The fun called Goa - Part 1

                            
What happens in Vegas, remains in Vegas. Well, what happens in Goa, definitely doesn't remain in Goa. It comes along with you, stays with you, takes you back to Goa.(At least, I'd like to believe)
This ain't gonna be a blog where I tell you which places to go, what to eat, what to see. If you came with that in mind you can still go back. For those who wanna know when it's time to say,"Dude! that's some major shit that is happening in your life. It's all so fucked up", it's for you guys. Call them rants if you want. All this, coming from the girl in red shorts. Well, I would be pleased to say that I had almost lost my job for this and strangely so I had no problem with that and trust me it was more than worth it.(Secretly, I wished my boss fired me. ;) Why I have not quit my job already, is a different story altogether for a different time)

The trip was special this time.
a) It was G.O.A, the ultimate fun destination that I had been planning for so long, strictly with friends.
b) This break came after 1.5 years of non-stop working(some of the Sundays too)
c) All-girls trip for the first time ever! (Highly recommended)
d) It was one of my best friend's bachelorette, hence it had to be super wild. Wild, I made sure, it was. ;) (Suddenly am feeling so old, seeing friends getting married :( )
e) Last year was weird, this break was much needed.

After exchanging almost 250 emails with my gal pals, we were finally Goa-bound. Precious things i learned while planning this:
a) Girls will start gossiping anywhere. They don't care what the concerned issue in the email is.
b) When people say girls are a confused lot, very sadly I will have to agree with them now.
c) Just keep saying yes to whatever is being planned else you'll find yourself into a never ending loop of suggestions and confusions, even on things as petty as sun-screen.
d) When the water starts getting over your head, take charge, become the leader and start taking decisions for them. Trust me, you'll become the bad-ass for once but actually you are doing THEM a favor.
e) Planning is still easier, execution mammoth.

The friend who is supposed to get married has not gone so far as next state, except for where she was born, where she grew up and where she studied. She has never seen a disc in her life, never did a night out with her friends (except for hostel) and is going to get married to a nice guy with perfectly creased shirt, shining shoes, frame less spectacles, blackberry at its place and parting cleanly visible, the kinds your parents want you to get married to. He is a very nice guy though(I have met him). All good girls meet good guys. And girls like me, well they think the good guys exist and want to meet them. When the good guys do show up, they freak out. We need someone to tell us that it's all okay and that you are not weird if you don't believe in commitment and if it makes you develop a cold feet. Again, it's a different story altogether for a different time. So for her, we had to make it large and make it large we did(pun totally intended ;)). She was totally insane by the end of it, trust me on that.

DAY 1:
So finally, one fine morning we were on plane to Goa. No cute stewards around. Fail.

                                          Pic 2 # Delhi Airport

I personally hate flying. I mean it's good for the initial part of the time when we are airborne, but the overall experience is a little short of harrowing for me. The take-off, the landing, the exploding eardrums and consequent head-ache, the monotony of the scenery outside(yea, am not one of those who is fascinated by the sky and clouds), and the only person sitting next to you mostly wants to sleep. Trains on the other hand are super interesting, the only disadvantage being long hours consumed in traveling. Though, am not much of a talker than the talkee especially when it comes to strangers but it's fun, the ever changing landscapes, even observing people, getting engaged in an interesting conversation with a stranger is icing on the cake. Even the curiosity of who's gonna sit next to you for the next 16-17 hours of journey is another exciting thing, praying for a handsome bloke to come and take the seat. But call it a string of bad luck, prayers never worked. :-/ Or may be all the cool guys have started taking flights. Damn! People are forgetting the simplicity of life, of traveling via trains and talking to strangers, sharing food with them, finding out common interests or even discussing the pathetic condition of trains these days and why flying is better.

Sometimes there comes a time in our life when our life is going on at the speed of 900kmph and we miss out on all the things that just pass by. A smile, a word, a flower, a breeze and in my case this time, a feeling of cool wave hitting my feet gently. That's the time we should press the brake with all our might. Screeeeech. Halt. Think. Reflect. Is it worth it?

