before I sleep

All things

2009-10-31T23:19:00.005+05:30

Time passes in moments, moments which rush in past define the path of the life just as surely as they lead it towards its end. How rarely do we stop to examine that path to see the reasons why all things happen, to consider whether path we have taken is of our own making or simply which we wanted to drift with our eyes closed. But what if we could stop, pause to take stock of each precious moment before it passes, we might see the endless forks in row that shaped our lives and seeing those choices, choose another path.

- X-Files

Character

2009-10-25T10:43:00.004+05:30

Some say we all are born as blank slates. Some say we all are born good. A fact is, we all go through situations in life when we feel vulnerable. Do these situations judge our character or do they actually create it ?

Time Travel

2009-10-22T22:44:00.004+05:30

How precious is it to go back in time ? Only to discover that in facing the past you must face up to yourself and exiting the prison of time does not free you from prison of your own character, one from which there is no escape.

- Redrum, X-Files

That Day !

2009-10-12T23:29:00.001+05:30

I so dearly wish there comes a day when I live in that day !

सैयोनी

2009-09-26T10:29:00.003+05:30

सैयोनी ...
सैयोनी ...
चैन एक पल नहीं ...
चैन एक पल नहीं ...
चैन एक पल नहीं ...
और कोई हल नहीं
सैयोनी ...
सैयोनी ...
कोन मोड़े मुहार ...
कोन मोड़े मुहार ...
कोन मोड़े मुहार ...
कोई सावन नहीं ...
चैन एक पल नहीं ...
और कोई हल नहीं
सैयोनी ...
सैयोनी ...
क्या बशर की बिसात ...
क्या बशर की बिसात ...
क्या बशर की बिसात ...
आज है कल नहीं ...
चैन एक पल नहीं ...
चैन एक पल नहीं ...
चैन एक पल नहीं ...
और कोई हल नहीं
सैयोनी ...
सैयोनी ...
छोड़ मेरी खता ...
छोड़ मेरी खता ...
छोड़ मेरी खता ...
तू तो पागल नहीं ...
हे ...
चैन एक पल नहीं ...
चैन एक पल नहीं ...
चैन एक पल नहीं ...
और कोई हल नहीं
सैयोनी ...
सैयोनी ...
सैयोनी ...

- जुनूं

Success

2009-09-16T22:13:00.002+05:30

Success is not a result of spontaneous combustion but one must set himself on fire - Reggie Leach

I

2009-09-16T07:35:00.006+05:30

Self reference is an illusion created in deepest trenches and edges of mind but always understood as the most superficial and obvious.

Nature

2009-09-16T07:32:00.002+05:30

Everything in nature progresses to its extremes including the limits which define those extremes.

Truth

2009-09-09T23:00:00.000+05:30

A pure mind sees mountains as mountains and rivers as rivers.

Doubt

2009-09-03T21:34:00.002+05:30

In honest world, a doubt is nothing but lack of knowledge.

To be free

2009-08-28T00:48:00.003+05:30

All I know is one should not try to conclude anything else one would miss the "real" knowledge stored in time. Let the experience be the understanding rather than a logical outcome. This is what it means "to be free".

Wonderland

2009-08-16T10:26:00.007+05:30

I want to tell you something ...
which may not make any sense ...
but i should say it ...
because one day you might remember it ...
may be it will make you feel better ...
At a certain point in your life ...
when probably too much has gone by ...
you will open eyes and see for self who you are ...
especially for everything that made you so different ...
from all the awful normals ...
and you would say to your self ...
but I am this person ...
and in that statement that correction ...
there would be a kind of love ...

I am so scared ...

We all are ...

- Miss Dodger and Phoebe

He who dreams of drinking wine may weep when morning comes; he who dreams of weeping may in the morning go off to hunt. While he is dreaming he does not know it is a dream, and in his dream he may even try to interpret a dream. Only after he wakes does he know it was a dream. And someday there will be a great awakening when we know that this is all a great dream. Yet the stupid believe they are awake, busily and brightly assuming they understand things, calling this man ruler, that one herdsman ‑ how dense! Confucius and you are both dreaming! And when I say you are dreaming, I am dreaming, too. Words like these will be labeled the Supreme Swindle. Yet, after ten thousand generations, a great sage may appear who will know their meaning, and it will still be as though he appeared with astonishing speed.

- Zhuangzi

The Cretans are always liars.

- Liar's Paradox, Epimenides a Cretan

Conversation with papaya seller

2009-01-11T17:44:00.003+05:30

It is surprising to find that one can strike an interesting, emotional, full of experience and life with people you meet everyday. I guess every common man's life is a story in itself.

Me: What are the papaya rates today?
Seller: 16 Rs/- per kg.
Me: Amm... are these have been ripen synthetically?
Seller: No no .. these all have been ripen on the tree before plucked for sale. You would not find these easily in the market.
Me: They do look nice but they are quite big. I can't finish them both.
Seller: Sahib .... you can easily finish this one.
Me: No .. I can't. I think I would look elsewhere
Seller: Alright.

After few minutes looking around in the haat, I could not find small enough papays which can fit my stomach.

