The Physics of Egg Half Fry

so you thought making a half-fry egg was a child’s play ?

The Physics of Egg Half Fry.

Blog | How to find the best hotel deal

if you are looking for some very practical tips to find great deals while booking hotel or if you are a BUDGET traveller, you should consider some of the tips given in this post, they might help you to save!

Blog | How to find the best hotel deal.

7 things I would never forget about my Tajmahal trip on Trek

hi folks, i wish i could have written the entire blog here as well but technology comes in the way (it makes u simply lazy!) so just sharing the link here. its about my 400 KM cycle ride to Taj Mahal from Delhi and back and the amazing experience i had enroute ! simply incredible!!!

click here to enter the wonderland –  7 things I would never forget about my Tajmahal trip on Trek.

My One Night Stand: Expedition to Tilyar Lake, Rohtak

If we admit that human life can be ruled by reason, the possibility of life is destroyed.” —— Chris McCandless aka Alexander supertramp, (Into the wild)

Movies inspire life, very true indeed; at least I can vouch for that. After I watched the movie “Into the wild” I just couldn’t remain sitting on my bums. I had to go somewhere I had never been before and experience how it feels. I wanted to try my limits. I knew that I can cycle a distance of 40 KM without facing much difficulty but I didn’t know how far I can go beyond it. This time, I set my upper limit to 100 KM and I googled precisely that – “places worth visiting within 100KM from Noida”. It threw up many results but I couldn’t make my mind. Soon I left to college but the bug didn’t die. After having a session of “I-know-nothing-teach-me-Finance” with my friend Azhar and Garry, it was time to go home, only if I could. I searched again and decided to see Tilyar Lake at……………….Rohtak. It Qualified on all the parameters- within 100 KM, Swimming Option, and easy on budget. I packed some Chocolates, a ParleG, orbit white and a water bottle before setting off to this Lake where Exotic birds would be waiting eagerly for me (no pun intended). It was 11PM then.

Next>>Hitchhiking on the truck

A defence colony experience (in verse)

on the roads, ordinary men walk
rich men either jog or
in their Mercedes; they talk
not to a human but to their dog.
how come they get so rich,
I wonder;
work their asses off or
a god’s blunder.
they live in swank palaces; a marvel
with high security, may be y or Z level
like a destitute…; I felt there
“10 years hence, will I be here”?
with enough money to buy
a hummer or a Land Rover
but, is that what I really aspire?
get rich, marry, sire n expire?
naah.., that would be a nightmare.
I would rather prefer
to be a mediocre,
if I could bring a difference,
in the lives
of the children at the gate of the temple,
with innocent expectant eyes.

Day when I enjoyed being alone : A trip to SurajKund Mela

Monday, 15 Feb
Hi friends,
I wouldn’t have been able to come up with this post in the first place if I hadn’t read this article about ‘how to enjoy being single’. I had almost scrapped my plan to visit “Surajkund Mela” but when I read this article I really saw great opportunities lying ahead of me (most of which eventually came to be true!) and my hopes got a fresh life almost like a phoenix.
I called my friend Lokesh to get an idea of the place and how to reach there. (For the information, he is the one who first visited the mela and shamelessly praised it to such an extent that it kindled an insatiable desire in me, so strong that I went there braving all odds; rainy weather, injured toe, classes at college and only my backpack to accompany me).

