Shimla, 1:09 am

In the span of the last 36 hours, I have had dinner with a local princess (who is also the chief minister's daughter), seen a movie in a theatre which blacked out thrice bec of power cuts, and seen shekhu try to get a coffin organized in chandigarh. And this is my last night in Shimla (hopefully - if I manage to get up tomorrow morning).

Dinner last night was with two of shekhu's friends - a very young mother and her even younger daughter - and these extremely nice people turned out to be royalty. She is a Bushahri princess (a rajput clan of himachal) and also the chief minister's daughter. However, I would not have known this if she hadn't told me - she's a very sweet unassuming woman - and is absolutely adorable. The conversation was, of course, littered with alcohol (as have been most of my days here) - but was extremely interesting and chilled out. Besides, now I can actually say that I dined with royalty in Himachal :).

Went for Fanaa, the latest Aamir-Kajol film (I wanted to see it before I went forth into the boonies). Ok, so here's my take on it - in a nutshell - I liked it - even though there were SEVERAL moments where I was like "come on..!! That's too weird even for bollywood" (shooting helicopters down from the ground with a pistol? floating rishi kapoor?) But all said and done - I love both Kajol and Aamir - so I liked it. I think part of it was also because it's a small town and there's all the whistling and heckling and commenting (so fun!). And the lights went out thrice at which point the audience starting whistling even louder. But yea, it was fun.

Right now Shuks is trying to get a coffin organized. Why? Well, a business associate of his dad's came down to shimla and he organized a trip for this guy, his brothers and their families to manali. Now the younger brother of this business associate got a heart attack and passed away in manali. And we found this out right after we got out of Fanaa - so the whole evening was spent talking about malpractice and how random death can be. I mean seriously, this dude was apparently fit and in great health - and now, suddenly, he is no more. freaky.

And I have a splitting headache.

Shimla, 7:21 PM

So after a traumatic Indian Airlines flight to Chandigarh (where 2 pan chewing bihari types spat paan into a Times of India-ewww!) I finally reached Shimla. After attending to bathroom duties, I barely sat down before Shuks ordered some food and chai for me (the service here is impeccable - and amusing too - to see Shuks in action). And then before I could even have a french fry he rolled a doobie. And Vodka.

So yea, pretty much for the next six hours after I arrived I just ate, myrtled* and drank. A lot. This is a surreal experience while at the foot of the himalayas, especially in a town like Shimla - the mountains are littered with all these hotels and commercial properties - so in the night it looks as though the hills are alive with little lights (no, not the sound of music). And to be high at dusk and watch the lights take over while sitting and talking shit (which seems like really intellegent conversation at the time) about the past and the future with Shuks and his friends...*sigh*...if only you guys could be here.

Shimla itself is a quaint little town, and this becomes more apparent when you're staying with a local business owner. Shuks gets a cheap thrill walking down the main street -"the mall" - and bumping into randoms every 2 minutes (literally) and everyone knows everyone. It has this collonial hangover - which is no surprise considering it used to be the summer capital of the Raj where many major political discussions were held (including that of partition, I think). But the collonialist style isn't Victorian as in Bombay - I'm too ignorant to categorize it architecturally, but the buildings (most of them) have peaked roofs and are made of stone (I'll post pictures later). A lot of the newer buildings are built around this style (except shorter -you can't build higher than a certain height for heritage preservation reasons- and of cement) - and because of it being one of the closest hill stations to delhi - almost every building is a hotel (sometimes there are 2 hotels in one building). This also means that there's a fair amount of Delhi chacha-bachha types. And monkeys too.

The monkeys walk around the city amidst the crowd - and both species are indifferent to each others' presence. Today, while I was shadowing Shuk's business deal on a terrace of a nearby hotel - this monkey walks by our table like an unattended guest - stares at us, almost exchanging polite niceties and walks ahead. And then a family of serds waddled by a few minutes later (they were in height order). All this while Shuks and this other agent from delhi are carrying on with their business. You had to be there - it was funny.

