a red-headed woman

I was sitting in jail with my back to the wall,

And a red-head woman was the cause of it all.

What's your dream car?

I don't have a dream car per se, but I really want to buy an SUV sometime. God knows when that day will come but I love Lexus SUVs, Pajero and desi Safari. But the only one I can afford right now is a Suzuki Gypsy or Mahindra Jeep (that too a second hand one :P). I even had a test drive of 4*4 customized Mahindra Jeep last week which had a gear box of a truck. In fact I plan to blog on that experience very soon. Coz that was one heck of a machine.

Ask me anything

The Golden Journey to Samarkand

I'm not into any kind of poetry but somehow this one caught my eye and I really like it. I read these lines in the book: "Beyond the Last Blue Mountain".  It is the biography of JRD Tata.
The book starts with a couple of verses from the following poem by James E. Flecker. 


James Elroy Flecker

THE GOLDEN JOURNEY TO SAMARKAND

We are the Pilgrims, master; we shall go
Always a little further: it may be
Beyond that last blue mountain barred with snow,
Across that angry or that glimmering sea,


White on a throne or guarded in a cave
There lives a prophet who can understand
Why men were born: but surely we are brave,
Who take the Golden Road to Samarkand.


Sweet to ride forth at evening from the wells
When shadows pass gigantic on the sand,
And softly through the silence beat the bells
Along the Golden Road to Samarkand.


We travel not for trafficking alone;
By hotter winds our fiery hearts are fanned:
For lust of knowing what should not be known
We make the Golden Journey to Samarkand.




P.S.: Changing the topic. I really like the new look 'n' feel of my blog. Finally blogger.com has done what it should have done a couple of years back. But... as they say... Better late than never. 
And the photograph on the blog's header is the one I took during my previous visit to the city of dreams - Bombay. Cheerio...

Race 1 - Bahrain GP 2010

Just a few minutes left for the race to start, and I don't plan to write a lot so I'm kinda sure the blog would finish sooner than the race. By the way, I am at home today, wish I could have been at 'Toons', especially for this first one.

2010 Season looks thrilling to say the least.

1. "Schumi" is Back.

He got a chance to take the seat last year itself emptied by Massa's accident. But he wanted to make full-fledged come back with the 2010 season.

And I am extremely curious to see how it goes for him.

Schumi is 41. Albeit he said, "I feel like a child looking forward to Christmas". But then F1 at 41. Let's wait and watch.

Though he is at seventh position on the starting grid, which is much better than what I expected the qualifiers would go for him, considering he had such a long break.

2. Force India looks good.

The car has been further upgraded. It's called VJM03. It has earned some good press. And we all know what "VJM" stands for. And I'm really impressed with both Sutil n Luizzi. I am very excited for our team. I believe we actually stand a good chance this season even though all superstars are back on the circuit.

"VJM03"

3. Massa is back as well.

After his life-threatening accident last season, it feels great to see him once again at the circuit. And what more, he qualified second on the starting grid.

4. New rules are going to make the race even more exciting.

No re-fuelling. whoa! Cars will have a bigger fuel tank. But this is going to make the car heavier. Point system has changed amazingly. The winner takes 25, and the next racer 18 points. So the gap has really increased. There will be points to top ten instead of top eight. Tyre replacing rules have changed, qualifying rules have changed.

5. Chandhok is finally a Formula One driver for HRT.

His car was still getting completed when the practice sessions started. The first time Chandhok in his HRT got onto the circuit was during the qualifiers. The team itself is new, so it wasn't surprising that Chandhok starts last on the grid.

There are 2 more new teams apart from HRT: Virgin Racing, and Lotus F1.

As I write this post, the race has already started.

Chandhok is already out of the race. I guess the car couldn't bear the Bahrain heat. :( I don't know the details as yet.

Sutil has been pushed over to the last position in the first lap itself. Thanks to Robert Kubica :( Once again his bad luck continues in this season as well.

And it's all happening there. There have been quite a few crashes as well for the other cars. Time for me to enjoy the race n stop writing. And drink some beer. Cheers!!

Is happiness simply a state of mind... ?

Happy Valentine's Day ?

Blasts occur. Some people die. Many others get injured. Rest move on...

"Why do we simply move on ?"

I asked this to my friends last night. As Pune once again welcomed Valentine's day with the color red. However, this time it is the red of blood, and not the red of roses. The answer: "What should we do ? And what can we do ? Sit ? Cry ? Sulk ? Find the terrorists ? What ? Vote ? Yea then what ? BJP ? Congress ? So we move on."

German Bakery. I can't count the number of times I have been to that place. And today. It's just gone. It was a hub of world culture, place to indulge in meaningless musings, lavish breakfast, sporadic conversations and for some a place to make new friends and meet interesting people. We didn't need a reason to land up in German Bakery. Breakfast, coffee or simply catching up. It was (can't believe I'm using the word "was") one of our favorite places. And it's no more... It's scary. Hope they rebuild it.

I don't want to write more, so let me try to finish this post with something cheerful on this otherwise ugly day.

Somebody sent 40 red roses to our apartment early morning. We don't know who are they from, and nobody is claiming it as well. Funny...

So my heart, my prayers, and the roses as well to Pune and to those who suffer.

Sleepless in Seattle. No. In Pune.

2.49 AM

I have been trying to sleep for more than an hour now, but without success. I guess this is the aftermath of spending most of your day on the bed. And while you try to sleep, the mind sways in all directions, in all corners, across geographies...

Unfortunately, my life is getting busier by the day. The more I want to make it simple, the more complicated it becomes.

And this reminds me of the status message Wansh had put on facebook the other day

"Every few months I think that life has stabilized, things have gone boring, no more screw ups no more weird happenings... maybe i've grown up now... God smiles at me, shows a middle finger and says NO"

ha ha... every time I read this, it brings a smile on my face, may be coz I can relate to it. I don't know. "The Pursuit of Happiness".

I am still not sleepy, not even close to it I should say. My 6-string Washburn is lying in front of me, or should I rather call it a 5-string leaning against the wall, hoping somebody would pick it up. The 6th string broke few weeks back, and I have made no efforts to get it replaced. May be coz it gives me a readymade excuse of not playing it.

I can't say that I am going to hit the sack now, coz I'm already inside the sack but it's not helping.

A Paulo Coelho book lies half-open on my table, but it's 3:07, and it's a big and busy day tomorrow and I need sleep. Though it is a wednesday, but it is giving me blues like a Monday morning thanks to the republic day holiday we had today.

P.S.: I didn't like the new "mile sur mera tumhara" video. So many film celebrities, and very few national icons. Wish they had made it better.

But as Wansh says, every time you wish for something, God comes, smiles, shows a middle-finger and says "No".

Good night...