking different and I suggested we make him the captain. Then one of us came up with the name ‘Arjun’ for our group, because of the theme at HLL, ‘Pathshala’, and we thought this would go along with the theme.. Plus of course, make up some gas about how we, as a team, possess all those qualities that Arjun did! Man, these MBA’s can come up with anything!!

Next, we were asked to take 15 minutes to get to know everyone in our group and the captain makes a presentation for 1 minute on his group. Best presentation wins, and giving a good presentation is usually never a problem for any of us, and we are talking about some of the best in the country here.

Anyway, we got to work. Began introducing ourselves and stuff. But 15 minutes seemed just too long, because in just 10 minutes, we were completely out of stuff to talk about. I was just looking around at the other groups and there was such frenetic activity in all of them. One group didn’t even sit down during the entire process. I was thinking to myself that I have ended up in the most boring group of the lot! Besides, there was not a single person I befriended till this point who was there in my group. So it was one more fresh start of trying to remember faces and names!!

Anyway, our 15 minutes were up and we were asked to come and give our first presentation. I had a strong feeling Rehman would ask us to go first, as it was pretty clear that we had no clue what to do. Vishwanath, our captain made a presentation like a typical MBA. Extremely good articulation, but no content! I did sort of expect that, and with the rest of the teams following doing a brilliant job, I only felt worse about being in this group. Little did I know how things were going to change as the day proceeded...

Next, Rehman called one representative from each group to come up and he played songs and asked them to dance impromptu. These were exactly the kind of things I am supremely uncomfortable with, and it was treat to watch the 5 people up on stage, dancing without a care in the world and so full of confidence. Was just thinking to myself that this is what makes MBA’s different from the rest. There are very few things that they really can’t do!

Our next task was to go outside and play tug-of-war. We were to choose 4 guys and 1 girl, and my team conveniently ignored me. I don’t blame them, my role in physical games have always been to cheer from the sidelines, so decided to do just that. With the shrillest whistle and the loudest screams, I made sure my team got the best encouragement of everyone else, and we did pretty well, beating every other team, except one, and ending up in second position.

The next task was to tie a turban on the prettiest lady of each group. We had only one lady in our group, so a chance for a beauty contest was clearly ruled out. My team was also making such a fuss about the fact that we only ended up with one girl, that Sourav from our group was suggesting we rename ourselves to ‘Definitely Male’. Even Parul, the girl in our group, didn’t seem to mind the name change. But anyway, we stuck around with Arjun itself.

Well, we tied a turban on Parul and we were the first to finish and our turban clearly looked the neatest of the lot. But since the criteria was creativity, there was one turban that made this girl look like a sunflower at a Halloween party, and she was given the first prize just for the “creativity”. I didn’t know creativity went hand in hand with ugly! But anyway, we just had to settle with second prize, again.

The next game was to collect flowers from a bag and run them through a needle and thread given to us to make a garland and the longest garland wins. I did my best to grab as many flowers from the bag I could, but we didn’t require more that half of it, as we ran out of time before we could run them through the needle. And during the measurement of the longest garland, with 20 flowers in ours, we came in second for the third time in a row.

Next we had a Rangoli contest. We went into another room, where colours were kept ready for us, and when we were given the go, my creative mind began its routine, bouncing off ideas from what the others were hollering. “We could make an arrow… the leaf-like HLL symbol could become the arrow-head… we could use the colours yellow and red which were the colours of the theme ‘Pathshala’ for the base of the arrow… the bow would be the Unilever symbol… and together, we have a bow and arrow… significant of ‘Arun’…” brilliant!!

The team got to work. We worked like a well oiled machine. I was beginning to get so proud of the way we were functioning. Bouncing off ideas, each person fitting into a particular role, everyone doing their bit and ultimately, our Rangoli turned out to be one of the better one’s on display.

Once we got back to the lobby, we were just backtracking on the events of the day, and figured we’ve fared marginally well in all the events. Coming second in all of them, and though the ‘Rangoli’ results were not out yet, we figured we should be in the top two. So all we really required was a ‘win’ to become the best team.

Then came the final event, we were asked to hold hands and form a circle with our team facing each other, and continuing to hold hands in the same way, we should face outwards. The moment he said it, I figured how we should do it. I tried explaining it to the group, some of them just about got it, but most had no idea. I just told them to trust me as I know what I was doing and follow my lead. I was just so glad I got the support from my team, because when we were given the go, our team followed what I was doing and we completed the task before the rest could even figure out what was going on. We received a huge applause from everyone and Rehman and Anuj asked us to do it once again for the benefit of the rest and we did it once more and it looked beautiful. We were all so excited, high fives and high tens and everyone patting my back for coming up with the idea.

Then we walked back to the main audi where we were initially seated and while climbing up the stairs, our group was chanting some kind of ‘champion’ slogans and the camaraderie between us was just superb. Suddenly, our team seemed to be the best of the lot. What a shift from my initial reaction to it!