But in all, the place is very scenic and Shekhu's hotel, although basic, has very well trained staff (in fact, he's screaming at the housekeeping staff right now).

I'm probably leaving this place on Saturday morning after watching Fanaa - to head to Sarahan, a town nearby. And yes, the roads to Leh are open - YAY!!!! I'm just feeling happy now - I don't know if it's because of the intoxicants that will enter my system, or whether its just the mountain air - but I'm smiling. And yes, I miss all of you - especially when I'm high.

(*myrtle story - 4 years ago when I was in goa for new years with Kavs, Shavs and Sveen we got stoned and Sveen mentioned Myrtle Lobo, my former physics tutor's wife - and she thought for the longest time that her name was actually Myrtle Turtle - and since we were high we couldn't stop laughing - and so, since then whenever Kavs or me get stoned we call it getting Myrtled)

Bombay, 2:00PM

My dad says that the bhang high lasts for 3 days - and it makes you happy. This, perhaps, is why I'm laughing now.

Remember the bad airline karma thing- well apparently it works on trains too. So India now has this new system where you can book your tickets online, and if you're waitlisted - a hard copy of the ticket is couriered to you (as opposed to a confirmed e-ticket). Now I booked my ticket on Friday, and it was supposed to have reached on Saturday. Now, trusting the Indian railways it had not reached even on Sunday night. So I call up the helpline on Sunday night (I got through on the 3rd try) and the guy tracks the ticket and finds that it is at the nariman point office(at least thats what it says on the computer - nariman point is like 10 miutes away from where I live). But, of course, it isn't - it's still at the Goregaon head office - and I find this out while after waiting for 20 minutes in the nariman point office at 8am (in a semi-awake antihistamined state). So while the guy at the courier office is running around the empty envelope littered room like a chicken with it's head cut off screaming on the cell phone , I'm sitting under the fan grinning like Alfred E.Newman (mind you I also had bhaang on Saturday night). Anyway, the guy finally gets a hold of the ticket - calls me at 9 am and tells me he'll be at the station at 10-am (The train leaves at 11-30). Anyway, cut the drama short - I get the ticket and then head to the platform to check the 'charts'.

Now I have travelled by the Indian rail a lot - however, mostly when I was under 13 - so it took me 15 minutes to figure out what the charts were and how one could assess my position (I was waitlisted at 9 when I got the ticket and it had gone up to 3 on the chart). Being waitlisted at 3 means that if 3 people cancel at the last minute I get the seat. So I go to the TC and find out what I have to do to get my seat confirmed. He looks at me - checks the charts - and goes "no chance". Well, that was that. So how do I get my refund?
By spending an hour and a half waiting in line in the sweltering heat (where only 3 out of 10 counters were open).

This is Bombay - the "New Shanghai".

And whether its the bhaang or god knows what - I'm really amused.

I leave tomorrow. My backpack doesn't have a traditional sleeping bag loop thing at the top or the bottom so I shoved it in the front elasticy compartment (tight squeeze but it fit). I'm slightly nervous - I keep getting the feeling I'm forgetting something. Oh well, I'm going to shimla for the first few days, so I'll figure it out.

I spoke to bhai today - and he was telling me he actually charted regions of spiti and kinnaur with Harishkaka and Chris Bonnington - and at that time he had to walk 5 miles (uphill in the snow) to send us a telegram telling my parents that he was alive (Signs that he's getting old). Now, of course, theres internet every 100 miles or so - and phones all over the place.

I'm also still waitlisted at 3 for my train tomorrow. My dad says that I should take a plane - which is ok - except that half the fun is travelling by train. I don't know maybe I have archaic ideas of traveling in India - but dealing with ugly stinky people in the train, and getting stressed with the beaurocracy is almost half the fun.

Anyway, watching this spoilt south bombay brat survive in the wild is definitely going to be interesting.