Me: I want to eat papaya. I really like them but they are quite big.
Seller: Sahib, I cannot live without papaya a day.
Me: Ohh .. really, don't you feel bored with eating papaya everyday ?
Seller: Sahib, 2 years back I was working with leather industry in sector 62. I fell sick so bad that I couldn't even drink water. I went to Kailash hospital and spent almost 38k. I have severe acidity and gas problem. They did all those sorts of tests .... what do they call it, endoscopy. Some one suggested me to start having papaya as a regular medicine and here I am today all fit and fine selling papaya.
Me: So you no longer work in that leather factory.
Seller: No.

...

2008-11-13T22:11:00.000+05:30

... देखना मेरे सिर से आसमान उड़ गया है,
देखना आसमान के सिरे खुल गए हैं ज़मीं से ...
... देखना क्या हुआ है ये ज़मीं बह रही है
देखना पानियों में ज़मीं घुल रही है कहीं से ...
... आसमान बादलों पर करवटें ले रहा है
देखना आसमान ही बरसने लगे ना ज़मीं पे ...
... पांव रुकने लगे राह चलने लगी ...

- गुलज़ार

All I know
Is everything is not as it's sold
but the more I grow the less I know
And I have lived so many lives
Though I'm not old
And the more I see, the less I grow
The fewer the seeds the more I sow ...

... I wish I hadn't seen all of the realness
And all the real people are really not real at all
The more I learn, the more I learn
The more I cry, the more I cry
As I say goodbye to the way of life
I thought I had designed for me ...

... All of the moments that already passed
We'll try to go back and make them last
All of the things we want each other to be
We never will be ...

... then I see you standing there
Wanting more from me
And all I can do is try
Then I see you standing there
Wanting more from me
And all I can do is try ...

- Nelly Furtado

Staring at the moon so blue
Turning all my thoughts to you
I was without hope or dream
Try to dull an inner scream ...

I'm gonna try in the future
not to live in the past
I guess that I was a dreamer
if I thought it could ever last ...

- MLTR

... कभी देखो मन नहीं जागे, पीछे पीछे सपनो के भागे
इक दिन सपनो का राही, चला जाए सपनो से आगे कहाँ ...

- गुलज़ार

... In the sunlight that's where I'll be
In the moon night close your eyes, you will see me ...
... Child is born, true love is sworn, all the in-between
Well you walk on, walk on until the path is gone
Learning love is the only everything ...

- Celeste Prince

Collected from:-

चुपके चुपके - गुलज़ार
Try - Nelly Furtado
More than a friend - MLTR
You took my heart away - MLTR
ज़िन्दगी - गुलज़ार
Wherever you are - Celeste Prince

धर्म

2008-10-12T12:03:00.001+05:30

जानूं मैं कि आत्मन के बोध से इश्वर में समा जाऊं
चाहूँ मैं कि ना हिंदू ना मुस्लिम ना ही इसाई कहलाऊं
जानूं मैं कि ख़ुद को जान लूँ तो खुदा को पाऊं
चाहूँ मैं कि ना हिंदू ना मुस्लिम ना ही इसाई कहलाऊं
जानूं मैं कि परछाईं को थाम इशु का सहारा पाऊं
चाहूँ मैं कि ना हिंदू ना मुस्लिम ना ही इसाई कहलाऊं
जानूं मैं कि साथ अंधेरे के रौशनी से पार जाऊं
चाहूँ मैं कि ना हिंदू ना मुस्लिम ना ही इसाई कहलाऊं
जानूं मैं कि हर धर्म चाहे ख़ुद से बाहर आ जाऊं
ताकि ना हिंदू ना मुस्लिम ना ही इसाई कहलाऊं

