IdleBrain

There are days when you are shuttling b/w Accounting Equation & Healthcare training topped with cough,cold & fever with a dash of flip-flopping,alternating scary voice so much so that you have to "dare" to speak !! Change seems to be only constant thing with the sounds you utter & you have absolutely no clue how the next syllable would fathom.(It did entertain a lot of people around trust me !!)
If this was not enough, there is bootcamp-you've got to speak, help audience make sense of no less than 55% of what you are blabbering. Phew!!

Waddling through this tussle for 3 weeks got me to a much needed Sat eve break-(another farewell @10D) only to land into another week full of surprises(honestly more of shocks) when finally I get this much needed idle time on Fri eve-surfing the net,scrolling through random articles, followed by my favorite activity-scribbling on Vanika-Ville :-)

It's one of those days when you do not have much of content to put through- I believe that's when you take the maximum time to jot things down , that's when you make the most of it!!
Catching hold of that random chain of thoughts, articulating it,dressing it up to look good -the idea here is to sell it.
Typically, I use a simple title & label it "random" so that the readers get a whiff -not much on the plate.
I like to dress up my blog -seriously, the amount of time I spent post processing it-changing the background, fonts, colors to suit the post could give way to 3 more.
Again this also has its share of ups & downs -there are days I don't spend anytime on the look & feel of it.

So here I am putting a random end to a random chain of thoughts..let's see how this one turns out -coz I have time to paint it red !!

The Rain

"I feel it's gonna rain like this for days
So let it rain down and wash everything away
I hope that tomorrow the sun will shine
With every tomorrow comes another life"

With the week, the weather changed too..while we were up for the customary cuppa chai, the clouds gave in ..yes it rained.."perfect timing"..so out we went ..to enjoy the change rather than sulking on the chair or admiring it from the glass pane considering the fact that this one was an authentic monsoon shower than the touch-&-go, hide -& -seek: fooled you kind.

My feelings for monsoon have never been consistent...they vary with time, place & spot.
As a kid I used to hate the rains.. with the exception of the surprise holiday it used to fetch, I disliked being drenched, the wet shoes & eerie feeling of dampness all around..white socks were stale socks & I was always bothered about the bleeding notebooks...(yeah ink-pens it used to be then...they came with a promise of improving one's handwriting...the flip side obviously was bleeding notebooks, stained hands & if u r lucky the pen used to flood ur pencil box blue). Well yeah how can I forget the raincoats..I have never ever understood the need...they never kept anyone dry..though added to the additional baggage one had to carry to school.

Rains are always enjoyable from the comfort of home...an ocassional stroll in the rains, playing with raindrops & floating paperboats was fun as you could always snug into the cozy blanket..

Cutting back to present:
Rains cause a lot of damage to formal wear, those costly shoes, those smart stilletos are totally no-no ..you don't want to skid in front of half-a-dozen colleagues..well the bruises never hurt before bedtime coz all the while you are busy attending to the bruised ego !!
Walking on the roads is the most difficult part..while all 2,3,4 wheelers aim at splashing grime, grease,clogged water ..you like a road-fighter gingerly pave way....you gotta save yourself from skidding, save all belongings, be mindful of all potholes & should make it without skidding -BIG DEAL !!

Rains are awesome if you are riding comfortably in a car..& red vehicles stand apart in the rains...but that too has it's share of woes..getting stuck in traffic or being banged by another one are always on cards...but yeah a ride along the country side or low traffic zone with plenty of lush green trees around makes it worthwhile.
The view of the sky with clouds in various shades navigating with the wind, the shining green leaves, the open fields, the drops of water, the aroma of soil..is awesome..it's like everything comes alive with the rain.

While I look forward to the rains, you can checkout this song ..I love it & love it even more every monsoon:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3k3jxi4JhXA


P.S. A few bonus tracks.. ;-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gcds0xLgXA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMZ4amjbqhU

The Road Not Taken

The Road Not Taken

-by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Rollercoaster

A year into Vanika-Ville ..I've been wanting to write a blog embedded with pics for quite some time now..took an oath to put a whole travelogue post the Goa trip but laziness takes over most of the times... for now we have another one...

