An Ode to my Alto

Wrote this poem on 26th Jan 2010, the day my car crossed 30000kms. Today, when it crosses 40000kms, its time to revist the ode


twas the all fools day of 2006 when we first met, 
on your shiny blue exterior my eyes set

it was the beginning of a beautiful ride... 
a road we took together and swam the tide

i have caused you some harm, you have caused me none
u have taken me places and got things done

when the night is young and the roads are empty... 
the thrill to take you past 120

all those small joys we have shared.... 
those moments of anguish u have had to bear

you have been with me thru thick and thin... 
a real true friend u have been
 
many a moods you have shaped... 
many a thoughts u have braced

and now as u grow old it occurs to me... 
together always we shall not be
 
but u will always hold a special place in my heart.. 
cos u were my first and hopefully not my last

you are and will always me... my first and favouritest car!

 

What an Adventure: Rajgad + Torna

This trek is special like no other. It was tough n long, we were 3 inexperienced trekkers, I fell ill and nature gifted us an amazing companion. Read on....

The Plan

The plan was in Divya's mind for a while. She had intended to do it earlier, but something always got in the way. Finally she asked me and I too got hooked. Thus, on the weekend of 2nd October, we decided to trek 2 forts, Rajgad and Torna, both massive, and about 10 kms apart.

Diyva had done most of the ground work for the plan. She spoke to quite a few of our diggaj trekking friends and the opinion was unanimous. Its a very tough task. The 2 forts are separated by a 6 hour walk, in complete isolation and with the fear of wildlife attacks in the night. We met up to explore all options and I used all my logistics skills to make an efficient plan. We were still skeptical as both of us have trekking experience, but no expertise. We decided to ask other people who we know are good trekkers. We were unsure if we would undertake the trek if it was just 2 of us. 3 days before the trek, Rubens joined in. I was very happy as he is a good trekker and has done a few tough ones.

So finally, Friday 1st October, the 3 of us were set. Initial plan was to drive to Gunjawane (base village of Rajgad) in the night in my car, halt there for couple of hours and start at day break, climb Rajgad, quick lunch and very brief exploration and head off to Torna. Hit Torna by evening, spend the night in the mandir, explore fort in the morning an descend down to base village Velhe. However, on Thursday Rubens suggested we change plans and climb the other way, Torna first. His consideration was the lack of infrastructure at Torna and the story of the ghost of Torna. Since his first point was very valid, we decided to change course, even though we would have to go backwards 20 kms to fetch the car after descending. A lot of the final planning was done on phone since I was travelling to Kozhikode and had a very hectic Thursday

D Day

Here we go

Come Friday and I landed into town, packed for the trip and soon the adventure began. At 5 pm Rubens called saying his holiday for the next day had been cancelled. So he had to apply for a leave and although he was coming, it was a bit messy. At about 5.30 pm, the person from Velhe (Divya had arranged a place for us to stay for the night at the local RSS shakha) called saying please don't come after 11 pm especially since we had a girl with us. Apparently, the road from NH4 to Velhe (Nasrapur - Velhe Road) is swarmed with bandits who rob folks.We were told to avoid it in the night at all cost. This news unnerved Divya quite a bit. Since we had little time to react, we set of at 7.30, deciding to take stock mid way. By 7.30, Rubens and I had set off. Traffic in Powai was pathetic and we finally picked up Divya by 8.30 at Kanjurmarg. Thankfully, here on, it was a breeze and soon we were heading towards Pune.

Hotel Descent

Now came the time to take the difficult decisions. We called a couple of people to verify the story and got mixed views. We were also unsure where the problem was and how far we could venture. Since I was confident of NH4, I insisted we reach till Nasrapur, which is a town 2kms of the highway and bunk there for the night. I was confident of getting some hotel there. This decided, we made good ground and after having dinner at food court, we passed Pune by 11.30 pm. The drive was brilliant as always. Second time I have driven on NH4 past Pune and last time the road was under development. Must say, its quite an awesome drive through Katraj bypass. At about 12.30 am, we reached Khed - Shivapur and while I had enough fuel to reach Velhe, I still decided to stop and refuel. A smart move it was since the very helpful attendant not only reconfirmed the bandits story, but also that Nasarpur doesn't have any hotels, and coincidentally there were 2 hotels across the road. I wonder how much time we would have lost, had I not stopped to refuel there. We stopped at a slightly shady looking hotel (300 bucks a night a room, and i still tried to bargain). Sleeping had not been in the agenda and so the 4 hours we got was a complete bonus.

Good morning sun - we beat u

As planned we set off at day break and hit Cheladi Phata. Here large boards direct you right towards Nasrapur, Rajgad, Torna and Velhe. This road is called the Nasrapur - Velhe road and is a State Highway. It ends at Velhe and so there is no chance of getting lost. By 7 am, after a 225 km drive we were at Velhe and after parking my car by the bridge, having a quick breakfast (what else but pohas) we set off.

The Climb

1. Torna

• At 7.45 am precisely, we began climbing. From here on, the description gets chronological. The initial climb was a painfully steep incline walk. The sun was out sharp.

  

  All set to roll

•  8.15 am: Man Down: Within 15 mins of the climb, I was struggling.I had already taken 3 breaks and just could not walk. I have trekked in much tougher conditions, I have trekked after nightouts, I have trekked while fasting, I have trekked after long drives. So nothing in this situation was new. Infact I had slept 4 hours, had a descent breakfast and the sun wasn't that hot. This was quite worry some as we had atleast 12 hours of equally tough climb to go. I was even contemplating changing course. Both Divya and Rubens sensed my discomfort. At one point where I gave up, there was a hut 25 steps ahead. Divya took my bag and asked to to walk to the hit. By the 20th step I collapsed again. Finally in hut, we took stock. The diagnosis was indigestion and the cure was to puke it out (Dr Divya). I was fed banana and lot of fluid was pumped in. I was suggesting they 2 continue and was in a good mood to stop midway, open my sleeping bag and take a nap (a la Kamandurg). However, Divya insisted that we stick togetherand worst case, climb only Torna. We decided to carry on and decide on the plan based on my condition. Although feeling a bit better, I was still slow and taking a lot of breaks. Divya was also slow due to the steep climb and poor Rubenswas mostly walking ahead alone, clicking us and probably wondering how the 2 of us would cope the rest of the way. By now Layla had joined us. She was generally staying close to me and breaking whenever I broke. As always, I ignored her.



Never miss a chance to climb a tree - howsoever ill u are

•  9 am: Man still down: While the breaks were getting more spaced out, I was still in trouble. We had made very slow progress due to my speed. Even Layla was getting bored waiting for me. I have even worn my Shiekh outfit to beat the heat. Divya kept asking me to puke. At this time a group of 5 passed us. Through standard trekker bonding we gathered that they had the same plan. However, unlike us there guys had changed 2 STs and 1 Trax and walked a bit to reach here (no sleep). Even these guys saw my state and immediately offered medication. In a moment of desperation, I popped in 2 tablets together (1 antacid and 1 antipuke).
•  9.30 am: Man not that down: Maybe it was the double doze, maybe the banana or maybe just time,

  

  Sheikh Ali, Divya, Gang of 5 and Gunjawane dam

  but I was feeling better. My breaks were fewer and our group was almost at pace with the gang of 5. We now passed a very scenic patch where we could see the Gunjawane dam on one side and Velhe on the other and there was a lot of colorful flowers. Soon we rounded the Zunjar maachi and reached the rock patch. This was the shaded part of the climb. Besides it was rock cut steps, my preferred option. Soon, I was at pace and humming.



