Its grt 2 b 25

Yes I know I know it is the caption for Kotak Mahindra's ad; but like Kotak Mahindra, which turned 25 last month, even I completed my silver jubilee today.

And let me tell you, though turning 25 is as special as turning 18, it is definitely not that exciting. Expectations increase and so do the responsibilities. I might have seen several 'A' certified films and have voted atleast 2-3 times too. So in a nutshell, my 25th b'day was not as rocking as my 18th b'day.

But still, I loved my b'day and all the attention showered upon me by my family, friends and my aunty :)

P.S: Bahut pakao post ho gaya...will come back this weekend to add mirch masala and tadka to my dead blog :) till then take care and enjoy the remaining days of 2010.

Phoolon ka Taaron ka Sabka kehna hain ek hazaro mein mere bhaiyya hain :)

He is a responsible guy, She is extremely irresponsible

He never looses his cool, She is famous for her temper tantrums

He does not know to do nautanki, She is a drama queen

He has never lost a single eraser in 10 years, She looses an eraser in every 10 days

He has changed just 2 jobs in 10 years, She has changed 10 jobs in 2 years

He is maha practical, She is extra senti and emotional

He loves heavy metal songs, she completely detests them

Gayu and Siddhu with Dadaji and Doggie

And despite all these differences they both get along very well.

I don't think you need any intro.

He is my sweet and world's best elder brother- Siddharth Vishwanathan

And She is me - Gayathri :)

You should read this to know more about our bond.

I am maha excited about Raksha Bandhan...have some plans for the occasion.

I cant give anything to my brother other than my love and affection (good excuse for not spending money). But then I have decided to make his favorite Cauliflower kii Sabji, which we famously call 'Siddhu Bhaji' at home :)

Please pray that it turns out well.

Meanwhile, I will pray for the well-being of my brother and the entire world :)

Happy Raksha Bandhan to all of you. Brothers, please apni behno kii raksha karna and give her good gifts and sisters please apne bhaiyya ko acche tareeke se lootna :)

Meri jigri Dost

It's friendship day and I am sure all of us would walk down the memory lane, reminiscing about our school and college days when each of us would tie colorful friendship bands on each other's wrist, write friendship messages on people's hand and t-shirts with sketchpen, send innumerable messages to our friends and do every possible thing to make this day special. Schools and Colleges used to look really colorful on friendship days. I miss those silly days.

Today, on Friendship Day, I wish to introduce you all to my best friend. A woman (other than my mom) who knows me well. The brave girl who has seen my unpredictable temper tantrums and has actually stuck to me despite my famous ego problems. She is my biggest strength and my biggest weakness too.

Friends, let me introduce you to my jigri dost Sangi aka Sanjay Singhania kii female version

Sangi and Me giving Parag Sariwala pose ;-)

Memories of my jigri dost: She is my Chaddi Buddy...meri bachpan kii dost. We were classmates in school but weird we never spoke to each other. Infact we were introduced to each other by our grannies. We were not too close, but as time passed by, our bond had become more strong and deep. We have several fond memories like going for regular morning walks for just 2 days :), trying to make chocolate mousse and adding salt to it coz we had added excess sugar, planning an exhibition after Sangi learnt to make imitation jeweleries and a famous fight in Water kingdom :). We had lots of fun and we still laugh when we remember those incidents. I would say that those were the best days of my life.

Geographically durr but dil se durr nahi: However, the fun filled days were short lived when she shifted to a distant place during the last year of her graduation. I missed her sorely especially when I would look at girls of my age laughing and gossiping in whispers, I felt a lump in my throat when the grocerywala uncle asked: aajkal tumhari dost nahi aati fatafat lene (fatafat was her favorite and Grocerywala uncle did not have to bother about it's stock, as Sangi would ensure that all the stocks are emptied within a month) . I missed her presence a lot. But as time passed, we became more mature and got busy with our lives. But nevertheless, we stay in touch with each other, she knows what's happening in my life and vice-a-versa. We are as different as Chalk and Cheese: She is maha enthusiastic, I am lazy. She is a chatterbox, I talk to the point, she is fashion conscious, I am fashion illiterate....the list is endless, but the point is despite our different attitude and behavior, we understand each other and are best friends. Woh kehte hai naa Opposites attract, well it stands true in our case.