This one was not a smooth take off.....naah !!! As the plane steered high into the sky, the turbulence increased....though this wasn't really my first encounter with turbulence..this one was teeny-weeny...(experienced the real one on an international flight & for me the whole Final Destination franchise came alive.. )  ....it did trigger a recall..I called in to the fun times....my journey through rollercoasters...!!!

I had been away from rollercoasters for quite a long time after the Essel World tour..
Years later comes this trip to Las Vegas..the Sin City...it is famous for casinos, nightlife, gambling..& rollercoasters would be the last thing on your cards..still remember the  road trip, the outskirts taking u to the city, the famous "Welcome to Las Vegas" billboards...this city stumps u ..I was still cherishing the looks of Mandalay Bay, Eldorado, MGM when we happened to drive by New York-New York & all my fellow riders were frenzied by the huge rollercoaster....( I was caught off -guard...we r not getting on rollercoasters not in Vegas....!!! these rides are reserved for trips to Six Flags, California Adventrues & Disney isn't it.....)Thankfully, they decided to check-in to the hotel first & take a tour of Strip & reserve the rollercoaster ride for the next day.. !!

Vegas is a city you explore in the night..we roamed on the Strip .. went crazy abt the city...retired at 4 am & were up at 12 PM the next day..(Vegas does this to u ) We had our brunch at a place right opposite to New York-New York :-)
I was right opposite to this giant mammoth watching it for a good 45 minutes..ppl screaming, the cart tossing them up in the air, the rumble of the cart wheel against the rails..I had butterflies in stomach...what scared me most abt this ride were the two inversions...two vertical loops where u r upside down...I decided not to think too much abt it & geared up

The tickets were purchased, there was huge queue as ppl thronged to  get on the this adventure..I made a new discovery...before the inversions, the first thing happening to u is a long vertical fall...there went up a ramp as high as I cd see.. followed up by a sudden fall to the bottom most point...

After watchin' ppl get in & out of the cart, our turn came too...we were six ppl..or one cart full load..(since there was only one cart on the rails tht day, it was just us..it was comforting ;-) )
The cart kicked off..it takes u through a dark chamber & launches u on the tracks..then the ascend begins..this one as expected was never ending..I cd see rooftops of most of the surrounding buildings .. the ascend would still not end...soon it was only sky..we came to the end of the ascend...the cart came to a jerky halt for a couple of seconds & there we were thrown down.....can't describe the feeling....I was off my seat already.. thinking this is my last ride ever..before I could feel the seat again...we were swirling, wobbling , the two inversions were taken too ...I kept screaming throughout(which if u ask me, is the best trick to enjoy these mammoths...ur attention diverts away from the pounding heart, the gushing blood, the dry throat & that's wen u get to the thrill)
The interesting part of all such rides is they always click a picture of the riders on the highest/scariest point & u see ur pics flashing everywhere as soon as u alight from the cart.

After this ride, I came out a confident person..I think it's just a matter of breaking the barrier by taking the first flight.. :)

Next in line was Stratosphere...the tallest structure in Vegas..other than the breathtaking view of the city, it also had to offer the most insane rides.
The  elevator takes you to the higest point in seconds ..the twist is the door always opens at your back..It's a crazy feeling..while u are waiting for the elevator door in front of you to open..suddenly the enclosing behind your back pops open.. :-)



These are the rides atop the tower

Due to strong winds, Skyjump & Insanity were closed.
Big Shot is free fall & X-Scream has a trackway which pivots in a see-saw fashion past the edge of the building.
While few ppl jumped on, two of us decided to stay back & reserved double shot for the Disney leg.

Then came the much awaited trip to LA, after an amazing run at Universal : Jurassic Park, the Mummy followed by the Disney tour, "California Adventures" was on the cards more for the variety of rides it had to offer & I was game to explore them all ...(yes it's just the first fall that matters)

Grizzly River Run & Double Shot were soon conquered over, we went on to California Screamin' too...

The most exciting one .."The Twilight Zone: Tower of Terror"..the theme is a haunted hotel, the elevator being the prime feature..

You r taken to the old library where an old TV set shows u flashes of past...how ppl never survived this haunted place.. then u proceed to the creepy boiler room & step in front of the elevator

The elevator door opens, u  take ur seats... what happens next is best described below(not in my words this time) :

The elevator rises for a few seconds before coming to its first stop.