Welcome to Torna

•  10.30 am: Atop Torna: We reached Torna along with the group of 5. Layla was with us. A local who took down our names and our plan in a register. He told us it would be a 6 hour walk for us from here to Rajgad. We decided to continue as I felt I could go on. However, we decided to reduce the exploration and set off immediately and also to make and eat lunch enroute. We did however stop some time at the tank to fill up, at the mandir to look around and while I recovered strength, Divya and Rubens went and saw Zunjar Maachi. Considering we were headed towards Bhudala Maachi, almost all areas got covered. Rubens offered Layla some biscuits but she was hardly enthused (maybe cos Diyva licked off the cream before giving it to her). 



Racing towards Bhudala - Ridge starts to the right

•  11.15 am: We had set of to cross Torna towards the Bhudala maachi. By now, I felt completely recovered. I was racing ahead to check my self. Yes I was back. This patch was mainly flat walking. We had a beautiful view on both sides. Rajgad could be seen far away on the left, as could the ridge we had to cross. On the right, towards the back was the Gunjawane dam. Many times we had to pass through towering bushes. However the path was well

  

  The Awesome ladder patch

  defined. Intriguingly, Layla continued to follow us. By now, she had our attention. 
• 12 noon: Bhudala maachi: The group of 5 spent a bit more time exploring Torna. However, they were faster and by the time we reached Bhudala maachi at 12, they had passed us again. This was a tricky descent. There is a steep rock patch, followed by a metal ladder and another steep patch. The group ahead took a long while and so we had to wait. I enjoyed the patch. With our massive backpacks and sleeping bags, it was essential to do this patch backwards, a trick Divya has still to learn. She struggled a bit but we cleared the patch all right. When down, we looked up and saw Layla looking down on us. Clearly she could not pass the ladder patch, we bid her farewell and walked on.

2. Layla

Even before our trek began, a black dog start following us. Its usual for village dogs to follow

Layla

trekkers on the regular treks as they know they will get some food from us. I have also heard stories where these dogs act as guides when the trekkers loose their way. However, I have never had a dog follow me in my limited 25 odd treks. As i was unwell and taking a lot of breaks, the dog kept with me (we hypothesize that it could sense I was in trouble). I am not an animal lover, so my usual approach was to ignore the dog. However, it kept with all the way till top of Torna. When we opened some snacks, the dog completely ignored the food, this got us even more intrigued. We started discussing the dog and why it was with us. Divya soon highlighted that it was a female. In a moment of Claptonic inspiration, I named her Layla.

The group of 5 were more keen on acknowledging her presence and petted her a lot, whenever they passed us. Still she ignored them and stuck to us all through the walk to Bhudala maachi. We felt she would head back in due course. She was useful and showed us the correct path at a couple of places. However, at a couple of places she seemed hesitant to continue. When we reached the ladder patch, it was obviously not a patch the dog could do, so it was farewell time. However, after completing the ladder and rock patch, we hadn't walked far when we heard a thud behind, Layla had found a tricky but possible route down this patch. She was back with us. This time, there was no way back for her. This dog from Velhe was going to come end up at Rajgad some 20 kms away. We had now become a group of 4.

3. The Ridge

It was 1 pm by the time we finished the rock patch and began the ridge. Its quite a sight this ridge. One can see Rajgad at the other end and villages on both sides below. However, not a single soul or

The Ridge

Bye Bye Torna

civilisation on the entire stretch. This was the crucial part of the trek. We had taken 2 hours to reach the ledge from the Torna entrance. We now needed to cross this ridge in 4 hours to be able to hit Rajgad before darkness. The distance was 7 kms straight, but with the various hillocks we had to cross, it would be atleast 10-12 kms of walking. Secondly, it was an exposed ridge. For long distances, there was no trees or any shade. The 1 pm sun was bearing down upon us. We decided to keep walking and stop for lunch only when we couldn't keep going. Amazingly, Layla was now leading the way. Wonder how she knew where we were headed!

Finally at 1.45 pm, after half an hour of searching for a shady (my slang for shaded oh grammar Nazi's) spot to eat, hunger got the better of us and we stopped on top of a open hillock, right under the sun, for lunch. Layla had walked ahead and had to be whistled for to join us. Lunch was intended to be well made vegetable, cheese, butter and chutney sandwiches. However, in our exhaustion, we decided to skip butter and restrict the chutney to 1 slice. Lunch making was a perfect assembly line. I made the chutney and applied it on the slices, Rubens opened and put the cheese, Divya being the lady of the group (a title which was later accorded to Layla) had to cut the tomatoes and cucumber and Rubens again assembled the sandwich. We had carried ingredients for about 20 sandwiches. However, hunger levels were low. We only finished 1 loaf of bread and 1 packet of cheese and a lot of the chutney had to be thrown. Since we had not anticipated Layla's presence, all we could give her were bread slices. She ate a few without complaining. We offered her the veggies and cheese but she refused. One of the small joys of the lunch was it reduced weight on our backs. Divya was most happy since she was carrying all the veggies. We also consumed a lot of water and that was the 2nd reason for weight reduction. This, added to the fact that we were now well rested and had also taken a lot of time to eat lunch, meant that we now decided to walk fast and make ground. The group of 5 had long since disappeared ahead of us. We were expecting to pass them somewhere, since their lunch plan was more elaborate one of making fire and cooking Maggie but as we gathered later, they decided to postpone lunch until reaching Rajgad.

At 2.30 pm, we set off again, still a long part of the ridge to be crossed. Bags being lighter, stomachs being full and me being well, meant we made good ground. Its a very intuitive straight route. One has to remain on top of the ridge. Couple of places, it seemed a bit confusing but Layla guided us. The ridge has many small hillocks. Initially we were climbing and descending each. Then we discovered bypasses. Each hillock had 2 routes, one that went over it and one that went flat around it. The bypasses were off the edge and sometimes though thick bushes, but they were much easier. Layla was also happy. As soon as we discovered the bypasses, life was good. The only villager we met during this leg of the journey felt we might not be able to walk on the edge and directed us along the hillock route.

3.30 pm: The journey was going fine but water was running low. We had enough to reach Rajgad but were worried about Layla. She was visibly panting by now and also taking every opportunity to catch shade. Divya wanted to give her water but the 2 of us were unsure if we have enough to spare. Finally she prevailed and we took some water in the lid of the chutney jar (only option) and gave it to Layla. She laped it up with joy, although there was a slight tinge of the salty chutney in it. After a few laps she walked away, and so we felt she has had enough. However, within 10 mins we reach a small ditch containing water and Layla was lapping away again. This time she had her fill. Clearly, she just took enough from us to survive. This dog was indeed god sent.
We were aware that our trail would cross a road and pass one  lonely hut towards the end. So we

The Forest

were eagerly looking for both these as a sign of us getting closer. We passed through a jungle (welcome break from the sun) and many thick and tall bushes. Layla was a real nuisance in the

The tall bushes

bushes as she would suddenly stop and we would trip over her. Finally at about 4.15, the hut arrived, There sat an old lady bust with some work. She was quite bemused to see 3 trekkers with massive backpacks and a dog. At about 4.30 pm the road arrived. Its a SH that goes from one village to another. ST buses ply on it. Its at the lowest point of the ridge, so we knew that it will be a steep uphill climb from here. Just at the time, 2 villages were passing by on their bike. There 2 were again bemused to see 1 girl and 2 guys walking out of the forest with huge backpacks and a dog. They asked about us and about the dog. We really were a sight, 4 of us.

