Mumbai, Marine Drive and Vada Pav

My close friends know that I have Mumbai-phobia. For a very old reason, the place terrifies me, in fact the possibility of having to travel by " the local trains" will ensure I don't board the flight in Bangalore, or even catch the meru cab to the airport. None the less, Mumbai is very different, very welcoming, and has a culture that is very different from most cities in India, and this is visible from the moment the plane touches down on the runway. (example follows later)

So I got this opportunity to attend a workshop that was important and last-minute enough to have me land in Mumbai on 25th Aug. Unlike other trips, this had nothing to do with asking people why they drink liquor, or why a shop sold liquor, where's my liquor,etc

Of Heart Attacks and ICU Escapades!!!

First up, I am perfectly alright, my heart is in great shape and this has been ratified by one of the leading cardiac surgeons in Bangalore. Second, if you are still concerned, you can send me cash, expensive electronic equipment(I Phone 4, I Pad, Mac books..) and goodies to make me feel better. Third, if any of you good folks speak to me again in a manner that resembles speaking to a man on his death bed, I shall sue you.

Life's still a bitch

Forewarning Dear Readers / Subscribers. This is rant, a follow up on my previous one.. You can choose to read and curse me, or delete and skip.

Pre read - You know, Life's a bitch and Snakes and Ladders. You can know more about my rants by searching for ramblings under labels and reading the last few posts under it. Which shall warn me that I have a potential stalker at hand. (Am just humoring myself that someone would go through all the trouble)

Anyways, there was this one time when I wasn't there for someone very important. Very, Very Important. And the poor buddy of mine got actually beaten up, with me watching. Doing nothing. I guess in a way I have never gotten over it, and till day I regret it.

So I had decided that I would never let anything of that sort happen again. I would be there for my friends. And I can honestly and shamelessly say, that till date, I have. Its a different thing that there are some people who forget you once they are off and sailing in a different boat, any ways its not a bother.

My Point in this post is, the frustration when you don't have a solution to someones problem. You don't know what you can do, you don't know if what you do can create more trouble, and most of all, if you are the problem and are not realizing it.

                

 VS. 

Aquarians have two major weaknesses. One they are not very good with emotions. They may love someone with all their heart, yet they will never be able to express it. On the other hand, they hate someone enough to kill them, yet will tolerate them on a daily basis. The Second weakness is that they look very normal on the surface. Deep down they live a life of daily conflict with their principles and the urge to break free from monotony.

I am an Aquarian.And believe me when I say this, Life is a bitch. Its frustrating to see friends move away. Its frustrating not being able to help a friend. Its even more frustrating to have to adapt to this every year, and live with the fact that its going to happen again. It hurts because we can't live without people around us. And we are quick to get attached to people!!!

I sometimes wonder if I am a nut case. I really do. I wonder if something happens to me, would any of the people I so care about bother? I pride myself on not having given people reason to hate me, unless its my nature they hate.I keep dreaming that someday I will find someone who'd be the missing link. There have been many false alarms in the past and some are in process, but you never know. Now I am ranting. Sheesh, think about thinking this way every minute!!!

Anyway, I have by know forgotten the point of this post, but its made me feel better. So there.

To all my boy and girl pals, I love you loads!!!

M

Travelling to Ladakh - Leh Part 2

You might want to start with the previous post in this article, at Travelling to Ladakh - Leh

So where was I ?, Ah Manali!!! Well to be honest its a nice town, nestled on the top of the hills, giving you a nice view of the entire town. However, I must say that the fame of the town is quite exaggerated. It is a beautiful place none the less, but I have seen better down South.

It was important for us to make the trip from Delhi to Manali and then Ladakh to get accustomed to the weather. Its not easy to adapt to the thinner air in the mountains, and we in spite of the road trip, had a tough time adjusting.

Anyways, we left for Ladakh, on an Toyota Innova at 2 Am in the night. 20 minutes on the ghats and a couple of horses later trouble stuck. The ice was melting on the roads, making it very sludgy. This was a bigger problem as the roads were under construction and everything was dug up. We must of got out at least 4 times to push and once with the help of the car behind us before the driver's side-winding nerve-racking tyre-burning tricks got us stuck in the sludge.

We then hitch hiked a cattle truck to reach across the major section of the road, before the road got blocked.

4 Am at Rohtang Pass may not sound amusing, with the cold and all, but when you get to see the sunrise amongst snow capped mountains and the morning mist, there are no words to describe it. Take a look at the snaps on the right!!!

Unfortunately, or in hindsight fortunately we got the chance to soak in the beauty of the Rohtang pass, were alternatively if things had gone well we would have missed the beautiful snow covered peaks of Rohtang and instead would have sped by in the darkness of the night.

We were stuck in the pass till about 10AM, by when the roads were dry and excavators were brought in to push away all the soft mud. But our vehicles tyres were so burned out, that it just wasn't going ahead. Finally after some 10 people put their hands on it, did the vehicle actually move ahead. This delay cost us time and later money as well, as we dint have time to drive back and had to fly instead.

I will skip all the sites in between, and head directly to Sarchu Base Camp. Because we got delayed, we had to make camp at a site in Sarchu. Though apparently a village, the only thing we saw was an army installation and two base camps. The camps are well set up, each tent with its one bathroom, a general kitchen and food, with good clean beds and blankets.

Its a few hours before this camp that the thin air got to us, and the head pounding began. Its the worst feeling in the world. You cant sit, stand, talk or do anything. Your head just keeps banging and banging. The solution? Chewing on Garlic, and Mint tea. I have since fallen in love with Mint Tea. Amazing!!!

We left in the morning after feeling better, and continued the journey. We had our lunch at Pang, which hosts the second highest transit army camp in the world. Till we reached Ladakh, we had a tyre puncture and another road block, before we actually reached Ladakh.

More on the Ladakh and Leh Sight Seeing in the next post!!!

M

Being Good is Being Mediocre

The other day, it struck me that people talk about only one kind of people. These are the ones that are clearly skewed towards one end of normalcy. Either totally bonkers or totally Einstien-tatious.

Think about it, who are you constantly talking about. The mad, psychotic boss of yours? Or is that awfully handsome chap on the next floor? Who do your gal pals talk about, hmmm? Yes, its true. Its the extremes that get all the honey!!!