2008-09-29T08:55:00.003+05:30

प्राकृतिक दिनचर्या

प्रातः काल सूर्योदय से पहले उठें तथा उठते समय बांयी करवट ही उठे|
जागने के तुंरत बाद मुंह पर स्वच्छ जल भरकर मारिये| इससे दृष्टि कमजोर नहीं होती और चश्मा भी उतरसकता है|
प्रातः ही शौच से पूर्व ताम्र या चांदी के बर्तन में रात का रखा हुआ चार गिलास पानी पीना चाहिए| इससे कब्जबवासीर, रक्तपित, नेत्र सम्बन्धी और कफ से होने वाले रोग नहीं होते तथा बहुत से रोगों से छुटकारा हो जाताहै|
प्रातः काल खाली पेट चाय बहुत हानिकारक है|
शौच समय पर जाएँ| पेशाब या शौच करते समय दांत दबाकर रखने से मजबूत होते हैं|
याद रखें स्नान से पूर्व, शौच से पूर्व, सोने से पूर्व और भोजन के बाद पेशाब अवश्य करें| शौच के बाद गुदा को१५ से २० बार संकोचन करें, इससे गुदा सम्बन्धी रोग एवं शीग्रहपतन दूर होता है|
हो सके तो सप्ताह में एक बार तेल मालिश अवश्य करें|
सूर्य के सन्मुख मल-मूल त्याग ना करें| ऐसा करने से चर्म रोग होते हैं|
दांत एवं जीभ साफ करते समय गले में स्थित तालू की सफाई अंगूठे से अवश्य करें, तथा गुनगुने पानी मेंनमक डाल कर घरारे अवश्य करें| इससे आँख, कान नाक, गले के रोग नहीं होते|
प्रातः भ्रमण अवश्य करें एवं खुले में गहरी साँस के साथ प्राणायाम एवं योगासन अवश्य करें|
जब समय मिल जाए तब तब प्रातः काल धूप में खुले बदन १५ से २० मिनट अवश्य बैठे|
स्नान से पहले सूखे तौलिये से दस मिनट घर्षण करें, तथा स्नान के बाद भी हथेलियों से रगड़कर शरीर कोसुखाये और फिर तौलिये से पोंछें|
बिना भूख भोजन ना करें और जब भी करें भूख से कम खायें|
दिन में केवल दो बार भोजन करें जिसमें अधिकतर अपक्वाहार (फल, सब्जियाँ, ताज़ा हरे पत्ते, अंकुरितअन्नकण, शहद आदि) हों| यदि तीन बार करना है तो नाश्ते में फल एवं उनके रस|
ध्यान का अभ्यास अवश्य करें|
भोजन के बाद थोडी देर वज्रासन में अवश्य बैंठे या आठ साँस पीठ के बल लेकर, सोलह साँस दाहिनी करवटलेटकर तथा बत्तीस साँस बायीं करवट लेटकर लें| इससे भोजन शीघ्र हजम हो जायेगा तथा वायु रोग नहींहोंगे| रुकी हुई वायु का निष्काशन होगा|
सांय काल भोजन के बाद १०० कदम अवश्य चलें|
भोजन करने के बाद लकड़ी के कंघे से सर को खुजलाने से बालों का जल्दी गिरना, पकना, सिरदर्द, एवं सिरकी खाज नहीं होती|
लगातार तीन घंटे काम करने के बाद थोड़ा विश्राम (शवासन) कर लें तथा साप्ताहिक छुट्टी अवश्य मनाएं|
दिन में एक दो बार खुल कर जरूर हंसें|
वस्त्र सादे सूती और स्वच्छ पहने| ऊनी कपड़े बदन से छूते हुए ना पहने|
प्रति दिन चार पाँच तुलसी एवं नीम की पत्तियों का सेवन करें|
दिन में सोने की आदत ना डालें|
अच्छे विचार (पोसिटिव थिंकिंग) को अपने जीवन में उतारें| इससे मानसिक तनाव कम होगा|
मन में निराशा को स्थान न दें| आशावादी बनें|
हारता वह है जो हिम्मत गवां बैठता है|
रात में पानी पीकर एवं पांओं धोकर सोयें|
सोने से पहले मुख शुद्धि एवं तालू को साफ कर लें|
सोते समय उत्तर या पश्चिम की तरफ पैर करके सोना चाहिए|
थोड़ा सख्त बिस्तर पर सोयें एवं तकिया ना लगायें या पतला तकिया लगायें|
बिस्तर के गद्दे, तकिया, चादर आदि धूप में डालने चाहिए|
नींद आने पर ही सोना चाहिए|
बिस्तर पर पड़े-पड़े नींद की राह देखना रोग को आमंत्रित करना है|
सोते समय कभी भी मुंह नहीं ढकिये|
नींद लाने के लिए कभी दवाई ना लें|
रात्री १० बजे तक सो जाना चाहिए|
आवास प्रकाश एवं वायु युक्त तथा स्वच्छ वातावरण में होना चाहिए|

- योगा गुरूजी

पल

2008-08-09T21:56:00.014+05:30

अगस्त २००८ में लिखने बैठा था ये कविता पर हर बार वो बात नही आती थी। हताश हो कर, मैंने मार्च २००९ में जो समझ आया लिख दिया। मेरे एक मित्र ने ऐसी टिपण्णी करी की इसको बदले बगैर मुझसे रहा न गया।

Kannan: bahut accha hai... parantu itni hatasha kyon?

खुशी की बात ये है की जैसी मैंने अगस्त में प्लान करी थी, वो शब्द आज जबान पर आ गए। और आज ३ अप्रैल २००९ को ये पुरी हुई है | इस ख्याल को पुरा करने में मेरे पिताजी का बड़ा योगदान है |

संशोधित प्रस्तुति

लहराते चित्रपट पर मुस्कान सजाये
गुज़रे लम्हों से सुनहरी यादें ढूंढ लाये
मन छलिया मधुर चलचित्र दिखाए
कल-कल कर ये पल बहता जाए

धुंधलाते चित्रपट पर जाल बनाये
गुज़रे लम्हों से कारण ढूंढ लाये
मन छलिया मुद्दे से ध्यान भटकाए
कल-कल कर ये पल बहता जाए

लहराते चित्रपट पर स्वप्न-महल बनाये
आनेवाले लम्हों में मरीचिका दिखाए
मन छलिया हर इक्च्छा पूरी कराये
कल-कल कर ये पल बहता जाए

