Finally (A trip to DASAland)
Finally...
The last 2 weeks at Imperial College were a total blast. They were the most tense days I had to go through in terms of the completion of the project. They were some of the most awesome days I ever had.
It is indeed surprising to find all girls around you in the neighbouring rooms. American, Chinese, European....and many others. We all became friends instantly, indeed true, considering that I had a going away barbecue because I would leave them soon. Then, there was this club night, right in the middle of Piccadilly Circus, BAR RUMBA. 4-5 hours of continuous dancing to live HipHop music and as usual, I went ballistic, inspite of the fact that I can be the worst dancer in the entire world.
The experiments were done, although some of the results were not completely positive. A paper is left in the middle. The report was completed with much efforts and the presentation was awesome. Finally, I managed to impress everybody. The last day was filled with mixed emotions. I was sad to leave this city that had taken me into its stride. I saw myself for the first time in this red-brick city. I wanted to stay on and immerse completely in its magic, but it was time to go. At the same time, I was upbeat to go back to India, my home, to my parents, to my friends and all the people I know. I had so much to share and tell people. It was at this time, that I decided to become a bit comtemptuous and tell people everything, from HOT GIRLS everywhere to free laptops.
In fact, on my way home, I had a 5 day stop converted finally to 6 days thanks to the incessant rain in Mumbai cancelling my scheduled flight (People have been through hell in these rains). The stay in Abu Dhabi and Dubai was memorable in a large way due to the belly dancing and all the malls that I saw. The belly dancer was indescribable. Considering the fact that she called me thrice to dance with her, I can say that my trip to UAE was very good...:P. Although some people are cursing me and sneering, coz, I keep talking about her everytime, whenever someone asks me about my trip. The desert safari was amazing mainly, because I was in a desert for the first time. (Yeah...Yeah...I have never been to the Rajasthan desert) I even bought this amazing Creative Mp3 player, (60 GB!!!!) Arabic girls are Hot, Hotter and hottest....please believe me. the burkha is all just a misleader. The landing at Mumbai airport was excessively rough with people appluading after the plane came to
complete halt...:-D
I will miss Aman (wouldn't have had fun without you) Yann (thanks for the wine!), Guillem (thanks for being the cool roomie), Kurosch (thanks for the laptop), Megan, Barbara, Lin, Hunter, Anna and all the people who moved in 4 days before I was to leave.
I wish I could go back and meet them again....:-(
I dont want to end this blog on a sad note, but a happy ending wouldn't be appropriate either.
My English (as well as Arabic journey) has come to an end.
I want to make a sequel.
I hope I get the chance to do that.
The Scotsman
The entire week was of mixed emotions.
On Tuesday, I had a Shakesperean experience with The Tempest. The play was enacted in the same archaic manner it used to be performed in the 16th Century. The actors were in their traditional costumes and the music was by a choir with weird make-up. All special effects were just like in the old days. The performances would put any professional film actor to utter shame. Thankfully, I had read the story before and hence I had minimal difficulty in understanding the context of the Old English used. And in the end, all actors broke out into a dance and all of them looked merry and gay. It was so wonderful to see people actually do what they love. I came back tired from this new pain that I have developed in my ankles. It is all the fault of all the walking that I do in this city. :-P
On Wednesday, I met up with the new people who have shifted into the hall. For the first time, I actually felt I had company. Guillem, Barbara, Megan and Hunter are really fun to hang around with and I feel sad that I met them up so late in my stay. Unfortunately, I can't go out with these guys as they have just arrived in the city and the next weekend will be my last in England. Today was actually the day when I thought I was with my IITian gang again. I laughed like the monster that I would do. I made them hear the audio that pc had recorded. We commented on the weirdest things possible, like washing machines and dryers, amount of fat in the biscuit, tv sitcoms etc.
On Thursday, Bombs were blasted literally, as London was rocked by small explosives on its transport system. Imagine what would happen if Mumbai's local trains were halted, all of them!! That is what precisely happened and the whole city was walking the streets. I was in my lab when Dr. Hill walked in with the bad news. In general, he is the most cheerful guy you will ever meet and we always have good conversations whenever we meet. He is the guy who wouldn't stop even if you said Bye!! However, on that particular day, He said, "If you happen to meet Yann, tell him he should call up his parents". But he didn't say anything to me. Now, I know, I should not read too much into this, but something irks me. I feel that there is something amiss in this whole scenario. Even Shweeeetu called up from DeutscheLand and it was such a wonderful feeling to hear a familiar voice on the other end.
