All I want is a room somewhere... House Hunting !

Over the ages, if you mull through the annuls of human history; human civilisation has enforced some rights of iniitiation for a boy\ girl entering adulthood. The prehistoric ages had the sons being instructed by 'Gurus' in the deepest forests before they returned to a life of luxury in the cities. The Medieval ages had the young men shedding blood in the battle fields of conquests and crusades. Now, they hunt for a house.

A man is not a man enough till he masters the skills needed for an elaborate, long drawn out and eventually fruitful house hunt. It needs the patience of a seaman and the guile of a raconteur.

I, being a veteran of several such expeditions, can well provide a list of my own Do's and Don'ts when you want a house on rent:

1) Have a bath, shave and put on your most modest and decent attire. No one wants a flashy, illkempt, bade baap ka bigda beta as a tenant... more so if the land lord has some girls around the house.

2) Be civil, polite and learn how to smile while the potential house owner launches off on a never ending tirade against the last occupant of the house who never paid the rent on time. In fact, if you are a group of guys planning to stay togther, let the most seedha saadha amongst you do the talking.

3) Be ready for the most unexpected and personal of questions... "Are you a vegetarian?", "Why do you want to stay alone?", "What is your salary?", "What is your caste?", "Are you a devout Hindu?", "Do you drink?", "When will you get married?", "How many guests do you expect for a visit?","Do you think Netaji died in that plane crash in Japan?"...... phew !!

4) Carry identification of some sort... cards , licenses whatever.

5) Appear to be a family sort of a man... it really really helps. Drop glowing references to your parents and your concern for them whenever and wherever you can..."I hope you have a backup generator for the elevator... My father is an arthritic you see........" "Is there and satsang society in this building? My mother is a very devout person"...

6) Wear confortable shoes... you will need to do a lot of walking.

7) Things to watch out for: leaky bathrooms, telltale marks on the door left after the last time a desperate tenant clung to the door before being hauled out of the house... and the like.

Anyway, the kind of house you get depends a lot on your luck. All the above becomes null and void the moment you land a decent place. Pay your deposit and be happy. But remember, that luck always favors the brave....

Bamboo Rice & Hakka Noodles...

Generous amounts of rice, glistening with a smooth coating of oil... slivers of black mushroom, juicy and fragrant, chunks of diced chicken and celery.... all steamed together in a column of woody bamboo.... the result? Bamboo rice.....A smooth smoky taste that takes you straight to a gourmet's paradise.

Caeser is dead ! Long live Caeser !!

People, Nanking has been dethroned as the reigning favorite from my list of Chinese eateries. Welcome, "The Chinese Pavillion"... a small restaurent tucked away in a basement at Panjagutta. A bit difficult to locate... its easy for you to pass by without even realising the what delicacies lie hidden just a stairwell away.

The first thing that strikes you when you enter the restaurant... is the easy ambiance. Lighting is neither dull nor garishly bright... just the right amount of cheerful brightness for an enjoyable meal. The sitting arrangements are adequate for a small group to retain their own space.
But perhaps, it is the service that sets this place apart from the rest. Attentive, quick and unobtrusive.... a combination that is well, pretty hard to find.

I have been to "The Chinese Pavillion" twice... whithin a space of less than a week. Most of their dishes are great.... but honestly, the 'Bamboo rice' has to be eaten to be believed.

The prices are reasonable and the portions adequate. At the end of the meal, you feel... fulfilled.
And yes, the "Honey Noodles with Icecream" is all that a dessert should be.. rich, small and quickly finished.
So here is a toast.. to a place that makes eating out a Real Joy !!

Hello... is it me you are looking for ?

Phone calls.. probably the most potent weapon when it comes to relationships. Phone calls can be pretty long you know. When you are growing up, probably 16 or some equally inconsequentially sentimental age, phone calls can last through the night. The fear of an impending exam, or the small euphoria of juvenile love talk.... it really 'connects'.
Anyway, when I was a teenager then we did not have the ubiquitous cell phone around. So there were, lying snuggled beneath layers of blankets (in our respective homes) on cold December nights.. with the curly telephone cords hunched around our necks; speaking in conspiratorial whispers... just the delicious fear of being found talking on the sly so late at night was all the thrill we needed.

Then, I suppose we grew up. After a point of time, phone calls turned into minor battles of the ego... "Why is that it is always ME who calls?? Don't you even care for me".... Somehow, a phone call became a direct measure your affection. In fact, somehow I always feel that my first heart break had simply been because I had been too lazy to call her up as frequently as I should have....

Then, We move on with life. Find new things to do, make new friends, have a new crush. And then suddenly you fall in love again. A long distance one this time. "You lying here... and She lying there" as croons Bryan Adams... Now! the phone calls and emails become indispensable. replying by rote to emails... asking for the well being of each other... and making that weekly STD call so eagerly anticipated and planned for become integral parts of your life. You master saying the most within the least amount of time ..... STD had not been cheap you see.

So far apart, your relationship takes on a Magical aura of almost mythical proportions. You revel in your intimacy without actully meeting each other, each nursing an increasing magical ideal of the other.

