Catch of the day

Hooked a chunk of beef as bait on the other end of the flexible Baracasha wood fishing rod, since this was no ordinary fish, but the deadly piranha we were hunting. 

Within seconds of lowering the line, there was a tug, but the rod came back up with just the bait missing. 

Hooked another chunk of beef. Same result.
Repeated this more than 20 times. 

This was not just a deadly, but a really smart piranha. 

Began wondering if the activity is piranha fishing or piranha feeding!

Just when the boatman said it’s our last 5 minutes, there was a tug again, but this time, the tug didn’t disappear as quickly as it did the last 20 times. 

This one was a religious repeated tug. This was man vs beast now. 

Reeled the line quickly back in to find one of the deadliest of all piranhas, the red bellied piranha, with teeth so razor sharp that the Yagua cheiftain used one on these to sharpen his arrows. 

Once we got back, there on my lunch platter was the piranha that troubled me all morning, lying harmless and delicious. A true catch of the day.

Kolkata: Bangdu Wedding

This was our first unofficial trip to Kolkata. We thankfully had one before while working on a project together in office way back in 2010, and wanted to make a personal trip ever since, and this is how it finally happened.

We got to Kolkata on Jan 23, Monday afternoon, a little too late for the fancy 6 Ballygunge lunch that Boka planned with everyone, and a little too early for the Sundown party with the to-be married couple.
So Geet and I caught lunch at a place called Malgudi, right opposite Relax Inn hotel where we stayed, and turned out to be just what the doctor ordered as we got hot Rasam, which was perfect for the sore throat I've been nursing.

By 'sundown', the boys got ready in their blacks with white shoes that we'd planned and headed to Nocturne.
I had prepared a video for Bangdu and Nocturne offered a nice big screen to show it, but that was the end of the benefits the club offered, as I went literally insane trying to get the video to actually play.
First it wouldn't work off my laptop as the DJ only had HDMI cables that my laptop wasn't compatible with. So we arranged another laptop, but then realised my office laptop screws up any pen drive I insert into it. So only option was to upload the file and then download on the other laptop. Now I had to do this twice coz our fancy DJ needed Audio and Video files separately.
Anyway, while in the process of transferring, the second laptop runs out of charge, so now I had to get a third laptop, and repeat the whole process again. By this time lots of people were trying to help, including Mihir who was risking his life holding the laptop charger within the socket given a loose connection to ensure the transfer happens.
After all of that, the DJ plays the files separately, introducing a lag that ruined the output. I anyway was too tired to care by then and just glad I got the video out of the way.

But then, I went and shot a mannequin after that, which actually turned out well, so there began my video editing work right again.

Anyway we sat up a bit at Relax Inn after that till Thakur went nuts and then called it a night, only to hear him break the door next to ours trying to get Kataria out to join him for a drink. What a seriously insane guy!

Next day we rushed to the venue for Baarat which was to start at 9am, but only after a mouth watering road side breakfast of Poori Bhajji and Jalebi.
Bangdu soon came on a Harley Fat Boy and we danced around till he wed Poonam.
Lots of photos later, we got back to Relax Inn as the last of the friends to leave the venue and Geet immediately left shopping with (thankfully) Ritika for company while I caught some shut eye and thankfully a slightly better situation to attend a very fancy reception at Calcutta Golf Club where we had to choose between cuisines rather than dishes that were on offer.

After much Japanese and Punjabi food with Bengali sweets and chaat, we called it a night to get back to work straight the next day. However, Bangdu dropped in to give us our return gifts which ensured I only slept 2 hours before work; but well worth the wait as he doled out some really fancy silverware.
Perfect finishing touches to an already perfect wedding.

Guns n Roses, Netherlands

My first concert alone. Would have never expected to undergo this experience solitary, but turned out there were many others like me on the ground. Far more than the solitary individuals I see in movie halls. 