The doors open to reveal a long, dimly-lit hotel corridor, with overgrown plants and doors to guest rooms running the lengths, and unread newspapers and trays laid out in front of them, with a single window at the opposite end of the corridor. A violent thunderstorm is raging and lightning flashes outside the window. Ghostly images of the five doomed guests from 1939 appear for a moment, turning to the elevator and luring the guests to join them. They then vanish in a burst of electricity.
The elevator doors close and the car continues its ascent. The voice over continues, saying
"One stormy night long ago, five people stepped through the door of an elevator and into a nightmare. That door is opening once again, and this time, it's opening for you." The elevator stops once more. The doors open to what at first looks like a maintenance room, but slowly transforms into an endless field of stars.<Then pops up a mirror where u see urself with all fellow riders....all faces are shown melting away giving u a slight idea of what the ride has in store>

And then ur dropped....this is one hell of a fall must say...it raises u off ur seats..and then there are two more falls .... while u reach the highest point before benig dropped, the elevator doors open & there u have the view of the park from the highest point..tht's wen the cameras flash too....:-)

I loved this one.. took it twice on the same day only to come back cpl of months later to relive the thrill.

And then the most amazing of them all ...Soarin' over California which is a simulator, takes you on a virtual tour of the Golden State, California..right from Tahoe, Napa, SFO to Redwood Creek, Monterey, Yosemite , San Diego to LA ending at Disneyland....everything including the aroma changes with the places..one needs to ride it to experience it...for me it was Serene, calm..it was like achieving "Inner Peace"

Shakespearia...

Pulled back to school days yet again...driving factor..."Sonnets"

English Literature was my favorite subject...I remember the last week of June aimed at being "School-Ready" ...books were purchased, scanned through...(it was like diving into the bad times which were nearing..)...the only book I was interested in was "English Reader"
I would start at the index, flip pages & in no time get deeply engrossed ...for me it was the most attractive thing..it was plethoric, had so much to offer..from Arabian Nights to Fairy Tales...from Sindabad & Aladdin to Cinderella & Rum-Pel-Stilt-Skin...Poetry & Prose, Grammar & Diction..Subtle to Surfeit....I found my niche in it !!

Years passed by & the content upgraded...from a single reader to 3 books & a novel we had verbiage at our disposal....grammar was an integral part & we had some real technical stuff like "Parsing"(hate using the word technical here...but my diction has been long lost ) ....
This reminds me of a poem which I love....was amazed to find it on Google:

  "Loveliest of Trees"

 LOVELIEST of trees, the cherry now
 Is hung with bloom along the bough,
 And stands about the woodland ride
 Wearing white for Eastertide.

 Now, of my threescore years and ten,
 Twenty will not come again,
 And take from seventy springs a score,
 It only leaves me fifty more.

 And since to look at things in bloom
 Fifty springs are little room,
 About the woodlands I will go
 To see the cherry hung with snow.

"threescore & ten" is a phrase which is glued to my head since the day I read this poem...score being a 20 ...the poet talks of a span of 70 years( now tht's math made interesting)

Unfortunately with years...the preference changed too....
The pipe-dream of being an English teacher was trounced by the charisma of the technologist...materialism trimphed over subtlety... and there I was...lost in translation..

Flipping to today..came across one of Shakespeare's sonnets..which reminded me of one I read in school.....which also brings an end to this long "summery" reminiscence:

 Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
 Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
 Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
 And summer's lease hath all too short a date.
 Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
 And often is his gold complexion dimmed;
 And every fair from fair sometime declines,
 By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimmed;
 But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
 Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st,
 Nor shall death brag thou wand'rest in his shade,
 When in eternal lines to Time thou grow'st.
  So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
  So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

...(null...)...Random...))

Random thoughts going through my head right now...& I am determined to write ..it's been quite long & I hate taking a long break from Vanika-Ville...

With Violet Hill ~ Coldplay playing in the background I decided it's time to put these random pieces to place..be it to satisfy my writer's ego of not being able to come up with something worthy or the observant in me who wasn't able to focus.

