Touched by the generosity of a stranger

So I had this very strange experience last evening, while traveling to Mysore from Bangalore.
Anybody who knows me well, is not unaware of my abhorrence  for crowded places like bus and railway stations etc. In fact any place that has an organised mass or gathering of people. Nothing against people as such, it's just that any kind of chaos unsettles me.

Anyways. I reached the Satellite bus station in Bangalore at around 6 in the evening after the two hours hike from Electronic City in a cab. Yes, I call it a hike because of the crazy traffic that one has to endure on the way. It actually feels like a painful hike as it drains you physically and emotionally. The sight of around 200 over-enthusiastic people standing in a queue to book the bus tickets to Mysore, welcomed me. And I couldn't believe my eyes! Somehow I gathered the courage to join the serpentine queue. And I could see that 80% of the crowd there belonged to some IT company or the other going by the logo of their backpacks. No wonder, Blore is known as the IT capital of India. After some 20 agonising minutes of waiting, a lady came and stood behind me. And I was kinda relieved for being not the last one. We started chatting up because, there was nothing else to do!! All of a sudden, a Volvo bus arrived to collect the passengers and announced that tickets will be issued inside the bus instead. And obviously there was a mad rush to get into the bus!! The lady who was behind me told me that she is going ahead to explore the probability of beating the crowd in the stampede. Before I could realise what was happening, she vanished! And I got busy looking at the pushing--shoving-elbowing that was going on at the bus door. After 10 minutes, I saw the lady calling out to me to get into the bus along with wild waving of hands. I still couldn't believe that I had it in me to jostle amongst the crowd and get inside the bus. It was like you are drowning and you see a hand calling out to you in an effort to save you! I don't exactly know, what happened to me in that instant. I joined the melee of crowd and somehow pushed-elbowed myself and managed to get into the bus! The lady had saved a nice seat for me! I felt like screaming in delight, I was so happy and relieved! I thanked her profusely. The struggle didn't end with the bus ride. After we reached Mysore, I couldn't find a single cab. The lady who was a localite, shouted and screamed for an auto and managed to find one for me! She negotiated with the auto driver and helped me get inside safely.

I was too stunned with this unexpected kindly gesture from a stranger and quickly I asked her number to send a thank you msg later! And all throughout the auto ride, I was thinking how people touch your lives through their kind behaviour sometimes...She didn't know me personally or anything, still she went out of her way to help me out...And it left such a lasting impression on my mind, I just wanted to crystallize this incident forever by blogging about it... I hope she reads it somehow and realises how thankful I am ...

Eight years hence...

It was somewhere around this time in the month of August, 8 years ago, that I entered the famed Infosys Campus at Mysore with stars in my eyes hoping to build a career. Last evening, all those memories came rushing back to me especially as I entered the multiplex in campus to watch a movie. 8 years back, it was "Love aaj kal" and yesterday it was "Lipstick under burqa", which has been getting rave reviews lately. Anyways, this particular post is not about the movie at all, so let me not digress from the subject.

8 years is a long time. People change, circumstances change...perspectives change. It  was my first  tryst in a state which was not Odisha. My BigB travelled all the way from Pune to drop me in the campus. After that, I was pretty much on my own. Working, traveling around to explore the city on weekends and enjoying South Indian delicacies. I was a lot thinner, probably a bit naive and may be gullible at times. 8 years hence, a few kilos enriched...bit more confident may be...sometimes sceptical of people and situations...and yes! A lot more easy going and brave. I choose to believe that I have changed as a person for the better. I appreciate every moment of life, health and people more now. I don't believe in accumulating things or objects anymore.I have developed a deep abbhorence towards anything that is materialistic. I love to lead a simple life devoid of frills. All my current possessions can fit into just one strolley, I am not kidding. People say, they travel light. I like to proclaim, I live light. Yes, that's true.

The only things I value now is people and relationships. Rest is immaterial to me. Work is important too, as that's the source of my bread minus butter! Honesty and dedication in work is important and I try my best to make a difference. But I do envisage a life beyond work too...maybe after a few years, I would like to quit the cat race and do something like full time writing or teaching. I called it cat race, because I feel cats are way more meaner than rats. Rats are cute docile creatures. Cats are shrewd, cunning and mean.