The Surajkund Crafts Mela is organized annually by the Haryana Tourism Department from 1st till 15th Feb. This delightful handloom and handicrafts fair is planned every year to promote the traditional Indian Handicrafts in rural ambience at Surajkund in the vicinity of New Delhi. The fair was first time organized in 1981 and since then the fair continues to be a strong platform for Indian artists and craftsmen to display their skilled crafts and art work. The whole preparation of the fair is done, keeping a particular state in mind. Every year a new state is chosen as the theme and the entire decoration is changed accordingly and The colorful state of Rajasthan was chosen as the theme for the Surajkund Crafts Mela 2010, which was also the theme for the fair in the year 1989. Surajkund is surprisingly close to Delhi; a ten minutes ride in an auto from Badarpur Border (I hope u know where it is, if not, google it!). However a frickin jam at badarpur border ate up very precious time of mine but for the first time in my life I had spare time for such eventualities. I finally was at the grand and archaic but an Ad hoc entry gate of the 24th Surajkund Craft Mela. The moment I brought out a 50 Rs. note from my back pocket to buy the entry ticket, it started drizzling faintly. I almost thought of snatching it back from the cashier and wait for the drizzle to stop but then dropped the idea!
Surajkund mela has a very unique rustic charm in itself, far too superior than any of these plush malls can give you, and something which can only be experienced when you are in the environment. I entered and almost instantly could smell the aroma of ‘gaon ki mitti’ . To be very honest, I couldn’t fathom the grandness of the fair in the first look. At 4’O clock, it seemed like I had an eternity to see the mela which soon was going to be proved wrong. On my right there were stalls featuring emboss painting and jute bags, brass metal work and jewellery crafted from sea-shells. The sea-shell necklaces were simply amazing and a fellow buyer’s confirmation dispelled all the doubts I had about their authenticity (after all she seemed quite knowledgeable!). On moving ahead, I was really thrilled after spotting a huge and strategically placed stall of Hindustan Latex Limited. I could only guess how busy that stall would have been on the Valentine’s Day and all the other ‘fabricated’ days before it!! The Massiveness of the mela was now becoming clearer to me but still it was in infancy. It offered a platform to some really cool and talented but anonymous painters of the country however, their anonymity didn’t stop them from asking prices, as high as $12,000 haa, I am kidding, its only Rs. 12,000 for few of their paintings which I struggled hard to comprehend in the first place!!!
Let me tell you an insider’s information. Whatever other people might say that the mela primarily caters to women and almost everything on display is meant for girls (n their moms), I have a strong view that it’s a men oriented mela; it only depends on what ‘stuff’ you are looking at – the one on display at stalls or the one moving around in search of that stuff from one stall to another.
There was so much verity and so much yet to explore that I was kind of making a mental note of all the interesting things I was spotting at various stalls so that if I didn’t find anything superior to it, I can get back and buy it. After all, if I buy the stuff right away thinking it to be the best, I run the risk of “Opportunity loss”, in case I find something better later (I am doing an MBA, you see).
There were stalls selling shawls crafted manually and then there were few others selling carpets, creative wooden furniture, bangles and stuff made from glass, marble etc. You name it and you have it there. Handicrafts of some of the states showcased at the Surajkund Crafts Mela are:
Banjara and Bunni embroidery of Gujarat
Phulkari embroidery of Punjab
Lace and crochet from Goa
Sandalwood and rosewood carving of South India
Kantha work of West Bengal and North Eastern states
Chikan work of Lucknow
Chikri woodcraft of Kashmir.
However, it was not all about stalls and shopping. It was and out and out fun atmosphere. What you call – A total package. A rajasthani folk dance group was performing at one place right in front of a massive stone sculpture towering easily up to 20-25 feet. I was enjoying the performance from a height and from there I realized the grandness of the event for the 1st time and felt the crunch of speeding up my excessive ogling at each stall.
On my left I could see the pavilion for International representations; Egypt, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bhutan etc to name a few. I really liked the stall of Tajikistan not because they had some exceptionally beautiful artifacts for display on the counter but for the beauty behind that! I was pleasantly surprised when she started talking with a lady in her highly accented hindi which sounded music to my ears!! For 5 or 6 minutes I was just standing there faking to be a connoisseur of precious stones and talking silly stuff but then I realized that there is a whole world yet to be explored.
Soon I found myself in the Food Court – the heaven of real delicacies primarily from North India. I could have missed everything but the Rajasthani Specialties. I guess, taste developed in early years somehow stick with you. I find Rajasthani taste my very own, closer to me than Dilli ka Zayka; courtesy my Grandma who hails from the state. I realized that you don’t need to be super rich to enjoy life; all you need is a 20 Rupee note! Because that will fetch you a plate of kadhi Kachauri – pure bliss, Period. I was wondering why the hell people were thronging on the chow mein and fast food stalls which they can get anywhere. I savored the taste and moved on to explore the uncharted territory which was still abound.
Few things really impressed me in the mela – the tight security, the neat and organized layout, Clear and regular public announcements, great artwork by painters and sculptors, cheap and very creative jewellery and but of course, the crowd.
If you thought that the mela was all about cheap stuff, think again. There was a dedicated Designers Gallery for the minority with fat pockets and refined taste. One store featured designer showpieces made from Silver and one such artwork, almost my size, containing floral patterns was worth Rs 6, 40,000. Believe it! Surajkund owes its name and perhaps its very existence to an ancient amphitheatre sun pool (‘Kund’) dating back to the 10th century but alas, the ‘kund’ was dry! At 6PM, I was at the other end of the mela and now it was time for me to trace back and enjoy things which I accidentally missed out in the first go or liked so much that I planned to revisit, if time permitted. But by this time, I had seen so much that I was getting confused where to go first and what to buy. Variety does spoil you.
Can you guess where I made my first return visit?? Oh, damn. You are always right; to the stall from Tajikistan!!!! But I saw something even more fascinating there. There were two little kids (maybe 2-3 yrs old), probably siblings (I suppose). They were playing while their family members were busy shopping. But then out of nowhere, the slightly taller kid kissed the other one so affably and openly that it brought a smile on my face ear to ear which remained for the rest of the day. Thanks kids.

