The King of all Weekends

Day 1 :
Woke up late as usual. Then went to pick Ma at the airport. Was super excited that she was visiting. Brought her to campus, called my friends over, started intros. Then took her on the Campus tour. Although she didn't complain, she came back and was damn tired.
Guilty as charged ! You can't take a 51 yr old on a mini trek without warning.
Took her to HN in the evening. And then called it a day.

Day 2 :
I hardly slept. Amidst meetings and assignments, I woke up at 330 am, and the both of us left for Dadar. Here it is in Timeline :
5 am -> Sealink
5.15 am -> Siddhivinayak Temple
5.30 am - 6 -> Aarti there
6.30 am -> Mahalaxmi Temple
7.15 am -> Marine Drive & Churchgate
7.30 am -> Fast Local to Andheri
8.30 am -> Chole Bhatura breakfast in the mess
Then we came back to my room and dozed off for a while. We were invited for lunch with some family friends in Santacruz. It was a walk down memory lane, as both familes recollected their stories young parents with little children and how we had all grown up. Awesome lunch followed.
Saturday was done.

Day 3 :
Even before I was awake, Ma had come back from the girls' hostel where she was put up, and started cleaning my room. Mothers will be mothers. Then I gave her a taste of mess food which she liked, like everyone does the first time.
Then we went to HN, where she and a friend of mine went and bought my sister one of those bags that the girls keep carrying around everyday, while I went and got my father a Tshirt.

Then evening came. I went for the Graffiti on T shirts thing that the juniors had planned to kick off the Farewell party, an hour later with my T shirt almost run out of real estate. I headed.
Then came the most difficult part of the day. Picked up her stuff and went to leave Ma at the airport. I had a whale of a time and I'm hoping she did too.

The fun hadn't ended though, came back to have an awesomely awesome farewell party. Tears (not mine), Crazy dancing (definitely me), Videos and lots of other things will remain etched in my memory for a long time to come.

PS: I'm going home soon.

Been here, seen that

In my last one and a half years here in Bombay, I have been through the 26/11 terror attacks, Swine Flu, a near miss cyclone, a couple of horrible movies and the traffic that we hear so much about.

Experiences always educate you. Fear, Courage, Doubt, Trust, Stupidity , Shrewdness. All with fine lines between each other.
I have made great friends, I have also earned my share of criticism.
I have been tactful, I have also been very childish.
I have seen people come together to pray. I have seen people wait together to beat up someone.
I have embraced chaos during trying times. I have experienced serenity in the peace.
I have always tried to be encouraging. I make it a point to be straightforward.
I practise, thus I preach.

Like a friend of mine once told me, " It will always be good eventually. Always. "
Its all about living it up.

Love thy Neighbour

Great news. My neighbour has converted his L'Oreal pre placement interview. So now we will heading to Pune together. Always good to have a known face in an unknown land.

Watched three good new releases -
1. State of Play
2. The Great Raid
3. 500 days of Summer
Now Summer is one movie that most of us will relate to.

Otherwise life is pretty much mundane. Eating out everyday, sleeping for 14 hrs a day. Not doing anything physical. Blogging(now there's something useful).

The weather here is getting super. The mist is really thick in the campus these days and my weird sleep timings help me take full pleasure of the early mornings.
Am I looking forward to moving to Pune ?
Dunno. I have to though. Obviously the purpose of life is to move forward. But there will be a part of me, that will be left behind here. No sadness though.

A Seaside Cinema

After waking up at 3pm, one would think his day most of his day was wasted. But not for me, my day was just getting started.

So after having some biscuits, I caught a bus and made off to Bandra Reclamation to watch two documentaries on Climate Change that were being screened at an open air cinema next to the Arabian Sea. Since I wanted to save some money, I travelled by bus till the destination, resulting in a ten minute delay. So by the time I got there, the first documentary HOME had already started.

The Setting

The Screen on the Reclamation Promenade was chilly and beneath the stars, behind the screen was the Reclamation highway, to the audience's right was the sea and behind us was the spectacular Bandra-Worli Sealink.

