Mysore!!!

Mysore-the cultural capital of Karnataka is actually quite a fun place to be in…! The innocent and yet hatke lifestyle of the place makes it even the more interesting!

To start with the buses here are so junta friendly, they halt every now and then, even when someone walking on the road stretches out even half an arm! Something totally opposite of Mumbai where THE bus driver is the dada of the bus and it does not halt at any place other than the bus stop..!

The shopkeepers generally shut down the shops by 8.30, in fact I have seen some shutting things down by 6.30-7. I always wonder why do they close so early and shoo-away their customers, but I guess they are following the adage –family comes first…awwww !( that’s my interpretation of course :P )

Here the auto-wallahs never try to woo the customer to take a ride in their auto, seems like they have all the luxuries in the world, and working as an auto-wallah is just a way to kill time, to be away from the daily “chik-chik” of their wife, for some time atleast! They never try to persuade you, never bother to bargain, if you wish to come good for you, else they have their bundle of newspaper to read and politics to be discussed with their fellows..! ;)

The roads are no less a roller coaster ride with the frequent and steep ups and downs in this hilly town, and going in a bus you actually feel the food jumping up and down in your stomach! Woohooooo..!! :P (For me it is equal to vomit L)

Another thing I noticed here is that there are bakeries in every corner- so many “Hot Chips” shops, makes me wonder how much junk food do Mysorities eat..!? I was always of the opinion that South Indians are very much conservative and have just mom-made food, but this was a serious blow to my prejudiced opinion!

I was aware that every place prepares its own version of the “alien” food, like the Indian “spicy” Chinese. But never did I think that the Udipi food at the restaurants where I used to hog in Mumbai, was just an eyewash, the dosa that I grew up on is not the REAL dosa available in this udipi zone..! The dosa here tastes so different! Majorly because its cooked in coconut oil! In fact everything (ok almost everything ! ) is prepared in that medium, which includes Chinese food too(sob sob..yes I had Chinese gravy with coconut milk in it in copious amount, which was cleverly disguised with a fancy name…Grrrrr !!)

All said and done about Mysore but nothing beats the weather here. It is WOW!(with few cases of burning heat bouts, but never mind !)In fact after a long stretch of 3 yrs., I saw a star-studded sky HERE at Mysore (the last time I witnessed such a view was at my native place), and OMG it was heavenly, beautiful, and what not, a totally romantic view! The less-smoke infested atmosphere has definitely spoilt me for choice ! I am sure my lungs are thanking me each day for being in Mysore and not in Mumbai! And how can I forget the easy availability of “Naariyal Paani” something that is extremely “joyous” for me! To the extent that I am planning to buy a “Naariyal ka khet” in near future ;) ;)

In short I am in love again…this time with Mysore :)

P.S: Mysore is damn cheap too! So I guess my dream is quite feasible..! All contributions to my noble investment welcomed. You will be rewarded handsomely with lifetime supply of “Naariyals” ;)

Mangoooeess !!

Mangoooeess !!! Yesterday I squealed with joy upon laying my hands on the king of the fruits-MANGO !! Finally..!! yaaaaaaaaaay !! :D I had been searching for quite some time for these majestic fruits but alas.. couldn’t find the good ones…seems like the rains had played foul with their produce ( and my feelings too :( ) As I held my much prized possession in hand, I was suddenly transported to the past… Flash Back… Back home, each summer would be marked with the arrival of the “Badami” or “Begumfalli” Aam, and we would savor the aamras that mum prepared for us in copious amounts ! I would in fact freeze the left over portion and enjoy the lip-smacking mango ice cream next day :) Soon after few weeks our locality would witness a couple of hawkers shouting – "Hapuuuuuuuuus, Hapuuuuuus !". Then me n bro would desperately wait to get our hands on them at the earliest !! Me n bro (whom I fondly call “bho-bho” :P) have a peculiar habit, we intake the aroma of the Haapus (Alphonso) and OMG we get an instant burst of energy..! We would Dance with joy that finally the time has come to experience pure mango pleasure ;) So sweet, so pure, so intoxicating is the smell of Haapus, infact everything about it ! Summers were much awaited for these badshaahs ! Further flashback… During school days, on my visit to my native place- where I wouldn’t find the haapus, there is a certain variety of “chusne wale aam” (don’t know it by any other name :P ), the mangoes whose nectar is meant to be sucked ! Aaah ! Each time I went there, I made sure Nanaji bought an abundant quantity of these juicy variety … after all they were one of the major reasons why I visited my native! (sheepishly !) Each evening all the children of the house would assemble in the verandah and Nanaji would come out with a bucket full of these ripe, fragrant, fab-looking delicacies, and treat us ! We would then get ourselves dirty with the pulp all over us, later on licking the leftover pulp - over our lips, hands , slurp every tini-miny portion of it to make sure none gets wasted :P and throw away the peel and the seed( Guthli) to the calves and feel glad to having given the calves their share of mangoes too..!! Then came the time to go back home, June first week …and thus the season of other bhai-bandhu of the mango family : “Dusehri” and “Langda”. The Mangoes which would not yield aamras, yet made a special place in my heart…afterall they were the last mangoes of the season !!! And slowly the taste of mangoes would start deteriorating and the short-spanned season of mangoes , would get over, leaving behind their golden memories and the lingering taste on our tongues ! So modest are these mangoes, they are the king of the fruits, yet are lovingly called “Aam” Ye koi aam baat toh nahi…