Once in the audi, Rehman tallied the scores and announced the second prize winners to be the ‘one-ders’ and the moment he said that, Vishwanath looks back at me with a smile. I knew what the smile meant and was almost halfway up my seat to pick up the award for first prize. When Rehman did announce our name, we all got up hooting and shouting and it was such a good moment for all of us. I was so proud of myself and the whole team.

Following this, we had some presentations on the entire Summer program and with that, the session ended. I took some phone numbers of people that I planned to keep in touch with as I would be joining in much later. Thereafter I went to Hiltop Hotel to pick my stuff, chatted with Sairam about the days events, our project and girls over another smoke. Finally, took a cab to the train station with Karan.

Was sitting in the train and messaging some people telling them about my day, and Vikas, my boss in college, replied asking me to make him proud by converting this to a PPO and that he was confident I would. Felt so good to hear that, especially when I still keep hearing shite from certain people about me being here! PPO or not, I just want to do my best. Anyway, just closed my eyes and rest my head on the seat and kept replaying the entire day and was thinking to myself this was one of the most mentally and physically exhausting days I’ve had in a while and I loved every bit of it…

the Holi 'B'

March 4 2007, Sai Suraj Boys Hostel, NMIMS
When I first moved into Bombay, I told myself I’m going to experience, in copious quantities, everything that Bombay has to offer. The people, the place and the environment made sure I was never disappointed. Diwali, Ganesh Chaturthi and now Holi, they’ve all been a real blast. However, the Holi party at Sai Suraj was probably the craziest of them all.
As I neared Sai Suraj entrance, I watched all the guys playing with colours and creating a ruckus and just when I opened the gates, Singania starts shouting “Johnny is here”, and in two seconds, a swarm of guys surrounded me, dropped me down, dragged me by my feet all the way from the gate to the center of the hostel ground, and dowsed me with colour, water and some yellow liquid that I only got to know too well in some time. For a brief moment, when all that was going on, I thought the yellow liquid that went down my jeans was a beaten egg and that a hard object I felt inside was an egg shell. It was the first thing I checked when I got up, but thankfully, it was just an ice cube. What a relief!
Next instant, Muni, who had come with me, gets a similar treatment. Within 5 minutes of entering Sai Suraj, the 2 of us were coloured and wet in every imaginable place possible.
We got settled immediately, Muni found some colours to throw on people, I found two big containers with the mysterious yellow liquid. Learnt that one of them contained Bhang and I poured me a glass from that container. One of many to come.
Went about socializing a bit and talking to everyone and noticed some more people had just come in. They didn’t have too much colour on them. That was going to change pretty soon. The guys playing here just cannot stand a person looking clean on this day, and so they ensured all the new faces became unrecognizable instantly.
I was having my second glass of Bhang when some of the party hooligans noticed a small garden near the hostel walls. They realized the immense potential of this place and poured enough water in it to make a muddy puddle out of it. Now they needed someone to inaugurate it. Who better than the guy standing quietly having his Bhang! So the next minute I was given the treatment a carrot gets on a grater, people scrubbing me from one end to the other of the puddle. Then they turned me over and made sure I got the same treatment on my front as well. When they finally felt they were through with me, I got up completely murky with mud. It was my turn now! I went about giving hugs to everyone in sight, rubbing off the mud on them. It just wasn’t enough. But thankfully, there was a never ending supply of water from a pipe. I stood under it till all the mud came off. As I was stepping out, some guy, just out of the mud bath himself, comes and gives me a hug !!!
Anyway, I just got myself a third glass of Bhang and as I was sipping it, noticed some of the girls coming in. Heard one of the guys shout “ladkiya aaye hein…” pretty soon, they were mobbed by a bunch of guys with colour. I too went over and wished them. Didn’t have any colour to put as my hands were occupied with the glass of Bhang.
Then I noticed Faisal going a little crazy. He didn’t have a shirt on, and somehow didn’t seem to like the idea of a shirt on any of the others as well. He went a rampage tearing off everyone’s shirts. I was just peacefully sipping my fourth glass of Bhang, when this boy simply shreds my shirt. I couldn’t even say a word. Just thought to myself that it is really good this guy never drinks, no idea what would happen if he did, given the way he behaves when sober itself.
Anyway, now there seemed to be a clear distinction between the guys and the girls. The fairer sex had their shirts on.
The shirts the guys once wore were being flung over a tree. The tree looked quite decorated actually, with all those coloured pieces of cloth hanging all over it.
I got myself my fifth glass of Bhang and by this time, I was getting quite irritated. This drink didn’t seem to have any effect at all. I was sure I poured glasses for myself from the bottom of the container, where all the solid (hence effective) ingredients lay. But there was simply no high!! Went about telling everyone that this was a lousy drink and had zilch effect on me.