On Friday, I left for Edinburgh, inspite of all my relatives asking me to stop moving around and concentrate on my work. The journey was all night long and I met this friendly Scotsman who was someone like what Morgan Freeman was in Bruce Almighty. Ok...So he was not GOD!! But the moment I started conversing with him, it all seemed so very familiar. It seemed like I had known this person for ages and he was like my GodFather. We discussed about Indian Food, Scottish feelings for England, the Scottish language, all the things to do in Edinburgh, Scottish souvenirs to take home. I had to bid adieu to this guy at the station where I had a familiar type of coffee...Filter Coffee!! It was 7 am and the sun was blaring hot. I walked around the city for a while taking some photos and waiting for the tourist information centre to open up.
The first stop was the Edinburgh Castle, majestic and beautiful in its own way. The Scottish Heritage Centre was a treat,although I couldn't buy the small bottles of whisky I had promised myself. Instead, I bought lots and lots of Scottish biscuits that I am yet to taste!! I also went to this weaving centre where they showed the art of making kilts (Scottish Man Skirts). The next stop was No-Man's Land, literally, as the Roslin Village was like a dot in the middle of nowhere. The bus stop is on an empty road. Feels like the cross-section that can be seen in the CastAway (when Tom Hanks delivers the packages). The Church was beautiful and is the same one that concludes the Da Vince Code...hehehehe....that was the reason I took the 1 hr. walk for. The Royal Yacht at the Ocean Terminal was a modest, large boat, although didn't do inside. A serious walk awaited me again as I walked the Royal Mile, saw some really beautiful sculptures and that is when I decided that Edinburgh is definitely the place I would like to settle into if I had the chance. The main Hill was in sight and as I had time to kill, I decided to trek the whole way up with my bhoja. I did that pain-stakingly simply because the paths were all mixed up and I finally made my way up after asking a couple who were making out really furiously to move out of the way.......hilarious....indeed.....hahahahaha!!!. The view from the top was like on the top of the world. I listened to a 25 minute Pink Floyd piece and the wilderness so was pleasant, so much far away from any bombs, so much far away from people.
The journey back home was rather tiring and I slept the whole way back even when the sun rose at 4:30 to wake up all the tired souls on the bus.
I have realized something.
I think I want to be a Scotsman.
I have absolutely no clue as to why?
On coming back home, I slept like a baby.
The 5 week-old pain in my ankles is mysteriously gone.
What should I know?
What should I know?
....I know...
- "Bedshaped" (Keane)
Wimbledon Weekend
The weekend for which I had waited impatiently finally arrived in the form of a late morning.Sita was in the kitchen having her last breakfast. I asked her about wimbledon and the first thing she said was that they had left at 6:30 in the morning and here I was at 8:30 merrily munching away at some toast and jam. My jaw fell open when she nonchalantly remarked that I would be inside only by 5 pm if I went today. I cursed myself at not having woken up early enough.
Grumbling to myself, I caught the bus and thought about what I should do.On reaching the location, there was this humongous line that appeared atleast thrice as long as the Siddhivinayak Temple Queue. Almost wailing, I joined the line where I met a banglorean and a French guy and we got started talking about general Tennis.I proudly mentioned about Sania and her beautiful shots and curves.
The crowd in the meantime had begun waking up from their slumber and a steady motion of legs was soon observed.Soon, the pace quickened and by almost a miracle we were there inside by 11:45 am just 15 minutes before the Leander Paes-Zimonjic match was to commence. My nerves had already reached a neurotic state on having come to know that their match had to be suspended the previous the day due to bad light. I was only a few yards away from the action. The match turned out to be awesome and the duo quickly converted into a good victory for themselves.