It's one of those days in office when you are on the spot -AGAIN !!
Honestly, I am sick & tired of these lone shows...hate it when people simply escape leaving u behind to run a show full of shit...this workflow(job) has been fixed & executed endlessly for past 3 working days & it just fails to give-up ..& so do I !!!
The worst part is to sit & monitor it when you know it's gonna run for a good 30 minutes before failing with another random reason...all you could do meanwhile is get to social media, refresh it..only to logoff after a while..then there are random emails floating in you mailbox...some mail chain which has been running for past 15 days only to pull u in loop for last day...u think of taking a break but such workflows have a knack of failing as soon as u get up for that break...!!

And then Adele plays on the list :
        There's a fire starting in my head,
        Reaching a fever-pitch & it's bringing me out the dark..

For past few weeks I am stuck on a song .. Apologize ~ One Republic...have played it endlessly for days..

And then my thoughts wander through the weekend...the Friday nite @SPOIL , Unplug with KK ...I want to run back to the weekend & play it on an infinite loop.. :-)

And yeah the workflow Stopped & Restarted.....(ppl here are calling out in unison that it is amucked....)

                                            I need a break..  :-)

Child's Play

Saw this kid in the basement of a newly constructed building today...standing on the ramp..making weird faces...dressed in a bright green floral frock...!!
She was all by herself..& needed no one for company...she would chuckle, howl, smile..walk barefeet in the sun & back to shade..caught hold of a dried thin bark of a tree..swept & mopped the floor..hit everything around with it when she saw a cement bag placed near te grilled gate..that turned into her sofa..she would gingerly perch on it..get up ..try to balance her feet b/w the grills & get back to the sofa...wd steal an ocassional glance at me & get back to her gig.

I watched her for a good 10 mins & it made me think....
"Life can be fun with the simplest of things around..all you've got to do is start enjoying it !!"

Party Rockers !!

Apr 3rd 2012: Went to an official gathering again...
Venue: Aros Lounge & Bar , Hitex

It was one of those partner visits I've got used to by now..but this time the invite & venue both looked interesting..initially I wanted to laugh it off wen thy said .."Join the dance floor with ..........."
We aren't gonna dance with them are we??

Reach the venue & there's this usual MO(modus operandi) meet, greet, network..so u know thr'll b a monotone to everything u do ....& then u remember the only motivation u had over the last dinner was company of few ppl..(the remote stooges now) but this gathering was a li'l different considering the fact that the ppl were large in number, u weren't pushed for n/w-ing & u din't hav to go into hiding... ;-)
Soon the dance floor was opened & we also had to get into some gig for some time...
Well all in all it wasn't that boring...it was good ..

But dance floors work best wen u hit them with friends..say informal gatherings & so far I've had the best time wen it wasn't too planned..u just get up one fine day & gear up to go to 10D or B&C or HRC..
10D started on a not so grt note..with less space n random songs but then we decided to njoy it our way...we sang every song & danced on it too till the time the dance floor was opened & then there was no looking back....
Then there was this random visit to HRC on two sunday evenings(with 2 different set of friends) which turned out awesome
Last grt gathering has been R & C's farewell night at B&C ..we had almost cancelled the plan wen R just takes a firm stand (which was pretty strange for all of us) & pushes everyone out of ofc...we danced till we dropped ...also identifed some out of the ordinary character which looked straight out of the Harry Potter movie & we had lot of fun taking digs at the pathetic DJ & coining new steps(learning few new looking at the AV)...this was followed by a quick trip to Ohri's & the after party continued till 2:30...new friends were made & the party ended on a high note..with 3 of us posing on the road divider ..!!!

And now, I'm looking forward to the next one... !!

Lone MovieBuff

"Movies to har koi dekhta hai..lekin movie dekh kar yaad rakhne wale ko Movie Buff kehte hain.."

A blog on movies should & must take off with a dhamakedaar dialog isn't it ??

Well I am this movie buff who not only remembers bits from blockbusters but from those odd, flop, forgettable ones too...& tht's the quality only true movie buffs have..although most of my friends get taxed by the endless jargons(read: movie bits, dialogs, actors) I hurl at them, but in the same group I have also found some true soulmates..there's this niche group of people who are as crazy as me ( some even more knowledgeable than me..I'm trying hard to cope up with them)
Yeah niche group is a term I learnt from Shekhar babu.. (as we fondly call him)...I can't forget the endless discussions on Kaka's step , Mithun Da's disco moves..(not to forget the engine step), Rajkumar, Rajnikanth, Vishwatma or Tridev..any movie...u name it ...he knows it...wat a camaraderie !!

