How Lola led me to Kitty

Lola

Kitty

So today morning my Mom finally convinces me to go shopping with her. After a hot walk we reach the store. And I see this cute dog outside. I couldn't resist and asked the lady with her if I could snap her pic. We spent a few minutes playing with Lola. As we were going inside, the lady told us she had found an abandoned kitten and if we could find her a home. And when I saw her, I was a goner! But I couldnt possibly keep her due to lack of space at my place, and have therefore managed to find her a home after much guilt causing, cajoling, and tugging at heartstrings! :) I have even threatened my friend (who finally agreed) that I would sell his kidney if he sells Kitty! What a day!!

Khonoma was beautiful...

Hey everyone!! So here comes a post after a really really long time! Hope you enjoy it :)
 

So a few months back, I accompanied my Mom to Nagaland. Kohima to be precise. And after a week of work Mom, and Aunty M were ready to take a break. A friendly guy we met at Calcutta airport (News flash: there are no direct flights to Nagaland. You have to go through Calcutta), had told us about this village called Khonoma ,which was famous because it was an eco village.

  

On Sunday when everyone had a day off, we booked a cab and started off for Khonoma. The plan was to go there in the cab (an Omni), walk around in the village, and come back in the car. A normal day. No craziness involved. But we all forgot something. Where Mom and I are concerned, there is no normalness, and certainly no sanity.

Our car, stuck in a ditch

It’s a twenty kilometre journey. We are 10 kms away from Khonoma. And our car gets stuck in a ditch filled with muddy water. There’s a few cars behind us, and the men get down to help us push our car out. It’s quite a comical site. The men look at us in amusement when we start pushing, but realise that we’re just as strong as them. Yours truly is right behind the back wheel, and when the driver starts the car, I get a taste of the lovely, chocolate brown water.

That problem sorted, we get back in and start off again. Only to stop a little further. We started rolling up our sleeves thinking it was another car stuck in a ditch. But no this was something  even worse. The road had been blocked by a landslide.

 

A spider web 

The unknown

 The men called up the church and asked them to send a vehicle. The group going to church were going to cross the mud covered road to the other side and then go on to the church in the vehicle they would send. We had two choices. Either we sat in a car (like normal people) and went to Khonoma and back, or (like us abnormal people) trek.

My backpack was emptied of everything except two bottles of water, Cola (for the caffeine kick), lunch and my Mom’s purse (what good that was going to do in the wilderness, I still have no clue). I carried my camera, with an extra battery. And of course got some good snaps! We went about 7 kms before deciding to come back.

My once white and blue shoe,after
the trek

The locals start clearing the
landslide after Church

Therefore, in conclusion we actually didn’t get to see Khonoma at all. And the next time you see my Mom and me telling each other “Khonoma was beautiful”, with a cheeky smile, you now know exactly why we’re saying that. ;)

Goa to Bombay (2)

The day after the next, we hired a WagonR and started off for Kolhapur.
The journey was fun; with the driver playing just the one CD he had on loop. By the time we stopped for lunch, I knew all the Kishore Kumar songs on that CD by heart.

We passed through some scenic points, which were like all tourist spots crowded. The crowd spoilt the view really with their insane chatter, when they should have been staring at the horizon peacefully. Breathing in the smells of the forest that lay below us.

By the time we reached the Goa-Maharashtra border it was 1. We stopped at a small roadside restaurant for lunch. They said the food would only be coming at 1.15. This idea of food being bought form home to a ‘restaurant’ was quite novel to me.

It was delicious! Piping hot, home cooked and very different from what I usually have back home.

By four that evening we had reached Kolhapur.
Getting to the hotel proved to be quite exciting. No one seemed to have a clue about where it was located. The locals would point to the right and say go to the left and vice versa. We went round in circles for over half an hour before finally finding the hotel.

 To my delight the hotel we were staying in had a Baskin Robins store right in the lobby. We made plans to go to the Mahalakshmi temple the next day.

