One Memorable Train Journey from Pune to Bangalore

About a year after we got married, Anjali moved to Pune. She opted for a PG Diploma course in Emergency Medicine from Symbiosis University. Few of my good college buddies, Dhiru, Diganta and Saikat were in Pune those days. I and Anjali went to Pune, looked for a PG nearby the institute. Well, there were many options in that locality. Anjali liked one of them and paid the booking amount. The duration of the course was one year, and during that period I visited Pune about four to five times. On every occasion I stayed with Dhiru and Diganta, they both shared the same house those days. It was party time whenever I visited Pune. Reunion of old friends, Anjali also joined us in the evening after her classes were over. For the first time we traveled by bus, Volvo. It was pretty comfortable, Rs 1000/- per ticket, took 15 hours to reach Pune. They dropped us somewhere on Pune-Mumbai highway in the middle of the night. From there it was another 25-30 km to my friend’s place. We took an auto. On one occasion I took a train from Bangalore to Pune. Those were the days when Air Deccan entered the market and changed the dimension of aviation industry. It immediately became the pioneer of low-cost flights in India. Even average middle class people started to fly. One day I thought to give it a try and looked in the internet. Bangalore to Pune, Rs 1000/-, exactly same that of bus fare, but it would reach Pune in just one hour and 20 minutes. Also, my friends stayed very near to Pune airport.  

Anjali’s PG course was over. It was time for her to come back to Bangalore. Once again I traveled to Pune by Air Deccan. But the return journey I booked train tickets. Anjali had hell lot of luggage. It was actually much beyond my expectation, almost 100 kg I guess. We boarded our train in the morning. It was stationed on the platform. It came all the way from Mumbai, on its way to take us to Bangalore. We had to take a coolie. I also carried as much I could. The railway platform was crowded. We found our compartment. We somehow placed the luggage. There were many people sitting at our compartment, more than the number of berths. I was already tired, out of frustration I asked, “Itne saare log kaise baith gaye yahan pe?” (How come so many people occupied the seats here?)

All the men were in their middle age, one of them was quite tough looking. Couple of them replied in chorus, “We will get down at the next station.”

Suddenly a lean man grabbed my attention. He was at the window seat opposite to us. He was handcuffed, one hand locked to the window. Both I and Anjali felt weird. I thought the guy must have done something wrong in the train and the Railway police handcuffed him. Soon our conversation started with the co-passengers. They were all policemen. The handcuffed guy was actually a thief, laptop thief. He was from a village in Karnataka. The cops were taking him to Karnataka police to progress with the case, to catch hold of the entire gang. 

"Are you guys from Railway police?" I asked.

"No. No. We are Mumbai police," they replied in chorus. Proudness on their face.

In few minutes the train slowed down, and then stopped. Three of the fellow policemen got down at the very first station from Pune to Bangalore.  They said goodbye to us. All the cops were good friends. They shook hands, wished good luck. They were speaking in Marathi, but we were able to make out everything. Suddenly the train started with a jerk. So from here the real journey starts. I, Anjali, a handcuffed thief, and three policemen.

All the three policemen were very decent. One of them looked quite rough and tough, another a little short with big belly, and the last one looked normal. They seemed to be very friendly. Soon they opened a polythene bag. There were Vada pav inside, nicely packed. Well, Vada pav is a simple vegetarian fast food dish native to the state of Maharashtra in India. It's local Indian burger stuffed with deep fried potato along with coriander, onion, spices and chutney. It is immensely popular fast food dish all throughout Maharashtra. 

They offered us their food. Out of courtesy we were a bit reluctant to accept. But it wasn’t too hard for them to convince us. They also offered a Vada pav to the thief, in fact it was an order. The offender denied. The rough and tough policeman asked him one more time. Again the thief denied. The policeman slapped him hard 2-3 times. They bad guy immediately got hold of the Vada pav and put inside his mouth. Anjali was very shocked.

"Why are you beating him? He might not be hungry," Anjali looked sad.

"Sorry, I shouldn’t have beaten him in front of you. But you have no idea about such people. They are criminals. They have no heart, no emotion. The only think they understand is the stick. We caught him red handed with three stolen laptops in Mumbai. We immediately arrested him. For the first two days he spoke only in Kannada. We were so frustrated. We then applied little dose, and pretty soon few Hindi words uttered from his mouth. We increased the dose, and few more Hindi words came out. In the next few hours as the dose kept increasing he became more and more fluent in Hindi. There is no other way to deal with such people," the policeman explained in details.

Time spent well. Interesting conversation. I asked how they catch the criminals, how they get the leads? They shared few of their stories. In between, our discussion turned to a different direction. Anjali asked their names. One of the policeman, the fat one was very proud of his surname. 

"I’m Rajput. You guys know Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, right? He’s also a Rajput," The man’s proudness showed up.

Then Anjali popped in. She was also very happy. "Yes, we are also Rajput," She said. They asked her name, and the Rajput thing continued for a while. 

"So, are you also a Rajput?" One of them asked me. I was a bit confused. 

"Yeah. Like that only, not very sure," I murmured.  

"What is your name?"

"Jahid. Jahid Akhtar," I replied.

There was a silence for a while. And then things turned back to normal. 

Time passed by. Darkness fell. Stars shinning in the sky. Evening is the best time when we travel in sleeper class. Pleasant breeze. Open sky. The typical train sound effect, so soothing.

"So what are you guys planning to do? How are you going to catch all the gang members?" I asked. 

"Tomorrow morning we need to go to Madivala Police station in Bangalore. We need to submit an application to request extension of his remand for seven more days to gather more information from him," one of the policeman answered.

