From Kurla to Kuala (lumpur)

Hi again....have been quiet for a while now. I thought its a good time to start again. From the topic itself you may be thinking that, here we go..one more person trying to compare mumbai and KL....:))). Well not so this time.

It all started almost 4  back at Kurla station, where me and my bunch of roommates used to stay. It was a crowded, messy, chaotic but lovable station. Even though I have lost 4 mobile phones there, still I love the samosas there... And now 4 years later, I am in Kuala Lumpur....and yes the samosas here taste the same. The one aspect that i enjoyed here is going to the Petronas Twin Towers and buying milk from there.. Yes I was staying so close to it... Sometimes i just feel bad for the architects César Pelli and Djay Cerico when I say that I get my groceries from there... I guess its the dark comedian in me who makes such mocking jokes sometimes. :))

Point that I am making here is no matter if its Kurla or Kuala, one thing that you would always crave for your loved ones to be around, Your spouse, your friends, your chai wala and yes your barber. Sometimes life doesn't give you all you want, but it doesn't also take all you have..

Till the next time...

The Power of Red Light

Now don't get me wrong, I am talking about the Red Light on top of a vehicle and not what we refer to as GJ, GB, SonaK, BPeth... It was 6:30 Pm and I was on my way to home sweet home from Kalina. Suddenly what I see is a mile long traffic jam near the Mumbai Airport. No one had a clue as to why we are stranded in the middle of the road. Cops were asking everyone to stop including an Ambulance, the noise of which was getting on to everyone's never. Can you guess what was the problem. A minister was late to the airport. Can you beat this. Common man was asked to wait so that a minister can catch his flight. The same minister who was elected by us. All we could see is a convoy where every car had a red light.. I always thought a red light is a sign that we should stop and not hurry. Guess i was wrong.

We all waited for an hour on the road to see our beloved minister go past us and we could do nothing. All I could say is its time that I fix a flag and a red light on my bike as well. :))))

 " Absolute power corrupts absolutely". 

Till the next time................

From Kartik to Maharana Kartik and back

Ever felt like a Royal King with a fleet of hundreds of elephants, a million soldiers who are ready to die on your one command, a really royal palace where with some really spooky narrow hidden doors and yes the HAMAAM ( bathroom) which is as big as my house in Mumbai, well I got the first hand experience of all this and many more such royal pleasure on my first trip to the city of palaces - UDAIPUR. It was my friends wedding and what a absolutely fun-tastic wedding.

The weekend started with the  train journey from Mumbai to Ahemadabad and a 4 hr road trip to Udaipur to one of the most amazing hotels of the Govt. of Rajhasthan - Annd Bhavan. It is situated right next to Fatehpur Sagar Lake. We've all seen lotus which grows in lakes and ponds, but I had never seen a restaurant right at the heart of the lake, where the only way to reach is through a small boat ride. The next stop was the most exhilarating places I have ever been to - THE CITY PALACE. I will not give you the history of this palace, but what I can tell you is that, history of India is amazing and something that should we always remember. Anyways coming to the palace, the most beautifully and strategically created palace with galleries which overlook the whole of Udaipur, it gave me a sense of royal essence and the remainder of the night I felt like and acted like one King whose first name was MAHARANA..  Maharana Kartik...

What I learnt from this amazing trip was we are so caught up in our own day to day life that we hardly get time to reflect back on our history and its significant impact on our society. Anyone planning to take some time off I would recommend UDAIPUR. Its totally worth it...

Ohh yeah again I forgot, the marriage was the reason why I went to Udaipur and it was a night to remember. So thanks Gaurav & Priya Garg for getting married and giving me a heck of a weekend.

The Awkward Fall

Its a blissful feeling to ride a bike early morning. The gentle breeze hitting your face, the fresh air you can breathe and the chirping of birds you can hear. Atleast this is what I thought would be the scenario when I left for office last Friday. Most of the things I mentioned above are true, but to add to it was the Awkward Fall I had that morning. Even though it was a minor fall, what I realized was something major. When you are driving you are responsible for the safety not only yourself, but the pillion and others on the road. We all think that it won't happen to me, I am a safe driver, I never drive fast, I always wear a helmet, etc., but sometimes things happen to make you realize that we should SLOW DOWN a bit...

That's what I have done, I have slowed down my pace of life and trying to maintain that consistent safe speed which would take me to my destination safe and sound.

Ohh yeah, forgot to mention that the pillion was my wife and it hurts to see the one you love in pain. So slow down and enjoy you speed in life....

Thank you everyone

Wearing shades made of the shape of beer bottle, wearing party hats and trying to blow the magic candles on top of a delicious chocolate, with some close and some new friends I said bye to the 28 year old Kartik and welcomed the 29th year of my life. August 09-August 10 was one of my best years ever. Got married to the most amazing person on earth, got one of the most crucial project to work on, got a new job and some really cool teammates and many more such little but important things.
In all I loved every moment of the last year and I thank everyone who were a part of it.

Sweet pain of SCARS - Dedicated to Sushant and Sushil

A classroom and 80 students and the Financial management lecture. Task was to form groups of three to be the part of many financial quizzes, presentations etc. The group needed to be given a financial name also which would fetch points for the group. ROYAL STAGS was the name that fetched me, Sushant and Suhsil those only 2 points in the entire semester @ ICFAI. Something about that name was so obvious to the three of us that it had to be that name only. Was it the fact that we all were STAGS at that time, or we considered ourselves as someone who has a ROYAL taste for booze and music, or the sheer coincidence that STAG means a very short tems, profit seeking player in the stock market. Whatever it was we knew that the ROYAL STAGS will be for ever. Its been 5 years and I am proud that we are still in touch.

The Royal Stags then became the Vellaboyz - The first ever rock band of IFCAI Gurgaon and what I saw was the love for music that Sushil and Sushant shared. The boozed out jam sessions getting recorded on a borrowed ipod, the yelling of Sushant's parents asking us to study, the room in the girls hostel where we used to practice; I wonder can I relive those moments.

All of us want to relive something in our lives and we always crave for that one moment which will take us back where we thought we belonged. All we could do is cherish those memories and move on.

One of the most memorable days for me would be Sushil proposing through a song for his now wife and she saying yes to him after listening to that song.

Sitting here lost and lonely, thinking about the times you were with me,
Is it just a longing for someone, to give me keys to this prision.
Need to pick up the pieces, time dont wait for no one,
May be its a lesson life teaches, so learn to move on,

Now i have no regrets, dont wanna keep no secrets,
Life's a open road, take a walk and you will know,
That;s the story so far, of sweet pain in these scars.


Now that I have no one to talk to, And I know i dont have you,
I have found the answer, and the music sound sweeter,
I have started believing, and there's no point in hiding, 
And I'm leaving words unssaid, letting moments go wasted.


Now I have no regrets, dont wanna keep no secrets,
Life's a open road, take a walk and you will know,
That;s the story so far, of sweet pain in these scars.

God bless Sushant and Sushil and their love for music. The fact that we cant see each other and talk to each others makes me sad, but the fact that there are there in this world somewhere makes me glad.

Never let go of people you love.....