Tales from Pardes-I

Its 7:45 PM and there's still daylight.My watch reads 5:15 AM.There's always this bull headed urge to do the math and calculate US time rather than reset the watch that was set in India.
Anyway , saying India umpteen times is just going to open the flood gates isn't it?So we think happy things.
Jetlag.Yesterday night , I woke up every 1.5 Hr intervals, in one such interval I noticed that the temperature sensor blinked "Please replace the batteries." , yes , it even had the full stop.And I wondered if I should call Amma(Would it be day time for her) or my sister(Is it 4AM ? That , would be day time for her).I wondered what would happen if I hadn't woken up that second 1.5 Hour interval.Would I have been hermetically sealed inside the room with a broken temperature sensor and no fresh air(when irony oh irony there were exactly 10 big trees outside my window?).But , of course!Switch off the sensor thingy(basic electronic circuit theory lesson 1) and open windows which will open exactly 4 inches upwards like the sticker on the window says.
I woke up again at 6AM and surprise surprise there was daylight.The nose had frozen though.
I reached home a couple of minutes back , after taxi driver from Pakistan Mr.Ada waved me a cheery goodbye.I fixed myself some "Tea from India" dutifully bought at the Indian Store(You know , it so ironic, back home I drink Twinings).And then I remembered the sensor needing battery.I called up the reception and promptly went for a shower.So there I was tra lalaing and there came a loud knock.Yes , of course Murphy was right.I opened the door to a cheery red capped old man.
CROM(Chery red capped old man): " helllo!!!"
Seren:"Hi!!"(This cute old thing is going to save me from being hermetically sealed etc etc)
CROM:"$##$$#$$##$$#"
Seren:"?"
Seren:"ENGLISH??"
CROM(*wincing coz of all the yelling*):"No"
Seren:*Hopefully*"Punjabi?"
CROM:"Spanish"
Seren: " Well, okay come in!"
CROM:*Peers at the sensor*
Seren the idiot:" See?It reads change battery , so will you?"
CROM:*Turns the knob towards heat and then pretends that hes feeling very very cold(crouches down on his knees and makes brr brr sounds followed by a happy face when the heat was turned up) and then turns the knob to cooling and pretends to fan himself*
Seren:"Cute old man , I know how the AC works,I didn't do that badly at college I say!!"
Seren:*Shows the message *
CROM:*Points to my index finger which has my voting mark and looks puzzled and hurt*
Seren:*Oh sheesh , how am I going to tell him I voted for BJP and thats where I got the dye!! Ammmaaa*
CROM:*Bulb switched on under the cap*"Oh.... no no!!No battery it electrical..No worry!"
Seren:*Accompanies CROM to the door and resolves to keep window open , the nose will just have to do with the freezing now , wont it!!*

Travel Tales

Ok , just returned from a week long trip to Delhi Agra and Jaipur and my ! was it good or was it good ! I'll probably bore you with a detailed account of each place I visited and what hit me most while being there in another post, Ok? Not ok ? Well , you've no choice 'cause you don't have my password , so there!

Some " Did you knows"
Did you know..

1. That Delhi isn't like Bangalore ? Well Duh , I mean like no one wakes up before 11 and there is no concept of a Darshini ! People eat bread toast an chai from the road-side vendor who sports an oil tin for a seat!!

2. That its very normal for a man to be carrying 5 buffaloes in an open cart , and casually lift up its tail so that the buffalo can attend to its nature call? I mean the nature call of the waterfall kind...
I wondered why he would want to do that ,is it to prevent the.. err waterfall remains from slapping merrily against him ? hmm ..

3. A snake charmer who's traveling alone has no choice but to hold his snake firmly at a feet's distance while he attends to his nature call. I mean what else could he do?Ask of a stranger "Here , could you hold this for a while?" No NO! Hold it calmly and do whatever!

Driver time tales

We'd hired a car to take us from Delhi to Agra and Jaipur , and the driver gave us some laughs!

1. My mother was "mataji" and Altoid and I were "sister" and my Dad was "Daddyji". So that makes him our brother. Our brother Pappu.
2.He would referring to a "construction" (and trust me there were quite a lot of them in Delhi)
as a "contraction" , and it used to send a mixture of pain and laughter through us every time he said that!
3.While we were passing through a set of houses in the outskirts , he casually informed us (in the tourist guide style) that " Yelloji , this is a red light area". And I heard it as the "red alert area" and I started quizzing him " Pappuji , what happened over here? Is there a curfew??" . All this while the mataji pictured me with a noose around my neck..
4. My Dad would fondly call him " Paapu".Total south indian ishtyle!

Tales from Firang ..

A foreigner asking the guard at Rajghat..
" Where is Gandhi?"
Mom(in the background , of course): " Turning in his grave"


You know you're missing home when...
1.When in the middle of Karol bagh , you jump at the sight of a Udupi restaurant and you clamber inside to taste a Vada and coffee that you haven't had in what seems like light years! And you look happily at the steel tumblers and plates and the CHUTNEY!

2. You are walking along in Karol Bagh and a weary southie voice behind you says " Bhaisaab , where is Udupi?" And Altoid jumps from somewhere and beams at the man and says kindly (I understand your pain types) " Go left"

Additionally , I was reading Indu Sundaresan's " Feast Of Roses" , a sequel to the "Twentieth Wife" , a tale about Nur Jahan while on the trip , it added that final touch to the trip , the pleasure of standing on the very same spot that the Emperor and his Empress had perhaps walked 600 years ago is just about priceless..

These are a few of my favorite pictures ..

"Happiness is a toothless smile"

Taken in a village very close to Muthathi , you'll find a representative from each generation, different people , same smile :)

Kaladi , Shankaracharya's birthplace












Murudeshwara , a few days before lightning struck the idol










Somebody's very pretty house in Mangalore :)

Urrm , any single guys inhabiting this place ?:D

Sights while on a "Pleasure" trip

Blame the bad resolution on my 2 Meg camera phone , but this happened to be an evening when the sun was peeping coyly from out of a cloud on one side and the rain man decided it was going to be shower time on another side , but what did the weary traveler see ?

A beautiful rainbow!






God forbid , but if this Cab was involved in a hit and run case , what would a genius of a witness see ?

W:"Poleeceman , the car's number was a Chinnu cab owner who said a Hi to Chethan!"
P:"Sounds a simple case , we will get cracking!"

Seriously , is this allowed??




I feel guilty as hell for taking a picture of this man without his knowledge , but what to do :( , these are dire circumstances , aren't they??

Ok people , any idea where such cute wind cheaters are available?

Cute-bunny-man , if you are reading this space , where did you find it?