Bliss

(Finally found a pic for this place. Went to singapore and Hongkong and looked for pics, but nothing fit. Finally, I found the pic in my own kitchen)


For the people who know me:

I AM GOING THROUGH A PHASE OF DIET CONTROL.

If you weren't shocked by the above statement, dude, you really are far far away from your ultimate enlightenment. For you oh-so-eager-to-unravel-the-neeraj-mystery people, I have one thing to tell you. Here's your first lesson.

I LOVE FOOD. There is something alluring, something naughty, something enticing about food. Something that calls you and asks you to just devour every bit that is there on the plate. What is more exciting than eating food is knowing the story behind it (Ofcourse, there is a story). Every morsel of the food, tells you something. It talks about the skill, the excitement, the passion of the person who created it. Mixing different flavors together, different colors together, adding some of their own ideas, innovations, experiments, a chef creates magic.And that magic is experienced in your mouth.

In 'Cheeni kam' Amitabh says, cooking is an art, every other art caters to just one sense of your body, but cooking it caters to three. I couldn't have agreed any more. A masterpiece gastronomical art has to look delicious, the aroma should be intoxicating and when it touches the tip of the tongue, it should create a plethora of feelings run through your mind.

Now the question is, why do I love food? A few days back, I was actually trying to think about it, and I could not pick any one reason for this. Everytime I think of it, a different reason comes to my mind. A good preparation is sometimes a mystery. I love taking the first bite and trying to figure out what exactly is the reason for the way it tastes. I love food because its the only place where I have seen two very contrasting flavors mix so well and create something unique. I mean had I not tasted it, I wouldn't have known about the chocolate with chilli in it. Evolution of food tells you more about history than anything in this world. And food never lies. It tells you about the culture of a place and how it evolved with time. Its the real symbol of the so talked about globalisation in this world. Food, has calmed me down sometimes, when at others it has gotten me excited and ready to do anything. It has left me dumbfound at one instant, and has been my company over the best of conversations that I have ever had at others.

Food is like a religion, and the more you explore the more you understand it. Its one science which has continuously worked towards global harmony and personal bliss. If I wanted to encapture all that I feel about this wonderful bliss that has been provided to us, I guess I'll have to summarise all that my life stands for, has ever stood for and is ever going to stand for.

As, for my beginning sentence of this blog. I am not on a diet control for any known reasons. Its just that I am preparing myself. Preparing myself for the days to come, when I would need my tum the most, when I should be able to take even a nuclear blast inside if need be. And I guess I'll be ready for the experience, the experiments and the fun.

A wise man(woman) once said, "The way to every man's heart goes through his stomach". Mine, you can touch the soul. Ciao'.

Past 2 weeks III (The calling)

This story is about the saturday that went past. But this time, before I start telling about why, what and how of this saturday, here's an insight into why these 2 weeks. Well, these 2 weeks reminded me of the carefree, crazy, on the move kind of person that I always thought I was. This somehow got suppressed as soon as I came to bangalore. Now, I can give you umpteen number of reasons, from my odd hours in office to not knowing many people here, living alone to not able to find people like me around... but I guess the biggest problem was always me. I never took any initiative in this regard. But the last 2 weeks (11th to 26th) reminded me so much of all that I was. Started with a trek to a journey to gurgaon and dehradun and this weekend, well this was another wonderful and satisfying experience.

This saturday started with plans to meet a friend, which changed from her coming to my place for dinner to we going out on a long drive to, actually, her getting stuck somewhere and not able to make it. Called 2 more people, one was in hyderabad and other had made plans. Meanwhile, I was trying to figure out, what went wrong and how? Breaking my head over the casualties of planning something in advance (Somehow this has never worked for me, whenever I have made plans they have just gone for a toss). Sitting in my room, while I was whining about my life infront of some people in the virtual world, it struck me. A kind of epiphany. A calling that I was trying to ignore till now. The purpose of my life. The push and pull of the forces, beyond comprehension of the us mere mortals.

And it was then, that I decided... I should take an evening walk.