Us 4, on the road

After the road, the steep climb began and it started taking a toll on Divya. She was struggling now

Climbing again

Hello Rajgad

and both self and Rubens were edging her on. Most importantly, Rajgad was visible now. We felt it would be only 1 hillock away. But when we had to pass 3 hillocks and necessarily climb the 3rd one, Divya gave up and we had to take a 10 minute break. After this, was the last climb to the base of Rajgad. Finally some cool rock patches to climb. It was almost 5 pm now and we were happy to note that we would make the fort before darkness.
Finally at 5.30 pm we completed the climb and were now touching the Rajgad wall. We still had to round this  edge of the fort, go behind and find the path to the entrance door. However, so kicked were we with our achievement that we decided to take a nice break. Layla

Can u see Torna in b/g?

also found a nice spot to take some rest. Torna could be seen far away in the distance in her full and we were amazed that we had completed the toughest part of the trek, albeit in 6.5 hours with about 1.5 hours of stopping. An old lady coming down from Rajgad and asked us for some money. We gave her all our remaining cucumbers and tomatoes. Thus, we were even lighter now. In anticipation of the completion of this leg of the journey, a lot of water and Gatorade was consumed. We were now left with only 0.5 lit in my water pack and 1 lit emergency supply with Divya. The bags were as light as they would ever be on the trek.

4. Rajgad 

We began the last leg of the Rajgad climb at 5.45 pm and exactly at 6 pm, we reached the first darwazaa. We were entering the Sanjeevni Maachi side. Soon we were inside the massive fort. We reached a set of tanks. While there were a lot of fishes in the water, it still looked a bit murky to drink. Rubens and self freaked out in the water, almost taking a bath. The joy of hitting cold water after having walked the whole day in hot sun, is one of those to be experienced things. Poor Divya had to just watch, she catches a cold of she gets her feet wet in cold water. Self and Rubens had a nice pedicure done by all the hungry fishes in the tank. There were a set of 5 tanks but none had water we were confident of drinking. Thus, well washed, we set of towards the main part of the fort. We stopped at a hillock to watch the sun set. It was quite a pretty sight. In happiness, Divya's emergency bottle was consumed.

Until now, the only people we had seen since 11 am were the group of 5 who passed us, the 1 lone villager we found walking on the ledge, the bemused lady in the hut, the 2 men on the bike, and the lady coming down from Rajgad who had taken all our veggies.

We continued towards the main fort. It was quite a long walk and was getting dark now. Rubens being the high energy member of the group, we decided that he should go ahead and try and find a place to sleep and food to eat. Layla decided to go with him, probably she guessed that no member should be left alone.Self and Divya ambled along at the best pace we could. The main fort was still to appear. I was getting a bit worried now since we were very low on water and it was getting dark. We had to get our torches out now. Finally at about 7 pm, we saw people, loads and loads of people. We had reached Padmavati mandir. Our journey, which began at 7.45 am and involved almost 20 kms of walking / climbing, had ended, for the day atleast.

The place was packed. Later we realised that all the 4 halls were packed with people. Some people had to sleep out in the open too. Most had climbed earlier in the day and explored the fort. Some would move to Torna the next day while most would just head back to Mumbai / Pune. By the time we reached, most trekkers had already settled down for the night. Food was being cooked all around. Rubens had once again played superman of the group. Despite his lack of knowledge of Marathi, he had arranged for the food, found 2 spots to sleep and filled up some water. Divya just collapsed on reaching. Self and Rubens had our dinner, Pitle and Bhat, since the Bhaakri was over. Then we had chai, loads and loads of chai. Finally Divya woke and had some food (just as i was getting a bit worried about her). She ate only some, rest she fed Layla. We also decided to give off our 2nd loaf of bread to Layla. So among the 4 of us, she had the best meal. I managed a spot to sleep near the door. Soon Layla came and slept next to me. Later in the night, some folks tried to drive her out, be she sneaked back in snuggled back next to me again. There were many stray dogs on Rajgad that night. And most were petted by the trekkers. But only one belonged to a group and slept inside the temple. Only 1 was a trekker.

After an interrupted, disturbed but very much necessary rest, we got up at 5.45 am. Target was to climb up the Balle Killa to see the sun rise. A lot of trekking groups we waking up to explore. We set off by 6 am. Balle Killa is a fun climb. There are a lot of interesting rock patches. However, there are railings for support and so the thrill is reduced. Layla was sleeping, so we didn't bother her. We reached Balle Killa top by 6.45 am. We had missed the sun rise. But the view was awesome. We were at the highest point of the fort. There are some beautiful  water tanks on the Balle Killa. The remains of the palace are also seen here as could Torna and the ridge route. We were sitting and soaking the beauty and enormity of the place when we saw Layla coming. How she had found us on this massive fort, I don't know. But she did, and she came near us and sat. And the group was 4 again. After spending more than an hour exploring the Balle Killa and chorvat, we set of back down. 

Back in Padmavati temple at 8.30 am, we had breakfast of pohas. Most trekking groups had left by now. A few were headed to Torna (these were the 3 day plans, only us and the group of 5 had done a 2 day plan) while a few were headed back down. We met the group of 5 again. They had been in the temple all along, but we didn't spot them in the crowd. They were also headed off. They had to catch the 11 am bus to Pune from Gunjawane so they were in a hurry.

Most interestingly, as soon as we reached back in the temple, Layla disappeared. Initially we though she was hanging around outside being fed by the other trekkers. However, when we stepped out, we didn't spot her. I was anyway fretting about the farewell. We would have to take a vehicle from Gunjawane and it would be difficult if Layla had followed us till there. Once again, this dog had amazed us. How she knew that it was time for her to go off alone, I don't know. All 3 of us regret not having a proper farewell with her. I will never get my self to love an animal. But Layla is the closet it will ever come to.

At about 9.00 am, we too packed and set off for descent. We passed the Padmavati lake where tons of trekkers and revelers were having a blast (bath) and took the chor darwajaa (please note that the Gunjawane darwajaa is closed) and could see the group of 5 about 30 mins ahead of us. We decided to do a fast descent. I was worried about finding a quite transport option to Velhe and hence driving back in the evening. Night driving, after one of the toughest treks of your life ain't recommended. The descent was again good fun. There are some cool rock patches. Divya in her exhaustion gave up trying to learn reverse descending and we also didn't push her. All we wanted was to make time. And make time we did. On our way down, we met a lot if groups going up. It's interesting to see people at different speeds and gauge who will be in trouble reaching up.

At 10.50 am we reached Gunjawane village. We had completed the descent in about 1.5 hours. On inquiry, we were told that the Pune ST is about to leave and that can drop us half way to Velhe. We just managed to catch the bus. The group of 5 were not in it. They would have probably got an earlier vehicle. The bus dropped us at Magrasani, where, within 5 minutes, we got a Trax to Velhe. My fear of delays in getting transport to Velhe had been unfound. By 12, we were at my car at Velhe. We all changed and also had a good time washing up at the well (cold water after a sun soaked trek). By 12.15, we had set of towards Mumbai. I have a tradition of carrying a Dairy Milk Silk to all my treks. This we open to celebrate the trek when we have reached up. However, this time, we forgot about the chocolate on Rajgad and could only remember it while descending. So, as decided, we celebrated in the car. Ofcouse, we couldn't finish the chocolate and had to carry some back home. Another first in my treks.

Superman Rubens

We had lunch enroute and took the scenic NH4 to Pune and from there, the expressway to Mumbai. By 5 pm (less than 48 hours), we had dropped Divya at Kanjurmarg and were home. This trek will remain in my memory for the shear endurance we put in, for what we managed to do, for Divya's leadership, for Rubens boundless energy and enthusiasm, for my bout of illness and finally for Layla.

