A place called Home

The place we call Home,
A feeling of Oneness with the universe
of belonging and identity
A place the heart craves and longs for
You need not be born there,
but still, it gives a homely feeling
A nest that fills you with love and eternal bonding
Perfume of your favorite dish,
friends you made and familiar alleys or busy roads
The joy it gives you,
a moment that brings flashes of memories
We call it home
The tears we nurse as we go to the past,
conversations that stay with us forever
 Home is personal
the equation we share with the place
No one can come between us
It's a sacred relationship
Pure as milk
Magic bubbles making a ring in our spirit
Roaming freely without the scare or fear
It tastes like marshmallow
It's home to me,
my feeling and emotions
The perfume wafting from street food
the traffic and quirkily crazy inhabitants
It sends the feeling of the homely pigeon
It's home to me.

Happy Sunday
V

Love (s) of my lives

It was the season to fall in love like in the movies. Youthful, jazzy and holding a hand to count bees under the sun. Sex was not allowed in our wildest fantasy. It was the love we did back in the 90s where an attractive face will well pierce the heart. She was the one! The heart was led to believe in the old age romance where the face will haunt one to no end. It was as pure as milk and fresh as the red rose. 

Image credit: Google

I saw her at the bus stop, hopping down from the school bus where she waited for friends, before they walked together and smiled to heavenly bliss. Oh! That face, the enticing smile that sent the pulses racing. I felt that I was going to die right now. I waited during months for an opportunity to propose, standing at the bus stop and heart beating faster than a racing car. I waited to take my chance and let the moment pass. After all, she was serenaded by her friends.

She never knew that a silent lover existed until one fine day, I took my chance and saw her waiting alone for someone. It was now or never. I stood in front of her to introduce myself, bore my heart out not with the silliest confession but with the Mujhse Fraandship Karoge type. It was lame and was naturally turned down, at first with I don't Know type of confusing answer girls are famous for. They are confused, confuse you to make wonder whether you know you are confused about their confusion. Bhaiya! Bas confusion ek bimaari hai. I excitedly pressed for the answer but was turned down.

The heart was shred into pieces when I donned the garb of road side romeo style. The solace in those days of rejection was not alcohol. Too young for that as a growing teenage! What else but sad songs from Aashiqui, Saajan or Dil Hai ke Manta Nahin. No prize for guessing which ones! If you still can't, I pity you for being such a lame lover.

The second love of my life struck me like an arrow. She came as breath of fresh dew that sent my heart singing mad romantic songs and watched her like poetry, strutted her steps in her garnet school vest and cream shirt and sparkled in her colorful glasses. She was something that I admired from a distance and brought a smile to the face, believing that she is the one. It was love. Calf love!

The heart was broken when I saw her with a dude, elder than her but that didn't stop my mad pursuit. A man in love and dreams lives in hope of hot pursuit for a couple of years. Knocked down to reality on the eve of her departure for foreign shore. Whatta fracas I made with one phone call that enraged her Dad! Move on! 

Image credit: Google/https://cdn.theatlantic.com

It was during the college days where I first saw her inside the campus and my heart was stolen. A cute Maharashtrian girl, whose smile melted me like ice in the Pune Monsoon and sent me in a tizzy. I longed for the smile and her entire gang knew about it. It was in the first year. One after the other, there was the college fashionista and model, she was super hot and I landed in college early morning, sitting at the main circle to say Hi and longed for her. She was the incarnate of hotness. No wonder guys made a beeline for her. She played too hot to handle and tough to get.

The super cute girl and my junior in college was a topper whose smile was something to die for. The moment she enthusiastically says Hi to you, you know that it’s gonna be the best day in life. Simply adorable and the cutest of all! It’s another thing that we became good friends when I was nursing my break up. I fell for her best friend and you know what it means, right?!