The Crazy Class Trip (3)

Warning: 24 hours on a mini bus strictly not recommended, especially for people with sensitive backsides.

Imagine this. 24 people, sitting close to midnight on a nearly deserted station. Oh yes, and to top it all one of our classmates wanted to have a dance off with a drunk Michael Jackson wannabe.

The teachers were calling up senior teachers, trying to figure out what to do. One thing was clear. We were not supposed to spend the night in Bangalore. We did try telling the teachers that we could take a Volvo and then later pay. But no. They wanted to do it their way.

We got into our tour bus and started off for some place. I don’t really know the name. The girls and boys were separated and put in two mini buses. Oh did I mention one of the guys had chicken pox?
 

So at 1.04 am, I was sitting on a mini bus, trying to sleep, which was a bit difficult due to three reasons. Firstly I’m a long legged person, and there was no leg space at all. Second, the window on the other side was completely open, and it was freezing cold. Third and most annoyingly, the driver was playing Himesh Reshamia songs and refused to play any others. (For those of you who don’t know, Mr. Reshamia sings through his nose, and it can be quite irritating.) Two guys were on our bus, and one refused to sleep saying that most accidents in the state of Karnataka occurred because the driver fell asleep.

In the morning, my phone was the only one with charge so it was used to call up the parents. We finally stopped at a petrol pump to freshen up. My friend and I made a beeline for a shop asking for a plug point to charge our phones. I must say I fell in love with my phone all over again because in fifteen minutes it had four bars. We stopped to breakfast at a small roadside joint. Lunch was at four in the afternoon. And I finally made it back home by around 1.30 am.

Here’s the best bit. A week later I got chicken pox, and so did all others in the class who hadn’t gotten it before! Moral of the story? Never ever let your teachers plan your class trips!!

The X-Files (1)

Jasper woke up groggily. He slowly opened his eyes, adjusting to the dimness of the room. Soon he could make out shapes. To his horror he saw a man crouching next to him. He had an injection in one hand and a bottle in the other. “No, no” gasped Jasper but the needle had already pierced him. As he drifted back to unconsiousness  Jasper saw two more men appear. He wondered what kind of trouble he’d gotten himself into…

                                                                 Chapter 1

Jasper opened his eyes once again and tried to make out where he was. A sickly smell reached him and as he looked down he could see a dark red colour, very prominent against the light blue of his shirt. Not that it looked light blue anymore. It was dirty all over. He was near the sea, he could see the sun setting in the waves. If he hadn’t been in pain and danger he’d have stopped and admired the view for a very long time. His hands were tied very tightly as were his legs. He desperately looked around for anything with which he could cut himself free. He started wiggling around and accidently knocked over a jug. He heard sucffling of shoes outside the door, and stilled instantly, not daring to breathe. He knew if they found out that he was consious, they’d drug him again. But the door didn’t open, and the footsteps went away. Just then a glint caught his eye. There was a sharp jagged piece of glass which had been under the jug. Jasper thanked  his lucky stars and started moving towards the piece of glass. The minutes passed like years. Fortunately for him, his hands were tied in front of him, not behind. His fingers were numb, and dropped the glass atleast thrice befor getting a firm grip on it. He started methodically sawing through the ropes. It took ages, and Jasper cut himself many times. At last the ropes frayed and he used the last of his strength  to free his hands. He scowled as he  started rubbing his hands.Soon he could feel blood circulating. He then started working on his legs. Soon he was able to stand up, not steadily but he was still thought but he still thought that as an achievement. He looked down to his chest, and the amount of blood made him sick. He unbuttoned his shirt to find an ugly gash running down, narrowly missing his heart. He cursed as he buttoned up his shirt again. He limped to the window, finding out that the goons had done something to his right knee too.  He  tried the windows but they wouldn’t budge. Frustated he hit the frame and the window shuddred! He took a closed look at the screws that held the frame. They were weak, and with a little strength, could be pulled apart. As Jasper had no energy left in him at the moment, he decided to get some rest and later escape, before the sun rose.