Bombay!!!

I always hated Bombay for being so over-crowded, so noisy, so congested, so humid but lately I realized it’s just fun to be in Bombay if you have some seriously good company to roam around and few good Men to save your life from all the turmoil’s of this so called biggest Metropolitan city of the country. And I feel really lucky to have few such Special people in my life who changed my outlook towards the city. It has been a new experience every time exploring it with them. In fact I feel my every trip to Bombay is worth writing a new story :)

If someone asks me what’s one thing which I appreciate the most about Bombay, I would say – The high energy state of the town. It keeps you driving each time, every time and all the time. No matter how tired you are how tensed you are, it makes you run run run for your life and that’s what excites me the most. No matter whatever happens today, next day you need to run with the city to catch up with the world.

It’s actually a delight to see entirely different India at two different corners of the same city. If you are somewhere near the suburbs you will get the feel of typical India – crowded places, cribbing for small small thing, somewhat satisfied life, typical Indian minded people who don’t mind dyeing as if they never existed but are simply the best for their FAMILY. And on the contrary if you go to downtown side, the SOUTH BOMBAY, you will see the upcoming face of India. Sky scrapers, massive corporate houses, Hotels with world class hospitality, people who aspires for achieving excellence in their lives and making India from just a country to THE country in the world. It’s just so contrasting but you get the true picture of our country through different shades of this city.

I always wanted to get an opportunity to live in the city for at least a couple of year. But firstly I never took any step for this WISH of mine and secondly I think Mr. Fate had some other plans for me ;) Anyways I believe life is NOT too short for my wishes, I just have a hundred of them :P

(Disclaimer – I just want to be there in Bombay for a year or so, no plans of getting settled there. For a typical self driven Indorian like me it’s so very difficult to even think about it :P)


My Bombay friends Amit, Sapan, Purva, Abha, Saurabh, Neha, Dipen & the entire Solar System Gang this one’s for you - BOMBAY ROCKS!!!! :)

A Perfect Road Trip!!!

8 Friends + 5 Bikes + 200 Kms Ride + Mountain Biking + Trek to Koraigad = Perfect Road Trip.

The above one liner makes very clear by itself what am I going to share with you today. So let’s not mess around and straight away bring it ON!!! :)

People: Aditya, Amar, Amu, Aneesh, Sujay, Summu, Swapy & ME (College pals)

Props: 1 KariZma, 1 Unicorn, 2 Pulsars, 1 Passion

As it was decided, we all started for our planned journey for Koraigad trek @ around half past 7 in the morning. Koraigad is a fort which was part of the Shivaji Maharaj’s Kingdom and was supposedly built around 1500 AD. It’s some 25 Kms from Lonavala. We reached bottom of the hill at 12.00 PM covering some really beautiful panoramic views of Bushi Dam & Tiger hills on the way, surpassing some un-called troubles of puncture and all. Before starting the trek we rode to the entrance of the famous Ambi valley as well. And finally we started riding up the hill at 12.40. I had heard its one of the easiest trek around and won’t be much of a mess. But for most of us it was the trek after almost a year. And with the 3 years of IT experience on the tummy you know how difficult it is to walk a single yard for a typical Software Engineer. So, coz of all these conditions, after walking a couple of mile everyone had one reaction - who the F**K said it’s an easy trek :D and I think only I had the answer ;) (Riya I hope you are reading this: P) But it was just the initial trauma, we all reached safely and healthily to the top in 60 mins. It’s always an excellent feeling to reach the summit. Hill top had huge Plain area with a couple of small water ponds too. The cool breeze flowing around made me feel totally relaxed and free from all the troubles :) We explored the entire peak in 2 hrs, saw some ancient structures “TOOPs” & all & enjoyed the nice view of ambi valley. We reached back down the hill in some 30 mins of time only.

The parking guy told us there is a short cut to Pune which goes via Mulshi, road is not all that great but buses comes by that way. We thought about taking a chance and decided to take the short cut. As soon as we started on the new way we realized roads are not only bad in fact they are worst. In couple of Kms ride only I had the feeling – Boss!! THIS is going to be eventful: D

This path way was going through within the mountains. We were riding one mountain coming back down again to hoop on to the next one. It was a bumpy ride with lots of see-saw patches. We encountered lot of waterfalls; roads were completely submerged with the water coming from the falls. We could see high hills at the left of us and deep valleys to the right. Few patches were completely engrossed in the trees giving the perfect feel of forest. It was absolutely a mountain biking experience which we see on discovery. Travelling in the mountains on the deserted roads where no one’s there to ask whether you are going right or wrong, It was simply splendid and thriller. You can estimate the complexity of road if I tell you – it took us around 2 hours to cover the distance of 40 kms. As we started approaching Mulshi we could see the Lake moving along with us below the hill. We were lucky enough to catch the RAINBOW as well and I must tell - it was a mesmerizing view, Rainbow on one side and the never ending Lake on the other. Absolutely a delight. We reached back to Chandani chowk at around 7.00 PM with our milometer saying 200 KMS :) I rode my kariZma alone for 200 K’s :)

It was a tricky move that we took but if you have your fuel tanks intact and you are all GUYS then it’s worth taking the risk. We had more fun on this mountain biking then climbing up to the Koraigad Fort. And that’s what we call a Perfect Road Trip.

