Simply Ridiculous!

Recently, there was an interesting conversation between an elderly person and a group of 'samajsevaks'. This group had approached the elderly person for collecting charity for a 'cause' for their village. Both the parties knew each other well due to their association to the village. The elderly man lives in the city now and is known to be providing a helpful hand to the fellows in the village for various purposes.
Hoping to be assured with his help this time too, this group of 'samajsevaks' approached him. The charity was being asked to be able to build a temple in the village. "The new temple will add value and bring fame to our village among those hailing from other villages", is what the samajsevaks believed!
The elderly man did not want to mock at their reasoning, but definitely did not want to donate for this cause. He only said, "There are other ways of earning fame for the village's name. Not only locally or at a national level, but also at a global level! Why don't you'll make a playground in the village instead? I am ready to donate as much as I can an also look after the administration if you'll agree to this". Those people were listening to him, but still holding their temple issue in the mind. The elderly man continued, "We can identify great talent and potential in teh faces of the village kids and lads and encourage them to get trained in different sports activities that are played at the Olympics level. There is immense talent available in rural India to be able to go far beyond the 3 medals that we earned".
To this, the group agreed to, but also wanted to get a nod for their project- temple! The most astonishing reply that they gave was, yes, we can promote sports here, and along with that those who participate in here, their parents would definitely donate some part for the temple. To this the elderly man said, "Those who will participate, will first of all be from not so well to do families. In fact, we will have to help them from our pockets! And, if you so want to build the temple, which according to you would fetch good name for the village, you can sell off your part of land that you own and build the temple out of it".
The man from the group who was told this, got offended and said it is not possible. The elderly man had just one question for him, "Do you really want the fame for the village or for yourself, as you are the one who is eager to do so. You can achieve both if you use your land for the cause".
The man had no answer to this and hopefully understood the elderly man's unsaid words.
Some people really need a reason to either cash in on other's money or jus a way to spend time in not-required stuff. What difference would the new temple make for the villagers for whom work itself it worship? And, who already have a temple in the village where they can always go to???

This is an excerpt of a real conversation that took place in marathi.

Best Friend... Who?? Books, of course!

I have lost track of many things after having come to Canada. Those little chores that were routine for me back home, seem to have just faded away from my routine.
I would wake up at 5:30 in the mornings (no matter however late I would sleep), get ready and would be off to my gym, the place that I love! I miss Endurance :( Though it was 10kms away from home, I never complained. Then the next stop would be the fergusson college ground for lawn tennis. And, I would love to ride on my zma this early in the mornings as I could ride at a speed that would be just short of flying.
Then a ride back home by 9 or 9:30, newspaper, breakfast... It was a set routine. The daily chores would follow. I would start with a busy day right from 5:30 in the mornings until I slept!
Things have changed dramatically now. I have never seen the mornings before it is time for the lecture(except during exams). Newspapers are only once in a while. (Everything here is just internet. tv, news, just everything! It was exciting to watch all this on the comp, but now somehow I dislike it. It can never give the excitement of reading a newspaper!!!)
I would always be in touch with so many friends daily when I was in Pune! Now, one has to be careful when choosing friends and most of them will maintain a give-and-take relationship.
However, as it is said, books are man's best friends. And rightly so! You can get books anywhere and just be by yourself and get engrossed in reading. This is exactly what made me write all this. One can keep in touch with friends, family, work, on and off... But books, they can always be with you!
I am a John Grisham fan, and have been lucky to spot couple of his books at cheap rates :) Just finished reading one of them last night- The Street Lawyer. It took almost 2 months for me to finish reading it, as I was preoccupied with number of assignments and other college related work. But last night I felt so nice to have finished reading it! It is very difficult to keep away a John Grisham book for another day! Every page, every line keeps raising your interest and curiosity levels until the last word left to read.
Hey, now it is time for another John Grisham at his best novel! The Brethren.

Writing after a very long time... Time flies!

