School days:521

ye daulat bhii le lo, ye shoharat bhii le lo,bhale chhiin lo mujhase merii javaanii,

magar mujhako lautaa do bachapan kaa saavan,vo kaagaz kii kashtii, vo baarish kaa paanii

Well I'm sure we all reminisce our childhood days through this song.Those days of innocence,sure had its effect on all.Perhaps for me the most memorable time came in the second half (after my 6th grade) when I boarded the BEST bus 521,while returning back home.During the initial days there were hardly any of the folks from my school living round my place.By the time,school was coming to an end, there were more than 6-7 of us boarding the same bus.All of us with different backgrounds,totally different personalities.

Harmeet aka Sunny-the eternal nice man,one who could always be your best friend for life,also someone who never gets charged up(a great son-in-law in the makin!)

Manmeet aka Sumit-Strikingly opposite in nature from his brother,easily the most entertaining of the group,also a very talented singer

Adrian-the giant in the group,also the typical padaku fella,who did little to enhance his repute being amongst us

Premal-Gujju bhai!One of the major reasons for multiplex culture in India still surviving,his tales of first day first show visits for every movie to Aurora(once famous movie screen in Matunga),have surely encouraged many a businessman to venture into multiplex business

Amlan-mystery man,someone none of us really understood till the end,had a calm effect on the group even while wading thru the monsoonal waters of King Circle

My life had tremendous value in those journeys,especially the wisecracks Manmeet made to take off the toil of commuting over 60 kms to school.

I distinctly remember,one such incident that took place once near Chembur.

Strangely,the 521,we boarded on that day was pretty empty and all of us were occupying window seats.

Just then devil struck our minds,and for Rs 2/- the bet was placed.

There were these pretty damsels(remember the ones that just seem to make you feel live life again....) seated just ahead of us,and Manmeet had to over go and ask them the time (wearing a watch)

Okay it went somewhat like this:

Manmeet:Aunty,time kya huan hain?

Girls:Auntiiiiiieeee!!!(Grumbles to glory) its 12.30 pm

Holie sharks you should have seen our reactions to Aunty,what on earth was he saying,I mean if not acknowledgding a pretty lady by glancing over once is bad enough,calling someone aunty is harakiri!

However Manmeet won the bet hands down and we had the best laugh of our lives and you can be sure those two girls,were red n white for the resta journey.......

Matrimony Monologues

Amongst the few most significant moments of our lives,our first job,our first kiss,the day we get married,our promotion,the day your first child is born,the one that makes you go weak on you knees,wobble the same feet,that might have delivered many a sales presentations to the Forbes 500 clients,is your wedding. Dude,how can you say that? Its the time to celebrate,to get a feel of the next big thing of your life,two great familes come together,and history is created! Well all said and accepted but what we tend to forget thatthere is more to getting married than giving your close ones a chance to rejoice. Lets face it,if you're born and brought up in India,(where unfortunantely Pati Vratha and dowry is still are still very much alive and kicking),you don't get married just for getting married. You embark on a journey expected to lasta few generations. If such is the case,why do we need to force people into getting married,just when they just start getting on the latter side of 20's? Isn't it supposed to be a thing of greatest importance to the couple who get married to each other,who have to stand by each other,live upto each others expectations? No,I'm not a crusader to the cause of the millions still searching for their soulmates. Neither am I being inducted into it.Its really strange if you ask me about this whole situation,you definitely need to be sure of the person,you're gonna get hooked to for life. Well,one of my bestest friend,Arvind is tying the knot this February. Never before have we had the same thoughts previously. What is life like when after your marriage? How much space do you really have? Do you actually becomeresponsible and mature overnight? Does your equation with your friends remain the same? That's something we call as speculation,something which never really leads to any conclusion,coz its best to have life takes its own course of action.......

Where do people go?

Okay,this might sound a little out of place for the Ram Sena,but there is a serious dearth of spaces in our cities for couples to spend time.Just today,when I was on my way back home,did I notice a couple trying to make the maximum of a corner seat in the bus.But hey,you think people out there in  the bus let them have any share of their golden moments?Bah!It really saddens me to believe that our country,the greatest democracy in the world,do not have anything to offer to people in love,especially in times of insurgency!Come on,give those poor chaps a chance to endeavour into love,who doesn't want to be in love?I'm sure there is a child even within all of us,asking to be loved.And as a society all we can do is hope to see more love,coz it radiates happiness,smiles all around,even when the world glooms over recession.

Don't look away.....

From the movie Mr & Mrs. Iyer,written and composed by the tabla maestro Zakir Hussain,its got a strange haunting feeling enveloping within us.The meaning of the song is something I'm yet to understand completely,but its something we all feel at some point of time in our lives.Well,guess there are times when we want things to subside our way,but hey,remember Jamal (read Slumdog Millionaire)"It's written".The thing they call destiny is often something we can't disregard.

Asalfa....

Every city has its own story.Infact every part of a city offers something different.The best way to understand the culture,the people out there,is to walk around the place.Mumbai,by anyone's admission is easily the biggest city in IndiaIt just manages to bring to life,the diversity of our country.Everyday I walk through the lanes of Asalpha(suburban Mumbai),a place unknown to many.Perhaps even  I would have never known it had I not been there.(I guess the name is derived from the pathetic Asphalt roads out there)But amongst the monstrous crowds of BEST buses, and the cramped roads thanks to the metro constructionsI'm left with no option but to walk through its hallowed lanes.It is here that I've meet people,bonded, and just a rememberance has been left behind.People who never asked my name,my religion,yet changed my lives forever.Most prominently,I can remember the Sardarji uncle,who ran half a mile for the bus and helped us into it when none of the buses were halting at the stop.And would you imagine he then got off the bus,he put up a fight for people like me,whom he didn't even know!Yea some great soul he sure is.Also Asalpha offers the best anda bhurji's around the corner(well you can be sure of that since Ghatkopar next door is mainly inhabited by Gujaratis who are vegetarians),though I'm still to try them....Maybe someday very soon I will stop by to have some of it......

The first of many.....

Well,I've been into maintaining a diary for sometime now,so thought of taking the next big leap now. I plan to quite emphatically live my dreams thru this.I'm starting off on a day which is by its own way a great one,the 60th anniversary of our republic status as an amazing nation.So cheers to the day,may we move on from being poised to being realized....