The Movies



Home - A movie which shows some scintillating landscapes and scenes. The powerful narrative talks about we have raped our planet. Hats off to Yann Arthus Bertrand.



The Age of Stupid - One movie I thought will never be publicly screened in India. Jumped at the chance. A brilliant movie made by Franny Armstrong. Pete Posthlewaite plays the Archivist in 2050 who asks the all important question - " Why didn't we stop Climate Change when we had the chance ? ". It strings together 6 different stories including India's very own Jeh Wadia's GoAir.

If you get a chance to watch either movie, make sure you grab the oppurtunity.

Thanks to the Celebrate Bandra Festival for giving me this superb experience.

Designer Mug

Designed by yours Truly

Close Shave

It happened at around 7 pm this evening. 2 friends and I were travelling by the famed auto rickshaw on the Western Express Highway.

Out of nowhere, on the flyover that leads to Bandra, the front tyre breaks off leaving the metallic wheel to bounce and this sent the auto cartwheeling upwards. It seemed suspended like that for 2 seconds before it came back down, and the auto driver somehow managed to steer it to the side of the road. Luckily for all of us, there were no speeding vehicles behind us.

Now for the good news, none of us got hurt. I was sitting in front of the meter, so got a whack on the jaw, but nothing else. Close Shave for sure.

Disappointed

Its been a disappointing evening. First the book fair at Bandra turned out to be a damp squib. Looked for some very rare stuff, but couldn't find anything.But the rockbottom prices were amazing though. Picked up something by Ian Rankin, just because I had gone that far

The second disappointment was the Leonids. Waited for the Meteor shower till around 3AM, but despite a sparkling clear sky couldn't see anything move. Spotted a few new constellations though.

It gets harder

I know I'm getting old, but this in insane. I have been finding it increasing difficult to study for an exam. So I face an uphill task now. I have a mid term tomorrow. So you can probably understand my state of mind now.

I will be writing what will hopefully be the last exams of my life, so thats gonna be something I will be looking forward to see the end of. Funnily, most of my creative surges and urges come during those late hours spending mugging from books during the exams. So in a very weird way, they are not too bad for me also.

I think I might even miss the tension of the exams, not that I ever had too much tension, but nevertheless, the blithe of being a student will certainly be missed.

The weather here in Bombay is super by the way, cloudy and pleasant. The mist suspended over the pond makes me smile everytime I look at it. NITIE will be surely be missed. But I have a new city to look forward to, and miles to go before I sleep...

At long last

Yes ! This is a shout out to all those horror movie lovers. Finally a movie called "Paranormal Activity" has just made me sit up and take notice. Thanks to Anirudh for suggesting, so now I'm going to suggest this to you.

Caveat : Do not watch it alone.

Screw IMdb. Screw what the reviews have to say. Watch it and you won't be disappointed.

What else did I do today ? Same old sunday routine. Wake up late. Disappointing Lunch. Two movies in a row. Laundry in between. I have actually discovered that doing my own laundry saves me around Rs.300 a month and whats more my clothes smell better. Went out for dinner with the Mad Scientist. Then it was HORROR MOVIE TIME.

Now its back to same old weekdays, not like they make a difference at NITIE, but nevertheless, they are weekdays. I have "some" classes to attend atleast.

PS: The fan is still possessed. Now I believe it is all the more true after watching PA

Sunday Morning 03:17 hrs

So it is done I guess. Have 35 days left in Bombay, after which I will leave for Home, and when I return for my winter project, it will be with L'Oreal in Pune.

And thats where life is taking me for the next few years. So I plan to soak up as much of this amazing city as I can in the time I have left. Someone told me today that the texture of my writing is changing, that it feels older. I am getting older, not a good sign.

Do I just write or am I what you would call a "writer" ? Many years ago, people would relate to what I wrote, and tell me about how they were going through the same damn thing, and we would laugh about it. Good times.

