Pat on My Back

This morning I broke my dad’s favorite watch. It was a gift to him by my mom as a wedding gift. I got scared, you know how moms and dads go crazy when we break ‘antiques’. But to my surprise, my mom was excited and said, “Alas, he’ll buy a new one”. So, I got a pat on my back.

Being the only writer in our group I’m loaded with work having weird two hour deadlines. So when a cute little servicing chick came up to me with some silly changes I got really furious and gave out to her. I was shocked to see my boss standing behind me but not reacting. I thought I've lost my chances here. Just when I was about to lose all hope, my boss made that girl ran away. He hated her guts for some reason. Anyway, I got a pat on my back.

My friend believes I’m lazy when it comes to meeting her and taking out time for her out of my busy (read; very busy) schedule. She understands but always complain. This Saturday, when she about to have a nervous breakdown and was just about to go all mad at me, I gave her a surprise visit. She couldn't believe herself and almost fainted finding me at her place. I got a nervous breakdown filled faint pat on my back.

It was my nephew’s birthday. He is a sweet naughty child. I asked him what he would want as a gift and he cutely replied, I want to build myself a house with Lego’. Being a nice bua I got him his Lego boxes, by almost going nuts searching for them. I gave him his gift and tried to kiss him but couldn't because he was busy giving me a pat on my back!

We had gone for trekking a month ago. For a person who fears heights, it was quite a challenge. And there was an interesting combination up there. Some were too fast while climbing up and some were too slow. Me being a part on none, had to climb up the trail almost alone. So when we reached our destination, my friends gave me a pat on my back.

While everybody is busy giving me a pat on my back, I stopped for a while to think why am I proud of myself? Or am I proud of myself at all? I couldn't get an answer. Everything seems mixed up. You’ll get to know this why if you've read my previous post. But then I thought it’s been going pretty well for me. All my work is getting released. I haven’t lost anything in a while, except for an empty wallet. I haven’t fell on the road just like that and broken my legs. Yes, these are good enough reasons for me to be proud. So, yes I am proud of myself and by the time you finish reading, I would be giving myself a Pat on My Back!





[Written for WordPress Daily Prompts: 365 Writing Prompts. The prompt for today was – Pat on the Back - Tell someone you’re proud of just how proud you are.]

Stranger in the Strange Land

While travelling, it’s only after I have breathed enough air that I feel I have reached a new place. It is different, the scent, for every city that you visit. There is a naive smell in the air which makes you feel a particular way about that place.

For those who have been to the hills, or maybe lived there for long, try to recollect that serene essence in the atmosphere. Didn't it make you want to settle there forever? I could have lived all my life amidst that mountain valley of Dharamshala with those amazing Fried Dumplings, or the famous Namgyal Pizza! Likewise, Mumbai had this moisture, that after rain-wanting to eat the mud-smell! And it is surrounded by the amazing aroma of Vada Pao, Cutting Chai and Challis! Haridwar has the smell of water with flowers, and a subtle hint of Aaloo Poori being made at that corner shop at the chowk. That Kheerganga trek. Oh I can still smell marijuana! Please ignore that it is a drug and let us all believe that it is some medicine taken to clear your schizophrenic head with all the people that you meet in your daily routine! (Smiles like a baby, pretending that I never wrote this.)

It’s only after a day that you start visiting the local attractions. They bring a different sense of belonging for a place. For some people beaches and hot chicks get them to groove, while some are happy praying to the lords. While some people were more bothered about the history and religious relativity that Elephanta Caves has for us, some were busy honeymooning in the presence of cute monkey families. It can be trying to capture that snow covered mountain or putting your feet in that rapid flowing river freaking you out as hell which makes you comfortable with the place you’re visiting. It becomes your space, your way of venting out the monotony and your only chance to get lost in the tranquil beauty of the surroundings.

Well, I have never interacted as much with the people of a place as I did in Dharamshala, while I was shooting for my film. Or when I was in Mumbai! For me, those monk kids playing football in the backyard of their monasteries, Epic Cuteness! And those sweet Challi vendors selling challis and smiling at you even when it’s raining cats and dogs, because they somehow see the hungry look on your face, priceless! It could also be that guy in that restaurant ordering for you a plate of chocolate mousse, well maybe because you are the prettiest girl around!

I think it can never be a single factor which makes you like a place. There is always something special, some incident which makes the craze for that place never fade away. There has to be a spot, a teeny tiny stupid thing that you did, or maybe some hot guy you met, that that place will stay in your memory for eternity!

P.S I hope it was pretty clear that food is an inevitable factor for you to like the place. It has to be like super amazing! 

[Written for WordPress Daily Prompts: 365 Writing Prompts. The prompt for today was – Stranger in the Strange Land - What's your favourite part about visiting a new place- The food? The architecture? The people watching?]

Kunzum; The Cool Travel Cafe!

“Travelling excites me!”  This is that one feeling that brings a lot of people together, together at Kunzum.  Kunzum is a world created especially for travel enthusiasts. It is a place where travelers from around every corner can meet and exchange their experiences. They can tell people how they explored a beautiful city and talk about its charm and magnificence. It has that soothing environment which helps people make new friends and even future travel partners, over a cup of coffee which is nearly free! Yes, another exciting feature about Kunzum is that you get to have coffee and cookies for the money of your choice.  There is this vintage box in which you just drop in whatever money you wish to give them for the yummy chocolate cookies they serve you. Amused, aren't you? Well, there is a lot more.

