My Irish blind date

Ireland is the dream! The place with rich history and real people. This is one place I have always wanted to get lost in, literally. In todays world, where the mysticism of travelling is lost on account of through research and virtual tours before the real deal, I want to be wowed. The only way to do that is to jump down the rabbit hole and travel without knowing every single detail of the place ! Ireland promises that joy. It is dynamic and raw. 

I imagine getting lost in the culture, visiting the local watering hole, listening to the music of people and become a part of the old charm life. The castles with strong back stories where one can hear the voices if one listens carefully, the old folk tales rendered by the fire and a life led in harmony with elements of nature!  Ireland is mystic, it calls out to me to be explored and loved. 

View I want to wake up to!

My blind date has to be charming and no one charms like Irish! The endless greens, the might oceans and everything in between. What attracts me is the kinship of the country. The place to be merry, to explore and just be. I imagine a cute Bed and Breakfast run by a family with a dog. The ' top O''the morning to ya'-s , the horses and the Irsih breakfast! I imagine being lost in the quaint world where the days are spent exploring the mores and castles. The evenings spent in town with music and food. The Falconry schools and learning about art. I imagine unlocking the creative energy and spending my time with proper Irish coffee!  And driving, one of the most scenic routes on earth.


Coming out of the old into modern day Ireland, I want to see everything there is! The Guinness Storehouse is Dublin, the Whiskey tasting tour, live on an Island , Belfast, everything! It s a tourism mother lode. Ireland is nothing short of nirvana for a Potterhead and GOT fan. It is everything and more! 



Ireland in its core represents everything I want in a blind date- its wild and polished, its music and dance, its full of life. The waters here are still and deep. It nourishes everything - mind, body and soul. that's is the perfect #TheBlindList and this is where I would #SayYesToTheWorld

Book Review: Yes, My Accent is Real

This was a special book for me, mainly because it challenged me on two counts.

1. Reading memoirs isn't really my thing. I find it like a one sided conversation where the person is on an endless narration.
2. I don't read/watch stuff without reading a review or knowing what people thought of it. With this one, I just took a blind leap.

A wonderfully crafted, humorous and down to earth book that is a breeze to read. Being a big fan of "The Big Bang Theory' , I read the book in Raj's voice and it was fantastic! The book bought to life the man behind Rajesh  Koothrapali, the ace comedian who charts out his journey.

           What made it fun was the instant connection you feel while reading it. He doesn't make himself a hero or essential the 'cool stud'. Its a very very believable story. It could have been any XYZ person entertaining everyone with his fumbling journey. Right till the point where he landed the role of Raj, his story is like any Indian Student out to taste the world. What differs here is the naturally funny rendition that is a talent of Mr. Nayar.

          I watched The Big Bang theory's Season 9, episode 13 (The empathy Optimization) right after I read Yes, My Accent is real. It changed the way I look at Raj. Now I can relate to the guy who plays Raj, I can see the troubles he faced to reach there. It is a humbling read which also makes you feel like reaching to capture your dram isn't really that bad an idea. 


As far as the book is concerned, it is a properly packaged read. Bringing in the show name in the beginning, relating it to a childhood fascination who made an appearance on the show, this book is very logically arranged.  I found myself lost in the story that was endearingly sweet. the thoughts recorded on the airplane were perfect breaks to the story, making the jump from scene to scene  little easier. The explanation of different festivals is again a treat to read. As an Indian, I expected them to be a rehash of the old, run-of-the-mills tale you tell the foreigners while explaining the festival. But it was very well done.
 

This book has dreams, passion, patience, music, adventure and love. This book was my companion on a train trip from Junagadh to Mumbai, and it did the job perfectly. I will remeber the journecy because of this read and vice versa.

Kudos to 'Yes, My accent is real'. A must read for all the fans of the show. You will Laugh!

   

Happiness = Wine + Cheese !

What is more pleasing than wine and cheese. For the young 20 year olds, cheese makes sense but wine is well blech! That did not stop us from going all the way to Sula Vineyards in Nashik. For a random weekend we decided to go over to Nashik and see how wines are made. This started off as  four people plan and a normal car would have been enough. But when the plan got out, we ended up with 9 people in all. A quails was booked, a friend flew over from Delhi so that he wouldn’t miss the trip and we all decided we were getting ourselves some wine  and fancy cheese.

We left Mumbai around 7 am and raced down to Nashik which is 180 km away. We had classic road trip were one friend went berserk and started singing at top of her voice. It didn’t help that she knows all the lyrics, including Honey Singh Raps! Life in those 3 hours brought back the carefree idiocy we all lived by. Slowly everyone loosened up.

  

What we didn’t realize was that it doesn’t take an entire day to just sip wine and that we missed few steps in planning this out. Sure we enjoyed that, played few games and forgot that it wasn’t a club. The pictures came out great. 