"But aren’t the Bangalore police going to help you guys? You are only three policemen, and you don’t even know the locality well," I expressed my concern.

The cops looked at each other, smiled. "These interstate investigation cases are kind of complex. They help eventually, but it takes time. There are lot of formalities. For high priority cases the procedure is fast. But for normal cases it’s not that easy. Few years ago our team leader, the policeman pointed his finger towards the fat guy, tried to pull his legs. So, two-three years ago our team leader visited Bangalore for an investigation. He was at the police station for the entire day, and only the next morning his application was accepted. The major problem is that Bangalore police speak only in Kannada or English. Actually, our English is a bit poor," The policeman shared their worry.

Later the cops asked if we could help them in writing the application for them. Anjali was eager to help. They gave the content and she drafted it. They were so happy, felt pretty relaxed. After dinner, the lights were turned off. Everyone went to sleep. The windows were open. I kept looking at the dark sky.

In the morning we reached Bangalore. The policemen thanked us. They gave us their numbers. 

"If you guys come to Mumbai or Pune, and if you are in any kind of trouble, just call us," the policemen expressed their friendship. We were so happy, smiled, "Sure, that’s so nice of you."

Grab a copy of my debut book Story of Tublu from Amazon or Flipkart. It is a Contemporary Fiction novel, published by LiFi Publications Pvt Ltd. The book has its share of drama, that entertains; humor, that makes one reminisce; love, friendship and emotions that defines the amazing journey that is, life.

Asia's Cleanest Village

No, it’s not in China or Japan. Neither it’s in the Middle East nor in Indonesia or Philippines. It is in India. Asia's Cleanest Village is "Mawlynnong", located amidst of lush green forest of East Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya, a state in the North East part of India. It is a tiny village, 600-odd person, 100 percent literacy, well-known for its cleanliness and natural attraction. Mawlynnong was awarded the prestigious tag of 'Cleanest Village in Asia' in 2003 by Discover India Magazine.

Meghalaya in itself is very beautiful. All the villages in Meghalaya are quite clean as compared to other parts of India. But Mawlynnong is a completely different story altogether. This is for the first time I visited such a village, so well maintained, such clean road. I was very curious how the villagers manage such cleanliness. Because of this curiosity Mawlynnong attracts so many tourists. I was simply mesmerized with the surrounding, colorful tress, hanging fruits and vegetables. I had the sweetest pineapples there that are grown abundantly in this region. 

I observed that the cleanliness is deep-rooted in their culture. I noticed many villagers with brooms in hand, the children cleaning the streets, sweeping up dead leaves and garbage. The locals are so humble and well-mannered. Whenever a visitor dropped something on the ground, they wouldn’t say anything to the visitor directly. But they would pick it up and throw it in the rubbish bins. Well, the garbage bins are also so beautiful, hand-made with bamboo, cone-shaped baskets. The traditional bamboo waste baskets are scattered all over the village, on the streets, outside each and every house.

The houses are mostly traditional thatched hut. The villagers plan to keep it that way, they simply want to keep their traditions alive. I had a talk with few of the locals. There were many tourists, both Indian and foreigners. I got to know from the villagers that cleanliness has been a practice from the time of their forefathers. Right from the beginning the kids are taught in schools about the importance of cleanliness in living a good life. As soon as the kids reach Grade 1 or Grade 2 they are given the task of keeping the area around the house clean. I was highly impressed with the system.

Another satisfying thing in Mawlynnong was the food. We enjoyed such a delightful lunch out there. The chicken curry, rice, vegetables, everything was delicious. And yes, the chutneys were so refreshing. The little eatery place was also magnificently clean. My tummy was full, but not my heart. After lunch, we just lazed there for a while. There were smoking areas. I was over cautious to flick the ash out of my hand. We had tea in a small stall. I looked at the kettle while the tea boiled. It was actually shining, so clean. I had a chat with some tourists, a group who were on a road trip all the way from Maharashtra. They liked the village so much that they stayed there for 10 days. Even though there’s a guest house at Mawlynnong, but some families also offer home-stay facilities to the visitors who want to stay long. Such decisions are not taken individually though, but the entire village collectively decide on that.

It was time to experience the Living Root Bridges. We enjoyed a wonderful trek, about 1 or 2 km to a neighboring village, Riwai. We reached the spectacular natural bridge that makes a pathway across a stream, making it easy for villagers to commute. 

Living root bridges are unique to Meghalaya. There are many such bridges all around Cherrapunji. This is an age old method used by villagers to cross the numerous streams in the area. According to Wikipedia the local Khasi people do not know when or how the tradition of living root bridges started. The earliest written record of Cherrapunji's living root bridges is by Lieutenant H Yule, who expressed astonishment about them in the 1844 Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.

Mawlynnong is a lovely experience, something to cherish forever.




Grab a copy of my debut book Story of Tublu from Amazon or Flipkart. It is a Contemporary Fiction novel, published by LiFi Publications Pvt Ltd. The book has its share of drama, that entertains; humor, that makes one reminisce; love, friendship and emotions that defines the amazing journey that is, life.

What an Amazing Click

I was born in Bongaigaon, grew up and lived my entire childhood there. Bongaigaon is situated at a distance of 200 km west from Guwahati. It is an important place as the New Bongaigaon railway station is a major junction connecting the north east with the rest of India. The town is also well known for the Bongaigaon Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited(BRPL), which is the eighth largest refinery of Indian Oil. Like rest of Assam Bongaigaon aso, particularly the town suburbs is refreshingly green, surrounded by hills, rivers and streams. The town is also blessed with beautiful tea gardens at the outskirts. Our neighboring country Bhutan is pretty close to Bongaigaon. Every day, plenty of local buses run from Bongaigaon to Gelephu, a town in Bhutan. The places in and around Gekephu are very exotic and are favorite picnic destinations. It's also famous for oranges, and there are orange plantations all over. 

