Tour Diary-Trip to Spiti Valley-Day Zero

Day Zero – A Random Start

The much awaited Leh trip started on 1^st July with numerous confusions and no tour plan. We had decided to go to Leh in March, then we decided to go to Mumbai and then finally, we decided to go to Manali. However, none of the plans could be materialized and we decided to go to Keylong. (केलोंग)

.Those who traveled together and never agreed with each other for a single moment.

.The Pandoh Dam.

We planned to go by bike but then, there were five people and one bike. Thereafter, there were five people and one car and lastly there were four people and an Old Warrior.

Keylong is a famous tourist spot, which is just ‘365’ kilometres away from Leh (लेह) . We thought of hitting Keylong on 2^nd July itself and as it was just a random decision, I decided to call it Day Zero.

.The Rohtang Pass.

The Good:

We finally got a camera; in fact a DSLR, Nikon 3000 and for the first time in my life, I got a chance to travel ahead of the Solang Nala. The weather was pleasant, birds were chirping and I was happy ;) People were cooperative and we met a group of bikers traveling from Delhi to Leh on their bikes. A German or French or I don’t know what, was traveling alone and he did not know [proper/understandable] English that was the most adventurous part of his trip and that is why admire Europeans. They don't fear anything. Few cyclists were traveling on their hi-tech bikes [cycles] towards Leh or [China probably].

The Bad:

The worst thing that can happen to you is injury or loss because of someone else’s mistakes. The fast travelling tourists drive rash and inflict damage to other people. Blowing horn is out of the syllabus and overtaking is their inherited property. However, I (and JP + Varun as well) kept hurling abuses at them and I am an expert in driving-cum-kickboxing.

Informational Content:

The roads never looked like National Highway 21 but it is an admirable fact that the BRO and HPPWD have maintained the standards of the roads. Water, snow and rocks keep coming and the labourers and the engineers never say no. Hats Off to their good work.

Those who intend to go towards Leh from Manali-Rohtang route must ensure that they get their tanks filled at Manali itself because things become nasty after you leave Rohtang pass.The next petrol pump is at Tandi and the pump owner sets the price on his own. On 2^nd July, he was selling petrol at the price that would be implemented by Government of India by December 2011, considering the current price movements.

Khoksar is a place where the road diverges to Kaja and Leh. Just opposite to the Police Chowki, there is a Super-Economical dhaba that cooks/sells delicious food. The most interesting fact is that the Dhaba Owner never charges you more than the printed rate, which is an uncommon practice in every other part of country.

At some points, the roads were like devastated oil mines of Iraq and Afghanistan. We had to get down from our ‘vehicle’ and remove the stones, sand and soil from the road to make way for ourselves.

Day Zero ends:

As we were getting late, we started looking for accommodations in the villages, 10 Kilometres before Keylong. Luckily, we sneaked into a rest house belonging to the Agricultural Department where people drank beer and enjoyed a nice and sound sleep.

And by any means, did I tell you about ‘The Warrior’?

Yes, It was a 'Maruti'

We wanted to travel/drive on our own and thus hiring a cab was totally out of question. Four people riding a bike is unhygienic, unsafe and totally immoral, so we decided to take this 1997 model with almost 85000 kilometres under its belt.

Varun+JP+Old Warrior

The Route Map:

Sundernagar-Mandi-Kullu-Manali-Marhi-Rohtang-Gramphu-Koksar[eat parantha+tea]-Sissu-Gondla-Tandi.

Day One

Top Bottom Approach

The CAT/JEE is over and many who scored 99 percentile did not make it but some who somehow managed to get 80-85 made it into the IIM's/IIT's and other good colleges.

I personally know some people who have pain in their eyes not because they could not make it but because someone who ate with them and worked with them, made it by availing some quota that rendered him 'weak' 'remote' and 'depressed segment of society'.

But then India is a historical country with Historical Mistakes done in the past, which still cling to Our Existence.

Anyhow, recently I got to know that these reservations and quotas work in the Organizations as well, where the weaker segment of society gets easy "Promotional Offers" and "Discount Coupons".

Just consider an example:

He was born poor and his ancestors faced the evil of casteism, very bad, inhuman. The government started efforts to bring his family at par with he other castes and creeds. Government made it easy for him by giving him relaxation in education and age limits and fee [money makes the mare go]

He availed the offer, he worked hard as well [no doubt]. He entered in a good college and he availed the benefit by getting more scholarships and easy fee structure. He made it into a good company as well availing the same discount coupon. Sidewise, he learned to sit,eat,shit and sleep with people of other castes as well. He, somehow managed to stand equal to them and match their qualities, if they had any.

