25: The Spicy Ariens....

“That’s my place and dude, be careful next time before sitting on this place again!!”(With aggression which not even Hitler can match)

“You asking me, whether you have put on weight? (With extra surprised look on face)Well… c’mon you were always fat (with straight face and chilling casualness)!!!”

“Guess what I was the first one to finish up the assignment in the class and get it corrected before anyone else…” (The pride literally licking out of the corners of the mouth)

“You can’t even tell me that yes sweetie … I love you!!!!... c’mon, now do something to make me feel important…” (With an air of importance and self praise)

I guess this intro should suffice my title ‘the Spicy Ariens’…

Actually, I haven’t marked the day when I became friends with Aries but life carved such a path for me that, at every juncture, I was greeted by none other than Ariens, and well spicy ones at that!!!

Life has never been same after that… either I am taking orders from them… or sometimes if I try and learn two things from them then maybe I am giving orders as well…

I had a friend in my good old engineering days …well she still is a friend… who is one of those classic cases of true Ariens!!! The day a new assignment was put up on notice board she was always the first to complete it. Now, we engineers are renowned either ways for being Xerox machines … so I never felt any guilt in asking her assignment so that I could chapofy (copy them)..!!! Now this girl, she never said ‘NO’ to me for any assignments in fact she trusted me totally that, I would take good care of her assignments… but then there was always a condition-‘She would first go find the m’ am and get it corrected and then hand it over to me…’ even if it means I have to wait for 3 odd hours to get the assignment in my hand..!!!! (What the ***k is logic behind waiting 3 hours to get the assignment??? I would have very well finished it in 3 hours… but no people… for her it was a question of her being the first or second in getting it corrected…SUCCHHH A LIFE CHANGING DECISION…!!! ) And hence I always helped her in achieving her position and pride while waiting for the assignment to fall in my hands..!! Guys, see I am so adjusting… (Libran working at that…) 

Let’s begin with impressing Ariens:

My cheat tip to shop for Ariens is … try and find anything in color ‘red’... its sure gonna be instant hit!!!  Because red is their color... the Arien color!!! It’s the color of aggression, domination, and love!!!  Today my friend has turned out into a fine person possessing a red car, 75% of her wardrobe is red, red sleep-ons, red osho chappals, and above all red streaks in her hairs..!!! I am out here giving one of the most important tip to all you guys having Aries girlfriend- take her shopping … let her shop of her choice… don’t interfere in her shopping and allow her to take red stuff over and over again…and voila.. You are the best boyfriend in this world!!! Tried and tested formula by her boyfriend... and he totally swears by it..!!!

Now you will ask me- what is difference in Aries girl and any other girl in terms of shopping??? Well, then go ahead and tell her that she is gonna look gorgeous in one of the outfits that is displayed in a shop… and she will leave all her aggressive and dominating threads behind and would coyly slip into the outfit pointed out by you, just to please you. They are stupid mysteries, I am telling you…

Their Aggression:

They are the classic case of hard coconut shell with sweet and soft coconut in it..!!But, it can only be Aries person, where your manager or boss fears you!!! The aggression that they possess, is also visible in their way of talking, walking and even listening…I still remember many names who use to fear talking to her…her gait would resemble a knight straight out of 300 movie, out there to take the revenge and if you wanna explain her something then she will at least give you one hard look in whole of the conversation and you would understand that you owe her your entire life now, for making her to listen you..!!!But this aggression is not bad every time. They are the people, who know how to tackle difficult jerks easily. I could never muster courage to say ‘NO’ to people…since I always believed that , if I have time and doing a particular thing will help someone in some way… then why not go ahead and do it..!!! Of course I was not fool to accommodate such social service in my “Me-Time” but then I would seldom say ‘NO’. But this girl changed all dynamics for me… she taught me few typical tricks of Ariens and people I use them wholesomely today!!! I am happy to say ‘NO’ now..!!!