We got to know that we can do some grape stomping and that brought out the images of Priyanka Chopra in fashion.  We went in and went all out. We did cha-cha-cha, twist and the reliable Garba in the tub, almost pushed a friend in the tub, got our pictures taken by the staff and the visitors.  We hosed ourselves out and confronted the big Question, Whats Next!

   

Food! Sula had some expensive food and a student’s pocket couldn’t afford it. Local enquiry told us that there was another vineyard around Soma that had excellent food. We drove there. There were sprinklers on in the garden and naturally we went in. Ran around the park like bunch of kids and got all wet.  We provided lovely picture to few foreigners and were lucky to not be thrown out. We left the place in less than 15 minutes and in retrospect, that was awesome time. The food was way more expensive and we bowed out! 

 Next we headed over to a pond which was 

slimy but we paddled into the water, took few pics, scarred people around and came back.

 

What happened next was amazing. We sat down on the bank of the lake and talked about if we had some football or something. Out came handkerchiefs and in went some stones to make an indigenous ball. We played catch for some time. In that moment, clothes dried off, laughs came easily and we all forgot the worries and troubles that haunted us all. 

             The simplicity of it was astounding; all we needed was a break!

                                    

 Next stop was a local dhabba (Akshya Dhaba, do check it out!). 9 monsters ate like pigs, had 25 cups of tea and brought an awesome day to end. The happiest part was the bill came to 1400/- which made us all smile just a little more. Singing the good old Antakshari, we closed a pretty awesome trip! The students and professionals all came together as group of reckless friends who just wanted to enjoy. And that is my juju, my motivation and my optimism.

If you are looking for some optimism in life, please look up  https://housing.com/.

The only way out.

I take to the paper

When the world goes insane

A beautiful sparkling snow covered haven

Look closer; there is brutality and blood there.

The lovely family that’s just perfect,

See the pretense the disdain the lifeless touch.

Right next to the hospitals,

See the kids starve beg die…

I sit in class, hoping to learn,

The voice is like a drone, takes a backseat in my head,

I just can’t connect.

I tune out, nowhere to go

It’s like a rainbow, devoid of colors.

The conversations are bland,

Food is un-alluring.

Life till yet was fine,

now it’s just ‘nothing’.

I dress up when expected to,

I gear up to impress,

For what? Oh please don’t ask,

The confusion has to be kept afar.

I rush home when I have no work,

I cook even if it’s taxing.

I eat without hunger

And sleep more without need.

I drink to fight the abyss, smoke to fight the drink.

I wonder Whats life,

And take to paper for that’s the only stable thing.

It’s like water, I can’t hold but sure can feel.

It’s the ‘feel’ I get when I write,

And maybe that’s the reason why

I hold on to this life.

When heart gives a pep-talk

At the crossroads I stand,

Step into the world …

Build something on your own

Be unconventionally conventional.

They say lay low and follow.

Flow into the footsteps

The footsteps are sure and deep.

The castles and the bubbles

Are all a child’s dream

It’s the corporate world now

All with the keycards and Id’s.

The irony borders on hilarity.

The castle floats in the high taunting sky.

The glass prisons are truly grounded.

They say its ‘life’, lived by forefathers before,

Single life is too short to make all the mistakes

So learn from them before you go.

The ‘learnings’ are now prison bars

They doom you before your fate

Every step has a do and don’t

It’s not your life anyway.

You are free but in a debt

You owe it all, don’t you know!

Family, friends, society, they all have a claim

And of course God has the biggest stake.

Its not your life anyway…

Then why did I get this heart,

One that dreams on.

I feel it, follow it and ready for the hurts.

I never surrendered that, why would I!

The society prison is not for me.

I am a spirit, I will fly

Don’t tell me the eagle may pounce,

The lure is sky is too sweet to deny.

At my crossroad, I smile

I am a human but I wanna fly.

Its all about loving the the city that owns you...

  Having been inflicted by wanderlust since generations, my family has developed the knack for doing the holiday thing just right. The one I wanna share here is the city that stole my heart and I almost cheated on Amchii Mumbai. (Almost: P) the place I am talking about is NYC. Yes, the big apple. With Rockefeller Center, Times Square, statue of Liberty, Empire state building, Madam Tussads, Macys, Central Park, Hershey’s   delight and hell lot more... Why am I rushing through all this in single breath when I can write 1000s of word for each of them?

Because you will find it in any odd  article on NYC, what I fell for is the spirit. The spirit of the city is what makes it special. We have metros but it’s the soul of the city that makes you wanna own it and be owned by it. With NYC I was floored. The memorial of twin towers made me marvel the cruelty of humanity and the knack of commemorating it beautifully.