Now, after he graduated, he joined his 'sarkari organization' and started working their with other people. By the time appraisal times appeared, he again availed the Discount Offer and he started working as the Boss of Most talented fellow of his batch.

One day a politician came to his house asking for votes. He said, you belong to our caste, so you must vote for me. He protested but then the politician said, "Dude, I have given you the seat and post and money you are earning now. I gave you a free chance and you looted it with both hands. You were free to drop it after you earned a spot in the 'sarkari organization' but you never thought about it because it was free, effortless. But now you have become habitual of this 'free-offer' and if you want to avail it in future, Stay Connected ;)

"And he was blank because he never thought that way."

Dependency, you see, is a very dangerous thing.

The only way to restrict caste-ism is the Top Down Approach. Start eradicating reserved posts in the organizations where you earn handsome money. This way, message will pass down the spines of politicians that there is no 'Educated Parasite' in the society.

Unearned Money is the root cause of evil. The sooner it is realized, better it will do for the country, society and Individual Existence, otherwise the day is not far when people will ask caste before talking to their neighbors.

The story of a living-being!!!

The tree stood there since ages, on that barren field. Barren because the field was disputed, no one owned it and everyone wanted to own it.

It was a land dispute.
The usual land disputes where the land lies calmly because no human actually owns it. The tree was the sole owner of that field. It grew there and it gave every single moment of its existence to the land and the air and the human beings who did not own it.

They closed the land deal finally.

The land was sold to someone who never intended to own it. They started enclosing the field from the eyes of the neighbors. The fencing work started and the tree, the former owner became an obstruction. They first chopped off its branches and then they decided to cut it down.

The tree was gone. The air, the field, the sun never had any problem with it because they do not have any senses. Man chopped it down because of his senses.

The fence took the place of that tree, which science says is an equal living being as human.

The story of existence was never so strange.

मसरूर मंदिर -The Masroor Temples

The journey of life is strange. The Pandava's stayed in jungles for I do not know how many years, but even then they managed to build beautiful temples and tunnels and what not! And today I am privileged to see those places, which were an outcome of their अग्यात्वास।

मसरूर मंदिर -The Masroor Temple is a beautiful temple located in the Kangda District of the state of Himachal Pradesh. Most of the tourists visit Dharamshala and Chamunda Temples but they miss this extremely beautiful spot, which is not yet developed by the Himachal Tourism but it looks better undeveloped and in its raw form only.


The legend says that भीम and his allies built the temple to please the local deities. The temple is monolithic and carved out of a small mountain or a big rock. The temple is rock-cut temple and no part of the temple is modular or designed separately. No doubt, the man of caliber of भीम only could do such wonder.

However, during the 1905 earthquake, the temple was damaged badly and it resulted in destruction of some of the parts of these temples. The Tourism Board says that the whole site consists of 15 temples. However, I couldn't find any different temples and concluded that there was only one temple there. :)

The Tunnel

The temple also has a small tunnel/सुरंग that connects the lower part of the temple to its upper part. There is a pond in front of the temple, which is just beautiful. Just next to the temple, a Government School is there and these kids are privileged to study at such a serene place.

The carved faces and designer walls of the buildings left me spellbound. The building is however, losing its strength and the government has installed some steel plates to add strength to the walls of the temple.

Designer Walls :)

Carved Faces


Carved Face-II



The School and the Pond

How to Reach there?

Those who come from Shimla need to head towards Dharamshala and take a right turn just after they happen to cross the Ranital Railway Station. The distance between the link road and the National Highway is just 22 kilometers, which would take not more than one hour.

Those who come by air, need to get a taxi from the Gaggal Airport and head towards Kangda, as soon as you leave the airport [ say 25 meters], a link-road goes towards the temple towards the right hand side.

One can from Pathankot towards Kangda and just leave the National Highway near 'Nagrota Suriyan' [ नगरोटा सुरियाँ]. One can find such boards all over the place to guide them.

Moral of the story:
1. भीम was a very strong man.
2. The temples are breathtakingly beautiful.

Edited Part: Some years ago, probably in 2004, a sunslik advertisement was shot in the temple.

This is John Galt Speaking!!!

I found this here and believe me I loved it.





The Ayn Rand fans will definitely love it.
Those who have read Atlas Shrugged would be able to relate to it more closely.

The Man who never agreed!