Their true self:

Try and flatter them with over the limit praises and they would boo you in your face!!! They are empowered with sharpest sniffing mechanism that helps them in easily identifying ‘the fake ‘in this world!!  Another cheat tip-“People don’t ever try false flattery”..!!!They might handle criticism, but false flattery … No, never!!! It’s better to not praise them than praising them too much…but hey that does not mean that they don’t like people praising them… I have already mentioned how much they love feeling important, didn’t I???

Now, calling spade a spade comes naturally to them…so whenever you ask them questions, be ready to listen to the worst ever possible answer!!!So don’t ask them whether you are fat, when you know yourself that yes you are fat. But in spite of all these characteristics they are by far the most dependable people in this world...what with fakeness not in their way of living.

They are the first sign of zodiac, and hence they are like the small child who cries for attention, takes impulsive decisions, is impatient and selfish too!!! The quick tempered Aries often speak out so cruel in anger that they themselves don’t understand the gravity of their speech, and many times when they do its already too late. I often advice to control her (my friend) tongue and her anger… but phew!!! Where is she in mood of listening to others???

Let us praise them atleast now:

Aries are the master when it comes to leadership!!! While others like us were busy gathering information about our final year project…she went ahead and got ourselves registered in India’s prestigious organization Bhabha Atomic Research center(BARC) for the same. Taking initiative and setting on its path comes naturally to them…Also, come any crisis, and the ‘ram’ of Aries stands tall to protect her people, their needs and their concerns. Life is all about action, challenges, spontaneity and mastering on every occasion. On the other hand, make her to wait for anything in life and then be ready to face her wrath. Give her advice out of concern and she will feel that you are a lame to do so coz these people hate advices and more so unwanted ones.…But the same person can cry like baby during climax of movies… on final year farewell party…on gifting her old photograph. Who said these people don’t have heart??? They try and protect their vulnerable side from the world and hence the resistance they show to almost everything and everyone.

Aries and Libra are totally opposite signs and probably that is the reason they gel out so well... each one nullifies the weak point in the other. She is lucky to have me as her best friend… (I love self boasting…) and her boyfriend (a Libran again…) and for all the boyfriends having Aries girlfriend, I am sure she must be their biggest weak point and their strongest one too- all such guys would feel better after reading this line!!! One things Ariens are absolutely paranoid about are 'dates'!!! Not romantic dates ... actual calender dates..!!! Another cheat tip-'never ever forget important dates...'. This is area where we librans fall prey to them... as pointed out by my dear friend darpan...we librans believe in seeing the bigger picture while Ariens thrive on minute details....!!! So if you are libran-Arien  girlfrnd-boyfrnd combo...libran one please try and remember dates and atleast ALL of them..!!! :P

Now I am sure there must be many such Aries incidences which everyone must have experienced in their life… waiting eagerly to listen out from you… (Would soon come up with GEMINI...)

(the pics on the post are taken from internet and are for representational purpose only if anyone has any objections do write in to me... they shall be removed)

( http://verne10.wordpress.com/2010/04/23/the-spicy-ariens/ )

24: Kill the 'Silence'...!!!

What do people achieve out of silence?? It’s stupid to say that silence speaks louder than actions..!!! It never does and it never can… coz silence might have language but it doesn’t have any interpreter!!!

Silence can only mean arrogance, ego, pain, fear, loss of words, anger, zero confidence, guilt!!! Well, can that list be said -only???? And how is the other person supposed to understand, what out of above possibilities are you referring to??? It’s like blinding someone’s eyes with a cloth and asking him/her to hit the dart on the board, whose direction he/she has no clue about!!!

Silence can sure mean thousand words… but which thousand words??? CLUELESS….

I am not Einstein to be born with special powers to interpret apple falling is gravity. So why not accept that everyone is not Einstein and make life simpler for everyone around??? Especially me!!!

My outburst is more often than not due to someone’s silence..!!! If you want to curse me, shout at me, scold me, tease me, blame me, hate me, love me… go ahead do it!!! At least let me know that, you think something about me then negative it may be!!! But silence makes me go nuts... well ok; I am quite a jerk myself!!! I agree... I may not get things at first go…If u ask me to guess what’s on, your mind and heart... my guess is gonna be forever wrong!!! So why ask me to guess?? And get hurt instead?? And why not just blurt it out and be relieved and allow me to be sane!!!