I wish to dedicate this song to Sangi. The lyrics of the song goes this way: Bane chahe dushman zamana humara, salamat rahe Dostana humara :)

P.S: Oh I forgot to mention the reason for comparing Sangi with Sanjay Singhania. Well if you have seen Ghajini (hindi version), you would know that Aamir Khan suffers from short term memory loss and that his name in the movie is Sanjay Singhania. My friend Sangeeta also has memory lapses. For example, if she narrates an incident to me, chances are that she would not remember anything if asked about it after 2 days :)

But nevertheless, I love her for what she is and am proud of her.

P.P.S: Oye sangi, I wrote the post, chal as promised take me to JW Mariott now :)

Oh and Happy friendship Day to all of you. Tum nahi hothe toh mere blog ka kya hotha. Thanks a lot my blogger pals for reading my crap regularly...I am lucky to be in your company :)

Respect Her!!!

• Mr. Maharaja Kaushik- the coach of Women's Hockey Team has been accused of sexually harassing the players.
• 3 minor girls get raped and killed in Nehru Nagar- Kurla, Mumbai
• A recent survey stated that Delhi is considered to be the most unsafe place in India for Women. Around 85% women said that they do not feel safe in Delhi. Goa is also considered unsafe by foreign tourists.

Welcome friends, welcome to a Nation where women is considered nothing less than a Sex object, where the law gives Gays Right (No intention of offending the LGBT community) more priority than drafting a 'Sexual Harassment in Workplace' bill.

Welcome to a nation, where on one hand a women is called the Lakshmi of the house (obviously, it is she who brings Gold and money to your home in the form of dowry) and on the other is treated as a burden to the family (Coz in India it is the responsibility of a girl's father to conduct a marriage on their expenses).

Pardon me for this nonsensical rant, but could not stop myself from ranting.

Today as I flipped through the pages of a newspaper, I found more than half of the newspaper carrying stories about Rapes, Sexual Harassments and Molestation. Tired, I switched on the TV and was greeted by the same Rape, Sexual Harassment stories. I switched off the TV and sat on the veranda only to find an uncle residing in the opposite building in a drunken state slapping his wife black and blue. It was a sick sight to watch. We complained to the Cops for the nth time, who took him to the station for the nth time and sent him back home for the nth time coz his loyal wife is scared to complain against him.

India is a nation of diversity, and not just languages and culture; even the treatment meted out towards women in different parts of the country proves this.

So while a girl child is welcomed as Lakshmi or Durga in West Bengal or Southern States, a girl born in Punjab or Haryana is considered to be a huge burden to the family and is often killed after birth. Often, the mother who has given birth to a girl child is sent back home as though she has committed a crime. The father of the child seldom realizes that it is his chromosomes that determine the sex of the child. So shouldn't he be punished for committing this heinous crime.

Obviously, I have no answers to my rants but yes I do have some wishes that I hope gets fulfilled some day:

I hope that the honorable Judiciary System takes a note of the crimes meted out towards women and make the laws more stringent.

I hope that girls stop compromising on certain things to climb up the corporate ladder or to get selected in a National Team. Set an Example by saying a FIRM NO.

I hope that the government does something about protecting the women.

I hope that every family treats women as equal and treat them with respect.

I hope that the media does not make such stories a fodder to fill their space and time. It's good to inform people but definitely not good to harp over it.

But most importantly, I hope that Women do not keep quiet and learn to fight for themselves.

Holy S**t

I wish to ask all of you who are reading this post a set of questions:

1. Who according to you is greater- a person who behaves with the poor with decency, or the one who is supposedly an ardent follower of God but treats people like dirt?

2. Who according to you should be respected in the Society- Someone who treats his bahu beti with respect, or someone who abuses his bahu beti under the same roof where they have performed yagnas?

3. Who would you tolerate- Someone who is an atheist but abides with the law and social mores, or the one who goes to every temple existing in the city but does not abide with the law.

4. What would you do if a girl is abused/beaten or burnt in front of your eyes- Would you go to protect her, or just close the windows and doors saying that it is her KARMA and she has to bear it.

I know you would agree to the part which is marked in red. But sadly, major part of the society would not agree with us.