धुंधलाते चित्रपट पर स्कीमें बनाये
आनेवाले लम्हों में अटकलें दिखाए
मन छलिया हार के द्वार ही पाए
कल-कल कर ये पल बहता जाए

कल के दर्शन में आज को भुलवाए
ख़ुशी गम चिंता राहत महसूस कराये
बैचैनी में घड़ी की सुइयां पकड़ न आयें
देख मेरी स्तिथि कलियुग ठहाके लगाये

कल-कल कर हर पल बहता जाए
कल-कल कर हर पल बहता जाए

प्रथम प्रस्तुति

हताश हो यादों में खुशी क्यों खोजे
आज के लिए बीते को क्यों कोसे
ऐसे ख़ुद को क्यों रहें है छल
कल-कल बहता जाए ये पल

इक्छापुर्ती वश सपने क्यों संजोये
भविष्य से चिंतित आज क्यों रोये
ऐसे ख़ुद को क्यों रहें है छल
कल कल बहता जाए ये पल

कल में खोये भूल गए क्या आज है
अनादी अनंत जिसका सार है
ये भी किसी ने सही है फरमाया
कल-का-युग कलियुग है आया

Tagged

2008-04-26T22:46:00.000+05:30

Last movie seen in a theatre: One Two Three
Have you heard the title song, its so simple and true that if one just think over lyrics for once, a smile is inevitable
1-2-3 1-2-3,
duniya main aana hai free,
duniya se jaana hai free,
dekh tamasha duniya ka ek dum free,
1-2-3 1-2-3

What book are you reading:

Life of Pi (Yann Martel) - Imagine a person who wants to be Christian, Hindu, Muslim, and Jew, devoted to god, gets stuck in a life-boat after loosing all his family in vast Pacific Ocean. Ahan its not Caste Away dear, he has companions, a zebra, an orangutang, a hyena, and a bengal tiger :-).
Society of Mind (Marvin Minsky) - Mind is made up of mindless matter usually considered to be clustered in societies which when separate has no meaning but when they are together to do a task, the meaning becomes obvious. Mystery remains as what engages and disengages them. The book uses the concept of "soul".
One more thing, it has used example of a child so often that, now I dearly wish to observe a child how he learns with time. What he does when he sees a new thing ...

Favourite board game: Ludo, Snakes and Ladders, Chess, Scrabble - The best part of dice games is to dearly wish a number and rumble the dice with all your inner might (ofcourse you don't need physical strength) and jump when you get it.

Favourite magazine: Nandan, Champak (from my childhood days, I still don't mind reading one), Readers digest

Favourite smells: Alcohol (Whisky) - a teetotaler now, Whiteboard marker, smell of dust when it rains after a long dry spell, 5-bhai sabun I use it with Ariel for washing clothes in machine - highly recommended formula for those who wear their jeans until it turns brownish

Favourite sound:

Wind chimes - Imagine a lovely morning with cool breeze clear ambience after a rainy night and the silence is broken ocassionaly by chime music struck by the breeze. It gets better if you have your partner with you, :-)
koo-koo: don't mix this with any birds chirping, just the sweet cuckoo singing on a tree lit by morning sun with little haze in ambience causing rays to disperse and fill up the space.
sounds from happy babies .... :-), off-late watched Tarzan, Monsters Inc. Disney does an awesome job. Never heard such sounds in real life.

Worst feeling in the world: Loneliness, I fear imagining it. I can't think of my existence as a sole entity.

What is the first thing you think of when you wake up?: Mostly dreams I had, I always have dreams,

Favourite fast food place: Haldiram for chile, kulcha etc., MacD for McVeggie burger. I like matar-kulcha a lot esp on a nukkad. The taste to spicy lemon paste they use is awesome. My stomach no longer allows me to enjoy my favorite thing .... sigh :-(

Future child's name: I would leave it to her, first things first .. I still haven't found one

Finish this statement, “If I had a lot of money I’d…” be watching it thinking what to do with it. I am not kidding. I still need to learn how to spend money as I give up very soon.

Do you drive fast?: Rarely, sometimes on highways. I am a peaceful person you see

Do you sleep with a stuffed animal? sigh ;-)

Storms - Cool or Scary?: Awesome site to shoot, don't have a good camera though

Do you eat the stems on broccoli?: Don't mind it

If you could dye your hair any colour, what would be your choice?: Shades of brown as a gradient

Name all the different cities/towns you have lived in: Faridabad, Indore, Madras, Tirupathi, Rewari, Delhi, Mumbai, Noida, Banaras, Mugalsarai, Sakaldiha, Dhanapur, Sikandrabad ... does it look like a long list

One nice thing about the person who sent this to you: Good to be friends with, beauty with brains, She writes quite well. Especially few liners about any incident pointing the most peculiar thing you can imagine.

What’s under your bed?: Mat, some dirt which maid didn't clean up and I am too lazy to ask her to clean it up :-D.

Would you like to be born as yourself again?: I can't answer this question. I can't decide as I am yet to find myself.