Silence not only creates suspense but it sure kills from within as well. So please make life simpler and peaceful … golden rule is to -‘please speak out’…!!!

this post is on indivine: kindly Promote

23: Why hate 'Shahrukh'???

I often hear people say –

“That Shahrukh Khan, how much he overacts???… I just hate him!!! ”

”IPL match KKR v/s KXIP: - KKR should lose …I don’t want Shahrukh to win!!!”

I have always wondered as to what in him makes people to hate him so much??? I agree the mass of people who love him is far more than the ones who hate him…but I am pained to see the reason behind that mass of people who hate him!!!

He is forever all over the place promoting his film…. he supports his friends to the “T” ... he owns an IPL team and looks after every need of his team… makes classy team uniform , eye catching ads, KORBO-LORBO anthem, brings in more filmy guests for his matches, comes up with advertising strategies to let people of nation give expert opinions for his team, churns tele serials as well now..!!!

He is an actor, producer, entrepreneur … with career diversified in films like Kabhi haan Kabhi naa, Darr, Bazzigar, DDLJ, DTPH, Don, Chak de India, Swades, Hey Ram, Asoka, etc…and at the same time owner of Kolkata Knight Riders(KKR). He is the highest tax payer in the nation for last consecutive 3 years…. and above all, although being a ‘KHAN’, he is by far the only actor who is literally worshipped in many Hindu households!!! So, where even religion can’t make us to hate him… what is it in him that still makes people to hate him???People may hate his acting… but hating someone as a person sure means a lot!!!

Okay let me accept that… yes I am a big Shahrukh fan… and that is probably the big reason that I am pained to see people hating him. But then I am Shahrukh fan right from his Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa (KHKN) days…for his portrayal of cute and unlucky in love -Sunil was so genuine that it made him my instant favorite. Later with villainous roles in Bazzigar & Darr, romantic lead roles in DDLJ, Dil toh Pagal Hai(DTPH), he literally created a wave of admiration amongst his fans. People went crazy for him and so did I. At a tender age of 11, what love is all about???- is one topic that Shahrukh and his DDLJ taught me... (Now don’t judge me over this….it only made me to realize one of the human emotions :P)

In the teens, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (KKHH) gave the perfect dose of friendship and there were lot of us sporting cool chains as neck piece after that. Where DTPH gave new meaning to “someone somewhere is made for u…” JOSH brought the rebels in us to the fore. He is definitely a trend setter what with tight tees of KKHH, cool chains of KKHH to leather jackets and cow boy hat of DDLJ!!!

Chak de India gave rise to passion -to excel at whatever we do!! It strongly urged to look up to sports and women sports in specific. His stubble and slightly aged look suited him to the ‘T’ with portrayal of Kabir Khan –the Indian Hockey coach!!! Another master Act by him that is!!! And Swades literally moved me to tears and made me to hate US of A. It resurrected in me the faith that one day my motherland would be the best in this world if collected efforts are made. With movies like Hey Ram, Asoka, Devdas, Pardes, Kal Ho Na Ho, Don he proved his versatility and while at it slowly but surely claimed his title of ‘King Khan’!!!

Yes let us say he over acts...  but then people who don’t???Let us go back to our corporate setups and try and recollect our responses while promoting our work in a particular project. Don’t we go about adding extra adjectives here and there?? In his case, it’s his job to act and over act..!!! He gets paid for that!!! C’mon people give him some breather…I agree that  everyone is entitled to have his or her own opinions and views but let’s not just write off person for projecting himself larger than life!!!

In 2008, Newsweek named him one of the 50 most powerful people in the world; he is also awarded with several honors which include the Padma Shri-the fourth highest civilian award by Government of India. In April 2007, a life-size wax statue of Khan was installed at the Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, London. Another statue was installed at the Muse Grévin in Paris, the same year. During the same year, he was accorded the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Order of the Arts and Literature) award by the French government for his “exceptional career”. In October 2008, Khan was conferred the Darjah Mulia Seri Melaka which carries the honorific Datuk  (in similar fashion to "Sir" in British knighthood), by the Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Mohd Khalil Yaakob, the head of state of Malacca in Malaysia. Khan was honored for "promoting tourism in Malacca" by filming One Two Ka Four there in 2001. Some were critical of this decision. He was also honored with an honorary doctorate in arts and culture from Britain's University of Bedfordshire in 2009. 