Bombay, 9:30 PM

I leave day after tomorrow. Just had an argument with my mom - she doesn't want me to go Srinagar and insists that I take the cell phone with me. What's the point of backpacking if you're going to be reachable? And it's not like I'm doing this for the first time. I've been alone in the himalayas before, at 16 no less. Anyway, I think I'll take the cellphone nevertheless and I probably won't go to Srinagar (hate being the good Indian son).

It amazes me how, at 24, they're more concerned than they when I was 16! And I bet if I was going to Croatia or Palestine, they wouldntbe half as worried.

Anyway, I'm excited. Very excited. The final (tentative) route has been decided - I'm going to go fom Shimla to Manali via the Lahaul Spiti and Kinnaur ranges and then from Manali take the Manali-Leh bus. I hope to god the roads are open - I really really really want to do this. And of course, once I'm in Leh, I'm going to be there for a while - a week or two (especially now that Srinagar is not happening!!).

I think at some level I'm also nervous - mainly because I dont have enough warm clothes. I can pick those up in Shimla - borrow them from Shuks even. I guess it also helps that I have a good friend as a base should anything go wrong - and he's well connected.

God - I hope the roads open soon- or I'm going to have to figure out another way to get to Leh.

Change in travel plans

So after talking with my uncle, Harish Kapadia, probably India's greatest mountaineer, he suggested I give up the idea of going to UP. This, perhaps, is a brilliant idea. When planning the trip I tried to get as much as I could within the stipulated time limit and in effect planned a very hectic schedule. Also, the weather there at this time is in the mid 40s (centigrade), and so going there would be pointless if I have to spend the majority of my time Indoors. In any case, the plan is still to leave next week (Monday or Tuesday) and then focus my attention on Himachal and Kashmir (yes, Kashmir is possible - although I will have to be careful).

I'm a little upset that I'm pushing UP out, but I think it's more important to actually spend time acclimitizing myself in the himalayas and treating it like a vacation - which it actually is - and not an express tour. I'm still an Indian citizen and will come back one day to see banaras and khajuraho - and live up to my sacriligeous acts of having sex on the banks of the ganges in the holiest city in India - when the weather is better.

Outside of that, went shopping today - god knows what I bought - but I know I spent a LOT of money - and I still need to buy some more stuff. I'll wait till I get back before I decide about that though.

Way to go Mid-day!!

This paper is a silly tabloid - and if it weren't all the truth I'd say it was somewhat like the onion. But today's headline just bowled me over -

http://ww1.mid-day.com/news/city/2006/may/137472.htm

Bombay, 10:07 PM

Bhang-ed out. Last night Shuks, Kim, Kavs and me decided to exeperiment the bhang my dad got from Banaras when he went last fall. Bhang basically looks like mithai - little gotas with almonds and silver leaf. They don't tase anything like mithai - in fact it tasted AWFUL. And I mean GOD AWFUL. And it doesn't hit you for a while - like an hour or so - more if you've eaten (and we were eating kabab rolls from noorani - yes, several phallic jokes were cracked). In anycase, because we didn't get an immedeate effect - we had 2-3 each (when 1 is supposed to be had for 1 trip). Needless to say, 2 hours later I was flying. Shekhu didn't really get hit (Or he pretended not to) - Kim and Kavs eventually passed out.
[OK - so here's a really weird situation - I'm here for a week - Kavita wants me to hang out with her thuggish boyfriend who I (and Kim) absolutely dislike to put her out of being in an awkward situation. But I'm here for a week - why should I meet him??!! Anyway, we decided not to invite any other friends last night - just so it would be the 4 of us like old times - and it was fun]

In anycase, I didn't take my antihistamine last night out of the fear of not getting up (bhang+antihist drowsiness = me becoming kubhkaran). So I was all allergied out today when I went to UD (my old undergrad school) and hung out with the teachers and 2 old friends. Maybe I was too bhang induced or allergied out - but I really didn't feel that much nostalgia. Also, my old labs are under construction and things have been shuffled around. In anycase, hanging out and catching up with them was fun - and yes, the reservation issue was brought up.