Love and girls fall like thunder on your head. The model and cool friend she became, suddenly disappeared from college when I was planning to make the move. The funny thing is that we liked each other and both of us knew about it. Still, nothing happened. It was a difficult and one sided love story in an age where love and romance shifted to hot intimacy. The time when cinema already made the huge steps, removed from the innocence of romance in the 90s to unabashed sensuality to murder love with Bheege Hont Tere!! She tormented me to death. Yes!! 

Finally, true love happened in the summer of 2008 in the oddest of places at Rajabhai Tower, University of Mumbai where both of us were studying for our masters. She was the true one that I would call Jaan when one sleepy afternoon she walked to me inside the colonial library asking for a sharpener. Cutting chai at the tapdi, exploring South Bombay and eating yummiest Biryani. She came and changed my life, gave me a new perspective on things. It was the love that made me mad, falling over and over with her every single moment where I was ready to take drastic steps. True love is too good to be true. We went our separate ways. It was destiny playing havoc. She was the true one that entered the door of my heart without knocking and disappeared. I don't regret her at all for she was an angel to me.

Love

Vishal

Memory Stick

Memory is like the magical wand. Over time, it fizzles like dust flying out of thin air and nicely hidden in the misty cloud. We try to live closer to reality yet the good times struck us like pricking sensation on the skin every now and then. In our quest for everything wonderful to repeat itself pretty much like the time that wheezed away, we lose and strive, at the same time, to discover our real selves. After all, where has the hay days gone? It feels like yesterday only.

Picture credit: Awanija Sharma.
The days of glory with Professor Joseph Lobo, Pravesh Jung Sir and students of Fergusson College, our batch at the Katta.

Today, a classmate and a very wonderful girl Awanija (Thurday) tagged me in pictures of college days with our most favorite Professor Lobo Sir, dressed in his trademark sleeveless blue denim cardigan along with Jung Sir, who shared a laugh as they stood at the college Katta during some fest going. Yes! Fergusson College is a famous for putting the desk at the Main Circle or Katta where volunteers sat and did stuff. There were students standing and sitting, laughing together and it kindled decade old memories like a flash point. Truly, a Kodak moment in an age where phone camera were not tucked in every tiny pocket. It's been a decade when we left our alma mater Fergusson College, the place that gave us priceless memories. These were the best days of life where we stood face-to-face with our destiny. It was the best thing that ever happened to us.

Why do we hold on so much to a time that elapsed where everything neared perfection? Honestly, it feels like yesterday only where nothing on earth could ever go wrong. The pictures sent a floodgate of good moments spent together, making me emotional and drop of tears spurted on the cheek. I mean, it's so vivid and lively, traveling to the past that I adored. At times, I feel whether such things really happened to me or I just woke up from three years old slumber, imagining some random and perfect college days.  I can't help getting  the jittery sensation of being out of sync with reality that is too much for the brain to take. Flashback! Reality! Flashback. Again Reality!! It sends shock waves that travel faster than the light to the grey cell, a tale of two worlds alien to each, and being stuck like glue together. Quite a herculean task! Trust me on that. It seems like a thriller potboiler that connects the dot in one's life.

There were special days when we would storm our way in college, pretending to be early birds which we were not, by the way. Wallstreet or Oorja were our college fests. Superhits!!! On a normal day, an invisible ghost would be a better student than us, attending the first lecture of the day as early as 7 a.m but we were not. Of course, college fests were an exception to the rule.

Once I attended my Sociology lecture after ages during the first week in January 2005 when Vishal Sir, my namesake, greeted me, 'What a pleasant surprise. Vishal in class. New Year resolution.' We spent our time, not in lecture halls but Savera, the now defunct restaurant just opposite college, the hang out spot of Fergussonians. It was the best of time. Ha! How can I forget the only lectures I would attend were those of Bhalerao Ma'am Economics lecture and Lobo Sir's Philosophy. Yes! Lobo Sir's class was curry for the soul, discussing at length about ethics, marriage, euthanasia, friendship, freedom, sexuality and religion, just a few things my silly mind is able to recollect.

