life in a state of flux

So much has happened since I last blogged. I quit my job and went to Europe.

Left for Vienna via Zurich. The Austrian capital was a good nice clean city. Lots of classical music culture thanks to Mozart, Strauss & co. Best part of Vienna was the St Stephan's Cathedral. A 900 year old gothic church. The city views from the top of the tall tower were awesome. The region surrounding the cathedral was pretty nice too. Loads of nice shops and Kaffeehaus'. Worst part of Vienna - German! Not the people, the language. Listening to it (in trains, trams, buses, tours) makes you wonder if everyone has a severe throat infection. Anyway moving on to Salzburg. What a pretty town! Best part was the lake district, Salzkammergut, in the vicinity which had the most pristine towns I have ever seen. Worst part of Salzburg - German! Onwards to Innsbruck. Well I had heard so much about the town and the Alps surrounding it that I was a little let down. Maybe I have been to the Himalayas too many times and don't think any other mountains come even close in stature and beauty. The town itself was cute to say the least. Best part: Buying crystals at Swarovski museum. Something like this would never figure in my list of Must Do's but I do like a few good things of life and crystals and diamonds are some of those. Worst Part about Innsbruck: C'mon say it with me now GERMAN!

Overall Austria was clean and their houses are way too pretty to describe. The people are well half of them were somewhat friendly. I'd like to believe the unfriendly half is just still pissed about the Anschluss.

Moving now to Italy. First stop Florence. Florence was dirty and crowded and I fell in love with it right away. It is the city of the Renaissance and the art and culture is on display all over. You can walk the tiny ancient alleys of Florence during the day and eat at the quaint pizzerias at night and do it all over again the next day. Such is the magic of the city. Best part of Florence: The sites, the leather market, the lovely pizzeria called Vico Del Carmine. Worst part of Florence: None for now, I'm in love with it remember.

Final destination: Rome, the eternal city. The biggest city on the trip, the Italian capital is an outdoor museum in itself. Roman ruins and famous fountains everywhere. Tourists EVERYWHERE. There is so much to see in Rome that you can honestly spend a month here and not get bored. Unfortunately we had just 3 days so we covered the essentials - Colosseum, Roman Forum & Palatine Hill, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Piazza Navona, Pantheon, Vatican and the rest we drove around and about. Best part of Rome: All listed above. Worst Part of Rome: The heat! It was 36C on all 3 days and burning hot. So yeah please go in June when it hasn't gotten that hot yet.
Overall Italy is far more cosmopolitan. People are friendlier and the culture is far more tourist friendly. More importantly Italian is easier on the ears than German. What a relief that was :)

Okay so I am back to Bombay. The city I call home. Humidity, crowds, pesky cabbies, crowded streets at night everything feels nice and familiar. But I leave for Bangalore on Sunday to join my new job. Trying my best to not feel sorry. This is what I have always wanted. Industry of choice, profile of choice just city not of choice for now and probably for the next two years. Small thing to deal with in the large scheme of life I guess. Will be back in Mumbai for good in a couple of years. Until then the monthly visits will keep me in touch with home and my darlings here.     

For now Auf Wiedersehen beloved city. Miss you I sure will.

update

It's been pretty long since I last blogged. Lots of things have happened some of which you already know and others you might not like the Kolkata wedding I got back from yesterday. I have been to the city once before so this was my 2nd time there. Besides the fantastic maru wedding, the highlight of the trip was the breakfast at 'Flurys' on Park Street.

Some observations: 1. The city is very horn friendly. They honk at anything including cattle which only confuses the poor animals. 2. People (taxi drivers, salesmen at stores, restaurant waiters etc) will tell you 10 reasons why some road can't be taken, some gift can't be shipped, some order can't be canceled  without ever once focusing on the solution. On the positive side: 1. All vehicles switch their engines off at signals - the environment and my ear drums were very grateful, 2. They love football and there were flags of Brazil and Argentina everywhere. What was better was that there wasn't a bandh called after both the teams were kicked out of the WC.

All in all Kolkata is a good city if you like driving on one way roads, don't care about customer service,and prefer a more peaceful life than the rodent grand prix that is Mumbai. Of course you expect me to say '"but I still love Mumbai" which I do but I like Kolkata too - makes you feel you are living in 70s.

P.S.

