Here and There

The trip from Hyderabad to Pune cutting across the Deccan plateau was a visual treat(to and fro). It being late July, the monsoon was now in its most active phase.While rivulets trickled into the ruggedness of the Deccan, the shy blooms of 'Acacia Nilotica'(Tumma in Telugu) dazzled in the mild Sun that played hide-and-seek all day long. The black wrinkled bark looked painted, almost as if crying out for a 'wet paint' poster. I looked out from the window for hours, the train passed by jet-black naked fields combed in wavy patterns, rich green life taking roots in the furrows, sudden jets of yellow brilliance in marigolds, the suave and lissome Rajnigandha , unkempt Sugarcane in thickets with pink stalks that would probably lure and even stifle insects. And then, the occasional dirt-road that meandered like a light thread on a green carpet, a manned crossing in wilderness. An unmanned crossing ad midst bored onlookers. A young cowherd chasing his dappled cows that splashed and muddied themselves in the monsoon puddles. The occasional black drongo swooping in dangerous ellipses. The weirdness of a palm engulfed by a Banyan(here!).

Millions and millions of year ago, this was all lava. There was hardly any life. Now there is hardly any place without life. On my way back from Pune, I had a very pleasant afternoon nap beside a large window that became a dynamic wallpaper. Rejuvenating.

I am just back from a short trip to Pune.Perched at the edge of the Deccan Plateau and almost hugging the Western Ghats it is quite a picturesque place. The picture below is at the Loni campus of MIT,Pune.

After breathing in the serenity of cascading water in the backdrop of flat-topped hills, it was time for some concrete fun. We dashed off to downtown Pune. It was drizzling on and off,giving it a London-y feeling, another M.G.Road, that 'Leopold Cafe'-like place(Marz-O-Rine?) made my day!

M.G.Road reminds me of the spacious promenade the Bangalore one had about 3 years ago before the Metro Rail destroyed some of it. There is also a very very beautiful M.G.Marg(see pic below) in Gangtok,Sikkim. Ah!I also owe my readers a post on my Sikkim trip and my 'Interview with a Lama'.I also owe another one for Cherrapunji as it tickled my geomorphological grey cells like never before. So you will have a lesson in Geography very very soon.

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Something like Cricket

Romanticism aside. There is a different reality that is populated by the kids in my neighborhood.

Omkar, Nandini and Shyam continue to invent new cricketing rules, terms and logics. They regularly disturb my Dad's afternoon siestas for their equally confused cricket ball. Omkar is Marathi, Nandini is Telugu and Shyam Tamil. They converse amongst themselves in Hindi. Omkar however takes the cake for his "aisaaich-vasaaich Hindi".

The other day..Omkar and Shyam came running towards me(Kids usually like me)...

Omkar(like Celine Dion in higher octaves): Bhayya, we played a matchhh,.and..and...

Me: Ok, who won?

Omkar: West Germany and Brazil and India...

(Omkar was surely confusing Football for Cricket)

Shyam(in a very cute TamBrahm accent): I am India and Dhoni..

Omkar: But Sri Lanka won(nu)..

Me(angry): You guys have no clue!

Omkar: No Bhayya, The matcch got draw"ed" and I won by 18 runs.(very very matter-of-factly)

I succeeded in convincing him that nobody wins a drawn match. But he asked why India won the test series in West Indies despite drawing 2 matches! Kids!

Later, Omkar and Shyam invented many new cricketers(Omkar invented a cricket playing Manoj Tiwari) and resurrected many retired ones(Sourav Ganguly, Kapil Dev) for their nonsensical cricket.

Nandini has a penchant for running between the wickets. However, she makes it a point to express displeasure when dismissed. Omkar sides with Nandini 99 times out of 100, but sometimes girls can get too delusional. Nandini is famous for walking off the field only to return after Shyam is either expelled(by Nandini-influenced-Omkar) or pleads guilty to playing fair! Hah! I'm not sure how and when these kids evolved unviolable rules in their cricket-like game.

Omkar also makes sure he doesn't mix addition with cricket, he refuses to add his scores. When Omkar hits a shot, he just announces a score he feels he deserves. Shyam rarely protests.

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My brother and vadina, left for Toronto last week. We spent a jolly good time at home. We bid them a rather dull farewell. He starts his MBA next week and my Vadina will start her job-hunt and I am hyper excited for them! Btw, you get 3 Samosas for a Canadian dollar in Toronto! Cheaper than Coffee Day Samosas! I miss the delicious 4 rupee Samosas of Pilani, although a less than how much I miss Annayya and Vadina!Feel better now.

We watched Zindagi Milegi Na Dobara together. Spain is a visual treat beyond description and so is Laila!(Katrina plays a Indian American called Laila!) I have therefore decided to call my future pet dog Laila. Btw, was Mowgli(The Jungle Book) friends with Laila, the Red wolf? Also, Hrithik Roshan looks and acts very natural in this movie, very unlike Farhan Akhtar who plays this "Facebook" Adult, who writes profound poetry and cracks poor jokes in alternate frames. Abhay Deol is good as usual. However, the "mantal bwoy" and "the pour the red the wine" have been part of my 'gibberish vocab' for quite sometime! 'V' just adores my gibberish timings like 'three vo clack'. Anyways, the movie tugs your 'rods & cones' more than your heart,if you can feel it. No way near Dil Chahta Hai.

Also, I fear the movie will feed a lot of 'mindless' and harmful fun. Adventure sports like sky diving might get a sudden boost! And apart from the normal wastage of fuel we will have recreational wastage now! A La Tomatina festival in India will come a little close to Marie Antoinette's "Eat cake if you do not have bread" moment!

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Impact

The last week of June was also myy last week in Guwahati(NABARD). I hadn't celebrated 'the result'(declared on May 11th) with my family. This wait seemed like eternity. The company of 'Unaccustomed Earth'(Jhumpa Lahiri) made it a bit tolerable but emotional for unconnected reasons.

Assam has had quite an impact on me. Tea is my favorite drink now, Coffee is near-unbearable. There is no tea substitute. Coffee doesn't match up. Quite a change for someone who carried coffee beans in his travel bag! My Civil Services Interview was almost fully on the North East. This is a connection for life. The remoteness of the North East was such that I had a dream in which I changed by Facebook profile's location to places as far as Zambia and Timbuktu to the utter surprise of many friends! However, Karu Nadu might buy my taste buds into caffeine. Fickleness!

NABARD organized a nice farewell, I carried a jaapi and gamosa all the way home. I still carry 'Assam Tea stains' on my teeth, such is the impact! I also miss watching the clouds descend from Meghalaya into the Dispur plains,...Assam will be my next blog entry subject provided Omkar,Nandini and Shyam do not do anything out of the ordinary to further shake their crickets' fundamentals.