Today will be remembered in History as ...

... the day I got a great news from one of my friends. Things are still not clear but by the looks of it I am pretty sure my friend is going to achieve the feat that he has been nominated for. If things shape up as I expect them to then today the 31st of July 2010 shall certainly go into my history books as the day one of my best friends gor the gift of his life, If I can say so, and God what an achievement. I am really happy for my friend and wish he gets to his target. He has been working hard for this and now he is almost there.

I have always wanted that all of my friends and relatives should get what they want and what they deserve. I am very very happy at the ways things have shaped up. I can actually feel myself dancing and literally I feel like dancing and more over dancing in the rain outside. Luckily for me it has been raining pretty heavily throught the day here in Delhi and the atmosphere is electric and this good news has come just at the correct time.

May God bless him and help him cross the final hurdle. I am very very happy and hope to celebrate it in style. But till things finally shape up and he actually gets the thing I am waiting in anticipation.

Khatta Meetha Experience

I had watched this movie with my parents in Allahabad. I was excited to know that PVR cinemas had opened in Allahabad and I wanted to take my parents to the theatre. It is the first mall in Allahabad and draws lots of people. I got the tickets to this movie which had released just a day earlier. My mother hates action movies so I thought this is the best option as generally you tend to associate good humor when a movie involves Akshay Kumar. Also the promos had suggested so. So we finally went to see the movie.

The movie was overall OK but I was clearly disappointed, the acting of Akshay was the saving grace but that was the only thing. All other aspects be it story, supporting characters were all disappointing. There were some good punches here and there that made us laugh but overall I would rate it is a 2.5 star movie. The movie also does not have lovely songs. Although I liked the role of Rajpal yadav but some actors seemed to have over done their roles, The tractor sequence was also dragged a bit too much for my liking.

But overall experience was good, I was satisfied that finally there is some visible modernization in Allahabad and personally I liked the atmosphere all around the cineplex. There is a food court that has lots of things to offer to is customers at a fairly reasonable price. Overall a good experience and a good sign for my Hometown and I wish the same continues.

Story of a Tree

Once upon a time there was a tree. Most stories start like this so I thought let me start it this way as well. There was this tree near the IBM building in Gurgaon just by the side of NH 8. It was comfortably placed at one end of the road and was living happily. Until one day the government decided to create a new passage for people who want to turn left and decided they will cut a road through the empty grounds. Doing this the tree suddenly came under the spot light as it came right in the center of the newly laid road. The tree was happy and enjoying the popularity, everyone who passed by had a word or two for the tree.

The officials could not cut down the tree as that was against Go Green slogan that we are following. So the tree was left there. As time passed by the tree started feeling the trouble as every day or two a new vehicle would come and crash into it giving the tree bruises. At first the tree did not consider it as a threat and smiled at every person that hit it and asked if the person was ok. As more days passed more people got attracted to the tree and started kissing it. Some even ran directly into it with the intention to hug it. Every time I passed by I thought why has this tree been left in the center of the road.

Finally one day the government officials decided that the accident rate on that road has increased significantly and they ordered that the tree be cut down in order to save human lives. When the tree was in its last leg of life, it could clearly hear the words that each passer by said for it. The tree felt sad and surprised at the comments that were made and excepted its end gleefully.

What I am trying to emphasize here is that when the road was being planned should not have anybody thought about the tree and how to handle it. It is a very bad practice to just leave it in the centre of a turning road where there is not even adequate lighting. It was very easy to predict that the tree would cause several accidents. There should have been proper thinking before the implementation itself. If there was no other option available, then the tree should have been cut down even before the start of the road. Eventually the tree was cut down but not before it got involved in several accidents many of which were serious. I leave the question to you, What would you have done if you were the decision maker here ?

Purani Jeans

Remember that song by Ali Haider, purani jeans aur guitar, (watch it here) which was so hit at that time. I still remember the year 1998 when this song was released and I was in school and how crazy I was about this song. But now when I hear this song, I can actually understand and connect to each and every line of the song. It is so true and makes me feel as if this was written keeping me in mind and I am sure you will feel the same if you listen to this song.

I was cleaning my cupboard when I hit upon a bag that was full of my old clothes and therein I found a pair of Jeans that I had purchased with my first salary. It is a Killer blue monkey wash jeans and it took me back 5 years and refreshed all the memories. It is so refreshing to walk the memory lane and remember so many beautiful things that had happened then and which are still fresh in my memory.