A lifetime of wait is over and I shall finally see Rome. I leave tomorrow night and I still need to pack but frankly I don't care about that right now all I can think of is getting there. I won't be in Rome until the 15th but I am sure there will be lots to keep me interested in Vienna, Salzburg, Innsbruck and Florence before I finally step foot in Italian capital. Yep that's my itinerary. So Bon Voyage to me and I'll see you when I see you ;)

countdown

2 weeks to go..

incredible india

One of the best things to happen to tourism in India was the Incredible India campaign. A friend sent me some of the new print ads. Picking five for your viewing pleasure; Wildlife, Nature, Adventure, Religion, Culture. My favourite, exhibit no.3. For best results; read the copy (click on each picture to enlarge).

countdown

3 weeks to go..

it has begun

So the WC has finally begun. I had managed to catch a couple of games since Friday before I sat to watch the Australia v/s Germany match last night and what a joke of a match it was. The joke was Australia and I had a warm fuzzy feeling watching them get thrashed by Germany. They looked like a bunch of out of control grumpy children who just couldn't get a decent shot at the goal and hence were resorting to blatant fouls cause they didn't have game. The Germans were not just hammering goal on goal (4-0 was the final score) but they played some great team football and never once seemed to be missing their star captain Michael Ballack. Personally I am not a huge fan of the straightlaced strategy driven European method of playing football but I have no complaints about last night. I wont be surprised if the mighty Germans go far into the competition. Makes me want to buy a German Shephard and name him Ozil.

I have two favourites to win the WC; one is logical and the other emotional.

Logical Favourite: Spain for two reasons; they have a great team and they have never won the WC. Okay the 2nd reason is not logical and falls flat without reason 1 but it is still a good reason why they should win or at least want to win. The Spainish team has little wrong with it so hopefully they don't do an India in WC cricket and for once go all the way.

Emotional Favourite: Argentina for two reason; Messi and Maradona. Messi for the simple reason that he is the brilliant. Maradona for the simple reason that he was brilliant and that it is a monumental achievement being at the top and then falling into a deep chasm called cocaine and then getting out of it. The last one being the most monumental according to me. It shows character and strength and I respect that. 

So in the end let me say that if these two teams were to somehow reach the finals then I will be rooting for Argentina 'cause I am a romantic and sports like life is nothing without emotions.

the last ballerina

The first thing I remember wanting to be as a kid was a ballerina. I was under the influence of my brilliant cousin who loved reading Russian fairytales of ballerinas and princes. Both of us used to sit and look at pictures of ballerinas and long to be as pretty and as perfect as them. As I got older my aspirations grew more suited to my body type but I still admired the grace and beauty of a ballerina. They speak of a lifetime of an intense love for dance and the steely determination to stretch a little further everytime.

I read a beautiful piece about the great Balanchine and his last ballerina (Darci Kistler, in pic below). Hope you find it an interesting read too. Sharing it here.

Have a wonderful weekend.

9.39 am Monday

Today is going to be a long day. Totally preventing myself from physically running off home.

Had a crazy weekend. Met the girls on Friday for dinner at Masalacraft. Then went to watch 'Prince of Persia' - load of rubbish. 300 bucks down the gutter.

Saturday evening went shopping and bought a ridiculously expensive red bag. Rest of the evening at TGIF with one of the coolest people I know.

Sunday afternoon went to meet pal. After 2 sky whis me and his roomates were soaring. Pal was fine.

Slept at 4am. Trying to keep myself awake today. Have come to this dreary place. Im taking a break from local ho for a month at least. Damn hungry but stomach's a mess. Total weekend damage 7k.

Can't get this song outta my head - "Move if you wanna if you wanna if you wanna .. Move move if you wanna if you wanna if you wanna". Need to go dancing soon.

Monday agony here I come.

jest like that

If you think about it the word bastard isn't so bad after all. All the 3 existing Abrahamic religions are based on the fact that we exist cause Adam and Eve (who God put on earth one sunny day) committed the original sin. If I remember correctly they weren't married or at least God had invented the concept yet. Which would mean that the first child to step foot on the planet was a bastard. This would mean we all in a way are sons and daugthers of that bastard. So at least to followers of Islam, Christianity and Judaism it should be a complement to be called that.

And why is the original sin a sin? How did God expect his creations to procreate. Obviously he didn't have time to think all this through before brainwashing humanity.

an epiphany

circa 2007
1. the peacock is a drag queen in disguise
2. i should join the bombay natural history society
3. we are all rebels from the waist down
4. marriage is like a trump card to be used when you really need a long break
5. the great indian hornbill is the most underrated bird in the world

6. i heart you

amadeus

Few things make me want to blog in the middle of my do-nothing-at-all weekends. This one is definitely worth it. Whats surprising is that its not about travel. Anyway here goes..

Last night I saw one of the best movies ever made - Amadeus(1984). I was expecting some kind of serious docu-drama about Mozart, his work, life etc. This was so much more fun!

It is narrated in flashback by Antonio Salieri. The movie potrays Mozart as a genius, a spoiled prodigy, a buffoon and by the end of the movie you cant help but love him. Its about competition, about love, about music, about passion, about malice, about life and all this with a sprinkling of humour. The best 3 hours of my weekend. You need to watch this movie even if you aren't a fan of classical western music. This goes far beyond that. Don't take my word for it, the movie won 8 Oscars in its day including Best Picture.