Poured myself my sixth glass and went about chatting with more people.. Abhi was telling me that he was avoiding Bala coz Bal kept calling him asking him to work on the ERP Project! What a day the dude chooses to get out of bed and do his projects!! Sat talking to Shobhit and people noticed he still had a little bit of his shirt on him. Man, did they make it feel like chillies in a mixer! 10 guys shredded it in 2 seconds. Next I sat talking to Rohit and he noticed a plane flying above. He waves at it saying ‘tata’. That was so funny, I broke into a laugh. I laughed and laughed and suddenly it hit me.. I was high. Somewhere in between all those conversations and six glasses of Bhang, I actually got high.
The high was almost nostalgic. Reminded me of the high I used to get when I smoked up back inmy engineering days. I knew this high only too well. Knew it enough to stop the Bhang drinking right then and just chill it out. But there was no controlling my tongue. I just couldn’t shut up. I went about asking people where the ‘manager’ was. I think my exact words were, “who is the manager here? I have a problem and need to talk to him” finally Suyash comes up and says “I’m the manager, now what’s your problem?” I tell him “I’ve paid 150 bucks for this party, and I don’t see the food!!” My two greatest vices when it comes to getting blown; a rattling tongue and an insatiable appetite.
Anyway, I went babbling with everyone around me. Have no idea of the things I said, and at one time I was just looking around for Muni and didn’t find him and when I asked people that, they said he had left. I told them that it’s not possible, if the food hasn’t yet arrived, there is just no way Muni could have left.
I realized I was making a bit of a fool of myself, so decided to just go in and stay indoors. I went to Abhi’s floor, which was on the first floor itself. I really couldn’t climb any further. Sat watching some TV. Pretty soon, I was laughing at the things I was seeing there also. There was an old cricket match of India’s being aired. And Sachin with his funny hairdo and Saurav with his thick upper lip just looked too funny. I kept laughing watching them. People walking in were wondering why I was being hysterical over a ‘cricket match’.
Anyway, I went back down to find Muni for the second time. This time around to suggest we leave, because I was feeling pretty out and didn’t want to stick around. While looking for him, I noticed more people just joined the party. Some guy came and gave me a hug and it took some time for me to figure out that it was Vikas Mishra. He was the most disfigured of the lot. He just had way too much colour on him.
Then I was chatting with some of my class mates and kinda took offense to Divya asking me to do something. I was like “what do you think I am? Some toy! Sandy, go there, Sandy, come here, Sandy, Jump, Sandy Roll over.. come on man..” I had everyone in splits, but something there sorta had me in splits as well.. it was the sight of Abhi. Even now I can barely subside my laugh when I picture the way he looked. The boy had some black paint over his already dark face, brown colour on his hair and wore a bright red shirt on top of it. He was a hilarious sight. I kept laughing looking at him. Amit, Hitesh and Vrinda kept asking what was wrong with me. I tried controlling my laugh, looked over at Abhi and shouted “yo maan, wasup nigga..” oh boy, we all laughed so hard at that.
By this time, I knew it was really really 'high' time I left. Moreover, with Kataria coming over and forcing me to drink the seventh or eighth glass (I lost count) of Bhang, I knew I wouldn’t be able to take it anymore.
So finally caught Muni, got on the bike and rode back home. When we entered our place, Bal was shocked to see us and exclaimed “what happened to your shirts?” I looked at myself shocked “what happened to my shirt!!” I couldn’t believe I actually rode all the way back from the hostel to my place without my shirt on.
Now I had to have a bath, after all that mess. I got into the shower and watched all shades of colour running down me and making a rainbow out of the floor. I think I spent a lot of time staring at the floor! Anyway, finished my bath, which seemed to take forever and got out. There was more food at home. I had already consumed Bhajji and Vada’s, all of which I later realized had Bhang in them too, ensuring I get much more plastered that I already was. Yet, I just couldn’t control myself. Gorged on more food at home and finally decided to hit the bed. Was just lying down and felt my stomach give way. Ran to the loo and puked. Just had to, stuffed myself way too much. Finally, I got some sleep. Woke up in the evening by around 7 and stayed up till nearly 2a.m. high all the time. It was probably the longest high I’ve ever had. Even in that inebriated state, I managed to calculate the exact time I was blown. It was about 14 hours. Finally, I hit the bed again at 2, more food down my throat. Slept like a baby till 10 the next day. When I woke up, I think I was finally out of the Bhang high. But the colour still remained. I had an important seminar to go to, wearing my suit. So got into the bath again, and being a little more sober this time, scrubbed myself so hard ensuring every bit of colour was off me. The colour finally came off. The high finally resided. But the memories of Holi 2007 will haunt me a long time to come…

