Ek Saala Machchar

Had this not been for my blog I would have used such expletives for the “saala machchar” that the entire kaum would have gone and hidden in shame. Phew!! and they say bloody size matters. Well I disagree.
So let me start the way stories begin, Once upon a couple of months back around October end I just couldn’t get up. Not wake up (that is a daily struggle) but stand up what with pains in the joints I didn’t even know existed. I didn’t even realize I had got bitten by the bug ..till the reports tested positive for Chikungunya. Infact at that time I felt relieved trust me, because one over-cautious suggest a million tests Doc had suggested the onset of arthritis….well I felt I got away with the lesser of the evils.
My doc passed the verdict to “not expect any miracles for at least 6 weeks.” What she meant was the pains will not go away for a long time to come. And to pile up on the horror stories came tales of those who are still in pain after a year too. And since there is no treatment the relief is symptomatic popping of pain relievers when the pain strikes.
The skeletal system takes the hit. Knuckles, toe joints, hip bones, you name it and they creak and crunch. Hot fomentation helps to a little extent but the cold makes it worse. Since it’s a long term thing a friend suggested that I go in for either homeopathy or an ayurvedic treatment. Homeopathy has suited me and i am consulting a doc at Lajpat Bhawan in Delhi. There are days of no pain and there are creaky days. It takes time, but thankfully like everything else this too shall pass.
And last but not the least a message to all ye machars of the world—Beware you have taken punga with a loud mad Dilli ki scorpion Punjaban…..so here I come armed with a chappal and a racket bought off a traffic light. I will buzz you off…..to a macharful hell !!

Curious Case of Missing Pandit ji

An unforgettable could-have-been more fiery incident that happened during my wedding and how eventually it turned out to be All’s Well that Ends Well
The crazy mayhem that is a characteristic of any big fat Indian wedding, the arrangement of tens of thousands of things, and a dad from the Defence background obsessed with making detailed lists…still finds himself in a fiery situation where no amount of his equally sharp tongue could get him out of; only way out was the quick reaction and a bus ride in DTC.
Yes, this is a real incident that occurred some 15 years back on the night of my marriage; 14th February 1997. That was one day where half of Delhi was getting married and the other half busy attending them.
Cut to the scene of my wedding---the venue was decked up, solemn sounds of shehnais resounded in the air, a slight chill had set in and the baraat had arrived with the usual band bajaa. After the jaimala and other pre-wedding rituals the groom and I, the not-so-shy bride were having our dinner before moving down to the “vedi” where the wedding was to be solemnised amidst the vedic chantings.
Well so far so good, my parents stepped down to review the pooja samagri and started ticking off the items on the list when they suddenly realised that “Arre pandit ji ko kisne lana tha?” and Boom Thunder Lightening I am sure these were the sounds that would have played had this been a TV soap by the name of Meri Beti ki Vidai….
As soon as the situation was realised my brothers suited-booted in brand new attire were summoned and sent off to fetch Pandit ji from his home. They thought the misadventure was over but little did they think they were in the middle of another one. They left with the driver in a car and fetched pandit ji who was equally amused (as you are my friend!) and actually waiting for them. However the car on its way back got stuck at the “railway faatak” and anyone with a previous experience of having been stuck at such places know how harrowing it can be. Anyway the brothers along with pandit ji ran on foot and crossed the railway line and finally boarded an overcrowded DTC bus. Hanging on to their dear lives and new suits they finally managed to reach the venue just a couple of minutes before the groom came down for the rituals. phew! and guess what I was blissfully unaware of the drama and got to know about the “curious case of missing pandit ji” only much later.
Note: yes these were the times when mobile phones were rare and the cost of receiving a phone call was more than Rs 15…ya ya I am old !!

Back to school

 
Ok so we are all on facebook but you know what facebook is a converstaion killer…I am addicted to it and have even put profile pics that say, “if I am not on facebook for two hours call the police” infact it should be 2 hours in my case…but what the heck liking pics, sending emoticons, and not even exercising those facial muscles while LOLing…phone calls have become rare and far and few in between among “friends”. So when Stuti called after ages it was sooo real..and the conversation flowed along with old memories and ended on the usual note of “lets meet” “lets plan” etc.
The calls continued; however a plan didn’t materialize.finally we decided to fix a date and just go for it…I decided to take it one level above and created an event on …ya you guessed it…on facebook. Few confirmations and many regrets came in but the will was strong and we decided to go ahead with it.  After all we were all meeting after 20 long years. Many posts and pokings later…eventually the D day dawned.
The moot question even on the 18th of dec 2011 (the day of the event) was “arre how many of us?” I thought on a really good side around 10 or 15 infact to be safe had booked a table for 10 at Pot Pourri. Was I wrong…Oh YES!!! so so wrong.
The first people to reach were Stuti and Vikram…yes this love story began in school…and they are 2 kids old now. When I reached I got a lovely warm welcome from the duo and Sid. After that friends started pouring in…..and the minute someone made an entry a game of “pehchaan kaun” took place….laughter and joy was ringing in the air and was loudest from our table…some people complained…but then who can tame a bunch of over grown school kids…not a complaint for sure!!
Another mini 5 minute love story happened between Prashant and Vikram…they couldn’t and didn’t leave each others hands for 5 full minutes…Coming up…Dostana Part 2.