Few days back, when I came across the below photograph I was totally amazed. Such an incredible location, such an amazing click. The picture is taken by Joy Deep at Oudubi village of Bongaigaon district. Joy had to climb a tall tree to capture the outstanding view at a spot where river Champa meets the mighty Brahmaputra.

Grab a copy of my debut book Story of Tublu from Amazon or Flipkart. It is a Contemporary Fiction novel, published by LiFi Publications Pvt Ltd. The book has its share of drama, that entertains; humor, that makes one reminisce; love, friendship and emotions that defines the amazing journey that is, life.

Raja Hindustani

It was year 2005. We continued to enjoy the same carefree hostel life style but only after our office hours. One day my school friend Karuna called me. Well, it is always a treat to hear from old friends but the situation was more than just a delight. Karuna was doing his MBA that time and was about to come to Bangalore for his internship. It was just cool and Karuna stayed with us for almost a couple of months. I was staying with few of my college friends in an apartment and everyone had a great time with Karuna. 

Time had simply flown by and Karuna’s internship was over. He had to return to his college and was about to join work in a month’s time. We planned for a short weekend trip and decided to visit Pondicherry. Well, Pondicherry is a popular tourist destination in South India. Apart from the mesmerizing beaches the city has many colonial buildings, churches, temples, and statues which, combined with the systematic town planning and planned French style avenues, still preserve much of the colonial ambiance. As my friends had different plan so finally It was only me and Karuna for the adventure. We booked our bus tickets. Pondicherry is at a distance of around 350 km from Bangalore and it usually takes five to six hours by bus. 

We reached Pondicherry early morning. As expected we immediately glued to our beds in our hotel room. We woke up late and had some heavy breakfast. It was our first trip to the beautiful Indian French town and we didn’t know much about it. Our hotel was pretty close to a beach,  but there were rocks and only rocks all over the place. The beach looked beautiful but it was pretty dangerous as well, definitely not the kind of beach I was expecting. I just couldn’t imagine Bipasha Basu romancing with John Abraham on that rocky beach. Well, the only thing I knew about Pondicherry that time was that the entire Jism movie was shot there. I and Karuna thought to hire a taxi to explore some exotic beaches, but the taxi charges disappointed us instantly. We tried out luck here and there and then suddenly an Auto driver approached us. He sounded quite friendly and promised to take us to all the well know places in Pondicherry at a very reasonable price. 

'So, what's your name?' I asked.

'My name is Raja, but you can call me Raja Hindustani'

Raja Hindustani is a classic Bollywood movie where Aamir Khan played the role of a taxi driver. There was no doubt that our Auto driver was a huge fan of Raja Hindustani and the movie had a deep impact on him. He had also fixed a big poster of the movie on the back of his auto. So Raja Hindustani took us to Auroville beach, first. The beach is located at about 12 km of Pondicherry and is more commonly known as Sand beach or Auro beach to the local people. We were happy to encounter a lot of pretty faces out there. Auroville Beach is one of the few beaches in India where surfing is possible. The beach attracts thousands of foreign tourists every year and they generally prefer to stay at the beach shacks. There were many restaurants near the beach and we decided to chill out in one of them. One of the best things about Pondicherry is the food. You can simply go to any restaurant and you won’t be disappointed. We relished different kind of recipes and consumed gallons of ice chilled beer. 

Raja Hindustani also had food with us but he politely refused our beer offer as he had to drive. I and Karuna had a great time chatting with him. Raja Hindustani was a local boy and he worked in Mumbai for a few years as a bus conductor. He then took us to the Paradise beach. It took around half an hour to reach there. As the name suggests, it’s one of the most beautiful beaches in Pondicherry. In order to go to Paradise beach one needs to take a boat, which is the one and only choice to reach there. We stayed there for a couple of hours and it was very relaxing. The wind was pleasant and the wave sounds were too soothing. By the time we left Paradise beach it already started to get dark. We asked Raja Hindustani to drop us to a nice bar in the city. 

He then took us to a place. It was a little crowded out there; many of them looked like tourists. 

'If you have come to Pondicherry then don’t miss the dance show out here,' said Raja Hindustani. 

'We are really tired and we are in no mood to watch any dance show, now'

'It’s okay, you people will enjoy this'

We bid goodbye to Raja Hindustani and then book out tickets for the dance program. It was a bit expensive but then we were also curious about it. We gulped some more chilled liquid. Now what to say? It was a totally different kind of performance by the dancers and it was beyond our wildest imagination. Well, the next day we explored a few more places, some more dishes and in the night we boarded our bus to Bangalore.

Image courtesy: google images


Grab a copy of my debut book 'Story of Tublu' from Amazon or Flipkart. It is a Contemporary Fiction novel, published by LiFi Publications Pvt Ltd.

The Memorable Gangtok Trip

During our fifth semester of Engineering we had a wonderful Gangtok trip. Along with me and my roommate Nair, Bikram, Mehboob and Mustaque also went for the trip. We boarded the train early morning from Guwahati Railway station. We reached New Jalpaiguri at around 2 pm and got down there. We took cycle rickshaws to go to Siliguri, which is at a distance of 4-5 km from the Railway station. Usually the rickshaw drivers charge four to five time the normal fare from travelers. Well, we were aware of all that from some of our Gangtok friends.

'Lal batti se jauge to 100 Rs and normal rote 50 Rs,' said one of the rickshaw drivers.