Now I've become so thoroughly psychotic and weird, that hardly anyone I know would relate to me, but still I manage to hang on to a few friends that I have and fewer readers that are kind enough to visit my humble blog. By the way, for all those of you who feel like total screw ups and colossal failures in life, there is something I'd like to say. I recently read that " a man who has friends cannot be a failure ". I totally concur, obviously if he has even one single friend, he atleast has kindness in him and that will be his light at the end of the tunnel. Everything happens for a reason, that kindness also will help in some way or the other. You'll see. Anyway, I just wanted to say this, not that I'm feeling like a screw up or anything, for anyone who knows me and my narcisstic ways, you will know I don't operate like that.

I'm always conflicted, whether to believe if our path has been pre-written or whether it is a matter of choice and consequence. Cause and Effect as Men of Science would say. But I have no regrets, all the choices I've made, every mistake I've made have lead to the path I'm on right now. I'm sure everyone of you must think the same. Yes, now I have you dear reader, you relate to me now. And let me cast a little spell on you, everytime you think of pre written paths, cause and effect or no regrets, I , Aditya Narayanan will immediately come to your mind.

My fan has been possessed by some demonic spirit and is creaking way too much. I cleaned it a few days ago, cause and effect you think ?!

No, thats just me wondering how I'm ever going to fall asleep.

Anger Management

There seems to be a lot of anger inside of me these days.
I'm angry with those people who are raping this planet, who are just taking and taking and taking without considering what it would mean for their children and grandchildren.
I'm angry that there are hardly any classes these days, my mind needs to be distracted.
I'm angry when weekends come, because its just a whole lot more time to sit and brood.
I'm angry that immaturity exists.
I'm enraged with the month of October, nothing good ever happens to me in this month.
I'm angry that Hypocrisy is becoming a way of life for the generations of today, too much Machiavellianess in them.
I'm angry that single screen theatres are slowly dying out.
I'm angry that I haven't found a Helix in Bombay, I miss those sunday afternoon conversastions.
The only good thing thus far has been my rediscovery of the radio, the best 200 rupees I've spent in the last few months.

Whatever happened to all the optimism !

"Aladin - You Maybe" is playing on the radio

Just Another day in Paradise

Is paradise a physical place or a place in your head ?

I realised amidst the crisp clear of the lake, as an army of bright lights that were flashing past on JVLR as I was sitting on the pavement, that it definitely is a place in my head.

I have also realised that you are respected when you window shop for deep philosophical books even if you are wearing shorts and slippers at Crossword.

I realised that lack of facial hair makes me look like I'm 16. Thankfully, the receding hairline will counter act that soon.

I realised that having a radio station next door is too much fun. Dedications are cool too. Corny but cool.

I have realised for the umpteenth time that movies of the yesteryear are so much more meaningful than the ones they make these days.

Too many realisations for one evening. I realise its time to shut up.

And I'm back...

Woke up.
Had breakfast.
Hopped off to Project Management Class.
Wrote a test.
Screwed the test.
Tried to sneak out of class after giving attendance.
Got caught.
Sat for the next 80 minutes regretting it.
Came back to the room.
Spent some time with a close friend.
Met an injured friend.
Changed into formal clothing.
Went to meet another friend.
Slipped on the stairs near the mess.
Hurt my bottom, shoulder and my left thumb.
Went to get some work done anyway.
Came back.
Slept.
Had dinner.
Went for a meeting.
Sat listening intently.
Got bored.
Came back.
Got shouted at for having bad manners.
Made the people who shouted at me smile anyway.
Got on gtalk.
Had a long "feel good" conversation.
Complained about lack of inspiration.
Realised that blogging makes me feel happy.
Felt hungry.
Ate yummy "digestive" biscuits.
Watched part of a movie.
Blogged.
Happy.
Now 5am : Sleepy.
PS: I'm back

Flawed

I'm not perfect, although I think I am. Let me write this from the point of a realist rather than the idealist that I am.

There are certain qualities about me that some people like, some people hate, I obviously do not have any problem with them. But sometimes when I behave in what has come to be known as "typical adi" over the years, I wonder if it is a good thing or a bad thing.