And as the night went by, people began to have a lot of fun. It's just ironical that I can't get high these days to enjoy things like this that I always wanted to experience. 

Anyway, I bought the concert tickets through resale on the day of the concert itself, and paid €110, which was nearly the cost of the front row if purchased on time, but couldn't manage to decide earlier, as is the case with most things in my life. 

Thereafter made the long 2 hour trip from Rotterdam to Goffert Park, Nijmegen to watch the show, and had sufficient time to grab a Vietnamese Gyoka and move ahead to a spot where there weren't any tall Dutch in front of me, allowing clear LOS of the stage. 

What I didn't know was that I was right at the epicenter of a moshpit that only grew bigger with every song, which included women and kids too. I entered it a couple of times from the side, but not whole heartedly, and only towards the end did I give in, only to fall twice in quick succession, realizing that it was the reason I didn't enter earlier. 

 

However, the way moshpit works here, people pick you up with a smile the second you fall, so everyone is out to help and actually have a fun time. 

I was completely enjoying myself. My favourite, Estranged, played right at the start, and simply watching Slash and Axl together was a high. 

But the crescendo was at the end when AC/DC guitarist, Angus Young jammed with the rest, which was followed by Sweet Child Of Mine that Axl wore a white leather jacket for. Then Slash performs a solo of Floyd's Wish You Were Here. Then Axl takes it higher with a classic November Rain on his piano, and follows it up with a dedication to Chris Cornell with Black Hole Sun, and finally there was Knocking On Heavens Door. 

It was high after high, and by this time, the concert was done for me. Band took a break but clearly there was an encore on the cards. I started to walk back though as the last 2 hour train was 22:55 and the ones later would take 4 hours. But by the time I waded through the crowd, I was late. So I decided to have a beer, which as usual I couldn't finish, so then had fries with curry sauce that tasted terrible, and made it to the station among people partying so much that at one stage, a girl even holds my arm saying Hoi. I was too embarrassed and just smiled and said Hoi in return and she let me be. 

Then followed the long journey that ended up taking 5 hours, coz I met Diletta at Utrecht and we decided to take an Uber that never showed up, causing us to miss the 1:10 train and take the next one at 2:17. 

 

Finally made it home by 4:30 and could barely sleep after that. But can't deny that the effort was worth it. Head banging to the last part of November Rain was the highlight of highlights at the concert for me. 

Diwali continues

Diwali has always been a fun time for me growing up. Which kid doesn't like crackers!
Jeeth and I particularly enjoyed it as pa always got a customary Diwali box of crackers from his office that were sometimes so much that we would save it for Christmas, or for a time India wins an important cricket match, or maybe even till the next Diwali.
So we'd have most cousins and neighbours meet up with is to blow the crackers, or even if it's just the two of us, we'd go to the terrace of our lovely independent corner Kammanahalli house and watch the fireworks all the way to Unity building.
As we grew up though, the relevance obviously diminished. Pa quit, cousins moved, house sold etc etc.
Then after marriage, Diwali took a new turn for me. One of a religious celebration that it never was before. Suddenly there was the customary stay over at Geet's parents place, the Puja, the visits to and from the neighbours, the bursting of a few crackers or more often the watching of the bursting of a few crackers that people of the building did in cramped spaced Bombay's apartment parking areas offered.
And Diwali had plummeted to an all new low for me. Something I didn't even understand let alone enjoy.
Until this year.
We made the long trip to Mugoltur which was the 3rd for me and first for Naan since marrying Geet. We made the trip as Naan wanted to meet his ageing grandpa.
This was going to be a bigger gathering of Geet's family in a remote village and more discomfort likely to await me.
Somehow the reverse happened. Reversed all the way to those carefree childhood days when I enjoyed Diwali with Jeeth.
We burst a bunch of crackers, including a 5000 garland and a continuous rocket, in the backyard of their house with little ambient light and zero pollution, at least till we started. And went on to completely have a blast with the entire family.
The rest of the time there was so conducive to just relax, read, eat, and even participate in the family bickering, that I began to feel as comfortable as I probably did as a kid.
So, very surprisingly, this turned out to be a Diwali I truly enjoyed.

