Potpourri

If a person lies to you, it is not the person's fault. It is your fault that you made the person lie to you. What funda, no? I read this (or some such) on some random 'help yourself' book cover in the train today when a lady in front of me was reading it! The other day a *blind* vendor came in the train compartment to sell some bangles or some such. He kept telling people " Dekho na madam, dekhne ka paisa nahi lagta"(!!!) Train journeys are sure surreal!

First trek after coming back to Bombay (August 15, 2009) Place: Naneghat (western ghat near Kalyan) Difficulty level: Easy Time required to climb: Two and a half hours. How to reach: Reach Kalyan station and then take any state transport bus that goes via Malshes ghat. The bus driver or the conductor should know about the spot from where the Naneghat trek begins. The bus ticket is 47 rs as of today. The bus takes about an hour and a half to reach the base. Description: In the current season the mountains are really green and stones are slippery in some parts. The climbs are easy due to the step-like structure of the route. You might get to see some big yellow crabs, natural turmeric. The petals of the turmeric flower look like lotus petals and just below these pink petals there are yellow buds. The root is the part we use. Apparently, this turmeric has many good medicinal properties. It is also a bird watcher's paradise, or so we found out. (We had a company of two avid bird watc...

Today finally the stars and the planets (and the satellites if you wish) have aligned themselves strategically to orchestrate this grand event. The new laptop, the Internet connection, and yours truly are all in the same place at the same time! It has been one week at TIF R for me. The accommodation is nice and the office too. And that is a white board in my office. (Did I hear someone ask the relevance? Well, if you want to ask such questions you better not be here!) This evening I am going back home for the weekend. Tomorrow there is a big party. This is a party my parents have arranged because I have come back from Chennai and also because they are happy that I submitted the thesis. I feel strange, embarrassed, but in a good way. Here is a 'fool'- ish joke I tell at the risk of losing all my friends (would you want to be friends with someone who cracks such jokes? Not unless you are crazy!): I was taking a walk near the sea in TIFR . I just uttered "sea rocks!" a...

I wrote the following post before the previous post. But I wrote this offline. Hence posting it only now. As you can see, it is all about coming to Bombay and starting a new life etc. (This is more about missing Chennai, though.) The change has happened. I wake up in a totally different place now. Yes, In Bombay. My parents live here and I grew up here. But damn, Chennai is where I actually discovered my freedom. I miss Chennai. I hate to say this, because when I was there I only cribbed about being in Chennai. I have to admit it. I miss the stupid, idiotic little town (yes town) that Chennai is. I wake up here to the realisation that I cannot go to Cee Dee Yes ( CDS ) for shopping anymore? I wonder, what am I going to do when I feel like eating at Murugan Idly Shop? What about fruits from Palamudir Cholai ? What should I do when I feel like telling the auto driver "Left- aa " and "Right- aa " or "Bridge Pukkatal Nirutaranga " (I know someone is going t...