I can be pigheaded and arrogant and say I'm perfect the way I am and not give a hoot about what people which in most cases is the way to go. But what if there are somethings that really need to be fine tuned. What do you think should I do ? For now I'll go with the flow since I'm at peace with myself.
Here's some more food for thought - Is going with the flow a good policy to follow ?

Is this really March ?

An assignment done, A meeting over, quite some work done.

My wing is almost empty now, the light in the corridor hardly ever works. It adds to the mood in a way. The lights in my room are switched off most of the time.

Arvind loaned me his speakers for the night. Floyd, Metallica, Coldplay are playing at just the right Loud volume. I'm considering including Indipop from the 90s and Ilayaraja in the playlist.

An unusual cool breeze is sweeping across the pond to reach my room, the leaves outside rustle and make a harmony of their own. The moon is peeking through the gap between the leaves. At the distance I can see the Hiranandani skyline beyond Powai Lake. A conversation on Gtalk makes me think and smile.

Not many nights can be spent better than this.

The Midnight's Road

I have often felt midnights. Many at home, and a few on my travels across the country. Now midnights are routine at NITIE. And when things become routine, that is when their beauty is lost.

Notice how I said "felt" midnights in the first line. Yes you actually do more than see things, you feel or experience them. I try to soak in everything and make an experience out of them so that they remain etched in my memory forever. Also I am blessed/cursed with a good memory. Midnights in Hyderabad used to be brilliant, since I stayed a predominantly residential area, you would never hear any noise (except this one prick IT professional who would keep honking to wake his watchman around 1am every night), the roads glistened in the orange haze of the streetlights and there was always a pleasant smell in the air owing to the trees around methinks.

It is the same almost everywhere in India. Midnights or late nights or mornings before the sunrise are truly the best times to actually discover any place in. Bombay after 1am, a brightly lit metropolis with very few cars on the road, the occasional policeman keeping vigil, the chai waala on his cycle and lots of unknown faces tucked under their blankets would sum it up.

NITIE or atleast the area between the hostels always has activity upto 2-3 am atleast, so I think those times have become too routine for me to experience anything serene, but sunrise is usually awesome. 6am and everyone will be asleep, the sun will throw its reflection on the waters of the scanty NITIE pond and air is moist and chilly. The Tea stall outside the Outer Gate is open early and always happy to see a NITIEan up that early. So here's hoping to soak in a few more of those early mornings in NITIE or Hyderabad or wherever life takes me henceforth.

Football, Cafes and a Movie

It started with a small mention of Mumbai FC to Ambujesh. This led to a series of events that has become the most memorable that I will have in a long time.

Two football players - Ambu and Me and Two Basketball players - Chetan and Anirudh left for Cooperage by the 25(bus) after getting done with classes. After a drowsy bus ride, we arrived at the ground 20 minutes into the game between Mumbai FC and Mahindra United. Got decent seats on flimsy stands that seemed like they would crash anytime. But the game was fun in its own way considering it was the first LIVE football match that I watching.

Although it ended in a draw, the game was pretty exciting, Mahindra United hitting the framework with some excellent play from Steven Dias on the right wing. Mumbai FC had a disappointing day although Abel Hammond showed sparks of brilliance time and again.It was fun yelling, clapping and discussing football with strangers.

Then we trotted along to grab a bite at the illustrious Leopold Cafe. After filling our tummies there, we went and sat on Marine Drive and just soaked in the sea breeze. Then it was off for dinner at Sundance.

Anirudh had to get back to college, so we put him on a bus and headed for watching Dev D. Its been long since I reviewed a movie, so here I break the trend. Dev D is old wine served in a spanking, stylised, good looking bottle. Kudos to Anurag Kashyap and his team for serving us with a visually stunning and bold movie. He has ushered in the Bold New Face of Indian Cinema.

From tomorrow its back to work, we are organizing B Cube, an event for MBA aspirants on Sunday. So if you want some gyaan about the various verticals of management, GD/PIs or you just want to win some prizes at the business quiz, come down to NITIE campus.

