Mitra - My Friend

I met a very old friend of mine yesterday. We were buddies in school days. Then I moved to Indore to finish my schooling while he stayed back in Khandwa. I chose to take the engineering route while he was determined to become a doctor. And a doctor is what he is today. A dentist to be precise. A smartly dressed doctor, that I had imagined him to be after the brief conversations that we had on and off in last 10 or so years. Things don't change much with some people. It was really nice to meet my old buddy.

I also happened to meet couple more old friends in Khandwa. They are what Khandwa was/is to me apart from a hundred of relatives and the millions of childhood memories.

I met another very old and close friend in Indore. If Indore is one of my dream cities, his friendship is a big reason behind it. I have spent some of the most memorable times in Indore in his company. Anything and everything, I can rely on him. And he has always proved that I made the right choice by doing that. Many a times I think, he is what I am not. And I aspire to be like him. I hope that I'll be able to do so some day.

And then there are so many other friends. From school days, college days, work days and the BSchool days - they are part of my formative years. I could keep in touch with many, but still many a links are broken. Even the likes of Facebook and Orkuts cannot help one if it's not in his inherent nature to be in touch with his past. My papa tells me stories from his school days as if they happened just the last weekend. He talks about his friends from school and college. He knows whereabouts of many of them even though they would not have met for years. His friend circle expands in all walks of life from being a big businessman to a bus conductor. It astonishes me how does he do it. There is no facebook or IM in most of his world. Mobile phone is a recent entry too. We still visit even the extended families of some of his friends when we are in their city and find it home. How does it happen that we, in spite of all the so-called favorable tools, cannot do what he has done and continues to do.

I am trying my best to learn from him. And from my friends. Some of them are really good at it. These are my biggest earning from my formative years. And I intend to cherish them all for my entire life.

a countryside affair

Chammach dabao, lagao top, kato, poora kato - these are some new additions to my vocabulary. I picked them up during my driving lessons with the 'seasoned' drivers in this place. I have also gained the 'punya' of having saved life of one hen and one goat. Ofcourse the 'paap' of their murder would have been credited to my account only, if I had not pressed the break in the right time. Overall, it's been a great driving experience so far and I look forward to polish my skills day but day.

Driving on country roads gives you an unique opportunity to see the village life from a close quarter (oh yes, I have graduated from driving on empty grounds to driving on empty roads). House whose entrance stretch right upto the mid of the road (they actually broom that stretch for road twice a day), temporary speed breakers near these entrances that help in marking territory as well making these entrances safe for the inmates, roads whose width is no more than a single lane, fast moving 'gama' and other tempo trax versions, haughty tractors and slowly moving bullock carts, hoards of goats and cows, kids playing on the road, a hundred temples, dargahs and other places of worship and what not.

And there is happiness. Despite the fact that basic amenities like electricity and water is as scarce as it could be. But they don't seem to complain. They are happy to get water every third day. Because last year it was a weekly affair. They have adjusted their time tables to suit power cut schedules. Channels have changed so have the serials that they follow on the TV. CFLs have replaced the traditional bulbs in spite of their high initial cost (sometimes I think CFL should be counted amongst one of the biggest inventions of last quarter of 20th century). Inverters are the way of life for those who can afford it. Others are just happy with 12th hour supply schedule. Narmada project will bring water to these villages - that's the hope. A lot of their future depends on it.

These are new things for me. A newer way to look at things. I still have to visit the tuesday haat bazaar in this place. Will surely have more things to share.

Till then...

TEXT me

I must admit, I am addicted to msging now. To be more specific, to free msging. The credit goes to Docomo (the connection that I used during my brief coming-back-to-life trip in Bangalore). Reliance GSM at home has help me continue from where I had left in Bangalore. So I spam the inbox of some of my friends. Don't blame me of partiality if you have not yet received any msg from me. Thank god that you are lucky enough to be 'not the chosen one'. I spam with crazy msgs from drab good morning and good night wishes to what my mom has cookEd for lunch. Some silly forwards, some borrowed quotes from novels I am reading and other news items from the morning news-paper.

In between all those, I think, I am trying to relive a life that I have always longed for. A happy go lucky existence that stretched somewhere in between the unlimited dreams that I have imagined as my life to be. It's a world of care-free living.

And I am really happy to admit that it has worked. It has helped me do the best with the time in my hand. I have caught up with many of my old friends, shared lots of nice moments. I've learnt a lot deal about many a things in life. And ofcourse my 'frustration' levels have come down too. I can be found keying in awkwardly on my MotoRazr keypad continuously is a proof of that experience. I hope to continue doing the same for as long as I can. :-)

If you have the guts, drop me a mail with your mobile numbers and get ready for the spam.

Time for the good evening round of msgs. ;-)

ps: the idea to start blogging again was also a result of this spamming. My dear friend got so bugged of my msgs that she suggested me to blog again to keep myself busy. :-)