Not really a BLAST for some

There are people who speak so negatively about NMIMS, I feel really sick about it. Even in Bosch, people would just keep complaining, comparing their jobs to those of their friends in other companies ‘getting better treatment’. If that really was the case, why don’t they just quit the job at Bosch and go for that ‘better job’. It’s a free country right! Who is stopping them? They are either goddammed hypocrites or just not cut out for that other job, and unnecessarily want to crib about their current position as if they were forced to be in it. And even if they are in a particular system that they do not appreciate and could not avoid being in, why complain? They are part of the system right? Why not effect a change that they feel will be beneficial to everyone? I get tired of hearing people complain at NMIMS. Fine, there are problems there. But which place doesn’t have them? We just returned from LIBA completely creaming IIMK. I hate making comparisons, but put in that example just for people who love doing a ‘vis-à-vis’ at every chance they get. And hearing a case of their college doing better than a higher ranked college brings tremendous joys to their little hearts! We are no less than anyone else and a lot of people at NM are actually IIM material. They are really good. But what can we do in a country so full of smart folk! I myself missed out an IIM call by a whisker. I converted the NM call from a rank of 1800 odd to 180 which was a near perfect score in the round of GD-PI. So I know for a fact that if I got a call from an IIM, I would have surely converted it. And how far was I from an IIM call? 30 seconds at best. I just needed one wrong answer in the quant section to be right, giving me the 1.33 marks needed to clear the cut off! I could have been there. I also spent days looking at the big bold letters of IIMB that I wrote on my white-board. But if destiny would have it this way, what could I do? And if I am now in a situation where I have to graduate from a tier 2 college like NMIMS, might as well do my best in it and hopefully do my part in improving the image of college. I was asked to prepare a press review on the NMIMS placements recently, appointed to handle the events at our upcoming cultural fest in college and also took part in a fest representing NMIMS at LIBA. These are all ways in which I could do my part to improve the image of college. Just imagine what would happen if the rest of the students also did the same in their own different ways instead of wasting their time complaining about college! It would make the whole place so much better. And this is exactly the problem with our country as well. People want to get out of it and then spit on it from the outside saying there is no saving India. When they could have done so much for the country by being in it and contributing what they can. I don’t understand how people fail to realize that by simply getting out of this country, they can become un-associated with it? No matter what happens, you will still be an Indian, you would have still done an MBA from NMIMS, you would have still got work ex from Bosch. Nothing will change that! Spitting on things like this, is spitting on your own existence! Is that really what we should be doing with these few precious moments of a gift called ‘life’? Maybe I am just preaching away here, and this will probably fall on deaf ears, because the people who actually complain are not stupid, they probably know all of this. They only choose to be stubborn and negative all the time. But then again, who wants a world where everyone shares the same opinion and feels the same way I do? That wouldn’t be life then, would it? It would be the Matrix! So on a larger scale and broadening my altruistic nature, I’d probably say let people have their opinion. It’s what adds colour to the otherwise grey life. And on a concluding note, I’d like to put down something my dad once said. This was at a time when I was to decide which engineering college I wanted to get into. I had a fairly decent rank of 1400 (of almost a lakh students who take the CET exam) and could have got a payment seat at a top college in Karnataka. However, dad preferred I take a free seat, as it would ease out his financial burden. That’s when the name of MVIT came up. I had never heard of this college before and nor did most of my friends. They were all busy seeing themselves at the well known colleges of Bangalore. I complained to dad saying MVIT is not that great and nobody’s heard of it. He told me something very simple, “if MVIT is not that popular, you make it one” and in the year I graduated, within a span of 4 years, MVIT went from nothing to the number 1 college of Bangalore as rated by a leading magazine. The reason was the amazing placements our college recorded that year. The placements were of course aided by a growing economy, but MVIT managed to get better placements than any of the other colleges at that time. I definitely did not do anything single handedly. But I was part of the system that made MVIT so famous, that a college which I had to repeatedly ‘describe’ to people as they have never heard of it, transformed itself to a college that I just need to mention the name and people familiar with south Indian colleges like this one guy Sriram I met at LIBA instantly say “oh, that’s a fantastic college”. What a change! And dad knew it would be possible. Just be positive and don’t crib about being in a place that may not be in the ivy league. I had just as good an education as my friends did elsewhere, probably even got a better placement than most of the others. Managed to have as much fun, and most importantly satisfied dad too because the 4 years at MVIT with a free seat and a scholarship was as good as free for me. Now wasn’t that worth it! Will always remember dad’s simple words which he said for an entirely different reason, but became a fundamental principle of life for me.

The Diwali BLAST

Date: 14th October 2006 (Saturday)
Place: NMIMS Library
Time: 2:00 p.m.
Mood: Bored!
I was just sitting in the library wondering how the last few days have suddenly become so boring in college. It was almost the first time I ever felt that way since I began my MBA at NM. I figured the reason for this ennui was the holiday mood. People either having already left to their home-towns or preparing to do so. The overall result was a dull college with a strange and unusual din in the library. I was just wondering how I would spend the next 3 days in this environment, as my turn to join the bandwagon in leaving for a vacation was slated only on the 18th (Wednesday). When I was just making plans like cleaning up my flat, reading some books and maybe just getting some rest; Kataria comes up with a suggestion to leave for Delhi that day itself. I thought he was joking and almost laughed to myself. But he did have a point! Many people I knew were leaving to Delhi that day and I could easily join them and go along. Kataria pretty much convinced me into it, but the only problem was, it was nearing 3:00 p.m. and I had to pack up, buy the train ticket and be at the station in under 4 hours. While I was just contemplating this idea, it occurred to me that I have done crazier things before!
So I left college, took an auto, told him to rush home, and half way through I realized I had taking Muni’s bike to college. Damn! Told the auto guy to turn back. Ran to the bike park, picked up the bike and zoomed home. Stopped at the hostel on the way to find out details of the train from Satyam, which was anyway a futile exercise as I ended up not going with them, but with Bhalla and Manik as their train was leaving earlier.
Anyway, I get home, throw some clothes in, took some cash, made some maggi and ate it and was wondering why I wasn’t hungry at all. And it hit me that I had already lunch in college and the Maggi was quite unnecessary. All this short notice running around was really making me absent minded. It hit its peak when I locked our door without putting the latch on while leaving. Thankfully noticed it before running down the stairs and locked it proper. On the way I spoke to Manik letting him know that I was on the way, and also called Bala to tell him about my sudden change of plans. He did not seem very surprised!
By 7:00 p.m. I was at Platform No. 5 in the Dadar railway station with my General class ticket on the Punjab Mail express, waiting for Bhalla and Manik. Shortly, we were chugging along to our beloved capital.

