the blue sapphire and me

we bumped into a THAI guy, in WAT TRAIMIT (temple of the GOLDEN BUDDHA), BANGKOK , who spoke a little bit of HINDI. “tumhara naam kya hai?”, he started the conversation, it was in a typical….i don’t know which accent, but i was glad to hear those words in a foreign land. but more than that i was impressed to see a genuine gladness in his eyes too! it was his fiftieth birthday that day, APRIL 30, he revealed to us, “i visit this temple on each birthday” he added. he was feeling nostalgic as he spoke to us about his stay in BOMBAY during his younger years. that is were he must have picked up those hindi words i thought. he suggested us the places to see and things to do during our stay in bangkok. “buy SAPPHIRES”, he recommended, “the worlds best sapphires are mined in THAILAND. the government promotes this trade. the tourists are offered discounted rates” he said.

the next halt of our tuk-tuk was at a government owned gemstone shop! i have heard the queen of england has a room full of gems and jewels, it would be similar to this shop, i had this wild thought. i could see PAVAN uncertain on the selection. i picked up a GREEN SAPPHIRE pendant from the whole lot of gem stones and pendants in front of us, “beautiful!” he exclaimed, with no further explorations he made his choice. that was too quick. the pendant was made in gold with the 1.19 carat green sapphire placed in the center. i was looking for a single stone, surrounded with its natural beauty and nothing else. i laid my hands on a 1.09 carat BLUE SAPPHIRE, it was magnificent, with a light blue shade.

pavan called up his mother that evening and told her about the gift he bought for her. the reaction was plain “don’t bring any sapphires at home!”. pavan was in a soup. we already were in a crunch for time, we couldn’t spare time for having dinners forget going back to the shop to return the gem. to add to all this we were supposed to leave bangkok by the 3rd of MAY. “dont worry, i’ll buy it from you” i said. i could see a sigh of relief on his face. that beautiful green sapphire pendant at this very moment is swinging around my neck.

the reactions at my home about the new buy was as plain as the reaction of pavan’s mother, “it’s awesome” they said, “but you shouldn’t have bought it. it doesn’t suit all”. since my return the “blue sapphire” is lying in the safe of my cupboard, no body seems to be much interested in it except me.

last friday while on our way back home from the office, myself and UTPALA (my colleague) went to TRIBHUVANDAS BHIMJI ZAVERI, a renowned chain of gem and jewel shop in BOMBAY. i wanted to make a ring with the sapphire instead of just keeping it locked in the safe.


seeing the blue sapphire, one of the sales girl queried “sir, have you checked with you astrologer about this”. “for what?” i replied “i liked the gem and hence i bought it”. “no sir , but i suggest you check with someone, this stone doesn’t suit all, it too hard. it’s SHANI’s stone”. “that doesn’t matter” i smiled “i would like to make a ring with this”. “let me check with the SHETH (owner). he believes in astrology and he would not agree to make a ring of a blue sapphire”. i was surprised by that statement, but utpala was expecting this i suppose. she had already shared her knowledge about gem stones on our way to the shop, which was seeming convincing to me after such statements. in between all this astrological talk, the other sales girl tried opening the box containing the blue sapphire, the box would not open so easily, she was struggling to open it, the result of her the last effort was the small box opened up with that jerk and the sapphire popped out of the box and went straight inside her dress through the opening near the neck. all were in smiles, including her. she had to go in the adjacent room to retrieve that naughty sapphire from his hiding place somewhere in her undergarment.

"in which finger should i wear the sapphire ring?" i inquired. “middle or the index finger” she replied. “what if i wear it in the little finger?” i asked. “it depends, you have to check with an astrologer”. she went away for a while and then came back. “i checked with the SHETH , we do not make sapphire rings in this shop” she said “that stone should not even get a scratch on it” she added. we looked at each others face, anyway we didnt have much option now that the verdict was out. we took this opportunity for browsing on the gorgeous DIAMONDS and DIAMOND BRACELETS in the shop, offcourse utpala’s choices. we came out of the shop with no rings or bracelets but SUPERSITIONS in our minds.