I was feeling hungry yet again and what I saw just accentuated my hunger pangs by the order of two. Have you ever heard of a Rs. 40 Jalebi (I am talking of a single jalebi here)? No. I tasted it at the stall of Lala Maturam, (promoting diabetes since 1956!). When they say “size does matters”, they are right. The size of the jalebis was immense; bigger that a DVD and as thick as the middle finger and the ‘chashni’ was oozing out of it when I took a bite like blood from the head of slain dog on the road. My soul was craving for more but the stomach has got a limit (unfortunately).

I now wanted to just lay back and relax and incidentally there were some cultural performances to enjoy while I recline. A troop from Tajikistan gave a scintillating performance of their regional dance which was being covered live and broadcasted on a big screen at the other end of the mela. I also enjoyed the dance of a group from Gujarat which actually descended from an African tribe. But the festivities were interrupted by the boring formalities like govrnor’s speech and other felicitations. I used this time to do some shopping. I bought a fancy bead belt and a fancy kada (obviously it wasn’t for me if you are thinking so. For myself, I bought a fake Gucci leather wallet for 100 bucks, incredible na!). The penultimate performance was Radha-Krishna Leela. they enthralled everyone with the shower of flower-petals over the spectators. I was craving for more of such VIP treatment. With the last performance of Mahishasur-vadh (massacre of Mahishasur), the mela was formally declared to be over by the governor of Haryana although the crowd seemed unwilling to leave the place so soon. People were busy in the last moment shopping spree, taking advantage of great discounts. I did the same as well and bought a white stone necklace for my mom.
Before I moved out, I spared 5 more minutes to take a quick dekko of the entertainment section of the mela (although the entire mela was an entertainment extravaganza), decked with all the adventure rides like giant wheel, Columbus and other fun games.
The rain gods were kind to us because it only started to drizzle again when the mela was over. With the bead-belt around my waist, the white stone necklace around my neck and spirit of surajkund all around me like a halo, I got in the auto to return to my place where my friends just couldn’t hold their hysterical laugh when they saw me wearing that necklace and the belt. you see, the sun sets but the fun never ends when you are upbeat. I will eagerly wait the next edition of SurajKund mela; what else can I say. till then Good By.