Date: 15th October 2006 (Sunday)
Place: Nizammudin railway station, Delhi
Time: 8:30 p.m.
After an exhausting 25 hours in the train, with the only respite being ‘intellectual’ conversations with the Punjabi duo, I got off at the Nizammudin station in Delhi. Had managed to pay the fine and the differential amount to the TT who allowed me to share the berth with Bhalla, so I managed to catch some sleep and wasn’t that fatigued. But at the station, I realized my phone was off as it was not completely charged when I left and now there was no way for Asha to contact me. Anyway, I called her up from a phone booth and found out directions and the amount it would cost on the auto as the auto drivers in Delhi have meters that never work.
Reached Asha’s place by 10. Received a nice welcome from her new dog Arhaghi. And in a short while, after a refreshing bath and small talk, I was fast asleep.

Date: 16th October 2006 (Monday)
Place: Delhi…
On the very first day of my Delhi trip, I formed an impression; New Delhi is really really new and old Delhi is really really old. New Delhi has the widest roads, the coolest houses, the costliest cars, and the best part of it all, the amazing Metro. And old Delhi has buildings from the colonial era, a public transportation system of mostly cycle rickshaws and buses that are just about being held together. It’s really funny to be traveling in the a/c metro for some part of your journey and then a rickshaw-wala for the next part.The Metro just blew me away; it was more like an amusement park than a public transportation system because you find little kids screeching and hooting like as if it were their first time on a giant wheel or something. The whole place is so neat with escalators every where to you help you move heights and a public announcement system that keeps repeating pertinent information. You would not even have talk to anyone as everything you need to know will either be announced or displayed in the very conspicuous sign-boards. The whole system is so very simple that even a first timer like me would have absolutely no hassles in reaching his destination, and you can do it in record time and come out feeling really good about it too.I had called Shobhit in the morning as he was supposed to be Delhi by this time and I thought I could meet up with him. But just before I dialed his number, I get a call from the man himself! That was pretty coincidental, and the irony following that was even bizarre. He calls me to tell me that he delayed his train and was still in Bombay and wondering if we could catch up. And to think I was planning to tell him the exact same thing in Delhi!
Well, since I wasn’t meeting him, I called the next person on my list, Satyam. Went to his place for lunch and aunty made some really amazing food. Then I had a brief chat with Satyam’s dad before I left his place. After that I met Hitesh and Amit at TGIF and it was like same hang-out, same people, same Kingfisher beer; just a different city.One thing that caught my business acumen was this place I went for dinner. It’s a place called Karims, which is near Jama Masjid at Chandni Chowk. And these guys must be the most profitable restaurant in the country. The whole USP of the place is its connection with the Mughal era. And they have marketed this so well, that the restaurant is actually known all over the world as the only remnants of the Mughal culture. Karims has been featured in numerous newspapers, magazines and TV shows. They have been rated as one of the 10 best restaurants all over India and even been featured in the National Geographic. And how do I know all this? Because of the various cut-outs that have been very conspicuously displayed. And the place really must be famous, because in spite of being located in an area like Jama Masjid, there were almost as many foreigners inside as there were Indians. And Jama Masjid is the kind of place where every second guy would stare at my sister, and every fifth guy would stare at me!But the reason I say that this place is oozing business genius is simply because of the way they run the place. They whole place looks downtrodden, and it has to look so because they have to maintain the image of a place from the very old Mughal times; so this saves them a lot on renovation cost. They don’t even have to clean up the place too often, so there goes the maintenance charges. They don’t need to prepare too many dishes too as the Mughals probably just preferred a few dishes with very fancy names; and reducing the menu size means easier preparation and faster service. Even the food is prepared in a manner that it looks like it didn’t take too much effort. The meat pieces were not cut to normal sizes and were served in really big chunks, and they weren’t even cooked completely, because, once again, the Mughals probably preferred having their food in a slightly more savage manner than we are accustomed to. So by simply using the excuse of the Mughals, they are not only saving a lot of money, but also ensuring huge profits by their method of functioning, their overwhelming advertising and their clearly over priced menu! Now that’s good business.Anyway, coming back to the topic of Delhi, this was just my first day here and I have 6 more to go. Let’s see what else I encounter these next few days.