Now there was nothing special about this walk, if not the fact that it was a loooooooooooongggggg walk. I mean, that is, if you consider 13 kms in a day, long (from here on, this would be known as my city trek, or in short CT... sounds more hep and happening). So, my CT started as a very casual stroll on the road, going towards the outer ring road. Now people who have visited my place, know that even touching outer ring road from my place is quite a distance and usually, people take evening strolls of this length. I would have returned after reaching there, or rather I should have, but something inside told me to just keep going. The traffic, the pollution of the 7 pm road, the noise somehow started seeming very inviting. And I walked. It was very late when suddenly i realised that I had already covered quite a distance (around 5.5 - 6 kms, yeah yeah... I get lost in my thoughts). So I decided, why not have some ghar ka khana at my aunt's place who lives another km or so from there. I call her, make arrangements and have a nice fulfilling dinner (more importantly, ghar ka khana... or rather ghar ka khana, cooked by someone else).

Spending about an hour at her place, now I had to get back. If I was in any sane mind that time, I would have simply taken an auto rickshaw back. But alas!!! I had another epiphany. Another calling. Another push and pull from the forces. And I decided to continue my CT. Walking back was even more fun. The roads were getting empty (empty by indian standards), and a few cars which were visible seemed to be in big hurry to reach somewhere. My only companions were the trucks laden with steel rods, building stones and cement bags. But they too were too fast for me. And as it happens to most of the people when they are alone walking at 10:30pm at night on a dark road with puddles formed by a recent rain shower, when eyes of the dogs shine bright blue and yellow, and their cries resonate in the sky, when almost every sane person is safe inside there comfortable homes, and every one else who is outside looks like someone ready to pounce on you and mug you, I started to sing and dance. Ok dance wasn't really a dance... just a few gesture of hands. But sing, i did. Loud. Old beautiful songs of Mukesh and Kishore and Rafi. In my coarse and not so beautiful voice.

And then I reached home. nearly 13 kms of total walk with dinner in between. I was tired, satisfied, satiated, and happy. :)

Past 2 weeks II (Gurgaon, Dehradun trip)

Gurgaon
What do you write about a place which was your home for more than a year. A place which you have seen in and out. A place where even after 8-9 months, you still remember the pot holes, the speed breakers, the trees (or the lack of it). My trip to Gurgaon was the same.

Gurgaon still feels like home. Even after living away from it for almost the same duration that i lived in it. Every face around me felt so close and so familiar, it was as if i never did leave. Days in gurgaon were marked with meeting people, jumping from one place to another, spending time with old friends and colleagues. In the process Met a lot of friends. Wanted to meet a lot more.

Spent an afternoon in chandni chowk, and was amazed by the sheer life in those narrow streets, the aroma of fresh street food being prepared, the eagerness in the eyes of every person there, and still a very laid back, rested atmosphere. It still amazes me, how when i lived in NCR i actually never went to this heaven of a place. Next time for sure, I am taking out a complete day atleast for this place. The life in chandni chowk calls for a week. I hope I can do that someday. Till then, lets see.
Missed going to my favourite 2 places in all delhi. DilliHaat and India gate. But as they say, there's always a next time. This time I was making a stopover in Gurgaon. Next time I ll go to delhi as a tourist, something that I have always wanted to do, but never could. And enjoy the sheer brilliance of the so called "dilwaalon ka sheher".

Dehradun
All in all it was less of dehradun and more about the engagement of the friend that i went for. A fun filled ceremony that started the day i reached there and was still on till i left.

For the first time I listened to some beautiful Garhwali songs and was amused by the lyrics, the music and how people just sway to this music. You should see the garhwalis dance if you want to see fun. These ageless people start moving there limbs and hips at the first sound of music. In the process I learned few steps too, and let me tell you these are easy but at the same time very warm and inviting. I could see a parallel between the Garhwali and the chhota nagpuri dance thats the form from where I belong. I guess these were evolved to make everyone in the family just join and dance at the rhythm, so that no one is left out. No wonder we as a country are so fond of music and dance. It has been with us for centuries, and I hope this remains for several more centuries to come.