The politics of development

Starting with the standard disclaimers... below are my views based on my half baked research, knowledge and gut feel. Hopefully there are no factual gaps. If you wish to disagree, please do it in a civil manner.

Bihar goes to polls next week and a lot of us are keenly watching these elections. The opinion that the Nitish government has performed is almost unanimous. Will this help them win a 2nd term, we have to see. One might say it was easier for Nitish, considering that the state was rock bottom in the development index. However, I would differ. The culture of the state towards lack of government ownership to development was amazing; even faking news acknowledges this. Getting this state machinery moving is some task. My personal opinion is that not only will the JD-U win, it will win handsomely. And this is in no measure due to the BJP. And despite fighting alone, Congress will gain seats. This is the beginning of the end of Lalu.

However, my opinions aside, if JD-U indeed does better and Lalu poorly, it will be an epic result in Indian democracy. It will firmly establish that the politics of development works and Indian polity has matured, right from Gujarat to Bihar. And that my friends is the best news one can hear. As the shrewd Indian politician will realise that no longer can he be reelected on vote bank politics, or by dividing the people on caste and religion or by making smart coalitions. Instead, all he needs to do is some work and bring some development.

The trend started with Delhi and Gujarat, both states where the incumbent has taken a 3rd term recently. Delhi is case in point. It was a BJP state in early 90s, much before the NDA was formed. However, since 1998 its been Congress all the way. In the last assembly, Shiela Dixit won 42 of the 70 odd seats, no mean feat for 2 time incumbent, in an urban and bipolar state, where the opposition is strong. Clearly she is riding the metro wave. I will not be very surprised if she gets a 4th term too. A lot of work has happened in the CWG and corruption allegations apart, the people seem happy with the government.

Modi may have won his 2nd term (he had inherited an incumbent government already) due to his politics of religion, but no one can deny his next victory to be a result of the development the state has seen under him. A lot of people who have been to Gujarat in last 2-3 years, swear by the highways, the power situation, the business environment, the lack of bureaucratic hassles etc. A lot of industry is enthusiastically moving to Gujarat. No denying that the opposition in this (yet another) bipolar state is weak, but that's again something Modi can take credit for.

Even Naveen Patnaik's second term, despite breaking off with the BJP, stinks (for want of a better word) of a state voting back a government that worked.

The evidence is too stark and wide ranging for any astute politician to miss. I hope it has made some impact already. It's debatable as to weather we are already seeing this in the policies of some state governments (TN and Haryana are examples I can hazard). However, I so wish I am right on this one. Maybe the time has come for the politics of development in the Indian democracy. Quite a refreshing change that would be, right?

My generation

I am a youth of the 21st century
I only see what's in my face

I have a shot attention span
And love the media for manipulating this

I have opinions on all issues,
as under thought and under researched as they may be
After all Ignorance is bliss

And who has time after PS3

I believe in presentation over substance
after all its so easy to judge it
who will dig the fact when all one does
Is applaud and go home and forget

I believe online petitions n good intentions change the world
since they are so convenient to do

Its better than cribbing from my armchair
which also i love to do

I generally take out my frustration on innocent call center execs
and any other meek around
And believe consumption is the solution
To everything that's sad and unsound

I am the youth of the 21st century
there is so much I wish to do
but then, all I can do is write this poem
because I Suck, honestly I do!

of consumption and the environment

Some thoughts that have been churning in my head since a while now, think this a good forum to voice them

A lot of us are aware about our environment and do our bit in trying to sustain it. I used to hold the elitist view that the urban educated upper middle class is most environmentally conscious but this view has since changed. Infact, unintentionally as it may be, I feel that we are the biggest culprits.
The charge that I levy against all of us is unchecked consumerism and consumption. Please do not misunderstand, I am not proposing that we all give up our indulgences and live an austere lifestyle. However, we certainly need to check our consumption.

How much of what we purchase do we throw? Every object that we purchase has consumed some natural resource. That apart, there are always a few byproducts in the production process. And the most criminal of all, completely wasteful packaging. I have never understood why corporations give so much packaging. In many cases, 90% of the packing is waste, only 10% is protecting the product and keeping it perfect for consumption. Chocolates are the biggest culprits (industry wise) in this area. There seems to be an unfortunate perception that the bigger the brand, the more elaborate the packaging should be. Even something as simple as a shirt comes with equal lengths of paper and plastic.

The point I am trying to make is that every single consumption is impacting the environment. This does not imply we stop consuming. But can we please be more measured in our consumption. What is the point of having one car per family member, that too in a city like Mumbai, with its public transport? Shopping to improve one’s mood should be a crime punishable by law (kidding). And just how weak is your constitution that you need mineral water in Mumbai? Do you actually need a new mobile every 6 months? The idea is to buy and consume what one genuinely wants (and one has every right to want a Europe holiday or a bigger car or an AC in the living room) and what one will genuinely utilize. Any article that will be not be used adequately should be avoided. Another idea is, given a choice, to prefer articles which are less packaging intensive. Once the corporations see this preference, they will automatically look for more innovative, less wasteful solutions. Another area is the wasteful Indian culture of gift giving. Most of the gift giving is pure formality and leads to passing around of useless articles which are finally junked. Why can’t we all move to vouchers and wish lists?

I am not trying to start a revolution here. Nor do I intend to preach. I may be more guilty of the above charge that a lot of you. However, it is an idea that is worth a though. Please consider the above and make your choice. If each one avoids an avoidable consumption, we would have probably prevented production of 1 additional object and helped sustain resources longer.

5 stages of flab

You, yes you. Don’t look away. This article is addressed to you too. If you don’t agree, then you are in stage three. If you are perspiring now then you are in stage 1. Or you were just a fat kid. Anyway here is the intro…

Ladies and gentlemen, all the great writers in the world have analysed and taken apart every worthy topic under the sun. From glass ceilings to breaking up of the Joint family; from US policy towards Pakistan to owning a car. Every topic has been taken apart from the analytical, logical, psychological, spiritual and every other ‘cal’ level. This leaves nothing from us newbies.
Or does it…. There is one very relevant issue that I have really not read much about.

I have given this issue great though (those enormous hours looking blankly at the computer screen at work) and deep analysis. I have spent hours interviewing candidates in each stage. (Ok, so I have just discussed the weather with people who I now assign to these stages, but what the hell). I think I have done enough due diligence to this topic (for those who know me well, u know what I mean, basically I just thought it up as I wrote)
So here goes…
The 5 stages of flab (Any resemblance to any other 5 stages is just a figment of your fertile imagination)

Please note that while the stages are arranged in a logical and chronological order, some people may skip a certain stage and also move between stages for a while

Stage 1: Panic
The first stage. You are young and fit and popular, life’s good. Shopping is so much fun. Then one day it hits you. You notice a small layer of flab. Very soon your favourite pair of jeans doesn’t fit as well. You do the only logical thing, Panic!!
This stage is characterized by detailed investigation of your torso in front of the bathroom mirror, pinching of body parts, constant self awareness and immediate change in dress sense. It is also characterized by an aversion to going shopping. It’s a good time for men whose wives have reached this stage.
Our analysis reveals that this is the most traumatic stage with extreme cases even contemplating suicide. This stage almost always leads to stage 2

Stage 2: Action
The most dynamic and physical stage, also the most pointless one. It is a stage characterized by gym memberships, morning jogs, long walks, crunches, visits to the sports store and such other needless activities. Many a diets are put in place, lot of analysis done, lot of goggling done.
This is the most taxing stage on both the body as well as the purse. Not only money wasted on gym gear, diet food and the likes but the high level of optimism also results in renewed enthusiasm to shop and in the erstwhile sizes.
The smart ones don’t stay in this stage long. But some idiots just don’t get it.