A ‘Fast’ for a cause

well, you may argue that a fast is always voluntary but in India, people fast, not because they genuinely want to but for the sake of practice, convention or to please some god/goddess for their sly and selfish motives. A girl (majority wins!) on fast is a ‘human bomb’ of gloom for she is never happy about the fact that she is on fast. When asked why she is not having the Almond fudge while rest of her friends are, she will invariably reply in the gravest possible way, “yar, I’m on fast” (don’t get startled if she pouts. On few occasions, tears may accompany the reply as well !). Few others are smart souls and they have found loopholes in the system. I have seen people binging frivolously while on some ‘religious fast’ for they are only prohibited to consume cereal, rest everything they can relish with delight.
And due to this very reason, I have always considered fast like a ‘fast’ girl; someone, with whom you should always keep ‘safe’ distance. (the specification of ‘safe’ varies!)
But today, on getting up ‘accidentally’ early in the morning and finding nothing to do with the enormous amount of ‘extra’ time that I suddenly got, I decided to go to the gym. Not only can I exercise there but catch some glimpses of TV as well. This might sound to you as exaggeration but those glimpses for me are as fortuitous as a sight of a ‘female’ (not necessarily human!!) in a Boys Hostel.
But today those glimpses were saying a different story. The News channel was showing the videos of the aftermaths of Haiti Earthquake at Port-au-prince.
The videos were startling to say the least; there is an utter chaos in Haiti with the return of ‘the jungle rule’ with a bang. The few ‘stray lions’ were looting the relief material meant to be distributed among everyone. People were stabbing each other, well, not exactly with knife but with very pointed and thick sticks. I saw two men carrying a gunny bag of wheat which they had pilfered from the relief material. Thefts and loots have risen so much that relatively rich citizens of Haiti have opted to leave the island.
I realized how precious food has become suddenly; more precious than a human’s life. And here at home, we have so much to eat. (When I say home, I didn’t mean India because in that case, we are the one who ‘proudly’ boast of millions who go to bed, well not exactly bed, without food. India is the home to the largest population of malnutrition children and hunger is still a graver cause of death than many dreaded disease.)
However, the fact that I have always got the kind of food that satisfies not only my ‘fastidious’ taste buds but my ‘progressive’ appetite as well from the day I started eating till this date without any break or holiday (gazetted or restricted), I might have taken food for granted and hence can’t appreciate the fact that I am among those fortunate ones who can still enjoy other pleasures of life rather than thinking about the whereabouts of their next meal.
But to realize the value of food and to empathize with the Quake survivors of Haiti, I decided not to take food for the remaining part of the day, lunch and dinner to be precise. Well that’s because I couldn’t have relinquished the breakfast. I had milk and roasted grams already with me and not taking them would be like demeaning the food which was contrary to my purpose.
It’s late in the night when I am writing it down and till now it’s going pretty fine apart from occasional hunger pangs, abdominal twinges, loud burps with expulsion of enormous gas generated due to under-utilization of alimentary canal, weird sounds orchestrated by stomach muscles which resemble the typical sound of the famous game of Mario when he gains the size! (Well, if u can’t recall, play Mario once again!) and profuse salivation whenever I happen to see (or even hear) Chaat-papdi, pizza, popcorns or Parle G. A really tough and equally ironical situation arose when I visited the Gurdwara at Sector 18, Noida. After offering my prayers I was sitting inside the gurdwara along with other people to absorb some calmness of the place. But within few seconds, I was hypnotized by an intoxicating aroma of the halwa which is distributed there as Prasad. It was so hallucinating that it changed my thought process within no time. Now I was thinking that I should take the ‘prasad’ for it will bring all the blessings of ‘Vaheguru’. Ironically, in my prayers I asked for the strength to hold on to my debut fast. To make a bad situation worse, they started distributing the Prasad (generally you yourself have to go and ask for it). Fortunately I got out of the trance in time, bowed once again and made a quick exit while asking for forgiveness for not accepting the Prasad. Well, it’s still a debatable topic whether I should have accepted the Prasad or not but I did what I felt right at that moment. Rest of the journey was easy although I had to lie to my mom that I won’t take the dinner as I have already had Chinese at some fancy restaurant in CP with some friends. I presumed that she wouldn’t probably understand the reason of my fast if I tell her the truth. Nevertheless, she could smell something fishy and asked me at around 10 that whether I would like to eat. You can’t simply dodge your mother.
I know it perfectly that my fast would not make any substantial difference in the life of any Haitian nor will it replenish the acute shortage of food in that quake hit island. It was merely a symbolic gesture to tell the Haiti people that in these arduous days, you are not alone; we can understand your sufferings and will always be there to help you, if not physically then emotionally.
Thanks for giving it a read and I would love to read about your own ways to convey your message to Haitians.