I am angry...angry because no matter what some GOOD spiritual leaders teach, society is filled with hypocrisy. These GOOD spiritual leaders teach their followers to love everyone...serve everyone...but why is it that we distinguish people on the basis of caste, religion, economic status etc? Why do we tell a mom who brings her mentally challenged son along to stay away from the bhajans? Why differentiate between a madrasi and a non madrasi, a gujarati and a non- gujarati? Why play politics in a spiritual group? Why be so selfish? Why this narrow mindedness? Why this pretension of being holier than thou when there is nothing holy in your acts?

Someone told me...its better to be an atheist and be a good human rather than being an ardent devotee of God and doing all the wrong things exiting under the sun. Do good acts, thats any day better than merely singing praises of God and doing wrong things.

There's one thing I want to ask these Leaders or so-called god too: When an individual is wrong, is it not your duty to correct them or are you plain scared that your followers would run away and not fund your ventures???

Things I am Proud of...

Well, I assume that Neha has tagged me for this one only coz she commented on my facebook wall that I have been tagged.

Ok this is what I am supposed to do:

In this tag, I am supposed to list ten things that I have ever wanted or have done, which my gender is not supposed to do.

Chalo, Shuru Karti hoon:

1. My friend had once challenged me to eat atleast 100 Panipuris that too without meethi chatni within 20 mins. I ate 15 plates (each plate had 8 puris) in 22 mins. Needless to say, my friend was maha impressed by my eating skills and needless to say, I suffered from severe acidity for 3-4 days. Now I have not seen many girls doing this.

2. 20 stitches, multiple scars and burn marks is what you would find on my hands and legs.

3. Aamir Khan said in Ishq that Train, Bus aur Ladki ke peeche kabhi bhaagna nahi chahiye. Ek gayi toh dusri aa jayegi. Now, I don't run after girls but I definitely run behind buses and trains. Infact, I am known to catch chalti huvi gaadi ekdum hero ke mafeek.

4. Ask my friends: Yeh gayathri naam ki ladki kahan rehti hain. And I am sure you would see them searching for the girl coz they don't know gayathri naam ki LADKI. They only know a person called guy-a-3 :)

5. 'Awww', 'Cho Chweet', 'Mwah Mwah', 'Miss u', 'Love u' 'Baby' etc etc does not exist in my dictionary. I am too curt and have a habit of talking to the point. Rather my friends say I lack emotions...which is why they call me guy-a-3.

6. I reveal my age and do not think twice before hiding it :)

7. I don't have the patience to beautify my face. Rather, I feel I look better without makeup.

8. I wanted to become an automobile designer like Dilip Chhabria and had designed a few ones on my English notebook too, but weird I never took the initiative to become one.

9. I played with dolls, but it's a different story that I either broke their hand, their leg, removed their eyes or made them bald instead of taking care of them like a normal girl would do.

10. Last but not the least, someone told me that I have a voice like Sanjay Dutt...and even dad says I sound like a bhai. No wonder some people do get scared of me.

I am not tagging anyone...Thanks Neha...Had fun doing this. Bikram, will take your tag soon :)

It's Appi Day...

Year 1990: It was 9.00 PM and this was the scene at Appi's home.

Appi: Sollu 3 minus 3 evlo? (Translation: how much is 3 minus 3)

Daughter stares blankly at her father.

(Appi gives 10 minutes to his daughter to solve the problem)

Now almost loosing his cool...he takes out a book, a blue and red sketch pen and writes in a font size 32. 3 minus 3 = 0. Did you get it? If you subtract a number from the same number, you get 0.

Daughter nods as though she has attained enlightenment.

(after 5 minutes, Appi gives her another problem)

Appi: Sollu 5 minus 5 evlo? (Translation: how much is 5 minus 5)

Daughter again stares blankly at her father ;-)

Appi: ( bored of the blank stares) kya karoon meri beti kaa?

Year 2010: It was 9.00 and this was the scene at Appi's home.

(Daughter comes home with 4-5 shopping bags)

Appi: Did you purchase the groceries and vegetables?

Daughter: Yes Appi

Appi: Evlo Total? (Translation: What's the total?)

Daughter: 600 Rs

Appi: And I gave you 1550 Rs, so how much are you supposed to return back?

Daughter: (stares blankly at her father, but recovers soon as she calculates quickly using the mobile and) answers proudly I need to return back 950 Rs.

