Put on your hiking shoes, lets go...

We kept walking. It seemed like the trail ahead had no end. Turning back was not an option. We had to keep going in order to reach anywhere near civilization. Every now and then someone cracked a joke which created ripples of laughter amongst us. Our tired legs begged us to stop for a while, but we had to keep going. It would be sunset soon and we did not want to be stuck in the middle of nowhere. Our legs were getting heavier. Then three of us stopped and sat down. They were exhausted. The rest of us kept going. After some time two more gave up and stopped to catch their breath. The two of us kept waking. After some time we couldn’t take it any more. We lied down on our backs. The sun shone on our faces. Sweat trickled down my forehead. I closed my eyes and smiled. My mind was drifting into an empty abyss…

The alarm rang sharply at 6 in the morning. I woke up and rubbed my eyes. Didn’t really feel like waking up this early on a Sunday morning. We were supposed to go hiking; our destination was Gatineau Park, a large 360 sq km camping and hiking area located in Quebec. We planned to leave home by 8 am, but as usual we got late and left by 9 am. We reached Rideau center and then decided to have breakfast before leaving (One of the best decisions that day). After having a nice cup of French vanilla and a bagel with butter, my stomach felt relieved. We packed 7 bagels for lunch. We were ready to leave. There were seven of us. We took 2 taxis and reached our destination in about 20 minutes. We were at the edge of the park near the parking lot. We walked about a kilometer to look for a trail map, which could give us directions. We finally found one and decided to take the trail leading to pink lake. It was some 7 km long.

With backpacks on our shoulder and camera in hand we started out. It was a concrete trail with dry grass and weeds on both sides. A lot of cyclists and joggers could be seen on the trail. We kept walking, cracking jokes, taking pictures and generally having fun. The trail seemed to be very long. Every now and then a cyclist would cross us or a jogger would run past us. After walking for about 2-3 km’s we reached a sign which said pink lake was 4.5 km away by the concrete trail and about 3.5 km by the forest trail. We decided to play smart and took the forest trail. The trail led us through muddy roads and fallen trees. Occasionally we came across a pond with turtles or water snakes. There was pin drop silence apart from the sound of the wood peckers. The trail didn’t seem too end. We were going up an incline and it was getting difficult. It was 2 hrs since we were walking and pink lake was nowhere in sight. We were getting frustrated. After walking another half hr we saw a parking lot in the distance. We were shocked, had we taken a wrong turn somewhere? We were supposed to reach the lake by this time. As we neared the parking lot, we spotted a huge water body glistening in the sun. We had reached pink lake at last.

Pink lake was not pink really. It inherited its name from a family who settled in the region in 1826. The lake was surrounded by steep cliffs on all sides with lots of greenery surrounding it. A hiking trail ran all the way round the lake. We didn’t have the energy to explore that. It was almost noon and we were very hungry. We found a nice spot in the shade and started eating the bagels we had carried along. We were glad we had carried enough drinking water as there wasn’t a single water fountain along the trail. We spent almost an hour near the lake. It was very quite and serene. We took a lot of pictures too. After sometime we decided to leave but couldn’t figure out the way out of the park. We didn’t have a map with us. After asking a few people we concluded that the only way out of the park was going back to the place we had started from. This meant walking back 7-8 km’s. Our legs were too tired for another long walk. But we had no choice. We kept walking for another 2 hours, but the exit was nowhere in sight. We were really exhausted by that time.

…I opened my eyes and looked around me. The other people in our group had reached near us. We got up and started walking again. We kept walking for another half hr when we spotted a lot of buildings on the horizon. We were close to the exit now. We felt rejuvenated and started walking faster. Finally after some time we reached the place we had started from. Now the question was how we get a taxi to take us to the place where we could take a bus to go home. Since there was nothing around we had to walk another 1 km on the highway to reach a food mall from where we could call a taxi. But before doing that we decided to eat something. Everyone was feeling starved. I had a juicy chicken burger with fries and a large cola. It tasted like heaven. After sometime our taxi arrived and we left for home.

This is how our hiking expedition ended. We reached home extremely tired and barely able to move. After taking a hot shower and having some food and a tablet of crocin, I slept off. Sleep came easily that day and was very sweet. I had to wake up at 6 am next morning. It was going to be a tiring Monday morning. If you have managed to read this blog till here, your effort is by no means less than my hiking experience.

