Red or Green??? That is the question....

 Riding my bike gives me the most enjoyable experience; going on long rides, riding in the city, its always been a fun thingy for me. I just love riding, for me distance or destination doesn't matter, as long as I'm on the road on a bike, I'm more than happy. Riding a bike gives you the freedom that a 4-wheeler cant. You are trapped inside a moving box on 4 wheels. Feels so claustrophobic inside, and while driving there are more things on your mind, and you need to be attentive to all four corners of your car. 4-wheelers are not bad, they are much, much safer when it comes to bikes which are very risky and dangerous, and the probability of an accident is ten-fold.

Many parents prefer their kids do not ride bikes since its dangerous and cause much more harm as compared to them driving a car. Ive realized something that riding or driving is the most dangerous in our country, India. We do not have any road sense, we break the law at any given time if the traffic cop isn't around. We are habitual in breaking the law, like its in our genes to break the law and if caught, bribe our way out of it. But more than bribery, the bigger issue here is that why do we break the law so often, we do not decelerate while the signal changes from green to amber, we do not stop at a red signal, we do not give a turn indicator while changing lanes erratically.... Where is this behavior coming from???? We ride/drive in the wrong lanes causing discomfort to others, do not bother if pedestrians are crossing the road, not even at a zebra crossing. Its very irritating when the guy in front of you showers you with his saliva blessings and gives you a brand new look to your clothes. We just do not have any road nor civic sense, we just do not have any patience to let the other person go ahead, it is me who has to be ahead, not anybody else, this is the attitude of most motorists. 

We do not realize that when we break the law its not us whose lives we put in danger, but putting other motorists / pedestrians at detrimental risk. The other day I came across a green signal and was to take a right turn, a car approached from the other side on a red signal, not wanting to wait, and then we were just close to kissing each other. But unfortunately the brakes were applied by both parties and we were denied a kiss. Damn... We both stopped and I went closer to the driver and told him " Boss, kiska signal hai" Whose signal is it???? I was so angry at him for not stopping at the red signal, that I wanted to bash him up and break his head. We both had to break hard to avoid a nasty collision, else it would have been much more worse. But then looking at the other passengers in the car I decided to move on. This guy was traveling with his family, and jumping the signal, putting not only his but also his family's life at risk. 

On my way home I started thinking to myself, does the colors green & red serve any purpose while you are driving / riding, when we decide to break the law and act like as if we are the kings of the road and drive and stop anywhere like we own them. Why do we end up doing this, we do not have a zilch of patience in us, we are always in a hurry to get somewhere even if we arent. Knowing what we are doing is equally dangerous and can get us killed or atleast get us handicapped for life. There's a reason why the back of the Driving license has a message which says "DRIVING IS A PRIVILEGE, NOT A RIGHT", but I guess we drive like as if its our birthright...

I've realised something that while driving at a signal, its a choice we make when the signal is RED to stop or continue driving , but when its GREEN, there are no choices to be made. We will never stop at a GREEN signal unless theres traffic. If we do not stop at RED, we automatically are responsible for any accident that may occur and end up causing damage to either property, other vehicles or humans for that matter. We do not realise our simple mistake could be fatal to ourselves and others too. 

I've been to a couple of countries where road sense is taken seriously and we Indians have a long way to get there. Its really beautiful to see drivers actually stopping to let pedestrians cross the road, keeping their distance from other vehicles, giving indicators when they change lanes and always stopping at a red signal. We need to inculcate good driving habits for our safety and that of the pedestrians. Somewhere our safety is not really as important as that of the pedestrians walking or other motorists on the road. But hopefully if we imbibe some road sense in our day-to-day driving / riding we could avoid the innumerable accidents that keep happening in our cities. All I can say is that patience is the one key thing which can help make us better drivers & riders. So lets enjoy our driving / riding and make it a safer place for other motorists and pedestrians. Drive safe.

A beginning in the end...2011!!!

2011 has been quite a bummer for me. Its October now and I havnt been on a single bike trip with my buddies. Reason being that first of all after my accident in January, it took forever to get my bike fixed, considering the super service that I got from Royal Enfield and secondly, fact of the matter is that we all have been very busy and just do not find enough time to plan for one. Every time a plan has been made it just does'nt seem to work out. And since my Percept days most of us have moved on to other agencies and co-ordination becomes a pain, but we managed to make a few trips last year.