Morning person or night owl?: Morning person, lately I have not done much to keep up with it. I need to do something tomorrow only :-D

Over easy or sunny side up?: buzy-bee, need help to understand this question

Favourite place to relax: Home

Favourite pie: Heard a lot about pies haven't had one. Not kidding its true.

Favourite ice cream flavour: Butterscotch with nuts. Not much into ice-creams though.

जन्मदिन मुबारक - Happy Birthday

2007-08-03T20:12:00.000+05:30

सपनो से कहीं ख़ूबसूरत यार हमने पाया,
नय्मत उस खुदा कि जिसने तुम्हे बनाया,
खुशगवार है कितना आज ये दिन,
बहुत बहुत मुबारक तुम्हे ये जन्मदिन.........

भटकता था कहीं मंजिल कि खोज मैं,
रस्ते पर चलना उस हमसफ़र ने सिखलाया,
दूर था खुदा कि रहमत से अब तक,
सुकून उसके दामन का तुमने महसूस करवाया
आये ये खुशियों भरा दिन बार बार क्योंकि
आज इस दुनिया मैं आया था मेरा प्यार..........

एक पल है जाता और दूजा है आता,
पूछे मन बावरा, ये थम क्यों न जाता,
क्या है कोई नुस्खा कि समय के पार मैं जाऊ,
दामन मैं मेरे यार के थोडी खुशियाँ और सजांऊं,
जन्मदिन कि हार्दिक शुभकामनाये..........

"Cheap" Reliance handsets

2007-07-08T14:54:00.000+05:30

Reliance recently launched very attractive offers like Jodi (unlimited free calls), 1234 lifetime, etc. with a new range of dirty cheap "Classic" handsets, and it has already caused a tremendous boom in Reliance subscriptions. These handsets are manufactured by a 2005 startup company, Rose Telecom, located in Seoul Korea. The cheapest handset, RC-R601, comes only Rs. 777/-. This combined with offers from Reliance makes them a definite buy for any cost conscious consumer.

Recently, a friend of mine bought a new Reliance connection with a Classic RC-R631 colored handset in the evening. It was promised that the connection would be started by night. As, expected, connection was not activated on time but unexpectedly, we could not find any mention of SAR limits in the product manual. Though, we did find some scary law jargons like, "... NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY HARM CAUSED BY THE USE OF PRODUCT". How good would it be to trust such a handset? The answer is "not at all".

Next day we called up Reliance Store to ask for a replacement of this handset with any LG, Nokia or Samsung. Even after a lot of arguments, the answer was "Not Possible". We went to the store and ended up in more useless heated arguments. Our reason was simple that

"If you do not allow us to open up the box and look at product manual until we buy it, how can we come to know about this important technical detail. At least pass on this customer feedback to Reliance asking to justify the product on this aspect."

We got to hear many interesting statements in return,

"Largest handset manufacturer", "How can you NOT trust a big company like Reliance", "How are you so sure that any other company's handset is safe", "How can you trust what is there in the product manual", "why are you buying a cheap handset", "Of course if company is giving something for cheap it would have somethings missing"

Though the threats of canceling the credit card transactions did not work, but the customers buying Classic handsets left empty handed. My friend was fortunate enough to receive a phone call in the evening from the store giving an apology and readiness to replace the handset with LG RD-3000. This time we dug up the internet to locate the FCC certification (FCC ID: BEJRD3000) for this model. It was surprising to note that this product is not listed on LG's website. But is mentioned on Reliance web without giving important details.

How many of us have ever been concerned about the health impact caused by the use of wireless technology, especially from mobile handsets? I guess few and, I am not excluding well educated people from this list. Dr. G Prakash Babu has already recited his experience about "cheap" Classic handset loudly on Complaints Board. Usually people don't like grazing through Product Manuals, probably because most of them are so easy to use.

There has been a tremendous amount of research done and still going on to understand the affect of Radio Frequency radiation on human health. Nevertheless, it is definitely considered as a threat beyond mentioned limits which is 1.6 W/kg by FCC and 2.0 W/kg by EU. Usually this information is revealed in a secretive manner in one of the pages of product manuals. Also, the websites try to hide this information to its best, by burying it in 2.5MB product manual, or by mentioning on obscure pages of a sub-domain.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to locate information about any Indian regulatory body which sets such standards for handset distribution. So, I strongly suggest that one should take an informed decision before buying such handsets. One can do the following

Don't buy such "cheap" handsets
or
Dig up the product website or other informative websites like engadgetmobile
Always insist on looking at the product manual at the store
Try to spot an FCC ID mentioned on the box or inside the handset before inserting the battery. This works only if product is also launched in US or EU
In general and specifically with cheap handset, keep it as far as possible from you by using headsets while in calls and keep them in mobile case or best in bags while carrying with you
Also, buy a model such that the antenna is as far as possible from brain and ears. Flip phones suite the bill quite well.

Also, please suggest a way to proliferate this information to our cost conscious public before its late for them.

A January in Manali

2007-06-09T20:43:00.002+05:30

"Why do you want to take such a risk of going to Manali? It is snowing heavily and landslides are reported all over the news" ... 21st century news channels report much more than what is needed and make our parents worry, sometimes unreasonable. Why should I spare myself, I was also worried about the cold.