Here's my take on the whole deal - 11 of 30 seats in my undergrad school are open - the rest, i.e., 2/3rd are reserved. WTF?!! How do they honestly expect India to come up as a global superpower, if, at every stage right from elementary school, they encourage this whole reservation shit. Even in academic positions - 50% of the teachers have to be SC/ST/OBC!! When the world is getting smaller, and more international - there are still people in the best schools in the country who don't deserve to be there. Yes, that's a strong opinion - but for someone who can't understand the papers - or the implications of biomedical research and has to keep up with a world where you are required to know english well - I'm sorry - but I think it's extremely demotivating to Indians internationally to encourage reservations. And in every fucking field?!! Who would trust their lives to a doctor who can't understand the latest literature? And why would you want to encourage discrimination based on caste and background - are we regressing or progressing?!! The program was started under different circumstances - when India did need a boost - but since then has proven to be completely ineffective. Get with it - the times they are a changin'!

Fuck you Arjun Singh!!

Me, Kim and Shuks!!

Bombay, 11:24PM

Hung over. Had the most fun partying weekend. I think one of the best parts of being on holiday is being able to say what you want to say and not be worried about the repercussions. This is particularly true for page 3 type parties.

But before I get to the juice, let me just say Friday night was a truckload of fun - I went out with Kim, her friends and Shukli to this really ghaati shaadi music type bar in phoenix called Azziano. I'm not really sure if it was Himesh night, or whether his are the only popular numbers - but all night long I kept dancing to him. Of course, the next day in my hung overness, he was on EVERY FUCKING CHANNEL!!! First of all, all his songs sound the same - which is fine- when you're moving to his beats once in a while - but seriously - all the time??!!! Give me a break!! Maybe it's the association with the hangover, but I swear everytime I hear Himesh now I get a throbbing headache.

And now, for the page 3 party: So pretty much all my journy friends (Farhad, Priya, Shabana) all work for the papparazzi aka the after hours supplement in the DNA - so there was this silly fashion show thingy alongside some Zee Cine Awards or something (Zee and DNA are part of the same corporation). Now for some bizzare reason, I decided to take the train there. Maybe I was nostalgic, and I thought that it wouldn't be as crowded on a Saturday night or whatever - but that's something I'm not going to do in a long long time.

In anycase, the fashion show was alright - no real celebs - some B listers like Zulfi Syed types - and one really cute model with a huge mole (he was DELICIOUS!!) was the only interesting thing on the ramp. The poolside after party was way more fun. Probably because I drunk of my ass, and embarassing any random celebrity that Saumit (intellegent journalist whom I conversed with throughout the evening on India and it's future - he had worked from politics to crime and finally now in the papparazi)introduced me to. And of course when Im drunk, it's kind of hard to be discrete - especially when designer very closely affiliated with yashraj family (let's call him M - I think I want to respect his discretion in my sobriety) wanted to go to the Cock in new york city - and I had to bring this up (relax, I didn't mention the name of the bar - I just said the address like 5 times - and he picked up). I know it's probably an evil thing to have done, and in retrospect, I don't think I'd do it again - but god knows it was so fun watching him get all embarrassed!! And then of course there were random wannabe star types - who were desperately trying to convince me that theyre doing interesting stuff ("It's very original and unique to India - supernatural thriller 26 part mini series - it's like sixth sense - NOT x files" and I was like "If it's like either of them - it's not really original - show me something ORIGINAL!!"). It was very dance monkey - and they danced. I'm so so wicked.