I came across a few fellow Enfield owners in my new office and there was some glimmer of hope that was poking me in my head, that maybe we all could plan a trip one day. Anyway since I was new in the organisation I wouldnt know if few of them went on a road trip. But then some how a colleague of mine asked me whether I would be interested in going on one. I had some other plans for the weekend, but then I knew I really wanted to go for this one. 1st of October was the date and we decided to go somewhere close to Bombay, we decided to go to Lonavla which is some 80-90 odd kilometers from here.

As usual we decided to leave around 7AM, and knowing us Indians follow the IST we finally began our journey to Lonavla at 8AM from Vashi. Whats amazing was that we had 6 Enfield's and 3 Unicorns, and the best being we had one woman rider amongst us. I've always admired women who ride bikes, they are much better than women who drive cars. It was an amazing feeling that we had so many riders amongst us and it felt good to be back on the road on my Enfield. It was almost after 10 months that I had gone on a long ride with fellow bikers. Its a feel good factor for me since this is my favourite thing to do on weekends, though its not possible to do it every weekend, but nevertheless it was awesome.

We reached Lonavla around 11.30AM and we were looking for a place to park ourselves. I suggested we go to this beautiful place called Pavna Lake which is an artificial lake with scenic beauty all around it. The climate around the lake is cool and it was the perfect place to chill after riding for a couple oh hours. Once we reached Pavna lake it was just breathtaking, the greenery, serene beauty, the awesome feeling amidst nature. Its just a lil surprising to know that a place like this exists in Lonavla, considering all the other favorite, super-crowded places like Bushi Dam, Lions Point, etc...

This was a perfect place for us to photoshoot our bikes, it was just amazing lining our bikes in a certain order to be photographed. Everyone just got busy snapping their machines in every possible angles. It looked like a harley had come to town and everyone was going ga-ga over clicking pictures of it. I too got into the mode of clicking pictures of my Enfield, trying different angles, etc. Well you never get to see 6 Enfield's parked amidst the lush greens that often now... do ya???. In the end it was time to head back home, since the afternoon heat was getting to us and our tummies were growling for some food.

Well its never too late for a looong ride, though I missed going on one during the monsoons, that would have really been the icing on the cake if that had to happen. Its a super awesome feeling riding in the rains, hope I get to keep the momentum going from now on, i.e one bike trip every month to a new destination.

Ride safe....

Road Rage..!!!!!

Off late, there have been numerous reports on the way our infamous roads get repaired or redone. Especially during the monsoons the situation gets worse, and this happens year after year. Don't exactly know what the BMC's intentions are when they go about constructing new roads or flyovers. The newspapers are flooded with the no. of potholes in the city. They give a deadline of getting them repaired and once the repair work is done, another rain deluge worsens the situation. Add to that the no. of vehicles which ply the roads, just damages the roads no end.

I recently had a small incident, thanks to the stupid manhole covers, no I didn't have an accident, but my bike was damaged because of the amazing maintenance work done by our BMC. The damaged concrete manhole covers punctured my tyre & my tyre rim was damaged. Who the fuck is gonna pay for this now, obviously not the BMC. They are not bothered what happens to the public at large, just interested in filling their pockets through the illegal contract given to the construction agencies.

People travelling in cars, bikes, auto-rickshaws are the ones who bear the brunt everyday travelling to their work places. The worst thing is that every year there is some or the other road repair or digging that happens which inconveniences the public at large, and its during the monsoons that it is at its peak. The major roads are concreted, and there is some sigh of relief for a temporary period of time. Its not for long that this newly concreted road gets the drilling machine piercing its hard ass surface.

What irritates me more is that the way the maintenance work is carried out, there is no sort of quality control that happens. After a certain road is dug, be it concrete or regular tar, the repair work is guaranteed to worsen. There is no sense or restoring the dug road to its original appearance. The bumps will not disrupt traffic, rather the careless attitude is that its done at the end of the day. There is no consideration to the thousands of vehicles which will be going over these bumps, cause the BMC have forgotten that these vehicles are driven by humans, and one more bump will not cause much of harm. This lackadaisical attitude is irks me a lot... Grrrrr!!!!

