Sound of Laughter

It's good to be single. It's good to have a few, close friends. It's good to have space. The 'good times' are important too, if they are an option. So I took up the option and decided to put that restlessness of all the previous posts and weeks to rest. It meant spending money which I did not need to. It meant going to a city that I wasn't particularly fond of. It certainly did not translate into a vacation because my definition of that word was bound by the place that I visit. But then I did do all of it because I wanted time with some of my most favourite people. 

God bless Gmail for all the emails that it lets me write to these lovely people. I crib, I laugh, I babble, and I am myself. Why go all the way to Mumbai then, you might ask. Because emails cannot substitute tight hugs and the sound of laughter. 

There was Ridhima, there was Swetha, there was Ruhi, and Robin and Avan. Baij too! Well, Swetha is in Delhi too, but this was about all of us being together. Ruhi is in Chennai these days, and she came as well. 

Swetha and I were to travel together. I had heard bad things about GoAir, but my 8:15 pm flight was above ground at 8:15 pm. We landed on time too. The flight was great. We talked non-stop, a first for me because I compulsively sleep on flights. Ridhima and Bhavya came to pick us. Baij was on the same flight as us, so Avan had come to pick him. She welcomed me too. With the sweetest welcome note! 

We grabbed a quick bite, and went to a place called Escobar. It greeted us with good music, and we spotted Madhur Bhandarkar, Rohit Roy and Randeep Hooda. Well, that was just for the record. :P

We talked, the music got better, the place grew on me, and I had a wonderful time! Swetha did the dance too. 

From Escobar we went to Bandstand. I had heard a lot about it and one really can't expect anything ordinary from the sea. It was a no moon night, the tide was high, and the breeze was perfect. My mind split into two for those few moments of sitting there. Well, the sea deserved the attention. :)

The night as well as the following morning at Ridhima's was like going back in time. It was comfortable and pleasant. 

Then Swetha left for her next destination, and Robin took a little break only to meet Ridhima and me for lunch a while later. And guess who else was there for lunch - Ruuhii, my love!!! We went to Chez Moi in Bandra. I liked it. The food was okay-ish, and I paid little attention to it. Ridhima had to leave a little early, but Robin, Ruhi and their pitcher of sangria were enough to make the afternoon perfect. I wanted time to freeze.

Ruhi & Robin with their sangria

Ridhima in her new look

Quintessential expressions

Robin became the butt of this joke

Uff! There was a photographer at work!

Angry Birds at Candies. We had something better for dessert.

Then it was Avan time! Evening was at her place. Robin was nice enough to drop me there. And before we knew it, it was time for dinner, and Robin and Ruhi were back at Avan's. We had not reached a conclusion for our dinner/drinks destination, and we were not even ready. But we managed to figure it all while Avan's friends joined us. 

Dinner: we went to Copper Chimney which was only a short walk away from her house in Khar. I laughed a lot. I was conscious about the fact that it is a very rare thing now, and I wanted time to freeze a second time that day. I did not want to move. I did not want anyone to leave. Not even the people I was not talking to. It was my picture perfect moment. Only it was so much more than that.
It was already midnight by the time we wrapped dinner. Par raat abhi jawan thi. We went to Shiros from there. The place was bloody crowded. Just the kind I easily detest. But we went straight to the bar, ordered our drinks, had one after the other, and literally danced into the night. I was fine. Make that happy after a point. I demanded that the DJ announced and wished me a happy birthday just like all the other birthdays were being announced. Ruhi got him to. I demanded that one of the bartenders came and danced with me. Baij got his manager to agree. The guy was shy and cute. Haha... I embarrassed him! 

With my lovelies!

I think we left from there around 3:30 am. Avan was keen on going to Marine Drive, so she, Baij and I went. But I don't think we stayed there because the cops were already sending people off. Apparently I talked endlessly. I was enjoying it. Feeling free with the one person whom I can trust with my eyes closed. Literally.
I also managed to avoid doing anything stupid with my phone.