Stage 3: Denial
This is the most human stage. Any psychologist will tell u about the denial stage in any psychological disorder (yes yes, that’s what it is… not a physical problem, but the psychological issue in dealing with the physical change). People believe that by denying their flab to themselves in public, it will go away. Some actually believe that it’s not a fat at all. A subject once told me it was just Gas!!
This stage is actually a sub-stage of stage 2. It is characterized by weird social behaviours. One starts pinching his flab in public places. One is also caught staring at other peoples obesity. Experts attribute this to the human tendency of trying to feel better by looking at other people being worse off (now there is a term for this but I don’t know it, ask the experts)
Some people attain temporary happiness in this stage. They are able to convince themselves on the absence of any additional adipose deposition in their body. Out, come the old tight fitting clothes again. Ofcourse, all this while, all the pointless actions of stage 2 are continuing.
This stage lasts quite long. After all, it will take time and effort to fool yourself. People are generally alternating between stage 2 and 3 for a while.

Stage 4: Learn to live with it
This is the stage which most people reach into after spending quite a while in stages 2 and 3 (the smart ones get there earlier though). It’s a state of acceptance or defeat (depending on your outlook). I would equate it to a 3-4 year old relationship. You have tried to change your partner, it won’t happen. Just accept your fate.
This stage is characterized by some smart decisions like buying clothes your size, cutting down on the diet and blowing lesser money on the gym.
At the start of this stage, the crunches go down in count and in severity, gym visits become less frequent and you break your “no desserts” promise more often. Gradually life goes back to the pre flab days. Of course it’s just not the same. Whenever you see someone working out you feel guilty. Eating a calorie loaded dessert will never be as much fun now. Ever shopping trip is a grim reminder that you are growing. If you had once wish in life …. you get the drift.

Stage 5: Self actualization
Contrary to conventional wisdom, not many people reach this stage. Most get stuck in stage 4. However, this stage is the state of highest happiness and nirvana. It is the stage all of us must aspire to get into. This stage is characterized by complete acceptance and a genuine love for your flab. I have an ex colleague S who to put it mildly has not seen his toes in years. However, the only thing S likes more than his food is his drinks (please to be noting the Plural). S epitomizes this stage. He is a married man and, as all married men would certify, his wife certainly nags him about his paunch. But S loves it. He feels it goes well with his larger than life personality. He loves the way it jiggles when he walks. He loves the way kids cling to him mistaking him for a teddy bear. S is self actualized. The biggest difference between him and a person in stage 4 is he enjoys his desserts without any guilt. He is happier.

So there you have it, the 5 stages. Now you can grow fat in peace.

recycling

while we work on the new stuff, here's recycling some of my preblog days writings... generally for footage

next 2 articles are among my personal favs... for diff reasons...

why i will go for the commonwealth games

Ever since the day I declared my intent to go and watch the Common Wealth Games, a lot of friends have been looking at me strangely and some have frankly told me so. Clearly the event preparations have left a lot to be desired but its more clear to me now that we are a media puppet generation that feeds and reacts to all that is shown without bothering to see the bigger picture or the complete fact (a la peepli). There is no denying that there has been a lot of hanky panky (i am aware of it since 2 years now, when my colleague was trying to sell some paint into a CWG project site) and a lot of people need to be taken to task. However, all that can and will wait... its time now to go and watch the games.
Here is the reasons why I will go and watch the games in Delhi. Please note that Jingoism is consciously not part of any reason. Hopefully, some of these reasons will appeal to you and you will join me at watching the games. The reasons are in ascending order of priority

1. Infrastructure: A lot has been done to make the city ready for the games. I am really looking forward to viewing the T3, the complete metro line, the CWG lanes etc. Delhi infra is closer to first world now and I really hope mumbai catches up. Until then, I will go and enjoy the Delhi infra.
2. Celebrating Sport: Not really an original concept, but sport is a brilliant invention. It keeps us humans competitive without hatred, occupied without destruction, happy without making anyone else sad. Sport is a solution to world peace. It needs to be celebrated, and so we will.
3. This is a once in a life time event. I lot of us (who can afford) go and watch sport across the world. Its ironical that we choose to ignore it when it happens in our own backyard. And quality sport at that. 
4. Volunteers and organisers: Baring some bad apples, a lot of effort and planning has gone into making this event. Thousands of organisers have toiled away. Many volunteers have contributed with their time and effort into making this a smooth and successful event. I can only imagine the scale and extent of the effort required to make an event of this proportion. As someone who really enjoys event organising, and who has experienced the high one gets, when ones event is a success, I wish to contribute to all these organisers and volunteers getting their high.
5. Last but not the least , the athletes: These athletes have toiled away for years to be as good in their sport. They are extraordinary humans for their skill. They certainly deserve to be cheered and applauded for their skill. I for one have been a very loud critic of our nations one track obsession with limited over cricket at the expense of murdering all other sports (and domestic cricket and test cricket). Events like these, that encourage so many sportpersons are wonderful opportunities to make amends.

religion

god made man,

man made religion

religion created conflicts

religion led to wars

religion created atheism

religion made science more determined

religion shapes mans decisions and destiny

religion is the opium of the masses

does man need religion?

man needs religion

The Zandu Balm Conundrum

Recently a song from the movie Dabaang is making waves. However, many people are confused about a particular line in the song. It goes like this

 'Munni Badnam hui, darling tere liye

Mein Zandu Balm hui, darling tere liye'

A lot of people are asking the question as to what does the 2nd line mean. While it may seem to be an illogical line, added to build rhyme (and probably controversy), I believe that this is one of the finest examples of poetry in recent times. If you don't believe me, here I have tried to give a few interpretations to the question "What does, 'Mein Zandu Balm Hui' mean?" Clearly, these are only a few that my meager intellectual faculties could conjure up. A more evolved analysis could lead to a few more interpretations to this immensely deep concept

Mein Zandu Balm Hui can be interpreted at various levels

1. At the literal level, the poet (that's mallika arora khan) wants to metamorphize into an ointment for her beau
2. At the figurative level, the poet wishes cure to cure all pains of her beau like an ointment would
3. At the socioeconomic level, it again shows the power to the free markets... the harried person seeks a cure for all his pains and has it ready in the light of a dancing hot poet for some cash... demand-supply at work
4. At the psychological level, this speaks of the poets desire to go to any lengths to impress a special someone, probably reflective of a deprived childhood or parenting issues
5. At the medicinal level, it eulogizes the amazing healing properties of the Zandu Balm
6. At the theosophical level, it again brings to fore the power of faith. Faith in Zandu Balm is a cure for all pains, a la faith in the almighty.