Now he sure must be having something in him to pull of these things and achieve so much in life..!!!So what if he tries and over smiles, even when his team loses badly in IPL?? So what if he doesn’t support NGOs like other Khans??? So what if he longs for awards and is not double edged in saying that oh, I don’t work for awards…(c’mon everyone works for awards…!!! Just recollect employee of the month award at corporate setups…and you shall get my point). So what if he didn’t bow before the saffron tiger to allow screening his movie??? What should matter is, is he a good human being? Is he involved in criminal cases? Can he prove to be some sort of role model to youngsters? Can he help create a better tomorrow for our country? And to all these questions I feel answer is yes…!!! He is a good human being… I have never heard anyone say anything against his goodwill or his motives. There aren’t any criminal cases against him… being a Muslim himself... he doesn’t support bigamy…or doesn’t even hop from one marriage to another unlike others…!!! Starting with very modest means and having lost parents at very early age this boy stood on his weak but determined legs to go about carving his path in this world. Today he is whatever is totally because of, he himself alone..!!!He didn’t have any godfathers to produce films for him or promote him in any manner… what I only ask for… give one space to breathe!!! Now, if Kolkata doesn’t perform well and win then there is no need for dada supporters to hate Shahrukh for that!!!! Makes sense?

Now let me tell you guys all over again… I am huge Shahrukh Khan Fan and hence this post!!! So avoid the passion in my writing for him if you don’t like it… but at least don’t hate me because I like Shahrukh!!!

22 : A stranger colleague...a known philosopher!!!

Life throws all sorts of surprises at me, when I least expect them. We always want to meet the kind of people who interests us in some way or the other, but one such cyber voyage while surfing sites in office time, lead me to bump into someone with extra lustre to his cerebral mater, that churns out stupendo-fantabulously fantastic matter that keeps lingering and haunting for days to come...

On further investigation, he turns out to be one of the  fellow colleague from my firm...(now that coincidence wasn't needed at all... and No, I hadn't imagined that either ,but indeed ,he is working at my firm..). I never got any opportunity to speak to him neither I have any intentions to do so in near future but this coincidence is sort of a feel good factor, wherein suddenly you feel you belong to a place where  you have people who think like you do! Currently just smiling at the coincidence....

21: Find your treasure always...

"Remember that wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure. And you’ve got to find the treasure, to make sense out of everything you have learned along the way"

-Paulo Coelho

20: Dealing with folks from country of Rising Sun

Working in Japanese MNC which took over my American firm some time back… gives me opportunity to work in a mixed culture comprising of people from diversified backgrounds.

On one hand we have counterparts from US trying and sometimes forcing their ideologies and on the other hand there are people from the country of rising sun –Japan!!! Each one with their perspectives, their mannerisms, their ideologies and their beliefs, make a good diversity indeed...

Where Americans believe in results, Japanese believe lot more in the process to achieve it. For them it is important to achieve same results using better technology and more innovations, although it may then compromise a bit on time. While we Indians who believe everything that Americans and Japanese believe in, also strive a lot more for quality, efficiency and timeliness( No hard feelings for either of Americans and Japanese people on the other attributes I mentioned for us… probably I am yet to know u guys more). For us it is extremely crucial to show results the way Americans want… to innovate and grasp new things the way Japanese expect…and at the same time have the efficient display of resources and time. We so like hearing good about ourselves and glorifying it even more (khudki laal karna…ie) but unfortunately this post isn’t aimed at glorifying us…instead it is aimed more to glitter out the striking characteristics that I came across while dealing with people from other nations…

In this series of articles… I am gonna start off with people who give me my bread and butter. It’s about them who handshakes with every new innovation and perserve hard enough to assimilate the good qualities of all others who are far ahead of them. Oh yeah, it’s about the Japanese people.