"C'mon, you are not going to freeze there. People with similar skin depth and fat content spend their lives in such places." ... Words of wisdom uttered in extreme frustration. It is so easy to trivialize someone's fear.

Nevertheless, I packed even the last piece of my rags (on expert's advice, makes one feel comfortable). We somehow managed to kabadofy tickets in a luxury super delux two seater bus. You know why, it is a HOT honeymoon location in winters. It might be easy to stand naked in winds of alaska as compared to bear the slow chilled thin air breeze coming from cracks of the train or a super delux two seater bus window. No blanket can save you from the agony. But it was fun.

The thought of getting frozen in cold vanished as soon as I saw the snow laden peaks beautifully lit with golden x-rays, ofcourse sun-rays stupid. We tried to capture some from moving bus but wasn't possible. We reached Manali at roughly 6:00 AM. It was quite cold due to strong winds but manageable. After some search, we crashed into Hotel Beas View. Refreshed, we set out to enjoy the awesome sunny weather and valley covered with a blanket of fresh snow. All of us were pretty excited to enjoy smash-a-snow-ball bash. We decided to wander first and enjoy the sights nearby. Rahul decided to spare our pockets and became our guide for the trip. We first went to see the one and only temple of Bhima's wife Hidamba. She being a ghoul, it is no surprising to see walls decorated with stuffed animal heads and fresh blood near "Bali-Vedi". All said, we were more excited to smash each other with snow balls. It was fresh, it was white, it was soft, it was clean, it was god damn fun.

We wanted to go to Solang valley for skiing but roads were completely blocked with snow. We had no other choice but to roam around in Manali for the first day. Meanwhile, we decided to go to Dharmshala after Manali and straightened out the logistics with Antrek Tours and Travels. I would never recommend you to avail his services. Read-on to find out the reason. It blacked-out very early in the evening and we spot snowing on peaks. It gets quite cold when it starts to snow.

In good spirit, we decided to end the day here and crash in hotel after some more wandering. We decided to make it quite early in the morning to capture golden peaks. Unfortunately, the warmth of bed did not let us open our eyes on time. But we finally managed to capture a couple nice composition. Soothe yourself and read-on.

A clear sky boosted our energy and with bright sun we were sure to be able to skii. We hired a Maruti 800 (:-D) to take us to Solang Valley. Mid-way we realized that it is almost impossible to reach Solang due to slippery roads. We rented some skiing-gear and marched to a village nearby. There was a decent stretch of snow to satisfy our desire to ski. Unfortunately, the shoes were quite large for me and were almost covering my knees. I tried a little but soon realized that it would be easy for me to crack a bone or two. So, I decided to run rather than ski :-P.

After enjoying skiing, we visited Duggadh to see old Manali fort and Nicholas Roreich's museum. The guy had built a very nice summer home on a sweet, romantic hill-top. His collection coins, exotic pottery, musical instruments and paintings from different cultures was quite exotic and antique. Apparently he was a Russian who finally married an Indian, Devika Rani, and settled in Manali. She is very a graceful and charming lady. See for yourself.

After spending almost an hour we went to see the Naggar Haveli where King of Manali used to live. It is completely made of wood with heavy carvings. Apparently, it has become a commercial place now as a hotel or place to shoot Bollywood sagas. We were unlucky not to be able to closely see the temple inside the haveli. Its wood work is exquisite and a pleasure to admire. But do remember that leather in any form is not allowed in the temple premises.

Done with Naggar Haveli, we head back to our hotel rooms as we had already booked bus tickets for Dharmshala for the same night. None of us had anticipated how troublesome could be this night. We had done the bookings from Antrek Tours and Travels and we were informed that bus would reach somewhere around 5 o'clock in the morning. We were quite pleased with the timings as we could finish sight seeing the same day and head back to Noida. The bus started around 7:00 PM and everything was going as planned. Around 2 o'clock in the morning, the conductor woke us up and asked to get down saying this is Dharmshala. We were quite surprised with it and tried to converse, looked around squinting. Since, we were left with no option, we decided to get down.

All of a sudden it started to freeze and everything was damn cold, and to make things more difficult it started raining. Luckily we found shelter close to a shop to save ourselves from getting wet. There was nobody around and talking to all taxi folks was hopeless. We soon found out that we are almost 15-20 kms away from Dharmshala and the goddamn bus went in different direction. Also, even after offering handsome amount, no taxiwala was interested in going to Dharmashala at this hour because it was snowing heavily. We were happy to hear the news as we would get chance to play in fresh snow and even more to see a snowfall. But also sad that we need to some how reach Dharmshala or else find a place to dry ourselves. We stayed at the place till 3:30 AM in the morning until a Himachal Roadways bus salvage us. It was still snowing on the way and driver was able to drive 65 seater roadways bus. Technically, the tyres were skidding rather than rolling. One of the helper occasionally use to wipe the snow on the windshield as it was blocking driver's view, and he had to do so in moving bus because the road was slippery enough for the bus to slide down the hill.