AAL IZZ ‘not’ WELL

“Waise bhi tum log to sirf attendance ke liye hi aate ho”- this is a favorite line among the teachers of most of the B Schools. But has anyone tried to unearth the reasons behind this tendency of the students despite the fact that they very well know that they have come to do a professional (so to say) course after paying a colossal amount of fees.

In one of the scenes of 3 Idiots, Aamir Khan says, “kabhi aap log class main ye soch kar aaye ho ki aaj kuch naya sikhne ko milega, aaj maza aayega”.

Most regrettably, students never feel that way. Attending the class is rather an ordeal which they have to face in their quest to get an MBA degree.  This is the reason why students loath to attend the classes and the only ‘weapon’ that’s capable enough to shove them into the class is the ‘danda of attendance’ and they never miss an opportunity, as and when it appears in the form of placement interviews, genuine or fake, to miss the class.

In most of the classes we are welcomed with the ‘thorny garland’ of PowerPoint slides; extremely monotonous, verbose and theoretical. What are we supposed to do with them? There is a saying that – “example is better than precept”. But what these slides do is bombard us with neat ‘wine’ of theory, which most of the students are unable to gulp down the throat. They keep it in the mouth during the class and chuck it out as soon as the class is over or probably earlier; when their attendance gets marked!

Whenever I try to retrospect about my learnings in a particular subject, I invariably can recall only those few classes in which I did some group presentation, Case Study, Role play or an open and lively discussion. These are the classes to which I give the credit of adding to my petite knowledge. But unfortunately the number of such classes can be counted on fingers and their frequency is comparable to the winning frequency of Bangladesh cricket team in ODIs!

I am not saying that theory should be scrapped but there are ways of making that theory appealing just the way a boring peanut is turned into Nut cracker® !!

Until and unless we don’t know how a particular funda is being applied in the industry, why the hell should we care to understand it? It simply won’t fire that interest in the student. To illustrate it: in my graduation, there was a small chapter on Stem Cells. It would have been just a topic for me had the teacher not told us how Stem cells are revolutionizing the clinical world, with scientists trying to construct hitherto irreplaceable organs with the help of stem cells and the controversy these experiments are creating. My interest in stem cells soared so high that I even thought on the lines of doing an M.Sc in Biotechnology so that I could study more about Stem Cells!!

I wish there would come a day when the teacher, with a broad and confident smile, would enter in the class room, full of beaming students and say, “today, we will learn about ‘this’ concept which is so remarkably applied by xyz company or so vividly perceivable in the context of falana industry or sector.” That will be a landmark day.

Industry visits, in this respect are a great source of learning. Industries/Factories/offices of companies from various sectors such as FMCG, petroleum, heavy metals, hospitality, telecom, IT etc give the students a massive exposure to the ‘real’ business world and acquaint them with the contemporary practices being used in the respective business sector. It also gives them the very ‘crucial’ opportunity to find their ‘love’. just like you can not decide whether you wanna get into a long term relationship with the guy/girl you met on Facebook until you interact with him/her over a coffee (may be at CCD!!); in the same way, it’s only when you actually see the industry and interact with the people working there, you can decide whether you wanna see yourself working there in the future or not.

But, Alas! Industry visit is that ‘Eid ka chand’ which the students of most of the B Schools aren’t as lucky to see as few handful of maulvis of prominent IIMosques in the country and hence the students are as ‘focused’ as Hritik Roshan was in lakshya regarding industry they wanna go in and the job profile they aspire. Here, of course, I am talking in general because there, invariably, would be few students who have a proper chalked out path from destination A to B on Google ‘career’ maps. But they are exceptions only.

There is an indispensable and, probably, inevitable need for major changes in the way education is imparted in most of the B Schools catering to a major chunk of the population of future Managers. India is poised to become a significant world power only if its leadership is in the hands of people who happen to be in those leadership positions not because of serendipity but conscious and calculated efforts.

only then we would be able to sing, wearing the black business Suit in the class, that AAL IZZ WELL!!