It's this amazing power high - that has absolutely no basis except that I'm visiting from New York and am in some way associated with the media - and so am, therefore, worth impressing. It's amazing how insecure and how desperate some people can be for fame. And in so many cases, as with M, the elephant is in the room - huge and opaque - but yet, no one acknowledges it. I mean, one should totally respect another person's decisions - but I would have hoped that India would have reached that level - at least in high society- where people as flamby as m can talk about things in jest. And it's so weird coming from a real world - to that of fantasy and bollywood - where people live in their own delusions in a filmi bubble. I guess each to his own.

And finally caught up with Abu and Sandeep tonight - was sooo much fun gossipping with them and getting the hot juice on all the celebs.

It's so amazing that I used to live this life that was so disconnectedand so dramatically different from my life now, and yet when I come back I'm immersed into it all over again - as though nothing has ever changed. It's like I'm a different person in two continents - and the air just makes me become different people. I would never dream of having such conversations like I did at the party in New York, or randomly embarass celebrities and I would like to think that more pressing matters - like survival tend to dominate my time - but I may be wrong. Perhaps its that in New York, my future and my survival are at stake - whereas in Bombay I have almost nothing to lose. It's almost as though I find myself forcefully rebelling against the traditions only to show my disapproval of that life. Or not - maybe I'm just doing it because I can't in New York.

In anycase, it's a holiday, and I probably shouldn't introspect too much and just have a good time. Ek to kum zindagani usse bhi kum hai jawani - I can regret and introspect all I want in my 30s - that's what theyre good for anyway!

Bombay, 1:08pm

Had dinner with Farhad (journy friend) at this coffee shop type place on Colaba Causeway called Theobroma's. Food was pretty interesting, but the conversation was waay more fun. The place had this whole high class irani air to it (It was in Kusroabaug after all) - I had a vindaloo sandwich - not half as spicy as I'd expected it to have been - I think the whole place generally reminded me of the old Bakery at the bombay gym.

In anycase, I was talking to him about how I think the Indian media is absolutely pathetic and unidimensional, and he sort of told me that it was that way because papers needed to get sold. I don't really know if I believe this. I was reading the supplement that he works for (and my other journy friends - After hrs in the DNA) - and granted it is a glam Bombay Times-esque papparazzi type thing - but there was not a single story I was interested in. There used to be a time when I was addicted to this kind of news, and now I'm just so indignant about it. It's almost as though the paparazzi is taking over Bombay, and the rest of the city is either too apathetic or too ignorant to give a shit. Perhaps it always was this way - I was fairly apathetic and ignorant to the goings on in the world when I was growing up - probably because I was spoilt and everything was laid out for me. But I don't know - maybe it's living with Marie that's inserted this activist gene in me, or maybe it's just the anxiety of realizing at what a precarious point India is at - and the general public not realizing how much they're responsible for it. I suddenly feel like I'm a foreigner here - people have accepted that India's a growing super power (not realizing it still has a long long way to go) and talk about it all day as though they've been responsible to push it to that status - but still have this whole lax 'hota hai chalta hai' attitude about life and work.

Granted, I'm no Gandhi, but I'd be a happier puppy if I saw the same vision that Indians internationally see being executed.

Kenya - the express version

Bombay, 5:37 PM

Ok - so here's the story - the travel agent actually told my dad that there were no tickets available on Kenya Airways - so he automatically assumed that since it was a free trip the agent probably wouldn't investigate further. But thanks to Cox and Kings (or Torrent Pharma's marketing team) we managed to go via emirates. Granted the transit time was a little more, but the flight was more comfy.

Anyway, the whole tour was so wel organized and orchestrated - although I do wish we had more time to relax (but that was also perhaps because we were delayed by a day and spent longer transit hours than the rest) - and so much fun. I saw the flamingoes, lions, ostriches, elephants, cheetas, giraffes (very dumb looking creatures), gazelles, impalas and a whole truckload of other stuff! Of course, idealistic me had plans to blog the whole thing day by day - but then reality struck and I realized internet was kind of out of question when they had one phone line for the whole lodge at the masai mara which worked for an hour a day (give or take 15 minutes).

