"The Fall" of Friends

To our generation Friends have become an integral part of our lives. We might have got independence 60 years ago as a nation, but I honestly feel that this generation is the most Liberated one in terms of thought process. We think of individuality, have the audacity to question age old traditions and not follow them in blind fate. For this, we have to be partly thankful to our parents aswell who provided us the financial independence. Cause i know for sure, at least in my case "Individuality" and "Rebelliousness" was not a luxury they could afford. They always had to take responsibility of others, first as children and then as parents. I dont have that restriction, I can spend my life as ME; not as my father's son or my son's father.

We have extended this right of choice and individuality in selecting the people whom we want in the 'Circle'. How close they are to our parents, or how close a relative they are, barely influences that decision. And, if we are perceived as being rude, in the process, so be it. We choose whom we want to be friends with. Its not that we nit pick our friends, but we do choose whom we want to spend our time with. These people with whom we enjoy spending time, become friends. With others we are just social.

When I left Mumbai for graduation 2 of my best friends were there with me. Then when I had to move to Bangalore for my job, I was very happy to know that one of them would be joining me. We somehow ended up not staying together, but it's still comforting to have your friend just a phone call away. Even after coming to US I was lucky enough to make a few new good friends.

But Today, I stand like a maple tree after Fall, just bare branches. Most leaves have fallen near the root, not with me but still close. But some, have been blown away to far off lands by the winds of change....

Today for the first time in my life I am feeling lonely... but not sad.....
I take heart in the knowledge that, like all winters this too shall pass and spring's just round the corner....

PS: On reading the blog I've realised that "WE" has been used a lot. It is entirely my opinion of "US", ‘our generation’ and you have the right to differ

Travel Blog cont... Day 3 - Golden Gate and SFO City

..finally the 3rd Part…. yes finally, it has been almost 4 months to the visit and now i am able to get through with the Final Day's updates.

My Best Friend Suraj
8:30 Got a call from Suraj, said he was going to be late but promptly apologised :). He is one of my best friends and has been since we were 16. It had been 4 years since I have last met him in person. We had been in touch since then via mails, phone and chats..... ( due to advancement in technology keeping in touch has been a lot easier). He got down from his car, gave me a big hug. The conversation just took off from there, as if we had just met yesterday. We talked about almost everything from college mates, professors, cricket to comparing US and India. Old memories weaved in between the discussions. It seemed just yesterday, that he and Parag had dragged me out of my house to tell me that he had proposed the girl he loved and that she had said YES. That was however 7 years ago. And now he's getting married in December but sadly I won’t be able to attend his weeding. An hour had passed by and now it was time to say goodbye. We took a short trip in his car, a snap together, a big bug then Adieu. Strangely I was not feeling sad, it was just a casual 'Bye', as if, we would be meeting at work the next day........ cheers to Friendship

.. Muir woods. - huge redwood trees, nice quiet place to take a walk. The wooden boardwalk however looks very artificial. It's convenient, but i would rather prefer walk on the jungle floor.

GOLDEN GATE
This has to be THE highlight of the trip. During our travels in and out of SFO we did cross the bridge a few times. But its only when you stop to take a look, you are stunned by its enormity. Then the elegance and beauty of it, keeps your eyes glued to it. I love architecture, mainly because the inanimate object that you are looking at is a product of one person's dreams, hardwork and genius. (read Ayn Rand's The FountainHead, you'll totally get what i am driving at)
Some of the best photos taken of the bridge are during dusk. This is what i read on a site.
"As the fog spills over from the mountains into the bay, only the two towers are seen standing over a bed of cloud. The late afternoon light adds magic to the panorama.
I was looking forward to see this spectacle. But..., :( To get a good view one has to be on top of the nearby hill, above the fog. We had a flight to catch in the evening......
(so much for the blue pacific and the magical 'Golden fog at the Gate')...

...SFO downtown...
after spending a few hours around the bridge we went to SFO downtown. The plan to visit Alcatraz also had to be scrapped due to time constraint. We walked around the bay, went to pier 9. There were a whole bunch of seals one a stone nearby, this has made the pier a popular tourist spot. I had never seen a seal before so was curious. Seals are ugly.. and i mean downright disgusting. Its like a lump lying on the ground. From pier 9 we made our way to some garden... (at this point i am not even trying to stress my brain cells for the name of this place, i just want to rush to the part where i sit in the plane and zzzZZzzzzzZZZz... :) )

.. back home.....
dropped the rented car at the Airport...
bought a souvenir at the terminus....
boarded the flight, cursed myself for not taking a direct flight back...
switched flights at ( i think washington...again.. rushing)
back at boston parking lot, deb's cars batteries had died down cause we had left the lights on...asked the lady at security for assistance.... the service van pomptly arrived and jump started the car...
finally............HOME SWEET HOME...