“before making a ring i should first hire an astrologer”, we both agreed and had a hearty laugh on all the conversation in the shop.

i had to find few answers. after utpala left i went to CROSSWORD bookshop and straight in the ASTROLOGY & OCCULT section. i started saerching for books on astrology and gems, i found a few of them but in each of those books the birth stone for a DECEMBER born were different. to add to my agony, the birthstones changed religion wise!! plus no book mentioned on which finger the sapphire should be worn.

i did few searches on the internet with the same results as above. this was a good information i found on sapphire stones – International Colored Gemstone Association.

if anyone comes across this blog, would appreciate comments on
1. can i wear a sapphire ring (my birth date is 30th of DECEMBER)?
2. if “yes”, on which finger? and which hand?
3. is all what is believed about the sapphire true?
4. any reading material on this subject.

tunnel of love

i have fallen in love with this DIRE STRAITS song!!

....in a screaming ring of faces
i seen her standing in the light
she had a ticket for the races
just like me she was a victim of the night
i put a hand upon the lever
said let it rock and let it roll
i had the one arm bandit fever
there was an arrow through my heart and my soul

and the big wheel keep on turning
neon burning up above
and i'm just high on the world
come on and take a low ride with me girl
on the tunnel of love ........

aai

i was pretty clear on my agenda last friday,

a. finish the work as early as possible
b. catch the evening flight from AHMEDABAD to BOMBAY
c. go straight to the doctor from the airport

well i did all that to be done, but still feeling a little feverish. but that wont make me stay away from my PC, it’s already enjoyed three weeks holiday in my absence.

i was unpacking my bags yesterday, when my AAI (mom) came and sat next to me, watching the ritual I perform at least twice a month, the ritual of packing and unpacking my bags! i had couple of things in my bag to show her, two rajasthani miniature paintings, a couple of bedspread and a couple of tablecloth, all from UDAIPUR. the moment i handed her the bedspreads and the tablecloth her eyes lit with joy, anyone would have known it. she had the same reaction as a school kid who has just been gifted with a handful of chocolates.

it was beyond my understanding, i had bought her a saree, i am sure others would envy with one look, when i returned from chennai couple of months back. i had never seen such reaction from her that time.

i did get the answer after some pondering, something for the family always comes before something for her. and perhaps that is why she is called AAI.

the solitary reaper

Behold her, single in the field,
Yon solitary Highland Lass!
Reaping and singing by herself;
Stop here, or gently pass!
Alone she cuts and binds the grain,
And sings a melancholy strain;
O listen! for the Vale profound
Is overflowing with the sound.

No Nightingale did ever chaunt
More welcome notes to weary bands
Of travellers in some shady haunt,
Among Arabian sands:
A voice so thrilling ne'er was heard
In spring-time from the Cuckoo-bird,
Breaking the silence of the seas

Among the farthest Hebrides.

Will no one tell me what she sings?
Perhaps the plaintive numbers flow
For old, unhappy, far-off things,
And battles long ago:
Or is it some more humble lay,
Familiar matter of to-day?
Some natural sorrow, loss, or pain,
That has been, and may be again?

Whate'er the theme, the Maiden sang
As if her song could have no ending;
I saw her singing at her work,
And o'er the sickle bending;
I listened, motionless and still;
And, as I mounted up the hill
The music in my heart I bore,
Long after it was heard no more.

-- William Wordsworth

sound advice indeed

i meet MARK in PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA. we were working together on a project. he was a part of the EPMO (external project managment office) team appointed by our client. extermely smart and intellectual, his face brimming with almost 3 decades of work experience. i had joined my team in south africa a little later. the delay was due to my MALAYSIAN assignment, which was unfinished when this project started. the first day i was formally introduced to the south african team. the same day, during a coffe break with one of my colleagues, i was been told "the andar ki khabar" about the south african team like "who is who in the zoo" and what care to take, etc. about MARK she said "bada moohffut hai wo, usse dur he rehna!". i realised later, it was very difficult to sell him anything, unless he was 110% convinced. he being a part of the same subteam which i belonged to, we had a regular interaction. to be true, i always thought twice, prepared twice, before going and waking up this giant for a discussion. we always had this who-the-hell-will-bell-the-cat situation before going in front of MARK.

by the end of that project, the same MARK had became a very good friend of mine. we are still in touch. although most of our communication is via emails, but we get to share the happenings in each others lives. i share my deepest secrets with him, i turn to him for advice, i share with him my happiness, i share with him my grief, a real good friend, almost the age of my dad.

last week i had asked him for some advice. below is the excerpt from the mail in which he responded (its a copy & paste of the original mail).