It feels like a moment of a lifetime shimmering in all its forms and magnificent glory in the box called brain.  Think about it, frolicking throughout the year, skipping lectures to laugh in our favorite hang out, watching movies, college festival and freaking out three months before exams. We had a date set with Xerox wale bhaiya, borrowing notes from our diligent friends and hopping across the road to get things done. What a treasure trove of memory carved in Pune! It was pure bliss and selfless love. We lived life King Size, took things for granted, be it our friends, college, and life itself. Pure and simple souls we were and yet to explore the vagaries of a ruthless or bad world. It wouldn't be wrong to say that we were shielded from nastiness. Friendship was and is still very pure to our eyes. Yes! I was immature and getting worked out over petty squabbles.

The college years defined and gave us an identity which still mirror our reality as human beings. This memory gave us a reason to smile, cheer, laugh and cry as we harked back to the past where we studied together in group, shared notes and discussed exam timings over SMS. It was a beautifully simple world where Facebook never existed nor did WhatsApp! Social networking meant meeting everyone in person and no plan was made, but landed straight to Savera or college. 

There are moments that we can never dissociate ourselves from. It's called memories that would bear such an impact on our growing years, seeking the small pleasure of life in all its hues and forms. No word can describe that era where every moment of life was relished unlike the fake and mechanical glory of sharing every possible shot on Facebook or Instagram.

Innocent crushes, there were many. The sheer excitement of falling for someone and drooling over her, adorned our college lives like the honey drop. Some of them became super awesome and loyal friends who stood with us through thick and thin. We made so many good friends, who shouted at us for being such assholes or idiots, bore the brunt of our anger and laughed at our stupidity. The times spent were priceless and blessing falling from sky.

It would be quite a task to revive a dollop of goodness and perhaps, a memorabilia won't suffice to recollect the awesomeness flung at us by life. We laughed and cried the loudest, indulged in immature antics and behaved at our stupidest best. Our personality and emotions came alive and college days made us who we are today.

I can't believe it's been 10 years since college life ended. Somebody, please give me back those days of flawlessness. Everything was painted white and not black. I still remember sitting with Aditi who taught us Philosophy and me & Neraj fighting or my coffee breaks. Aditi was laughing at how her students keep fighting or exited her class to make coffee in the kitchen, every now and then.

Or, the stupid Environmental Studies lecture we gotta attend on Sundays and how much we whined about it. Yet, we had no choice to be able to get our SYBA mark sheet. Facepalm! Winking!! It's another story that some of us faked our friends' attendance by writing down their roll numbers at the end of the lecture since they were too busy sleeping after Saturday night parties. And, the project to had to be submitted on Monday. It was a Saturday. I chilled as if the project was some game played by our college and the filmy buff in me chose to watch Filmfare Awards instead when Adi and Neraj came down on my neck urging me to copy someone's neatly designed project with quotes cum pictures. I recall Neraj visiting us and told me, 'You are too chilled out.' Finally, someone submitted for me on Monday when I was busy somewhere, doing what I don't know!! Thanks for such friends who corrected my project which was a total mess and made it appear presentable.

Stealing happiness;

We made life happen;

Memories were just a name;

We opened our palms to grab stars;

It shall remain  etched forever;

in our nerves;

Soulful experience that didn't leave us and never will. 

Stream of tears,

longing for moments to reappear.

You know what's magic?

Once it happens, it will probably never repeat again

Bringing a smile to faces and gently stroking the heart.

It's such fragrance in our lives that never let me give up on anything, no matter how tough and rough things can be.  Memories of our college days echo happiness in all its forms and the joy or insanity cannot be described in Shakespearian terminology. There are so many emotions flowing right now to describe the re-kindling of feelings, sorely missing those college days, friendship and happiness that cannot be traded for anything else. A time in life where race, class, creed, color or class didn't or will probably never matter. Grateful to what life has offered!