One striking feature that stood out in them was always their hard work to learn new things every single day. When they know that, they are far behind in terms of certain aspects of technology usage and wider domain application, they will seldom give importance to them being bosses. Instead they allow you to take center stage and to set things right and superior. They would go out of their way to learn, understand, and apply the newly acquired knowledge and would see to it that they are paying you for what they are getting outta you. Not even for a minute, have I ever felt that we have been taken-over or that now we are supposed to take orders!!! They aren’t lame … but I would call them shrewd!!!

                                                               

They are by far the hardest working people I have ever come across in my life… what with my own CEO learning English in span of 20 days, so that he can converse with his entire fellow taken over employees in English!!! He didn’t need to…!!! He could have very well got himself a translator and lest assured the matter would have been solved. But he was so hell bent on speaking in English, that during one of his all employee dialogue- he fumbled not once but thousands of times trying to speak grammatically correct English… but he didn’t give up… he knew people are mocking him, but he kept speaking and correcting his own grammatical mistakes. He ended his dialogue with –“Takeover is not only about you people accepting the changes and accepting our culture but, it’s also about us accepting you. In these tough situations what we need is each other to make this happen and we will make it happen…I have made a small start with learning English…and I wish that each one here too, does whatever bit in their capacity to make this happen!!!”

Crowd gave him a big ‘Thumbs-Up’ … he changed the mindset of people so effortlessly that he became an instant role model for almost everyone!!! For a change we got a real enthusiastic leader who knew what he was setting up.

People often relate sad things and bitter experiences with M&A, Take-overs, but for us it had been a pleasant start to new creation and a new beginning towards a truly happening amalgamation!!!

Ohayoh Gozaimasu to everyone..!!!! (well that means good morning... and it is nice bright sunny morning when I am writing this...)

19: Blue Paradise...

Vast expansive blueness, with sparkling crystals of sand dunes
The sea comes rushing at me, carrying its rocky tunes...

While roaring sounds of waves,
Sends a horror down my spine,
The whity foam of gushing waters
Only cajoles my feet and makes me smile.

The evening breeze that kisses,
The splashing waves along its route...
Brings back memories and goose bumps
While truly shivering my soul...

I love to watch the distant horizon
Which gulps the big ball of fire,
Far away from my hands reach
It sets the evening in motion.

Sitting on the seashore I eat an ice-candy,
And try and compare its color palette with evening sky mighty!!!

As the crowd slowly fades away
I stand there watching this nature’s tune
Wondering how each single day,
This experience still remains new!!!

The colored water of candy trickles down my fingers
Bringing me back to reality as the candy gets over...
The day has come to an end and so has the ice candy
Evening sky has ended its show,
And the night has started its party!!!!

18: GOA... thru my eyes...!!!

Final year was about to get over in couple of months, and thereafter the big bad corporate world was by and large waiting to grill us down at the other side of the fence !!! When everyone around stayed immersed in books for the upcoming final semester exams… one of my grp buddy suggested why not take a trip to Goa… maybe this will be our last trip together…what with some of us heading to US for Masters and some leaving to other city for job.  Exams were pacing fast onto us…but this offer was too tempting to not consider it!!!

We chalked down a trip of 4 days…and got our return tickets booked. The very thought of Goa made the studies totally impossible in the prior week as well… we all were in Goa mood!!! This wasn’t our first trip to GOA... to be precise... this was our 3^rd consecutive trip in 3 college years, but Goa sure has some magnetic force that attracts us and many more like us almost every year there!!!

This time around we had decided to take up a train from Mumbai till Madgaon (Margao). It was one of the most pleasant rides by train I had enjoyed in my whole life!!! The lush green scenery, the hilly mountain ranges, and the expanse of Arabian Sea that runs parallel to the Konkan coast… a treat to watch all this!!! “This trip is gonna get better and better…” I exclaimed.