Then one day, you land up in the same city. With your hearts singing and cheeks aflame you hook up for a coffee date. Only to find yourself sitting face to face with a person you really do not know so well. The phone calls and emails .... have only managed to fixate you on the image of the person and not the person as a whole.... from then onwards.... your relationship drifts apart.

Hey, I have nothing against people hooking up on the phone.... I myself wooed the girl I am getting married to via SMS's !! It took a couple of thousands messages and a fantastic typing speed to get her into the marrying frame of mind. But a job well done I guess... Anyway, she now complains that I do not send her as many messages as I used to... hmmmm

Anyway, talking is important... more so on the phone ;)

Prolonged silences on either end of the phone run the risk of the following:

1)You are simply not interested and have probably fallen asleep watching 'Baywatch' rather than listening to the blabber on the phone.

2) You have taken offence over some matter close to your heart and are maintaing a dignified silence while reigning in your seething emotions.

3)You have so fallen in love with the voice on the phone that at the moment you are gambolling with its owner in La La Land

4)You are busy making out with someone else and have forgotten to say the mandatory 'Hmm' every ten seconds.

So ... making phone calls should not become your calling in life, unless obviously you work for a call center (yech.. sometimes even I hate my jokes). Baki Baad mein

Deviations; Diversions; Disruptions

I have been having a series of unbelievably enjoyable weekends. Well guess its time to introduce a new character in my Blog.....
Presenting the one and only, the energetic, instatiable, creative to the extent of being hyper (sometimes) , intelligent, smart (especially with the round specs and the new white shirt), the one with the God given gift of playing all instruments the way mere mortals (like yours truely) play with our work.... The PowerPack from Pithoragarh: Vinay Kumar Bhatt... who apart from being all the above is a very dear friend of mine. Well me and Bhatt Ji ( as we fondly call him) have had some fairly decent times together, and the last few weekends have only added to the list.
Hey, pause a while and ponder over the imponderbales of destiny. I born and brought up in Lucknow land up to study in Uttaranchal. .. meet Bhatt Ji over there, a true blue pahari. What followed was four years in heaven.. then I quit technology and went off to do my MBA in deep Maharashtra. Bhatt Ji goes off to WestBengal to do some even more technical course (HOW :o )

I get a job in Hyderabad Andhra Pradesh... and surprise surprise... Bhatt Ji also lands up at the same place!
Sp having completed a Quadilateral journey across India, both of us meet again in a land so totally alien to both of us.... an suddenly; the mountains did not seem so far away anymore...

Anyway, back to the point... well last week Bhatt Ji came to my house with the burning desire to watch 'Mughle Azam'... a notion that i thouroughly agreed with. So out we went to the Prasad's Multiplex only to find out that the tickets had been completely sold out for all the weekend shows!! Now THAT came as a bit of a shocker, a movie that my parents watched after having stood in mile long queues could still attract crowds Wow. Then came the second surprise... later that night i found myself buying tickets for Rs 100 apiece in black. Talk about history repeating itself. Saw the movie and fell in love with Madhubala and the voice of Lata Mangeshkar all over again. The colours and the music... so fresh, so enduring utterly captivating.....

Well the weekend continued to get better after that. On Sunday, we decided to explore the local Amateur Ham Radio centre. And what followed was an intiguing exposure to something they call the Morse Code.
Dit Dit & Dah Dah.... and people actually make sense out of it all. Wonderfully interesting but at the same time, needs a bit too much commitment for a person as lazy as me. Bhatt ji on the other hand seemed quite inclined to follow up and I have strong suspicions of encountering him mouth "dit dah" and similar ditties on one of these wintery nights.

Ok Ok so this is probably turning into one of the longest entries into my blog... but just a little more left.

This weekend... I bought a guitar. An Spanish one, Givson make, brown and shiny in color. Just to revive my age old dream of playing at least one instrument decently well. And finally, yesterday night... trust me guys... it was a dream....

A place called Taramati ki Baradari. The stage of a courtesan of kings goneby.... beautiful and well maintained. Me and Vinay had gone to attend a concert... Tijan Bai with her folk lores of 'Pandwani'... a Hindustani Classical sinder from Varanasi and finally, Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma. Music , the way you seldom experience. An evening I so wish I could relive....

180 Nights and 180 Days....

So its final... clear as shining star on a summer night, as inevitable as a daydream... marriage. six months from now I will let go of the only way of life i have known till now. and suddenly.... its a pretty sobering thought.
Marriage, does that take away your license to have fun at the drop of a hat. Or does it make you more..... responsible. Or does it guarantee you a constant companion for the rest of your life; whether you like it or not I might add.
So does the notion of waking up in a room clutterred with beer bottles, ash trays, used paper plates and empty savory bowls suddenly become unaccpetable overnight. Or does a night with the guys and the bottle become a taboo. Whatever... the point is like that people do get married ... and some of them seem to really enjoy it as well. So here is hoping that I manage to land up among those lucky ones... Amen !!