Postscript: The post was prompted by Awanija tagging me and a couple of other friends-cum-classmates or comment by Avneet on our famous Xerox trip.

With Love
V

National Train Day: Railway memories

The National Train Day is celebrated on May 14. I haven't been a frequent traveller on Indian railway except during my Mumbai-Pune days and of course, was a daily traveller in our life line in Maximum City, Local. Let me try to go back to those days in Mumbai and Pune where I was a regular train traveler.

It was in 2005 when I booked a second class ticket (unreserved) in my favorite Deccan Queen. It was early 8 a.m when I had to meet someone in Mumbai. The family visited for few days and it was a do or die situation. I scampered inside the train when few guys were cleaning the berths. They asked me to give them a handful of notes to sit on the berth. I played along. It was much later I realized that the train was half empty and would have got the seat anyway. It was window seat and it mattered.

The train rattled and loved the sight as it whooshed away from Pune station. Chai was ordered and samosas to fill the empty stomach.On the menu, reading the Times of India and peeping through the window, admiring the picturesque view at Lonavla, Mahabaleshwar and of course, the tunnel ride at Khandala. I would get off my seat to stand near the door, watching the train speeding its way inside the tunnel. It suddenly became dark but a ride totally worth it. 

Image source:https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ISMEQWp0Zac/maxresdefault.jpg

It was a three-hour journey spent in peace and admiring the scenery. There was an envy to smoke and looked furtively around, where I wondered whether I can take a risk? Of course, I did hanging near to the door and curled smoke to be lost in the valley at Lonavla. Travelling by the Indian railway has such a romantic feeling where you could weave stories at the back of your imagination.

The train slowed its way on the track. It made me smile. I can see the yellow-and-black cabbies. It's Mumbai. We are in the outskirt. My heart started to dance. The feeling of stomping on the feet in Maximum City. Soon, our Deccan Queen suddenly sprang to life and zoomed with speed on the railway track. I felt like a King getting down at the iconic Chattrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST). Whatta feeling.

I was supposed to get back to Pune on the same day. No booking was made and pining to get a free berth on the way back to Pune. I got the shock of the life when I boarded the train coming from Hyderabad and halted at CST on its way to Pune. It was jam packed and hardly any space to breathe. My legs pained. I was like, how on earth gonna bear the voyage for three hours. I moved to stand inside the toilet. Trust me, it was quite a breather to get some space to stand and breath free. Finally, the journey was done and the moment I got down at the Pune junction past midnight, it felt like the skies and clouds conspired to make me walk freely. I felt like a free bird, evading from the cage where human masses and thick breath covering the cloud. I became the cloud. 

A train journey full of tribulations but totally worth it.

Postscript: This post was inspired by Sharukh Bamboat who blogs on IndiaDestinationsBlog. Check his incredible post on luxury trains on National Train Day. It brought back my days being a traveller.

Superstar Ganesha in town

The favorite God is here! The man with the midas touch who brings all superstars to their knee. You know why? Because he is the biggest superstar of all, mighty and he is visiting our home for 10 days to charms everyone with his trunk. He's is the darling of the masses and make them dance energetically to his tune. He smiles, sit and watch. Welcome my friend Ganesha, the destroyer of ignorance and spreading knowledge, intelligence as well as wisdom.

You will find him in every pandal in the nook-and-corner of Mumbai, Pune and the pockets of Maharashtra. Hey! Don't freak out for you have 10 days to celebrate his grandeur in zest and style. Ganpati Bappa Morya! It's the Ganesh Utsav. Our super duper star crosses the sea to enter our house in style and we relish Modak to make Ganesh Chaturthi a grand affair, spreading love, together and removing all barriers, be it, caste, creed, sex and race.

Walk on the streets in Mumbai, you will find Ganesha everywhere, sitting majestically on his throne on the pandal decorated with devotion and love. You don't need to walk miles and shedding sweat to find him. He is omnipotent, omniscience and all pervading. Hop at the local station and the pandal is right in front of you. All you need to do is to pay your respect to Ganesha, our friend.

