Canteen at the 69th milestone

Canteen is the heart of most of the institutions.

You get to hear the latest gossip, college news, score updates, uptake on political events, local news, reports on hostel fights, departmental ego issues and discuss crap which you would never bother or be interested to talk about anywhere else.

More so in this place where it was placed in straw shacks on open ground right at the entrance of the college. Here it was not only the heart but also the eyes of the institution as you could see whoever was coming or going from the college. And then dissect them, their personality, attire, mannerisms, gait, way of talking, eating habits, sexual orientation, personal and social life etc. I think you get the point.

I must have spent countless hours sitting there with Daya (who used to have his b'fast) during the winters of 2006. The tea was bad, dosa was sad and pav bhaji had a chinese twist. Stuffed parathas were the only redeemable feature by far. But then all said and done there was some place to sit and chat within the campus.

Then they in their unquestionable wisdom demolished it.

The venue changed to a Nescafe joint right opposite the college. Sat in it through the whole of 2007- summers and winters. Then due to the supreme inefficiency (he had a hard time getting it opened at even 11am!) of its owner, had to abandon it. Tried the joint/shop called "Foodgate" (must have been a fan of President Nixon) just next to the cafe for a while but soon got tired of local interpretation of pizza and veg. hot dogs.

Had to shift to a claustrophobic tea shop next top the college. Boy! How I hated that place with its cheap plastic stools, running and dieing mice, hissing of the coffee machine and dirt all over. It used to be crowded like the Black Hole of Calcutta at lunch time. Due to the NOA factor as they say in politics, No Other Alternative, had to grin and bear it.

Finally after ages a canteen has been put back where the original used to stand.
A building more fit to be called a barrack rather then a canteen.

But then beggars can't be choosers.

CCD, Gomti Nagar

CCD, Gomti Nagar, 7:25pm, 3rd of Nov. '08.
Here I am sitting in this joint and typing this blog.
So that day has finally come when I'm the one on the comp rather then being the person staring at someone else working on one. And wondering what on earth would be so important that he had to work in a cafe rather then just sitting back and enjoying his coffee.
So now I know.
Best possible way to kill time while my desktop is being upgraded.
Couple in front of me are discussing their occlusion and what should be the normal place for the lower jaw to rest. God! want to just tell them to shut up! But obviously can't cause they were sweet enough to offer me this seat when the cafe was full. Gasp! the ass just came back from the loo and wiped his hands on the cushion. An English speaking bhaiya- something you only come across in Lucknow. Well on the other hand they are kind of entertaining and I've never seen a guy match a girl word for word........he really can talk. Must be gay.......hmmmmmm. But then why is he holding the cushion in his lap? What is he trying to hide? They both must be somewhere between 20-24. Ah, the girl's brother has come and here they leave in a hurry.
Chalo I'll also leave now. Enough entertainment for the day.

Mercury Shades

Long, long time ago when I had gone to Goa for the first time I bought a pair of cheap, roadside, mercury coated aviator shades from Madgaon on my way to Calangute beach with the gang. Fell in love with them but like everything else at that time they also became victim of my carelessness.

Couldn't afford the original Ray Ban aviators so forgot all about them

Later when I came to a stage of finally buying one for myself they had gone out of style.

Today after almost two decades I came across a pair of original mercury aviator Ray Bans at Shoppers Stop and latched on to them before they again disappear.

Like everything else in my life it took its own sweet time coming but then it eventually did! 

Destination Doda

Dreamt that I was on my way to Doda with H & D. And that to by a local bus! The landscape and weather is still fresh in my mind. There were these huge brown, barren cliffs and emerald green Chenab could be seen raging and roaring in the valley below. For some reason the river was getting split into two by a narrow, sharp mountain side. I remember telling H that just by looking at the steep surface of the mountain on the opposite side you can imagine how high up we were moving and any accident would plummet us hundreds of feet into the icy cold water of the river below. Crossed over the river via a old rope bridge with a ghat and a temple on its left. Ghat was full of people in various stages of bathing and washing clothes. On the way got a call on my cell from Ma teling me that Pa was waiting for us at the village and we had not informed them how or when we are coming. As the connection was bad and full of static it got cut. As I was conveying this piece of info to H & D I saw that one of my cousin is also there on the same bus and he told us that we have to get off before Doda to walk towards my village. As it was already evening I was sure it would be night before we could walk up the mountain and with the weather becoming chillier by the minute the thought was not very welcoming. Was looking out of the window of the bus and wondering how to contact Pa when I woke up with a start on hearing the doorbell ring......

Dreamlike & Engrossing

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami

Started on 30th Sept at 10:15pm, as soon as Lucknow Mail slipped out of Lucknow station.
Finished on 9th Oct at around 1:00pm, as Shatabdi Express was gliding into Lucknow station.
607 pages in 10 days. Not a very rapid read if you sit back and calculate but I was too busy for around 5-6 days in between. At times when I was reading I was oblivious to the surrounding and was one with Toru Okada.
This is not a mere novel. It’s an emotional rollercoaster which rolls back and forth between time frames, continents and the complex characters which are scattered across the pages.
A masterpiece which you know will end eventually but still want to prolong it forever........

Coincidence at Bhopal

Bhopal railway station. The second stop of this train after Nizammudin! My whole experience and memories of train journey revolves around getting off at different stations and trying out the local eatables, buying a magazine or newspaper or just hanging around soaking the local atmosphere. And here I am stuck on this train which stops after around four hours.

Anyway as I get off at the station I see a person standing right in front of me who seems to look like Daya. And it turns out its Daya himself! After the initial surprise I came to know he was travelling from Benares along with his parents and was on his way to Bangalore by the same train.

I told him to carry on with the boarding and come to IIIrd AC where I was put up. So the train starts from Bhopal and Daya comes to my cabin searching for his berth. And by the most amazing of coincidences his berth is just opposite mine and is the one which was previously allotted to Nitin. I was stupefied! What were the odds of such a thing happening?

Back to Belgaum.........

Day 1: Morning 8am, am standing at Kalkaji wondering where my taxi has run off? Got a lift from my father-in-law and after the standard weaving in and out of traffic managed to reach Nizzamudin station well in time. After 8 yrs of staying and studying in Karanataka this is the first time I’ll be travelling by the Yeshwantpur Shabdh Kranti Express. I had heard about this train, had thought of travelling by it a few times but its only now, 7 years after I left that state, that I am travelling by it.

In Indian railway stations you can normally make out the priority or importance of the train by the platform it’s made to stand on. My train was on the last one!

Got on the coach, saw the new brown upholstery and smarter reading lights and then saw the three berths put up in the gallery in place of the standard two. Cursed Nitin silently because he had made me book tickets by 3^rd AC while I was in mood to travel by 2^nd AC. Due to this new development my berth also changed to inner upper from inner lower. Resigned to my fate, I settled down and made the standard calls and messages.

The train was supposed to depart at 8:55am and it was already late by 10mins. Got off to buy a bottle of water and realised that my name was not on the booking chart. Great! That’s all I needed.

Train finally crawled out, already 15 minutes late. The coach was practically empty so I figured that this was not a very most popular train and I dread to find out why. Caught hold of the TTE who told me that my berth was changed and it’s inner, lower one. So that was a relief. 

In a run of 35minutes since we left Nizammudin, this train has already stopped thrice! I guess I should gear up for a long haul and an excruciatingly boring train ride.