For eg. when the government announced that skywalks be constructed at every station making it convenient for the commuters to walk freely, few were constructed, some the foundation was laid and later on demolished because of public outrage or some protest. Today the status of these skywalks is that its barely used and TOI carried a picture with a cow resting on one of them. All that money gone down the drain, nothing new that has happened!

When will this end, frankly speaking....NEVER....... cause this is the BMC's way to keep the employment circle running, else we would have half of the population unemployed. The citizens are going to suffer with every year and the no. of people travelling by car will also never see a drop. Things are just gonna worsen day after day. Flyovers will be constructed, new roads being developed and the perpetual road repair works.... will continue till we die..... I see no hope of our infrastructure ever seeing an improvement....PERIOD!!!

2011 Highlight... My Middle Finger!!!

2011, a brand New year. We look forward to new ambitions, new desires, challenges, aspirations to push ourselves so that we make the best of what will be offered to us in the New Year. I too was looking at it with renewed vigour, 2010 was an OK year for me, but then it wasn't that bad either. My resolution was to ensure that I come out of my laziness which had dragged me into the ground in 2010, had to push myself and ensure I don't repeat another 2010.

I was on vacation in Goa, quit my job and was looking forward to the new place where I had got in. I had ample of time to unwind my tired mind before I get into the rat race again. A week of madness n mayhem in Goa, with a dash of relaxation just to be a lil considerate to my body, and another week at home lazing around waiting for my first day at the new place. Was thinking to myself, I must be the luckiest person to get a long break in-between jobs, and was being mesmerized with the whole thought. Its just a great feeling to actually be relaxed when you know that you are gonna slog your ass off in your next job. So its refreshing and you have an opportunity to rejuvenate yourself before the next rat race.

On the 5th day I left late from office and was heading home on my Enfield bullet, since I've been traveling to office on the bike ever since I started my career. I was riding down the new King's Circle flyover, when I had to change lanes due to some maintenance work on the street lights and get onto the next flyover. I was behind a four-wheeler, so I decided to overtake from the left side. I looked in the left mirror just to check if there is any vehicle coming from the left side, before I could look back on the road, I hit something really hard. I was seeing the sky & the road turning upside down, rolling over in the middle of the road. Me lying on the road with the bike a few meters away from me I knew I was in deep shit. I knew it was a bad accident, I got up on my own and started looking at the damage on me, couple of riders stopped to help me and check on me. Slowly the pain was saying hi and I was looking at the injuries to me, my right hand middle finger was bleeding from the nail, my left leg ankle was paining and I was struggling to take a step ahead. My left shoulder was in excruciating pain and I was hoping I hadn't cracked my shoulder. So I tried to lift it but with a lot of pain and difficulty I managed to move it up, and I was hoping it wouldn't be a hairline fracture.

Other riders help me walk to my bike while others lifted it, and I was assessing the damage caused due to my 3 seconds of looking into the mirror. It was fucked up and I knew for the second time it was a bad ass accident. I was just wondering why now, at the beginning of the year do I get punished, what did I do that gave me such a jolt. I called up a friend who lived close to where the accident had taken place, he helped get to the doc, and after telling him where I was hurt, I realized I might have fractured my right hand middle finger.

The next day I visited the hospital, and got an x-ray done. The doc confirmed it was a fracture and that I would have to undergo surgery to get it fixed. Monday morning was my appointment for the surgery, I was calm since the doctor had said that it would be a 25min procedure and it would be a local anesthesia. As I watched the doctor drill wires in my finger, I was reminiscing my fateful accident and just wasn't able to get over it. I took me a few days to get over the whole episode of my accident since it would just keep coming in my head.

Its been 3 months since the accident and even today while my bike is still at the garage getting repaired, I pass through the accident spot at Sion everyday and pray that i'm really fortunate that I escaped the accident with only a minor finger fracture, though its consequences I will have to live for the rest of my life...