The noise got louder and the surroundings boisterous..Namrata and Ritu made the entry with many ceetees and whistles looking as gorgeous as ever; both of them eternal heart breakers and show stealers. They sure set many a hearts aflutter even after 20 years….don’t trust me ask Prashant.
Neeraj was in town from Ireland on vacations and to give him due credit was one of the first to confirm.
Sandeep at 6’3 towered above all of us…had to step up on a chair to get a pic clicked with him a couple of beers down I could have actually climbed over a table too…hahah..the volumes rose and so did the banter as drinks flowed…among all of this we tried a solemn introduce your life in 4 lines but well…the attempt flopped…it was too loud..everyone was talking and was anyone listening? well your guess is as drunk as mine.
Kapil Dewan, Kapil Gandhi, Gaurav Gupta, Rohit, Sudhir, Gianendar, Vanshdeep, Neeraj, Manoj, Lokesh, Mandy, Amit Malhotra, Rajeev were all there in full force. The reunion was a roaring success …it was bigger and better than what we had imagined. It was magical, meeting so many after such a long time.
Cheers to the old times and new beginnings!! Cheers to all those who were in high spirits and those who were present “in spirit”
Hopefully next time will be sooner than 20 years and much bigger and better. Let the good times flow
(by the way for more pics log on to where else BUT facebook)

Experiencing the laughing Buddha: His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Yes that’s his most endearing quality…his full throated laugh and great sense of humor. Have always been in awe of the Dalai Lama, so the first time when I had a glimpse of him at the Taj Palace I considered that as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Little did I know that I will two years later get this amazing opportunity of hearing him speak on “The Art of Happiness”. So when I read that Penguin India is hosting HH Dalai Lama for their annual lecture, I was super excited and in a blink had called them, facebooked them and hounded them for more info and passes to attend the event.
On 3rd December I along with my husband and a dear friend were all set to attend the event at the India Habitat Center. When I reached there I was taken by a big surprise cause there were many enthusiasts like me who had queued up and the serpentine queue didn’t seem to end. Securing my place in the queue I hoped that the number of passes given out  were equal to the number of seats..it didn’t look like it though. I was willing to even sit on the steps to hear him live…the option of sitting out and watching him on the screen was not appealing at all….so just had my toes and fingers all crossed. Fortunately got the place (on the steps x_x) so there we were; me, Raja and Nina in the balcony level on the steps right in front of the AC blast on a December afternoon. In hindsight it was all worth it. Another friend Sapnaa had to literally wrest her way in as she got in late ; fighting to attend Art of Happiness !!
A hush descended when the Dalai Lama entered and everybody rose to welcome him. On stage Penguin CEO, Andrew Phillips welcomed him and invited him to take over. The lecture was on the Art of Happiness…and was full of happy anecdotes, pearls of wisdom, life affirming laughter and the bright aura of His Holiness.
He began with a prelude to his life and his refugee status and said “I lost a small home Tibet and I got a large home India” the optimism and the calmness of acceptance radiated from him and all were listening with rapt admiration hanging on to each of his word. Infact many had notebooks with them to write and make notes of what he was saying. He talked about a time when he had fallen so ill that he became yellow all over…he says, “I became a living Buddha then not because of action but because of my illness”. The little nuggets of wisdom derived from a life well lived shone across.
After the lecture came the Q&A session with a rider “No political questions please”. However one lady began thus: why no political questions i  wonder if this is Penguin’s or HH request…..The reply by HH to this was witty to say the least. He said “I have retired from politics” and then with an equally straight face went on to say “if I want to answer a political query I do but if I don’t I just say I have retired!!'”
When the session ended, the area below the podium was thronged by many hoping to get blessed by the magical touch of his fingertips. He very readily obliged and shook hands with many, blessed many and left an indelible impression of an experience that can not be verbalized.
It was a lovely December afternoon…it was an experience of a lifetime…it was just so awesome. Thanks Penguin. Thanks HH Dalai Lama. Thanks Again.

      Wisdom Nuggets

• "If the situation can't be controlled, then simply don't worry about it."
• “If the situation can be controlled, then just work towards controlling it.”
• "Your mental or physical pain overshadows compassion. We need to practice self confidence"
• "I base my teachings on 3 things - common experience, common sense and research findings."
• "There are only two choices in life - Truth or Corruption. There is no third choice."
• "Fear, anger and hatred is eating our human system."
• "Happiness comes with a calm mind. No stress, no anxiety leads to happiness."

Note: Wisdom Nuggets have been taken from Penguin tweets:
http://twitter.com/PenguinIndia
as also the pics