The Big Fat Bollywood Wedding

*whew* It's finally over. The whole country was waiting for this wedding to happen since so many months. It must be a matter of national pride that Abhishek Bachchan decided to marry Aishwarya Rai, or maybe it was the other way round. Mark 20th April in your calenders. It's a pretty historic day. Who knows, our great Indian government might even declare a holiday on this date next year onwards. The media is celebrating, the people are celebrating and of course I am too. But not because it has happened, but because it is finally over. All websites and news channels worth their salt have been covering the wedding. All other national and international news has taken a backseat. So what if some people have been killed in Kashmir or some bus has collapsed in the river, it is more important to cover the wedding proceedings of the most eligible bachelor in town with the most beautiful woman in the world.

The actual circus was a 3 day affair which started on 18th April. They started with the traditional sangeet or music ceremony where the relatives of the couple sing and dance and make merry. I'm sure it must have been a bollywood style event. Then on the 19th they had the mehendi ceremony which I don't have much details about. Not that I care, but just for your information. and lastly on the 20th April happened the grand finale with all the circus performers gathering at Amitabh Bachchan's big bungalow where the wedding etc took place. And yes, the circus had a huge audience which consisted of the jobless Indian public and the spineless Indian media. Only some exclusive people were invited for the wedding. The wedding card was pretty fancy itself consisting of some white gold embossed stuff. I did not receive an invite so I cant give more details. Of course Amar singh was there along with a host of bollywood stars and directors. I wonder why Salman khan was not invited. He was such a good friend of Aishwariya rai. And Vivek Oberoi was nowhere to be seen too. Maybe they were busy with their shoots.

I don't blame the Indian public for taking so much interest in their wedding. After all an event like this does not happen everyday. Those people will be proud to tell their grand children that they had attended the Abhiash wedding. Well almost. So what if they were not allowed to see their favourite stars taking the saat pheras, so what if they were not allowed to be a part of the sangeet, so what if they were not invited for the reception. Some poor fellows came all the way from allahabad saying that they were going to attend the wedding of their own brother/son etc. We Indians are such emotional fools. The media did their job beautifully. They covered every aspect of the wedding, from the time aishwariya started buying her wedding clothes, their engagement, the preparation for the sangeet, the baaraat etc. They kept us up to date with who had arrived for the wedding, who was leaving and even what each guest was wearing. I came to know that everyone was in an orange turban but Anil ambani was in a red one. I wish they would cover their honeymoon with the same enthusiasm. I'm sure the whole of India will be glued to their TV sets and the TRP of the channels will hit roof top. Too bad I'm not in India. AajTak is sabse tez. who knows, the AajTak camera is already covering it live.

Now the whole country will be waiting for their child to be born. Will he look like Abhishek or Aishwariya or maybe Amitabh? Indian people just need something to keep their idle minds occupied. Now they will be looking to crown the next most eligible bachelor in town. Who can it be? Salman Khan? tushar kapoor? Anyway let then look around, I'm going to browse through the Internet for some more masala on the Abhiash wedding. I'm so excited !!!

...Aur irani chai

I was in my 12th standard then. Me and my friend took off towards Bombay Central on a weekend. Our destination was lamington road, a mecca for computer accessories in Bombay. As we alighted from the bus (Number 66) near opera house, it was nearly lunch time. We decided to have lunch and then continue. My friend recommended that we eat at an Irani cafe. Now I was really hungry and in no mood to experiment. I had never been to an Irani cafe before. But he promised me a good meal at a throwaway price. That changed my mind as I never had enough money those days. Whatever money I had saved was going to be spent on buying some computer accessories. So I agreed and started searching for one.

We found one Irani cafe located in an old building complex. Looking at the place, I had second thoughts about eating there. It looked quite ancient. Perhaps the mughals had their breakfast there. But hunger made us walk inside. Inside the ambiance was quite and serene, with people eating and generally minding their own business (A quality of Bombay). We ordered Keema pav (Minced meat with bread) as it seemed to be the cheapest and most filling lunch item we could find on the menu. Our stomachs were rumbling as we waited. But the wait was worth it. It was probably the tastiest keema pav I had ever eaten. After that we had a cup of Irani tea. It was then that I fell in love with Irani cafe's. After that day, whenever I was in town side, I would make it a point to drop in to an Irani cafe if there was one in the vicinity.

Most of these cafes are concentrated in and around Mahim, Byculla, Colaba, Dadar and Bandra and are run by Parsis. All of them have similar interiors and furniture. There will be small tables with red checked tablecloths or marble tops. The waiters will not be smartly dressed, but the service will be fast and hassle free. The food will taste almost the same everywhere. There is nothing fancy about the place, but it makes you come back again. These cafes are mostly frequented by the working class people who drop in for some quick and cheap food. Some of the popular cafes are, Kyani and Co, Cafe Mondegar, Cafe Leopold, Brittania cafe etc. As you enter the cafe, the smell of fresh baked mawa cakes and other baked products will greet you. Another hot selling item is Bun-Maska (bread-butter) and Chai.