'Ye lal batti kya hai?' We were confused what is lal batti?

Mustaque was an expert in all those and immediately replied with his typical laughter, 'abbe, lal batti means Red light  area'

'Aree nahi bhai, normal route se le chalo,' Nair responded and asked the driver to follow the usual shortcut.

It is 4 to 5 hours drive from Siliguri to Gangtok, and we traveled in a regular shared taxi. Pretty soon we were ascending the elevation, driving through exotic dense forest. The scenery was mesmerizing. The zig-zag terrain and the elegant view outside, was magical. The forest looked refreshing with different varieties of strange and colorful flora. On the way, we encountered some fascinating waterfalls. Everyone was looking outside the window, enjoying the beauty of Mother Nature. But Mehboob was sound asleep with his mouth wide open. I was very confused, how could anyone sleep in such wonderful and thrilling drive. 

"Mehboob, Mehboob, kya so raha hai, gandu," just look outside, the view is so scenic.

"Haan yaar, bohut sundar hai, it’s really beautiful outside," Mehboob said and again went to sleep in the next couple of minutes. 

We reached Gangtok by late evening. We called our senior friend Digvijay, who is from Gangtok. He helped us in finding a reasonable lodge for our stay. We shared some good time and then Digvijay left for home. The next day he took us for sightseeing. We visited many places, including some monasteries, zoological parks and gardens. Later we had sumptuous lunch at Digvijay’s house. The next morning we visited Tsongmo Lake, popularly known as Changu Lake. Well, Changu Lake is the most attractive place to visit in Gangtok. It is a glacial lake in the East Sikkim, some 40 km away from Gangtok at an elevation of 12400 ft. Sikkim is really very exotic. The best part is, people are very kind and friendly, there. October is one of the best seasons to visit Sikkim. These days all the major travel companies offer different kind of Travel Deals, which give heavy airfare and hotel discounts. 

I remember Mustaque had an embarrassing stomach throughout the trip. Poor guy had serious issues in filling his tummy; he found it difficult to digest the kind of food we enjoyed, there in Gangtok. Well, this is where the branded food products like KFC or McDonald's plays the vital role. They never disappoints, irrespective of any place. Also the kind of Food Deals we get in such brands, is seriously tempting. But those days such yummy brands were not available in the market. Even if they would be available, our pockets wouldn't have allowed us to relish such sumptuousness. Mustaque was quite conscious about his condition. He tried to take extra precautions to avoid any kind of embarrassment, but then it’s difficult to fight one’s angry abdomen. 

We started early morning for Changu Lake. It was 3 to 4 hours of thrilling drive through the Himalayan terrain. It was the month of October and the snowfall could have started anytime soon. The locals told us that during winter the entire region is covered under snow. On the way all the vehicles stopped at a particular place for refreshment. The cab driver told us that we could use the washroom, there. He also told us that in Changu Lake we wouldn’t get such facilities. We tried to pull Mustaque’s leg and asked him to use the washroom as many times as he wanted. We strictly advised him not to showcase any drama in the venue, later. It seemed Mustaque’s stomach was in a good mood that time and he laughed at us with some of his trademark slangs.

Changu Lake is damn exotic. It was freezing cold. It was quite fascinating to see the alluring blue lake at a height of more than 12000 ft. During winter the entire lake would be frozen with a thin sheet of ice on the top. The place was covered with beautiful rocks all around. There were many tourists trekking all over the place. We also started to trek and after reaching a certain height, it seemed Mustaque’s stomach had a mood swing. He started to express his anxiety. We tried to ignore him but Mustaque was getting restless. 

"Tabhi bola tha kar le, gandu" Our irritation was at peak and we asked him why didn’t he finish it off in the place where the jeep stopped. Mustaque was not in any condition to give explanation. Somehow he managed to convince Mehboob to bring two bottles of mineral water. Mustaque thought he would manage to find a hiding place in between the giant rocks. Mehboob had to go all the way down to bring the water bottles. Mustaque’s wait was getting impatient. His stomach could have burst any moment. Mehboob appeared in ten minutes. But, what the hell? He just came empty handed.

'What happened? Why didn’t you bring the bottles?' Mustaque asked in panic. 

'The assholes are selling 10 Rs  bottles for 20 Rs. Also, it’s already late and I thought you might have finished by now,' Mehboob tried to clarify.

'Chutiya, asshole. Just bring the bottles even if they charge 100 Rs. I will pay the money, don’t worry. Just go and bring,' Mustaque desperately yelled at Mehboob, .

Mehboob was in no mood to go all the way down again, but then he went for it. Later, we saw a satisfying smile on Mustaque's face.

"With emerging technologies, the way people do business is changing. The competition is really tough and it’s not easy for the corporate to sustain in the market. Be it retailer sector, food industry or travel companies for instance, people have many options. People look for the best possible deal for them. Well, this is the era of deals and coupons. Initially I also ignored such offers and thought it’s just a marketing gimmick. But then, it’s more than that. Let’s say, four guys want to have a pizza party. They go to a Pizza Hut, satisfy their tongue and tummy. They pay a bill of say, 1500 Rs. With a little bit of knowledge on deals, or with a little bit of google search, they could have enjoyed the same party in say, 1000 Rs. This is the power of Deals and Coupons, these days"

Friendship Day

After passing out of college, I was in Delhi with some of my hostel buddies. Our initial Delhi days were fun; we came in contact with many guys, common friends and other friend’s friends. It was around 10 pm and we were enjoying our hangout near a movie theater, smoking and enjoying eye candies. We were about to return to our house and then, few other guys arrived. I didn’t know them; they were friends of some of our hostel guys and they studied in some college in Delhi. The guys looked fashionable with one of them having a ponytail and few others looked freaky. They were very friendly and started hugging us. Well, that moment only I realized it was Friendship day. The guys were under the effect of ganja (grass) and were behaving in a rather weird manner. 