Drive / Ride safe people, it aint worth it... Trust me on this.

No (B)road sense whatsoever...!!!

I've always wanted to write about this, but just could never gather my thoughts on the same. It still remains the same but I will write it somehow. It has been there in my head like a brain tumour for a really long time.

I primarily travel to office on a motorcycle, just like the other people riding who look like ants on the roads from a distance. I agree the best & the fastest way to travel to work are the caterpillar like local trains. Bikes make it more convenient since you are at your own disposal, i.e. you can leave for home whenever you want to, because you don’t have to depend on any other modes of transport and it doesn’t depend on a particular time that you have to leave.

Nowadays jobs aren’t the 9 to 5 types where you had a fixed time to get to office and a fixed time to leave for home, but yes reporting to office at a particular time doesn’t change. Anyway this is not my topic for discussion, its something else. It’s about following certain road ethics a certain sense of civility while you on the road. I’m not talking bout observing traffic/road rules while riding/driving, it’s something which is not taught to you in driving schools.

With nearly a hundred new vehicles hitting Bombay's roads and add a couple hundred of 2-wheelers, the ever increasing demand for cars & bikes aren’t going to come down. The soaring fuel prices don’t make a huge impact on the demand. Owning a car or a bike is more like a status symbol, ironically more than a necessity in today’s world. Due to this, we always come across traffic jams, endless bumper-to-bumper traffic in this cosmopolitan called "Bombay". The innumerable flyovers doesn’t help ease the traffic because of the increasing demand of new vehicles. And also the perpetual road-digging that happens at regular intervals.

Due to these traffic jams the 2-wheelers resort to riding on the footpaths, pavements next to the roads causing a huge inconvenience to the pedestrians. This behaviour is not acceptable when you are invading others spaces. Me being a biker, at times break certain traffic rules, but completely avoid riding on the footpath since that’s not my space to ride. If I was a pedestrian and if I find 2-wheeler riders riding on the footpath it wouldn’t be a nice moment. People don’t realise that there are old people, women & children walking on the footpath which is supposed to be a safe place while walking on the roads, and with this kind of behaviour its no less dangerous than the road itself. The psyche of Bombay is that of a fast-paced city, the city that never sleeps, blah blah blah, in a way reflects in each and every citizen living, even on me, and this makes us very impatient. And being a Bombayite, I wouldn’t deny the fact. Every person is in some kind of rush to get back home, to work, to meet his/her Girl/Boyfriend, to deliver something, etc. etc. And being in a kind of rush all the time people resort to taking to the footpaths to get ahead and save some time, but eventually are held by a traffic signal. Thank god the four-wheelers don’t have the luxury to do the same.

All this happens with causing greater inconvenience to the innocent pedestrians walking on what's their space and it entirely belongs to them only. Who are the fucking riders to take it away from them, why do they deserve this invasion of their space? This matter may seem very miniscule, but then why should the pedestrians suffer. The traffic cops just keep ignoring this, infact there has been a few times where I have seen a cop or two on a bike using the footpath to go ahead. If they resort to such practices, the pedestrians would go to incase there is an accident on the footpath. It’s a cliché conclusion that the law protectors become the law breakers, and this doesn’t help grow the trust & faith that the public would want to have on the cops.

People in India don’t have the basic civic sense to respect other peoples spaces, and this irritates me no end. There have been times when a senior irate pedestrian was stopping all the bikers from riding on the footpath, but the bikers weren’t paying any heed to the pedestrian. Why should someone go out of his way to do this? Cause he was retired, nothing more to do in life, that’s the respect we have for our elders.

And this will keep continuing, neither the Cops/Traffic Police will do anything about this nor the infamous Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will do anything to stop this. We the people will always be subject to such inconveniences for the rest of our lives. Bombay will always be subject to such a behaviour from its inhabitants cause even if we keep raving " Yeh Hai Bombay Meri Jaan" we never give it a second thought to make it a better place for ourselves and others to live in. We, the selfish citizens are to blame...

Meter Jam... Who we kidding guys???