Some how we reached the bus-stop around 5:00 AM. We soon realized that we won't be able to find hotel room at this hour and waited at the bus stop for sun to rise. We started moving towards McLeodganj and got revived with a beautiful look of clean sky and rising sun. We crashed in a cheap hotel, managed to have some breakfast and checked out within few hours. We were excited to go to McLeodganj where it had snowed heavily last night. We took a Maruti Omni cab from Dharmshala.

McLeodganj is quite densely populated with Hindus, Tibetians and lots of foreigners. It is the holy place of Dalai Lama where he visit quite often to preach Buddhism, and hence, the reason for so many foreigners and tibetians. I had some eerie feeling about the place because the tibetians and hindus don't mix up well together and they have physically separated colonies. We did not spot any of them in each other's colony.

We were welcomed with snow balls as soon as we entered the area and to our surprise opposite sexes were heavily involved in it. After a while we realized its not just snow balls they were enjoying, eve-teasing is right description for it and apparently, guys were the victims too. It was rare to see but we did enjoy it as well. One point I would like to stress on is Tibetian chicks were hot!!!

We kept roaming around the accessible roads enjoying the fresh snow, clouds and clicking once in a while. We managed to take some panoramic shots as well. As expected from beginners, we did not switch of the dates on the photographs which you will find little disturbing in panoramas. McLeodganj has a nice waterfall which serves as a summer retreat. At this time we could only see it from a distance because it was bit risky to reach there due to melting snow.

Since, there wasn't much for sight seeing and the infrastructure had gone topsy-turvy after snowfall, we decided to leave for Noida the same night. Also, awfully costly hotel rooms was one of the reasons too. We had some snacks in a tibetian restaurant on the way back and took a roadways bus for Dharmshala in the evening.

My shoes were completely drenched and I decided to dump them after buying a pair of slippers. Before leaving the place we did enjoy some fresh fruits and the lovely sunset. Rahul took a whole bunch of pictures as sun was about to leave after completing its job for the day, and we headed back to Noida.

Special mention

On the way back we stopped on some dhabba at night to attend nature's call and stretch a little. We saw a family who seemed to be coming from a marriage. The groom was all loaded with garlands, of course not of flowers, but of indian currency. What caught our eyes was the shimmering lights all over his head. All excited seeing such different outfit, I went down to take a snap. My hands were shaking with sleep and cold, so couldn't click it well.

इब्तदा-ए-इश्क

2007-05-24T20:08:00.000+05:30

आते-जाते, खाते-पीते, सोते-जागते, मन ख्वाबों-खयालों में खोया रहता है
जुबां से क्या बतांए, तेरे इश्क का सदका हर पल इस चहरे से बयां होता है

हर दौड की वही मंिजल है पाता,
हर चहरा एक सा नजर है आता,
हर आवाज में स्वर एक है सुनता,
ये बावरा मन बस तुम्हें है ढूंढता

तनहाइयों को गले हैं लगाते,
खयालों में तस्वीर हैं बनाते,
याद कर भरी महिफल में हैं शरमाते,
बेचैन इस कदर, करवटों में रात हैं बिताते

इब्तदा-ए-इश्क है रोता है क्या,
आगे-आगे देख होता है क्या

ज़िन्दगी - Life

2007-03-17T13:00:00.000+05:30

ज़िन्दगी - Life

ख्वाब न हो तो कहाँ होगी मंजिल,
मंजिल न हो तो कहाँ होंगे रास्ते,
रास्ते न हो तो कहाँ होगी आरज़ूं ,
आरज़ूं न हो तो कैसी होगी ज़िन्दगी

चाहत न हो तो कैसे होगी बेकरारी,
बेकरारी न हो तो कहाँ होगा इंतजा़र,
इंतजा़र न हो तो कैसे होगी मिलने की खूशी,
खूशी न हो तो कैसी होगी ज़िन्दगी

तन्हा न हो तो क्यों रोएगा दिल,
दिल न रोए तो कैसे होगा दर्द,
दर्द न हो तो कैसे होगा अहसास मिठास का,
बिन मिठास कैसी होगी ज़िन्दगी

नजा़कत न हो तो कहाँ होगी वो अदा,
अदा न हो तो कहाँ होगी खूबसूरती,
खूबसूरती बगैर कैसा होगा बालम,
बालम के बगैर कैसी होगी ज़िन्दगी

दिवानगी न हो तो कैसे होगा जूनूं,
जूनूं न हो तो कैसे होगी रवानगी,
रवानगी न हो तो कैसे रहेगा गर्म लहु,
बिन गर्म लहु के थम जाएगी ज़िन्दगी

Last week

2006-06-05T21:21:00.000+05:30

It was quite tough but worth memorizing some of the moments. One of my school friend, Harish contacted me on May 27th through orkut, and asked to meet him and another friend of mine Manu for a get together. We chose Gurgaon for general hangout.

I wasn't feeling well enough to go, but it was almost after seven years that we would be seeing each other. So, I decided otherwise. Bike was the obvious choice as compared to Delhi public transport.