Manali: tourist’s paradise

I was supposed to reach manali at 7 in the morning but the driver had other plans. He parked the bus in the terminal (ISBT) at 5:30! It was dark as hell at that time and coldwave was blowing. I wasn’t carrying a thermometer but can easily say that the temperature was near zero because the water which was spilled on the ground was frozen. The previous day, I had sent a message to sahil, after many failed attempts to call him, inquiring the whereabouts of their hotel but didn’t get any reply and my battery got discharged soon after. So I was standing on ‘honeymooner’s haven’ without knowing where to go; literally a hobo! The first thing was to get my phone charged but in those wee hours of the morning not a single shop was open. When I looked around, everything appeared blurred to me. But there wasn’t any fog! – Oh, Bulls**t, I lost my specs – Fortunately, the bus was still there. I rushed towards it hoping to win a lost cause. The specs were nowhere, neither on the floor nor in the gap between the glass above the window and its rim (won’t blame you if you can’t visualize the location). Wow, that should be a dream beginning of a trip to a dream destination.

I moved out of ISBT to enter a nearby hotel and requested them to let me charge my phone for 10-15 min. simultaneously; I tried the numbers of all the 4 guys, who were probably enjoying the warmth (of each other!!) in a cozy room. Amits (no.1 & 2) were ‘unavailable’ due to low balance, Pankaj had switched his phone off and Sahil wasn’t picking the phone. My frustration and desperation were soaring while sitting in that hotel however it saved me from the bone-chilling temperature outside. But ‘bakre ki maa kab tak khair manayegi’; The uneasiness of the receptionist started growing because I wasn’t giving him any business and I got the signal that it was time to depart. I was back at the Bus terminal. I just couldn’t resist the temptation of searching my glasses once again because without them I would never be able to enjoy the beauty of Manali for which I have come this far (in a bus puking all along the way!).

I eagerly waited a callback from sahil like an IIM aspirant awaits a call from IIM Ahmadabad. To divert my focus from the shivers, I started reading a book, sitting on the stairs next to the men’s toilet because only there I could find a tube-light. The book was – ‘Snapshots from hell’; what a fitting title, ironically, Manali is considered tourist’s Paradise.

I was feeling hungry and fortunately there was a thelewala. I ordered a tea, a bun and 4 boiled eggs. I was trembling like the leaves of a peepal tree on a windy day on which the chaiwala quipped, “aapko thand lag rahi hai? Puri raat se main yahin khada hoon”. I was stunned, as if struck by a lightning bolt. My hand, with the egg, stopped inches before my mouth (wide open due to shock); the yolk tipped down. He was wearing a jacket, certainly not of very high quality and no cap. That was a moment of truth for me; a real life ‘sach ka samna’. His words, surprisingly, made me feel a lot warmer and the rest was done by the tea and eggs. With the energy came enthusiasm and I broke out of the shackles of the victim mentality. I was ready to take on Manali now.

While roaming around on the Mall road, which is next to ISBT, I came across a Tibetan monastery. With the head monk’s permission, I kept my bags there and set forth on my expedition to explore the true and hidden Manali. I headed towards an unknown kucha road which was leading uphill towards a village. The climb was steep and the naali along the way was frozen. I knew that ‘hadimba temple was somewhere near and now I wanted to see it. Taking help from the people around, I kept moving towards the temple. Along the way, for the first time in my life, I saw the Apple orchards; although didn’t see ‘live’ apples. The trees were actually small and bushy; probably 1 or 2 feet above me. A 15 min walk from there took me to hadimba temple, a temple dedicated to the wife of Bhim and mother of ghatotkach in the epic of Mahabharata. Since it was still early in the morning, not many tourists had hogged the place and therefore it was quite peaceful and everyone could calmly go and touch the feet of devi hadimba embossed on a stone, placed inside a cave like structure.

While leaving the temple I finally got the call from sahil. On asking why he wasn’t picking the phone, his reply, “yar silent pe tha”, boggled my mind and I felt like pulling out my next-to-nothing hair! How could someone keep his phone on silent mode when he is on a trip and knowing that one person would be joining them early morning? But it wasn’t time to complain, it was time to scale the snow capped mountains and dive in that snow like uncle scrooge used to dive in his treasure! I picked my bags from the monastery and 5 of us somehow managed to pack ourselves in an Alto which we hired to take us to a place popularly known as ‘Snow point’. The scenery was fascinating all along the way and we could only speculate the thrill we gonna have on seeing the ‘gift’ if the ‘packaging’ was so beautiful. We also rented a dress specifically meant for snow.