These cafes were frequented by film stars many years ago. Many of them are over a century old. These days they are losing their charm in front of the more westernized and modern eateries. The newer generation probably don't even know of their existance. If things continue this way, a part of Bombay's culture and heritage will slowly be lost in time. I however hold fond memories of the place.

A weekend with God

This Saturday happened to be Vaisakhi which is the Punjabi new year and marks the beginning of the harvest season in Punjab. Vaisakhi falls on the 14th of April every year. Vaisakhi is the day on which the Khalsa (The Pure Ones) was born and Sikhs were given a clear identity and a code of conduct to live by. The event was led by the last living Guru, Guru Gobind Singh Ji, who baptised the first Sikhs using sweet nectar called Amrit. Around the world at Vaisakhi time, Sikhs and Punjabi's reflect on the values taught to them by their Gurus and celebrate the birth of the Khalsa.

This time around I happen to be in Canada and got the opportunity to visit the local Gurudwara here. It's around 6-7 Kms from my house. I went there with my aunt, uncle and cousin. We reached there at around 4:30 in the afternoon by car. It looked like not may people had turned up yet as the parking lot was almost empty. The Gurudwara building itself did not look like a conventional Gurudwara building as you can see in the picture. But it was the same calm and serene atmosphere as it is in almost all Gurudwaras. We entered the building and walked into a room to remove our footwear and jackets. Unlike India, there was no one to take the footwear and stack it in the shelves. We did that ourselves and put the jackets on the hangers provided. We then proceeded towards the main hall. It was largely empty with 1-2 people sitting. After offering prayers, we sat there for some time. I took the opportunity to thank God for everything he has given me in the past few months. I couldn't have asked for more. After a while we walked out towards the hall. This was the langar hall. It was a big carpeted hall with a neat row of washbasins on one side and a kitchen on the other. Lots of people were busy cooking food for the evening celebrations. We ate some pakoras and had nice tea. After a few hours the program was to start and a large number of people were expected. But unfortunately we had to leave. After my uncle showed me around a bit, we collected our jackets, put on our shoes and walked out. This is when I took the picture you are seeing above.

So this was one of my infrequent visits to the Gurudwara. I'm not an atheist, but somehow over the past few years I haven't visited the Gurudrawa much. Before this I had been to the Gurudwara in Bangalore. But then I had gone there for the first time in the 4-5 yrs that I spent in Bangalore. I believe that God is everywhere and as long as I am true to myself and good to people, God will not mind me not going to the Gurudwara. Maybe that's why he is making things work for me. But sometimes it does feel good to go there and sit in the calm environment. It gives lots of peace of mind. Anyway, I hope this was not the last time I visited the Gurudwara here. I definitely need to go back again to try the langar :-)

Backstreet dogs

The auto stopped near my lane. I got off, paid him off and started walking towards my house. It was quite late. The movie was too long. I removed my watch and slipped it into my pocket. It's an unsafe world. Who knows when I might get mugged. My ears were alert and my eyes were roving around as I walked. Suddenly I felt as if someone was walking behind me. Its never a good feeling when you think someone is following you. I continued to walk without looking back. Then I felt some movement just behind me. A chill ran down my spine. My house was still a good 100 meters away. Should I run? Should I turn behind and face him? My mind was in confusion. Then I slowly turned around and stared into those bloodshot eyes. They stared back at me. For a few seconds we just stood there staring at each other. I knew I was no match for him. It would be wise to run, but that was futile. I was trapped. Money, cellphone, watch were not things he wanted. Perhaps he would be satisfied by my blood or a peice of my flesh. Maybe I was dinner for him. I bent down, picked up a stone and swung my arm as if throwing the stone. He immedietly backed off and started barking, his teeth glistening in the moonlight. Then from nowhere 5-10 dogs started barking with him in tandem and I heard all of them running towards us. So the entire gang was coming and I was alone. I swung my arm again, this time more menacingly and started running towards my house. As I ran I looked over my shoulder to see the entire gang of dogs chasing me. This was life. The hunter was the hunted today.

It's not that I hate dogs, I just dont adore them. And I cant be blamed, because of incidents like the one above, which have happened to me on several occasions. I have been chased all my life, not by girls (unfortunately), but by dogs. They used to chase me when I used to go to school on my cycle. Early in the morning I had to zip past them, but somehow they would know and they would take the trouble of waking up from their sweet sleep and chasing me for some distance. What did they get out of it? I never came to know. I used to go for tutions. As soon as I entered the house, their dog would come running, stick his tongue out and start wagging his tail. When I sat down on the chair, he would come and start licking me. And I couldnt even swear at him in the presence of my teacher. Once I got very fitness concious and joined a gym (I know ppl like me dont look good in the gym). I used to wake up at 5am, get ready and walk to the gym. It used to be pitch dark outside, the whole world would besleeping, except for my friends, the dogs. They used to start barking the moment I passed them. Then all the neighbothood dogs joined in the fun. There were times when I had to turn back and return home running. But I consoled myself saying that running was excercise too.