Date: 17th October 2006 (Tuesday)
Place: Indra Gandhi airport
I went with a very decked up Naheda to receive China at the airport and the dude was totally surprised to see me at there as he wasn’t expecting me in Delhi this early. (even i wasnt expecting myself there that early!)
While we were waiting for his arrival, Naheda and I were chalking out this plan, where before he hugs Naheda, I would appear from my hiding place and cut him off, and also took Nahed's boquet to give it to him from my side. But the ape man sees his Jane and just makes a dash for her. i couldnt get in time to cut him off. just had to make do with hugging him after his amorous session with naheda. anyway, helped him move into a hotel after that and went loafing with both of them, checking out jamia mila college (naheds collg) and other places there.
After leaving them together, I decided to take a walk. I soon found myself on a bench at a park that looked just like the one on which Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant sit on in the movie Notting Hill. It was a really nice place. And I just sat there, cooling my batteries for a bit, before I get moving again.
Later on that day, China and Naheda came over to Asha’a place for dinner and we had a really good time there. Only me and Asha were drinking, but although that woman can drink much more than me, I was the one making a big scene. There’s nothing new about I guess. I get that way everytime I’m inebriated. Don’t remember too much after that. Somewhere in that mayhem, I had gone off to sleep.

Date: 18th October 2006 (Wednesday)
Place: Jaipur
I woke up by 6:30 with barely 4 hours of sleep after having drunk a considerable amount of whisky the previous night, without any hangover whatsoever and feeling very enthusiastic about packing up and going to Jaipur. This is what an MBA has done to me. There was a time when I required at least 8 hours of sleep and there was just no way I could wake up early after a drinking binge. My life style has seemed to have altogether reversed, thanks to NM.
So I got ready and left with Naheda and China who I dropped off on my way to the bus station, which until that point of time I thought was called ‘Sarai Kaleka’ as a person on the road told me the previous day that it would be where I would find my bus to Jaipur. On reaching the bus stop, I find out that the bus stops name was actually ‘Sarai Kake Khan’! Man, no wonder people looked at me weirdly everytime I asked for Sari Kaleka! Anyway, the bus to Jaipur was almost set to leave and I left Delhi at sharp 8:30. We stopped at a place called Satiapur on the way for breakfast and I really badly wanted to have some chai. So I find myself a seat and ask a waiter who seemed a little drunk, and the time was just 11 a.m.! Anyway, I asked for the chai, but he seemed pissed off that all I was asking for was the chai and behaved like he never heard me. Anyway, I decided to go upto the chaiwala directly and ask him for it, and he gives me chai in this really tiny cup and charges me Rs 5 for it. Didn’t know even chai had flexi pricing! There was no way that chai could cost that much, it was just specially priced for me. Anyway, people like me are bound to be taken advantage of in a remote city like this, its how these guys make their living. So I didn’t protest. And anyway, it was just 5 bucks and I really badly wanted the chai.
Well, I got to Jaipur only by 1:30, the bus ride had taken longer than normal time thanks to some crazy stunts the driver pulled on the way by trying to overtake from the left and getting stuck at a police chowki. However, Parwaz was waiting for me as soon as I got off. She had her friends bike which was a real boon, as we went loafing all over Jaipur on that, and managed to do quite a bit of sight-seeing to because of it. We saw the Vidhan Soudha, the cricket stadium which was actually playing a game of the ICC championships that day, and many other important buildings before we went for lunch. All through this journey I was thinking of how every building somehow had a slight tinge of pink to it and also how this whole place seemed so well developed. It was almost a second Chandigarh. I never expected this. I was hoping to see more of the men with huge head gears, women with colourful sari’s and thick jewelry and of course, lots and lots of camels; all of which I had a brief glimpse of just as my bus was nearing Jaipur. But to my dismay, there was none of this in the actual city of Jaipur. And in fact, no trace of desert sand even. Parwaz told me that the nearest desert was 12 hours from Jaipur. Man, Jaipur was everything I never expected it to be. But it was a surprise that was actually quite pleasant. And Parwaz was an excellent host. Not only did she take me all over the place, but also bought me an authentic Rajasthani lunch. It was all I ate for the day, and totally worth it.
After lunch, we loafed around some more. Saw her old school, old college, some other schools and colleges, a really big circle, the most poplar mall of Jaipur and the biggest cinema hall of India. After all this, we finally went to what we all know as the pink city. Yeah, even I was pretty surprised. What I was seeing till now was not the actual pink city, it was just the outskirts of it. The real pink city was only a small portion, which was a walled city, and the original town of Jaipur, where all the building were painted pink to welcome some autocrat of that time. And this area was a real treat. The whole place was done up for Diwali. There were all sorts of fancy lights and miniature models of various monuments like the Taj Mahal and Statue of Liberty. It was really nice, and Parwaz was telling me that Diwali time is the best part of the year to visit Jaipur as the celebrations are really grand then. I was smiling to myself and feeling really happy about having come to Jaipur at this time. It was dream I had ever since a girl I once knew from college raved so much about it, and I finally get to see it now, more than 5 years since I first heard about it.