Our friend never shy away to bring the crowd together for the visarjan at Girgaum Chowpatty where a motley crowd come together, carrying him on their shoulders, the day we bid him a farewell. You see him in different avatars in clay, small, miniature and jumbo size, riding high on the shoulders of devotees who sing with zeal and passion, 'Ganpati Bappa Morya, Pudchya Varshi Laukarya.'

The agnostic in me, fell in love, with Ganpati, the day I set foot in 'Amchi Mumbai' witnessing the joy of the 'Bappa' celebrated king size on the streets of Mumbai and Pune. Yes! They danced to his tune on 'Jhakaas' songs from Mach Gaye shor to 'Tera Jalwa' and 'Haar Taraf Hai Yeh Short' in Maximum City. Can Mumbai be complete without Ganesh Utsav'? Just plain unimaginable! The joy of watching the crowd swooning to his tune, be it in the slums or on the streets, where the underdogs and cream of the crop become one. Ganesha unites his people, be it Hindus or Muslims, making space for each other to celebrate love and religion. It's the beauty of India or a dream for our people to rise ahead petty matters and ego.

Hey! Chill! Ganesha has reached our shores to woo us and he is not going so soon. Our friend gonna make mischief, cement hearts and relationships for ten days. He is our most adorable that our celebrities deck in color, bring him home for 10 days and perform his arati. The fun has just started and let's make it a lifetime celebration.