Diwali 2016: Bangdu's Building

When Rajesh and Nupur said Hello to each other:
Nupur: Arre Rajesh, tumhare baalon ko Kya Ho Gaya. They were much taller earlier :)
Rajesh: I thought u wanted to represent the mood of the nation and sported the soldier look

Sushim: Whoever comes closest to the total of 456 wins
Payal: Then I win
Sushim: No Payal, see the calculator, yours is not the closest
Payal: (After looking at the calculator for 5 mins) But how can I lose ya, I have the cards 5 and 6 😳

Payal: Somebody pls lend me some money so I can continue playing
Sandy: Payal, money is not the only thing you lack for the game
Payal: (After another 5 mins) 😡

Bangdu: Villagers go to sleep, now God..
Sandy: Dude you are God!

Isha: When Bangdu asked Mafia to open their eyes, I heard Thakur gushed, so he's Mafia
Thakur: First of all, what is Jusht?
Isha: It's my instinct
Thakur: So why don't you just say that. What does Jusht mean 🤓

Raju: You're all killing me just because I'm the handsomest guy
Geet: You're the only guy left. It doesn't say much about your handsomeness

Poonam: Let's start the rules from the top again

Am'stoned'am

Indians enunciate words than adjectives coz Indian languages don't use many adjectives.


Geek theory. Why we hang out.


Find the one thing to do. Life at this stage is path to discovery.


Foodora is the online food delivery service of Amsterdam.


Brazilian guy at MCD gave a tip: go to Favela, ask for Vergi.


Period jacket. What guys called it in school.


Indonesian food at Max. Surprising discovery.


Yaks and sexism conversation at bar opposite cafe de klos. Chanced upon underground cult next door before gorging on worlds best spare ribs and prime rib.


Noel: What a chuut


Playing out split scenario. I would be murdered.  Noel wants to start something new; move to Andaman.


Tunu discussing giftmo and buckoo. Noel jumping directly into investment. Me discussing India tourism based on food.


What was the highlight of the trip?

You! 😆


When Tunu asked why, I said its because you ought to experience everything at least once. That was the inflection point of the trip.


Withdrawal symptoms while on the journey back. Joking about how American Tunu was about his packing and still forgetting his jacket and socks behind. I made it worse by not booking Uber for him in the morning given how deep in sleep I was.


Made use of the Monday to visit recruitment agencies. Hit a wall with the first 3 and finally got something decent at least in the last one called Adams.

Road Trippin

First, Tunu decided to make a trip to India. 

Then, Dumma decided to convert this into a road trip like back in the day

They decided to ask the rest of their friends

Soon, China, Munda and Pali got with the plan 

The foundation for this plan was laid out nearly 2 months ago, with even the car being booked as far back as that. I decided to keep the ride a surprise for everyone, given it was a Mercedes that turned out to be quite a head turner over the trip. 

The basic plan was for 4 of us to drive down from Bangalore to Mysore, and meet up with Pali's there. However, this involved coordination between all 5 of us boys, who were making a plan like this after a gap of 12 years. 2013 was the last road trip we went on, and that was to Mysore as well. 

Given how much our lives have changed in this gap of a dozen years, I was circumspect about the trip even happening, let alone coming together in the way that it finally did. 

First of all, it was really awesome how all 5 of us managed our family situation to seamlessly make this possible. All of us left our better halves with our in-laws at exactly the same time to ensure we get these 2 days for ourselves. Pali, Munda and China managed this in spite of their kids. 

Next, we stuck to the plan like clockwork, starting exactly at 6am on December 25th, the booking start time for the car, and dropping it back exactly at 4pm the next day, which was the scheduled drop off time for the vehicle. It's very rare a plan can be this well timed, as far back as 2 months in advance. 