Chalo Dilli...

Sunday was such a satisfying day ! Watched 2 movies back-to-back –Chalo Dilli and Limitless. And I must say what a treat it was :) Chalo Dilli has Lara dutta and Vinay Pathak in the lead. Lara, plays a top notch businesswoman and Vinay does total justice to his Dilli-da-puttar character! It has stereotyped characters: Lara- a cleanliness freak, career oriented, sophisticated lady and Vinay - a foul-mouthed, guthka chewing, paan spiting, anytime burping and farting, old-dilliwala, but who cares, we love stereotypes don’t we? ( Salman’s dabanng avatar in almost every latest movie of his!) The story revolves around how the protagonists who are going to Delhi by flight have a series of troubles and somehow reach Delhi after 2 days! Humour is majorly only because of Vinay, the desi character which he portrays to the best ! He is one of the finest actors who does justice to such raw Indian roles. He is very much un-adorable- a fatso, who is quite a juggad, pretty much mannerless, yet each time he smiles and calls Lara “behenji” you keep on liking him even more (Not that Lara looks like any kind of behenji :O). There are a series of mishaps, yet this dilli-da-puttar says “Kaun si badi baat ho gayi!” which makes you wonder what is THE big thing for him? And then begins the roller coaster in your mind whether you like or dislike him ! By the way Lara’s looking quite different, not sure if its for the character, but looks more matured and stern, and unlively( harsh word I know, but that’s what I felt) . The movie has wonderfully captured the desipan of India-the picturesque Rajasthan, reinforcing that the wanderer in me will surely make a visit to this place soon! And finally, all’s well that ends well, same applies to the movies too, and what a touching end this one has! Vinay’s playful character, the “Kaun si badi baat ho gayi”-attitude has a story behind it, and it has been portrayed so beautifully! It is then that you realize – “Kya aadmi hai boss !” There is so much to learn from his character (the good learnings I mean ;) ) Another thing I adored about the movie -it has subtly embedded lessons for daily Indian life and these unfold only towards the end of the movie as a description of happened to the others. I am listing the learnings from the movie: 1. Save the girl child: A son is a son till he gets a wife, a daughter’s a daughter all her life. 2. The young boy working at the dhaba gets enrolled to the school, thus laying emphasis on schooling. 3. In case of a ticketless travel, request the TC to prepare a new one. He has the authority to do so. 4. Do not spit in public places, this caused curfew in Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan.(To know how, watch the movie !!) 5. And the local goondas get techno-advanced and start searching for their “dushman” via Google..LOL ! Overall it may not be the best movie we have seen in recent past, but yes I strongly suggest watching this movie once! You will leave the theatre with a smile on your face. Aajkal ki movies ke liye-“Ye badi baat hai !“ ;) ;) ********************************************************************** Phew ! I wanted to write about both the movies, but I guess I have too much to share, when it comes to movies ! :P So I’ll write about Limitless in the next blog…Byeeeeee !! :)

Gareebo ki suno..

Walking across the street we come across various underprivileged people. Of course we do feel bad for them, but when it comes to giving them alms, most of us refuse..! One of the most common reason being, if they are physically fit let them find jobs and make a life..! Really?? Is it actually that way? Have you ever thought SO deeply about them or are you ACTUALLY thinking of doing good for them? Then why wouldn’t you help them find a job or a school for the young ones who are begging?