Appi: (who was not aware of his daughter's shaanpati) said proudly, arre wah sahi jawab. school mein aise solve karti toh...toh aaj meri beti engineer banti ;-)

Daughter: (bored of the same old dialogue) Kya karoon mere Appi kaa?

'By now you might have guessed it...

Appi is none than Mr. Vishwanathan...my rockstar daddy

And Daughter is ofcourse me, Ms. Gayathri Vishwanathan.

P.S: Wishing all my friend's bapulog...a happy and a rocking father's day :)

You Know You Grew Up in India in the 90s when...

I had received this mail from one of my friend and all I could think of was to share it with you all. It's a long list...but worth reading...I am sure it would revive your old cherished memories :) YENJOY!!!

You Know You Grew Up in India in the 90s When…

1. You know the words to ‘In-pin-safety-pin’ and ‘akkad-bakkad’ by heart

2. Cricket is almost a religion for you, and you idolize at least one of Rahul Dravid/Sachin Tendulkar/Saurav Ganguly

3. You have read at least some Chacha Chaudhary or Tinkle comics

4. You’ve watched Shaktimaan on TV at least once in your life. And you can immediately recognize the character when you see him.

5. You watched corny dubbed versions of Small Wonder, Silver Spoon, and I Dream of Jeanie

6. A visit to Pizza Hut used to mean a special treat

7. You have seen Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Hum Aapke Hain Kaun at least 5 times each

8. You still remember the theme song of Hum Paanch. (Hum Paanch, Pam Pam Pam Paanch!)

9. You have played hours upon hour of running and catching, chor-police, lagori, saankli, ‘Doctor, doctor, help us!’, ‘Lock and key’

10.Dog ‘in’ the bone was your favorite co-ed game.

11.You collected trump cards of wrestlers, cricketers, and airplanes, and did not quite understand why your younger siblings were obsessed with Pokemon and the other Japanese trends that followed.

12.Your summer vacations were often synonymous with visiting your grandparents or cousins

13.Bole mere lips, I love uncle Chips!

14.You know the song ‘Made in India’ by Alisha Chinai

15.You have seen many many many episodes of ‘Antakshari’ on Zee TV and know the only thing constant in the show is Annu Kapoor.

16.You were the coolest thing in class if you had a computer in your house while it was still the 90s.

17.You couldn’t wait to start 4th standard so you could start writing with PENS instead of with pencils!

18.You often used terms and phrases like ‘two-say’, ‘same to you, back to you, with no returns’, and ‘shame shame, puppy shame, all the donkeys know your name.’

19.You most probably saw Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge at the cinema at least once. You also fantasized about singing songs in mustard fields as in the movie.

20.You have said ‘haw’ or ‘yuck’ when you saw people kissing in English movies. (nowadays kids are used to it!)

21.Titanic was your FIRST favourite english movie.

22.You thought seeing English movies and speaking English made you the coolest thing ever.

23.You remember the Gujarat earthquake very clearly (even if it happened in jan 26th 2001)

24.Barbies for girls, and GI Joes for boys were the ultimate status symbols. You just wanted more more more and more. And how can I forget Hot Wheels, for both boys and girls?

25."Jungle Jungle Baat Chali Hai Pata Chala Hai! Chaddi Pehen Ke Phool Khila Hai Phool Khila Hai!" You watched "The Jungle Book" every Sunday morning at 9.a.m" and just loved mowgli, bhalu and bagheera. A few years later, you watched Disney Hour, which had cartoons like Aladdin, Gummy Bears, Tail Spin, Uncle Scrooge!

26.At some point or other, cool was your favourite, and therefore, most overused word.

27.You loved licking off the cream from the centre of Bourbon biscuits.

28.There were no Nike, Reebok, Adidas, Puma- Bata and Liberty was the way to go for shoes

29.You have probably consumed more Frooti in your lifetime than there is oil in Iraq.

30.You bought packets of potato chips for the specific purpose of collecting Tazos. And you had Tazos depicting everyone from Confucius to Daffy Duck to Daffy Duck dressed as Confucius.

31.For the longest time, the Maruti 800, the Premier Padmini, THE Fiat, and THE Ambassador were the only cars you saw on the road, and the Contessa was cool because it was bigger.

