Day 1 in Ahmedabad

Ok... so, there is a God. I'm a believer! How else can you explain the way people actually get from one place to another in Ahmedabad, WITHOUT BEING KILLED!

Its a wonder how people miss each other... they must be getting hit sometime or the other!! No... really, I mean it! From what I've been able to discern so far, here's some rules...

1. Vehicles getting on the roundabout get a higher priority than those already on it.
2. Vehicles traveling on a main road must stop and let those from the small intersections cross.
3. When there are more than 1 lanes on the road, vehicles are allowed to move freely between them. And in fact, you score more points if you change lanes at least 8-10 times in 100 meters.
   
4. If there is only 1 lane on the road, vehicles must travel on the divider line i.e. straddle both lanes.
5. Horns are good for health. Everybody in India is very healthy.
6. Only girls and sissies use brakes. It seems, we nobody falls within either category!
7. If there's an accident, the drivers must greet each other with open threats and knuckledusters.

Thats a small list of the rules... I'll add more as I understand them.

Ok... so Day 1 was actually quite good, particularly when I wasn't on the road. Not only did I feel safe, I actually had a good time!

Deepak (Neeraj's brother) came to pick me up from the International airport and was kind enough to give me a lift to the domestic airport. Great guy! Wish I  could spend some more time with him. The flight to Ahmedabad was uneventful. The drive from the airport to our house wasn't. I lost a few pounds sweating it out whilst sitting on the front seat of the car.

Met up with Bhatta, Ruchir & Nainesh. Spent some quality time chatting up on old times over a bottle of  Glenmorangie Cellar 13 single malt whisky. That gone, we had some absolutely fabulous kebabs at Khyber (Fortune Hotel's Kebab restaurant) and topped a side splitting dinner with a chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream dessert. Suffice to say, I contemplated going for a jog in the middle of the night to make room for the food... thankfully, I didn't. Ahmedabad wasn't ready for another earthquake.

Came home late... rolled upstairs into bed and snored away happily. Rekha wasn't too happy though. Snoring and marriage don't go too well apparently. Anyway... tomorrow's another day.

The countdown begins...

YESS !! I'm at the airport... getting ready for the check-in.

Not a long line in front of me. Lets see, I've only got 3 check-in bags (just 40kgs each, not much) and these 2 cabin baggages... oh... and of course, the 4 plastic bags as well. You see... they're not counted. Umm... Neither is the Britannica Encyclopedia in large print for the kiddies in India... that's just a... a... keep-me-fit-whilst-I-fly-to-India past time activity!

Hey ! I'm Indian (well... technically OCI) and we're supposed to take lots of stuff ! What's wrong with you !?!

Anyway... gotta go and get busy with the duty-free goodies ;p.

T Minus 1... and counting !

Brrr.... its getting cold in London. My bones ache to get to the nice warmth of India. Rekha tells me that its hot in Delhi... so its going to be even hotter in Ahmedabad & Bombay.

Ok. So, its T minus 1 today. Yesss !!

THAK-A-TIKKI THAK-E-TIKKI THAK !! (a-la-Shakti Kapoor in Andaaz Apna Apna)
Neeraj, you're even allowed to join me... and Bhatti - get rid of that tooth. You're scaring me!

Before I leave, I need to make sure I've got all my tasks completed. Lets see... what was on my plate? Moong ki daal, mixed veg & rotis! Ahh... its lunchtime... explains why I'm thinking of food.

Looking forward to some nice home-cooked pulaav that Shreeth's got for me today. Must remember to thank his lovely wife Bhavya. Am already feeling like home!

Forgotten my mobile today... drat ! Feel really uncomfortable. I cannot bear the loss of my mobile!! Its an integral part of my body... like my fingers... my toes... my... ah well. Anyway, you get the point. I think I'm falling apart... victim to the forgotten-mobile-at-home-syndrome. HELP !

Eager to go home... but I know I wont be able to till LATE ! Blast all these last minute meetings! Why must there always be a stupid meeting at 5pm... for an entire hour !!

I must get through the day... I simply must... oh the agony of waiting! But, only 5 more hours to go before I leave for the day! Yehay ! Wait... then, there's the long wait at home till I catch the plane tomorrow! Maaaannnn !

To New Beginnings...

Hey !

Funny how things go. I thought I'd never really start up my own 'blog' (I did register way back in 2004 though!). "What's a blog anyway !?!" - I'd thought at the time... & "Why the hell do I need a blog?". But prudence taught me to register my username for the blog, in case I needed it in the future! And, guess what? Here I am, penning down my first blog entry.

Well... I see it more like my rant. The way it works is that I go on and on and on... and on... about myself... addressing whomsoever wants to lend a ear to my extremely interesting life. The whole concept is quite freaky actually. I mean, who knows who's reading this stuff out there? Hey, you might be a... a... slasher for all I know. And then, there's this - how do I know if someone actually reads my stuff !?! And more importantly, why would anybody want to read this crap anyway?

Lord... y'all are sick ! Go, get a life.............. hmm... funny, I should say that !

Anyway... what's cooking? Hmmmm... well, we're going to India. Actually, I'm going to India ! Rekha & Pari left last weekend. I'm just joining them in Delhi. Then, we'll all be off to Ahmedabad.

Hey... newsflash! Being old boring me, I'll do exactly what the others do! Why not update y'all on what I do in India... since, of course, you're all just dying to know what I get on with!! At this point, you just nod your head sagely and say - "Of course, Ankur".

Ok. So, here's the itinerary. I'll create a new blog as each day passes. So, keep checking.

25th Oct - Arrive in Delhi, Leave for Ahmedabad, eat till I get fat... hmm... I'm already fat... ok till I get REALLY fat. Oh hang on... I'm already REALLY fat... well... you get the picture.
26th Oct - Meet up with Family members during the day and meet up with the Rollwalla gang at RCC kitli in the evening. Eat loads of pakodis, get drunk on chai.
27th Oct - Meet up with Family members during the day, Meet up with the Xaviers College gang at Nehrunagar char rasta in the evening and get drunk on chai ;>.
28th Oct - Diwali
29th Oct - Hit the beaches in Diu.
30th Oct - Continue hitting the Diu beaches !! Die beach die !!
31st Oct - Family Day !!
01st Nov - Mom's eye op during the day. Meet up with the old Loyola gang in the evening.
02nd Nov - Shoping !
03rd Nov - Shopping & packing all the shopping !
04th Nov - Family time, Packing & Leave for Bombay.
05th Nov - Get drunk on chai (ok... maybe not)
06th Nov - Meet up with the school/RCC/Xaviers gang in Bombay
07th Nov - Shopping ?
08th Nov - Packing all the shopping ! Leave for London.
09th Nov - Turn up the heating, some takeaway, a dvd & enjoy the last moments of the holiday!

Ok... so that's the broad itinerary. Lets see how much of the schedule will I be adhering to.