There was a guy with me in Satyam. He actually belonged to my college and my batch, but we hardly communicated to each other. The very first day I saw him in Satyam, he was the center of attraction of all the guys/girls/chairs/tables present in the conference room. I had heard about his ventures and daring activities during my college days, but I never knew that he was so daring that he would object to anything, anywhere without even listening. Sometimes, he would listen, but he would listen only a fraction of the whole speech, lecture and based upon his 'part' he would weave the rest of the story.

He was appointed as the Seminar Representative of the group of new joiners because of his ability to speak and argue about any topic, from potty training to Indo-Pak relationships. He fell in love with almost every girl of the organization. During the Satyam Scam, he became so busy that he helped almost every perishing soul with his soothing words. He never agreed to the trainer, he never agreed to the mentor and he never agreed to the speaker. He would play games on his mobile phone and by the time the speaker would end his lecture, he would be the first guy to speak and his favorite line was,"I do not think so". :P

Even the Reporting Manager(s) was scared of him because he never thought what she thought and he always wanted her to realize what he was thinking.

He loved getting stoned and he was God of Liquor. He would drink few drops of liquor and start talking about his adventures and past lives. Girls were his favorite topic and he knew everything about the girls. Once he went on to say that I do not agree with the anatomical make/design of the girls and they should not have been designed the way they are. He liked drinking in the bars and restaurants and he was a common figure in the Hyderabad and Bangalore bars. It is a hearsay that he never agreed with the bartenders as well and always demanded another drink from them one hour after the closing of the bar.

While our stay in Pune, he disagreed with the Pune Satyam Head (or someone like him). The old man was stating the current position of the company and asking the employees to work as usual. he was standing besides me and he was looking at the girls and making a note of the girls he had missed. I can bet on it that he did not listen to whatever was being said and after the 'explanation' ended, he said. " I do not think so". I ran for my life as he was unstoppable, once he had started. Now he is disagreeing with people and trees and buses in Chandigarh but that fellow is in complete agreement with life.

I think 'stoning' and drinking habits have hit him in the head but even now I can see him disagreeing with people on FaceBook.

You Rock Man.

\m/

He can be found here and here

P.S: The purpose of this post is to tell you that such 'daring' people also exist who are not scared of any thing.

The Accident - II

Perspiring, I opened my eyes and tried to understand the whole scenario. The first thing that came to my mind after opening my eyes was, " Dude, You are fucked for life."

I tried to get up and succeeded in it and when I looked around, the whole picture was painted with red and green. Green because we were lying in the jungle and red because all the people were drowned in their own blood. The bus was lying next to me, upside down and I do not know how did I come out because my seat was totally crushed and demolished. Three local guys came to me and tried to get hold of me. I said to them," बाकी लोगों को ले जाओ, मैं खुद चला जाऊँगा"

Limping and holding the bushes and grass, I climbed on my own, uphill 200 feet. After climbing, I became unconscious and I knew I had done a mistake by refusing their help to take me up. The whole body was no more a body and it was a soul, light and weightless. I regained my consciousness in a bus carrying victims and by that time I knew which parts of my body were gone.

Leg in three parts, backbone in two and head in one. I somehow managed to bend my leg and then a fellow came and he saw me dying with pain he thought that I want to straighten my leg. He pressed and that moment onwards, it remained straight for the next 100 days. It took me exactly half an hour to bend that leg and the *naive* fellow did in one second. I laughed [tried to] and told him that Dude, you have unknowingly screwed me.

Unconscious, as I was, reached the hospital. There was havoc everywhere, I was lying outside in the rain, in the pain. Few people came and helped me and next thing I remember was that I was in a bed lying in the City Hospital. My father got to know and as he was coming to see me, his bus broke twice. My mother was not at home, I could not inform anyone and the *absolute randomness* was falling in place, guiding me at every single step. The doctors cooked my leg and after nine painful days, they dispatched me from the hospital. The sun rays looked beautiful and the sky was never that clear and bright. The moment I reached home, I decided that fuck the exams and Engineering I will work on increasing my weight.

For the first few days [2 days] I used pot to shit and piss [ answer the natural nature calls] but that looked horrible to me and I decided to drag the leg and do it on my own.

The Filmy Touch-I
I was given a medicine by the chemist and unfortunately, he could not read the prescription properly and gave a medicine that was meant for cardiac patients with severe blood pressure problems. I swallowed the first pill and was about to swallow another one when a relative+doctor called up. She was casually inquiring about the medicines and I was about to swallow the *second* pill. My sister started crying and snatched the tablet from my hand. She told me that the tablet could have stopped my heart from beating permanently as it had some serious aftermaths if taken without prescription. I survived one more time.
Fuck that Chemist.