                                          Pic 3 # Calangute Beach
 
Coming back to the trip, the first impression of Goa was not good on me to be honest. But the fault was mine. I was expecting wrong things from Goa. When I used to think about Goa, I would just imagine beautiful beaches, sunsets et al. Goa is not just about that I realized after doing some roaming and spending time there. Thank god I didn't let the first impression stay for long. Goa is definitely about beaches and sunsets but it is also about fun, about masti, music, awesome food and drinks, awesomer people and awesomest nightlife. I realized it within 3 hours of being in Goa, when I came out of the first restaurant in Calangute beach. Pathetic beach, I must say(After seeing the most amazing beaches of Andamans, blue water and white sand, you will surely not like anything else, so my fault, not the beach's). Wayyy too crowded with shady people around. We were damn hungry, that may be another reason why we didn't like that beach and cause of which we were getting a bit grumpy too. There was this restaurant called Sans Lobo where we ate food twice our capacity cause a) we were damn hungry b) the food was damn good.
After that we went to Baga Beach, all walking. It must have been good 3-4 kms and by the time we reached Baga we were again tired, grumpy, pissed and hungry. But as soon as we sat in the restaurant called St. Anthony's which is by the beach, we were our peppy-selves again. Coming to think of it now, walking to Baga was not that bad an idea after all. You get to know the actual things about the place when you roam about walking, taking time and seeing things.
The thing that we missed in Calangute we got it here, nice clean beach, nice crowd, nice music and to top it all Karaoke. Except for a couple of us noone had seen a beach before, they went wild(we were seven girls). It was night time but still we splashed, we played by the sea-side.

                                          Pic 4# Baga Beach fun. We had some ass kickin time there
 
And after that 7 girls singing on the top of their lungs, "Summer of  '69" and Complicated, joined by almost whole of the restaurant, it couldn't get wilder than this. We knew then Goa had arrived!

                                          Pic 5 # Karaoke night at St. Anthony's, Baga Beach

Contd.

I am not fine anymore...

I am not fine anymore...


I am fighting a fight within myself.


I am fighting to keep the memories that are just passing by.


I am fighting to remember the look in your eyes.


I am fighting to keep my palms moist of the sweat when we were holding hands.


I am fighting to keep myself one piece when your memories are tearing me apart.


I am fighting not to be with you.


When you asked me to go, it was you who never left.


When I am all alone, I say things to you that you may never hear.


We had so many beautiful memories, but the only memory left with me is when you were going away.


I want to hate you,


I shout at you while I am vacuuming my house.


I don't feel you anymore, even if you are like this storm inside me.


I will wait for you forever, but I wish that you never come back.


I know I will never be fine anymore.

The girl in yellow slippers

She is a nice girl.
She loves to play guitar.
She is pretty.
She climbs two steps at a time.
She walks straight into the puddles of water and not around them.
She stops to give alms to the old man on the sidewalk.
She loves rain.
Her mother cooks cereal for her every morning.
She puts on her jeans and goes to college every day. She loves it.
She has crush on a guy in her class who steals a glance at her when she is not noticing.
She hates make up.
She hates long nails.
She likes to dress casual.
She loves her younger sister.
She cries a bucketful everytime she watches 'Titanic'.
Her favourite romantic movie is "When Harry met Sally".
She can listen to Whitney Houston and Adele all night long.
She's crazy about Michael Jackson and cried her eyes out the day he died.
She likes to write in her diary and keeps it locked.
She comes back from college at 7 in the evening.
She puts on heavy makeup.
She puts on long artificial nails.
She puts on a revealing dress.
She goes to a place where she is welcomed and noone looks at her peculiarly.
There is a different man waiting for her this time.
He is the English professor from her college.
She won't be able to go to college from tomorrow.
She will never be able to see the guy she had crush on.
She is the girl in yellow slippers.

100 things that make me happy...