32.You would literally jump up in excitement if you ever chanced upon an imported car (Oh my gosh, is that really a MERCEDES?)!

33.You used to Fuzen gum. You also chewed Big (big) Babool and/or Boom Boom Boomer chewing gum. They were bright pink and disgusting tasting, but you loved them for the temporary tattoos.

34.Talking of temporary tattoos, you sometimes had contests with your classmates about who had more tattoos on their arm, leg, knee, hand, forehead, wherever.

35.You thought Mario and Contra were the coolest things ever invented, especially if you were a boy.

36.You knew that having the latest Hero or Atlas bicycle would make you the coolest kid on the block.

37.You can imitate Sushmita Sen’s winning gasp to perfection

38.Seemingly senseless acronyms like SRK, DDLJ, DTPH, KKHH actually make sense to you.

39.You have at some point debated who was more beautiful- Aishwarya or Sushmita.

40.You would watch WWF keenly every evening/afternoon and loved Bret Hart "Hitman"! really thought Undertaker had seven lives and he made an “actual” appearance in the Akshay Kumar- starrer Khiladiyon ka Khiladi.

41.You remember the Nirma girl.

42.You remember the ‘doodh doodh piyo glass full doodh’ ad and also the ‘laal kaala peela, gulabi hara neela classic hai badia bristles wala’ and 'roz khao ande' ads.

43.Towards the late 90s (1998-99) at least some of us started our Harry Potter obsessions!

44.You absolutely HAD to go to Essel World if you were with cousins! “Essel World mein rahoonga main, ghar nahin nahin jaaonga main!”

45.You watched the Bournvita Quiz contest on TV pretty religiously. The smarter ones amongst you actually took part in it and had your entire school and your entire extended families watch you on it!

46.If you grew up in the early 90s, you recall the nation’s obsession with Mahabharata on TV

47.In the later 90s, you religiously followed Hip Hip Hooray on Zee. Maybe Just Mohabbat on Sony too

48.You remember parzan dastur sayin "JALEBI!!!!" in the Dhara Ad

49.Andaz Apna Apna is and most probably will always be your favourite comedy flick!! "Aila Jhakaas!!!"

50.This list made you smile.

Tag kii barish

Insignia has tagged me and so had Blunt Edges some centuries ago. So now without wasting time in pakaoing u...I will start off with Insignia's tag followed by Blunt Edge's Tag.

Insignia's 'Cherry on Top' Award:

About the tag:

I have to write 3 good things about me (It's like asking Gabbar and Mogambo to write good things about themselves)

Ready, Steady Go:

1. I am a harmless creature. I don't even kill roaches (I tell mummy to do it). But honestly, I believe in Live and Let Live and don't like to harm anybody intentionally or unintentionally.

2. I am courteous to Rickshwalas, Bus conductorwalas and all those walas to whom the general public is rude. These Heroes are responsible for making our day to day living hassle free and smooth and I guess one must respect them for that.

3. I am a good citizen of this country and I abide by the laws.

I am passing it on to: Blunt Edges, Shanu, Sid and Sangi :)

____________________________________________

Blunt Edge's Nameless award:

About the Tag: I have to follow the below given rules:

1. List 7 things about yourself that nobody knows

2. Pass on this award to 7 other people

3. Comment on their blog and let them know that they are tagged.

Ready, Steady Go:

1. I am a very lazy lazy lazy person. I am Garfield in Human form.

2. I am still confused about my career. I know I am destined to do something else, probably becoming a Drama Queen like Rakhi Sawant.

3. I don't know to sweet talk and maska marao anybody. This is one primary reason why I am unable to cope up with the Rat race. I just cannot talk with my boss beyond work related things.

4. I can't read a novel or any book beyond 20 pages. I get really impatient and have actually read mystery novels from the back as I want to know the suspense pronto.

5. Salman Khan's dialogue in Wanted: Jab main ek baar commitment de deta hoon to uske baad khud ki bhi nahi sunta...is not applicable to me. Not that I suffer from Commitment phobia, but looking at the frequency at which I change my jobs, I have some serious doubts about it.

6. I am way too independent and this is often mistaken for Ego especially by men :( (the only exception is when I am broke)

7. I am currently having no money in my Savings...so those who are reading this post are free to donate some money into my account.