“ Oh cmon ! that’s the job of govt. or NGO. I am too busy.” Don’t we think this way?

Why is it that we are turning a blind eye towards these people? Ofcourse I don’t say that we must wait by the signal and make them understand that they can do better in their life than just begging..!

But aren’t we being irresponsible towards the society? Many beggars die daily because of hunger. I do feel if someone would have given mere 10 Rs they would have survived another few days!

I agree that by this act we may be encouraging unemployment and they may just never TRY to get some work, but it really pains to see young kids begging with THEIR young ones, when they should be in school.

India may be shining in various aspects but what about the poor getting poorer?

Having witnessed a highly malnourished guy dying outside the station, I felt terrible and ashamed of what we “RICH” are doing to help the poor. Since then, I have often given these people something to eat- a mere vadapav maybe, and trust me the smiles on their faces, the awkward and beautiful “thank you aunty” ( and surprisingly I didn’t get angry on them :P ) made my day, and took me a step closer to the Almighty’s heart !

So next time you see someone begging don’t shoo them away, don’t give them money, but atleast feed the hungry stomachs- punya milega !!!

Try karo, achha lagta hai…

Ye kahan aa gaye hum...

Journey from Mumbai to Mysore was one hell of a journey.! Fortunately for me I had a bogie-full of friends travelling with me J

I still remember the time when our train started, my mom was inconsolable, I knew I would miss my family, but I was getting what I always wanted to do…Staying independent..!

Days, weeks, months passed by in exploring the place…WOW-ing all the food courts, the architecture of the campus..then came Diwali, the time by which I started getting homesick…shamelessly majorly 4 FOOD !

Went home, had a blast, but then what ? I dint want to come back…to my independent life…!! Naa Naaa…wanted to stay 4ever in the shelter of Ma-Paa…!

Dint even had d courage to tell Ma-Paa I don’t want to go back..came back to campus n started yearning even more 4 family members..n food ( pet khush toh main khush !)

This cycle continues till date…have fun, yearn 4 home, go home, have a fantabulous time there, don’t want come back, n dull period for another week, have fun..!

I always thought I was a strong gal( physically n emotionally) but both these beliefs have been severed badly after coming here..!!

I realized the value of family, friends, public transport ( ya I miss the slender, swift local trains :’( ),chat wala, vadapav ka thelawala..! So much realization in just a matter of few months ?? Waah waah..!

So why am I still here?

To try it out, staying by myself ..it was my choice afterall, n ya I know I wont get to be home , be with the relatives for much time at a stretch, but still the happiness, the satisfaction, the pride I see in my parents eyes, that beti badi ho gayi, khud ke pairo pe khadi hai..!! ( not in the context of marriage ..plzzz )

There are times I badly wanted to get out of this place to my comfort zone..Mumbai…but didn’t go back there because back home there are going to be restrictions ( “be back home by this time, no going out today…” something I always wanted to escape from ), plus, I haven’t even given the new place enough opportunity 2 prove itself, and don’t want to give my “hard earned” money for breaking the infy bond ;)

Plus the thrill of discovering ways of life, dealing with failures and bankruptcy, and cribbing about the place to everyone I talk to, keeps me going :P

Cribbing..aah what a relaxing thing to do..! Soothes and cleanses my mind for yet another day ;)

Nidhi's Laboratory

Hey fellas and fellis..!! Have lots and lots going on in my mind, and inspired by my BFF-ADITI (ya ya, now stop rolling your eyes about the BFF thing..!) I too have decided to start expressing myself via blogging.

To tell about me..i have been born to yapp yapp yappp…and can go on talking about the most of the stuff on and out of planet Earth ( mere blabbering, mind you ! ) and my karma-bhumi-MUMBAI.. yeah, and all what’s-the-big-deal-about–Mumbai thinkers, we can have an awesome discussion about the greatness of Mumbai ;)

I totally adore cartoons ( dexter, on top of the list ), luv to dance, bathroom sing, enjoy travelling on the back seat of vehicles , am hungry for attention, hog till I puke and am total nutcase bachhi ( I can see some people smiling already ) ! :P

As I type this stuff out, I find a great speed mismatch in the typing speed and the speed of thoughts…I want convey so much, I have so many thoughts churning in my mind already…oh god..!!

Well so I guess Nidhi’s Laboratory is going to come up with quite some stuff !

All opinions, criticism and comments are welcomed and expected..! ;)