When I sit and think of days gone by in Canada, it gives me shivers all over. I had landed here in the coldest season Canada has had in the past 25 years! Never imagined I could survive such cold, as I would get jitters even in the winters of Pune.
Life has been very busy here. It is already the 5th month of my stay in this country. It has been a very different experience and I am surprised with myself to have been able to cope with life here. Learnt some good things and have indulged in to laziness. Still trying to cope with the independent life. I mean, living away from family and friends.
Back home, I knew I have my people behind me everytime. But, here I have to be all by myself. Not that my people aren't with me, just that they are not here physically present with me. I sometimes wonder how everything changes just by the mere presence or absence of your people.
That apart, experience here has been amusing as well :)
I have learnt to keep a check on the grocery in the house, the other things required. And yes, learning to cook few things as well :) Trying to cope with the microwave oven and the electric gas stove as opposed to what I have used back home.
I had never travelled by public transport in India. Now, I am part of the public here travelling through the sub-way trains, the busses. I have also shifted from having a bike in India, to having a bicycle here. But, believe me, cycling has been a pleasure ride for me. So much so, that I even cycled when it was snowing here! Feels bad at times when I spot few bikers zooming on the road. But, I am not complaining coz I am in love with my bicycle.
One thing that caught my sight was, the respect that pedestrains get here. People actually stop their vehicles for pedestrians to go first. Even the bus drivers! I felt obliged as I was at the receiving end of experiencing such hospitality! People back in India, especially in Pune have lots to learn about this aspect of trafic sense.
Anyways, enough written for now. Rest for later... Time to read a John Grisham book...

Auto Expo

http://s205.photobucket.com/albums/bb200/urmishthajagtap/auto%20expo/

This was one of the most wonderful times' I had since I am in Canada. I had visited an auto expo here at the Roger's Centre with few friends.
The idea of going there did not start on an enthusiastic note from my side, as I was in the mood of lazing in my bed. But, I was also dying to at least see motorbikes here if not ride them. It has been 2 months that I feel deprived myself from being able to ride at all. It is very cold here, the snow flurries and windchill do not allow to even walk with ease, forget biking. It is only the four wheelers that I see here and I am not much interested in them.
Due to this weather here, I am using the public transport facilities. The thing that I never did in India! I was so overwhelmed with the idea of at least seeing the motorbikes at the auto expo and, charged up myself. And, what a feast I had!
I had never imagined myself among those beautiful beasts :)
It was a dream to be able to ride those mean machines. But I always had to console myself by just seeing them in magazines or see someone riding them, as I thought I wont be able to ride them due to my height (I am just 5'3"... damn...)
But I am more than happy to be able to have a close look at the auto expo. You can see me showing off (the pictures can be seen in the link at the beginning of this post) on some of the mean machines like Triumph, Ducati, even the Honda Gold Wing!!!
I can't still get over it. Had a wonderful time!
Missing my karizma :(

It was time to leave finally. I was tired to the core with making sure that everything was in place to make sure that I was finally ready to leave.

The day began with a super surprise... It was a Monday.. 31st December. I had to leave in the night. And as I had gotten into the habit of waking up late in the mornings, that day, too, I woke up late, very late. But there was a surprise waiting for me, than the usual shoutings from mom that I had got used to. Mom was busy preparing puran-poli, amti bhaat.... That is what I is my favourite cuisine.. I felt so pampered, and taken care of, and I knew I am gonna miss all this for a long time when I would leave :(

Until the last moment, I was trying to meet as many friends as possible. Supriya had come home in the evening and she helped me finish off with the last minute packing mess that I was in. We then went to the Ganpati temple in our colony. We had food together then.. Everyone was making me feel so special, I was overwhelmed, but simply did not say much as I knew I would have... mmmmmm.... weapt :(

We had the last minute family photograph session.. Mom, dad, uku, didi, uma, md, supriya, ajju... I wanted to meet BK.. but it was too late, So just called her to tell that I was leaving. And I did not know there was another surprise in store. It was so very sweet of her to have come home to see me off! And, also it was sweet of uma and md to have gifted me the shawl.

Finally, we left from home at around 10pm. We would all be silent for sometime, then mom and dad would give some advices, then some jokes, lots of new year smses, calls,... v finally reached the airport at 2:30 in the morning.

We were waiting at the check-in gate, from where I had to depart. I had an hour in hand before i had to go, so we were all waiting there until it was time. Dad kept looking at the watch, and felt it was running fast :) He kept asking me to wait until I had to say that it is time for me to leave.

Finally, I waved a goodbye to them and went inside at 4. The journey had begun. After years, I felt as if I am again learning to pick my steps, to learn to walk through a new life. I kept waiting until it was time for the baggage checking and getting the boarding pass. I had awaited this journey for over a year, and now I had already started walking my way through it.