*me* do get back soon with you valuable advice bout the point LIFE!! :-)

*mark* My inputs on life probably not great. Christians have a concept which is universal. They call call it AGAPE love. Basically it means to love the world and whats in in unconditionally. Obviously an idyllic situation. I've only come across a few people that seem to strive to live their lives in this way. From my side your team of guys who came to SA were a lot closer to being like this that i'd seen in any other group. We never discussed religions then but I always wondered if indeed your religions (i don't know who fitted into which group) had a similar concept to which you all subsribe or endeavour. Any way - to my mind the concept is indeed universal and indeed I would like to think that i try to live my life in a way which displays this concept in a small way. Might sound silly or strange i know but i've managed in the last couple of months to successfully conclude some really sensitive business negotiations with suppliers! and also with our trade unions and one or two members of my staff by looking at my opposition and trying to really understand and 'love' them instead of just being antagonistic like some of my colleagues. In each instance I've managed to get what i want out of the situation wihout being 'soft' and have built some significant relationships along the way. I saw a note in a paper recently - it said - everyone has two ears and one mouth so try to use them proportionately. Sound advice indeed.

Guess thats enough on life from one who tends not to think to much about these issues.

You take care to. You'r a really special lad.

*me* take care.
*me* tot siens!

*me* eish.
*mark* PS 1: there a new ad on TV - it uses the word 'eish' in many creative ways. Whenever we see it we think of you. Its very south africanised and would not be well understood elsewhere but its a classic that combines the best of english, afrikaans and african culture into one. You should have stayed here - u could have been famous.
PS2: sorry my cricket team is a bunch of cheats and losers - from now on i support Sachin and his boys

my first camera

i have always observed, people are sometimes emotionally attached towards things; those things might range from a refrigerator to a bicycle to a radio and so on. and the best part about this attachment is that even after a decade if you ask them about those things, they will be able to relate you with exact date, time, punctuations, commas, and question marks, the whole story of the purchase.

recently i bought a new camera, a NIKON D50, and i am really excited about it. this is the second camera i own. but i admit, i am emotionally attached to my first one, the KODAK KB12.

i was scheduled to travel to KANPUR, UTTAR PRADESH, for a couple of weeks during winter of 2001 on an implementation rollout in one of the GODREJ factories at UNNAO, a place 40 odd kilometers from kanpur. i remember i was the one who was chosen to be extradited to KANPUR, as nobody in our team was ready to go to this remote place. i never had any issues in going to anyplace in india, but then i had heard a lot of things about the remoteness of this place, which made me a bit concerned. anyways the ordain was already out against me, and i had to go.

after two weeks of stay i was supposed to travel back to KHANNA, PUNJAB, which was our temporary base for this project. i always grab the opportunity to see nearby places, especially historic, whenever time permits in a project. this time, even if the government of india would have proposed a free royal tour on an elephant back, to see historic places nearby, i too would have royally said “NO”. those were the toughest two weeks i had ever spent in my career, and i was eager to go back without any more adventures. the daily adventure was more than satisfying - from hotel to GHANTAGHAR in a cycle rickshaw (sometimes i felt guilty, seeing the lean guy pull the rickshaw. some more time in kanpur and i think i would have asked the guy to sit at the back and i would have pulled him till the place i wanted to go, and would have paid him too!!), approx 2 km, from ghantaghar to UNNAO PHATAK in a state transport bus (before commissioning for people transport these buses might have been used for transporting animals for sure), approx 35 km, from unnao phatak to DAHI CHOWKI in an auto rickshaw (theoretical capacity of the vehicle was 7 persons, practically more than 20 people would be in it), approx 7 km, from dahi chowki to the factory by walk (inhaling the fragrance of the dead animals from the leather factories around), approx 1 km, plus no lunch during the day (as there were no hotels as far as 5 km from the factory).

no adventure? there was lot of arguments between my heart and my brain, outcome - my heart won 6-0, 6-0, 6-0, 6-0, 6-0, in straight sets. amazing! we three(my heart, my brain and me) made a plot. the day i was supposed to travel back to khanna from kanpur was a SATURDAY. why not break the journey? we thought. lets travel to AGRA on SATURDAY, see the TAJ and if possible FATEHPUR SIKRI on SUNDAY, catch a train on SUNDAY night for khanna and be in office on MONDAY morning. now the practical problems as we saw were the train timings and the saturday night stay. i did some findings on the internet and fortunately everything was perfect. fortune favors the brave, you see. i could proceed with the plan. i woke up early on saturday, went to kanpur railway station, and booked the tickets. i jumped in a cycle rickshaw hurriedly to reach the hotel, i still had to pack up my things. the train to agra was in the afternoon. alas! suddenly i realized i did not have a CAMERA!! how was i going to capture the memories of the WONDER of this WORLD?