PS:Things I forgot to mention (which Ani's comment reminded me) - The many cute girls that we saw throughout the day, the tear-jerkingly spicy Hakka Babycorn at Leopold, Ambu's friend Karthik who joined us after work and Anirudh's encounter of the different kind ;) I also ran into a guy from school Prithviraj during the movie

Time has flown by

A good friend sent me a mail which made me smile. So thought, it was a good thing to start my 2009 posts with. So here I am.

A year has flown by since this -
http://adityagn.blogspot.com/2008/01/holiday-to-remember.html

We will hardly remember things we did exactly a year from today, but I think my blog will be a brilliant reminder of where I have been and in a way its a sort of reflection of where I am going.

I'm glad I started this, like the way I'm glad about 99% of the things that have happened to me in my life. Forgive the optimism :)

So January 2009 I have been doing a few events, playing football, quizzing, watching loads of movies, still travelling a wee bit and trying to grasp managerial concepts along the way. But to all those who have made this journey memorable thus far I say, Cheers !

Reckless Hate

"What can one do against reckless hate ?", says King Theoden as the Uruk Hai break into the fortress at Helmsdeep.

These words echoed in my head as a bunch were huddled in front of the TV on Wednesday night as the events unfolded along one of my favourite places in Bombay. As innocent lives were taken, vigilant cops killed and hotel residents taken hostage, a sense of helplessness engulfed the residents of this city.

Who is to blame ?
The system ?
The politicians ?
The late reaction of the otherwise swift Military forces ?

I leave that to your judgement. I'm just filled with anger. An anger that comes from realization that I'm in a position where I can do nothing, but vociferously express my feelings. I'm a common man and I echo the voices of a hundred more people who I have spoken to atleast.

TV channels always raved about the "resilient spirit" of the Mumbaikar, but now that I'm here I realise it is not resilience, but numbness that has taken over this city. People are getting used to this and the Government just sits there, fires a few people, plays the blame game, promises meagre amounts for lost lives etc etc etc.

Light candles, Voice your opinions, but make sure there is action, it is high time for something positive to happen. We can't be held hostage by ones that we elect. We have the money & the resources, it just needs to be put to good use. Awaken yourself. Do something, do anything. Don't ask me, I'm clueless as you are. But let the fire within never die.

A Mundane Train Ride and An Early Midlife Crisis

Leaving home is always difficult, especially when you are treated like royalty by your parents. So as I boarded the 2nd AC compartment of the Hussainsagar Express I realised the royal treatment was continuing.

Usually I always have some kid in the seats near mine, but this time it was all old men with snow white hair. So I just jumped up onto my berth, pulled out my Outlook magazine and started reading. About two hours later, I realised that there was a plugpoint adjacent to my berth. My eyes lit up. I immediately pulled out my laptop, put the charger on and started my impromptu movie marathon. After having dinner at around 19:30, I started with one of Jim Carrey's best movies thus far, The Number 23. Then LOTR, Return of the King - Rashomon - The Fountain and half of a Tamil movie called Unnale Unnale. It was around 2:30 am when I put the laptop in my bag hoping I would sleep for an hour atleast before getting off at Kalyan Jn.

But plans never work out too well for me at such unearthly hours. There was this 60+ gentleman who was snoring so loud, he made one of the girls in the adjacent cubicle cry. It was like sleeping close to a caged tiger, a caged angry tiger might I add.

After that debacle, it was back to college and Economics and Work System Analysis and Event management. Bunked a class to catch up on some sleep. Now after finishing up with some work, was discussing some crazy things with Manisha. Then more thoughts were running around in my head, which I vented out to my neighbour and good friend Sambit.
Attending classes that don't mean a thing,
Writing exams that don't anything,
Living life like a robot made of flesh and blood.
Is there a point to all this I wonder ?

Maybe its just that I'm missing home, or slightly disoriented with things. But nevertheless, I'm bored and letting my mind wander. Sambit calls this an Early Midlife Crisis. Why me ?!

Massive Attack - Angel is filling my room. Awesome trance.