I wish to travel a bit more, explore India now with my family around me. Have been hearing so much about a place called Hampi near Bangalore. Someone told me, it has an old fort or palace kinda thing which is dilapidated now. It had 50 or 70 odd pillars which could play musical instruments in those times. Now only few pillars remain. Some archaeologists believe it was a temple. Now it's a popular site for destination weddings. Ok, now that gives me an interesting idea to ponder over... :)

Ok, enough of Saturday morning ramblings. Time for more coffee!!!!
Ciao!

Jagga jasoos. Are you kidding me?!

After a long time, I watched a movie which made me yearn to pull out each and every hair out of my head in frustration and disappointment. 

I had tremendous respect for Mr. Anurag Basu till yesterday, but it all changed within a matter of minutes...thanks to the wannabe-lalaland movie, Jagga-painful-jasoos. You must be wondering, why did I tamper with the title of the movie, by adding the word, painful. That's simply because, each and every moment of this movie was so mind numbingly boring that I felt the earth has frozen and time has come to a standstill. I kept on looking at my watch every minute in the hope that the 3 hours would pass, but alas, much to my dismay, the moments seemed like years to me. And I felt cheated and duped that 3 precious hours of my life were wasted. Every single dialogue of this movie was in a form of a song. Don't mistake me, I love songs! Provided there is some decent tune and logical lyrics. But the music of this movie was another huge disappointment. Even Arijit Singh couldn't save it. What the hell is "Choclaty chunnu....biscuti bunnu?" C'mon!!! I get it that the movie was primarily targeted for kids below the age of 8 years, but still!? Kids today are far more smarter! I couldn't find a single saving grace for this movie. 

Worst movie of this century, undoubtedly. 

First watch, a restaurant review

"First watch" happens to be my most favorite restaurant in probably the whole of USA. There is an interesting story actually, on how I discovered this place.

My good friend Koushi and I, went on a trip to Phoenix, Arizona. And this restaurant happened to be situated right infront of our hotel. In our quest to experiment new places, we decided to give it a go. And voila!! Were we surprised! The restaurant is a popular brunch place, frequented by all health freaks and boasts of an extensive menu. All the veggies and fruits used are organically grown and the sauces etc are specially produced for first watch restaurant only and bear the mark. The place smells of freshly brewed coffee and eggs/bacon/cheese!! There is always a waiting time to get a table especially during the rush breakfast hours and the best part is you can help yourself to their amazing coffee while you wait. They have some delightful freshly squeezed juices and their kale tonic is to die for. In all my 5 visits to this place, they surpassed my expectations. Both in terms of food quality and service. I love their crabmeat omelette and strawberry smash. They take great pride in the fact that the restaurant is microwave free. I remember, during one of my visits, I requested my server to warm up my coffee because it had gotten cold as I was focusing too much on my food. The server gently informed me that they do not have a microwave but they would be happy to get me another freshly brewed pot of coffee. That was an "Aha" moment for me, and they won my heart forever. I love this place so much that I had my last breakfast in USA here! My manager wanted to treat me and we went there for brunch. And now he is also a big fan of "First watch" :)

Ok, signing off for now. Cya!

Jasper’s – At Shops at Legacy

Exquisite ambience and delectable food. It is best to summarize the restaurant review with just this one line. But you know me, I am not a person who is stingy with words, so I better write a paragraph on my experience.

When I landed in US, the first thing I googled was, “Top 10 places restaurants in Plano”, and Jaspers was right at the top. Since then, I have been looking for an opportunity to visit this restaurant. Got this chance couple of months back, when one of my friends from India was visiting Plano. We ordered Texas Gulf Crab Cake in appetizers. It was the best crab cake that I have ever tasted in US. It was soft and the spices were just right. For Entrees, we ordered Pan Seared Sea Scallops & Shrimp. This place is actually famous for sea food, so we obviously had very high expectations on that front and it did not disappoint us.  We also ordered fries and some drinks. Over all, it was a wonderful experience. The food was great, servers were very friendly and helpful. And the ambience was superb, second only to Gordon Biersch, if I you ask me.

That's it for now, cya later!