Well in its second campaign the so called “Meter Jam” probably didn’t have much of an effect, neither did the first one which happened on August 12, 2010. Well they would probably argue with numbers and say that we got the required support from Bombayites. What I fail to understand is who the fuck are we talking to guys and who are we trying to fool... ourselves!!!!

I may sound pessimistic in my blog, but then this is Bombay guys, nothing changes. Rock bottom… it wont and it will never ever. It has been a bold initiative, but not forgetting the basics need to be clear here. We live in a city where everybody looks out only for himself and nobody else; they don’t give a fucking damn. People are so involved with themselves that they don’t even stop to help out an accident victim in their daily hustle-bustle of getting to work and then returning home. Our lives revolve around a routine which cannot be hampered in anyway, unless the system fails (Public Transport) on that day.

Thousands colour the city everyday in the trains, building, walls, elevators, sometimes other people (I’m not talking bout the festival Holi!!!) from various heights that too. The clean-up Mumbai drive must have instilled a lil of civic sense in all of us but then as I said before, Yeh Bombay hai meri jaan!!! Sudhrega nahi kabhi…

The cabbies, auto guys know that people will use their services and can hold us ransom for the same, cause ultimately it’s we who need them and not the other way round. I agree we are their bread n butter, but with a population of 13.5 million and with more than 2.5 lac + rickshaws & 1.2lac taxis plying the road they are never gonna run short of people requiring their services. A few thousand people who decide not to use their services is hardly gonna create any effect. How will it matter to them in any way? Its not even close to a freaking pin prick.

The only people who will benefit out of this “Meter Jam” fiasco are the people who have thought of this and they probably own cars to travel to work or where ever. Have they ever used the Public Transport in their entire existence? They have got the required mileage out of this so called “Meter Jam” and all will be forgotten in a few months, I repeat it will not make any difference to the cabbies & autos’ life even if this was repeated twice every month. The attitude of these people (Autos & cabbies) will never change, they are their own bosses behind the wheel and they will be the ultimate decision makers on where to go and where not to. And we will keep ranting about their attitude for the rest of our lives. The traffic cops don’t do shit about it, people complaining about it through email n SMS is an alternative, but then its not gonna impact anything. Even if a cop gets you a cab, the cabbie will go ahead a lil distance and ask you to get off, and will say no to your destination.

In conclusion I don’t see much happening on this front, I don’t know whether it will ever change, people who are used to autos & cabs will always use them till they can afford a transport of their own. Autos n cabbies will always say no… they think it’s their right to deny... but when they wear that uniform its their duty to serve the public!!!

Another bike tripin my travelogue...

Another bike trip in my travelogue,
A new destination with memories for a dialogue.

An avenue to rejuvenate our tired brain.
Helps us load off the weekly strain.

Our bikes leaving behind dust n' spray,
Thumping into nature's scenic frames.

Leaving behind a picturesque trail,
Hoping we would re-visit, someday again.

At the break of dawn we move in form,
Not knowing what lies in this rainy storm.

The sunshine was at its peak,
Losing our way and going miles away,
We finally took our long awaited leak.

Lil that it rained,
Made us slip and sprain.
Riding to our destination became kind of a pain.

Heading back the next day,
Hoping it would be a smoother sway.

Nursing the straights & curves
The rain kept pouring along the kerbs.
Holding on to our hysteric urges.

As we reached within city limits,
Was time to say goodbye to the breathtaking sights,
Riding amidst the clouds & nature’s scapes.

Lil did we realize, we were back to our hibernating graves.
Coming back to traffic jams & traffic snarls,
Wondering what all that noise was for.

Moving like snails, we made our way,
Hoping a new place, welcomes our grace.

Two punctures... two accidents.... One Destination!

The monsoons in Maharashtra are a treat, especially for the ones who love what Mother Nature has to offer. With the ample mountainous ranges in the state, the whole landscape has a green cover which can be best enjoyed during the rainy season. And what better way to enjoy these natural beautiful sights, than to ride your bike through the long highways passing villages, green pastures, scenic mountains, and sometimes waterfalls besides the highways.