for the two weeks, i had saved on lunch (without any intentions), sometimes dinner (too late to get back to hotel, everything closed, even the hotel kitchen), i had also saved by buying a second class train ticket to agra instead of an air-conditioned one. it came to around 800 rupees, 299 rupees from here and there, and i bought a brand new KODAK KB12 for 1099 rupees at a KODAK shop on MALL ROAD, KANPUR. this amount may seem less today, but it was too huge for me that time.

as planned i did visit TAJ, AGRA FORT and FATEHPUR SIKRI and still enjoy seeing those pictures captured by my first camera. since then i have traveled almost half of india and few other countries, capturing memories.

i realize now the reason for such emotional attachments.

sol kadi

i meet ATUL after a long time. i always felt, meeting him is like discovering a book you own, a book even you have forgotten about, kept locked in the shelf for a long time, away from all eyes, a book you liked the most, each page of the book a memory of the college days.

he was going to his village during the GANESH festival, which was around the corner. and he asked me the same question he had been asking since college days “jaya, chal yetos ka gaavi? dhamaal karu.” it was always in my heart to visit his village, but it could not happen so far. i made sure it happened this time. i booked my tickets to KUDAL.

destination MALVAN. a small coastal town on the western coast of MAHARASHTRA. atlya (as i call him) picked me up from KUDAL station. as we traveled in the rickshaw towards malvan, i could feel the immense joy within. in the next half hour i got a chance to appreciate all the lovely things god created on this earth. i never ever think of looking at the azure sky while in bombay, or the twinkling stars at nigh. too busy to see, is it? i questioned myself. the mountains with a green shawl, the creeks playing with the fishing boats, the smiling flowers, the shy trees, the birds, i wished i had been introduced to this “paradise” earlier. still there were seven days to go, i was overwhelmed.

we reached atlya’s house at noon. i received a warm welcome from his dad, his mom and his wife. i was seeing them after a long time. his father said “just the right time to have a hearty lunch”, we all laughed. i never experiment atleast with food, i prefer and stick to vegetarian. but too my surprise i was served with four different kinds of fishes!! even though my reservation on food, i had already made my mind this time to try the local cuisine, and here was the chance! in india, they say “the taste lies in the fingers of the one who prepares the food”, very true i thought. it was the courtesy of atlya’s mom. i simply relished on the food. later in the afternoon, when we all were having a casual chat, i came to know that the house had completed 100 years of existence this year. i had a closer look at the house, it was really amazing, i have stayed in so called five star hotels, with the best interiors and best architecture, but the simplicity here was incomparable.

each day i spent was full of adventure and introduction to new things. an insight to the malvani culture, malvani cuisine and the lovely malvani people. we hired bicycles to roam in and around the village. we visited the TARKARLI beach and OZHAR on the bicycle, a wonderful ride indeed. also on the tarkali beach we saw RAPAN, a method of fishing, where one end of the net is being holded on the shore while the other is taken in the sea for some distance inside in a semi circular path, and brought back to the join the other end on the shore, the net is then pulled on the shore by a group of fishermen. once we spent half a day at SINDHUDURG fort, the boat ride included. that fort is awesome by all means and a history in itself. the ROCKY shore and CHIVLYACHI VEL(beach) was just minutes walk from his house, going there for watching the sunset was a daily affair.

i was taught to eat CRAB by atlya’s mom. it is difficult believe me, for a starter! other delicacies included GHULE (shells), MAKHLE (squid), MOHRI (small shark), KAPA, and another 7-8 varieties. i would have never imagined eating so many varieties of fishes in my whole life.

i enjoyed the ganapati AARTI sessions held at his uncle’s place. especially this aarti “jay jay jay jay jay vithoba jay panduranga”, it was fast paced and needed you to take your voice to the highest pitch. we attended the aarti sessions twice a day, till the GANESH VISARJAN. we were treated with some snacks after the aarti sessions, and my favourite was the MALVANI MISSAL! the ganapati visarjan was quite notable, it was a huge procession, the whole family and friends included in it, dancing to the tunes of the band, till we reached the shore. the night sky was lit with fire crackers of all sorts. there was a last aarti on the shores in front of the ganesh idol, after which the idol was immersed in the sea. i could see the enthusiasm among the children’s shouting loudly the slogans “GANPATI BAPPA MORAYA, PUDCHYA VARSHI LAVKAR YA!!”