Date: 19th October 2006 (Thursday)
Place: Taj – Wah!
I had booked a room for myself at Jaipur the previous day, which was a complete waste of money as I barely spent half an hour in it. My initial plan was to spend the night there, that’s why I took the room. But at the 11th hour, I decided to make better use of my time and travel to Agra in the night itself, rather than sleep in Jaipur and travel to Agra the next day morning.
So I buy tickets on the last bus out of Jaipur for that day and before long, I was on my way to Agra. I was so tired after loafing all over Jaipur that I went to sleep even before the bus began moving, and woke up only by 5:30 the next morning when we reached Agra. The moment I got off, I asked the nearest auto guy to take me to the Taj Mahal as I really wanted to see it. Now this was a dream I had since my 3rd std., so you can imagine my anxiety. But the autowala tells me that the Taj opens only by 7. So I thought of using that time to check in to a room and have a nice refreshing bath. I ask the autowala to take me to a decent economical lodge close to Taj and he finds one perfect for my requirements. Only, the lodge owner was more keen on giving me the basement where drivers normally sleep as that was the cheapest option he had. I would have taken it, but for the fact that Naheda and China were joining me in some time and I really can’t ask Naheda to use the bathroom used by drivers in case she needed it. So I took a normal room, freshened up, and by 6:30, I was on my way to see the Taj Mahal.
Took a rickshaw this time and he takes me to a shop saying that there is still time for the Taj Mahal to open and I might as well do some shopping. And going to the bazaar there was a big mistake as they just didn’t let me go till I spent a grand there on things I really barely required. But those guys were good, they don’t sell things to you by forcing you to take it, they instead make you feel really nice and almost like you deserved a part of their splendour!Anyway, I finally just walked out saying I’ve had enough and all I really wanted to do was see the Taj Mahal. So I started towards the Taj Mahal and it begins to rain. Man, everything seemed to be conspiring against me from seeing the Taj Mahal. But I’ve already gone through so much, so I continued to walk in the rain. And when I reached the entrance to the Taj Mahal, I see a big bunch of people crowding there as they were taking cover from the rain. I had to make my way through, felt like I was in a concert, trying to get to the front. And when I finally got past the mob.. there it was in front of me, exactly like I’ve seen it in all the post cards, text books and Aishwarys Rai’s posters.. The Taj Mahal in all its glory.I just stood there and stared at it. My breathing rate slowly coming down to normal. After the brief break there, and the rain finally letting up, I began walking towards the monument. I was the only one walking down that stretch, the Taj Mahal slowly getting closer, and without even realizing, I noticed I was laughing aloud. I was so happy to finally be here. When I finally reach the marbled wonder, I went straight up to it and touched it. Almost sent a shiver down my spine... I was touching the Taj Mahal.Took a walk around it, and when I was on the other side, I saw the river and the words of my 3rd std. teacher resounded in my head... “the Taj Mahal is situated on the banks of the river yamuna” so there it was, the river Yamuna, almost dried up, but still flowing along.After completing my walk around it, I went inside. Noticed the tombs and one of the 4 chandeliers of Akbar hanging on top of the central tomb, the one that held Mumtaz Mahal. And finally, after an hour with the Taj Mahal, I decided to get back. Felt like I was catching a cold. But it was ok, it didn’t bother me... I saw the Taj Mahal, and now I have 6 more to go...

Date: 20th October 2006 (Friday)
Place: PVR Saket
It was time to chill out for a bit today. I’ve been traveling quite a bit for the last 2 days and just wanted to rest my body. So I decide to go online from Asha’s place and I see this mail from the hosts of an ad contest that I participated in with Sachin and Anirudha saying the results were out. I quickly opened it, and found out that we actually got shortlisted for the next round. I was really kicked about it. But I then noticed that the deadline for the submission of the second round of this contest was 23rd. That was just 3 days away and I was in Delhi, far away from my team members and also from any hopes of submitting it in time, as even Diwali was coming up in between this. So I get on the phone with Sachin and we are making plans to work on this, and we realize that we just can’t work sitting in different cities. So the only hope was for us to complete the task when I get back to Bombay on the 23rd. I was to reach on the morning that day, and mummy and Jeethu were supposed to come visit me then. It was going to be tight, but I knew I had to leave this work till then. And for the time being, continue enjoying my hiatus.
I had purchased tickets to the movie Don on Tuesday itself when I had gone to PVR Saket to meet Kataria and the rest at T’zers, so that was the plan for the afternoon. I liked SRK’s style in the movie as Don, but as Vijay, he sucked big time. After the movie, I once again met up with Kataria at T’zers, this time with China and Naheda for company. But they were too busy dancing on the dance floor there with some 5 other wannabes, so Kataria and I got bugged and we decided to leave. The plan was to drop me home, but en route, Kataria decided to just go and pay Amit a visit. And what was supposed to be a minor diversion, ended up being a complete plan for the night!
Once we picked up Amit, he just suggests we go see this mall in which the really happening club Elevate was situated. Once we got to the mall, we decide to just try our luck at the club. We obviously got rejected as we were 3 stags, but the smooth talker Amit is, he manages to convince the bouncers there that we were 3 harmless dudes from Bombay dying to see some good night life in Delhi. So we manage to get our entry in, and then came the big shocker! We were to pay Rs 1500 for our entry. Of course, after all the hard work in getting till there, it was quite pointless to walk out now. So Kataia takes out his card, and soon, we were at the coolest club of Delhi. And the best part was, it was VH1 Hip Hop Hustle night and some of the really famous international DJ’s, people who play alongside Rap Stars like 50 Cent and Eminem, were to be performing that night. And they definitely did not disappoint. The music there was just awesome. It managed to do what the crowd and alcohol failed to. But overall, I was really glad I came here. Got to see a really neat club on a Friday night in Delhi.