The Filmy Touch-II
The leg was cast with POP for 45 days but my adventurous dragging and pulling made the whole process to be repeated and for another 45 days, I was on bed.
The most awaited and unwanted exam day came, I wrote the exam and scored an abysmal rank.

The Filmy Touch-III

And there I was, going to the place where I never wanted to go, again in my life.


So two days back, these questions entered into my mind:


Where is Free Will?
I wanted something else but I got something else? Who decided my destiny? And if someone is deciding my destiny then what is Free Will?

Not that I am unhappy now [ except my Satyam Days, I was never unhappy], but what if same thing happens again. What if I land in a job rather than owning my Personal Venture(s). I work 14 hours a day and sometimes more than that but Is there anything for me to do? Or is it PreDecided?


And according to my very dear friend " If I am not sure about the starting point [birth] and If I am not sure about the ending point [death], then where is Free Will and What is Free Will?

The Accident-I

As I sit here in front of my computer and I do not want to do anything, I decided to write about the 'turning moment' of my life.

28thJanuary 2004:

A bus fell into the ditch [200 feet] and 16 people died there and then, on the spot. I was one of them who survived. But that survival was very painful. I used to boast that my body does not have any mark of stitches or whatsoever and there I was lying among the dead with rain falling on my face and I was smiling, counting the marks on my hands. I [was] an intelligent [academically] fellow. I wanted to become an Aeronautics Engineer. I worked real hard to acheive my goal and I [knew] it was there, just few weeks away from me, right in front of me.

I was about to go for the Navy SSB and I was damn sure about it that I would return as a Navy Officer for sure. My mother asked me to come on 24th itself and I postponed the program to 28th. I wanted to stay in Hamirpur for some more time as I [knew] I would never return to this place again.

For me, my life at Hamirpur and for more than 18 years, I have lived here only. That day made me believe that the way Indian movies are picturized, they are actually very realistic, or at least for me they look real unless it is Fardeen Khan/Zayed Khan/Harman Baweja starer.

Here goes the story:

I left from the academy and decided to leave at 9 AM. But, I decided not to and as I was sure that was my last day in the hostel, so I decided to 'बांटो' some 'ज्ञान' in the hostel. Eventually the ज्ञान बांटो session ran for two hours and I decided to leave. I reached at the bus stand and boarded the first bus but as I was/am fond of the first seats, next to the driver, I got down from that bus and started searching for another bus. Soon, the ill fated bus came and I happily sat on the first seat next to the driver, which gave me immense happiness because I could talk to the driver and learn new गालियाँ from him. :)

The bus started and by the time I could finish my book, the bus more than half of the distance.

The driver was smoking बीडी and I asked him not to smoke because the road was dangerous but the drivers are drivers and they never listen to kids. He was driving with single hand and that made the situation even thrilling/dangerous. I slept, for the first time in my life on that route, considering that I had made more than 100 journeys on that route, and by the time I opened my eyes, the bus was flying in the air, I could not sense anything, as I was just feeling the numbness in my feet, stomach and head. I looked at the driver and he was nowhere to be seen, as he jumped out of the bus. I closed my eyes, smiled and then there was rain, blood and cries.

I opened my eyes because I felt a very bright light penetrating my vision and when I opened my eyes, my forehead was covered with sweat and palms too were sweaty. Probably, this is how यमराज decides to beat the shit out of human body.

I opened my eyes and felt rain on my face. I saw myself lying among the dead bodies, flies on my face and my body covered with blood and painful marks.


Part-II in progress.

And they saved our lives-Chamba Diary!

Traveling is fun but traveling with insufficient preparations is dangerous.

We left from Chamba to Hamirpur after enjoying the scenic beauty at Khajjiyar Lake.

Its disheartening to see people throwing plastic and water bottles not in the trash cans but just outside them, even when the trash can is empty. May be they are too busy to notice that.

Anyways, after feling mesmerized by the giant शिव मूर्ती at Khajjiar [image], we decided to leave. This time we decided to take the Dalhousie Route as it was raining and the road condition was not good through the Jot Pass. Jot Pass is good when you are traveling in a group, if you are alone then it is not advisable to go through Jot Pass, as no one will get to know if you happen to encounter any accident, which has very high probability. We went to Chamba through Jot Pass, but the adventurous spirit sped away when it started raining. It was raining and as soon as we left Khajjiyar, things became difficult. I was wearing sports sandals and the rain water was so cold that it did beat the shit out of me. We traveled for ten kilometers and my back was numb. JP had his fingers glued to the handle because it was very cold and we did not have any sweaters, gloves or jackets with us.