From here, as we kept spiraling up the road, snow kept on coming nearer and nearer and became more abundant. We couldn’t resist the temptation and started playing with the snow the moment we got out of the car like a boy who has got PS 3 in his Christmas present.  We made balls of that cottony snow to hit each other, preferably in the face! We moved to a place where most of the tourists were thronging, presuming that the place must be happening (herd mentality). We considered ourselves no less that Milind Soman or John Abraham and almost compiled a whole portfolio in that Eskimo attire. On relatively smoother slopes, we slid with such speed as if we were never gonna stop, carefully evading bumping into a tree with the legs wide open! In the process, snow used to enter in our boots and gloves. After 1 or 2 hours, our feet were wet, numb and paining; but who cared? We kept our sliding and fighting stuff going. We also made a video of our mock snow-fight with the help of a fellow tourist.

Someone has rightly said that “a picture is worth a thousand words”. I guess I might not be able to thoroughly express the fun we had while playing, sliding, walking or simply sleeping in that snow, with plain and sometimes insufficient words. The thrill and excitement, so pure, can only be felt when you are living those moments, breathing that fresh and cool air, gawking that breathtaking view and feeling the snow – god’s own beauty talc. We spent more than 4-5 hours in that Shangri-la without ever realizing that we have spent all our day while the ‘valley’ and the ‘hot water springs’ were still on our itinerary. We gave a CEO kinda visit to the valley and had to give the ‘springs’ a miss but it didn’t diminish our bliss even an iota. After all, one who has tasted the Nectar cares less about honey or putting it more contemporarily, if you have been to Rio Carnival, you give a damn to the premier party of Kingfisher’s swimsuit calendar!

After returning to the hotel, I took a bath for the first time in our entire 3 day escapade. After a simple but filling dinner and a final photo session it was time to say alvida to Manali and thank her from the core of our hearts for the splendid time we had in her snow-soft lap.

To read about my equally fascinating trip to Shimla, before going to Manali, click here

Simla; Queen of mountains, day 2

if you wanna read about our first day in Simla, click here..

The next day I opened my eyes with the breaking news that we have 40 min to catch the bus to Manali, where we would finally see the Snow. So, again I opted for a ‘dry-clean’ and we were at ISBT but only later I came to know that Amit was not going with us. The previous night, even I wasn’t sure of going to Manali but thought it would be fun with everyone going but now I didn’t see the point with one of our chief-Bargainer opting out. Without wasting much time, I joined Loki and his two friends Ajay and Praveen who were not going to Manali and had plans to roam around in Simla. The moment I reached their room, 2-3 km uphill, Amit called me to inform that he has changed his mind and now going to Manali. There was hardly any time left to reach ISBT again but I decided to give it a shot (although when I retrospect now, I know it was crazy). The bus had left long before I reached but they couldn’t inform me as my battery had discharged. Anyhow, I resumed loki and his friends once again and went to the Skating Rink. Like small kids, we were trembling with joy on seeing the ice at the edge of the rink. We even clicked few pics holding balls of that artificial snow and carefully excluding the portions without ice in order to mock the 4 guys who were heading towards Manali. But as luck would have it, the skating time was over and we had to wait till the evening to experience the thrill.

The next thing we did was, we checked out, submitted our luggage in the cloak room and inquired about the buses for Delhi, manali and Chandigarh. No bus to Delhi and Manali till late in night and that too ‘ordinary’ and for Chandigarh at 4:30. So effectively, we had only 4 hours together and we wanted to make the most of it.

We headed back to ‘The Mall’ and had a filling lunch at ‘the Indian coffee house’. This place still gives you the feel of 70’s or 80’s through its interiors. In no other restaurant I have ever seen a photo of Mahatma Gandhi and waiters wearing pure whites and a ‘gandhi topi’, looking more of a politician. But the Paneer dosa was superb and the nariyal ki chatni, yummy!