I hereby solemnly vow not to write another Travel Blog.... its 5:14 AM now time to hit the sac...
Photo Link http://new.photos.yahoo.com/sfx_mayuresh/album

PS: I would take this opportunity to apologise to my dear friend and roomie Parag Garg. It totally slipped my mind that he too was in SFO and i was not able to meet him. But in all honesty i always thought that his onsite was in Charlotte (lame but true). So the thought never crossed my mind to call him.
Parag, "I really am sorry and felt equally bad to not meet you".. maaf kar de yaar :)

Credits Starers

There are some movies that you remember for ever. Even after the movie ends and the credits start rolling, you remain in your seat staring at the screen till it goes black. I call such movies the "Credits Starers". . During the credits roll your brain is busy multitasking between reading the credits roll and playing back the scenes from the movie.

Here's my list of Credits Starers ..(not in any order)
a few of these I watched on TV and the others on screen..

.. LOTR
all the 3 movies were simply brilliant..... being a fan of LOTR (read die hard fan), I've read all the published works of Tolkien related to LOTR... and other related articles that I could lay my hands on. 've Read the book thrice, ( yes 3 times.. hey; don't look at me like that, you'll find plenty of LOTR fans who have read it more no. of times).
The only way a movie could be made on LOTR, was with "No Holds Barred" approach. I can just go on and on about how brilliantly picturised the movie is, and how Peter Jackson has given life to Tolkien's words, but this is not a movie review column. All the 3 movies fall in the list especially the 3rd one ..... aahhhh...

...Shawshanks Redemption
The 1st time I saw the movie was on StarMovies and had not heard of it till then. It was 4 AM when the credits started rolling, my eyes were glued to the screen from scene one. My mom came in to check if i was asleep, and even she could not resist switching the TV off.. ( just a FYI, mom allowing me to watch a movie that late, had never ever happened till that day....NEVER.. EVER)

...Million Dollar Baby
performances of Clint Eastwood, Hillary Swank and Morgan Freeman.....

...Cast Away
making people watch a single character on screen for 2.5 hours, 0nly Tom Hanks can do that

...Salaam Bombay
watched it when i was 13.... made me feel glad that i had a home and thanked God for that.

...Schindler's List
Oskar Schindler hysterical breakdown at the end of the movie, brought a tear to my eyes

...MATRIX

...Sarfarosh
fast paced, direct and hitting.. Aamir Khan as usual, gives a knockout performance.

...Gladiator
My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, Commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions, loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next......what else can i say... :)

...Pulp Fiction
...Satya
...QSQT
...Andaz Apana Apana

...Life is Beautiful
Roberto Benigni choice of humor to potray the atrocities at ghettoes and concentration camps is touching.

i tried to restrict it to 10, but had to squeez in a few more. I am sure I 've have missed a lot of other good movies. Feel free to post your list of Credits Starers in the comments.

Travel Blog cont... Day 2 - Lake Tahoe and Squaw Valley

.......continuing the 2nd part of this travel blog...

enroute Lake Tahoe
The journey to Lake Tahoe was uneventful except for the pit stop at the Petrol Pump. Here we met a couple of Biker Dudes, we were checking out their bikes. Up until then I had never seen a Harley Davidson this close. The sheer size of these machines is HUGE. Upon seeing our excitement, they were generous enough to let us use their bikes for taking snaps. The California Sun had finally decided to bless us with its gracious presence, and we were thankful for that...