'We should celebrate Friendship Day, guys,' said someone. 

Different ideas started to pop up, and then someone came up with this one, ‘Let’s to Agra, we would reach early morning. We will see the Taj Mahal; by afternoon we will be back in Delhi’

Some guys liked the idea and few others including me, were skeptical about it. It was already drizzling and I thought it wasn't a very good idea to go to Agra that time. The guys were comparing the headcount and the number of bikes available. Few of us tried to avoid the situation and disappeared from the scene. But our good friend Tuku couldn’t escape. He was not at all interested for the adventure but he had no other choice. Jiten had a minor accident recently and he had a bandage on one of his knees. He was in his shorts that moment. The plan was to see the Taj Mahal and return to Delhi after that. I and some of my friends went back home, and the other guys were prepared for their adventurous bike ride. 

The next evening Tuku came home and looked absolutely exhausted. He was repeatedly saying the same thing, 'Shit! Why I agreed to go?'

Tuku’s wallet was totally wet. He carefully picked his soaked rupee notes and tried to dry them over the gas flame. It seemed, the guys consumed a hell lot of ganja last night. On the highway there was a police check post. 

'Where are you guys going in the middle of the night?'

'Aree, uncle ji, aaj Friendship Day hai na, to thora celebrate kar rahe hai' (Actually, we are celebrating Friendship Day)

'Friendship Day, ye Behenchod kaun sa day hai?' one of the policemen was puzzled.

One major advantage of grass over alcohol is that it’s easier to escape the police. Very soon, the drizzle turned into heavy showers. The guys were in six to seven bikes, and they were riding slowly. It was windy and they were shivering, but they continued their adventure. Just before the dawn it stopped raining and they felt a sense of relief. They were crossing a village; a couple of old ladies were warming their hands in the fire outside their house. My friends joined them and started warming themselves. Jiten realized that his bandage came out and there was blood all over his leg. The blood had actually dried out. The guys looked miserable and pathetic. Tuku told that Jiten looked like a leprosy patient that moment. One of the ladies went inside and brought blankets for the guys. My friends got embarrassed and without spending more time, they left from there. 

There were many tourists around but more than the Taj Mahal, my friends were able to grab their attention. 

'Let’s move out of here before the tourists start offering us money,' one of the guys suggested.

They were tired and wanted to book a couple of rooms in a hotel. They thought to rest for a few hours before returning to Delhi. The guys were at the hotel reception, bargaining with the manager. Guess what? No one had money to pay for the rooms. Few of the guys had ATM cards and they went out to withdraw cash. But the overnight rain had corrupted all of their cards. In fact, few of the mobile phones which some of the guys were carrying, also got damaged. My friends decided to return to Delhi, instead. But they were running out of fuel as well. The guys called their friends in Delhi and asked for help. One of their friends immediately took a bus to Agra and reached there in the next few hours. 

Sometimes I wonder, whether I was lucky not to be part of it or I missed the fun.

A Little Further

'I can't see the things that make true happiness, I must be blind 

Make a joke and I will sigh and you will laugh and I will cry 

Happiness I cannot feel and love to me is so unreal 

And so as you hear these words telling you now of my state 

I tell you to enjoy life I wish I could but it's too late'

Paranoid, by Black Sabbath, was playing out loud. The room was entirely dark, with the pungent smell of grass. Rajat was holding his freshly rolled ecstasy with one hand and his half-filled icy glass of scotch, with the other. He was half laying on the bed, softly banging his head, synchronizing with the metallic rhythm. Something quite unusual was going on with him for the last couple of weeks. He wasn’t able to concentrate on his work. Without any damn reason, he had stopped going to office. Sajid, his roommate, was not at home. He had some issues with his girlfriend and went to his native place to sort out things.  

Rajat had never behaved like that earlier. He was completely bored and frustrated with his monotonous life. He had no ambition and no meaning, either. He didn’t go to work since last 3 days and never even bothered to inform to his colleagues. He had simply switched off his mobile and had confined himself within his room. He didn’t even had a single step outside the house for the last 48 hours. He had been drinking and adoring his drags, non-stop. He didn’t have any clue what he wanted from his life and was quite pissed off, with such a vague life. 

The drags had always pleased him, both in his desperate as well as in his fun days.  He remembered Lisa, a Norwegian gypsy. He met her at a Goa beach few years ago. The couple of days he had spent with her, had a deep impact on him. He could never permanently delete her from his brain’s hard disk and her thoughts frequently occupied his mind. But since last few days, things had gone a little out of control for him. He was missing Lisa a lot. He connected with her so well, even she never had any ambition and lived a meaningless life. But she was very happy, she always felt blessed for her life and was extremely down to earth. She was little weird though, with her spooky tattoos all over her shoulder. Rajat had never met anyone like her, earlier. She was a highly spirited person and Rajat had always felt the positive energy, around her. The moments he had spent with Lisa, was the best in his life. He had shared almost a life time with her, in just a couple of days. She was genuinely honest, friendly and yes, also extremely hot. Well, Rajat had lost his virginity to her.