Then, accompanied by the bangalorean dude, I watched the Max Mirnyi singles match....tall lanky and a seemingly uninteresting match because we had to catch the Bhupathi-Pierce 2nd round encounter. The Match was a complete disaster for the opponents who were very much a mismatch in any case. Bhupathi-Pierce dispatched them with utter disdain and after the match it was time for some fun. Bhupathi was mobbed by the Indian junta and he waited patiently for atleast 30 minutes makin sure that his every fan was satisfied,including me. Happy with a wonderful picture and a weird autograph, I made my way to a phone booth, as I had promised my family that I would call them up from Wimbledon. All of them were busy watching the event at Neha's place. After the long call back home, I darted for the one thing I had especially come for...STRAWBERRIES AND CREAM!!
After a huge pizza chunk and the special dessert, the one match that I had to see was the Sania-Aspelin Mixed Doubles match. The Indian crowd was unfathomable and it would not be exxagerating if I said that we made more noise than the adjoining Centre Court where the Federer match was on and the Court No. 1 hosting the Murray-Nalbandian match. Sania was beautiful beyond words and I think I fell in love with her during the match.
After the match, she graciously accepted my small scrap of paper, held it on real tightly when it was about to fall down, smiled at me, and signed on it. I know I died at that very instant.
We then clambered upon Henman Hill to catch some action on the big screen. The Murray match soon became a dud as he almost came to a standstill in the 4th set. Both of us decided to call it quits for the day, took some photos at some prominent locations and left for our respective homes.
The next day, Akshay and me left for a London tour. The first stop was the Buckingham Palace where the Changing of the Guard takes place evey day. Real life Toy soldiers marched all around the palace accompanied by the band. It all seemed excessively weird. We had no idea how the guard actually changed and why these soldiers did random horizontal and vertical walks every 5 minutes.
Anyways, it was time to be kids again as we merrily bought 2 tickets for the London Aquarium and with wide grins came in through the card reader doors. The collection was quite good with the sharks being the centre of attraction. We also had this huge tanks wherein we could dip our hands in and touch the fishes and rays. It was a scary thought to touch the rays but then I gathered enuf courage to actually touch them and it felt so leathery and soft. Nemo was also busy in his own tank. The Clown fish were extremely cute with their tiny fins and striped bodies flapping themselves beyond their own pace.
In the evening, we made our way to some familiar London locations that Akshay wanted to see...The London Bridge, The Tower Bridge, ..... , The Tower Hill...and then, A rare sight was unfolded. The Tower Bridge actually opened and it was a treat to watch it. We had arrived at the precise moment when the ships were about to pass.
The day got over for us and Akshay made his way to his future jiju's place whereas I went to my Grand-Aunt's place who had flown in especially from California just to meet me. The place was beautiful with a line of houses on a small hill.
But then, what you see is not normally what happens, does it?I heard stories that got sadder by the minute. The food was typical Punjabi with alu-baingan, rotis and pakode. I had arrived at the place with some huge expectations but went back reminded of the fact that I have a home to get back to.
I came back to the room seeing that my new room mate had arrived. Guiguem Osca Gunther?...from Valencia, Spain...An innocent types guy who would be easily misled if he were in India. I also met 2 other americans involved in internships, living across the hall, Magen from Pennsylvania and Hunter from California.
Then I braced myself for the luckiest week of mine of the past 21 years.....The next weekend was the most unexpected thing that could happen to anyone....Believe me!
The Oval Weekend...
It was actually a not so exciting weekend...but had a variety of meat..to eat..
On the saturday morning, I realized after having a bath, that I actually looked good...
so decided that some pics should be taken...
Did so...but i hated all of them....
There was nothing planned for the day, all I could plan was for a trip to the Natural history musuem...
I went around in the hot afternoon..(It was the sunniest day of all)...
The trip was nice (actually boring)..who wants to know what happened to the earth and what will happen... when all u want to do is listen to some music..
So i bought a pizza and a sandwich..
headed for the college computer lab..
and coldplay was on full blast....
It was such an awesome moment to realize that u have their new album!!
Well.....then went home and worked on my report..
The next morning, I realized that the Thames is actually 2 minutes away from my place...
I went along the river until I bumped myself into a cannon belonging to the National Army Centre...
It was free entry..so I went in...
It was fun knowing comic details about the British Military...