So we began our trip in the wee hours of Christmas Day morning, a day I've always spent with family, but given Geet was working in Bombay, Jeeth was busy with Soha in Bangalore, and Pa and Ma were chilling in Kerala, it made sense to do this with the boys back home. 

I managed to wake up at 5am in spite of spending the previous night drinking with Bala and Tunu at Church Street Social, where 3 of us were behaving like Drug Lords who owned the place. Bala the kingpin made us down shots that is never a good idea, and we ate the Empire Dosa Chicken that turned out an even worse idea. 

However, it wasn't just me, Tunu was up and ready that early too, and I picked him up, followed by Munda and went to Indranagar to hire our ride, the Mercedes A Class for the trip. Then we drove to Banshankri to pick China, and began our journey towards Mysore. One of the reasons to start this early was to avoid traffic, but a lot of people seemed to have the same idea, and the roads were jam packed till Bidadi where we stopped for Thatte Idly. 

Easily the tastiest Idly's we've ever had, and China took over the reins of the car from here, something he stuck to till we returned the next day, and something that gave Munda enough fodder to take China's case given the way China drives. 

We reached Pali's by 1pm, good 6 hours after starting from Bangalore, and sat down with the Jim Beam we bought on the way as a gift for Pali, and gorged on the Chicken Curry that he himself cooked for us, along with Mutton Chops and Liver Curry that he purchased from a well known place here. 

The meal followed a quick nap, and we headed towards Pali's farm that he recently purchased here. Throughout the journey Pali would be greeted by the people here, as if he were the town Zamindar that cared for his subjects. We soon reached a point where we watched the sunset. It was one of the most amazing sunsets we've seen where the bright red sun submerged into the waters of the KRS backwaters. We then drove to the farm, which was actually just walking distance from the sunset point and realised we could see the exact same view from the farm itself. What it made it awesome, was that by time we got here, the moon rose, and it was a full blood moon, rising up from exactly the same spot the sun went down. 

The whole thing was the most spectacular thing we've ever seen. While walking towards the edge of farm, where the land touched the water, China and I noticed twinkling objects around the moon, that Tunu told us we're satellites in the sky. Through the night we saw many more of these, distinctly cris-crossing across the star studded night sky. The moon itself was so brilliant, that it looked more spherical than circle, and the 5 of us sat there chatting away.

Tunu was talking about how distracted we've been all day, thinking about the issues in our own lives, rather than spending this moment with each other. Then we spoke of how the brilliant sunset followed by an even better moon rise was so significant given it was the turn of a New Year, and the space we all were with our lives. 

It was an evening of connecting with people you've known for over 2 decades of your life in the most serene spot one could imagine. 

Reluctantly, we had to leave once we realised restaurants would close leaving us hungry for the night, and drove to Chamundi Hills to have the famous Nipput here. It turned out to be a long drive for little use, as the stalls were closed. But we still chilled out at a point where the city of Mysore was visible from the Hills, and then drove back and bought Dosa's from a night camp, which we had with the leftovers from lunch. Then we sat looking at our old photos, and wanted to recreate some of those moments, but given how passed out some of us were, left it for the next day. 

We woke up with just 4 hours of sleep, and post a scrumptious breakfast, managed to take a bunch of photos for memory, and began our drive back to

Bangalore. 

China was at his entertaining best, arguing with us that Troy was a true story, and giving some logic of how reality become fiction and that becomes reality all over again. He wouldn't let go of any argument, by saying "but still..." and trying to figure a compromise. It's something we kept ragging him about throughout the trip. 

Overall it was really amazing how China was just as entertaining, Tunu just as insightful, Pali just as caring, and Munda just as much a bully as they've all always been. 

A trip we were so glad we managed to put together, and a trip we almost know for certainty would never happen again.

Merry Christmas 2015!