Lisa had traveled almost half of the world and she really enjoyed her nomadic life. Rajat constantly tried to find her over the internet for the last couple of years. But unfortunately, she didn't seem to have any online presence. One time, she said to him that no matter in which part of the world she might be, but every Christmas she would always visit her Grandma, who lived in a Norwegian village. She also said that during winter the entire village used to be covered with snow. She shared with him, her Christmas joy and how they used to play Santa Claus. Rajat was desperate to meet her. He called his friend Suresh, who was working in Germany. He asked Suresh, to help him out with the visa thing. Rajat didn’t mention anything about Lisa to him, though. 'Don’t worry, your visa will be processed within a week, but I’m really sorry that I will not be able to go to Norway with you. I’ve certain different plans that time,' Suresh said to Rajat.

Rajat applied for his visa and also had sent an email to his manager, mentioning he wasn’t well and would join office after 3 to 4 weeks. It was his first Europe trip and the moment he landed in Frankfurt, Rajat was highly impressed with the city. Located on the river Main, Frankfurt is the financial capital of continental Europe and the transportation center of Germany. The city is highly diverse and the most cosmopolitan in Germany, with the highest percentage of foreigners. Rajat had met his friend Suresh after a long time. They enjoyed some wonderful time together. In next few days, Suresh was about to fly to India, for his vacation. But before that, he took his friend for the city ride. Frankfurt got some of the tallest skyscrapers of Europe. They went to Romer square and had visited several museums. Rajat’s short stay in Germany was fun and he utterly rejoiced it. But then, city life, tall buildings and sophisticated money hungry people, never fascinated him. During his entire stay in Frankfurt, his heart seemed to be somewhere in Norway. He desperately wanted to meet Lisa. The same day when Suresh flew to India, Rajat boarded his flight to Norway.

Oslo is one of the largest capitals in the world by area. Most of this is forest, making it a city pretty close to nature. Rajat had experienced the mesmerizing snowfall and felt contented. He stayed a couple of days in the city and visited some of nearby villages. He traveled mostly by train and was fascinated to experience the winter wonderland. He felt, as if he was in a dreamland. Something positive had sparked within him. Somehow his distracted mind seemed to be back on track. He felt blessed for his life and wanted to live the fullest of it. The view outside the train window was simply out of the world. It looked completely white all around and all the forests were entirely covered under a thick blanket of snow. Rajat had no idea where he would find Lisa out there. She had told him that her Grandma used to live in a village about 40-50 KM from Oslo. He remembered that Lisa lived in Trondheim, another beautiful city, 500 KM away from Oslo.

As Christmas was approaching, all the places were getting colorful and livelier. Rajat already asked many people about Lisa, without any luck though. He shifted from his city hotel to a small motel in a village. The Christmas Eve was totally euphoric. It was freezing, but all the inhabitants were outside. Rajat felt entirely misfit in that environment, but he didn’t hesitate to greet random people and wished them, merry Christmas. Well, he also asked everyone about Lisa. Some people found him little weird, to have come all the way from India to look for a gypsy, without any address. Rajat stayed in the fairy tale land, for almost a week and it was time for him to return. He had his flight from Oslo to Frankfurt and then, from Frankfurt to Bangalore, the same day. While he was on his way to Oslo, he constantly looked outside the train window. He was disappointed not to find Lisa. But then, he never expected that to happen and just tried his luck, for a miracle. 

After returning, it took him a couple of days to come back from his dream. Rajat had captured his Norway memories through his lens and felt happy, every time he looked into those photographs. He was a completely changed man after his Norway visit. He started to value his life more and was waiting for the New Year Eve. His friends had planned for their old hostel mates reunion. Every one, including Rajat looked forward to that. Ultimately after a long gap, Rajat went to his workplace. His colleagues were delighted to see him and even his manager seemed to be happy. Rajat had brought adequate amount of Norwegian chocolates and his cubicle was jam-packed with his colleagues.

Well, sometimes we just need to go a little further to get closer and to fall in love with our own life, yet again.

Image courtesy: google images

This post is written for Indiblogger’s "Go further to get closer" contest, in association with British Airways

One Paradise Land

Despite being born and brought up in Assam, one of the north east states of India, I was totally unaware of this paradise land. It’s only after I joined engineering college, I heard about it. Well, Tawang is a town situated at an altitude of approximately 9000 to 10,000 ft, in the northwestern part of Arunachal Pradesh, bordering China. For the first time when I heard about that place and the way my friends narrated about it, I simply went crazy. I always knew about Ladakh, even though I haven’t visited it, either. But a similar kind of heaven is there in a neighbouring state, was a shocker for me initially. From that moment I always had wished to visit the paradise land. After passing out of college, one time I planned with few of my friends and were on our way to Tawang. But unfortunately we had to return from Bomdila, because of severe landslide. That was so disappointing and somehow after that, I couldn’t plan for it again. I still feel jealous whenever my friends share their Twang stories and experiences. I had visited Arunachal Pradesh several times though, for those memorable hostel picnics. The entire forest is surrounded by so many exotic waterfalls.

Tawang is basically a giant valley, covered with pine trees at the lower horizons and fascinating rocks on top. During winter, entire Tawang is blessed with the dazzling snow. The temperature is usually very cold, about minus 10 degree Celsius. Travel agents usually recommend March to October, the best time to visit the place, when the climate conditions are very pleasant. The flora out there seems to be so unique and colorful. But Tawang turn exceptionally exotic during winter. The dewdrops on the grass use to get frozen. The road, the trees, the rocks and the small patches of the forest are entirely covered under a thick blanket of snow. Aha, I so much wish to visit this winter wonderland and experience the fairy tale. There are many places to visit in Tawang, like Tawang Monastery, Bum La Pass, Nuranang Falls, Madhuri Lake, Tawang War Memorial, Pangateng Tso Lake and many others. But the journey itself to this heaven would be equally fascinating. 