One of my favourite past time is watching photographs and that for this very reason that they take me back in time and then I can live in my dreams and that enlightens me and makes me happy. I want that phase to return but alas that is not possible. Nevertheless it is a good dream to live. I will share one such photograph with you which takes me down the memory lane and rejuvenates me. This is a pic taken in 2000 when I was in class 12th and features my friends and batch mates. I am no more in touch with most of them. I am connected to them virtually through Facebook/Orkut but I miss each one of them and the times that spent with them.

Indian Idol Top 5

So we finally have the top 5 contestants in Indian Idol, the name that is missing is Naushad I was really shocked last week when he was eliminated. I believed and still maintain that he should be there in top 5. For me he was in the third place after Sreeram and Rakesh. I also would have loved to see Shashi in top 5 that was not to be. But I was satisfied with the elimination of Tia, I personally believe that she was the weakest amongst the 6 contestants.

I also liked the comment that Bhoomi made that the real competition starts now. It is not going to be easy for any of the contestants and it is going to be an exciting event from here on. If I was asked to pick the Indian Idol I would be confused but my top 2 will certainly have Sreeram and Rakesh. Rakesh is the person who has improved the most with time and Sreeram has been really consistent. Let us hope for the best and may the best and most deserving person win the Idol.

I Hate Luv Storys

I had heard so many bad things about the movie which I could not digest. My conception was that the movie may not be a superhit but it would surely be an entertainer. I was very excited about watching the movie but could not get time to watch it. I liked the tangy title specially 'Luv' and 'Storys' and was interested to see what the movie wanted to show. I had seen the promos hence I was sure it was a romantic film but with a different flavour.

I must say that I believe in Love Stories and that made me more inclined to watch the movie. So last Sunday I watched the movie and I liked it. Well it is a OK movie with the first half being far far far more enjoyable than the second. I thought the movie was dragged and stretched a bit in the second half. I loved the songs and really liked the cool T-Shirts that were presented. I also enjoyed the pairing of Imran and Sonam. Imran, I believe has now matured as an actor and this was evident from the movie. I somehow don't seem to agree with the concept that a boy and girl cannot remain just friends but then I had no other choice than to swallow it.

The movie could have been more enjoyable had the second half been a bit more precise. The songs are really superb and I loved almost all of them. Overall I was not disappointed at the movie but I was not thrilled as well. As a matter of fact even after hearing so many criticism, I still thought that the movie was worth a try. Remember I also had the option to watch Milenge Milenge but I went for this movie because I wanted to see it from the very first day the promos were aired on television. The concept was the same as all other love stories (even the fact that Sonam was reading Love Stories by Erich Segal) but still there was something different, New Zealand for instance (pun intended). I enjoyed myself and had fun what about you ?

Amarnathji Yatra : the experience

I have had several experience in this trip that I had never experienced before. To start with I boarded a flight for the first time in my life and it was a great experience to fly for the first time. I actually felt what I used to imagine when I saw people fly. It was a good experience. Although the journey was almost an hour long but still I enjoyed it. The other experience that was first time for me was we spent a whole night on the glacier, tried to pee on a mountain that was completely covered with ice and also excreted on a glacier. I could still not believe that fact that we actually slept on a glacier with a layer of thermocol and a thin bedding between us and the ice. It was a great experience.

Another thing that needs a special mention is the barefoot walk that we took for around an hour just before entering the holy cave. Barely a few meters before the actual shiv ling we were asked to take off our shoes and walk barefoot. The temperature was close to 0 and there was water flowing down the steps that originated because of the melting of ice on the same hill. The water was freezing and it was running under our bare foot. Within a matter of seconds, we could not feel our leg. I felt some pointed thing on my foot and when I looked down I found a person had his walking stick completely stationed on my foot and my foot was bleeding.

We also witnessed some tension in SriNagar when some people started pelting stones on the vehicles and the car just in front of us lost its glasses. We also witnessed tension in Anantnag and hence we crossed it in very early hours of the morning approx 4 am. I also had the experience of riding a horse in the worst paths that one could imagine. I rode my horse through a very dense layer of ice where the horse's legs went deep inside and we almost fell down. We also rode through passage that were as narrow as about a feet and half and water was flowing through them which made the rocks slippery and it was a very horrifying ride.

We also walked through a 7 km long stretch of ice which was a completely new experience for me. This was the first time I had witnessed so much snow in my life and it was a great experience. But after the Darshan everything seemed so justified and true. Every effort that we made and every hurdle that we crossed seemed justified. The amount of satisfaction that we had once we had the holy darshan was beyond comparison. It was a complete feeling and a very good one. It was a once in a lifetime and a life changing experience. It had everything, it was a great experience.