In anycase, once my dad uploads his photos, i'll comment on them.

In other news, didn't really do much all day except have my blood checked and got hyper tense waiting for my HIV test results. Negative, of course. Not that I've been a particularly bad boy (halo over head). And as for the rest - I am in the pink of health (literally - considering the lab sends its reports on pink paper - ok, I know - that was reallllly bad).

I have no idea what social plans I have for the next week. I should book my ticket for Banaras soon - I may delay my departure from Wednesday to next Monday - I need to just relax for a bit - too much plane travel.

About 1a.m., Free internet kiosk @ Dubai international airport - in transit from Nairobi to Bombay.

God bless pharma companies and their travel agents - did eventually go to Kenya. Had a blast. More details later. I HATE KIDS - I obviously must have been a really really rude flight attendant in my last life - stupid brats all over the airport - I could've slapped and caged the one in front of me on the plane who kept crying and not letting me sleep. Why don't they have a separate compartment for people with children? Sound proof it or something.

Yea, not the most cheerful bud when I'm sleep deprived. And there's a fucking kid behind me overlooking what I'm writing - hopefully it can't read. Uh-oh - dad just overlooked, gave me a dirty look and walked away. Whatever - the kid's gone now.

Will be in bombay tomorrow morning @ 8-30. Will write about how much fun Kenya trip was - with pictures and everything. I LOVE KENYA!!!

So much for Kenya

Bombay 9:42PM

The flight today was overbooked as well, so we didn't really get tickets, and so Kenya will not be happening. I;m not too bummed about the whole thing because dad's knee was giving him trouble yesterday (he just had a replacement about a month ago) - and we were a little worried whether he would manage - but being my father and true gujju blood he didn't want to give up a free holiday. Oh well, next time.

In other news, bailed on Shekhu and his multi-clubbing plans because I'm still jetlagging.

On Indian bereaucracy, Kenya Airways and being offloaded

Bombay, 12:23 PM

I'm writing this in an antihistamine induced haze (I finally succumbed to drugs to help me get over my jetlag - allergies were driving me crazy!!!!). So apparently passports for minors have this thing at the back of thier passports called "emigration check required" (I haven't had a new passport made since I was a minor) - and its exempt for countries in North America and EU - so, whenever we're travelling outside of India to any country, special permission is required. In anycase, this is a formality and takes literally half an hour. But of course the travel agents overlooked this while handling my passport and so here I am in Bombay (The immigration official couldn't be bribed - the travel agents tried - which I'm kind of happy about in a way because it showsthat things are shaping up well - but had that been a possibility things would've gone ahead much easier).
I'm not too pissed off about being offloaded - I mean it's happened before once (when we were flying to Bangkok), but it didn't happen when we went to Seoul (which was also with a group of shrinks like this one) so I figured that my US Visa exempted me from it (obviously not). In anycase, I'm flying out tonight - and the travel agent will get everything organized.

What I was really pissed off about was Kenya Airways - ok so first of all, this is the 21st century. The guys took forever to check people in (I'd say 20 minutes per traveller) and had MAJORLY overbooked the flight - like half the line (pretty much whoever showed up late outside the group) got offloaded because of KA's screw up (at least 5 people started screaming and shouting and there was all drama and all). Also, the guy who checked in the baggage was supposed to have checked out the emigration thing and not allowed us to check in. My parents have emigration check thing cleared - so they could've flown last night, but they didn't because it was a family vacation. So since the baggage was checked in, things became more complicated. The whole process of un-checking us in, which, had it been any other airline wouldve taken us an hour max, took us 4 hours!! WTF!! I hate the power games that the stupid Indian airport staff likes to play - God knows how Kenya Airways survives in today's day and age - and AAAARRGHH!!! I will be so thrilled when the airport is privatized - no more paan-spit stains all over the airport (i was so grossed out when I had to go ID our bags) - and hopefully more organized staff. There were 6 people there to 'help' me ID my baggage - and they were so fricking disorganized - i had to explain to them that the baggage was tagged and that we could easily ID the baggage based on the way they've put it in. And then of course, all 6 of them had to consult with each other - then try and play their own power games trying to decide who had the most authority amongst the 6 of them (since they were all at the same level) - and then of course, the airport security had to get involved offering their own suggestions. Finally, an hour later, they agreed my suggestion was the best (looking up the bags by the baggage claim code) - and got the bags out - in 15 minutes flat. Then there was the issue of allowing me to go back from the baggage claim to the check in - which is literally just walking - but he had to meet the 'right boss' to tell him that I've ID-ed my bags and everyone in the immigration office was shuttling the guy who took me to the claim to each other, as they do in usual government offices. AAARRGH!!!!