My DayZero project(101 things to do in 1001 days) required me to jot down one hundred things that make me happy. Also I need to update my blog every month for the same. So i gave it a thought and decided that the next blog would be 100 things that make me happy. Some are personal so I may not write them all here but deep inside i know it. Here we go, in no particular order:

1) My family. Well whose doesn't. My mum, dad, sisters and bro can make me happy anytime I see them.
2) Anything about my niece. Prettiest face in the world. Anything she does and says is soooo cute.
3) Rain. Dancing in the rain or just standing under rain or sitting by my window watching it rain..makes me glee even when I am very upset.
4) Read. Gives me immense satisfaction.
5) Write about anything and everything.(yeee...happy right now ;))
6) Play guitar. I am starting to learn and enjoying every bit.
7) Watching sitcoms on my machine.
8) Winters. Love 'em. The layers of clothes and the cozy feeling inside them.
9) Loving someone.
10) Being loved.
11) Bringing smile on kids' faces.
12) Teaching slum kids.
13) When I am hugged when I need it the most.
14) Day dreaming.
15) Follow my dreams.
16) Getting the solution of a problem.
17) Being appreciated.
18) A name flashes on my cell phone when I least expect it and most want it.
19) Competing for something i really want.
20) Whenever I see Sachin Tendulkar play. :)
21) Surprises.
22) Being with my friends.
23) Adventure things. Except for heights, bring it on!
24) Travelling, BIG TIME.
25) Follow what my heart says.
26) Dangerous swings. It shit scares me but it satiates the adventure freak inside me.
27) The feeling when I ask some questions to my teachers and they get confused and cannot answer me back.
28) Being there for my friends and family.
29) Remembering old fond memories when I go to bed and close my eyes to sleep.
30) Meeting a stranger I may never meet again and having a real good and interesting conversation with her/him.
31) Learning new things.
32) Doing new things.
33) Pregnant women..They are so pretty.
34) Seeing old pictures.
35) Playing childhood games.
36) Conversing with my sisters.
37) Planning for next trip with friends.
38) Finding money in old bag or jeans pocket.
39) Opening gift wraps. The gift doesn't excite me.The surprise element is the thrill.
40) Seeing cookery and travel shows. Ironically I hate cooking but love watching shows.
41) Listening to my favourite playlist of songs.
42) Sitting alone and thinking.
43) The travel time from home to office and the way back. It's almost three hours a day. That's when I am all by myself. I gaze out of the window into nowhere. Love it.
44) When a friend who I had a fight with texts me that she/ he missed me.
45) Being in the most comfortable clothes.
46) Enjoying things in the moment without caring who is watching.
47) Jumping straight into the puddles of mud and not going around them.
48) Letters.(on paper not emails)
49) Doing forbidden things.
50) Singing my fav songs on top of my lungs. I like to know the lyrics of the songs and then sing along.(at times in my worst possible voice..come on..it is fun!! Don't ask me to sing in public though ;))
51) Anything creative I did.
52) Hand-made gifts. Not the expensive ones from markets. Anything you make me by giving it some thought.
53) Exploring new places. I love visiting historical places in Delhi and know the history behind them.
54) Long drive from Dehradun to Mussoorie.
55) Birthday and Birthday cakes ^_^
56) Long walks in a romantic weather. especially walking bare foot on wet grass.
57) Jelly kind toffees.
58) Getting calls from long lost friends unexpectedly.
59) Reading old text messages or emails.
60) Dancing.
61) Moon-lit and starry night.(I can stare at the moon for the entire night)
62) Cool breeze.
63) Holding hands.
64) Eating good food. (I am not a foodie though)
65) Smiles
66) PJs.
67) When someone understands me especially when I am not using words.
68) Journeys
69) Real things and real people.
70) Someone appreciates and smiles back when I help.
71) A good night sleep when I have worked my ass out the whole day.
72) Knowing that I did something constructive and meaningful in the day.
73) Small small kids' stuff esp their fingers...awww..they are so small!!
74) Anything that has wings, except the aeroplane.:-|
75) Something I cooked tasted perfect.
76) Motorcycle rides.
77)Meeting a friend after a long time and realize that we pick up from exactly where we left.
78) Finding that last piece of cake still there when I arrive in the evening.
79) Live shows and concerts.
80) Putting head outside the window of the car with eyes closed on a cool breezy day.
81) Nice haircut.
82) When my birthday falls on Saturday or Sunday in a year.
83) Knowing the answers to KBC question or any kindda quiz for that matter.
84) Coming home after a long day and smell something nice cooking in the kitchen.
85) When i wake up in the morning and realize that I can sleep for 10 more minutes..best feeling ever!
86) India winning a crucial match..in fact any match.
87) Stumble upon a show/ song of my choice while surfing TV/ radio.
88) Fast computer and fast internet
89) Magics of nature.
90) Boss relieves me early for the day.
91) Suddenly finding a thing that I had been looking for since a long time.
91) When I win any match or prize. (Who doesn't like winning ;))
92) Watching movie with my friends, all huddled up in one small bed.
93) Waking up in the morning with a smile on my face cause i just had a perfect dream.
94) Expressing myself. It is a very tough job for me.
95) When someone gets the spelling of my name right in first go. ;)
96) Seeing old people still in love and holding hands. :)
97) Singing national anthem on top of my lungs.
98) 3 a.m. conversation with best friend.
99) Rainbows.
100) Crossing things out of my To-do list ;)