Ganpati Bappa Morya! Hail our friend Ganesha

With love

V

Tale of cities on a prowl

Caught between the devil and the deep blue sea, life intertwined from one junction of life to another, you don't shift loyalty between opportunities thrust at your feet. At the risk of being labeled a traitor, you gently remind them that you are trapped by your emotions that overlap as you traipse across the globe.
A tale of cities that you visit leave an indelible mark on your existence as a human being as you feel a sudden connect with the soul of the cities which indulges you and make you sizzle. I have a tendency to be emotionally connected to cities and places I visit and make the places my own home. I set up shop in Pune years back and this is where my ongoing romance started as I gyrated to the city's own joy. We laughed, cried and romanced together as the city whom I made my home long time back held sway to my antics and carried me in its womb. The very thought of leaving the city makes me shudder as I thought in disbelief..what would I do if tomorrow, I have to leave Pune for an altogether new place, chasing opportunities and new challenges. Pune is a city that I call home and the people are like family and not once, you feel that you are an outsider. It's the place where you fit in so easily and completely laid back as it is, you can enjoy a morning coffee in the restaurants and socialize with strangers at random. Whenever, you come back, it's always homecoming and the city gently remind you that you have never and can  never leave it. It's called the city of Peshawar and completely romantic in appeal. This is where I started my career and where I truly belong and no force in the world can pull us apart.
Three hours away from Pune comes Maximum city, the city that never sleeps which is a world in itself. Yeah! You got it right, Mumbai..amchi Mumbai where the people irrespective of where they come from, Maharashtra, Gujurat, Jhammu, Goa, Assam or Uttar Pradesh pride in calling themselves Mumbaikar and there is no harm in calling yourself Mee Mumbaiakar not an ode to the late Balasaheb or Raj Thackeray but you have a sense of belonging irrespective of whether your are Maharashtrian born or not. Whether it's the Queen Necklace view at night, strolling at Marine Drive, Chowpatthy, local trains or Colaba, you know that you are right in the soul of the city. As you get down from the train at the iconic Chitrapathi Shivaji Terminus (CST) and find yourself among the seam of crowd, you know you are in Mumbai. Get set to struggle and jostle your way among the berserk and increasingly restless crowd as well as nerve-racking traffic.Like they say, if you can make it in Mumbai, you can make it in any part of the world.
I share a love-and-hate relationship with Mumbai.I mean I used to..When I shifted base to amchi Mumbai, I love everything about the city so much that I became obsessed with Mumbai..even the things that doesn't make a Mumbaikar proud, I used to overlook them..prod me about beggars, filth and water-logging, I would brush it aside and swoosh that it is the soul of the city. In no time, the city was getting on my head and like two lovers who had enough of each other, we started finding fault wi and the complaints as well as constant whining started to unfurl itself..oh! it's too fucking crowded, the people have bad breath, too much rush and why the fuck are they so tense even if they have to catch the movie at the plex..the war-mongering started and the perfect excuse to evade to Pune for weeks and weeks and weeks.
I came back to the city and after a couple of soul-searching days, it was love at first sight again. wow! Yeh Mumbai hai meri jaan! Amazing buildings..Rajabhai Tower, CST, locals-our life line, yellow-and-black cabs and greeting pals with kai re over a cuppa cutting chai. Every time, you are back to the city, you wonder why BMCC don't indulge in elongating the city to make way for more and more migrating pigeons like me....You feel that you need to unlearn and learn the new A-Z of Mumbai. The city keep changing every other alternate day and this is what makes Mumbai so utterly charming. You feel that you are at odds, trapped and swarmed in world pregnant with contradiction and the feeling conveyed to you, Horns Ok, everything strictly allowed if done to the extreme. You fight with yourself coz you know you gotta be back. Mumbai can pour outburst of anger, happiness, joy and sadness..
I had a one night stand with Delhi.it's a case of Harry Met Sally and you are surprised as to how the city' charm fell on you. I was charmed with Delhi and the wonderful monuments, be it Kutub Minar, the stainless Metro and Janpat, Connaught Place and would tell to everyone that matters that I wouldn't mind shifting base to Delhi, a place that I abhorred so much thanks to the advise of friends that I shouldn't be there ever in my life.
I am caught between the devil and the deep blue sea as the love triangle or four angle between me, Pune, Mumbai and New Delhi seems so fluid and fluorescent. I have the knack of being emotionally attached to cities I found myself trapped in. Which city do my loyalty belongs to? It's a case of brand loyalty to all or none. Each city bear its own charms, and of course, beautiful women and soul-stirring appeal. My love for Pune an Mumbai doesn't diminish in the face of newly found love for New Delhi. At the risk of being called a slut vying to bed a new lover every single night and a traitor by my Mumbai frenz who can't stand New Delhi, I wonder where I stand. Though I confess that my love for Pune and Mumbai remains stronger than ever and will not be superseded by the capital city, New Delhi remain a babe to be explored. 