Kunzum is one of its kind cafe currently running only in Hauz Khas Village, only in Delhi, the only cafe in India! Visitors get to record their experiences in the scrapbooks available at the cafe or writing interesting lines on the spoons and pinning them up on the pin boards. Kunzum provides its visitors with a well maintained library containing travel books which can be relied upon for guides and travelogues. All of this in a place with ‘moodhas’ to sit and read is surely a delight to us crazy, book freaks! You can bring in your own piece of writing and spend hours at the place wandering in your thoughts and creating a new ‘Sherlock Holmes’. Visitors at the café are lured by the amazing photographs displayed at the walls. These pictures are a master piece of the owner and creator of Kunzum, Mr Ajay Jain.

It is often said that random thoughts and ideas create a master piece. Indeed, it is to be believed once you have been to Kunzum. Kunzum Travel café was inaugurated in 2007, as I mentioned earlier, with no idea of its survival among others and since then has gained a lot of popularity among youth. Usually students visit Kunzum and have a time of their own discussing issues or at times just relaxing. It has in recent times become a platform for conducting discussions and conferences. People from different spaces of life come here and add to the diversity in the place. To add on to the excitement, Kunzum also organizes film screenings twice a week, once in collaboration with Magic Lantern Films Society.  What a delight to all the movie buffs! It further provides with opportunities to attend interactive talks and workshops by travellers, photographers, writers and other relevant personalities or the luxury time to simply sit back and enjoy musicians jam around.

Kunzum has become the ‘It’ place for the youth and is usually always blooming with people sitting with coffee mugs and reading books, or maybe the ones like me, just talking!

P.S. Yes! I've been going to Kunzum for a year now..the reason for this post is a friend who hadn't even heard of it! 

Mumbai: paradise within

"I fell a little out of place as the couples sitting next to me in the compartment got a little cozy." Did I not mention earlier; Mumbai is a famous honeymoon destination too. However, any feelings of apprehension that I had about visiting the place alone went right out of the window as the train arrived at the Mumbai Central Station and I forgot about everything.

Mumbai is like a really gratifying meal. It has all the right flavors, topped with perfect ingredients, perfectly blend together. Due to its colonial history and immense multicultural diversity, there seems to be something for everybody. It is an enigma of sorts, but a beautiful one at that. It's as modern as you can get and traditional at the same time. When one walks its streets, she is sure to get awe struck by the ultra modern architecture and cars juxtaposed with small tea stalls and vendors. It is a city so metaphoric that it gives life a new meaning; a phoenix in itself.

I took a cab from the station to my hotel in Juhu, welcomed by the traffic jam. Mumbai is a city missing curves; don't apply your brains it simply implies that there are few alternative routes to reach a place. So traffic is inevitable. Switching over to my feelings, every passing moment brought within a sense of anticipation. For, I was here in Mumbai!

The next morning I set forth to the famous place of worship, 'Haji Ali'. The most intriguing thing for me was that it was a mosque built in the middle of the sea connected through a walk able path way! You often get wet on the path way by the huge sea waves. Perhaps 'Allah' washes your sins away before you enter his home. A place so pure, so tranquil that it soothes every inch of your heart and overloads you with positive energy. Your soul will bless you for going there. I decided to stay there to witness dusk overtaking dawn and the 'dargah' being lit up by small yellow lights making it look like a shining star amidst the dark sea. There was a lot about the place that put me into a state of blissful inertia.

Elephanta caves were the next target destination that I decided to conquer on my second day in the city. It is an island so beautiful where dense green forests run down steep slopes and eventually flatten into meadows where the caves are situated just before balding near the thrashing shore. Covering a two hour distance from the Gateway of India didn’t bother me much; instead it gave me the pleasure of riding on a ferry and watching the giant navy ships. A mini train runs from the ferry dock up till the long set of 200 stairs taking you up the island to the caves. The caves exhibit sculptures of Lord Shiva and other deities of the Hindu mythology. The sculptures portray Lord Shiva dancing and standing with his family along with Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma. The place mesmerizes you with its centuries old heritage and interesting stories about them and has been given the title of the world heritage site. The place is also a habitat for a lot of monkeys, either hanging around the trees or sitting near the staircase. Besides the caves they are second most important attraction for the eyes of the tourists. The hills have also been a hot spot for various movie shoots.

You must be wondering how I could possibly ignore the legendary 'Gateway of India' and move forward to the Elephanta caves. It’s just that I wanted to visit the three glorious buildings together. The three buildings which give us an example of courage and perseverance; the three buildings which have faced the greatest of terror attacks, the three phoenix of Mumbai; the Gateway of India, the TajMahal hotel and the Trident hotel. They teach us how we can rise from the ashes and start afresh. Besides, the Gateway of India is a historic building signifying the "monumental memento" of colonialisation by the British. The gateway stands as a symbol of the "power and majesty" of the British Empire; it still is. So, I considered giving it more importance.

On my way back to the hotel, I decided to shop and the best place to do so when you’re on a budget trip is the Colaba market. Colaba market is a display of colors and lights. It offers a shopaholic the heaven of markets. It has something for everyone.I managed to bag a dress and some earrings, my favorite! What made me happier was that it rained. Think rains. Think vadapao. Think Mumbai. It goes like that. After some walking around and getting wet, I found a little shop offering me tea and vadapao that warmed me up instantly. Oops! Did I forget to mention that I was walking through the marine drive?

I dedicated my last day to the beaches, challi’s and movies. How could you possibly not watch movies in the city of dreams? The Juhu chawpati has been the best chawpati ever. Not that I visited any other though! It had challi stalls, paobhaji stalls, paanipoori and things enough for my taste buds.

Like they say you don’t know what you are missing until you know what you are missing! Mumbai has a way of connecting and before you know it under the sea and its starlit sky you end up taking a little bit of Mumbai back with you. May be this is why even those who aren’t from the city fit in just as well if not better. I’d love to visit it again and be a part of this quaint town I was almost starting to fit in.

P.S. On your way back home, visiting Goa is just another amazing brilliant idea!