In the end, there is a very obvious event that occurs and you feel your heart aching a little but you leave feeling happy that there was a Mozart and there will always be the Marriage of Figaro.

freeing me

At times I find myself struggling to break free from the crazy thoughts my mind cooks up. Of late things have settled down in the dark alleys of my brain. I can think clearly and nothing seems so terrible anymore. This happened after my best friend put things in perspective for me in the candid way that he always does. Thanks pal :)

You know how there are certain things we all do that make us feel immensely happy. For me some of those things are going to the mountains, watching the rains, and riding horses. Some of my best memories have included one or more of these.

1. Darjeeling, WB - my first trip to the Himalayas. I can’t forget being stunned by the majestic lush green mountains, neatly cut tea gardens and lovely smiling mountain people.

2. Monsoon 2005, Mumbai - Another memory that will stay with me for a while was watching the rain come down on 26th July 2005. I was safely at home by 2pm and I spent the rest of the day staring at the fury of the monsoon for hours together. It was beautiful and devastating all at once.

3. Giza, Egypt - Riding around the pyramids. I learnt riding when I was a very young and that explains my love for horses. They are beautiful animals with the softest hearts unless you decide to stand at the rear and tickle their hooves. In which case you might find yourself in another orbit.

Point of the Post: Every now and then do things that set you free and meet people who love you back. They make the world seem easier to traverse through.

wonderful photography

Some of the most AMAZING photographs from one of my favourite travel journalists Timothy Allen

Just to give you a peek

friday fever

There it comes again.. Fraaiiiidayyyy...music to my ears.. apple of my eye.. sweet smell of freedom ... my soul mate

I have lots of plans for the weekend which include sitting on my rump and watching movies for the most part. Tomorrow night's gonna be fun though. 3 words - terrace+food+pictionary plus lotsa beverages .. u know to keep us from dehydrating in the summer. I need to insert a smiley here. Why are there no smileys in blogger! Ugh! Here take this - the DUMBEST smiley I've ever seen!

So yea Facebook has been getting a lot of flack for their Privacy issues and then some NYU geeks start a rival networking site called Diaspora which they call the anti facebook (whatever).  Frankly I dont care much but since I spent valuable time reading about this I thought I'd publish it here.

I especially dont understand Twitter and people who spend their day updating their statuses. And then we have celebrities who have got themselves an excellent and free PR tool. You dont actually think Sachin Tendulkar is sitting around tweeting away, do you? So yea there it is.. my first public dissing of Twitter *insert constipated smiley from above*

Thats all for today folks... Have a great weekend and do something funnily annoying! G'bye

ladakh

Those of you who know me know what a travel nut I am. This nuttyness includes travelling to places, reading about travelling to places while not travelling, dreaming about places to travel to and so on.

Like most people my age I think of going to Ladakh ever so often. If I ever go (very likely unless I drop dead all of a sudden) it would be by road: Manali-Leh and Leh-Srinagar. Of the million photographs I have seen of the place it really looks like something else. I'm afraid my visit might lead me to marry a Ladakhi and settle for a life of milking yaks and grazing bactrian camels. Then again its a risk worth taking.

A friend recently told me about this music festival in Leh. Looks/sounds wonderful but late in the day for me to go to. Here's the official site: http://www.theconfluence.in/

Another itinerary thats sounds superb is The Zanskar River Expedition. Read here.

Check out the other journeys on the site too. They have some pretty great expeditions.

All in all my bags are always packed for a trip to the Great Himalayas. Here's to wanderlust, the joy of the unbound life, the joy of seeking, of hoping without limits ...

weekend diary

Weekend well spent even though my favourite pal was not around.

Met some friends over dinner. Managed to catch Iron Man 2 on Friday. Refreshing to see Hollywood hasn't lost its corny touch. Robert Downey Jr looked botoxed, Gwyneth looked old, Johanson looked amazing (yep I'll admit in a totally un-bi-ased way that she looked hot). Mickey Rourke was the best part as the somewhat taciturn villain and Sam Rockwell was good as always. The movie was expectedly crap. So in a way it lived up to its expectations.

Saturday night had some awesome Adai Dosa at Matunga. Got back to find wifi finally installed at home. What joy! Now I can sit on my bed, surf and watch tellie all at once! So thats precisely what I did for the rest of weekend.

Need to buy a new cell phone for the same reason everyone else does - boredom. The quest for selection of a new phone keeps me occupied for 2 hours every weekend. So until I find something else to do in those 2 hours I shall continue humoring myself.

Good bye. Have an agonising Monday.

blogging 101

trying to follow blogs of my friends

managed to become a follower of my own blog instead :-S

oh well .. at least now I'll know what I've been up to

random occurences

1. i had a dream about a scary snake last night,

2. i have a bout of sinusitis today morning,

3. jungle book is my fav animated movie

4. kaa, the indian python in disney's jungle book, refers he suffers Sinusitis, being the symptoms specially notorious when falling from trees

5. am i gonna fall from a tree today???

never mind. its finally friday