Few Pics from the trip:


Around Tiger hills


At the hill top


The Hawk wondering over the hill



The Beautiful Lake


Mood: Cheerful

Muzic: Jindagi ek safar he suhana...

Happy Friendship Day

Ok!!!! It’s going to be just like yet another conventional Friendship day Post. But yaar…They as “Friends” deserved to be acknowledged at every possible occasion, so how can I miss THE day for expressing my gratitude towards THEM saying…. BOSS!!! You are the one who keeps me going after every upside turn I face, every disappointment I had and top it all by being there to share every little happiness I have.

Some people say you don’t need Friendship day to cherish the beauty of this relation but I say though every day is for Friends but what’s the problem in specifically dedicating one more day for them :)

So here goes my list of acknowledgements…..I hope you can identify yourself in at least one of the category :)

This one’s for my School Friends who are always there in my thick and thin, my sorrows and my joys, my goods and my bads. It’s like we are there together for so long that I can’t even differentiate you are my friend or family!! :)

This one’s for my College Friends with whom I have grown up from being a stupid naïve absolutely dumbo Kid to a somewhat cunning, lil bit lively, quite more aware and a totally freak EnGinEeR. You have given me a way to think about my future. To summarize you are the spice of my life :)

This one’s for my Training Friends with whom I took the first steps of this so-called corporate world and who made me realize THIS world is ain’t different then what I was living in. How can I forget the wonderful exhilarating outing trips we have had…you are the one’s with whom I have travelled out the most :)

This one’s for my Project Friends who actually made my life worth living in B-15 and who gives me a reason to come to office every day I get up. Sometimes I feel I am the luckiest person on this earth to be associated with 2 teams which are by far the BEST to work with!!! :)

This one’s for my Roommates/Society Friends with whom I literally enjoyed the fun of staying away from home. With the kind of love and pamper I get from you all I never realized I am living away from my family with absolutely strangers. With you all I get to understood staying with seniors is so much fun!! I can undoubtedly speak out aloud…. you are the BEST people to Live with :)

This one’s for my Lunch Group Friends who made me being myself. If I start writing about you here this page will become too short to convey my emotions for you…but the only thing which I want to say – I owe you a lot. In my entire day of office schedule the most happening thing which I always look forward to is/was LUNCH!! :)

This one’s for my Fellow Blogger Friends who has given me an altogether different world to live in. Though I am trying real hard to make an impression in this world of blogging and sadly haven’t got much success but I must tell you…You all have marked your impressions well within. I really love reading you all. This is the best thing which has happened to me off late :)

This one’s for those whom can’t be categorized in any other category and I feel this itself is a reason of joy for me. Despite of not having any formal channel you have embarked your unique identity in my life. This includes few whom I respect the most, few I love the most, few with whom I enjoy the most and few who made my life worthwhile with his/her peculiar style. You people are like a gift which makes me happy every time I think about :)

And And And Last but not the least… This one’s for my GECU Friends who have become the inherent part of my life. You are one of the finest discoveries of all time for me. You have made every single moment of my last 2-3 years count & have made this world a better place for me. Sometimes I wonder what if I would have met you all earlier. You are the LiFe SaVeRs for me :)

Yippieee!!! The acknowledging part is done and somehow I am getting an urge of apologizing to a few people whom I have hurt knowing or unknowingly. So just a quick apology too :)

This one’s for few of them whom I have hurt in one way or the other. I know I have been mean to you and have made you feel bad with my misdeed. But you yourself know deep within about me and aware how it goes with me. All I want to say is “Forget the past, look for the future. I promise not to repeat any of those heart burning actions again in coming future” :)

Happy Friendship Day to one and All

Thanks for being part of my life :)

Three cheers to you all!!!!

Muzic: Tere Jaisa Yaar Kaha...

Mood: Grateful :)

Experience makes you change!!!!