The subways showed that beneath the city there is a power, like a backstage, which helps put up a deadly show for the world. The rushing crowd who tilts head at you when you catch their eye, the cabs and the street food all marks a city that has led a regal life. There is struggle, pain and hard work there, it’s palatable but the joy of Hudson and the view from empire state building all but saps the pain, replacing it with belief, belief that they will survive.  We were in Jersey for 5 days, (4 NYC + 1 Washington.)

The stories are epic by the hour but the one that goes with the theme has an Asian family and of course the search for Iraani Chai! Having taken the hop-on, hop-off bus, I my mom and my brother were ravenous. My maa absolutely refused the Gyro, Hot dog, (sadly Red Lobster was shot down, point blank). In the quest we entered a homey looking shop and found a lovely lady, we chatted (as we love to do that in Hindi on foreign soils). By the end we knew each other’s family, the migration story and address for an Iraani chai. (Globalization, duh!)  

The lady then said she and her son are from Pakistan. I was stunned! The sworn enemies with the hatred and bloodlust were standing there, laughing, hugging, wishing luck and helping! That particular chai was the most profound one I have had till date and believe you me I was Proud. Proud to have the Jodey dillo Ko moment on the Soils of USA. The city of dreams showed me life and love (Cab drivers do hit on you, kidding!!). A place where human is just human. A place where I shed tears at the Statue of Liberty ferry, for in a strange way I felt liberated. Seeing the setting sun over the Hudson from the empire state building,  witnessing the lights come on for miles and miles around you makes you feel awed , blown, mesmerized. NYC taught me that shackles of society and the rules are illusion. Its just your guts that matters.

The beauty and grace made me humble. The last view of Statue of liberty felt like a mother bidding adieu to a warrior, full of silent strength which all but said , “I am waiting here, live your life, make me proud and come back when you are ready’. Someday I will ...

In some ways it resonates with spirit of Mumbai. The never ending lights, the feel of victory and best part- you belong to the city and the city belongs to you. Now I have 2 cities that are next to my hear (I am true blue Mumbaikar with a lust for NYC) 

This is dedicated to the lovely aapa we meet in the store, on the street of NYC. Looking forward to connecting with the life across the border with Zindagi, Take a look at it on  http://zindagitv.in/ Television just got interesting ! 

in need of it all ...

Need someone…

Someone to share and be vulnerable with

Someone to scream at shout at and eventually smile with

its not a fairy tale thing

its not a love u prince charming deal

I just ask for a friend

A friend to talk to and be myself with

Sometimes this thing pinches me

Tells me m wrong

I have people

People to reach out to

Maybe I expect too much

In the end m trapped

There is no pointing and laughing

It’s just a cage

Inmate is quiet and aggressive,

Nonetheless it’s a cage

I decorate it make it fun

Or tear it all down

Mass destruction.

But nonetheless it’s a trap.

Is that all there is to life

My faith is shaken my life is a mess

Feels like I missed a train …

Its moving too fast or too slow

It just seems too hollow.

How do I escape, how do I change

Maybe I just need to move at a faster pace

Brutally true, I need to move .

Loose myself to win it all

Looks like a fair deal

For being myself is no easy thing

Emotions are too raw, getting near is dangerous

Stay away stay busy make life hell

That will get u a good nights sleep

And in the end its what life is about

To get up for that one dream,

sleep in peace with that very dream!

My inspiration!

I feel happy

I feel great

No good reason

Just call it fate

I am a conqueror

I am a winner

Off what, ohh god

I don’t know dat

It doesn’t matter

Not a bit

It’s like a torch

Just newly lit

Full of vigor

Full of grace

A warrior, a ballerina

Fall in a trace

I am all, all in one it seems

They all rush through me… like one being

Laughter teases ma face, shiver runs down my spine

Don no whats up, but it feels so divine

I love it all

I am me …. Just me

Happy as can be

For no reason

Breeze without season

This will always bring a smile

In darkness or defeat in life

This moment will shine

In all its glory, just as bright

N set all mishaps right

N once more I ll b a winner

I ll be a conqueror 

In all its beauty, I ll be just right …

Is this the way to be ?

I live a life dats not mine
For the me inside me cant survive
In dis world I lose myself
In the rut I just disappear
I come out wen I hav my cards write
Wats the point to play wen I caant put up a fight
Till den I bid my time
Wait to pounce , wait till its rite
Wen the wheels will turn n the world ll be mine
I ll be the fierce hunter .. n just go 4 the kill
Sometimes I wish to be
like d one I wanna be
To be myself just simple n true
A clean slate .. prestine n new
No strings attached no patched up past
Not too much to ask it my seem
But universe is a like a mean little kid
Like a puppet master wid a mean humor
It makes me live as me,
on its own terms it seems.
It’s a game and I am the pawn
Till I figure out the rules .. might as well go on !