Goodbye Ahmedabad!

Dead body at the Sunday Market

Leaving my city tonight. Not sure if I am coming back. I already know I will miss you Ahmedabad, more than any other city I have ever known in life.

I will miss the bustling roads and the buzzing lanes. I will miss the cows crossing over even at the busiest junctions and the cars and bikes which always almost bump into each other. I will miss the men and the women who almost die everyday on the roads, but never actually do. I will miss the old city, the pols, the sweet Gujarati food. I will miss the mosques, the temples, the people who make them alive. I will miss walking on the streets aimlessly, talking to friendly strangers, eating food way past mid-night in the old city, and desperately searching for an open cigarette shop at 2 am.

But I will miss the people the most. I will miss the friends I made over the many many years spent in this city.

Bhavin has been my companion for the longest period of time. We made the perfect house mates, always there for each other and always giving complete space to one another. He knows all my secrets, but they never went beyond him. I can tell him just about everything, knowing that he somehow would understand. We traveled a lot, did lots of photography and bike rides. We were never close as classmates in NID, but living with him bought us much closer, and surprisingly we lived in perfect harmony. I have a feeling that he is getting married because I am moving out of the house, and he won't be able to take the loneliness :) Bhavin recently wrote an amazing post about me on his and that can be read here.

Manoj, the one guy with whom you can have a conversation about almost everything. He was my life line when it came to discussing things which everyone else seemed to be disinterested about - the politics of South India, stories about Gods and Goddesses, impact of religion and its evolution, invasion of Iraq, unrest in Syria and so on. We became better friends as we started playing tennis together, but it was only when we discovered our love for traveling that our dosti rocked! We bonded over the numerous shared cigarettes (I had to force him to give a few drags from his, initially reluctant he eventually relented) and the shared blankets over many trips :)) Though extremely reserved about himself (unless of course when he is drunk), Manoj is a perfect friend and an exceptional travel mate!

Vikram and me share the same sun-sign and I get along extremely well with him when the time is right! We had the most fantastic time in Chennai (and on numerous trips made together) when we stayed for a couple of weeks working with a client. He is the funniest of them all and can keep you entertained forever and ever. We have had our own set of screw-ups but I guess that's all part of growing up and learning in life. I guess we will eventually move on over it all. I would always remember the absolutely insane movies that only the two of us went for and still enjoyed.

There are so many more that I am even afraid to even mention the names here, I might miss some and end up offending them. But all the people who I came across in these years, only made the time spent here more eventful.

I am going now, but I have a feeling that the city will call me back. Again.
Amen.

A night to remember

As the sun set and the cool breeze started blowing, we decided to walk back home crossing the bridge over Sabarmati. I looked sideways to see Sudha smiling and talking animatedly, yet never looking at me.

'So have you ever tried the filter coffee at Sridarshini?'
Karan laughed out loud and said, 'That's not exactly fair, am just a day old here and all I have see so far is you, though still not enough of you!'
Sudha pondered for a while and said, 'You men, all are just the same!'
She complained, though her cheeks flushed and she fumbled with words.

We all went silent after this, I tried to pretend that I was busy looking down at feet, while they got busy looking at their hands and nowhere in particular. I knew this moment would pass and we would get back to our composed self soon. Somehow it was always left to me to make a humorous remark and break the sudden conversation barrier, but this time I decided to let it linger on for a while more. I wanted her to feel my pain, or whatever unusual emotions I was going through for the past two days.

We walked in silence for the rest of the journey. Maybe Karan already felt guilty about what was going on, and was happy to be away from conversations, or perhaps he was just happy and content with the breeze, but he remained silent. I knew we were finally reaching a point where we needed to talk, and have a conversation where I was also involved. Karan was leaving in the morning and I could feel an odd tension building up between the three of us.

I broke the silence and asked them if they wanted coffee, they both nodded. We were already in the new part of the town and so decided to go to the nearest posh new coffee place, sit in the open and enjoy the weather. The rains in the evening had ensured that the air was cool and extremely pleasant. Karan lit a cigarette and after a couple of drags, offered it to me. As I took my first puff, he started talking. I could see he was waiting for the moment, but somehow I panicked. I was not yet prepared for what I knew was coming, and when the words did start flowing, my world vanished.

I walked back home alone that night with the promise that my world would be returned back to me tomorrow. I wasn't sure anymore; Karan was my best friend and Sudha my wife, yet these promises somehow meant so little now.

Thanks to Vikram Tej for the superb illustration, read and know more about him here and here.

Gadbad Jhala

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tB3a-MZhOY

I made this while I was still in NID and still living in my dear old hostel room in A Block. Its of course crazy (and what else could you expect from me???) and entertaining (for those who are there in the video!).
For the rest...bhagwaan hi bachaye :)