Cities bang bang
Good night
by
city lover

Happines Quotient

Love, life, moolah, career, books, journalism, Facebook and G-chat. That's what my life sum up to. A more apt description of life would be that I am only too happy indulging in things that I enjoy doing. Howzzat post at 4 a.m in the morning! Our generation faces lotsa tribulations as we juggle our time in work, relationship and mundane things like watching movies, reading for pleasure and brooding on problems in the world. And, we choose to smartly brush aside sex and lust and after all, who has time for all that intimate emotions yaar when we are stuck up with the hum drum of city life. The little time that we are spared, it is spent making trip to the wonderful memories we left behind.
We were told that it's a fab time we are living. Their generation earn much less than we are earning and that we have plenty of opportunity. Once, on my way to Infinity mall, Andheri Mumbai, I met an old man.he must be above 70-year-old and he told me, India is booming and you guys have so much opportunity. You can work in the call centre and make money and our generation made money with less opportunities. What my learned uncle failed to ignore was the financial crisis that spelled havoc. Theek hai! India was booming at that time and our growth rate is still positive and jobs are created throughout the country. Yet! there are freeze in economic sectors and as you look for opportunities outside the home land, there come a point you wanna come back home. Yet! You can't because there is a freeze in your professional field and you gotta wait impatiently for the worse to get over. As if it's the Tsunami that's hovering over your head for some time. Sometimes, it's not just professional fulfillment that matters but happiness.
By the way, have you read the happiness survey in Hindustan Times during the week. Mumbai scores much over Delhi..well! That's support the claim that happiness matters and not money! To be frank, Mumbai sounds better than Delhi and no matter how much I hate to admit it, I was in Delhi in November and I have fallen prey to its charm. Yes! I said Delhi is a wonderful a city and to the extent that a friend of mine who is born and bred in Mumbai told me, you have shifted loyalty, Traitor! Well, he is in Australia right now. Of course, he was kidding but I feel like being caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. Ahem! Ahem!
The respondents in Delhi are more stressed out than Mumbaikars. Well that news to me not because Delhi is stressed out but I feel that the stress quotient in a city like Mumbai is no less. Come on, Mumbai is a city where you need to be constantly on the edge and you are busy like hell..forget about sparing time for others, you can hardly afford any time for yourself. That's the city on the move for you. True, Mumbai is more chilled out than Delhi in the sense that Mumbai is less aggressive and somewhat better place for women. But, it is debatable.
The survey ranks Mumbai on the sixth position with a happiness quotient of 776 as compared to Delhi which find itself at number 15 with an HQ of 609. It is assessed by our happy leaning through leisure time, entertainment and social life. Well, the world is crazy. What surprises me even more that Pune's level of happiness reaches 748 at number nine. Well, I just can't agree that Mumbai scores inches ahead of Pune. True, Pune is no longer the peaceful and laid back city that it used to be and the guilty are the builders who have put a nail in the coffin of Mumbai are hell bent to destroy Pune.
It's a crazy world and I wonder what defines happiness for an average person. Money? But, it entails a more stressful life. Friends? I agree with that coz it's important for us to have our emotional support in place but above all, the time to indulge in things we love doing and satisfy our creative quest. I, for one, love sipping cutting chai at the tapdi in the company of friends. Do we have time to so?! I wonder. Anyway, let's try to be happy!

Blessed with such a friend

Flashback: Pune 2004-06
We shall not part.
We stay in each other's hearts.
That's what we tell people when they ask where do we stay!!!!!
No matter what, we shall stand the test of time.
That's what true friendship is all about.
We may have issues or disagreements.
But, at the end of the day if all goes well,
That's means our friendship was not made of clay.
Celebrating the joy of friendship.


Today, I narrate the story of my friendship. A friend that I met in college, Adi..my bro and perhaps my everything. He became one of my biggest support system in Fergusson College in Pune. That was between 2004 to 2006. Adi shouted and yelled at me when I was fucking up things. Over the years, we turned out to become great friends. We met in a party for the first time and we were shit drunked over Smirnoff India vodka with orange juice. Since then, there was no looking back. He was one of the few people I didn't take too long to connect with. Normally, I take a long time to connect with people but this friendship was here to stay. I knew about. My sixth sense told me and I am never wrong in that way. I trust my sixth sense:)
He is the mature one and I was the kid in the group coz I think with my heart and not the head..I mean I am still a kid who has never learned the ropes of the rational world. Adi was always pissed off with me....
Dude! What a born chutiya you are, Adi would tell me.
We would get engaged in a heated argument. Once, we were so sloshed in a party and he told the girls make sure I am dropped home.
To which I would reply:
Haan, mein doodh peeta bacha hoon na.
There are several such anecdotes and incidents that ocurred during the course of our friendship. I guess writing a 1000 pages book on it won't suffice. That was the bonding that we shared during our college days. Ha! How can I miss the lunch and dinner treat at his home. His mom prepared the best food in the world. The coffee that aunty makes is awesomely fab! I still miss aunty's Maharashtrian food and not to forget the mangoes that his dad would bring all the way from Nagpur.
The gaalis that we would generously throw at each other...Abe madarchod tu abhi gyaan mad de..I would tell him. That was in response to the crush I developed on Miss M..I saved her number as princess M. He would tell me:
Chutiya. you are not cut out for him.
I would reply: Abe gandu chup karna....
That was our friendship.
I would call him bastard and he would call me asshole. We were known as asshole and bastard and not to forget our 'gay act' just for fun as we got pleasure in teasing the gal he was dating. Mind you! The bro-mance was done in the presence of his then girlfriend at that point of time.
I vividly remember the crush I had on miss G. I wanted to declare my feeling to her but there was some hesitation. She just came from her holidays and I was grilled by Adi and four more people. I was shit scared since we were friends and there was always this fear that I might lose my friendship with her.
That was the fun part as those four guys were like..abe chutiya just tell her and this bhosari ke going by the name of Adi just took my phone threatening me..gandu if you don't tell her, I am going to tell her pretending to be you. Well, he taught me self-confidence that I never had.
Adi-Bhenchod..now just tell her 1 4 3
Me- Chutiya yeh kya hai?
Adi-I love you
Me-Abe lund..marwage kya?
Adi-Saale tu bhaiyya bole dena usske..take a chance chutiya
I wrote 1 4 3 as I reach for miss G reliance number..
I hesitate, close my eyes and press her number..
Five, ten minutes gone..no reply ting ting
Me-Gandu dekh pakka ussko gussa aayi
Adi- Chutiya!
Beep beep..
Miss G-What does that mean
Me- (Of course prodded by this chutiya): What do you think it is?
Miss G- Well, it was a stupid game that we used to play in first standard.
Me- (Not entirely my doing)..G..I wanted to tell you that since long...I really like you..................