So as you can see, this line is very deep poetry which could have many connotations. One should not dismiss it as cheap, footage inducing lyrics alone. Next time you hear the song, give it some more respect and admire the depth of the poets statements. And do remember this analysis of mine!

the mind wanders

you are in a deep conversation
the other is talking away
your head, its nodding
but the mind, it wanders

the activity requires concentration
u need to understand it well
there is a need to focus
but the mind, it wanders

he is a vagabond
he is a creator
he is an explorer
the mind, when it wanders

many a beautiful sights n sounds, he creates in though
many a ideas he germ's
many a desires he gives birth and nurtures
let the mind wander

why do we climb

everyone climbs for a reason
whether they know it or not

some climb for the thrill,
to escape the drudgery of life

some climb for the journey,
for all the things it brings

some climb cos its destiny,
and some for the destination


some choose to climb
while some seem to have no choice

and some just climb!
because, its the only thing to do

so go find ur reason
the reason that makes u climb

and go climb ur mountain
the mountain we call life

how i wish time stood still

how i wish time stood still
as i chatted away my crush
as i partied with my friends
that time when i had a blood rush

how i wish time stood still
when i was having a good time
when i was at my happiest
when i was in my prime

there are many moments u wish remained
more so cos they didnt
the only thing constant is change
so time to get moving with it

blood rush

morning glory

morning brings hope, morning beings optimism
morning brings bad breadth, and all things in it

morning brings light, morning brings clarity
morning ushers a new day to wake up and fight away

morning gets the cock crowing, morning gets the birds chirping
morning gets the rag pickers hustling, morning gets the railway platforms bustling

morning gets me bloging, and some people jogging
why oh why does the morning come, cant we just let the nightmare run!

Loss of Innocence

When do we stop trying
When do we start accepting

When do we stop finding newer things to do
When do we become slaves to routine

When do we stop accepting things at face value
When do we start doubting intentions

When do we stop seeing things for what they are
When does our vision get blurred by prejudices

When do things cease to be black and white
When do we start justifying the greys

When do we stop being objective
When do wonderful things start becoming objects

When do we stop admiring beauty
When does attraction turn to lust

When do we stop being sincere
When does hypocrisy set in

When do we stop constructing
When do we start deconstructing

When do we lose our innocence
When oh when does a child become a person

Tagore's poem

The most beautiful poetry/prayer, we learnt in school. Since I remember it one completely and this is an apt time, here goes

Where the mind is without fear, and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Were the world has not been broken up, into fragments by narrow domestic walls

Where words come out, from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving, stretches its arms, towards perfection

Where the clear stream of reason, has not losts its way, into the deary desert of dead habit
Where the mind is lead forward by you, into ever widening thought n action

Into that Heaven of freedom, my Father, let my Country arise

Rabindranath Tagore

the ones I will not punch

for the uninitiated, please refer to the earlier 2 posts in the topic

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=339305695976
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=400257920976

Current times are very frustrating. There are so many one wants to punch real hard in the face. However, this being Ramadan, the month of abstinence, patience and most importantly forgiveness, I will speak about the one I really want to, but will not punch in the face hard

1. Our hot favourite, Suresh Kalmadi, the most famous beard on this side of the Suez... not for his recent commonwealth misadventures, no sir, nor for his 14 years of ruining the IOA... but for his wonderful organisation Sai Service, that has serviced my car well for almost 4 years now. Just for that Mr Kalmadi, you are spared a punch.

2. Amar Singh, gaali ka kutta, na ghar ka na ghat ka, from being king maker in UP to a no takers politician suddenly realising his thakur roots, I pity his sad life, and hence will not punch him.

3. Arnab Goswami: Yes yes, he is that screeching lady in the 9 pm news that my father loves watching, much to mine and moms irritation. Yes, he has taken English news to the depths of Hindi news. Yes he has made a non entity like Suhel Seth into an expert of the highest order. However, I forgive him, since he is from Assam and i have found most people from the North East of a very pleasant disposition. So for his region, he survives.

4. Mamta Bannerjee: Why give her yet another opportunity to blame the left. I dont like those guys enough. Besides I am scared that her new found maoist friends may come after me. Momtadi, you may continue to ruin the railways and the social fabric of Bengal with your single point obsession of becoming the CM, I will not punch you.

5. Mayawati: Not for her spineless politics, not for all her statues, but for the fact that if I punch her, it may get constituted as atrocity against backward caste and violence against women (while she may be a disgrace to both)... thence

of reunions and social networking

Recently, there was one more failed attempt at doing a reunion of my engineering class. Having attempted it earlier, I was very cynical. However, I was still looking forward to it happening and had planned my day accordingly. Alas this one didn't take off. Only 5-6 people were finally turning up. Its a very standard affair with these engineering reunions. The junta in the states will always responds, maybe cos they really miss catching up with classmates or since they have the most genuine excuse. Then it is the regular 4-5 punters who turn up every time. Rest dont bother.

22nd may was the Mumbai leg of Anusmaran, the annual reunion of IIMB. Its been 5 years since we left campus and exactly 5 of the batch of 200 (atleast 50 are in town) turned up to celebrate the occasion. Clearly recession is over... last year we had a lot of networkers turning up! As one good friend of mine, who is a keen networker and quite social, justified to me in the morning, 'Jin se contact rakna hai, ho jata hai. Baki se milne me no enthu'

I quite enjoy reunions. Its a great joy for me to bump into long lost friends at reunions and catch up on their life. Have attended every one of those held of my Engg and MBA college. Just missed a recent school reunion.

Hence, it quite disappoints me when well planned unions fail to get a turn out. Also makes me wonder why and what can be done to turn this around.

Clearly the internet and Social networing have played their part. I had lost touch with all but 2 classmates from school. Now, most are on my friend list and we even have a community of our own. Atleast 10 wished me on my birthday recently. Have caught some movies with a few off late.

So while social networking may have played its part in connecting long lost friends, it may also be contributing to the reduced interest in meeting

However, i feel that the most important factor is the bandwagon effect. (This is one of the rare terms of Kotler that I actually internalised). Most people want to be a part of a fun, successful event. They ask their cool friends. Each one is waiting for someone else they like to say he is going. Chicken n egg, and in the end, no one goes.

Bandwagon is also responsible for the rise and fall of social networking. In 2005, Orkut was cool (in India). By 2007, facebook came in. Today, its twitter. I remember a friend of mine telling me, orkut is so lame, facebook is cool. Of late, people say the same of fb and twitter (which really is nothing much than 1 feature of fb, if u ask me). As someone who has active friends in all 3 places, let me tell u that I still know a lot of very cool people (some of my coolest trek friends) who are very active on orkut and dislike facebook. Similar with twitter. Clearly, it is not interface or functionality. It is pure and simple bandwagon. I will be active where people bother to acknowledge my activity. People who I want to network with have to be there. That's that! Interface is just an excuse.

Today Twitter is the rage, tomorrow it would be lame. Since, I have always been about a year late on these phenomenons, I might begin to appreciate it then. Anyway, the point here is not to say which is better, it is to say that all parameters of cool and lame are just based on which people we know are active where.

So in summary, its not social networking that is killing reunions, but bandwagon effect that is determining the success of both! Now you know, doesn't make an earth shattering difference to your life, carry on doing what you were, before you read this!

the avchitgad misadventure

After 2 earlier failed attempts, we finally planned to set of to Avchitgad on Saturday 24th July. It was a group of 7. Dhruwin was most keen and the first to confirm. There was a small period of time when pratik wasn't sure of joining and I was shuddering at the though of taking my Alto, instead of his Verna. Anyway all that worked out and the 7 member group was locked in by Thursday night.

Avchitgad is a fort in Roha taluka off NH17. It is a simple trek and we planned to climb from Meda village. Having planned the trek earlier, albeit as just an initial plan, and due to a very hectic week in office, I couldn't research much. However, I managed to get the necessary maps to the base village in place. Having heard that this is a simple trek, and having a high energy group, I didn't bother reading up on the trek route etc (assuming others would). Infact, so confident was I of the trek that I even planned a 2nd trek for the day if this one finished on schedule.