Then took this must have pic at Sloane Square..
ANd my sunday afternoon was in Sigmund Freud's House..coz..i didnt have much to do..
and in any case i wanted to know more child sexual development.
but the audio was not working..so i missed out on the tapes...
It is weird to know what people can conjure up..
went around london looking to buy tickets to a Shakespearean drama "The Tempest" and The Musical hit "We Will Rock You!"...
got tickets for the first one..
the second one..
aah...i will just go along on the day of the show and buy them..
no worries...
And curse the bloody ice cream waala...
SO DAMN COSTLY!!
came back home sweaty for the first time..
and btw...there is no fan in my room
The next day was huge...
The 20-20 match at the Oval....
World vs. Asia..
Awesome line up..
fantastic stadium...
a couple of sri lankans with me...
and a srilankan flag i had to wave around..
and Drat!!..Sehwag got out quickly...
but the ambience was absolutely mind blowing...
The time I had was satisfying to the core...
But the next weekend turned out to be Fantabulous...!!!
The History of my Room
Grace is Chinese.
Sita is Indian.
I met these girls in the kitchen of my hall. They live across my room. It has been a sweet & sour story knowing these 2 people.
Well, for starters, they are really sweet people. I can't really help it if I find every other person out here sweet and chirpy. I get into nice, little, lively chats in their presence. We talk about the English weather, Imperial College, Hong Kong, India and the small talk about food. Sita prepares delicious Indian meals. Ghar ki bahut yaad aayee thee jab us din maine palak ki sabzee aur rotiyan khayee thee.
Sita has a British accent to the core. It was pretty tough to actually understand her when we spoke for the first time.
Both of them are Maths Students, just completed their first year.
However, Is it really that tough to talk to the same person when we meet again in the kitchen in the same manner? Sita has no such problems and it is disappointing to realize that 2 persons can't know more about each other.
Well, it was in one of these lively chats, that I came to know the past of my room.
The person who lived before me had been brutally murdered right in the middle of Oxford Circus at around midnight by a gang of White Skins who left behind a message written in blood, "Filth Cleared!". Police Investigations didn't help and the case was closed 2 weeks back for lack of evidence. Since, then Ushnish(The 2nd person living in the room) has had trouble breathing in this city of white smoke.
:-))))
Just kidding!
This is what happens when you go the Sigmund Freud Musuem. You apparently end up throwing clues about your life through false stories!!
hehehehe
Well, what actually happened was this!
Ushnish had kept £500 in his cupboard and apparently forgot to lock it up. The same evening, he found the money gone! He searched frantically for the lost treasure throughout the hall questioning every soul he could find. He psyched out completely and called up the police. However, they were of not much help. In later investigations, random amounts of money deposited were found in Ved's (the roomie) account. But, they could not prove him guilty as there was no proof that he was the thief. In the meantime, These 2 psychos grew tired of each other and Ved decided to move into a separate place in the same hall. 2 weeks later, 15th May, I arrived and 3 days later, I got the room.
On 24th June, Grace & Sita move out of the building.
It is gonna be hard to not talk to 2 people.
esp. Sita and her food!
20-20 later...and also the not-so-exciting weekend
Next weekend, WIMBLEDON!
and possibly Watford.
My Aunt and Grand Aunt have arrived in London from San Jose, California.
There are lot more things now to look forward to!
My 4th Weekend
On Thursday, Akshay booked tickets for us to go to Salisbury on Sunday.
On the other hand, I had no plans for Saturday.
All I knew was that the Queen was celebrating her 'official' birthday. The rules are really wierd. The Queen has an actual birthday which she does celebrate and then she also has an official birthday in the summer months which she again celebrates. This rule was established when one fine day, in the archaic times, a certain monarch had his birthday on a winter day and since winter days in England can be really gloomy, he decided that he should have a summer birthday which he then proudly announced as his official birthday.
SO, how exactly does she go about this?
Well, there are lot of parades on horses and lots of bands marching in and out of parks. There are flypasts by the Royal Air Force and you can see a lot of colour in this grey city.