But there were many unexpected incidents in store for me and for fellow passengers. The flight was delayed, and delayed by 3 hours! I had already started losing my patience. A whole New Year's night at the airport! would not like to make a mention of the frustration and anger that I underwent.

Ok.. The story did not end there. The flight was rescheduled to fly at 10am on the 1st of Jan. After a highly annoying experience to have waited for the entire night, all passengers were eagerly waiting for the announcements. Until 9:30, there was not a single piece of information about the departure. The frustration levels rose and were relaxed at the same time when an annoncement was made that the departure will be at 11am! Time passed by, by watching the chaotic situation around, the frowning passengers, and cursing Air India! Because, I had also missed the connecting flight from the London airport. I had received a confirmation on the rescheduling done on that though.

And, the airline just did not stop on this lethargic service. Even after all passengers were seated in the plane at 11, it had actually started at 12:15 in the noon, which I realised when I woke up from my nap. Until we actually left, I felt like running away and going back home. Anyways, now it was time to rest than keep continuing with the abuses for the airline. I had not slept the entire night, and half the day had also been wasted with the stupidity...

I had nothing to do, but to sleep for the maximum time in the flight. Of course, I woke up at once whenever they had to offer food and snacks :)
We finally landed on the British soil. Another 2 hours halt there, and back in the flight for Toronto. And, as if I had to experience all the worse situations in this journey, there came a very hard blow at the London airport. Air Canada declared my baggage to be excess and wouldn't allow me to continue without paying GBP 100!!!!! Gosh! This was the limit. I was filled with anger and was fuming from within. I was carrying the amount of baggage that was told to me by the agent and which was also mentioned in the document. But but but.... I really felt like kicking that lady officer on her butt...

I was relieved when I reached Toronto! I reached here at midnite, which meant that I landed on the 2nd of Jan! After finishing all the formalities, I got out of there and got teh first brush of terrible cold of Canada, which I had only heard of till then. It was very sweet of Amrita's cousin to have come at teh airport to receive me at such a late hour. Dimpi bhaiyya and Anju bhabhi took me at their place and made me feel at home. I took a bath and had dinner with them.

It was a very pleasant stay with them for two days. I literally fely as if I was at my home. Their kids made friends with me. Buaji was also very sweet and concerned about my whereabouts in this alien country. But as they have been living here, they gave me valuable advices and tremendous caring support. They all hunted for a suitable jacket for me in every possible store until I liked one at the end of the day. They made sure I had suitable winter wear and tehn only decided to drop me at teh hostel. They were of tremendous help to me, they made me feel comfortable in an unknown place.

rest will be updated in the later posts.... :)

A New Beginning

A journey most awaited.. A new destination.. Excitement, nervousness, hopes, aspirations.. all clouding the space in the mind. And now, finally, I have landed here in Canada to realise some of the many dreams.


I am here on the foreign soil since 7 days now, and learning lotta stuff through experience and advices. It has been a good experience so far, the journey commenced on a quite frustrative note though.


The last week back home before leaving wound off like the flick of the fingers, with lotta last minute to-do long list. Every passing day left me with anxiety about the baggages to be packed properly, without leaving any room for anything to be left out. I was going crazy with all this, as the list seemed to be unending. I was literally dumping things in my bag until the last minute I stepped out of house for the airport. Yet after coming here, I realised few things that still were left unattended and left back.

That's it for now. The next post shall contain a draft on my rendezvous with the actual journey when it began at the airport in Mumbai...

Escapade


Does the thought of shredding a snow-covered slope, dropping in on a 15-foot wave, tearing down a mud covered mountain bike trail, or slicing through the ocean at 30 knots interest you? Nature has all the ingredients for adventure, packed with excitement and thrill - an unexplored valley, towering peaks, flowing rivers, snow-capped mountains, a splendid combination of flora and fauna and vast tracts of virgin snow. It offers some of the best venues for adventure sports such as skiing, river rafting, canoeing, para glidng and rock climbing.

Blessed with diverse geographical and climatic conditions, Pune has lots to offer when you feel the need to escape in to Mother Nature’s lap. Here are bits from Pune’s adventure diary for all adventure lovers.