Not to forget..moviebuffs watch as many movies as they can lay thr hands on...I went a step ahead & even watched movies alone...yeah alone..all by myself..
Initially the very thought of being a lone moviegoer din't make any sense to me..I mean how could someone do it?? There were numerous times when I bent myself to give up watching a movie in theatre for lack of better or no company & wait for it to be aired on TV or catch hold of the pirated version..

Then came the twist..."The A-team"..tickets were booked we were on our way wen Chin gets this urgent call from office...he rushes to ofc & I make the tough choice.."Let me watch it...let's see how it feels"
First part is easy..collecting tickets & entering the audi...if movie starts on time ..u are good...I enjoyed this movie thoroughly...action-packed, good humor, some no brainer action thrills...it was a nice ride except the interval & few odd glances ..no big deal..eventually u get used to it ...

"Who says u can't watch a movie alone...?? While u watch a movie u r alone after all.. it's just the screen & u .."

I was thrilled...this gave me enough boost to watch "Band, Baaja, Baraat" on a lazy Sunday afternoon (Chin was out of town this time) & then almost a year later it was "The Artist"...(no one was interested to sit through an oscar-winning, B&W, silent movie) but I was determined...I had to watch it....so I did !!!

Trust me this movie is totally worth a shot.. I can pen paragraphs to praise the movie, the director, the
lead actors ..everything...!!! There isn't a single moment in the movie where you feel it is silent..Jean Dujardin speaks through his eyes & smile..the most amazing smile I've seen in years..u are instantly connected to him...!!

And now ..reading through the lines here, I feel the title is a paradox...if u are a movie buff...u'll be anything but a loner... :-)

Series Stalking

"PB I'm addicted, I'm outta control..u r the drug that keeps me from dying"

Well this is my version of the Enrique song dedicated to Prison Break(PB)...my addiction for such TVseries' started with Heroes..
wait a min..I got to take a step back..it actually started with "I Dream of Jeannie", "Dennis the Menace" & "The 3 Stooges"..back then, I managed to finish up my homework so that I could catch a glimspe of Jeannie & Dennis..evenings were blocked for these shows & I wouldn't care for more TVwatching after my daily dose of these shows.
And then years later...there was this trip to US which actually introduced me to "Series Stalking" & "Desi Chores"
These are the most apt phrases according to me...as soon as a desi sets foot in the US, he is greeted by American desis(some wannabe americans too)..ppl who think thy know every thing abt the US & then there is a desi laundry list of things to do wen in the US..& one of the most imp items is downloading torrent & following a SERIES... yeah & if u don't ..well u cannot become an american desi... ;-)
Then there are standards to follow...u hav "SERIES TO START WITH"..within 2 months every desi who has never switched on star movies or HBO in his entire life embarks upon "FRIENDS"..(yes this is what everyone starts with)...people who in their initial 2 weeks in US are watching hindi movies or listening to sufi, qawaalis or pathetic songs on free, speedy internet move on from desi-ism to am-desi-ism & talk abt how many seasons of FRIENDS he/she has watched.

Now before this blog gets more desified..let's move on to topic at hand...I'll have to write another blog on American desis..I owe them one  !!

So off I was to catch hold of some series that I could cling on to..& found Heroes..I was just done with Xmen Origins: Wolverine
(for the record : I'm a die-hard fan of Hugh Jackman & this movie released on my B'day 1st May 2009 ..wat more cd I ask for ??)
& with the special power concept still fresh in my mind I was too inclined to watch it...few hours into the series & I was blown away...instant crush was Peter Peterelli...the person who was still discovering his powers .. as I clung on ...I was totally impressed by Sylar...Zachary Quinto portrayed the part so well it was almost real..Sylar was a person u'd love to hate...!!
I was in a different world altogether..some part of me longed for these powers...I used to pray to god daily to make me one of them....& then  I found some soulmates..ppl who longed for these powers too..we often used to ape our fav character ..guess that was as close as we got to the powers :-)

Came back to homeland .. the memories of Heroes still afresh in my head ..I convinced Chin to giv it a try too...(Initially it was "OMG..another US returned alien forcing ppl to get into the her mode !!"
..2-3 episodes down.."I don't understand wat's so great abt ths one"
..and finally..evn before he cd step inside the house.."I want to watch Heroes...are u sure u hav all seasons..all episodes?? I don't wanna brk the rhythm" Bingo !!