I felt like Déjàvu while reading a blog post from a fellow blogger.... and I think it happens with everyone. You see people gathered around on the road. Some Accident!! And you don’t bother and simply pass across without bothering what had happened. But sometimes you came across situations which can actually change your whole perceptions about this kind of scenario.

Few years back I encountered one similar situation. While driving back to home from my CAT classes I saw a mob gathered on the road...I thought it’s just the same daily accident and tried to escape by taking the narrow passageway available nearby. While crossing I saw the bike, which was incidentally the prop in the accident, lying down on the road. As soon as I crossed it, something struck me & I felt I have seen this bike somewhere. I immediately stopped and rushed back to check. As I reached to the middle of crowd, my fear came alive… the one who was lying on the ground was my friend. He was bleeding and was unconscious. I could not understand what had happened and did not know what to do. Only thing which came to my mind was HOSPITAL. With a fury I arranged for an auto, took my friend into it and rushed towards the hospital. On the way, I don’t know how and why; I asked the auto driver which hospital he is taking us to. And he replied the government hospital. Somehow by god’s grace it clicked to me that going to government hospital will definitely consume more time and my friend will not get any immediate remedy over there. I asked the auto driver to take us to a nearby known private hospital. My friend was still unconscious. We reached hospital in some 10 minutes of travelling. As soon as we reached I called in for help and my friend was immediately admitted to ICU. I am really thankful to the hospital folks who didn’t even bothered me for a single thing and started the procedure with an ASAP effect. The only thing, which I could recall, they asked me to do was to call his family. By the time my friend’s family reached hospital, Doctors had already done the CT scan and other formalities. They informed his family that we need to go for an immediate surgery. They also said we reached hospital right on time if it would have been any late then things might have had turned difficult. He went through a surgery in the middle of the night. But with his family around I had this sigh of relief. My friend took around 3 months to recover back but the only thing which matter is he is great now.

After this incident, if ever I encounter any similar situation I always make sure to at least have a look and ensure the sufferer is not left unattended. Earlier I also used to escape from these messy situations like most of us but sometimes experiences change your entire outlook towards life!!!!

P.S. It was around 4 years back and I am very thankful to god that my friend Sho is simply great now and is riding his bike with the same passion again :)

Rain and the Memories!!!

While reading Monsoon Memories blog-post from one of my fellow blogger I just thought about some nostalgic memories I have with THE RAIN. Posted few there….then realized why not share it here at my place as well :)

I too have some really crazy and lovely memories linked with Rain just like all of us.

When I was kid we used to collect the rain water at the roof of our house by blocking the water exit pipe and as the water level reached to some substantial level we used to do all sort of mischievous things in it which we can do in a swimming pool.... Imagine it used to be our personal pool: P

Playing football and cricket on the muddy ground, making ourselves totally dirty. I hope everyone has done that. If not, I must tell you, you have missed one of the sheer pleasures which you can have only in Rains.

Then when I got my bicycle, idea of fun changed… We started moving out on our supersonic cycles in the heavy rain. Our main areas of target used to be the street where huge amount of water gets deposit. We used to go there making to & fro rounds of street making our self totally drenched!!! (Now that water is not supposed to be hygienic…buttt who cares: D).

Then bicycle changed to motor bike…and suddenly I found myself in college...Idea of fun now changed to longgggg drives in thundering rain & the eye-crackling lightning, with the cutting "chai" on the roadside tapari, and "bhutta" on the street. Aaah...those were the best days :):)

Then came Pune...first year Rain went just like that…I think it was the symptom of becoming a typical lethargic Software engineer. I used to wonder why people say best season to be in Pune is Monsoon. But next year I found back my love and went for some really amazing Rain Tracks and Long drives in and around Pune. In particular a couple of rides with my college pals are very close to my heart. It was kind of re-union for us. We went to Lavasa and LohGarh. Awesome places...moving there on bikes was the extreme of joy. The way to Lavasa is simply superb. You will get to see the best scenic beauty around Pune on the way!!! LohGarh – the famous trekking place. We by mistake completed two different treks around the hill on the same day: D (don’t ask me what happened on the following day: P)

And this is my 3rd year in Pune...I am utterly excited and looking forward to have a beautiful and eventful Rainy Season. Hoping to add few more worthwhile memoirs to the list :) :)

Mood: Blank

Muzic: Seasons in the Sun!!! (Westlife)

Finally here she is !!!!!!

Aaah!!! After a lot of wait finally it rained in front of me in Pune. And to tell you it’s really a delight to witness this beautiful phenomenon of nature. It rained a couple of time before as well but at one occasion I was not in the city and the second was yesterday only when I was banging my head on my comp in office. While working I was just praying it should rain tomorrow as well. So in a way you can say that was one moment when “Saraswati ji” was with me & made my wish come true...I just wonder what if I would has asked for something else at that moment :D.