I wish I could never leave these amazing places. But alas!!! every journey comes to an end, only to give way to the next. I can only wish the train of journeys never end, and I keep moving from one place to another. From one home to another. From one friend to another, never really leaving anyone, anything or any place behind. They are all the reasons for what I am and who I am. After all, a man is just a summary of his experiences. :)

Past 2 weeks I (Sharavathy Trek)

A small initiative from my part (I replied to a mail) would result in something so beautiful and exciting, I could have never imagined. Now I could have given you the exact dates for when the mail arrived, when did I reply to that (which was the instant I received it), how were the arrangements made etc etc., but I am sure you won't be very interested in that. So, let me just jump to the meatier part. THE TREK.

12 people, most of them did not know each other (I for one did not really know anyone), started on friday night in a tempo traveller. And in a very small time, it was made clear, that we are going to have a gala time with each other. It didnot take a lot of time for the ice to break, and by the time the wheels reached the boundary of oh so glorious Bengaluru city we were all singing and laughing together.

A night and 350 kms later, we reached kargal, a small town in Shimoga district of Karnata, where the organisers had arranged for our breakfast and the morning routines. And then they came. Round fluffy sweet and devouring... the mangalorean buns. If you have ever tried to touch heaven in the morning, this is the way you should. Buns are deep fried poori kind of bread, prepared from a mixture of maida, ripe banana and curd. That with the perfect cup of filter kaapi. The journey had just started, and I already got half of the money worth.

About 20 kms ahead from there was a forest, where we were supposed to trek. Unlike other treks, where the paths is well established and even then if you miss it, you can just follow the cigarette butts, the chocolate wrappers and half the back pack of a person, this was a nice surprise. Completely unexplored (even the guides got confused a couple of times), nothing on the ground seemed out of place, it gave us a chance to try and fight the suddenly popping branches, the thick bush, the slippery and steep decline of the area, and move forward. We slipped, we fell, we got bruises, we got cut. We laughed, we sang, we were hushed, we chattered. The sun found it difficult to reach the interior (though it still managed to :P).

Then we heard it. Yes, the sound of water. We ran towards it, falling even harder, slipping even more. A small waterfall, but big enough for 12 people to go under and get wet. The trek continued. After that we followed the trail of the river, exploring the jungle around us. The trek ended, and soon we were moving towards the vehicle.

The lunch was arranged at a local's place. Sitting cross legged, with large banana leaves spread infront of us, we eagerly waited for the food to arrive. And it came. First the rice, followed by sambhar, pickle and papad. The thatched roof, the mud walls, the earthern pot cool water, everything added to the ambience and the flavour.

If we thought this was amazing, I can only begin to describe what lay before us for the rest of the trip. A small stop over at the almost dry jogfalls and then we moved to the destination (or the next stop in the journey). We were taken to a bank of the sharavathy river, the camping was to be done on the other side. What bewitched us, we were not sure... was it the expansion of the river, or the wind hitting the face, the chill in the air, the red sun or just the breathtaking view infront of us. We just stood, some shouting at the view, some just staring open-mouthed. And the cameras clicked. The dropped jaws reclaimed there place and as the dusk thickened we went to the other side in coracles.

Night was bonfire, singing, dinner on paper plates, drinking kashaya (a local specialty, a herbal tea which resembles a lot with the kashmiri kahwa) one at a time sharing the limited containers that we have, and after all this a long walk on the island. We were asked, not to go into the woods, so we remained near the water. Every stone, every stout on the ground looked like an animal ready to pounce. The river was covered with its own army of wooden creatures. The silence of the night adding to the eeriness of the whole setting. But even then, the night wind soothed us, inviting us to keep moving forward, and we did. We got back to some dead logs in and around the camps and met our deaths under the open sky, beside the burning logs while the camps remained empty.