The road to Tawang is entirely zig-zag and the view on both sides is amazingly enticing. The forests look virginly fresh, with different breeds of strange and colorful flora. It's always thrilling and utterly pleasing to heart, whenever we drive the elevation through some forest. It feels, as if we’re ascending all the way into the lap of Mother Nature. It’s not common to see a lake at such great height, but in Arunachal Pradesh one could find several magnificent deep blue lakes. After climbing a steep stretch, one would usually see a gentle valley and an alluring lake, flourishing from some corner of the mountain. In extreme winters, most of the lakes would be frozen with a thin sheet of ice on the top. How wonderful it would be to trek beside those lakes? They're surrounded by beautiful grassland and the dewdrops on them just get frozen, only to further mesmerize and intensify the temptation of the travelers. 

This December, I wholeheartedly wish to visit this winter wonderland. As my wife is pretty much a winter phobic, I would rather plan it with my friends. I just hope, we don't end up over-planning the trip and screw up all the fun. Well, I've always enjoyed the unplanned trips more. I'm sure, there are few more dumb travellers like me. We will take the morning flight from Bangalore to Guwahati and would probably stay there for couple of days, to make the ILP (Inner Line Permit). We will hire a Tata Sumo for our adventure. Well, Tata Sumo is widely available with the travel companies and they’re really awesome for such drives. ILP is issued by the resident commissioner in the Arunachal House, in Guwahati. We will have to give the details of every travellers, vehicle number and need to submit xerox copies of our photo ID's, along with passport size photographs. Well, every Indian citizen needs that to enter Arunachal Pradesh and foreign tourists need some special permits. There’s nothing to worry though, as travellers and mountain lovers from across the world, visits Tawang every year. For travellers, who would like to get some local flavor, can take a bus from Guwahati to Tezpur, instead, which is around 200 KM from Guwahati.  Tezpur is one of the most beautiful towns in Assam, surrounded by the mighty Brahmaputra. From Tezpur they can take passenger Tata Sumo or even a bus to Bomdila, which is around 150 KM. Better not to worry about the distance, as the terrains are simply breathtaking and it could take 5 to 6 hours, depending upon the weather condition. 

It's recommended to stay the night at Bomdila in a hotel and enjoy some delicious fish/pork fries, along with the local booze. From Bomdila, people can hire a vehicle to Tawang, which is around 230 KM from there and usually takes 7 to 8 hours. It's advisable to start early  morning from Bomdila. It’s an extremely scenic drive, although the terrain is not very good and could get nastier, as we climb the elevation.  On the way, we would come across many small tribal villages and pretty soon, would notice the snow peaks, patiently waiting for our arrival. 

December will be fucking cold and we would better stop at every possible tea stalls, to tranquilize ourselves with caffeine and nicotine. We would love to grab some bites on the way. Well, one can’t expect the usual Punjabi  kind of dhabas out there, but there might be a few exceptions. Momos, Chowmein, Maggi, rice and pork are pretty common menu in all the restaurants. Also, Yak meat is very popular. We should reach Tawang by afternoon and would love to experience the paradise for the next few days.

Image courtesy: google images

This post is written for Indiblogger’s "Travel Smart with SkyScanner" contest, in association with skyscanner

Exotic Malaysia

It would be really great if you could read  Via Singapore as the journey begins from Singapore itself.

We boarded our bus to Kuala Lumpur at Jurong East bus terminal and it started around 8 AM. The journey was quite an exciting one and I kept staring outside the window, but unfortunately couldn’t view much beyond those road side trees and bushes. On the way at one particular place we had our passport stamped. We reached KL by 1-2 PM and waited for Nair at the bus terminal for a while. Shruti already prepared delicious lunch and we couldn’t have waited any longer to satisfy our tummies. As Nair recently joined a new company that time, so after lunch he went back to work. After a little bit of chit chat with Shruti, I enjoyed a couple of hours deep sleep and only woke up after Nair returned home in the evening.

Nair explained us about the package tour he had booked. Well, it was a  3 Days/2 Nights stay at the Tioman island, which included breakfast, lunch and dinner for our entire stay. I was pretty much excited with the barbecue dinner on our final night at the island. The package also included the up and down ferry transport from Mersing to Tioman. As it was weekend, we had some hard time to book our tickets. All the bus tickets directly from KL to Mersing were sold out and we had no other option left with us. We looked for some alternate routes and the  bus guys suggested us to catch a bus to Johor Bahru and from there we could have got a bus to Mersing. Well, Johor Bahru is quite close to Singapore and I felt little odd that we would have to go all the way near Singapore that night. We had our dinner somewhere near the Bus terminal in KL. After dinner I bought a packet of Marlboro, wow! I was so delighted to get the same brand at almost 50% cheaper price than in Singapore. I offered one cigarette to Nair and was quite pissed off with his attitude, well those after marriage effects, he was quite recently married that time.

The night bus journey was a thrilling one and we reached Johor Bahru around 2 AM. Now the next bus to Mersing was scheduled only at 6 in the morning. We were not very comfortable to have waited at the bus terminal the entire night and looked for some other alternatives. We even tried to book some taxi, but the price seemed to be higher than their twin towers. Again we had to book our tickets to some different place and traveled the whole night and then ultimately in the morning, we managed to get a bus to Mersing and reached their by 10:30 AM. Without proper planning, merely 5 to 6 hours  of bus journey from KL to Mersing, took us that long. But I felt it was a blessing in disguise, well at least for me and it gifted us such an wonderful memorable night, full of adventure. 