Anyway, I'm not too bummed - we were to spend the day in Nairobi today and dad had his conference - so there was nothing major planned on the schedule. Tomorrow afternoon we leave for Lake Nakuru, which is when the real touristy stuff begins - so I'm still charged. Besides, it's not really a true Indian holiday if there aren't hiccups like these.

On the bright side, thanks to the antihistamine, I finally got a good nights sleep. So my dark circles are removing themselves. Going to have lunch with Shekhu and Kavita and then spending the rest of the day at phoenix mills (shopping complex in central bombay).

Random thoughts

- There are over 3 crore (30 million) cell phones in India. My parents have 3 each (one for work, one for business and one to communicate with staff), my servants have one each. It costs my parents Re.1/min to call the landlines at home - its free to call the cell phone (outside of the flat rate). It costs my servants Rs.5-7/min to call their villages. It's Rs.2/min with their cell phones (their families in the villages have one too). These villages have a short supply of water, and more blackouts than working lightbulbs - but they all have cell phones.

- The roads are all being constructed at the same time. The death of a politician causes the already limited roads for a mad city like Bombay to be even more limited. What's the point of all these multi billion dollar investments in India when there are still large masses of people who decide when and how the rest of the city commutes or works?

- My dogs have terrible breath. If you get within a 5cm radius of their faces you get slobbered.

- My allergies are frustrating me now (I'm taking 2 antihistamines a day). And so is my jetlag. I think i finally got into schedule, and last night my dogs didn't let me sleep. I let them in my room and one of them kept sleep-kicking the closet and the other kept getting on and off the bed. Stubborn brats refused to leave the room.

- Getting drunk at Mondys (Cafe Mondegar) and embarassing Shekhu last night in front of his 'titli' (new slang word for sex groupie type chick - titli literally means butterfly) has never been more fun. As bawa said after they left "man, I think thats the first time I ever met anyone slower than me" (referring to the titli). You can be 25 and still get away with regressing to 15 with old friends.

- I definitely don't like Kavandaa's (now rechristened to Gulabo - because of her newfound obsession for pink) new boyfriend. He's thuggish, uneducated, overly possesive and lacks a sense of humor. He (jokingly) threatened to beat me up with a hockey stick because I was teasing her with Jeetendra's son. Freak! He makes Damu look like a gentleman. What is it with my friends and bad boys?

- I don't like that smoking is allowed indoors in Bombay.

-My cook cooks brilliantly. I had totally forgotten what real gujju food tastes like - I had undhyu, kadhi and val ni dal today - mmmm. With fresh ghee-soaked soft gujju rotis. YUM!

I feel like such a "foreign-return!"

Bombay, 2:25 PM

Spent all of yesterday gallavanting across town for various social and medical appointments - and the city is going through a major transition. Every single major road has been dug up, hopefully to upgrade the city to an international status. However, this gives the impression that the city is five times as crowded as it was when I left it - or maybe it is. I thought of taking a bus or train just for old time's sake, but I highly doubt that will happen, given the pollutionand mad traffic.