And Heroes was quickly followed by Prison Break(PB)...and many jailbreak movies...we got so puzzled at one point in time that we used to look for movie characters in series n vice-versa..this was followed by a long break...(Project Mayhem)...finally we started over with PB last week & there has been no looking back since...this was the first ever weekend wen we were done with all household chores by 12 PM to get on to PB.. :-) it's been really difficult to disconnect from it ...u keep thinking abt what happens next ..at home..at office practically everywhere..both of us have been unplugged from all prjct related discussions for past 1 week ..I haven't been able to fix a simple mapping for past 2 days as my mind wanders each time in the lanes of  Mexico, Kansas, Dallas & Fox River Penitentiary..!!

There are times I think I understand how saas-bahu serial addicts feel ..but wen I compare the content thy are put through...Serial Stalkers are better off..!!

Time to sign off...PB Calling :-)

The 3 Stooges

So here we are...3 of us..chatting over the customary cuppa tea/coffee on a sunny afternoon...only 3 of us now at this location...!!
We talk about many things....the weather, upcoming movies, a game of squash, weekend, lame projects, our resolutions & plans of quitting IT ..everything under the sun..but there's something we keep coming back to in every discussion-friends who traded places..people who were a part of this discussion until few days back..but are remotely logged in now :-)

Funny...ain't it..!! It feels like just yesterday when this group was formed..the foundation was laid on the shittiest project all of us ever worked in..guess that was the binding factor..most of us were alien to this new process(??) or lack of process...(I'm still confused) & wanted out of it...the group expanded over lunch gatherings..rapport caught up like fire & there we were enjoying the time OUT we got ..the Barista breaks, the mandatory 10 min walks..the bitching sessions, the  laughter riots..planning an outing every week..was fun.

Then came the parting times....and the parting times continued..now all we have is the 3 stooges left at this place...still sharing the old jokes, creating some new ones ......and yes...remembering one or the other stooge in the motley ..the stooge who logs in remote.. :-)

Timberland

The year 2011 ended with an awesome event...an epic wedding !!
I dwell into my childhood & there's this amazing bunch of people...Dad's best friends & their families.
We grew up together & were like extended families.

As we move on in life, there are numerous ppl we befriend-one has different cliques at different stages in life..sometimes these cliques intersect..& sometimes they are way apart.

We used to meet often ..at birthdays, get-togethers, summer /winter breaks, festivals...long weekends...!!!
I have so many beautiful memories -I think of forests, trees, those huge government quarters, that carefree life & the games we played..riding tricycles, bicycles, to hitching a ride with the orderly...fighting for the corner seat in jeep when we hardly sat on it ...coz we were always dancing & jumping around.

I can never stop talking about the awesome time we had at Nepanagar-
It was a very small town famous for the paper mill...since our background was "The Forest Department"....the postings were always at small, peaceful towns with abundant greenery, huge bungalows..most of them built by the British & slow life.
We were quite close to this place & a visit to Nepa was always on the cards whenever Dad & his friends felt the need for a quick reunion..
As soon as you land into Nepa-the VCR used to be turned on with the movie : "Amar, Akbar, Anthony"...we kids were so much in love with it....watched it with the same rigor each time-(precisely at every trip-countless)
By the time we were done with AAA, supper was already at the table & then there was this lush green lawn outside with bonfire set up...we played  & played till we were sleepy only to wake up next mornin for a quick Bfast & a walk to the nearby forest....it was a walk uphill with trees swaying at both ends..collecting pebbles, stones, dry leaves & flowers..& the soft twigs...we often used to pack bread-butter & bottle of water for an all -kid- picnic..& then at times we encountered these nasty monkeys & used to run downhill with double speed....!!!
The worst time was to get out of Nepa -get to our place & get started with school..

This is one pack I never lost touch with-no matter how much our lives drifted apart, we were always in touch.
And then came the time for this epic wedding-GRB(as we all call him) was getting married -it was a pact not to be broken-the reunion of childhood friends..& we had a gala time ..the journey to-and-fro, recalling the Nepa visits , our kiddish fights, the jungle escapes, to dancing on all songs we loved all these years- fab vacation-I was a kid again ...!!!