Then we saw them, the PWD Laborers, smoking बीडी and enjoying charcoal fire. They were sitting there and we saw them as our saviors. We helped ourselves by heating the 'crucial parts' of our body and also dried our T-shirts and shirts. The place was लक्कड़-मण्डी, which happens to be the highest point [2250 meters] in and around the Chamba town and Dalhousie town. Their bonfire helped us to save ourselves from the chilling rain and windy conditions of Dalhousie.

I noticed in Chamba, that almost every single village/house in the hills has electricity. Abdul Kalam once said that Himachal is blessed and a privileged state because those twinkling stars are actually bulbs lighted inside the small houses on the mountains. Honestly, I felt proud to be a part of this beautiful state because people do not have to worry about the electricity, which is not the same story at a place in Bihar, 200 KM's away from Patna.

It takes just 4-5 hours, if you drive like me, otherwise it is 6-8 hours journey from Hamirpur to Chamba

The travel route >>> Hamirpur---Jawalaji---Kangra---Dramman--Chuwari--Jot--Chamba

The safe route>>> delete the Dramman to Chamba part and add Dramman--Nurpur--Dalhousie--Chamba.

Moral of the story:
1. Wear Shoes while stepping out for a long journey
2. Carry jackets/woolen clothes
3. Do not take the Jot Pass route if you are alone.

The Dharamshala Stadium

Two weeks back, I and JP decided to go to Dharamshala on one of our random journeys. The Dharmashala Stadium is where two matches of IPL will be held. The stadium was still under construction. The left portion of the stadium, if you enter from the main gate, was under construction. It reminded me of Delhi's preparation of the Commonwealth Games :P

Himachal also belongs to India, i felt suddenly :D

The left side is completely nude and they are working on dressing it up.

The HPCA Pavillion, Dharamshala

If you join the top of the Red Building with the top of the flood light and then extrapolate its bisector towards the Dhauladhar Range, the point where it meets the hilly terrain was my colony in my 9th and 10th class :)



The place is cool and somewhat like New Zealand Grounds . However this ground has a capacity of 400 runs in a single innings.

I was about to go to see the match but ICICI dumped me for the first time and now we are going to Chamba. Just another of our random trip \m/

You can read more Chamba stories at this site. Trekking and Riding in the Chamba Himalayas. 

MDC

झांसी is a major railway junction in the state of U.P. When one leaves Bhopal towards Delhi in a train, one sees a statue of a man standing on the top of a hill on the left hand side. The hill and the statue troubled me every time I crossed that area, sitting on the doors of the train. I always thought it to be the statue of a landlord or a local leader. however, I got to to know recently (few months back) that that statue belongs to the Hockey legend, Major Dhyan Chand, who beat the shit out of many Hockey playing nations on his own, without failing in the Main Events like Olympics.

The Gold Medalist

However, he stands alone on the top of that hill with birds singing to him his glory of the old forgotten days. The statue is built on the top of the hill in his hometown where he might have rocked his village with his masterclass and he remains there only, even today.

P.S: What Sachin Tendulkar has become today was once his status in his days. Nothing lasts Forever.


Whenever you cross that region, just remember him, may be he will feel good in this over hyped country.

An Old Friend and The Undertaker ;)

They say good things come in your life after hard work.

Well, I traveled by Sleeper Class to reach Hyderabad. The heat beat the shit out of my body, so I guess that was my Hard Work.

I reached ESCI at 1400 Hours and asked for my dear friend. I was told that he is in a session.

But, was that enough to stop me?

NO

I went upstairs, peeked inside the classroom. He was sitting on the last desk, as usual. The class finished within 5 minutes and I entered inside the classroom and sat just next to him in the Undertaker Style :)

He was out of his breath to see me sitting just next to him like a ghost :)

So, the trip was good, met an old forgotten friend, Life is cool and soooper :)

The old friend was (is) Karma The Tsehring.

More to follow, the trip has just begun, more life to follow, more fun and more romance ;)

जय महराष्ट्र!!!

I am planning to conduct an interview with गुरु जी , later this week. After my escape from here, I am now back in form and this time interview will be much better than last time.