At around 6 in the morning…train halted at Ratnagiri station, a little over 2 hours away from Madgaon. Ratnagiri is the birthplace of freedom fighter Lokmanya Tilak, besides being famous for Alphonso mangoes!  The hawkers on the station were running helter- skelter to sell their products. Some of them were selling tea and coffee, others were selling batata vada(our very own Indian ham-burger ), while some others were selling fruits, boiled eggs, water bottles, cold drinks, etc. It was one great moment wherein the whole world seemed so busy around… that I felt like getting down on the station and filling me with its hustle bustle.

A tall and heavy man of fifty came around telling everyone –“This train won’t go ahead… there has been land slide ahead”. Well... did I mention… that, it was that time of the year when rains had lashed the whole of western coastal region of India, leaving room for landslides which are very common in the Konkan region??? Okay then...rains had lashed the whole of Konkan region for past 10 days and the soil being red and porous it was all very mushy and muddy!!! Everyone around became uncomfortable with the thought of landslide, children started twisting and turning in their mother’s lap, aged people too became cranky and almost everyone started cursing their luck!!!

For us, it was the beginning of the most memorable journey!! In my whole life, I never had anything in the morning without brushing my teeth and hence I need to that at the earliest so that I could taste all the dishes that were being served at the station. The aroma of morning tea and the smell of batata vada… were tempting me to the core.

And what the hell…no water in the train???? Goodness gracious… what am I gonna do???? Eat everything without brushing??? Yuckss...Can’t even imagine!!!! I was frantically thinking for options as to whether I should use up the drinking water from the bottle or try and search for options on the station… when suddenly one of my frnd came running from somewhere, he was panting so hard that I couldn’t hear a word what he was talking about... and in a moment he blurted out… “There is waterfall on the station!!!”  Waterfall??? Wow…!!! It was not one of those waterfalls that flowed all the year round but instead it was one of those kinds which rain gods created ever year. And we all decided collectively that we will brush our teeth at the waterfall…after all what is a trip worth without some wildness???

The waterfall wasn’t all that tiny … it was flowing with enormous speed and with enormous amounts of gushing water!!! It got created, as the station was built between two hillocks allowing the waters to rush through.  I had never imagined even in my wildest dream that someday I would brush my teeth at the waterfall and above all at a railways station waterfall!!! This trip was surely heading somewhere!!!!

Finally 4 hours after the scheduled time... Our train reached Madgaon... we all gave a sigh of relief!!! We hired a Dukar Rickshaw (cab that resembles a pig structurally and which can take in 10-12 people at a time) at the station that took us to Colva Resort- a huge and artistic old villa styled resort located on the Colva beach. It was a fabulous resort with private swimming pool and Jacuzzi but what attracted us there was the gigantic expanse of beach which we could see from our rooms. In spite of being so well placed and most sort after resort we got rooms for pretty cheaper rates since it was off-season in Goa.

The colva beach was so pristine and blue that, it made me to rejoice with joy on seeing the clear reflection of sky in its waters. We stayed at colva for precisely 2 days...wherein we hired Toyota Qualis so that we could roam around cities on our own. Our first day was very very good…we all spent our whole day on colva tasting all types of fish curries, fish vindaloo, egg preparations and sipping in the famous goan fenny(locally made alcohol). We bought cheap eye glares and posed for long photo shoots making merry and spoof of each other. At around 7 in the evening one of my frnd started digging the sand and building castles, within no time everyone joined him and a huge castle was ready with its secret water duct that went underneath it..!!! When we finally finished it was almost 11.30 and all of us retired for the day!!!

The next day was a day full of activity. We drove our Qualis 60 kms north of Goa to Calangute which is adorned with five sister beaches, a great chapel, few night clubs, a mighty fort with a lighthouse and most scenic hilly beach called Wagator!!!! Yes u heard it right… “Hilly beach”!!! It is situated at the base of three intersecting hills and to reach the beach you need to trek down the hill. It is one of its kinds!! We were totally tired after trekking down and trekking up the hill. After returning from our escapade, al we could think of was a nice aromic cuppa of tea … I opened my purse to pay for it and realized that there was no money in it… I thought … that I must have kept all the heavy denomination currency notes at the hotel room in my bag and that I must have forgotten to take it with me!!! My frnd Rhea offered to pay … to her disbelief even she found no money in her purse…and slowly the realization hit us that we have been robbed and that all our purses are empty!!! Let’s travel some time back little 5 hours before the aforementioned realization that struck us-

Naina: “hey are we taking our purses??”