But the main attraction has to be the Gun Salutes by the antique guns used in the World War. The cannons are wheeled into St. James Park by a horse parade, much in the same manner as they were in the olden times. I stationed myself at Gun point, right in front of the guns and took some good pics. It was generally a joyous occasion for all, with laughter and joy and howling and squealing!
Well, then I made my way into the Natural History Musuem because I had time to kill. The place was humongous! The Earth Gallery was fascinating, but I felt like a small child for which I was in no mood.
It was home again and met up with Sita and Grace who were preparing some lovely meal.
More about them in the next blog!!
:-))
The next day was a disaster to start with.
Bus scheduled to depart at 7:15 am.
Akshay was to arrive from Cambridge at 7:05 am and we were supposed to meet at London Victoria Station itself.
These things did take place.
Well...It was just that I arrived at 7:18 am (almost sure of the time) and the bus had left without us.
The next bus was to leave only at 11 am.
We made our way back to my place, where akshay just fell upon the bed and slept.
and I...
I started reading 'Eaters of the Dead' by Michael Crichton and then also went through some notes on Digital Image Processing. I had nothing better to do.
Of course, the Discman was my saviour and it did help listening to U2.
I made some coffee which was another cataclysm in itself, because, I poured too much coffee powder into it. At this time, I was seriously cursing my bad day!!!!
It may sound strange, but With or Without you was playing and I suddenly had this small spurt of energy and decided that this day was not going to the dumpers!!
Akshay woke up at the right time, or maybe I only woke him up.
I made another cup of coffee.
Just a mere glance at the colour of the liquid convinced me that this cup was the best cup of coffee I could ever make. I was tempted to taste this cup, but instead handed it over to Akshay.
On having a few sips, he remarked, "Aah!, Jaan mein jaan aa gayee!"
I knew the bad times were over.
We made our way back to the bus stop and sure enough, the bus was there and we made our way to Salisbury.
Its incredibly wierd that every trip of mine outside England has made me wonder in awe at the sight of the countryside. But this trip was different.
For the first time in 4 weeks, I was not sad at all for not being able to go to Switzerland!
Of course, there was no snow! but the sight was downright heavenly!
I even, forgot that I had a camera at this point!
On reaching Salisbury, we made our way to the Cathedral which has to be the most beautiful of all England churches, although I wouldn't want to compare with Westminster!
hehehe
All this while, during my trip, me and akshay were having fun just talking and making weird statements. I was convinced that something was different.
We made our way to Stonehenge!
This place is my heaven. I want to be buried at this very spot, if that is possible!
The Circular Stones had stories to tell. Although Akshay was more involved in completing rounds of the stones, I was busy listening to the commentary and the sounds that were in the air. This place has adorned my desktop all through my England trip. I want to come back here and I will do so!
On our way back to Salisbury, we went to this old castle remains which offered spectacular views of the surrounding region. We loitered around a while on the top and took some windy photos.
On reaching Salisbury, we made our way to SUBWAY.
It is really surprising, but in this country, which has sandwich shops at like every nook and corner, it is this Giant that offers most value for money!...
The Veggie Delight for £1.80 gives me infinite satisfaction.
On our way back, we had a 1 hour stay at Southampton, the port city famous for Titanic.
Again, some nice photos!
Then, the luckiest moment of the day arrived when our tired legs brought us back to the bus stop.
The bus apparently has broken down and the carrier had called up this Taxi service to take the passengers by taxi!
So, we had an elegant VolksWagon taxi waiting for us!
The ride was simply fabulous, legs all around the place, the aching bodies had found a befitting posture to just admire the way, people can actually sit!
Me and akshay then talked about wonderful days in IIT Bombay!
about how I spent a few hours at the L&T Police Shed, about How I am crazy about Mocha!
about how H7 and H9 people play Road Rash with the local police!
I knew I had lost the tarantula.
I knew I had found someone with whom I can just be plain old myself again.
The fare was £220, but we had come on a £10 bus ticket!
Somehow, I feel the English life is manufactured in a way and I am tired of living according to the city! I admonished myself when I almost gave respect beyond belief to an English lady!
I would not have done anything like that in India!
I fail to recognize my behaviour!
UK has amazed me!
UK has dumbfounded me!
UK has failed me too!