after the visarjan the DHAKKA (jetty) was not as peaceful as it used to be, it was the time when all the boats/trollers on the shores rested during the rainy seasons, are dragged back into business, into the seas. we once watched a group of fishermen dragging their boat in sea, inch by inch, singing along while pulling the ropes tied to their boats. it takes days to drag one boat into the sea, since the process involves sheer men’s and their strength.

the seven days i spent in malvan were one of the best times of my life. i felt the freedom, i always search for. i felt as if i was in the lap of the beautiful nature. i felt free like a bird.

it’s almost a month past after the trip but the taste of SOL KADI is still mingling on my tongue!

a compliment

one day SAHUL rushed to my house with the news that APPA was no more. oh god! that was really a bad news. we both didn’t speak much that day to each other, which was very unusual. we both were a little upset and worried. quickly we both contacted DINESH and we three decided to visit AMMA.

AMMA and APPA, it means mother and father in TAMIL, we three were introduced to these words since we were five. she was our tuition teacher since then, her children’s called her AMMA and even we did the same. and her husband was our APPA. more than anything else, i think it was because of the good relationship she had with my family, i was sent to her for tuitions. i remember i was the first to join out of the three. i grew up as a part of her family. whatever values and knowledge i have today is her teachings. she is my first “guru”, or my second “mother” might be more appropriate. i have also heard from my mom, about her interest to adopt me as a son, for the reason that she had been blessed with four daughters and no son.

my tuitions came to an end after i passed out of ninth standard. but i still use to visit her once a month. during those days even though in college, i still use to get time to do few paintings. one such painting i made was “A RAJASTHANI ROYAL COUPLE”; i had worked day and night on this particular one. it was made using water colour’s. though i never had a formal training on art and i never knew any medium other than that, it had come out really well. this was one of my best works till date. the moment i completed it, i wrote it's destiny. i framed that painting and gifted it to amma. her daughter’s were extremely thrilled to see such a beautiful painting. to be true, i was the one who was more happier than them. in my next visit i saw that painting hung on the wall of the first room of her house, i was proud.

we meet the next day and with a heavy heart walked the path to amma’s house, the path which we walked for almost ten years, but never so sadly. appa’s funeral had been performed the day before, but still when we neared the house we could see a whole lot of people still around the house. we entered the house, the moment we saw amma, we couldn’t stop our tears. she was sitting down on the floor, besides the door of the second room, weak and collapsed. this room and the other room were full of people, all of them in grief. we made way and came to her, she was unconscious about our presence, we sat besides her, dinesh on one side holding her one hand and me on the other side holding her other hand, and sahul next to me. she didn’t speak a word, i could see her lips dried up, her eyes turned red and her face full of grief. we were silently watching her, my tears were just flowing, feeling her pain. in the middle of all these i heard some one whispering in the other room “you were asking about that painting” she said “that is the boy who made it, the boy sitting on the right of my amma”.

i have received hundreds and thousands of compliments for my paintings, but this one is etched on my heart.

adios chennai!

it is time to pack my bags, and go back to BOMBAY. though it was not my first stay at CHENNAI, and its not going to be the last either, it was the longest so far. i am extremely happy i made most of it this time around, saw MAHABALIPURAM and TIRUPATI. and i have made sure there are few to-do for my next visit, the world heritage temples of THANJAVUR, the french colonies of PONDICHERRY and a drive in the heritage mountain trains at OOTY.

what i always liked in chennai?
> the evening walks at besant nagar beach
> idlis with four helpings, each different coloured, coconut chatni – white, pudina chatni - green, podi - brown, and sambhar – brick red, serverd on a dark green banana leaf.
> jasmine flower gajra’s decked on hair of almost every girl

what i always hated in chennai?
> the weather
> the water

what would i will look for in the next visit?
> rickshaw’s with “working” meters
> english/hindi radio channels

each city has its own charm, chennai too !!

my contributions to music

i confess, though i am not aware of the fundamentals of music, i have a good ear for music. i like music (from any part of this planet) which reaches the heart , to me rest all are like the sound of a train coming and going out of railway platform of BOMBAY.