How many times do you open your arms wide and take a deep breath to relieve yourself from stress and tiredness due to work? Do you envy the winged creatures and feel the urge to free yourself, away from the world? Ever wished you could fly? Soar over the hills, dip whenever you aspire to get a better view of the Earth, glide and sail, feel the freedom of the bird! No noise pollution, no smoke just plain fun. The thrill of having your own wings, the big wide sky with no traffic jams! Paragliding is fun for the people who constantly would love to reach new heights. It has attracted many in the form of a new age sport. Avi and Anita of Temple Pilots have been actively involved in training people who want to experience the freedom in the open air. (Temple Pilots is the first and the only training institute registered with the Aero Club of India.) “The course is divided in to two parts- P1 and P2. You can learn to fly in the P1 course, where you break the barrier of fear and feel confident and free like a bird. P2 teaches you to stay longer in the sky and soar like a bird for almost half hour,” informs Avi, ex-fighter pilot (IAF). He has been teaching for 10 years now. Your first attempt that breaks the fear block generates the urge to go and fly again and again. Anybody as young as 13 years and as old as 65 years old can experience the high. “Young professionals want to accomplish challenging activities that pubs and the discs do not fulfill. They form a major bulk as students,” says Anita. This club provides an international level course and gives a certification/log book where you can register your flying logs. Temple Pilots arrange the flight sessions at Kamsheth, Khadakwasla, Panchgani, Raigad and Pavana. “The weather and topography of India makes it one of the top places’ for para gliding. We have the high mountains, Sahyadris, hill stations and 8 months of good weather. This also welcomes number of visiting pilots from all over the world,” tells Avi. You can visit www.templepilots.com for more details.

Another sport that is picking up gradually, is mountain biking and, Pune is one of the best palces’ in Maharashtra for the sport. It has number of trails to offer for the sport enthusiasts- the trails on Pashan Hills, Taljai Hills to the Parvati Temple, Sus Flyover to Baner Village, Baapdeo Ghat to Katraj Ghat, Pashan Hills to Chandni Chowk, Indian Law Society (I.L.S) College - Prabhat Road, A.R.A.I approach road - from Kothrud Flyover, the Truck Route - Front of Abhimanshree Society on Pashan Road, the Chaturshingi Temple, Vikhe Patil School, Sinhagad, Lonavala and Khandala. Ride2026 (www.ride2026.com) is a group of bikers who are involved in the sports of BMX (Racing & Freestyle) and Mountain Biking in India for over a decade. “I started riding Bicycles off-road. I met few enthusiasts, who shared the same passion of riding bicycles radically like me, and thus a group of 5 started going up the Pashan Hills and - the Mountain Bikers in Pune were born. Also, the initial bicycle rides to school developed interest for the sport,” tells Sami Makki, founder of this group. BMX movies also formed part of inspiration for them. The group now boasts of 50 members from all over India. They have participated in number of events in Delhi with National Geographic, in Pune with Yahoo, in Mumbai and many self organized events. “All you need to know is to ride a bicycle. Anyone in the age group of 10 to 60 years can proudly trail through as a biker,” says Sami. However, he points out that the sport should get its due recognition and support here, as lot of talent and potential is still unnoticed.

And, for those who wish to race with the running waters, we have one of the best places’ to splash around. The Kundalika River in Raigad district, 90 kms from Pune. “The river offers a 14 km stretch for rafting that consumes almost 2 ½ hours to cross. People who want a change in their routine from a simple working day to an adventurous ride, are all welcome,” says Nitin Bodas of VAdventure, who organizes events like white water rafting, waterfall rappelling, kayaking and leisure holidays.

Pump the adrenalin and seek your thirst for adventure.

Oh Boy!

Oh boy!

I love her power, her style, her performance, her … hold on; here are no quotes of anyone expressing love for his partner. These feelings are natural for any male to express / emote about his bike, his love. Me(a)n machine, is what it is called. Referred to as a boy’s first love, bikes and biking have always been considered a male domain.

And, this very notion is forced and imprinted in to our minds through the most influential form of media, advertisements. Let me talk from my point of view, than just generalizing my concern. Whenever I watch an advertisement of any bike, I have always felt that they promote these bikes for ‘boys only’. I don’t mind watching boys zooming on those wonderful machines but, it really gets irritating to see girls being portrayed as puppets who get lured to a boy just because he happens to possess one of those bikes’!