Beautiful Blue Lake Tahoe
Located on the border of California and Nevada this beautiful lake is nestled in mountains. It has the bluest water I have ever seen. The mountains surrounding it give it a majestic aura. During winter the mountain tips are covered in snow.
The bright sun leaves a silver shimmer on the water and the blue backdrop makes it a sight to behold. The city too is very laid back and not crowded, in spite of it being one of the most visited places in US. If you are planning to visit SFO, make sure you have this place marked in your trip planner.
Me and Harsha just could not resist the temptation of having a dip in it. ;)... Its a "Chair and Book" kinda place, where you spend 3-4 days just sitting by the shoreline and reading a nice book. Unfortunately... due to time constraints we had to move on…

Squaw Valley Ski Resort
The 1960 Winter Olympics were held here. On our way there we had to pass a bridge. Due to repair work only one lane was open. At a time traffic could move in one direction only ("Alternate Stop/GO"). It was a pleasant surprise to find no one tailgating. Couldn't imagine the chaos a similar instance would have caused in India.
At the resort a room sized lift (I am not kidding, this elevator was huge) took us to the cable car. The ride way up gave a nice view of the valley. Once on top you get a panoramic view of Lake Tahoe.
After having a chocolate frosted vanilla ice-cream we decided to be a bit more adventurous and try ice skating. The last time I had touched skates was way back in 6th grade (those were roller not even in-line). Though I was not able to skate smoothly I was actually able to circle the skating rink 4-5 times. And no, the skating rink was not the size of boxing ring... remember 1960 OLYMPICS.. duhh :)..After a few slips and lots of falls, I was able to get off the rink with all of my 350 bones intact. (stats courtesy munnabhai)...

.....Way back
.......Harsha over came his speeding ticket fear and broke the 65mph barrier :)
.. CALLED UP ONE OF MY BEST FRIEND SURAJ, made plans to meet the next day, the thought of seeing him after such a long time brought a smile to my face.... remembered the dialogue Sid says to Sameer in Dil Chahta Hai....
"Sid: Dekh raha hu wo jahaz, jo zara der baad dikhai nahi dega. Jante ho hum tino us jahaz ki tarah hai, jo aaj nahi to kal apni apni manzilon ko dhundte hue niklenge. Aur ho sakta hai, hamari manzilein alag alag ho Sameer: Tu ye sab kyun keh raha hai meri samaj me nahi aa raha. Hum dost hai, zindagi bhar ke liye.Sid : Sid: Ofcourse hai!! Lekin kiski zindagi kise kahan le jaati hai kya pata? Kabhi socha hai?? Har saal yahaan aana to ek taraf, 10 saalon me milna bhi mushkil ho jayega!!"...........maan in miss my College Days...


Photo Link http://new.photos.yahoo.com/sfx_mayuresh/album
PS: Harsha brought it to my notice, that i met my friend on the 3rd day and not the 2nd. On replaying the sequence of events if think its correct... For the sake of cronological scantity i have made correction to the 2 blogs :)

Day 3 to follow...

No Absolutes - Food for thought

Saw a movie coupla days back - "Rabbit Proof Fence". It’s a poignant story of 2 Aboriginal girls and their escape from a detention center. The theme revolves around the Australian Govt. policy that has resulted in the so called "Stolen-Generation".
Approximately from the start of the 20th century to 1969 the Australian government agencies and church missions forcibly removed children of half-cast from the families. The policy’s motive was to train and educated these children so that they could be assimilated back in the society.
But the policy and the way it was implemented has left and entire generation alienated and in trauma.

In the end it however got me thinking......
Often in life there are no Absolute GOOD or BAD, just people/ideologies with a point of view.. and there are no absolutes here......each is correct form his point of view. The actions that follow are a direct consequence of this belief.

Only History/Consequences gives us the tool for pannning out and see the complete picture. At this moment all we have is a "point view". All we can do is, learn from the past mistakes and do what we believe is GOOD, and pray that History deems our action to be GOOD.

Travel Blog ---- To SFO.....Day 1

This is just a travel blog, have tried to cram in as much as possible in this blog (the same way we crammed in so many places in 3 days of traveling)

Sept 01 2006
...had to get up at 3:00 to catch the 7:20 flight to SFO from Logan Int. (Boston),
(the only way that I was gonna to achieve it ,was by not sleeping at all)
US Airport Security was still on ORANGE level so we had to check in on time to avoid any disappointment later.....

7:00 Logan International: ....had a Latte at StarBucks, then for the entire flight duration ZzzzzzzZzzzZZZ :)..

10:30 at SFO airport My friend's baggage got lost in transit. Logged a complaint, the lady at help desk assured us that the baggage had been checked into SFO and they would have it delivered too our hotel. We considered ourselves lucky as another passenger’s luggage was accidentally shipped on a flight to NewZeland...