But the real thrill was just about to begin. We inquired at our travel agent office out there and then waited for our ferry to Tioman. In the mean time we enjoyed some heavy Malay breakfast. We saw people from across the globe out there and everyone tried to take the best possible space in that ferry. Wow! I was so much thrilled and the excitement kept on increasing as we proceeded towards deep into the sea. 

Tioman is a small island located at 65 km from Mersing and the ferry usually use to take approximately 2 to 2 1/2  hours. The island is quite densely forested and sparsely inhabited. The area is surrounded by coral reefs and it’s considered to be one of the world's most beautiful islands. Tioman island is quite popular scuba diving spot. 

It was a breathtaking experience and everyone inside the ferry constantly kept starring outside. On the way we encountered several attractive and quite appealing small islands.

We reached Tioman around 1:30 PM and holy shit!, I was so damn delighted with the surrounding. The  place was completely green and the water looked so blue all around.

We were quite fascinated to see the beach-huts, our place of shelter out there in the island.

That day after lunch we badly needed some sleep and then later in the evening we had a little inspection of the island. I was quite impressed with the lovely open bar out there. The beach was quite calm and the water was full of corals and rocks. We didn't see many people swimming around and also the sea waves was not furious enough like our Indian beaches. We just waited for the next day, as our travel package included one full day boat trip in the sea. As per instruction we collected our life jackets and snorkeling diving masks in the night itself. Next morning immediately after breakfast, we were right into the boat and eagerly waited for the thriller. Our guide was quite macho kind of and we used to call him Mithun Da among ourselves. I could never learn the art to resist the gravitation forces in water and even panic with life jackets as well. But my spirit was on high that moment. I noticed a round rubber tube and a big piece of rope inside the boat. Oh! I was so relaxed and confident after I watched those stuffs and felt, as if I could have swam all the way to China that moment.

That boat trip was some kind of a life time experience. On the way we stopped at some extraordinarily beautiful small islands.

At a particular place the sea water was kind of calm and Mithun Da asked everyone to swim out there. I was all prepared with every possible life safety measures. Some people in the boat including Nair, started to laugh at me, but who the hell would've cared? Even I also enjoyed a thrilling swim in the middle of the sea. Sometimes I even tried to put my face inside the water and looked deep inside the sea. It was quite fascinating to view some colorful fishes out there.

We had our packet lunch at Tulai island and then we enjoyed a couple of hours at Tioman marine park. 

Everyone was extremely tired but the thrill simply continued. The boat stopped at some place and the guide confirmed that's to be the last spot for the day. He asked everyone to swim round a circle by the side of some huge and monstrous rocks. Well, it was too much challenging for me and Anjali already surrendered and preferred to stay in the boat itself. By that time Mithun Da was pretty much aware about my swimming skills and asked me to remain in the boat. I noticed the furious sea water as they struck hard enough at those giant rocks. I already sensed that the flow of the water out there was beyond my control. But the influence of the colorful fluids which I consumed just about half an hour ago was still active inside my brains. In fact,  I was quite overconfident confident and was ready for the challenge. That was the place where the colorful corals were highly concentrated and that was the perfect spot for scuba diving, but only for the professionals. Within a few minutes I lost my confidence and felt being drifted towards those giant rocks. There's no way I could have resisted those fierce water flows with my rubber tube. I totally lost my control and thought I was about to die. I shouted in panic "Please help, please help" But, our boat looked quite far from there. All of a sudden someone held my tube and also my life jacket and said to me not to worry. It took me a while to realize that it was our very own Mithun Da. Oh! I felt so relaxed that moment and somehow just wanted to go back to our boat, but it was still quite far away. 

Mithun Da constantly asked me to look inside the sea and I said "Please, I want to go alive from here" But he was adamant and asked me not to worry, but I didn't dare to put my face inside the waters, as my blood pressure was pretty high that moment. At some point Mithun Da almost shouted at me and strictly said "Look inside, you came here from so far, all the way from India. I would like you to look inside"

That moment I somehow gained my confidence and adjusted my snorkeling diving mask. I looked inside the deep ocean. Oh! dear, I can never forget those moments. It was a completely different world inside and it was so colorful. For a moment I thought as if I was watching National geographic channel on TV. I was completely lost into that colorful world and my blood pressure came down drastically. I saw big colorful fishes, corals and so many other thing inside the sea. I'm so much thankful to our Mithun Da or whatever be his name, anyway what's in a name? Life is too short and I could never forget that person in such a short time. 

By evening we returned back to Tioman island and later enjoyed a magnificent barbecue party.  Ass hole Nair, gave me some real hard time that evening. The situation was so perfect for consumption of heavenly fluids, but thanks to Nair's after marriage effects, I had to slog all alone and after 2 pegs even my wife Anjali, also started to show her wifey characteristics. After dinner we preferred to stay at the beach and gossiped till late midnight.

  

Next day morning, after we had our breakfast, it was time for us to say goodbye to that beautiful island.  It's always difficult to return from such kind of a place and on the way I kept staring at the Tioman till it completely lost to my view. From Mersing we took a bus to KL and reached only by evening. Everyone was tired like hell and my entire body already started to ache. Next day, early morning we had our bus back to Singapore. There was no time for us for any more sightseeing. But how to leave KL simply just like that?Without even saying "hello" to the great Twin Towers. I said to Nair "Abbe, lets go just for few minutes yaar, not sure when next time I would visit this place again" Anjali immediately dropped the idea and I and Nair went to have a closer look at the Twin Towers. Oh! it's really magnificent and I noticed tourists from across the globe out there. Everyone tried to capture those towers from all possible angles and even we also tried our luck.

This post is written for Indiblogger’s "Creating Happy Travelers!" contest,  in association with www.yatra.com