I am passing it on to: Sangi, Insignia, Neha, Hary, Bikram, Abhinav and moonlite :)

A song on Water Shortage...

Scenario:

It was a sunday and I had gone out in this kadi dhoop to Siddhivinayak Mandir for Ganeshji's darshan. I came home sweating. Just as I entered the bathroom to take a bath, my mom shouted "Pani nahi hain, use borewell water'. I don't like Borewell water, but woh kehte hain naa...waqt bura hone par sher bhi gaas khata hain, similarly, I had no option but to take bath in borewell water.

I came out refreshed, and switched on the sadela FM, kii achanak this song 'Nayan Tarse' from Dev D was played. As soon as the song ended, I knew what would be my next post...and here it is....Ladeej and Gentlemen...I present before you a bakwaas Parody of an awesome song, and dedicate this to our beloved BMC who without fail remembers to cut the water supply every summer.

Gala (throat) yeh Tarse

Gala yeh Tarse

Pani bhi Na Mile

Gala yeh Tarse

Gala yeh Tarse

Gala yeh Tarse

Tap se naa Bahe Dhaar

Gala yeh Tarse

ohhh Hai Ye

BMC bekaar

Gala yeh Tarse .. Tarse .. Tarse Re …..

Guzar gaye .. Guzar gaye rey

Guzar gaye .. Guzar gaye rey

Jab naa mile yeh jal, badhne lagi hulchul,

Swaha Swaha Hey Hey Hey Hey

Guzar gaye .. Guzar gaye rey

Guzar gaye .. Guzar gaye rey

Yeh garmi ke din aur raat bhi de chuban

Raama Raama Raama Raama Re

Saawan naa barse .. Saawan naa barse

Garmi mein ho bukaar

Sawaan naa Barse

Saawan naa Barse .. Saawan naa Barse

Gamoriyan bhi de hazaar

Sawaan naa Barse

ohhh gaye the raag Malhaar

But Sawaan naa Barse... Barse... Barse Re

Guzar gaye .. Guzar gaye rey

Guzar gaye .. Guzar gaye rey

Jab naa mile yeh jal, badhne lagi hulchul,

Swaha Swaha Hey Hey Hey Hey

Guzar gaye .. Guzar gaye rey

Guzar gaye .. Guzar gaye rey

Yeh garmi ke din aur raat bhi de chuban

Raama Raama Raama Raama Re

P.S: It has not come as nice as the Recessional Atyachar song...so I am waiting for your suggestions. Got any suggestions? Your suggestions may help me improvise this parody :)

Jai Hind...Jai Maharashtra!!!

To Adarniya Politicianjee,

Today, as all of you get ready to grab the limelight, I am typing the following questions for you (so what if none of you read my blog). I still have hopes that you would answer me someday.

Q1: Almost every local political party claims to be based on Shivaji Maharaj's ideologies. If that's true then why do these so-called followers disrespect other religions and languages (never in my history lessons was it mentioned that Shivaji Maharaj disrespected other religions and communities, on the contrary he was known for his benevolent nature)

Q2: Why is the economic condition in Maharashtra so diverse. On one hand, you have Business Tycoons like Mukesh Ambani who have money to afford a yacht and to buy an IPL franchise; while on the other hand you have the poor Vidarbha Farmers committing suicide coz they are unable to meet their daily needs.

Q3. Can I be assured that the infrastructure and the security of the city would soon improve? Will Ajmal Kasab be sentenced to death on 3rd May? Will there be less traffic?

Q4: Who is a Marathi Manoos. Do you consider a person who has stayed in Mumbai for more than 10 years, who speaks marathi, has marathi friends, eats marathi dishes, contributes to the growth of the city and adores Asha Bhosle and Madhuri Dixit as Marathi manoos or does (s)he have to be born in a Maharashtrian Family to get that revered title? Does (s)he have to be scared that some day the political parties may again start the 'Lungi Hatao, Pungi Bhajao' Andolan and may kick them out from the place that they consider as their own.

I know you have no answers to these questions. So if answering the above questions seems to be difficult, then atleast reply to what the singer has asked in this song (sorry video is pretty amateur...but could not find a better video for this song on YouTube)

Waiting for forever for your answers....

Your's Truly,

Aam Junta....