this love for music makes us (me and ABHI minus SOMU) attend all music festivals held in bombay. we eagerly wait for the whole year to watch the BANGANGA festival and KALAGHODA art festival. we have together heard LIVE many ustads and to be ustads of music. ustad ZAKIR HUSSAIN, ustad AMJAD ALI KHAN, pandit HARIPRASAD CHAURASIA, SHIVMANI, ADNAN SAMI, ASHA BHOSALE, BEGUM PARVEEN SULTANA to name few. and again this love for music makes us (me and SOMU minus ABHI) attend all the rock festivals held in bombay. we have together heard LIVE bands like BRYAN ADAMS, PARIKRAMA, MOKSH, PENTAGRAM, ZERO, (i missed INDUS CREED and DIRE STRAITS) to name few.

one way to quench my thirst was to learn a musical instrument, i thought. i decided to try my hand on music.

contribution 1
my plan materialized when i was in POONA, i bought a TABLA from a shop in ALANDI, near poona. at last! i thought. with not much fuss, ustad zakir hussain became my ideal overnight. before i could go ahead of “GHI NA NA, TI NA NA”, i saw the practical of the idiom “it’s the silent cat that breaks the pot”, which i had long forgotten after the school english lessons. my nephew made a hole in one drum of the set. his curiosity of knowing what was inside that was making it sound won over my curiosity of making that sound!!

contribution 2
myself and SATYA where roaming in CHATUCHAK market in BANGKOK, when I saw a shop selling this beautiful BAMBOO FLUTES. i was very sure i had taken care of my nephew’s curiosity this time, because, this flute already had more holes than the bamboo!! i bought one FLUTE. we were on our way back from bangkok to KUALA LUMPUR, and the air hostess served a non vegetarian dinner for me. i told her it might be a mistake it would be a vegetarian dinner mentioned on my ticket, her answer was flat “NO”. even SHERLOCK HOLMES’S assistant DOCTOR WATSON could solve this case, culprit was the one who booked my ticket. i asked her to arrange for a vegetarian dinner if possible. she politely broke the news that there were no extra vegetarian dinner packs on board. the only option i told her was to skip the dinner, and survive on a fruit juice. she smiled took the plate and vanished. to my surprise she came back after sometime with a vegetarian dinner for me. after enquiring with her, it came to light that she had exchanged her vegetarian dinner with me. i appreciated and admired her service. i gifted that lovely FLUTE to her as a token of thanks.

contribution 3
i came back from SOUTH AFRICA to BOMBAY on a weeks leave. the best part about the south african project was that we were always left with ample time in the evenings after work. i decided to once again pursue my dream of learning a musical instrument. this time i bought a VIOLIN from a shop near TALAO PALI in THANE. i took it with me to south africa. i downloaded and printed violin lessons from the internet. i worked for a couple of months on the violin. our project was soon over, and it was time to pack my bags and return to bombay. after lot of traveling i have come up with a theory “the number of bags when going on a tour is indirectly proportional to the number of bags when coming back”. i was left with a question mark. my baggage was definitely in excess. i knew some things were to be jettisoned. i ended up gifting (sorry it should be ”donating”) my readers digest world atlas book, weighing approx 4-5 kg’s, and my violin case (with the violin inside!!) to EDDIE, our chauffeur for airport drops.

i just can’t stop smiling when i imagine the airhostess has become a famous flautist in THAILAND and the chauffeur has become a famous violinist in SOUTH AFRICA. i am just hoping someday SARASWATI, the goddess of learning and arts bestows her gift on me too!!

good morning chennai!

usually when i am alone on tours out of the country or in the country, it has become quite an habit, i get up in the morning and the first thing is start the radio on my mobile. i tune into some good english/hindi/marathi songs channel, set it on external speakers with max volume possible and start the day. i enjoy listening to music, specially when all alone. it does make my day.

i remember till mid mid 80’s, radio was the only source of entertainment at my home. he use to get up before me and sleep after me, THE RADIO! that friendship is still not broken, you see.

i havn’t been able to do that in CHENNAI. there are no other language radio channels in chennai other than “TAMIL” !!! not even an english channel !!! forget about other regional languages of india.

note: please carry your ipod or discman if you are planning to come to chennai on tour.

compared to the television media, the radio has not evolved even 10% in india, i feel. i liked the concept of WORLD SPACE satellite radio, but i think that is too bulky for today’s technology.

i wish satellite radio in mobiles comes to india soon. till then its “KAALAY WANAKUM!"

fir milenge break ke baad!!

i came to chennai on 5th of june. it’s almost two and half months away from home. i was desperately looking forward for a break. and at last! the good news is that i am going home tomorrow, back to AMCHI MUMBAI !!