My group of biker friends decided to make a trip to Bhandardara, 160KM from Bombay ahead of Igatpuri in the month of July. Since it’s become a ritual amongst us to make a bike trip once every month. This was the first trip we were going to make during the monsoons, and the danger element kept staring at us ever since we decided to make this rainy trip, cause a bike, a far away destination, unpredictability of rains & slippery wet roads all adds up to one hell of a risky ride. But then no bike ride is complete without the element of danger. That’s what pushes us I guess!!!

So we decided to leave for Bhandardara at 7:30AM on Saturday, 17th July 2010, and as usual we got delayed due to unforeseen circumstances. We were five guys leaving from various places in Bombay and our meeting point was Mulund (West) toll-naka on the Eastern Express highway. My friend leaving from Goregaon, gets a puncture and has to get his tyre fixed, another friend leaving from Juhu meets with a minor accident, which damages his gear lever, which adds up to the delay. Since I had to tank up my bike and fill air, I go to the local tyre-puncture guy and to my surprise even I had a puncture in my rear tyre. Another half hour added to the delay. The four of us finally meet up at the toll-naka at 9.15AM and we head towards our destination. We pick up the fifth guy from Thane and we begin our journey with excited emotions.

On our way we get a few light showers, but nothing to slow us down. The atmosphere was cool with a light drizzle, enjoying the scenic landscapes all around us. We had our smoke breaks, breakfast stop, pee stops and we were within touching distance of our destination. We got further delayed when we realized we overshot the turn to Bhandardara by 30Kms. But we didn’t care since the roads were so mesmerizing that we stopped looking at road signs.

After taking a right at Ghoti, on the narrow road to Bhandardara we got a moderate shower and the roads got wet and we had our last accident of the trip. My friend lost control of his bike due to the wet mud on the road and broke his left rear-view mirror. Now that’s a souvenir for his bike trip. Lucky for him there was no major injury to him. We had to slow down for quite a while since the wet mud made the road quite slippery, therefore we were moving ahead with caution.

We finally reached Bhandardara at 4PM after a grueling six hours and since we didn’t have any accommodation in place it was another hour till we finally parked our stone cold asses and rested our tired, aching bodies at Yash resort. All of us decided we explore the place the next day, since there wasn’t much light to enjoy the surroundings. The next morning we were supposed to wake up early but then knowing us guys that didn’t happen. We finally got out exploring the place at around 11AM.

Bhandardara has many well known & unwanted crowded spots, especially the Wilson or Bhandardara dam as it’s popularly known as. Apart from that there is a lake which was a little empty probably cause of less rain in the area. But the lake was beautiful and was a very large one which was miles long. We decided to chill next to the banks but since it was quite sunny we decided not to. We decided to head towards the waterfall and we ended up taking a long ride, with the roads ziggin & zagging, the clouds hugging the mountains and the sun shining in all its glory.

This was the disappointing moment of our trip, while we were at Bhandardara, we didn’t get a hint of rain, not even a drop, so we just kept roaming around till we found the Randha waterfalls. From a distance we could see hoards of semi-naked guys/picknickers taking a shower under the waterfalls and also a few local women washing clothes in the same area. That did it… we decided to move on and look for a quieter place. We came back to the dam and decided to chill out for sometime.

After a relaxing smoke by the bank, we decided to head back home at around 4PM, since we wanted to avoid riding in the night. We quickly checked out from the hotel and were on our way back home. As soon as we exited Bhandardara and came on the NH-3 the clouds started roaring and it started pouring cats & dogs. The pouring rain was so much that we had to slow down to a speed of 40Kmph from 70-80Kmph. Due to the heavy pour there was zero visibility & with our headlights & indicator lights on we were moving like tortoises coming out of the water. The weather was just too awesome, though we had our rain gear on, we still got wet and I mean drenching wet. We rode for an hour covering almost 50Km when we came across a dry spell, but then as we moved further the rain gods were showering their blessings on us yet again.

It was bliss, the experience of riding in the rains is just too awesome. A memorable experience which will never be forgotten in a long time. The ride back home in the rains compensated for the disappointing weather at Bhandardara. We were fortunate we didn’t have any major mishap, or bike breakdowns, the rain gods took care of us each mile of our long journey.

Looking forward to our next trip in August. Hope it’s filled with loads of fun, coming close to Mother Nature yet again.