Next day was water sports, we remained in water for hours, coracle riding, kayaking, still water rafting and just floating. :). And then it came like the icing on the cake, gulab jamun after heavy indian meal, lichi with icecream and we drenched in the rain. After the lunch we returned, all tired, sun burnt, bruised and yet satisfied and rejuvenated.

I felt alive. After a long time.

Thank you people for making this happen. Varun for organising this. Sidharth, Amit Jain and Singhal, Amol, Milan, Richa, Ankit, Pragati, Barath and Deepak for being the perfect travel partners. NASA for arranging and managing the awesome trek. Looking forward to what lies next.

Shakespear and life

Hamlet: To be, or not to be, that's the question.

Life: To be, or not to be.. that's not the question. The question is, if you want to be, why do you want to be? to what extent do you want to be? what else do you want to be? Why only this?...
And in case you don't want to be? Any specific complain with this? What would you want to be then? What is the difference between what you want to be and what you don't want to be? How is that better than what you don't want to be?

Left, Right and Center

Its all about perspective. Its all relative.

An outsider's perspective:



The Right View:


The Left View:


My View:


Perspectives :)

The culprits

http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=Eij5o7XizIA&feature=related

We gave them the reasons to point fingers. We gave them the shield behind which they can hide.

One

Mumbai struck. Mumbai bombed. Mumbai gunned.
The news is full with the ongoing terrorist attack in mumbai, which they say is the biggest till date. 125 dead including 14 police personals.

Recently I was watching a talk show hosted by Barkha Dutt where Nandan Nilekani was the guest and he was answering questions on things related to all that is going on in India and world. But what struck me most was the question that Barkha asked him at almost the end of the show.
"What unites India?"

Can we be brought together? What is it that brings us together? Nandan's answer was too diplomatic least to say.
The fact that all of us want to have a better life. The fact that each of us wants to grow. And the fact that we want better life for the next generations, better than ours.
But that again is what goes in mind of every human being on earth. What is so "Indian" in that?

Pondering over the question, I was so stumped by the fact that I could not think of one reason that brings us together. Yeah, definitely Pakistan, Cricket and as Nilekani said the desire to improve our lives is always there. But what after that. Do we take pride on the very basic characteristics of our country? "Unity in diversity" seems to be a quote out of a fairy tale. "World's biggest democracy" has become the smallest in attitude and vision. While the world rejoices in the election of Obama as US president, the biggest election issue in India still remains how to blame everything on the other party. While the world talks about "change". We talk about "differences". The biggest calamity today fails to stir people and bring everyone together against it. This debacle that we have been witnessing on TV "live", will it bring people together? how would it be remembered after it is over, and say in a week. As a failure of the government? Will it again be given another colour? Ofcourse the government failed. The intelligence failed. The security failed. We failed.

But the question is, are we together taking the blame? Or are we blaming it on someone else? We will have to come together. We will have to find reasons to unite again. We will have to look at the aspects that brings us together and not focus on the differences. We were once captured, "enslaved" because of the differences. Do we want to see that again? We cannot fight each other and still fight the outside forces. We have to unite and stand against them, together. We need a sense of "being Indian".

Ask yourself. What is it that you think makes us Indian? That unites us? That brings us together? That brings all of us together?

Was the joker right?

"You know what I noticed? Nobody panics when things go according to plan. Even if the plan is horrifying. If tomorrow I tell the press that like a gang banger will get shot, or a truckload of soldiers will be blown up, nobody panics, because it's all, part of the plan. But when I say that one little old mayor will die, well then everyone loses their minds!"

These lines were spoken by the Joker, in "The dark knight", when he tries to explain how schemes and schemers have brought everyone to where they are. How he has just showed the city that however big plans they make it can be ruined by the smallest person with the smallest mind. Sometimes I really wonder, was he true? Is anarchy the real freedom, where no one, NO ONE has any say on what the other wants to do. read this article by Tarun Vijay today and suddenly the crazy, the maniacal face of heath ledger (joker) trying to convince two-face why he does what he does comes to my mind, where joker it seems has cracked the mystery behind all the wrongs in the world. And joker looks more like a saint than a criminal (well, in the movie he did do miracles. " Look what I did to this city with a few drums of gas and a couple of bullets").