By Friday, I had arranged food in the base village (Meda) and we were all set. Or so it seemed. It had poured the previous day and Konkan was in disarray. Kundali river had overflowed and NH17 was shut for 3 hours. The train schedule was in a mess. Dipak pinged me on friday to check if I was taking a train. Anyway, the only effect of the Thursday chaos we saw were some major pot holes on NH17, some really swelled up rivers, heavy rainfall and thankfully, lesser traffic. We started almost on time, despite Prachi's best efforts. Mayank was the only person in the group who hadn't trekked in a while and so it was only his fitness I was worried about.

swelled up river ... anyone??

Adventure began immediately on starting when I realised I had forgotten the maps back home. Since it was a simple route, and we had Pratik's wonderful GPS console, we carried on and found Medha village without to much hassle. We took the Nagothane exit and then the Roha-Murud road. For this we had to cross an old dilapidated single way bridge over a swelling river and I made a mental note to avoid this route on the way back. The Roha-Murud road is a wonderful drive through a ghat we were soon in a mini Malshej with many beautiful small waterfalls around us. Finally we passed a waterfall we couldn't resist and stopped to check it out.

Checking out the fall

In Meda village, we met our hosts the Chandanes, told them to keep food ready by 2 and then parked and set off. We were advised to take a local along but decided otherwise, a decision I cribbed about many times during the day. The thing about trekking with 6 people who know its a pilot is that all are in a high state of excitement. Every local is asked directions and each member individually. Most interesting is Pratik, he is most keen to know how much time will we take to reach and would even ask this question to a tree if he didnt get find any new person to ask every 5 mins (Bart Simpson anyone). Anyway, after one local was piled on 2 times by groups of 3, we set off on what seemed like a narrow jungle path. The summary input was to climb up to the pass and then turn right towards the fort (a nobrainer considering the straight path was a descent into another village). After the initial hiccups, we were on course and soon hit the pass and turned right. We were clearly on the right track and also saw some arrows. By now, it was pouring cats and dogs but that apart, we had no other qualms.
However, soon the problems began. The road kept got flat and kept going on straight and the fort was clearly on our right a bit higher up. It seemed like we were circumnavigating the fort from the outside. We clearly had to turn right somewhere and were getting impatient at not getting a proper route. We decided to turn back and look for a turn, now to our left. Finally we found some weak routes and in our keenness to reach up climb one which looked most promising. After 5 minutes of what Dhruwin describes as "andha dhundi climbing" (climb towards ur destination, irrespective of there being a path) we reached a clearing and finally saw the fort wall. We had reached a dead end. This wall was built to stop much more nimble footed soldiers from scaling the fort. However, me and Dhruwin still tried to climb with without any success. We were now at our wits end. So near and yet so far. We just could not spot the entrance. There was a thought of camping here for a while and then heading back. Even the Dairy Milk Silk (which is generally reserved for atop or post descent) was removed and finished off. I took out my cell from its multi layer rain protection and called Dipak, since he had done the climb one month earlier. However, since I couldn't explain him my location, he couldn't help. Then I called our hosts, and luckily they figured where we are and gave us the correct advise. We had to continue going on the right of the fort and the entrance would come. From our position, we had to walk through thick bushes to reach the path again. We set off fighting through the thorny bushes. I kept to the back of the group, and soon heard a cry up front, "rasta mil gaya, arrow mil gaya." Soon were were at the entrance of the fort. The 1 hour climb had taken us 3.

It took us an hour to explore the massive fort. We found a lot of water tanks, temples, and finally the went to the spot we had lost hopes at. Despite the inclement weather, some pics were taken.

the multicoloured water tanks

the gang atop - no idea whats in store ahead

At about 3 pm, we began descending. Timekeeper Pratik decided that we should be down by 4 pm and no one disagreed. As with the whole trip so far, I sent Dhruwin up front and took the rear. It was going to be a simple descent, we had to just follow the arrows. Or so we thought!!!

Everyone was keen to know where we had lost our way. After all we had encountered arrows enroute and also at the end. Logically we kept descending along the arrow route. For a while we couldn't hit our ascent route. The fleeting though that we might be going the wrong way did occur to me and I also expressed it a couple of time. However, we concluded that we would descend within 50 meters of our starting point. Soon Dipak called to check if all was well. I also got a couple of SMSes. In all this confusion, I kept my cell in the pocket of my wind cheater. By now it was raining real hard (in case of any doubts on how hard, please read the papers of the last 3 days, Konkan is still disrupted and the railway has all but shut down). Mayank was feeling the descent and his knees were in a mess. I was most eager to reach down to end his agony. However, the route was completely different. Finally, we reached a clearing where we could see the hexagonal lake and pointed temple, which we had spotted next to our base village.Only problem was there was also a gushing river next to it. No one remembered the river but again we concluded that it would have sprung up due to all the rain. After all, how many villages have a hexagonal lake and a pointed temple!! Clearly, we had almost reached and the village was just behind the hillock on our left. By now every small altitude change was a big effort for Mayank and for his sake, I was really rooting for the descent to end.

If the river seemed like a small impediment initially, it turned into a major pain later. Our route directly ended into the river and there was nowhere else to go. At this point, there was a sinking feeling that we are lost and the arrows had been a fraud. Thankfully, we could see some villagers about a km away and so this seemed to be the logical route. However, try convincing your mind to cross a raging river when there is no visible path ahead.Here I took the lead and as all were looking, just started walking in. Soon wise sense prevailed and we formed a human chain and crossed. Clearly the river was not deep, but the force of the water was sufficient to drag us downstream.

A big sense of relief hit us after crossing the river as we again saw the arrows. This was clearly the route and we were not very far now. More importantly, it was flat walking from here on and we just had to round the hillock on our left. At 4.15 pm we were almost there. As always, we piled on the first villager we saw and asked directions (just to confirm). However, the lady seemed stunned and told us the village was very far back and to our right. She looked drunk and so we decided to go ahead and ask more people. All seemed to say the same. We concluded that all were drunk! None of us could believe that the village could be at the back and to the right. However, 20 different people cannot give wrong directions. Gradually it emerged that we were about 5-7 kms from Meda. Roha was 3 kms from our location. Some good villagers advised us to walk towards Roha and take a vehicle to Meda. I detected a few of them smirking when we asked directions. But I still couldnt reconcile to the fact that we were this lost. How could we be. By now, I was very pissed. I was clearly responsible for this trek and because of my lack of homework and alertness, we were in trouble. Thats not all, my cell was conked off due to the rain. We couldnt contact our hosts since only I had the number. There was no transportation options visible for miles. Abhishek was hit by a bout of sinus, Prachi was tired. Mayank's knees were a mess. There was no option but to reach Meda and fetch our cars. Also the poor hosts had prepared fod for 7 hungry trekkers. That had to be done justice to. Pratik who had been struggling all through the descent, suddenly became the cheerleader of the group. He pumped us all and decided that himself, dhruwin and I would run (yes run) ahead toward Roha and try and get some transport back, while the rest 4 walked behind. We ran for about a km, again much the amusement of the villagers. Pratik kept stopping at intervals to do his 'how far is it' routine. Finally after some running, brisk walking, give up walking and plenty of timekeeping, we reached Roha. We would have walked about 30 minutes to reach Roha. The trailing group was about a km behind us. Once again it hit me that they only have my number and my cell has conked. My sparking brilliance had overshadowed all proceedings. So I waited at the intersection while Pratik and Dhruwin went ahead to fetch an auto or 2. By the time the trailing group caught up, we had found 2 autos.