40 Days...

It was one day before Ash Wednesday (February 17th, 2010), the beginning of Lent that I decided to follow it. Which technically means that if you are following Lent you give up something that you love, you make a sacrifice. After not much thought I decided that I would give up one of the most favourite things that I love: and that is "Eating Non-veg food" and not only that I also decided to give up alcohol. Cause like other Christians giving up something or the other and the most common of the sacrifices would be to give up alcohol, eating non-veg food, givng up chocolates, etc. etc. Some people even give up sex, well now that is something which I wouldnt want to add to my list of sacrifices. Can give a shot though!!!

But then I decided to give up both alcohol & non-veg food. At the time of making this decision I didnt think of how difficult it would be or whether I would be able to follow it or not cause somewhere it was an impulsive decision. Not many thoughts ran through my head, cause all I knew was that I have decided to abstain myself from alcohol & non-veg food for the next 40 days... Phewwwwww!!!

I had announced this to many of my friends, family, colleagues and the only response I got was that I wouldnt be able to go through this. Everybody knows me as a hardcore foodie and giving that up would definitely be a herculean task. Im too weak to make such a big sacrifice. But then it actually didnt matter whether I got through this test successfully or not, cause my conscience would not let me cheat myself. I didnt have any particular reason to do this, I didnt do this for the sake of religion, or for God or any other reasons. I just wanted to do it, just wanted to test my will power and how strong I am as an individual to go through this.

As I began counting the days remaining for Easter, my craving for meat just kept on exploding inside my head and even more my stomach. Infact during the forty days, I ended up going to places with my friends, colleagues where they would indulge in alcohol, meat and I would have to sip on some juice for the rest of the evening/night. Had to attend few birthday parties and I would just have to strengthen myself and keep myself away from temptation. Its not that I wasnt tempted to break my sacrifice umpteen times, I just had to distract myself from the obvious.

Easter was on 4th of April, 2010, the day I would break my so called fast, and I couldnt help my self counting the last few remaining days. Cause somewhere deep inside I was happy that I will go through this without a problem. Forty days without non-veg & alcohol was something which I have never done in my entire life. I just kept counting, updating my Facebook, Gtalk status and reminding my self of the days that remained for Easter.

In the end when it was finally Easter, It dawned upon me that I got through this abstinence without a glitch. My system would have gotten cleansed with all the vegetarian (Arghhhhhhh!!!) food which I was consuming(No offense to Vegetarians), but then I didnt bother about that so much, cause I was internally happy that I went through this. Exactly at 12.30Am on Easter Sunday, I had my first drink of Old Monk Rum, after Forty freaking days, and it just felt great, being back to my normal self. And ya just 30ml of Rum got me high, which was kind of expected.

At the end of this abstinence stint of mine, I decided that I will not put myself through this ever again, cause it was painful not to do the things which I love. But Im happy I did it cause it has made me stronger & confident and I know that life will throw tougher challenges at you, its upto you whether you are game for it or not?

Routine.. a societal virus.

A virus exists in our society,
It’s in our system, because our lives are too hasty.
It dwells, it breathes, it may kill our desires.
We no longer are satiated with small pleasures,
Since ignorance has become a way of life.
We push ourselves beyond our human abilities,
Mocking the purpose of being alive.
Everyday is like a ritual to survive.

We seek happiness in our materialistic endeavors.
And drown our sorrows over, like sour grapes.
Our life is a drowning pessimism,
Our attitude to life gets stranger each day,
Happiness is an illusion of the previous day,
Today is tomorrow, even before you can blink.
Life doesn't simplify, problems just multiply.
Everyday seems to be similar,
Not one day different than the other.
Routine doesn't let us break away.
We hardly mind that and play a pretense...
Blaming ourselves all the time and hoping it exchanges.

Life is a test, testing our lives everyday of our life.
From the first breath to our dying breaths.
In between is existence and feeding it with survival.
It has much more to offer,
And we excuse ourselves when its being offered.
We need to step back and enjoy the ride,
Pause a bit from our routine.
Life's beauty isn't enough for a lifetime.
Living everyday is what matters, all the time.