This gives me a reason to sit and think over it. When I see myself or like minded girls who have a passion for bikes and biking, this very notion of the bikes being called as me(a)n machines sends a rage through me. I am tired of this stereotypical attitude. Especially after myself experiencing a series of reactions and comments from number of people. When will people come out of their way of convenient thinking and mindset regarding the female abilities or capabilities? The least these girls do is, ride the bike. Let them do it with peace!

Why cannot it be accepted that a girl, who rides a bike, does it through sheer passion and love for the bikes, just as it is considered for boys? Weird reactions like a disgusting second look, street side comments, laughs, disbelief, and lunatic gossips about girls riding bikes, so much so that people have come up to me and asked if I am just trying to show off my outrageous or rebellious act. In the first place I don’t understand why such a thing should be thought as outrageous or rebellious when a girl loves to live with her aspiring in life. Nothing grows on ice. So I feel that the frozen thoughts and beliefs towards girls should change and let them live the way they wish to, with no bothering from others cynical notions.

I don’t think that I or for that matter any girl is going out of her way when she hits the road on a bike. Sometimes I feel that these bike manufacturers should take in to account of their female customers and try to make a difference. I would like to see female models in their advertisements, not as puppets but, as riders. It is disgusting to see them as dumb models wooing those guys possessing the bikes.

I don’t know the statistics, but there are quite a number of girls who ride bikes. The number might be minute as compared to male customers for the manufacturers. So it might not be a suitable target audience for them to invest in to advertising. After all, for them the product is ultimately getting sold. But at least I feel that female models must not be used as dumb puppets in these advertisements.

trekking snaps

Hello all,
http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x293/urmishthaj/?action=view&current=4da4aa86.pbr

Not only an adventure ride but, an experience of a lifetime that brought a sense of self motivation and a never say no attitude. Life in the mountains is dealt with hardships, but is lead happier than our's (at least that is what I learnt from my experience). The best example of this was observed when a lady treaded a rocky path from a height of over 10,000ft down to 5,000ft for her child's medical aid. Yet there was not a trace of tiredness on her face. In fact, the smile never faded from her face! Lots to learn from such examples after introspecting our lifestyles....

The link above contains few snaps of the trek I had been to. It was a trek to Kedarkantha, Uttaranchal with the Youth Hostels Association of India (YHAI). Our reporting camp was scheduled at the Mussorrie Youth Hostel. From here, we left at 07:30 am on the 15th of May for our base camp at Sankri. At Sankri, we reached at around 17:00 hours. From thereon, began our much awaited adventure.

All participants received a warm welcome with a campfire in the night. (The campfire here was not the one by burning woods. Because it is a tete-e-tete with the purest of nature's form, the campfire meant lighting few spotlights in the shape of a bonfire.) That was the camplight.. The first step to be able to enjoy the purity of nature is to conserve it.The next day we were acclimatised to the weather there and given a task of rappling and exercises and few kilometers of walk. Thereon, we started with our adventure journey from the 17th of May.

The route was divided in to 6 camps at Juda Talao (8,000 feet), Lohasu Thatch, Kedarkantha Base (10,000 feet), Kedarkantha Peak (12,000 feet) to Dhunda (10,000 feet), Talaoti (11,500 feet), Gian Gad (7,500 feet) and back to base camp Sankri (5,500 feet).Throughout our trek, we were taken care of regarding all essential aspects like food, accomodation, guidance, assistance, medication and encouragement. 05:30 am bedtea, 06:30 am breakfast, 07:30 am pack lunch. On arrival at the next camp, welcome drink at 16:00, soup at 16:30, tea and snacks at 17:30, dinner at 18:30 and milo at 19:30. All the scheduled and executed at the fixed hours. You can experience a virtual adventure ride through the snaps attached herewith... Hope you enjoy the virtual journey as well... For those who were part of the trek, it will be a wonderful reliving experience...

Our's was a group of 16 participants from varied backgrounds and places. But, one thing was common among all of us... The love for nature and adventure. People from the age group of as young as 19 years to 67 years formed the group. The young poured in the energy and enthusiasm, while the senior members provided the much essential experienced cautious steps to be taken.

Thank you for your time,
Regards
Urmishtha