Next morning was very late. Well, technically, not for me because I woke up 8:30 am and barely got any sleep after that. Yet, the breakfast date with Ruhi and Robin was cancelled. Because clearly I was not the only one who had a late night. I only managed to go to Carter Road for lunch with Avan and Baij. The place smelled bad, but it was beautiful. Reinstated my pending need for a beach vacation. The food was ordinary, but our conversation was not.
They then took me aboard a local train (my first!) to Bombay Central to ensure that I don't miss my Rajdhani to Delhi. Trains are always fun!! The local was good too because it was a Sunday afternoon and not crazy rush hour.

Bombay local

Bombay is as rough as Delhi can be. Bombay is as warm as Delhi can be. It's your people who make a difference. Nothing else does. Except that Bombay had me sweating while Delhi welcomed me back with a cold breeze.

I feel refreshed. My heart rate is back to normal. Oh, how I love them all! I am almost in a mind to give Bombay a piece of my heart. At least an html one.


Avan, it was certainly not hell. You know why. 

Definition of Good Friday

I waited for the 'right' job for more than 10 months. But when it came along, it did so in a snap. All the things that did not work out have left me very unsure about how 'right' this one really is, but logic and sense say that it is. And for now we are leaving it at that.

So, this Friday I went in for induction and a meeting. It was a rather important meeting and I felt great being a part of it. I was not expecting day 1 to bring anything spectacular with it, so it felt even cooler just being there in the moment.

The awesomeness of the day continued with managing a seat on the metro on my way back. My iPod also saw light of day after really long. It had the old playlist in it which brought back a lot of memories from Pune, both good and not-so-good, but it was nice feeling that music again.

I came home and made a number of phone calls to the people who helped during the struggle. The highlight was talking to my grandparents. All four of them. Making them happy is an overwhelming feeling. Every single time.

Then I connected with a few cousins, and next thing we knew.. it was 1:30 am, and four of us were driving out for some official celebration! Things like these do not happen with me in Delhi. Neither for the two other girls with me. We had to make up a few stories, bring in a few confidantes, and the mood got rolling!

We first went to Cibo at Janpath. Apparently it is one of the better places to party these days. But what we saw when we went in was the last thing we'd have expected to see. There was a big group of surds dancing to hardcore punjabi music. The kind that is easily detestable. But we decided to stick around for a while because things were slightly bearable thanks to the punju connection. More so because it was too late to think of going some place else. We drank. We danced. And in the end, when the DJ played corny Bollywood tracks, we were happy too. :)

It was around 3:00 am when we left from there. Nidhi thought we should look for food now. Samridhi and I felt we should look to move home now. But Agneesh felt we should try to get into Agnee at The Park for some extended fun. Especially because the scene at Cibo wasn't particularly what we had set out for. And the moment we entered Agnee the past hour felt like such a waste! The music was great, the ambience was good, and there weren't any shady surds dancing with a glowing mobile phone set in their belt. We danced like crazy for the next one hour. I know I for sure was having the time of my life. Definite glances from two cute guys made it even more entertaining. :D

We left from there around 4:15 am. First we were to drop Nidhi and Samridhi back. I act responsibly 9.9 out of 10 times, so it was tooooo much fun speeding and singing out loud in chorus (no, the windows were not rolled down), on empty roads.

After that we quietly left my brother's car back at my place, picked Agneesh's bike, and moved to his place. So, just as I thought that I had had the perfect few minutes on the road, the 5:00 am cold air hit me hard on my face!

Yes, Delhi is festive again. And I do not feel left out.

Would not have been possible to move out had he not come over to congratulate! :)

PS - I do NOT like beer. Yes, I have tried those fancy brands too. :

Trivial Evolution

I lent out three pieces of clothing for a party that even I am attending. I! The casual dresser.
Make way, people! Times are changing! :P

Happy Ho Gaya Day!

First exam in the morning was design technology. I had a daffy duck to make. I managed it decently well. Well enough to get a B-, I think. Enough for me considering my skill set.