Everytime you think that you have seen the worst of the politicians, you are baffled by the limit one can stoop to. The batla-jamia case is one such example. The politicians are running all around to show sympathy to the kins of the deceased in the batla-jamia shootout. Is the colour of the flag really become so important that no one can see the red.

The Indian flag was explained by Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, who later became the first vice-president of the country as:

"Bhagwa or the saffron colour denotes renunciation or disinterestedness. Our leaders must be indifferent to material gains and dedicate themselves to their work. The white in the centre is light, the path of truth to guide our conduct. The green shows our relation to (the) soil, our relation to the plant life here, on which all other life depends. The "Ashoka Chakra" in the centre of the white is the wheel of the law of dharma. Truth or satya, dharma or virtue ought to be the controlling principle of those who work under this flag. Again, the wheel denotes motion. There is death in stagnation. There is life in movement. India should no more resist change, it must move and go forward. The wheel represents the dynamism of a peaceful change. It also represents 24 hours in a day."

Today it seems the colours have remained the same, but there meanings have changed. Saffron stands for Hindus, the white for christians and the green for islam and the chakra in middle shows the constant motion of our politicians, from one colour to another but never facing all of them at the same time. Never the secular, that they claim themselves to be.

Do we need a Joker today? Or maybe a hitler? Do we really need explosions to make the leaders listen, who have gone deaf and blind (dumb they always were). RDB and A wednesday, are these the only ways left? I hope there's still some light left to look forward to.

Patriotism

Realised something at the wagah border.

The proximity to the homeland increases as you move towards the border.

Stranger

The most beautiful pair of eyes, a set of perfectly shaped lips and one of the most attractive faces. This was how my trip to Amritsar started. Well, it started by friends coming and picking me up from office to the railway station. But it was in the train that I met her. Jaime, Matteo and then me... and infront of us was she. She looked angelic when she closed her eyes, even more when she opened them. We started talking and came to know, that she is a model and also runs her own boutique. Married for 8 years now . Has a 5 year old kid. She got off a couple of stations earlier, but me and the other two, still have her face in our minds.

Change

Finally sent the official resignation to my manager. Am happy. Am very excited about my new job. Everything has finally started falling into place and started making sense. Changes are good. Will meet new people. Will work with new people. Will explore newer destinations. Can restart and reorganise my life. There's so much good this change has brought. Everything would be new.

???

Life

Cry
Laugh
Hunger
Food
Faces
Voices
Speak
Walk
Run
Read
Write
Watch
Observe
Flowers
Trees
Fields
Plains
Rain
Pain
Sports
Dreams
Books
Career
Women
Love
Lust
Food
Drink
Sex
Money
Travel
People
Family
Ups
Downs
Achievements
Disappointments
Sickness
Health
Dread
Blood
Bed
Dead
...
...
..
.
.
LIFE.

Start

Finally, after a long long time i got time to do what i like the best in office. Read quotes on internet. Last week I bought "Thus spake Zarathustra, Nietzsche" (Though haven't turned a single page as yet). KT, finally I am going to read what u have been suggesting for a very long time. Lets hope I get time to do it.

Well, today suddenly i was reminded of the book and decided on reading quotes by him. Must say, his quotes are not just powerful, they simply stir you, churn you, make you feel something inside your belly. Very few people I have read have struck at just the right spot.

Some of the favourites....

1. A casual stroll through the lunatic asylum shows that faith doesnot prove anything.
2. Insanity in individuals is something rare - but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule.
3. No price is too high for the privilege of owning yourself. (Somehow, this reminds me of something going on in my mind for sometime now)
4. Talking much about oneself can also be a means to conceal oneself. (I think I ll like reading him)
5. There is always some madness in love. But there is also some reason in the madness.
6. The man of knowledge must be able not only to love his enemies but also to hate his friends.
7. The Christian resolution to find the world ugly and bad has left the world, ugly and bad. (So true, even with other religions)
8. I would not know, what the spirit of a philosopher might wish more than to be a good dancer.