 Wow!!! that was tough and easy. Initially it took me a lot of thinking and I was surprised that are there so less things that make me happy. But as I progressed I realized that I could just keep writing and never stop. Infact, there are more things that can make me happy apart from the list above, some personal too that I haven't mentioned here.
The most wonderful part of it all is that it ain't the larger than life things that make us happy(at least I can say that for myself), but the small small things, thoughts etc. And it is so easy to achieve, they are right in front of our eyes. But then anything that is too close to our eyes seems hazy and blurred. The thing is to improve the focus on the right things.

Stay happy always!!! :)

Life gets in the way of living...

Sometimes I want to write to you,
but the words get in the way of writing.

Sometimes I want to talk to you,

but the sentences get in the way of saying.

Sometimes I want to hug you,
but the hands get in the way of hugging.

Sometimes I want to touch you,
but the fingers get in the way of touching.

Sometimes I think about you,
but the thoughts get in the way of thinking.

Sometimes I want to love you,
but the love gets in the way of loving.

Sometimes I want to learn from you,
but the things already learnt get in the way of learning.

I don't know why it is so Mum and Daddy,
when we got drifted apart,
I guess life came in the way of living!

Open letter to PM

< While coming back from office today, I was listening to the radio. There was this funny guy on one of the stations who had something to say to the PM and man! was he hilarious? 

I manage to remember a few of his jokes and added a couple of quips of mine to write an "Open" letter to the PM. I wish i could remember all he said.Just to be clear, the ideas and statements here are not all mine.
Hope you find it hilarious as well. And all in good humor, nothing personal>

Here it goes,

 
आदरणीय "मौन" मोहन सिंह जी,
मूक ऑफिस,
खामोश गली,
सौ साल पुरानी दिल्ली -01|

रात को आपके आर्डर पे, अरे नहीं नहीं ऐसा मज़ाक आपसे नहीं करते, किसी फौरेन एक्सेंट में आये आर्डर पे, पुलिस  वालों  का ऐसा आम आदमी यानि की  Mango man पे लाठीचार्ज करना "ये अच्छी बात नहीं है"|

कल जो डांडिया उन्होंने लोगों के साथ खेला है उससे उनकी आशाएं, पंडाल और पैर, सब तोड़ दिए गए |
और ये बात समझ नहीं आई की पुलिसवालों की रात को आने की क्या वजह थी, दिन में ऐसी कौनसी UV किरणों का उन्हें खतरा था या sun-tanning के डर से वे रात में आये | वैसे कौनसा बड़ा चाँद जैसा खिलते हैं वो | कोई भी fair एंड unhandsome क्रीम लगा के आ जाते जिसमे SPF above 40 होता तो भी काम बन जाता और हमारी, वहां present लोगों की, उनकी खुद की भी नींद खराब नहीं होती या आपकी पुलिस में batman हैं जो सिर्फ रात में ही निकलते हैं | 