Next exam was for a module called self study. But since it is self study, I hardly ever study the presribed stuff. But to a question about Tata Motors and their market penetration, market development and integrative growth opportunities, I wrote like I own Tata Motors. "Feel aa gayi." :P

Next up, I had money in my account which was not mine. 50K to be reimbursed to people. And I needed cartons to pack my stuff. So I ran and caught the afternoon bus to the city to get the work done. Swetha gave me company. The two of us were all over the place, and ended up not getting time for lunch. Got free by about 4:15 p.m., and we had to catch the 5:00 p.m. bus back to campus. We realised we were very close to Mocha that time. We've been quite the losers this term 'coz we have really visited the city once in three weeks for a couple of hours on an average. Being sweaty and hassled, we looked like ragpickers with all the cartons in our hands. But we had 50K in a bag along with a big bottle of Old Munk for friends who'd instructed us to get it as well. Felt extremely funny.

I went to Mocha after several years and the happiest thing was that it was smoke-free indoors. Remember hating it in GK I. We talked non-stop about the funnest things on earth, had the best of shakes, and ate good stuff too. It's ok to splurge once in a while. But like I was joking that time, "life on the go" isn't fun if it becomes way too literal. We could not even savour our shakes 'coz we had only 40 minutes to spend in the place. But we made the most of it.

Tonight was the farewell for the senior batch. Since I merrily spent half of the last one month in a daze, I had too much work on me to be partying through the night. So I decided not to go. None of my friends were going either. The evening passed. And at about 8:30ish, Ritesh called three of us individually and said the corniest of things to convince us to take the last bus to the party venue. (Yes, our village always has buses to go to various places) We gave in, and then ran in different directions to dig up clothes and shoes and razors and make-up. 15 odd minutes, and we were out. And excited too. :D

The party was fun. I was happy high for a bit. Danced like crrrazy after really long. And I am very happy to have done that. I SO needed it.

I was not carrying my camera at the time of running in the city during the afternoon. So I do not have the awesome frames from Mocha to show you. But I do have a couple of pictures from the party. Enjoy. :D

He thought that the two were lucky to have got this photo-op. They obviously do not agree.

The naach - Robin and Ridhima

Some more of the naach - Swetha

Ritesh, the baap of all senti talk. But I think I am thankful to him for having forced me to go.

We've had the most inane conversations of late. Yesterday we were sitting at the edge of a pseudo balcony of the hostel, overlooking the hills in the distance, and talking of the best times of our past. We had management books open as well. :P

They're a cute couple. :) We were wondering why their clothes weren't colour coded today.

Jamshedpur wale Ranjan ji. :)

Sahil and Swetha

Ye bhi Jamshedpur se hain. Kausik Misra. Aur chhichhore dance mein humare partner hain. Had an obscene amount of fun with him today.

Priyam!! :D

The third one from Jamshedpur. Soumajit. He's been my badminton partner through many games that we managed to win. That is when I used to find time to play in the first half of the term. :|

The party closed. Robin and Priyam made the final pose.

I just realised I have the whole of Jharkhand in these pictures with me. Swetha's also from Bokaro. :)

All the latest updates

I wonder why people think it is 'cool' to not do the work they should/are expected to do. How does evading work become 'working smartly'? Or is it that I fall in the category of 'idiots' who actually take on the responsibility of getting the work done? I really wonder. What I think is being professional and responsible, people think is stupid. So I also wonder how stupid opinions can be.

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Something new - I was out till 12:45 at night in Delhi. For a party. With dad at home. A very scary and exciting thing that I managed to pull off. It was an alumni meet (dinner and dance) some of my batchmates had organised for the alumni based in Delhi. It was sad that very few people from my own batch turned up for it. But I had to begin with the 'networking' business. I suck at conversations if they are for the sake of it. But no excuses for PR professionals. So I did manage to talk to a couple of people at the meet. A good conversation with a couple of them too. Overall, a fairly decent experience.

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A long conversation with Avantika made me realise that there are very few things that excite me today. And it was certainly not a very exciting thing to find out.
Or maybe it is only small inconsequential things that excite me. Isn't that much better?! :D

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It's been too long since I wrote about Shady here. I don't know if it is unhealthy or something to be so obsessive and madly in love with someone... but I enjoy it and it is one of the best feelings in the world. There still isn't anything that beats how his laughter makes me feel, and the comfort that a conversation with him provides. 'Dying to see him' is just an inappropriate phrase to express how I feel today. It's been six months. The countdown is going to be too darn long.

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The temperature is quickly dropping, and the back is losing its little strength too. Some things plain suck.

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I slept like a log today. That is one experience that beats all else. :D