I guess I ll have to start the book soon.

Perspective

How are perspectives built. Met someone yesterday (well, actually have known him for sometime now, but met him only yesterday). We had so much in common. We love to read similar stuff. We watch similar movies. If you look at us from a very third and indifferent point of view, you ll see we are so much alike. But then when we talked, I realised something, not necessarily when and if you have similar interests and you have thought over same things, because somehow you have read and seen the same happenings means, the start and the finish are the same.

In life, not always is 2 and 2, 4. Some times its a little less and sometimes its a little more. Sometimes it can be zero.

As you can see in the pic, what you see in it may or maynot be true, its mostly dependant on what you want to see.

I want to laugh.

Yeah I do. I want to laught at all the people around me. I want to laugh at there faces. Laugh so hard, that i dont need to laugh for another life of mine.

Why?
Coz, they will never be able to understand, that I am different from them. That they will never stop trying to convert me into one of them. That they will get frustrated everytime they don't succeed.

A break

3 weeks of travelling. 3 weeks of extensive work schedule. Tired. Break. Bored.

Late nights at office -> Goa -> Late nights at office -> Hyderabad -> Bidar -> Hyderabad -> Late nights at office -> Rishikesh -> Late nights at office -> Very tired.
Thought would take a break from travelling and enjoy this weekend, at home. Had forgotten, enjoyment at home doesn't exist. So was bored, am bored and looking forward to office on monday and the next weekend. Am definitely doing (going) something (somewhere) again.

Hmmm...

Are you stuck in the conversation?

Don't know how to react to an uncomfortable question?

Don't know what to say?

Just said something, which now you regret and want some time to re-arrange (read: make some excuse) your thoughts?

OR you are just plain stupid?

Here's the panacea for all this. Hmmm... In the virtual world, it buys you time, makes the other person you are thinking, when you actually have to go pee. In the real world, this usually should accompany a nod. Now the other person is fully aware that either you know a lot, or are seriously interested in what they are saying.
I mean, use it whatever way you want to, wherever you want to, this works, 95% of the time.
Well, how did i reach this statistics... hmmm.

But jokes apart, lets for once discuss something serious. Hmmm... I think is another name of GOD. I think I want to start a new religion, hmmism. I mean, why do people want God? To rescue them from problems. In the virtual world this is what hmmm can do. And anyways, even God these days is not all powerful... And since there are anyways, some 2 billion religions in the ~6.5 billion world population so another additon won't disturb it much more.

Q: Neeraj, it seems the work stress is affecting your grey cells.
N: Hmmm...

Q: Don't you have anything productive to do?
N: Hmmm...

Q: What are you saying? Why are you saying?
N: Well... hmmm...

So, am back again.

Back again? Well, i didn't exactly go anywhere to get back, but if you look closely to the date of my last post, you'll find that its been more than a quarter of an year, since i posted anything. Well, here I am back from the long long sleep.

So, where was I? And what happened in between. I can say one thing for sure, life was playing what it plays best.... LIFE.
1. Met someone, found someone.
2. Travelled a lot. As in Hyderabad, Agra, Goa, Ranchi (If you consider going home as travelling), Bidar, Rishikesh.
3. Partied.
4. Read a few books, though want to read a lot lot more.
5. Worked my @** off. Late nights became a daily thing, so much so that when I was returning home last night at 11, I was glad that I am going home early.
6. Appraisal happened. (Would love to post what happened, but they want us to keep it a secret.)
7. Because of all of the above, I am in debt till my neck now.

So, the final assessment of these months, I worked hard, partied harder and spent the hardest.

See you guys soon with more stuff.

Dream @ TATA

The interesting thing about dreams is that, everyone has them. But very few have the fire to go for them and only those few are the ones who turn their dreams into reality.

Ratan Tata saw one. And he had the guts to go for it despite everyone's opposition. Now, there's a man to look up to.

This is how the world treats those very few.