कल उन्होंने जो tear gas के गोले mango people पर फेंके हैं उनसे वो mango से mosquito बन गए थे और mosquito की ही तरह आनन् फानन में तितर बितर हो गए | उस गैस की वजह से निकले आंसू दिन भर हमारी आँखों से निकलते रहे जब इन टीवी चैनल वालों ने बाबा के हाई जम्प का footage तेरह  हज़ार नौ सौ पांच बार दिखा दिखा कर हमें "मार डाला, अल्लाह, मार डाला" |

पर फिर भी आपके "लबों से लबों तक " एक भी शब्द नहीं फूटा और कपालभारती सिब्बल, दुशासन, धनुरासन और पता नहीं कितने आसनों ने कल से जो ज़हर टीवी पे डाला है उसका diarrhea सारे न्यूज़ चैनल वालों में फ़ैल गया है, जिसके चलते हर गली, गूचे और नुक्कड़ के प्रोफेस्सर इन टीवी चैनलों की शोभा डे बढाने ना जाने कहाँ कहाँ से आ रहे हैं और असली issue से तो divert कर-कर के कर-कर के  ये भी भुला दिया की असली issue क्या था | बाबा रामदेव इस बात से  especially नाराज़ हैं | पहले अन्ना हजारे जी ने भी ऐसा ही किया उनके साथ, उनकी limelight छीन ली, जिसके चलते ये पूरा ड्रामा शुरू हुआ | और अन्ना हजारे जी की बात आ ही गई है तो ये बताइए की  जब वे अपने supporters के साथ जंतर मंतर पे "हम्मा हम्मा " कर रहे थे तब भी आपका मौन व्रत नहीं टूटा, "मौन" मोहन सिंह जी | In fact, ये जो नया फैशन आया है fast रखने का इसके trend-setter तो आप ही हैं , जब सात साल पहले आपने एक मौन व्रत रखा था जो by god की कसम आज तक नहीं टूटा...क्या determination है..वाह |

हम सोचते ही रह गए की इस बार तो इस नीले आसमान के नीचे, किसी नीली पगड़ी के अन्दर के कुछ विचार हमें सुने को मिलेंगे या और कुछ नहीं तो कोई Italian, हिंदी में translated speech, पढ़ते हुए नज़र आएँगी पर इस बार तो ऐसा भी कुछ नहीं हुआ |

और हाँ, आशा है इन सब बातों का आप बुरा नहीं मानेंगे |
अंत में एक responsible भारतीय नागरिक होने के नाते एक suggestion देना चाहूँगा, की इस बार ओलिम्पिक्स  में भेजने के लिए  बाबा रामदेव के रूप में आपको एक नया उभरता सितारा मिल गया है ...इस पूरे घटना क्रम में एक positive बात तो  उभर के आई है की हाई जम्प में गोल्ड मेडल भारत से कोई नहीं छीन सकता इस बार| सुना है कल बाबा जी बेबी की तरह पंद्रह फीट नीचे कूद गए | :-o

अंत में यही बोलना चाहूँगा की "बोलने से नहीं होता,करने से होता है "| पर आपके केस में तो आप बोलते भी नहीं हैं.. :(

आपका आभारी,
आम आदमी,
The Mango man.
दिल्ली-06

A thought...

A moon that won't set,
A sun that won't rise.
A dream with open eyes met,
A sad demise.

A perpetual love.
A perpetual pain.
A perpetual question in my heart
that remains.
 
A blurred photo,
A lasting memory.
A forgotten song,
A lasting symphony.

A crumbling rose,
A lasting fragrancy.
A torn card,
A lasting poetry.

A past that won't leave,
A present that is left to grieve,
A future that has already left,
A time that is bereft.

A flame inside my heart,

A destiny within my hand.

A light between my fingers,

A wrath within my eyes.

But...

A hope that can't be choked,
A love that won't lie,
A dream that won't give up,
A spirit  that won't die.