A common dream, epidemic and Mario Miranda

1. George calls up after a long time. He's very busy these days attending B-school and we don't get to catch up as often as we'd like to. A rescheduled exam has worked in my favour and he has a few hours free. There's much to talk about. We keep planning on how sometime in the near future we'd all like to stay in the same city, the whole gang within reach.
2. An email arrives from Sonal announcing her engagement. We all ignore it - it is after all such a common prank played on unsuspecting colleagues when they leave their PCs unattended. But this time, there's an unusual amount of buzz after this email, and it turns out it is true after all, and there are sweets to be had at her desk! It's a wedding epidemic, I tell you! A whopping 12 people I know are getting married in the next quarter. Wedding plans and fiances are the hot topic of discussion anywhere you go.
3. While in Goa, I kept searching for souvenirs with Mario Miranda's cartoons, but didn't find any. Looking him up on the net though, I did find some delightful pieces of his work. His eye for detail and his love and understanding of Goa's unique culture is evident in the pictures. He takes care to remind us that Goa not just a beach state that attracts tourists by the cartload. Its a place with its own rich cultural diversity, very different from the rest of India in that it was ruled by the Portuguese till 1961. And yet, the native Konkani people have maintained their own identity, even while assimilating the influence of their conquerors, creating an exotic and heady cocktail.

Highlight, walk and Shantaram

1. Tanmoy and Pallu are back in NY after visiting the Niagara Falls. They're awed by the majesty of it. For Tanmoy, the highlight of the trip is a full, vivid rainbow. Pallavi is unimpressed by such trivialities and instead of talking to me, they continue to bicker about it.


2. Fed up of the depressing darkness inside office today, Kris and I go for a walk in the Magarpatta garden. For some strange reason, this is the first time I'm going there, and I'm thoroughly impressed by the sprawling, well manicured garden. It's so peaceful there, and bright and the fresh air feels like heaven...


3. Shantaram. I started it a few days ago, and within the first 3 pages, I was hooked. The lucidity of language, the authors keen-ness of perception and of course the incredible story, all make a lethal combination. Every now and then, I am blown away with the author's unique way of feeling things and expressing them.

Done in time, cool elegance and burrrrrp

1. Finishing work in time for the evening party, so that I neither have to skip it, nor do I have to feel guilty about being at a party when there's work waiting to be done...
2. The party, or the Passover Toast, as it has been officially christened, is at a delightful venue, surrounded by lush green fields on all sides... there are manicured lawns there, with a variety of flowering trees in full spring bloom... a wooden arched bridge stands over a sparkling lake, in which there are swans. There are wicker couches (huuuuuuuge ones!) with the most inviting looking white pillows... and there are plenty more pillows lying scattered around... while there are chirs too, people prefer to use the pillows and lounge on the grass... and the menu - dessert and drinks! This has to be the the most chilled out, yet elegant place I've been to!
3. We walk into an Indian restaurant, and are trying to decide what to order, when the owner, seeing that some Indians have arrived, comes to talk to us... he suggests that we share a thali (a full course Indian meal) - "trust me, you both won't be able to finish it"... and he's right. And do I even need to mention how supremely satisfying it is for me to eat a full desi meal after a whole month?

Weekend, drama in glass and GPS

1. Coming to the end of the week... this week has been kind of dull, work-wise. So I'm glad its over and the weekend's started.
2. The display of glass art at the Eretz Israel Museum in Tel Aviv. I literally gasp out aloud at some exhibits - they are so striking. There is a fluidity and delicateness in glass, which I suppose is near impossible to achieve with any other material. And despite the delicate nature, the structures can be so bold, so strong, so dramatic... I drag my feet out of the gallery at closing time, cursing myself for not coming a little earlier. And for not carrying my camera.
3. GPS - a largely unused technolgy in India. The cab driver manouvers his way from the museum to the hotel with no difficulty with the aid of the GPS... and I find myself wishing I'd had some sort of a GPS inside the museum. I had a map, but was still hopelessly lost, at least for the first few mins...

Picture perfect, first snow and new me

1. The magnificent landscapes in Israel. The vivid colours, the greenery, the neat and tidy farms, the mountains, the stately roads... they're all very impressive. We travel about 550 kms today, and for the entire journey, the view is a treat to the eyes.
2. Seeing snow for the first time in my life. Okay, I had expected something more awe-inspiring... but we only got the last of the snow at Golan Heights. But nevertheless, there's something to it when you see snow for the first time in your life.
3. Tanmoy wants to know how it is possible that I can 'tolerate' people these days, and not get frustrated of having to spend time with strangers... it's strange, really! I used to be so reticent about mixing with people I haven't known for ever, that this 'new' me who can interact with strangers and have fun in the process is quite nice to be!