All lingering doubts I had on our location were settled. As confirmed later, we had descended on the wrong side of the pass. We were thus in a village on the other side of the fort. We were miserably lost and 7 kms from Meda. I got into my apologetic mode but was quite surprised to see all folks extremely happy. The adventure of getting lost, crossing the river and finding out way had been much more fun than a simple descent. Finally at 5.30 pm we reached Meda and rushed to eat without even changing. The wonderful lady (Mrs Chandane) showed us some sympathy and again reminded us that we had not heeded her advise of taking a local.  There is something about Prachi and village ladies. All of them start wanting to adopt her, teach her marathi and make her an ideal home maker. In the last trek, she had made Bhakri with the village lady. Here to she was in the kitchen discussing cost of living etc with her. Abhishek was clearly interested in the food alone.
 
Food time

I have always been biased towards village food, but that this food was phenomenal was a consensus. Dhruwin who is a vetran of 48 treks was most impressed. He has never eaten in the village. People had cribbed to me initially for arranging veg food, but I believe that was one (rare) wise decision I had made for the day. We had vatana sabzi, tandul roti, gehu roti, varan bhaat, salad and papad. The first time village eaters like Dhruwin and Mayank were stunned to contentment. The rest were just blissfully happy.

After the wonderful meal, we changed into dry clothes, had chai, thanked and paid our hosts profusely (as kudva said, screw the market) and set off. Driving was again a problem. Noone wanted Pratik to drive, as usual. Mayank gave up. Abhishek was looking dead (Sinus and then the subsequent medication). But he bravely decided to drive and I took the other car. All wet shoes n socks were packed into the boot and both car boots would have been smelling for days. While we avoided the rickety bridge on the way back, the pot holes on NH17 were tougher to miss. Night driving on this road after an exhausting trek is no walk in the park. But we managed. I gave up at Panvel and Pratik finally got to drive his car. On the way back, again we messed up as noone still had each others no. Inter car commmunication was a problem. Dhruwin kept us entertained by telling us more stories of his getting lost on treks. Finally it dawned to me that he was the reason and nothing else! We got home by 10 pm. It was an adventure I would not forget for a while. This blog will serve as a reminder when we converted a simple short trek into something memorable, albeit unintentionally.

Learnings for the day
1. Use your brains and do not keep your cell in your pocket during rains.
2. Most villages have a hexagonal lake and pointed temple
3. Dhruwin loves loosing the way, dont keep him in the front
4. Do not hoard on the groups mobile nos, share.
5. Even if its a simple trek, do your homework and stay alert.
6. If you take a right while going up, you must turn left when going down
6. Getting lost is awesome fun.

a few new definitions

1. bottleneckomania (n): the uncanny ability of an otherwise not so bright mumbai driver to identify the narrowest part of the road to park his car in, thereby creating a beautiful bottleneck

2. hourglassophelia (n): the irritating habit of some jokers of destroying the beautiful work done above by parking their car bang opposite there by creating an hour glass tube


3. shibu sorened (v): what happens when ones best laid plans of checkmating family and taking a bigger role go so wrong that one has to also sacrifice their current posts

any resemblence to any current politician is genuine and purely intentional

4. gadkari (v): the ability to act humble and bow down much lower than your girth can sustain in order to survive as the president of a fraction ridden party

5. Shijoitis (n): the ability to analyse the most trivial of topics and with a minimum 1000 word summary that can scare off the most patient reader

6. Bawagiri (n): the habit of publicizing every small event in life to make it appear as the days breaking news with the sole intention of grabbing footage
Alternate definition
Bawagiri (n): the irritating habit of nagging all and sundry into joining in on ones very ambitious weekend plans and giving them loads of grief on any response other than yes

The Glorious 90's

Recently, while on a drive cum trek, 3 of our gang of 4 were my age. I played my famous best off 90s CD and all three of us sang along. The 4th Guy (18 year old) was just bored. Got me thinking on weather everyone loves the decade they grow up in or is this restricted to us lucky few who got the chance to grow up in the wonderful 90s. Does everyone have difficulty letting go? Is one always biased bout his times being the best?

I personally am convinced that the 90's were the best years to grow up in. I realise the bias in my view. However, let me give you some objective evidence to support my claim. Do feel free to lambast, rip apart, reinforce etc, but in brief.

1. Economy: 
After the gloom of the 80's, the 90's brought hope, the economy opened up... middle class had some money to spend. This was however restricted and the over exuberance of 2000's wasn't there. McDonald's was still a premium brand and a mall still aspirational. A Levis was something to be worn on your birthday and I still remember enjoying my first can of Pepsi for 30 minutes.

2. Television: 
Doordarshan was at its programming best. Also, came the satellite television boom. Programming standards would have only improved since but then again there is too much clutter in the 2000's. Even average programs of that decade like 'Stone boy' remain etched in our memory. The legendary ones like Surabhi will always be revered. Indian private television media was born out of NDTV's 'World this Week. Election coverage saw a new revolution. There was average amount of good television compared to today's good amount of average television. We can even recollect the good commercials of the time. Ask someone to recall an ad from 2005 now.

3. Music:
Undoubtedly the shining star of the decade. 90's positively had the best music. After a very average 80's (how many 80s numbers do u hear on the radio in a month?) 90s got back with a bang. While 70s music is also in a class of its own, what strikes out in the 90s is also the variety. 1990 saw the debut of A R Rahman, of whom, I don't need to say much, except that his freshest n best work came in that decade.
After the false starts of the 80's, 90's also saw the the real start of the indi pop (Baba Sehegal ki jai) and indi rock thanks to MTV and the satellite television. There was finally a platform for the talented musicians who didn't want to do bollywood. Brilliant bands like Euphoria, Silk Route etc came to the fore apart from a large number of one-hit wonders. The Indian rocker got his opportunity (which has finally manifested into success in the next decade). We got a flavour of Pakistani music. English music was no longer restricted to MJ's Thriller. One negative aspect was the rise n rise of bhangda music. Anyone and everyone who knew Punjabi or had set foot in a London pub was suddenly trying to cut an album. Thankfully, only the talented survived.

4. Games:
Growing up in the 90s was the best of both worlds. Television had arrived and thrived but was not all pervasive. Play station did not exist and Attari was not as good. We had enough motivation to go out and play. There weren't enough parks and very few building had its own swimming pool and garden. It was find your own space and make your own game (I never learnt to hit the ball on the leg side and our compound had none). Education was not that cut throat. No day was complete without 2 hours playing down, even if it was the exam week. Kids today don't have the time or inclination to enjoy playing Lagoori, Sankali, Dabba I Spies, Chor police etc. These games built character like no play station ever could.

5. Movies: 
Cant say that the best cinema was made in the 90's. That would be untrue. However, the decade did allow for some flexibility in main stream. Finally the hero could be flawed, the heroine could wear short clothes (thank you Urmila) and not every movie had a villain to be bashed up in the end. Yash Chopra took us all over Europe and Bollywood was suddenly big time into tourism. I would say that a lot of the variety seen in cinema of the 2000's came about due to the small risks taken in the 90's.

6. Fashion: 
No one will dispute this point. After the Bell bottoms of the 70s and the tight white trousers n white shoes of the 80s, the 90s was a big relief. Except for a short craze for pyjamas and shiny leather pants, it was basic denims and floaters. I don't think a lot of us will look back at our childhood and teenage snaps and cringe like our seniors would. The fashion of the 2000s has thankfully not deviated far from this.

7. Literature Books

There certainly were no crosswords and landmark in the 90s. But there was a gr8 exchange market for Enid Blyton's, Hardy Boys and Archie comics. One just needed to buy 1 good book and then exchange it with 10 friends to read 10 more good ones.

All in all, the 90s were certainly the most interesting times to grow up in. Life was not all that tough but things were not always easily available. Hence, our generation grew up more aware, but more responsible.