Amarnathji Yatra : the scenic beauty

The entire way from Pahalgam to the Holy Cave is full of beautiful and picturesque scenes. At every point you can see something so pretty that makes you feel as if you are actually in heaven. I actually came to know why people call Kashmir the heaven on Earth. There are mountain peaks covered by snow and when sun's ray fall on them they glow like anything.

A points we even walked alongside clouds and we could actually see helicopters flying under us as we were on the top of mountains and the helicopters were flying just over the valley. We saw glaciers, mountains that looked likes figures, shashenag mountains are prime examples. We experienced snow fall, we experienced direct rays of sun that completely destroyed our skins. The cold water flowing between the valleys, the lovely sound they were making when they hit the rocks and other resistances in their way sounded like jingle.

We also saw some really good flowers though they were really sparse but still in Panchtarni we saw some flowers. It was lovely to see the sheep grazing on top of mountains, standing on slides which looks stunning. Even the road trip from SriNagar to Baltal and from Chandanwari to Pahalgam was awesome. There were such beautiful scenes on both sides of the road that we were glued to the windows. The beautiful Dull Lake of Srinagar and the Betab Park in Pahalgam were really awesome. Although the lake in Srinagar is very polluted and needs to be cleaned. The entire trip is full of scenes that are sure to blow your mind and have an everlasting impression on you.

Amarnathji Yatra : the arrangements

I was really shocked at the arrangements made by the government for the most difficult yatra to the holy Amarnath cave. We reached the holy cave on the very first day of the start of yatra but still we found things were in mess. The arrangements at Baltal were really bad, all the tents and other shelters that were there were just trying to earn money without providing any services to the yatris. There was no adequate arrangement for satisfying the basic needs of the people there. There was no clear cut communication from the security staff and personals regarding the start time etc of the yatra, everybody had a different answer. The major emphasis was on making money through ponies and helpers.

I was although impresses by the services that the Indian army officers were providing to the yatris, they were working out of their skin to help the yatris in all possible ways. They were even willing to carry your child for some distance if they found that the person/child was having trouble walking the difficult paths leading to the holy cave. The arrangement just near the holy cave was absolutely stunning and I was really surprised at the level of sophistication that the military maintained at the holy cave and the way they performed their duties was unparalleled.

I was also disappointed by the Langers that we encountered and the services that were provided there. Generally we associate great service and respect with each Langar but this time the Langers looked more like they were doing their job more than anything else. The best Langar that I found where the service was really like I have seen at different places was the Langer by some Delhi Association at the Mahagun Top which is about 14800 feet above sea level. There were a few other that really felt as if they wanted to serve the Yatris but most of them were disappointing.

Overall I would say that the arrangements were not as one expects them to be in such pious and auspicious environment. Even the people were not helping the cause due to their silly activities which included throwing crap on the main path of the Yatra. We could even see so many poly bags and plastic bottles being thrown into the valley and thus disrupting the nature and atmosphere out there. But the treatment we got from the civilians was exceptional, every one was so very calm and full of respect, they actually treated us as their guests and gave us a very warm welcome. Still I expected more specially from the Governments side to assist the Yatris who have come there.

Amarnathji Yatra : a lifetime achievement

It has been the best 4 days of my life. I have lived a entirely different life in the last few days and I am sure that I will remember each part of this trip my entire life. In such a short time I have witnessed so many things that most people don't see in their entire life. We went through a highly tensed Srinagar and saw stone pelting, we ran over several rivers, climbed various mountains, felt scorching sun at 14800 feet(Mahagun/Ganesha Top), walked over 7 kms on snow, found a Delhi sewa samiti langar on a snow peek at about 14500 feet over sea level which served 56 items(bhog), Walked down 3 kms on a single hill(Pissu Top), visited the the most holy place, the holy Amarnathji and came back safe and sound to Delhi.

This has been the best trip of my life so far and all the colleagues who were with me on the trip would agree with me on this. It was full of tension, excitement and dedication. It was a tough trip that took everything we had from us and in return gave us a memorable trip. After the holy darshan it felt like we had reached the top of the world and everything else seemed small. We could not believe that we had actually achieved what many people can only wish for. I am still in awe of the great yatra and trek that we are just back from.

There were so many events and situations that I want to share with you that it is virtually impossible for me to compile them into a single post, so I will be posting few posts to actually describe the whole trip.