But when I go back in time, I know for a fact that I liked dogs. I have some childhood pictures to prove that. I never had a pet dog, but I was friendly with the dogs in the neighbourhood. One particular black one (whom we called kaalu) used to almost stay in our courtyard. I would feed it peices of bread, buiscuits or even milk sometimes. Then one day he disappeared. I never saw him again. Occasionally me and my friends used to pick puppies and bring them to our house. We would play around and feed them. Ofcourse I wasn't allowed to bring those dogs inside the house because they would dirty the house. Somewhere down the line, I lost interest in dogs (I suppose) but they gained interest in me, and thats probably why they chase me wherever I go. Today, I love dogs. I dont mind having a dog at home. Infact I wouldn't mind having 2 dogs at home. But they should be of the soft toy variety ;-)

Visiting canada.com

I woke up with a start, my eyes barely opening. I cursed the hour when I had set the alarm to ring at 5:30 in the morning. I slammed the button on top and set it to snooze for another 5 mins and closed my eyes hoping to catch up with some more sleep. Sleep is the sweetest thing in this world. Very faithfully my alarm went off again in 5 mins and I had no choice but to wake up. I looked around me, darkness everywhere. A thin ray of light had entered the room through the overhead window. My room mates were sleeping peacefully while I had to rush and get ready and then take a conf call from home. I would have rather slept for half hour more. Life has become such a routine. Wake up in the morning, sleep for some more time, hit the snooze button several times before finally waking up. Then sit and think whether to take a bath or not. Take a bath if the inner voice says so or else just brush your teeth, answer natures call and get ready. Keep the eggs for boiling while preparing a hot cup of coffee. When the eggs are done, remove the shell, cut the eggs into two pieces, put some salt, some black pepper (drool) and eat it silently while watching the weather channel.

It has been one month since I have been following this routine. Life here moves according to the weather channel. This is what I was told when I reached here and I try to follow that advice seriously. The day starts with switching on the TV (I do have a TV in my house) and putting on the weather channel. A smart dude along with a beautiful (seriously) girl, gives the local weather report. If they say its going to snow, it does snow. If they say its going to be a clear day, it is indeed a clear day. So depending on what they say, I decide how many layers of clothes to wear that day. Ofcourse sometimes things go wrong and I come home freezing. Unfortunately there is no fireplace in my house and we have to rely on the heater to make things feel nice. I sometimes feel like a piece of meat lying in the freezer. But atleast I have layers and layers of clothes to protect me from the cold and I can still breathe. Coming from a country where even a temperature of 15 degrees is considered to be cold, I was greeted by -15 degrees the day I landed here. There was snow all around and I was hardly prepared for it. The locals people seemed happy because it was getting warmer for them. -15 degrees was by no means warm for me and to top it the wind chill made it feel like -25 degrees. There was a day when the temperature dropped to -40 degrees. Its too cold to even think about it now.

It does not matter what shirt im wearing. It does not matter if the shirt is clean or dirty. It does not matter if the shirt if ironed or not. And it definitely does not matter if I have taken a bath or not. Its just too cold for these things to matter. Whichever shirt I wear gets hidden beneath my full sleeves sweater. Only the collar is visible. So the collar is really the only thing I need to wash and iron. And since I have just one sweater here, it may seem like I wear the same clothes to office everyday. I wonder what the people there must think of me. Anyway waiting for it to get warmer so I can shed some clothes, the sweater and thermals I mean. I've heard spring is really beautiful here, trees grow leaves while people shed clothes :)

So what does one do in a forsaken place as this. Definitely can't sit at home on the weekends. Places like these have a lot of things to do, even in winters. Few of us went ice skating at the canal here. It happens to be the longest skating rink in the world. Our group was the center of attraction there, not because we were skating well, but because we could barely stand on our feet and were landing our bottoms on the ice quite frequently. Last week we had a snow fight outside our house which attracted our neighbor's attention because of the din we created. Apart from that we have been roaming around downtown, watching movies, visiting museums, window shopping (Too poor to buy anything), Eating pizza's, burgers and drinking Tim Hortons coffee. All in all things are not so bad here, this is Canada and I'm enjoying myself here. Spring is just around the corner and I have 5 months more to go. I'm hoping this trip will bring more excitement in the coming months. And ofcourse when I'm not sightseeing, I go to office and work for a while :)