The next day she sent an sms..Vishal, I am sorry that I was rude to you yesterday...nopes I am not revealing anything on this space..the rest is history and I was dancing in the kitchen.
Well, Adi thanks a ton, dude.
Whether playing truth and dare where he made me reveal soo much or smoking and discarding the butt in his magic pot or skipping the exams, we have done all that...We bonded over alcohol and smoking.
There was time when we were not speaking terms at all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!He was pissed off with me for some time, entirely my doing as I went into my shell and decide to cut off from the whole world. He moved to Australia and me to Mumbai. Then, once he called me from Australia and we spoke for some time.Quite formally I would say! Then, we re-connected on Facebook and it was like the good 'ole' days. We called each other a few times and degree of awesomeness cannot be quantified.
Today, I can say that this is a friendship that stood the test of time. Amen to that! We haven't seen each other for almost 5 years now and we shall very soon meet each other in India. I am confident of that. Like I said, my sixth sense cannot and shall not fail me.
To that, cheers to bastard and asshole.

P.S: It's about my equation with Adi. If the Hindi cusswords offend you, please refrain from commenting.

Happy Diwali

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Happy Diwali. The festival of light is here and wishing all you folks and family wala a very happy and prosperous Diwali. May the light always shine in your life and brighten your big heart. Diwali is and will always be one of my favorite festival. 
The day when lunch and dinner is forgotten or skipped. Why not? Sweet is the way to go. Diwali is the best celebrated in the North but Maharashtra is not far from behind as you venture in the Peth area, you are bombarded with fireworks and crackers. One feel to be in the border as street urchins sell us flowers and crackers. If you are not careful, your bike may bump on someone. It is the day where I try not to drive in Pune as there are crackers everywhere and don't want to slip and suffer from injury. That's the fun. A variety of sweets on the day as the shops make a killing as stocks soar.
This Diwali I gonna watch Ra One as I have to give a review on the latest SRK movie. Hmm! The invitation can be considered to be a Diwali gift and post that the tedious task of penning the review. It's been long but enjoy doing that. Unfortunately, this time on Diwali I will be in the office. It reminds me that tomorrow morning I have to go to some sweet shop as we will be carrying a story on Diwali and get my name on the feature list. So not bad for Diwali as I can get my name for 2 stories, one for Diwali sweets and on Ra One. Can't be sweeter than that.
I'm dead tired right now. Really wanna make it long but the body is not making any leeway for that. Shall leave you with a beautiful, googled Diwali picture.

Happy Diwali.
Cheers