i am just excited to go back. i heard its raining cats and dogs in mumbai, hope i reach home from the airport in a taxi and not a BOAT !!

the most i was missing was the MEHFILS at our ADDA on TALAO PALI near MAAL ROAD. i am sure we will have another one this weekend. luckily, abhi, somu, amya, allan and sally, all will be in town. hoping for a good time once again, as we always have.

will be back in chennai on the 16th.

tot siens!

rambageecha, shop no. 37

i was starting to get worried; we were all supposed to gather back at RAMBAGEECHA, SHOP NO. 37 by 7.00 am. this was where the bus had dropped us early in the morning. we were clearly instructed by the tour guide “the bus will start for the next destination at 7.00 am, and those late will have to arrange their own transportation to reach there”. time was running and i was still standing in the queue of devotees waiting for my turn to get a glimpse of lord VENKATESWARA (commonly known as BALAJI) at the TIRUPATI temple. the queue was long and with a width of 6 persons standing side by side. it was already 6.15 am by now. myself, nilay and viren had planned this visit a week ago. unfortunately nilay could not accompany due to his work commitments.

even viren was supposed to meet me at the same spot. we were not together in the queue. the tour guide had separated all the members, including me, who wanted to perform a MUNDAN (shaving the head) before facing the lord. rest of the group, which included viren, proceeded for the DARSHAN, while we went the other way.

i reached rambageecha, shop no. 37 by 6.50 am and saw viren standing there waiting for me. rambageecha is a small enclave, near to the temple entrance. it has 2 rows of small shops, 5 at each side. There is a good amount of space between the 2 rows. one is a tea stall, one is a snacks stall and the rest ones sold flowers, garlands, coconuts, framed pictures of balaji, spiritual stones, spiritual threads etc. this place was quite busy with tourists. some having breakfast, some bargaining with the vendor, some chit chatting, and some just wandering over the place. but the common property in all was that they were waiting for their bus to pick them up for the next destination, like us. it was more of an assembly point, i would say. it was quite cold and very windy up there. luckily i was wearing a sweater, burnt umber coloured and with a zip in the front. i remember i had bought it last year, during my stay in dubai, on my way to south africa. i use it more as a jacket than a sweater. i was feeling the chill in the climate as my sweater was unzipped, as usual.

we had few idlis for breakfast . we then went to the tea stall which was situated 2 shops besides shop no. 37. “randa special tea” viren told the vendor. “RANDA” in tamil means two. the knowledge of few local words made our survival a bit easy. while having tea, viren showed me the balaji picture which he bought from shop no.37 before i had arrived. i too was interested in buying one. so we went to the shop next to the tea stall, i was still sipping the tea from my glass, we browsed through few balaji pictures, i liked one picture. nilay too had asked us to buy a small balaji picture for him. the smaller pictures were a bit costlier here compared to shop no. 37, while the price for the one i choose, a little bigger one, was a good bargain. as we had less time, we agreed that viren should go back to shop no. 37 to buy the balaji picture for nilay, while i stayed there to buy the other one for me.

i asked the vendor to pack the picture while i quickly went and kept the empty tea glass at the tea stall. i took the bag from the vendor, and holding it with both my hands close to my chest, i started walking towards shop no. 37. all of a sudden i felt a jerk, which pulled me back slightly. i turned almost instantly to see what the hell had happened. It took few seconds for me to realize what had happened. my sweater zipper was entangled at one end of a girl’s DUPATTA (scarf), who was moving swiftly in the opposite direction. both my sweater and her dupatta were stretched to the maximum, in mid-air. she was holding the other end of the dupatta, so that it didn’t fall completely from her shoulders. it appeared as if somebody had tied a knot with one end of her dupatta and one end of my sweater. i recognized her, i had seen her in our bus, she was a part of our tour group. she was fair, in her twenties, and probably belonged to an orthodox tamil family. she was wearing a salwar and had glasses on her eyes. in my observation she was quite “SIMPLE”. there was absolutely no reaction from both of us, we were just standing still, lost in our own thoughts. i became conscious when a figure hurriedly came between both of us; she was her younger sister i suppose. she was holding my sweater with one hand and her sisters dupatta with the other and was trying to pull them apart. she was trying hard to free her sisters dupatta from the entangle. still there was no reaction from both of us. I had not regained my senses completely. next i saw an elderly man coming to help his younger daughter, their father i suppose. at the corner of my eyes i also saw an elderly lady coming towards us, undoubtedly her mother. “AIYO!” her father exclaimed. that was loud enough to bring me back on earth. i could see her younger sister still struggling, she was making it worse, the runner of my zipper was getting more entangled in the threads. at last i reacted, i turned, walked a step back, and i spoke softly. “wait, let me help you” i said. she promptly obliged. in a moment i freed the entangled runner of my zip from her sisters dupatta. “thank you” she replied, as she pulled the dupatta back on her shoulders. i still had this blank expression on my face, i was mum. she went her way and i went mine.

