Japani Bhikari

I was never so surprised in my last 8 trips here...
The other day, I was casually walking down the road to my apartment on a weekend, suddenly a boy called out to me, asking for the way to Kawasaki station...
He looked like a foreigner first but when he spoke in Japanese, I was confused...
He was very frail and small, had a bag in his hand.
After I explained the way to him, he said that he had come to Tokyo to find work and has no more than 20 yens in his pocket.
He asked for 300 yen which would be his train fare to Tokyo!
I said...No, can't...M sorry and came away...
But then I thought should I after all have given him that money?
After all, he was not asking for much...
But then what if he must be asking that of every random passer by who may spare some coins!
I think what I did was not bad though!
But it really shocked me to see almost a beggar in Japan!!

Mika Nakashima: I love this song

“Ano koro”tteBokutachi wa
Yoru no sora wo shinjite ita
Onaji muki no Bouenkyou de
Chiisana hoshi sagashita
Itsumo soba niDareka ite
Kodoku no kage magiraseta
Teiden shita
Natsu no owari ni
Tesaguri shite
KISU wo shita ne

Are kara boku wa ikutsu no
Yume wo mite kita no darou
Me wo tojite miru yume yori mo
Me wo hirakinagara
WOW WOW
Are kara boku wa ikutsu no
Jiyuu wo ikite kita darou
Unmei no shihai ja nakute
Kimeteta no waBoku no
“WILL”

KirameiteruHoshi-tachi wa
Dareka ga mou mitsuketeru
Hikari no nai
Yami no dokoka ni
Mada mie naiMirai ga aru

Kioku ga seiza no you ni
Kagayakinagara tsunagaru
BARABARA ni miete ita kedo
Ima nara wakaru yo
WOW WOW
Kioku ga seiza no you ni
Hitotsu ni natte oshieru
Guuzen no shiwaza ja nakute
Eranda no waBoku no
“WILL”

Sugiteku kako wa
SubeteJibun no toorimichi
Kono yoru no sora ni
Kawaranai eien ga
Mimamotteru
WOW WOW

Are kara boku wa ikutsu no
Yume wo mite kita no darou
Me wo tojite miru yume yori mo
Me wo hirakinagara
WOW WOW
Are kara boku wa ikutsu no
Jiyuu wo ikite kita darou
Unmei no shihai ja nakute
Kimeteta no wa

Beware of the Elephants when you tread the streets

It happened this very morning. I was returning home after running some errands...
Walking, trying to shield myself from the heavy downpour that suddenly started...

Rain was beating hard from all sides!

I feared that the 16 spokes umbrella will fly away like a parachute in that heavy wind blowing from the opposite side!

I held the umbrella almost like a DHAAL / Shield!! Could not help it!
The only thing in my field of vision not blocked by the umbrella was the road under my feet.
but thank god I did not walk into something or someone and made it safely to the corner around my society gate!

And suddenly...from under the umbrella, in front of me...appeared two feet....
two huge feet...No distinguishable toes on them!
and they belonged to something even more huge?

I stumbled on the spot
and had to remove my shield of an umbrella from in front of me only to come face to face with a medium sized Elephant!

Haaaaa...ZOU DAAAAAAA!!!!!!

I can't say how I felt at that moment!

Startled...?Amazed...? Relieved that I didnt actually bump into it...? Or just FUNNY!!!

Don't know...but the next moment, I took a little detour around the tusker, supposedly the present vehicle of the SUN GOD, almost casually, and walked on...  and I just mustered up some courage and touched his rough, black skin...I don't know if he even felt that touch!!!

The very next moment I was almost laughing with bewilderment that I just saved myself from bumping into an Elephant around the corner from my house!!

If you stay in India, it could happen to you too!!!

Hey everyone!



Here comes the season!

Of rain!

Of dirt!
Of greenary!
Of treks!

Of floods!

Of rainy trips!

Of train blocks!



Who says they love this season?

I know, many do!



Last weekend, rains stranded me away from home...But the day was all cool (cold infact) at lonawla!

We waded through knee deep water to Bushi dam!

Sipped tea which was identical in color to the water all around!

Lil drops of rain dropping in the cup!!

We saw a fattie throw himself in the water and flow down the dam water like a weed in the downpour!

Meri barso ki tamanna thi Lonawala jaake baarish me bheegte hue garam garam bhutta khane ki!

While we ate bhutta oe of our bechara friends was holding the umbrella over the Bhutta selling aunty while she prepared the bhutta for us!

It was pouring continuously!

Raincoat was as good as not there!



All the clouds and waterfalls!



But these days it has lost all its beauty I think!



the way people throw things all around!

And wen you tell them not to...They think "Lage pattee padhane!"



Well, at lest the IT guys should do something to keep our so called IT hub cities in good shape!

Why is it so drastically different!

Wen we are in offices, in those marble glazed glass covered buildings, AC offices,

and....wen we come out, wat do we see but dirt and noise everywhere!



Any idea for how this can be done guys?



Scratch your heads!

Wat is your plan for New Year?

Thats a question u must be being asked frequently these days?

I see many party plans built and crash down at the same speed!

So I prefer not to make any plans at all!

See wat happens next...and one more thing...resolve not to make any resolutions!!!

Be faithful to ur own soul at least, I say!!

The new beginning

And finally the day arrives!!!

Me the goes to the driving school!!!

The first day of school is tomorrow!!

And (so many exclamation marks already!) I am veru excited just as a kid is on his/her first day of school!

The interview and the registration gets over with much hassle!

(Our memorable trip to RTO, before which all of us school children (?) had to wait for 1 hr for the school "SUMO" to arrive!

The one named after the Japanese wresteler carried 11 fully grown human beings "packed" cruelly inside it!

And the one named after the Indian God of power and symbol faith (Maruti) carried us like the actual God carried Ram and Lakshman on his shoulders!

After listening to a fellow student-aka-Gujju Bepari Bhai's n0n-stop chitterchatter on his celfone with his global clientale and bepari bhais, we reached the Kalyan RTO office!

Few people were queued up in the afternoon heat in front of a old style house like construction, in a yard which resembled a scrap station of old auto-rickshaws!!

Being a female proved a privilege here, coz 3 of us got the enquiries done without having to scorch ourselves in the noon sun!!

The answers given, the signatures (wierdly, we signed in an upside down register!)

done, we were escorted back to the place we started from!

The Gujju bepari bhai loyally kept his cell-waani continuously on and assured that the instructor (who happened to be driving the car) was driving alertly!! :p

Thus ends the registration process!

The learner's licence is still to be collected!

I wonder wat type of shoes wud prove good enuf when driving a car!

(And how many unfortunate people wud be on my HIT list!!!???