Date: 21th October 2006 (Saturday)
Place: Shobhit’s…
I finally catch up with Shobhit today. He picks me up from Asha’s place by 9 in the morning. I barely had any sleep once again. And this time I was really tired with all the dancing I’d done the previous night. Anyway, we go loafing for a bit. I see all the various embassy’s and stuff in Delhi. It looked really nice. We have a capital that we can really be proud of. Then we go to CP to try and grab some breakfast as I was super hungry. But it was too early, and Mac Donalds was the only restaurant just about opening. So we have some burgers there, and soon reached his place which was at the other end of Delhi, nearly 25 kms from Asha’s. Once there, I did a bit of socializing with his parents and then Shobhit taught me to play Teen Patha, which I figured I was pretty bad at. So I decided to get on his laptop and try my hand at Fifa, and managed to lose those games even after Shobhit played the first half of the match giving me a lead. Just wasn’t my day for games, or maybe it was just the lack of sleep. And that I managed to get quite a bit of as a scrumptious lunch combined with a comfortable bed can be quite soporific.
After my brief siesta, it was time to go cracker shopping. Shobhit and I go with one of Shobhits colony friends, Nitin. He was telling me all about the neo-cool Diwali tradition of Delhi. After picking some crackers, we stopped to have some ‘Delhi Chaat’, but sadly, it just wasn’t any good. We couldn’t even finish all the aloo that was put in the aloo chaat.
Anyway, we got back to the colony and it was time for the Puja. This was my first ever Diwali Puja, so I was pretty keen on seeing how it was conducted. Shobhits mom and dad were handling most of the Puja. They gave Shobhit a little bell to play around with. And he would go about shaking it everytime his parents broke into a song. It was a really funny sight. To see Shobhit playing a tiny little bell while his parents are singing a song out of book which seemed to have a complicated looking script, or maybe it was just Hindi! I could never be too sure.
Then each of them took turns to do a particular Puja to all the gods and when Shobhits mom asked me also to do it, I was cursing myself for not having paid attention to the detail with which the others had done this Puja. I did not want to do something wrong and look foolish. But aunty was really sweet and explained exactly how I should do it, and I managed to do a pretty decent job. Or so I would like to assume!
After the Puja, it was cracker bursting time. Shobhit and I go downstairs, team up with Nitin and start bursting the crackers. It was nice, but just not as fun as it was some years back. In fact, we were just seeing all the other kids around having such a jolly time with all the crackers and were thinking of those good old days when we also played around that way. After we were done with the crackers, we take a walk, and it was then some little kids come up to us and say ‘Happy Diwali uncle’. That sort of underlined the way we were feeling then; we were just too old for this.
But it was a nice Diwali all the same. It was my first Diwali in the north, and one of my main reasons for coming here during this time was to see the pomp and show with which the northies celebrate this festival. And though it was grossly underplayed because of all the environmental problems that Delhi has been lately facing, it was still a very nice celebration. And more than the firecrackers, it was the attitude of the people that I found very different from the people of the South during Diwali time. The Northies really know how to celebrate this festival, even if they were compromising on the number of crackers they burst.

Date: 22nd October 2006 (Sunday)
Place: Alvida Delhi
Well, that’s the end of it. My 6 days in Delhi finally came to an end. I had lunch at Nizaams today as Shobhit was talking about it a lot the previous day and I really felt I should try it out. Then I also went on a trip in the Metro. Just went 2 stations up and came down the same way, just to have one last feel of the Metro before I left. And finally, made it to the station barely 5 minutes before my Rajdhani left. This whole trip was JIT (just in time) for me. I managed to do so many things, all in the last minute, thereby making full use of the time I had everywhere. It was a little scary at times. Like I almost missed the train from Agra as I wanted to see the Taj Mahal once more before leaving. I almost missed the bus from Jaipur as I was working on the net and forgot to notice the time. There were so many incidents like this, but somehow I managed to cover everything just in the nick of time, and overall had a total blast in Delhi.
After Goa on New Years, this definitely is the best trip of the year.