11:30 The AirTrain took us to the Hertz building where we took our car. I am really in awe of the infrastructure in US, CONVENIENCE I think is the best way to describe it.
.. You book a flight ticket and travel around 2000 miles,
.. a moving walkway takes you to the AirTrain terminus,
.. board this fully automated AirTrain(it has NO driver), it takes you to the building that houses all major car rentals,
.. pick up the car(almost brand new, fuelled up) drive it around and then just drop it back,
.. follow the same path back, and a plane will fly you back home...
add to that the air tickets and car is booked at a one stop shop on the net.....
If India wants to promote tourism industry, the key word which should be centrifugal to all investment is CONVENIENCE

12:00 (back to the SFO itinerary)... met a friend of my friend :), chalked out our plans for the day ahead, ate (hogged is a more appropriate word) at an Indian buffet, then checked into our Hotel...

Ride to Mystery Spot ...spent the ride lazing around in the back seat of the car, taking photos of the scenery on the way. The forest road was cool, dense canopy of trees banking both sides of the road.

Mystery Spot This spot still remains a mystery to us, cause we were not able to take a tour. The wait time was 1:30 hours, plus 45 minutes for the tour. We decided against it as we had to go the Pebble Beach to watch "SUNSET IN PACIFIC" (yippee.....)"
....another 2 hours drive to Pebble Beach and another back seat bumming session for me... ( for those who have not guessed it so far.... i don’t have a Driver's License :}, so I either sleep on the back seat, or Navigate (yeah.. navigation is fun in US.. sometimes you have to use a MAP, mapquest does not always located the desired destination:))

Pebble Beach
This place is where the Rich and Famous live, it’s a private stretch of road that looks over the Pacific Ocean. The view is awesome, unfortunately on that day it was overcast. I had read that the Pacific is Deep Blue in colour.... was really looking forward to see it.... but.....
........maybe next time...:(.. missed the "SUNSET IN PACIFIC" too... :((

..way back
.......the radio played "Welcome to the Hotel California".
........go lost on our way back, ate dinner at Wendy's, somehow managed to get back on track, hit the sack... zzzZZZZzzzZZzzzZZZZZZzzzzz..
........DAY 2 follow...

Photos : http://new.photos.yahoo.com/sfx_mayuresh/album/

Being tagged ( OnPublic Demand)

A photo I took at Lake Tahoe. (California - Nevada border)


I

I am thinking about...
...boy, how did I ever get into writing this....

I said...
...yaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhooooooooooo......in Montreal Canadian F1 GP....

I want to...
...go Sky Diving one day

I 'wish You were here' (song by Pink Floyd)

I hear...
..."voices down the corridor" (at 2:00 AM, this the best that i can come up with)

I wonder...
...where i'll be 5 years from now...

I regret...
...things i've said when angry which, on hindsight i always know I shouldn't have.

I am...
...reading O Jerusalem.

I dance...
...not Bad.. not Bad. :) :) ;)

I sing...
...when the sun's shining bright.....
(hardly matters if others think i'm besura :) ......so what if they are right ;)

I cry...
...BOYS DON'T CRY...
...just kidding, being a boy you try to be tough...but does not work always.

I am not always...
...the first one to start a conversation.

I make with my hands...
...amazing chicken dishes..

I write...
...for World Peace...... (just kidding.. am glad people even read what i write)

I confuse..
...almost every one i talk too :)

I need...
...my family and/or friends to be around always.

And finally...
...they lived happily ever after

Thanks and Regards to Swati and Wini

People I want to put through this torture are...
Harsha

A City of Extremes

.. NY continues.

NY is often referred to as the "City of Extremes". In my brief vist to the city I was able to experience both.

Incident 1: "Which way is the PATH station?"
If you have a basic idea of the NY city's layout (Street and Avenue), getting lost or loosing your sense of direction is something that’s very difficult.
Just finished our "Empire Estate" trip and we had to get to the PATH station that would take us back to NewJersy.
We knew the PATH terminus was nearby but did not know exactly where the entrance was. There was no one standing around so we decide to ask the people passing by. For 15 minutes no one even so much as slowed down to check what we wanted. People were just passing by totally oblivious to our existence. Later we spotted an NYPD officer who courteously guided us to our destination.