by evening the bus was in chennai city, we were going towards the last drop point, where the tour would be culminated. i and viren got down at the airport road, a few kilometers before the last drop point. she was still in the bus.

i realised it was not a “larger than life” bollywood movie. she was lost in the jungle of people.

july 29, 2006. i will remember this day for 2 things I saw, the awe-inspiring idol of lord VENKATESHWARA and the simple “her”.

mahabalipuram

just by chance i visited the UNESCO world heritage centre web site, and it quickly struck, unknowingly till now i have visited 6 out of the 21 cultural sites in india declared as world heritage by UNESCO.

the 6th site i visited was not even a month ago. we* went to watch a movie in a theatre some 25 km out of CHENNAI city. foote karum hamare, the show was already “sold out”. now what? our motto in life is simple “AAYA HU TO KUCH KARKE JAOONGA”; we did not think twice, we bought the evening show tickets. however our satisfaction didn’t last long, we soon realized it was another 3 hours before the evening show starts. so we decided to go further 28 km to “MAHABALIPURAM”!!

we*: myself, nilay and nilay’s horse (his lml vespa scooter).

“MAHABALIPURAM” was a port city of the south indian dynasty of the PALLAVAS. it has various historic monuments built largely between the 7th and the 9th century. awesome, that means those monuments were around 1200 years old. this was the oldest of all the other 5 sites i have seen.

it was amazing to see all the monuments were mostly rock-cut and monolithic!! with one site of these monuments, in an instant i felt myself roaming in the 7th century. some relief’s depicted scenes of day to day activities they performed, like milking the cows. i also observed on many of the relief’s, the way the people dressed themselves. each pillar I saw was beautifully carved and each set of pillars having a unique design. it was sometimes difficult to even distinguish between 2 pillars of the same set. i thought it was sheer SKILL. it would have been done with proper calculations, with planning, with perfection, and with patience. one thing i was pondering about was, the room for error while carving a monolithic structure, and I knew it very well, it was close to a ZERO! i thought deeper; whenever I draw a figure on a canvas i have the liberty of erasing my errors and redrawing the figure. and i was awestruck with the thought that you cannot erase your mistakes on a monolithic structure!! i was beginning to appreciate and understand the meaning of the word “SKILL”, i was imagining a big rock, 15-20 meters high with a diameter of 15-20 meters, i could define that rock in one word too and it was “HUGE”, with 20 sculptors working on the same rock carving 10 elephants on it, and imagine one elephant figure going wrong!! the result, as i thought was either discard that rock, take a new “HUGE” rock and start from scratch or change the design on the same rock, which calls for complete rework and may not be feasible in certain cases. isn’t “SKILL” very important? i thought. the other aspect which touched my mind was, the amount of patience and time required to do such work.

the shore temple was one of the monuments about which i can write endlessly. it has got a perfect background, the BAY OF BENGAL sea. it appears reddish-brown most probably because of the reddish rock they used to carve the temple, or might be due to passage of time. i peeped through a small opening on the locked temple door, eager to see the idols, it was difficult to identify things in the dark initially, but I could make out, it was a relief depicting lord SHIVA and PARVATI. as soon as I turned, a woman sitting in front of the door said “its 1300 years old” and she was damn proud of it, i replied her with a smile.

it is difficult for me to describe in words the beauty and history those monuments carry.

it was already evening and we were on our way back to the theatre to catch the movie. all the way i still had the monuments at the back of my mind, i was thinking, can we build such monuments now? can we spend so much of time? do we have the patience? do we have space to build such things? why are such precious monuments unattended? why don’t we worship these artistic monuments rather than the idols in those monuments? are we trying to educate people of such a great history?

we entered the theatre, the movie had already started, we struggled in the dark but somehow reached our seats. the movie scene pinched me and i was brought back from the 7th century to the 21st century. we were watching a helicopter chase in the movie “MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 3”.