Also had a really cool lunch with the buttlett - we wondered why Indians are so obsessed with weight - I mean, you meet anyone after a long time and the first thing they comment upon is your weight, and then follow it immedeatly with a compliment - e.g, you've lost so much weight - good you're excersising or you've put on - good youre feeding yourself. So I was like nothing's really changed about me so there's not really anything that could follow - and right then my aunty tells me "You're same to same - you've maintained yourself really well". *sigh*

Its like even while I was waiting at the doctors, his staff was indulging in a typical bombay conversation in typical bombay hindi - and I got so nostalgic - god knows when the last time I had that (UDCT maybe?) - all the desis I hang out with in New York are ABCDs or katlicks (catholics) none of whom know any bombay slang - or understand bombay jokes.

Dinner with Kavs was fun - caught up on various things - don't particularly like her boyfriend (although I haven't met him yet) - he dropped out of college - which is the main reason. Apparently he's a nice guy - we'll see tonight when i meet him.

Home. At last.

Bombay, 1:00 AM - Jetlagged

The first sector was more pleasant and more uncomfortable than I expected. KLM upgraded their planes so NYC to AMS had really good in house entertainment(cute little private TV screens with a choice of lik 50 movies). Unfortunately I got the center seat with this dude who leaned his chair back entirely - not so fun if you're 6' - and I can probably say that I had my legs apart beside a hot gay guy, but we'd all know that would be a completely misleading statement. Random hot gay guy from Stuttgart was visiting his boyfriend in New York (don't ask me how they manage it - but he was an actor, so had half a brain cell - conversation was dull and monotonous and the biggest KLPD ever - when he told me he was gay, I was getting ready to induct myself inthe mile high club. And then a split second later he told me that he was visiting his boyfriend. *sigh*)

The ASM-BOM flight was standard - crammed with stereotypical desis (gujju gaggle, ghaati mandal, random IT 'ive-got-job-in-us-so-im-super-cool' dudes, and of course the occasional FOB suited and booted in an oversized blazer.) Now that plane was some 1980 model - god knows it had one of t hose pull down screens for the entertainment with a projector that kept flickering every five minutes - on the bright side, though, it had more legroom - and since I was sleep deprived from the previous flight I dropped dead - even though random baby was 2 rows ahead and pesky kid was demanding stuff from the in flight shopping guide five seats away. But I made it.

I'm at home right now eating Alfonso Mangoes (mmm-gustatory orgasm!!!!) watching random english songs on channel V (we now get some 60 odd cable channels) - and TimeOut Mumbai has a gay column - impressed. My room looks completely different - from studenty one bed-desk-computer thingy its become a mini studio with living area and the bedroom looks like a gujarati prince's room - The bed is so big I could have an orgy on it (then again, orgy in the parents' house - not such a bright idea). The dogs look so handsome - and they're so adorable and playful - not spoilt and misbehaved like the last time i was here. Will post pics when I get time to take them. Tomorrow is checkup day (eye checkup, general physical, blood checkup etc etc) and then Wednesday is spa day (woo hoo!).

and btw HAPPY BIRTHDAY SABS!!!

Random thoughts

I leave today - SO EXCITED!! Random thoughts going through my head:

- I'm going home as a foreigner. Feels weird. The house has been renovated, and so has my room - so it's literally going to be like coming home to a new home.

- Anxious about flight - I always get anxious about flights, especially international ones. God knows I hope I get upgraded - but more importantly, I hope the flight doesn't get delayed or cancelled. I have the worst airline karma.

- What's it going to be like when I meet my friends from Bombay - will they have changed? All of us have such independent and different lives from each other - it seems, on the surface at least, that the only thing thats connecting us is our past.

- I need to get my shit for my 'real trip' in order before I go to Kenya - hopefully 16hrs in the plane with a notebook and the lonely planet (along with Discovery of India by Nehru and David Sedaris) should be enough.

- Allergies are going to hit me like a cannonball - especially since I haven't been excersising regulary- UGH!!!


Since when did I become such an anxious person?