Incident 2: "Those are nice shoes"
I was sitting in the bus, on our way to the Liberty State Park where a Ferry would take us to the Ellis Island (Statue of Liberty Island).The lady sitting next to me was talking on the phone. This the conversation that I had with a total stranger

Lady: Excuse me, can I see your shoes.
Me: (a little awkwardly, not knowing how to respond pushed my foot out)
Lady: Those are nice shoes, I like them.
Me: (still unable to get hold of my bearings, blurted) What?
Lady: The shoes that you are wearing, those are nice sneakers.
Me: Thanks.
(she continued with her conversation on the phone, telling the person on phone about a pair of shoes she liked).
When I got down from the bus the raised brow on my face gave way to a smile...

It’s only in NY (and Mumbai :-) ) you'll find people who'll leave you totally bewildered by their absolute indifference, at same time a total stranger will pass a casual compliment and make your day......

(PS: I too think my shoes are cool .... the absurdly high price that I had paid for them when I got them in India, somehow now feels justified. :-). Next time when you feel like complimenting someone, throw caution to wind, go ahead and give them a compliment. Worst that you will get is a raised eyebrow, but it might also bring smile to a stranger’s face)

New York

NY…….IT ROCKS.

The thing that hits you when you first visit it, is its shear size. Its HUGE.

Since the day I first visited this city, I always wanted to write about it, but always shyed away. So many people writers, poets, philosophers have already capture the essence of this city in their writing.

This was my 5^th visit to the city my 4^th month of stay in US. Today I garner up the courage to make a fool of myself and write about NY. I open up the laptop screen, rest my fingers on the keypad to start typing, they just lay there, not a word for 10 minutes. Its not because I cant think of anything to write, refreshing the memories of the city takes you on a Joy Ride. So I have decide to take "Baby Steps" :-). Will write about my experiences in the city without any inference.

Saturday at 5

I was standing on my balcony, sipping a hot cup of tea. The horizon had a tinge of amber, beckoning the end of night sky’s realm. The atmosphere was heavy, there was a slight murmur in the trees, dew drops were hanging on to grass tip. At that moment I felt some tension in the atmosphere, like a coiled spring ready to explode, or like a sprinter ready to burst out of the starting blocks at the sound of the gunshot.

Just then sun rays trickle through the leaves and spread over the dew-lit grass, and the day exploded to life, the air was filled with warmth and the murmur was replaced by the sweet sound of birds chirping, saw a few squirrels scurrying around too. Though the dew drops were still there, their days(minutes) we numbered, soon the sun’s rays would reach out and vaporise them. The sun filled the sky with amazing colours.

It feels like each day GOD says “Let there be light” and then the sun rises, as if each day is blessed.

Some would say what’s so great about a dawn, it happens each day and has been happening for around 4.5 billion years (google jindabad). Though I am a dusk lover theres something about watching a dawn that make the whole experience so beautiful and enlivening. It might also be that, being a nocturnal myself, there are not many dawn that I have seen, add to it the probability of the day being a Saturday.

For a few moments I basked in the sun, too a deep breath, and started packing. After all the reason that I woke up this early was for the Toronto trip (normally on Saturdays, this time on the day is midnight for me).

PS: Would I wake up daily to enjoy this mesmerizing experience each day????.... HELL NO :)

My First Blog

This bog was initially created with the sole purpose of sharing photos that I would take on my trips in US, with my family and friends. So I aptly titled it "My Pictures",
But then I read the blog of a friend of mine, ( Harsha Rao do read his blog if u have the time). They are amazing, so after a lot of deliberation, i have decide to take up this hobby, lets see how long its lasts.

I still have not garnered the courage to publish my personal writings. So to start with I will publish one of my favourite quotes.

Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." -
-- Albert Einstein

Maid of the Mist Trip

Niagara in Lights

The Niagaras

What can i say... had heard about them.
But after seeing the falls in person, i was just awestruck.........
so wont waste any space giving facts about the falls, that you can find at any website...
For the moment, just enjoy the pics...

Photos from my Boston trip

Reflaction in John Hancock Tower

Fountain at the Copley Square

John Hancock Tower: Built in 1976 and standing tall at 760 ft, this is the tallest building in New England and 44th USA.

High winds cause the windows on the top floor to pop out. To solve this the engineers set a network of 10,000 sensors on each window, which detects its vibration.These are used to alarm the control room which one might be next to go

Swan Boats: These boats boasts of a history of 120 years. Started Robert Paget, the business even today is run by descendants of the family.
The Boat has a paddle wheel arrangement that is foot-propelled

Public Garden

Windsor Heights - Marlborough

A birds eye view of the apartment that I stay in . Courtesy msn earth