I reached Metropolitan, one of the biggest posh malls towering along the MG road going towards Mehrauli. The area surrounding this road is quite developed as comapred to old Gurgaon. The mall was pretty huge and nicely constructed. We talked a lot about our lives, jobs, babes et cetera along with some chilled beer and kababs at Charcoal. Since, Manu is working in Army, a life which we hardly know, we had a lot to discuss. Also, he is a doctor and a lot of things happen around him. We watched Da Vinci in the afternoon from front seat. I have never done that before.

It was almost 5:00pm by now and we decided to leave for our homes. It was quite good to see those guys after almost 7 years. I started of by 5:15pm and wasn't feeling quite well. I definitely had some fever with some body ache.

Near Delhi Cantt crossing, I saw a car burning in the middle of the road. It was quite surprising as I have seen such things happening only in movies. I felt like stopping for a while to figure out what has happened, but decided to leave as the fever was increasing. I am still thinking how come that car caught fire? Did someone do it purposefully? But I did not observe any unrest around. Well, this will remain unanswered. Moreover, as you can see people were waiting calmly for the red-light to turn green around that burning car.

After crossing the moolchand flyover, I faced another shock. I felt quite strange at that time. One might say, I was frightened. I heard a harsh screeching sound behind me and, when I turned back, some bullshit taxi driver had almost hit me. The car behind him did hit his car. Well, any sane person would slow down if there is a ditch in the way, and thats exactly what I did. Hmm, nevertheless, I kept moving to avoid any brawl. I did not want to spoil my toll-bridge drive.

The 8-laned toll-bridge connecting Aashram and Noida is a treat for driving. It is picturesque too. Although photography is not allowed, but I still managed to click some shots while driving. I hope you like'em.

I reached my apartment by 6:30pm and was burning with 102F fever. Rest of the week went in taking pills, sleeping and making fractals. The fever was bad but at the same time it was quite amazing to take a 5-day break from the routine life. BTW, I did utilize the time and explored some of the best regions of Mandelbrot fractal. Visit Illustrations of Infinity for more details.

कुछ यादें - Few memories

2006-05-22T23:54:00.000+05:30

It is hard to even think of a life without memories. I always wish, try and promise myself to live every moment of this life to the fullest. These memories help me smile even in my worst times. People think if I am nuts because I sometimes even laugh while I am sitting alone remembering some beautiful moment. He he...

Recently, I found this poem in my diary which I had written quite a while back. I was doing my engineering or rather killing my time at hostel-6. It is about a person who is enjoying a rainy day remembering the story of how he came to know about his love of life and married thereafter....pretty dramatic huh!!! Do let me know how you felt after reading it.

कुछ यादें

इक दिन बादलों की छाई हुई थी घटा घनघोर,
हो के मदमस्त नाच उठे छत पर मनमोहक मोर,
जाने क्यों लगा कि ले गया मन का चैन कोई चित्तचोर,
रह गया मैं स्तब्ध हत्त्प्रभ, मचा भी न सका शोर ।

कुछ पल के लिए हुआ परेशान,
क्योंकि ढूँढ पाना उसको नहीं था आसान,
अचानक हुआ ये अहसास,
शायद हो वो यहीं कहीं आस पास ।

परेशानी और डर ने था मन को घेरा,
कि कहीं किसी ने हम पर जादू-मन्तर तो नहीं है फेरा,
ऐसे में उस खास दोस्त का आना,
और प्यार से बैठा के समझाना ।

कि होता है सभी को ज़िन्दगी में एक बार,
लुट जाती है रातों कि नींद और दिल का करार,
ऐसी हालत में ठीक नहीं चुप्पी साधे रहना,
ना तो कभी ना लौटेगा दिल का सुख और चैना ।

नाम न जानूं पता न जानूं, अजब उलझी ये गुत्थी है,
सुलझाने कि कोशिश में, उलझ जाती ये उतनी है ।

पर मन में उसकी अधूरी सी छवी है, कि मानो
सर्द मौसम के धुंधलाए शीशे के पार खडी है,
क्यों मैं अपने आप को झुटला रहा हूँ,
जाने क्यों सच्चाई से पीछा छुडा रहा हूँ ।

हिम्मत जुटाई बढ़ कर शीशे को पौंछने की,
बोला कोई, नहीं जरूरत अब कुछ सोचने कि,
देर न कर, अपनी तृष्णा को शांत कर ले,
हठी न बन, इकरार कर ले ।

हटाते ही वो पानी कि बूँदें,
सिर चकरा कर लगा घूमने,
ये क्या हो गया था मुझको कि,
अब तक पहचान भी न सका उसको ।

वो कहते हैं, देर आए दुरूस्त आए,
देख कर उन्हें अगले दिन, थोड़ा शरमाए घबराए,
ईशारे कुछ ना कुछ तो कह गए,
चुप चाप ही हम खड़े रह गए ।

अचानक प्यार से किसी ने पुकारा,
कहीं तो ध्यान भटक गया है तुम्हारा,
बारिश का आनंद तो लो ही,
पर गरमा-गरम चाय-पकोड़े चखो तो सही ।