Source: DNAINDIA

Thanks Letter To Me + Government

Oh Boy! They work also and I would like to thank the Himachal Government for the good work.

Flashback
Tarun Goel was feeling like Rajdhani Express and all the trouble started when his ass started losing its sheen and flesh because of the troublesome buses.

Tarun Goel wrote to the Transport Minister+Chief Minister+Director Transport Himachal Pradesh to start a comfortable bus from Hamirpur to Delhi, on 01-September-2009. The tone of the application cum letter was aggressive and the copies were sent to several people/authorities worldwide. He received an email from the Director of Transport on 22-October-2009, which said that the matter has been considered and the application is forwarded to the Transport Minister.

On 12-December-2009, he received another email and a letter that stated that the matter has been discussed in the Assembly and they have decided to start the bus. Another letter and email was received on 25-January-2010, which stated the bus will be started in near future.

Here are the details of the letter sent to the minister:

Dear Ministers,

I, Tarun Goel, am a frequent traveler from Hamirpur to Delhi. As the only medium of transport is bus from here to Delhi, I have to rely totally on the buses only. But it is a matter of deep regret that not even a single comfortable bus runs from the Educational Capital of the state.
There are 2 buses, which are termed as Semi-Deluxe, but the condition of those buses is just pathetic. The seats are adjustable but if one leans back on those seats then the person behind him cries all the way till he reaches his destination. The road condition is as good as the buses and they ensure that no passenger reaches his destination in single piece.
It is my sincere request that please start some good quality buses from Hamirpur like TATA AC.
The TATA AC buses are comfortable and affordable also, so please start at least 2 TATA AC buses from Hamirpur to DELHI.
It is my request that if you are not going to start the buses (TATA AC-Comfortable BUS) then please travel by these so called Semi Deluxe buses and you will yourself understand my grievances.


05-February-2010

The bus service has started and it is the same bus that was requested by me. I went to the bus station and said जिंदाबाद and clapped also.
I don't know whether it was my threatening letter or something else that forced them to do a sensible thing but who cares. I would like to take this opportunity to thank myself for this amazing work done by me. :D :D

P.S: Those who want the solution can go here

Thank You Aradhna

This is what was said by Aradhna Gupta after the court gave its verdict, "I told her, we have done it. But, the war is still on," she says. "She still looks sad. I hope I can make her smile soon."

A 14 year old girl is not even fully developed to attract someone sexually and I don't know what D.I.G saw in Ruchika but all I know is that I want to oblige and say thanks to Aradhna.

Thank You Aradhna!

Common Man

Once upon a time in my college,there was a 'guy' in our just junior batch. I met him in a bus when I was going back to home during my second year days.

Oue batch was very dangerous/stupid batch and some of the brave 'men' from our batch used to fight every now and then. Some times the events were inter-year and sometimes they were intra-year as well.

Now this 'guy' was the perfect example of a common man. Whenever anyone would fight anywhere inside the college premises [sometimes outside also] he was the first one to be beaten up. His seniors, his juniors and his batch-mates, everyone had an opportunity to kick/slap/punch him for absolutely no fault of his. His only fault was that he was a common guy with common friends with no uncommon property. When I was in my final year, our batch had an ordeal with 'his' batch. He was drinking somewhere in the jungles, he appeared from nowhere and when he realized the situation, he found himself in the middle of the ring where everyone slammed him badly :D :D

When I was in Satyam, Bangalore, I got a news that he had been expelled from the hostel because no one knew why. Once he was coming back from his vaccations and some people beat him at the bus-stand. :P

What a fucking loser he was!!!

I was just wondering, what is he doing? Is he alive?
Was he ever alive?
I don't know but whenever I see a common man, that sight reminds me of that 'guy'.

P.S: It's Real, he existed once. Now I don't know

Mini Trip's Mini Diary

On my birthday = 12 October, I left for Chandigarh because my sister was to be operated for Pancreatic Calculi Stone at P.G.I and presence of an extremely intelligent+talented young man (me) was mandatory there to deal with the government officials. I started at 18:45 and the bus belonged to Haryana State Roadways. Following are the important observations made by me:

1. Every one is scared of the Man Behind the Counter: The man behind the counter is the most dangerous thing one can ever see. Every creature calls him "sir" and he never listens or answers to anyone. Railways, Airways, Post Office, Roadways, BSNL the counter man can be found anywhere and believe me he is the most "on-the-spot" respected person on earth. There used to be a teacher in my college and he used to scare every single child in his class. Even he was saying "sir" to him and counter-man did not reply to him. Counter-man scolded him and I was laughing at his face. :D
The counter man asked me,"tujhe kya chahiye= what do you want?"
I replied,"Entertainment". That made me board the other state's bus because after the answer I gave there was no chance of me getting a ticket from him.