I am writing this after having a pizza, a sandwich and an unopened pack of swiss chocolate with vanilla roll!
All I see are the 10 15" flat screens!
All I dream is for my wish to come true!
All I care for is a day of sunshine! &
All I hear is the speed of sound!
:-
South...south it was!
The weekend was light,
I was alone,
The tarantula was invisible,
I was in high spirits!
Although on friday, I did ditch the Live gig at the Beit quadrangle!
I was and am perennially tired of gays and lesbians..
Well, actually, aman and his friend, stephanie...i think...i dont remember now..
were off for coffee when I met them at Gloucester Road station.
I got invited and went along!
Me and Aman were busy explaining to her the intricacies of Indian food.
I am not the best person to do that..
but still managed to add a few good points.
She also wants to come for a tour to India!
We guided her about all the places and also invited her to IIT....
Now, that would be fun.....
The next morning...
It was Greenwich time...
well literally as i headed off for Greenwich Village!
Before that, stops at some beautiful south london locations...
The Big Ben, The Westminster Abbey and the Cathedral
I then went off on a river cruise on the Thames!
from Westminster to Greenwich...
The cruise was truly enjoyable...
especially the anecdotes by the guide....
Under the bridges,
across the barrier,
along the old Markets,
along the modern ciy landscape,
The cruise came to a stop at the Cutty Sark.
Greenwich is literally greeeeeeeen.....
parks and roads and parks and roads...
and then more parks and roads...
Main attraction was the Prime Meridian of the World.
Sometimes, childhood fascinations do come true....
I still remember, aditi narula, showing me her pics of the london trip in 4th or 5th standard!!
I decided that day that I would stand across the line and be in the east as well as the west...
:-DD
and it came true...
I was pleased...
The trip included visits to the Royal Observatory and The National Maritime Musuem.
Now, I am actually amazed at London's attractions being a major city...
Mumbai has to progress a lot!
I think it is all a money game!
from the top at Greenwich Village, I saw 2 structures where I couldn't go!
One is the greenwich Power station and the other is the Millennium dome.
Greenwich Power station is special because it features on the cover of Pink floyd's album "Animals" with a pig floating at the top.
I reached the Fan Musuem late, coz i was too busy buying myself a turkish sandwich!
although, it tasted like a normal burger!!!..:-((
I reached Waterloo a bit too late for the London Aquarium.
but then I setup a trip to the Kennington Oval.
The Oval was closed for visitors as it was undergoing some refurbishments, but then I took some pics from the outside!!!
I neared the Main Gate and it was open.
I asked the security in charge, whether he could close it for me and take a pic for me.
thats becoz the gate was huge and looked attractive when closed!
I think he took pity on me and invited me inside!!
although not too much inside.
A picture was taken at the small cartooonish image hung up on the ground since ages!
I came back to Waterloo and went straight for the eye!
The London eye!
Oh! It was stupendous.
Magnificendo!
Inspirando!
Brilliant!
Fantastic!
The City of London from such Towering Heights!
Come aboard, people! For a flight in the British Airways London eye!
I met a sweet lady in the cabin!
She took a pic of mine 5 times just because she thought it was not perfect each time!
the smile at the end of the day was observed by me too!
the next day was sunday!
Off to Stratford-upon-Avon!
the Birthplace of William Shakespeare!
The village is a tiny place....
I covered the entire town in 3 hours!
from the Town Centre to the The birth Cottages....
from Greenway to the grave...
I even had an ice-cream...in the COLD!!!
realized it was a bad idea after all....
but I was tempted by the soft cream and choco biscuit at the top and huge amounts of the ice cream itself!
There were boats selling food...
and the park was lively...
all with circus performers and live bands...
It was a fun evening...
but then i was tired..
the fact that I was alone too made me a bit more tired than what I would have been!!
I came back to London listening to MatchBox 20 and fully engrossed in the Da Vinci code.
Ate a lot of pulao rice....
and slept
slept......
slept.........
This weekend, it is time for Salisbury and Stonehenge!!!
I have things to do...
I have reports to write....
For the first time in my life....
I think I am pleased about who I am and what I do and what I think....
Thank you, London!
You opened my eyes!
It is all a plastic life.