Rhea: “girls how r u gonna climb the hill top with all those purses???”

Ashwin: “see there... That’s the DCH point!! Where Dil chahta hai (DCH) movie was shot, we need to climb down this hill and go to that hill through the sea shore”

Rhea: “well then let’s keep the purses in the car; anyways we are going to lock the car!!!”

The thieves broke open the car window and took all the money and cards from our purses and left. We were robbed of good 7500 bucks!! We still had one more day to stay at Calangute before returning to Madgaon where our bags were!!! At Calangute, we crammed ourselves in cheap hotel rooms which were nothing short of castles straight out of scary ghost movies... the doors screeched every now and then, the alley that led us to our rooms was forever darkened and more over we were the only people staying at that hotel!!! Phew!!! When we headed out in the night for dinner, we were informed that all hotels are closed due to some fight that erupted among locals and city police. Somehow we managed to find a small shack that was selling “Chineesee Punjabi dishes in American style” , I am really sorry to torture you this way but that indeed was the tagline of that hotel !!! And we ate there!!!

We came back the next day to our hotel room at colva and returned back the car so that we could get our deposits back… and settled for something less fancier and more economical like bike instead!!! The rest of the day went in calculating the finances that we r going to pull in, to manage staying there. We gave up 2 hotel rooms out of 4 and crammed ourselves in 2 hotel rooms to further reduce our expenses!!! We Indians are so good at cost cutting!!!

Next day we hopped on our bikes and headed down south to Palolem beach called the paradise beach of Goa!!! It has more number of foreigners than Indians which was one of the main reasons that all the boys in our gang shouted out in unison and voted for Palolem, when we were contemplating to visit either of Palolem or old Goa the next day. It was indeed paradise beach with small backwater 1 km away wherein one could easily see dolphins playing. As we had ridded almost 100 kms on bikes to reach Palolem it was only sensible to stay there that night and leave for Madgaon the next morning!!! We took rooms in a cheap lodge and stayed put at that Palolem laughing and pulling each other’s legs the whole night!!! In process, we started late from Palolem back to Madgaon…Did I tell you we had train to catch for Mumbai at 12 noon from Madgaon and it was already 9.30 in the morning when we  started!!!  Well… then it gets more creepier from here…!!!We had to reach colva, handover the bikes then reach Madgaon station and catch the train!!! We all started riding the bikes very fast, even speeding off at the turns and dhummm..dhishh..dhum dhadd…we had the expected!!! An accident!!! Hoooo….!!! We Reached late… fought with guys over money and scratched bikes due to accident and missed train!!!!

I said right... this trip was sure heading somewhere!!!

Left with meager amounts of money we were really worried as to how are we going to manage everything!!! We had bruised friends who needed doctor; we needed hotel rooms for one more night…and above all we need to book fresh return tickets!!!!

Never in my life had I felt so poor and helpless!!! One of my frnd got some money from one of his frnd back in Mumbai through internet money transfer and we withdrew that in Madgaon… for our survival!!! We ate egg omelets for dinner that night and ate only 5 rupees batata vada as our lunch while travelling in train back!!!And the lectures and music that we had to hear from our parents is something I would not like to talk about!!!

This trip finally ended with us being brutally tested in each department!!! We fought, we cried, we joked, we laughed, we enjoyed, we suffered, we partied, we lived and finally we survived!!! I really dunno the definition of  ‘amazing trip ‘ but we sure had an extraordinary  trip to Goa wherein we had a frnd who literally went knocking at the God’s doorstep to request him to allow us to reach home safely , and also a total carefree frnd who started caring for money, belongings and people!!! It’s nostalgic whenever we frnds meet up and talk abt this trip... but it surely is one trip which is etched into our minds like it happened yesterday!!!!

 (wud post my goa pics here soon....)

17: What you want?

"Every time you wish something, keep your eyes wide open, focus and know exactly what you want. No one hits the target with eyes closed"

-Paulo Coelho