2. When we were about to reach Chandigarh, the bus conductor and driver shouted at the top of their voices that Chandigarh people get down as soon as possible. I and six other poor souls boarded down, half asleep half disturbed, and we found that he had thrown us in the middle of nowhere and that place was at least 10 k.m away from Chandigarh :D Luckily I found one auto at 1 A.M. He charged me 100 INR, the bus fare from Hamirpur to Chandigarh was 140 INR :(, poor me. The auto was running just behind that bus and auto driver kept telling me," This is your bus. This is your bus!" :P Life is an unbalanced equation :)

3. In P.G.I, for the first time in my Life, I saw a doctor behaving like a doctor. Endoscopy is a very painful experience and doctors are really doing a good job. I heard people crying, shouting when the wire was inserted into their mouth and being a doctor requires highest level of patience.

4. On women oriented festivals like Karwachauth, Rakhi and other related festivals, ladies do not have to pay any fare while travelling through Himachal Roadways buses. This is injustice and partiality. How can they say that,"Ladka-ladki ek samaan", when they reserve seats and provide free travelling passes for women? But let them travel for free, government is busy collecting votes for the next election, why do they care? :-|

5. I would be writing for a Hindi news paper :)

And We Did It....

Long ago, actually not so long ago when I was college, there lived a poor mess-worker next to us. He used to come to our room, talk to us, tell about his kids and lastly about his problems. He told us that he had been working in the college since 1986, which actually is the starting year of N.I.T Hamirpur, and all he gets [in 2008] is 2000 INR only and once he leaves the college [mess] he will get no retirement money, no rewards for his service.

Me, JP & Karma listened to him and we told him that we will do something about it. Later on, all of us started doing the same shitty business of ours, everything except studies. After one week, that fellow died, I was coming back after failing in the exam and I found his name on the noticeboard. As, I did not know his name, I slept peacefully that after-noon, but in the evening JP told me that he was "he". And that night, three of us could not sleep... :(

May be we feel more pissed off, if someone dies, when we know someone. There is no absolute love left in this world, I guess. It is relative, had he not talked to us, we would have done the same old things without giving a single thought about him. So he died, leaving nothing but a cruel fucking world for his family.

That night, KARMA and JP smoked some thousand cigarettes, and I cursed them badly for it and we decided to start Mess Worker Welfare Fund, which will take 20 INR from all the students and will be distributed among the needy mess workers from time to time. We got into action that day only and got signatures done from all the 1000(approx.) students within one week, some people asked to reduce the amount from 20 to 5 INR. But good people and bad people co-exist, so never mind. Lastly, we were sitting in front of all the Professors, wardens and Deans with the proposal we prepared. Some fools tried to oppose us, till date I don't know why, may be I = WE did not have good marks, as marks are very important criteria to be able to respect your self in my college :D

We left college with very very very heavy heart as we could not get the job done.Our worthy teachers could not approve our proposal as they did not have guts enough to approve it.They wanted to get it approved from some higher authority and they from someone even higher than them. That dead person's image haunted me for a very long time but I guess today is the day of happiness. It is done, I don't know how it happened, neither I want to know. The job is done and "WE" did it.

R.I.P Old Man
We still blame ourselves as we could not do anything for you when you were alive :(

Mr. Tambourine Man

Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to.
Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
In the jingle jangle morning I'll come followin' you.

Though I know that evenin's empire has returned into sand,
Vanished from my hand,
Left me blindly here to stand but still not sleeping.
My weariness amazes me, I'm branded on my feet,
I have no one to meet
And the ancient empty street's too dead for dreaming.

Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to.
Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
In the jingle jangle morning I'll come followin' you.

Take me on a trip upon your magic swirlin' ship,
My senses have been stripped, my hands can't feel to grip,
My toes too numb to step, wait only for my boot heels
To be wanderin'.
I'm ready to go anywhere, I'm ready for to fade
Into my own parade, cast your dancing spell my way,
I promise to go under it.

Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to.
Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
In the jingle jangle morning I'll come followin' you.

Though you might hear laughin', spinnin', swingin' madly across the sun,
It's not aimed at anyone, it's just escapin' on the run
And but for the sky there are no fences facin'.
And if you hear vague traces of skippin' reels of rhyme
To your tambourine in time, it's just a ragged clown behind,
I wouldn't pay it any mind, it's just a shadow you're
Seein' that he's chasing.

Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to.
Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
In the jingle jangle morning I'll come followin' you.

Then take me disappearing' through the smoke rings of my mind,
Down the foggy ruins of time, far past the frozen leaves,
The haunted, frightened trees, out to the windy beach,
Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow.
Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free,
Silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands,
With all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves,
Let me forget about today until tomorrow.

Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to.
Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
In the jingle jangle morning I'll come followin' you.

Bob Dylan sang this song for me :)
Vijaywada, I am coming, Tambourine Man you rock!!

Schizophrenic Aggarwal~The Murderer~The Contractor

After coming from Sikkim, I came to Hamirpur and found [he is a treaure worth founding, not meeting] Aggarwal~The Contractor~The Murderer. Today I will let you know about this amazing creature of GOD, although I don't think GOD exists, but if he does, he would be pleased to take the credit of creating this amazing human~being. He drinks all day, all night, he drinks effortlessly, he drinks by borrowing money from the "under 14” kids working in the "dhaba" where I used to dine. Once he is drunk, he is on the top of the world, he is a king, although every second drunkard is a king, but he is great.

I have seen a wide variety of drunkards in my Life. My dad, he was a commission agent for me and my twin brother. Every time we will screen his bottle from mom, we were rewarded 2 INR each, in 95-96. Then comes Karma, he rocks; he will drink a glass full of wine/whiskey/daaru, without mixing anything into it [no soda, no water and no nothing] in a single go and then will ask for the second glass and so on. He always preferred a full bottle for himself and it was a ritual to finish that bottle on the same day. Last but not the least comes Nair, a colleague in Satyam, he used to drink directly from the bottle, just the way I and you drink Amul Kool from bottle.He was the undisputed champion but Aggarwal outranked him.

Aggarwal is utterly different. He is a complete human being, he visualizes his dreams and he keeps converting dreams into reality. Although, personally I feel that every human being is a schizophrenic, but he is a master of this art. Last Saturday, he told me that he gave his sisters 2500 each as a “rakhi” present. Five minutes later, he was telling the same story to another guy and the amount was 5k each, very next day, he caught me and this time story was same and amount was 10k each, you see multiplicative growth. Even Bill Gates, Warren Buffet are not able to grow at such a rate. Noticeable thing here is that the number of girls was fixed (2), however the amount kept on growing at an exponential rate.

Yesterday only, he was seeking my advice on how and where to buy land in Himachal. I also wanted some entertainment, so I deliberately said, “What is your budget?” He replied,” Arey, money is not a problem; I can invest up to 10 crores. I just want enough land to open a hotel and a bar and a college” That day he borrowed money from under-14 working kids of the dhaba . :)

Usually he drinks one full bottle of “desi~daaru”, and when he is happy or sad, the count sometimes go to 2-3. One fine day he was drunk badly and was crying in the rain, cursing all the people in the world. All of a sudden he got up and boarded the next bus to Delhi, as he [possibly] hails from Delhi. Now it takes 10-11 hours by bus to reach Delhi by road and same to come back. So the sum is 22 hours, provided you don’t do anything and just come back from the bus station. He boarded the bus, and within a span of 18 hours he was back. Surprisingly, he came back on a scooter from Delhi, totally drunk. That day onwards, he has earned respect of a lot of people, although I don’t believe that he went to Delhi, but the scooter with a Delhi number plate is a testimony of that. This was indeed an inhuman task.

He says that he has murdered a lot of people in Delhi and he is not allowed to stay there. He says he is working as a contractor here in N.I.T Hamirpur, however in reality he is a “munshi”,accountant type.

He says that he will give me the job as I am jobless. He thinks he is the best manager in the world... And believe me nothing can stop him from dreaming, not even his deteriorating health condition, his poverty. He never gives a fuck. Whatever he dreams, he just realizes it by telling it to the people he meets, moreover he is not a “sharabi dreamer” because he keeps a scope of expansion always, as he did by increasing the amount of “rakhi-present”. He knows his goal in life and if he continues this way, in near future he will definitely achieve the goal.

Conclusion: Aggarwal is great and he reminds me of Calvin, actually Calvin had his mom to stop him, but this fellow is just unstoppable. Rock on man, you are the king.

P.S: I have never tasted daaru in my life but The Company of Drunkards makes me feel like them, at times, so I pretty much understand their condition and feelings.