Next we went to the St. Micheal’s church and this was one church in which you have to take off your shoes before entering; an amalgamation of hindu and Christian faiths, I guess. The church was beautiful and peaceful and we offered our prayers as well. But god wasn’t going to let us that easy; he tried us. The moment we emerged out, an immensely gorgeous girl was sitting in front of us, taking off her shoes. We were dumbstruck. I was thinking, “Common, it’s a church for god’s sake”. It was really embarrassing for all of us to act like that. But those famous lines by Ghalib, recited by either loki or Praveen, alleviated some of it.

“peene de mujhe is masjid main ae galib

Naahin to dikha de ek jagah, jahan Khuda na ho”

The laughter session never seemed to end after that.

We drifted a bit from the mall road this time and roamed on the adjoining road. Soon it was time for Loki and Praveen to bid adieu.

After sometime, Ajay and I went to the Skating Rink once again but it was not our day probably. Due to bright sun, some part of the ice had melted and was unfit for skating; dejected, we returned. But the fire of Skating had already been lit and now it was impossible to quench it. We decided to give the indoor skating rink a shot. But when I entered it, I realized how incapable I was to even stand on the rollers, let alone skating on them. Small kids, three or four times younger than me were effortlessly flying in the rink and I was getting jitters by the thoughts of the inevitable and innumerable falls I would succumb to and the number of people I would entertain with those falls once I get into those rollers.

If I was scared, then ajay was terrified. He almost dropped the idea but finally our patented ‘never say die’ attitude coerced us to jump in the battle field and emerge out as winners (no matter how much wounded!)

We paid 75 bucks each, for 45 min; it was like Isant sharma has been given the responsibility to hold on for 45 min against the Aussi’s Assault. When I swim, the same 45 minutes seems too less to me. Anyhow, both the Gladiators entered the arena holding the railing! To take even one step without jeopardizing your life was an ordeal. One guy, who, I came to know later, was the son of the owner of the rink as well, gave me some tips to maintain my balance like keep your body forward, walk by raising your foot comfortably high, don’t fear a fall and the biggest of them all – don’t hold the railing. Considering those advice as gospel truth, I left the railing and headed towards the centre. But you see, there’s gotta be some difference between a veteran and an amateur. And the difference was a fall, flat on the back. Fireworks have just begun and the remaining 45 min, that skating rink witnessed unprecedented no. of falls with occasional spurts from Ajay and other skaters. Auntijis laughed initially but they also resigned after sometime. After all, how can someone laugh for 45 min watching the same act!

One aunty said to her novice daughter, “go beti, go skate and don’t be afraid to fall but itna mat girna (pointing towards me) !!” but After initial few moments of mortification, I was enjoying each fall. People were appreciating me for the rare form of courage I had displayed by not accepting to skate along the railing despite my ass, back, knees, palms and elbows crying foul of pain and probably abusing me for giving them ‘step-motherly’ treatment! I felt like a freedom fighter, who, despite all the atrocities, didn’t take the easy path, rather carried on with his mission. I can’t define how ecstatic I felt when I was coming out of the rink; as if a whole stadium is giving me a standing ovation for making a century (maybe I actually made a century of falls!).

We were damn hungry after that self-fracturization session. We opted to have some Chinese (a very bad choice, which I realized later) and then we rushed to ISBT, in hope to catch an AC bus and avoid the jhatkes of an Ordinary bus. Ajay was lucky, for he got a seat in the AC bus. Mine was a semi-deluxe at 8:30. So, after a hilarious time in Simla, we took leave of one another. I boarded my bus. The ticket man gave me seat no. 34 but allowed me to sit on seat no. 1 but finding it uncomfortable after some time, I decided to more to 34. But jaws of misfortune were avidly waiting for me there. It was nauseatingly smelly at that seat; probably some bastard had removed his shoes and let his socks to spread the sickening odor. I could sense that something wasn’t right but before I could go back, the reflex action had already started. Ironically it started minutes after I took the tablet to stop vomiting. I was questioning my decision to go to Manali in those moments. This was only the beginning. It started again after 30 min and yet again after an hour. All those beautiful memories of Shimla suddenly evaporated except the pain in my right elbow (Which is still irking while I am writing this). I just wished that night to be over. If I could have spotted a bus going back to delhi at that time, I would have certainly hopped in. I just prayed to reach Manali as soon as possible.

to read about the roller-coster ride in Manali, click here

to read about our first day in Simla, click here..