I ended up in this place few months back. First few weeks were spent in observation. Deep observation. I observed that occasionally we can find Thums Up or Sprite in one of the shops here. But far more widespread were some bright green or orange coloured liquids sold in glass bottles. Some cola they called it. I was amazed to see that people actually buy them.

Observation couldn’t continue long. It gave way to inaction, including a loss of thought or opinion. And one fine day as I was in one of those shops, I found myself eager to try one of those colas!

Life has sustained through the ages by one magic word – adaptation. That’s also perhaps the biggest irony.

My travel included few buses to Ahmedabad and then a flight to Delhi. By the time I reached Ahmedabad I was in a sorry state. A severe ache had gripped my stomach and I felt I would throw up any moment. I got down from the bus. It was 3:30 am and I could barely stand. I called a few friends who I thought may be in Ahmedabad. Turned out none were there that night.

I began weighing my options, and once again was brought to the fact I knew – I was not good at it. And then help came. Consty, whom I had called earlier, had talked to a friend to allow me in his house. The friend and his wife offered me all help that they could at that hour, including some pills. I felt a little better, but still couldn’t get rid of that pain.

I left them after an hour and headed for the airport. After the security check I rushed to the washroom and threw up. I thought I would be better after that but the flight was terrible. The 90 minute journey was like a roller coaster ride, turning and tossing wildly, to the agony of people like me. I had insisted for an aisle seat closest to the toilet, still I had to wait to use it. There was a group of about 40 people (uncles and aunties) who seemed to be trying their best to get noticed. For the first time I saw a queue for the toilet in the plane. All the aunties were eager to try it and the queue covered a quarter of the aisle! People with stomach aches should wait to use the toilet. No, they should not undertake the journey itself. Why travel when you are indisposed? After what seemed like ages, I got my turn. I asked the hostess if they had any medicines. They didn’t.

The ordeal continued in Delhi. Bhondu had come to receive me (he was late as usual). I went to his place and after few hours there I began to feel better. Eno and some sleep helped. It was time for the final match then. There was no beer, I could not take it after what I had been through in the past few hours. But there was no dearth of friends. Bhondu, Tattu, Ghalib, S9 and Shiwani were there. Later, Dilli was there too. We saw Delhi going crazy after we won the match.

Next day I had my share of beers before it was time to depart. As before, in spite of the pains, I would rate the trip as good.

This year has seen an abnormal degradation of life, personal and professional. With all the lessons that adversity teaches, I managed to survive the odds, and hopefully will manage to. Amidst all the losses, I am thankful for one last thing that I managed to keep safe within me – the ability to get high on little joys of life. Last night I was lying on a couch in a sleeper bus, heading to a remote place. At midnight, as the bus guys were engrossed in changing the punctured tyre, I opened the window. The vast dark emptiness and the almost deserted highway presented a charming picture. The cool breeze just added to the awesomeness. Realizing that such little things are the only occasions of sporting a smile is sometimes disturbing, but hope never dies.

I arrived at my destination this mornin. The heavy rains, the pot-holed roads, the rickety ride and the enormously heavy luggage did nothing to make me like the place I didn’t want to come to, for working on something I didn’t like. With very few gadgets to remain connected and a shimmer of hope, I sign out!

Musafir hoon yaaron,
Na ghar hai, na thikana,
Mujhe chalte jana hai,
Bas chalte jana.

Though late, we (FKD and I) reached Mumbai amidst heavy downpour. That was when the first of the casualties found me. An important telephonic interview was ruined, and all of it can safely be attributed to the weather and the Indian Railways. Lesson learnt – it takes really little effort to move on

Few hours later when we reached Doodh’s apartment, the next loss was discovered. I had lost my laptop and external hard disk. I knew it was futile but still had a complaint registered with the police and the building watchmen. As others told me over the next few days, I was surprisingly upbeat despite the loss. Indeed I was. We were in Mumbai for a re-union of sorts and I didn’t want anything to ruin it for me.

We had an amazing time over the next couple of days (credits – FKD, Doodh, Antenna, Neta, Bhondu, Rasila, Danda, Jussu, Shruti, Sirisha). Interesting tales and exotic stuff made the rounds, as can be expected. Three days was too short a time to meet everyone in the city. There were many whom I couldn’t meet. On Sunday night, when India was glued to Sony Entertainment Television for catching the premier of 3 Idiots, I left for Baroda. When you are out touring, you are supposed to visit family too. So, Baroda for the sister who recently moved in here. She liked the big bag of chocolates I brought for her, but that didn’t dampen her demand for dresses by any count. And that led me to the place where I am often alleged to go to – women’s section of superstores.  Later that night I experienced Inception for the second time, this time here with Neta and his colleagues-cum-roomies. The more you watch it, the more you are awe-struck with the beautiful way of depicting an out-of-the world concept and managing to have the emotional journey of the character the driving force of the movie.

I am still in Baroda, waiting for today’s share of fun. Next stop will be Mumbai for a couple of hours and then Chennai. Convocation beckons, and after the last three months being the way they had been, it sure will be a temporary relief to be on the stage receiving the much awaited degrees. And it will signal the new start, or the final end of this part.

Holding a nine year old anthology in your hands, reading Masefield,Tagore, Milton and Eliot, recalling the origin of each and every stain on the now yellowish pages and recognizing, despite change, your handwriting that was; what else can be more fulfilling!

After a long time, I was sad today. And it felt good. When a lot of attitudinal changes take over the mind and the body over a short span of time, we find little time for everything else. It’s a journey that has to be taken, and often alone. Hence the delay between posts here, which I think is on the rise.

All that apart, looking at old pictures and videos has always been an important ritual to me. Today me and Moli discovered some forgotten pieces. In some way, those frozen chronicles are way better mirrors, reflecting our previous existence, than introspections can ever be. And it feels weird to know how we have changed, beyond what we knew about the change!

Speaking of change, there was one more conscious change. This time while trying to play a tune on my harmonica, I tried perfecting it without resorting to use the keyboard. It was a good exercise and with some practice, I was able to do it. Ah, life and it’s little pleasures!

“Consider a point in space,
Let it be called En,
Assume it to be the centre piece
On a count from one to ten.”

“Now wander to the left a mile,
And also an equidistant right,
Assign the first an Es, while
The second point gets as Etch alright.”

So was the path laid out,
For all to walk and run,
And all did walk the routes,
Before a scary thing begun.

A crunch was beginning to be felt,
The walls seemed to be caving in,
The margins that were already dealt,
Seemed meager to the ones within.

Alas! They had never known the fact,
The expanse couldn’t be changed again,
So with all the might they ever had,
They could merely shift the point En.

En found a new resting ground,
It had moved two blocks towards Es,
Of all the new effects profound,
One was the motions of Es and Etch.

The Es prime was less than Es,
And so fared Etch prime,
Each three is now a notch less,
And so would they be for all time.