Coming back to the main point...As it was my eternal wait for her – The RAIN, I had all the plans set to welcome her and be a part of her. Once it started drizzling I gathered all my roomies for the bash and we all got ready for moving out open. Then it suddenly broke into the thunderous stormy Rain with loud thunder and eye crackling lighting. Without wasting any more time we went out with the plan of moving to the hill next to our place. Our initial plan was to go on Bikes but we had only one bike of mine and somehow we could not arrange for the second one so we started on legs only. I slowly left my building and was standing in the middle of road with the rain drops trying to engross me within. This is it...this is what I was waiting for. I am part of Rain now :)

We started walking towards the hill. As we were moving I observed a strange reaction on the face of every passing by person as if they are cribbing out aloud "WTH!! We are trying to hide and you morons are moving out with pleasure" he he...this is how it goes with the rain. If you don’t want to get wet you will complain like anything and if you don’t care you’ll enjoy it to the fullest. By the time we reached half of the distance we were all drenched and quite rightly it was time for a break – The Cigarette break :) unfortunately I don’t smoke but I very well understood the elated happiness of my friends by seeing the reactions on their faces. And why not...smoking in Rain is considered as one of THE thing :) Then we again started heading towards our destination and in few minutes we were there on the HILL. To my extreme surprise there was no one apart from we four. (I am not counting those love-birds who were just inspecting the place to call it a SAFE place: D) We spent some time there watching clouds drifting apart, rain droplets falling slowly on the grass, heavy vehicle moving rashly on the highway & dogs who were looking for any hiding place. In a while the cool breeze flowing on the hill started hitting us hard & we decided – we don’t have any girl with us, so there is no point in showing the hero giri, better move home :) We started moving....but this short stint of ours was incomplete without the tea on the tapari. So we searched for a tapari & had really amazing TEA there. It’s like icing on cake to have really hot tea when you are completely wet :) Then we reached home and cooked "Bhajiye by our self to end this really beautiful Rainy evening of ours.

And now here I am writing it out thinking....the wait was indeed worth waiting :)

P.S. – I have a some beautiful and ever-lasting memories associated with RAIN which makes me genuinely crazy for her :)

Egos between Amigos

Last week I got myself into a very strange but certainly not an uncommon situation. I was on a trip to my home town and was supposed to be with my family. Despite being with my family my people I was trying to be in constant contact with one of my friend through all the possible medium of communication technology has given us...don’t think much just the SMS and Mails ;) But my friend deliberately wanted me to be with my family and was quite apprehensive in replying to whatever conversation we were having. She literally debarred me for any further communication and asked to excuse her. Out of aggression I threw her a bad message...asking let me decide what I want to do, where I want to be and with whom I want to be. My friend reciprocated to it in the same rude manner, which was so expected. After that somehow I could not make myself to continue the communication and neither my friend tried to. That was Saturday, after 3 days on Tuesday I was back to my usual routine. In between there was no communication, though I thought about it quite a lot but simply could not make a move. Don’t know it was coz of my self-respect or was it my Ego that restricted me. Tuesday gone...no one took the initiative. Wednesday whole day no communication, finally at night I saw her online in green color, certainly she would have seen me too but I took the initiative and then we had this longggggg discussion.

My point here is, Is this kind of Ego justified between friends?? If I look at things from my side, I was the primary key in there and it should be left on me what to do and where to be. But I am very sure there would be the other face of coin too. Point here is if you are tied to a relation called as Friendship, it should not matter who is taking the first step or who is making efforts to soothe the situation. If at one point of time I am on odds my friend should try and understand the situation and try to bear me at that time...off course vice-versa is applicable as well. But why this EGO stuff between friends???

As per me in the current situation if she would have left her Ego aside just for once and would have taken my aggression positively, things wouldn’t have stretched so long. After that discussion we are definitely at talking terms but we are not on the same lines now. Something has changed. This is the first time I had an argument with her and may be now we are seeing the true nature of each other. We both are pretending at best that things are back to normal but we both know...it’s not. May be this is how it goes, it may take time. But I just wish it gets restored ASAP with a “capital A”. I am not enjoying it at all.

I am throwing an open question here.....Does this Egos between Amigos make any sense? I do understand it happens...but can’t it be avoided??Any tips any suggestions?

P.S. Lately I have been involved in lot of thinking and was wondering how to differentiate between self respect and EGO. Tough task isn’t it??

P.P.S If science allow us to be at more than one place at the same time (don’t read physically), then what’s the problem in it??