Market mania, sab kuchh milega, spring and buddy

1. Hitting Tel Aviv's streets on bicycles! Natasha and I pedal off to explore the markets... Its my first expedition to Carmel market here, nd its quite a revelation. Tel Aviv's shopping is not all about malls and boutiques and quaint little shops. There's this huge, bustling open market, where vendors display their wares on stalls, and there's plenty of yelling, and bargaining, not to mention, plenty of inexpensive stuff available... My yearning for shopping and that too with another shopping freak is quite satisfied.
2. Spring is in the air and the weather is just simply perfect. One can wear something light and roam around - tis neither too hot nor too cold. The gentle sun just offsets the cool breeze, and there's so much colour around - people have gotten out their summer clothes after a long and cold winter, and there are myriad varieties of flowers sitting in colourful buckets around every other corner. There are musicians on the streets displaying their talents as people lounge about. Every now and then, you come across an impromptu party that has broken out around one of these informal bands, and people have started dancing, carried away by the lively music. For the first time I fully understand why spring is so celebrated in books!
3. After a long and tedious hunt, we finally find 'Sab Kuchh Milega' - a hippie Indian restaurant which gives delicious Indian food quite cheap. Its as if my prayers have been answered... And finally after so many days, I get to eat rotis... sighhh... us desis will remain desis! Indian food rocks!
4. After a chilly walk on the beach after sunset, Natasha and I sit down at a road side cafe for a hot cup of cappuccino and apple pie. We've only met yesterday, but we're already getting along quite well. Its good to know that she's going to be here for the next two weeks as well... so I'll never be starved for company - this especially when the people I hd become friends with here over the last 3 weeks are all slated to leave before I do!

Shalom!

Shalom Everyone! Its been long break from blogging for me, but not one that I've regretted. I have been very busy travelling - first I travelled to Karnataka for Shenoy's wedding and after a whirlwind of a week, I set foot in Israel. The whole experience has been quite a rich one.

Israel is one wonderful country and I think I fell in love with it on my way to the hotel from the airport! I'm staying in a very busy part of Tel Aviv called as Dizengoff and the Dizengoff circle is such a happy and cheerful place that one instantly feels relaxed and cheerful there!

The people, the food, Tel Aviv, the magnificent roads, the rich culture that you can feel in the air, all of it forms such a heady cocktail, that I was quite intoxicated for my first few days here. Then of course we went sight seeing to Jaffa, Masada and then to the Dead Sea over the weekend. All this activity has kept me so busy and so much has been happening in life that blogging had to take a slight back-seat... Only now has some normalcy been restored after the initial excitement of being in a new country has lessened somewhat and something of routine has been created for the weekday (the weekends will, without exception, rock!). I hope to get back to 3BTing from tomorrow, though really, right now, life ain't 'ain't that bad'... its great!

Morning at home, crossword and atlas

1. Waking up in my old bed at home, so snug and warm in the quilt, that I don't quite want to wake up... and then when I finally do pull myself out of bed, sitting at the dining table, half asleep, trying to make sense of what the newspapers are saying... and then mum giving me a cup of tea...
2. Solving the crossword puzzle with papa.
3. I mention to Sadu Kaka that I'm planning a trip to Ranthambore in March. Out comes his atlas, and he tells me what other places I should visit while I'm in Rajasthan.

Hamlet, trekker and grandeur

1. The charming little village at the base of Makarandgad. Its a typical Indian village, where most residents are farmers. There's are fields, and stone houses and haystacks. There's even a charming little school, where the children come in early to clean their school everyday. We reach there at about 7 am, but the village has woken up long before and everyone is already at their chores. The air is clean and envigorating, and though we've only slept for a few uncomfortable hours on the bus, we are all braced up and raring to start the trek.


2. The immense physical effort the trek demands, and I deliver. For experienced trekkers, it isn't a big deal, but for us novices, it turns out to be huge test. Half-way down the trek, I'm quite ready to give up, but somehow manage to keep going and complete the trek. And somewhere I also find the energy to play a long, boistrous and energetic game of antakshari on the journey back home. Its a feeling of huge satisfaction, when you can command your self to keep going when you feel you can't anymore...
3. The view on the trek is amazing. The Sahyadri ranges are majestic in their beauty. The sky up above is a clean azure, and the peak that we're headed up to rises grandly into the sky. lower down on the mountain, the vegetation is thick, and the foliage varied. As we head higher, the trees lessen in number, and there's grass dotted with pretty little flowers. The sense of quiet and space that the place gives me is overpowering.