P.S: for those who did not understand the song:

The literal translation of the song is: Oh lord which of these flags should I hold. You need not understand Marathi for this, the images in the video explains the song. I had heard it 2 months back and as my friend said the lyrics reflected the thoughts of many youngsters who did not know whom to follow, when the chacha-batija duo got split and Raj Thackeray, made his own party called Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (famously known as MNS).

Shirdi wale sai baba Aaya hain tere dar pe sawali

In my previous post, Bikramji asked me kii main aakhir kahan disappear ho gayi. Boss hum toh yahin hain. Thanks for reminding me that I have not posted anything for past one month.

Actually, I was affected by writer's block yet again and with no tags pending, I seriously could not come up with a topic to write about. Anyways, now that I have just returned from Shirdi, I have plenty of things to write about. Let me describe it point by point (you are not allowed to miss even a single point even if you are bored of reading this long so-called travelogue).

1. A sudden trip to Shirdi: I have been visiting Shirdi almost every year for Baba's darshan. I somehow find solace whenever I go there. There is something about the place that draws me there evrytime. With a lamba weekend (3 holidays back to back) and with some important decisions to be taken, mom and I decided to make a quick 9 hour trip to Shirdi to seek baba's blessings.

2. The nice and not so nice bus journey (Mumbai to Shirdi): We left on Thursday night. Like always we boarded the 8PM bus from Goregaon. The nice part of the journey was that there was a cute looking guy with deep dimples adding sobha to his chehra sitting behind me. He was chit chatting with me endlessly and we were laughing over silly of the silliest jokes. I had started dreaming of a dance sequence too, wherein, we both were doing salsa (the song was tera hone laga hoon from ajab prem kii gajab kahani). I was brought down to earth by my mom who realized that unki beti ki niyat kharab ho rahi hain. The not so nice part of the journey came when he called up his girlfriend and said loudly "jaanu tumhe aana chahiye tha, main tumhe miss kar raha hoon". Bas yeh sunke mera interest uthar gaya and I fell asleep.

3. The enchanting baba's darshan and the stupid public: Shirdi has become a hugely popular pilgrimage destination in India. After Tirupati and Vaishano Devi, lakhs of people flock to Shirdi to take baba's darshan. After taking a room in a decent hotel, mom and I freshened up and went to seek baba's darshan at 7 AM. We wanted to go for the 4AM aarti, but I was way too lazy to get up and go. I got good darshan of baba and was mesmerized by the enthu public who kept repeating "Om sai namoh namah, shri sai namoh namah". But what irked me was the indisciplined crowd that tried to break the lines and wriggle like a worm between two people standing for darshan. It was pretty bad of them to do so. In order to avoid people barging in between, we had to stand in close proximities, and I by mistake happend to kick the butt of a guy standing before me for darshan (luckily the guy did not file a case of adam teasing against me). I even told a lady that "baba sabko darshan denge aap zara line mein khade rahiye", but all my pleas fell on deaf ears. I sincerely hope that the Saibaba Trust takes a note of this and works towards bringing orderliness amongst the devotees.

Bolo Shri Satchitananda Sadguru Sainath Maharaj kii Jai!!!

4. A maha boring return journey (Shirdi to Mumbai): We took a return bus from Shirdi to Mumbai at 1PM on Friday. As I had returned after taking baba's darshan, I had decided to be a good girl and not get attracted to good looking guys. The moment I settled down in my seat, I plugged my ears, closed my eyes and listened to Rafi singing Shirdiwale Sai baba. Luckily there were no good looking guys in the bus to divert my attention. The buswala had put Akshay Kumar's Chandni Chowk to China. It was a 3 hour ordeal for me to watch a weird looking Deepika and equally boring Akshay Kumar making a fool of themselves, but somehow I did manage to put up with it. But aal izz well. The journey was smooth and we reached home safely.

5. Conclusion: I have come home refreshed with full of energy and with zeal to take right decsisions. I must admit, no matter how commercialized the place may have become, the simplicity of the local people and the magic of Shirdi is still visible. I suggest that whenever you make a trip to Maharashtra, don't forget to make a trip to Shirdi and if you are coming to Mumbai, don't forget to take my darshan :)

Will leave you with an awesome song from the movie Amar Akbar Anthony. I love this song (please ignore nirupama roy and her melodrama, just listen to the song).