Capital of India. One of the liveliest cities of our nation. The historical city famously known as Dilli.
As a child, when we used to live in different places of Kumaon region of Uttarakhand, Dilli always sounded like a dream city to us. Though Mumbai is famous as dream city of India because of its flashy and fast life, beaches, lively people, image as a business magnet, and mostly the cinema industry, but it was far away from us and we were really not able to relate ourselves with Mumbai. Not sure if I am echoing the sentiments of most of the pahadis, but at least for me, the truth is that Delhi was the dream city.
As soon as you are grown enough to know about your nation, the first thing you know about is its capital, the most important place for any nation. With so much history behind it, it was impossible to not get impressed with the city. From the mythological cities of Hastinapur and Indraprastha to different buildings starting from 11th century AD, its every page has significance in making today’s India. Watching it on television, I was always mesmerized by the sheer beauty of the place next to Yamuna river. Every January 26, it gave the feeling that Delhi is the soul of India, a mixture of all different states and people. The personification of unity in diversity.
My first visit to Delhi was in December 1989, when I was in 5th class. My chhoti bua was getting married, and because my fufaji was from Delhi, it was decided to arrange for marriage in Delhi itself. My other bua and fufaji also used to live in Delhi (at Shahdara) so their home was the base camp and it was planned to have tent for the wedding near their place. Because I had seen only small cities of hill areas such as Pithoragarh, Almora, and Nainital, it was going to be a life time experience for me. The best, I had witnessed, so far in terms of big city was Haldwani (a place with plain area situated 40 miles from Nainital). The tallest manmade structures, I had seen so far, were 4 storey houses or hotels. Those days, our long journey from Pithoragarh to Delhi couldn’t be completed in one shot. After 11 hours of bus marathon, we reached Haldwani, the door from hills to plains and stayed at a relative’s house, a place for night halt.
Next day, one of its kind journey started with another bus. I remember vaguely that it was a Kathgodam Dipo bus. My starry eyes were all blue with the dreams of big red fort, Shahjahaan and Shershah Soori roaming around in that place on their Arabian horses, the Qutubminar where Iltut Mish is putting few last bricks on its top most storey, the Yamuna river where young Kauravas and Pandavas are taking rest after a big hunt in the jungles. Bus was running with at least 60 km per hour, but it felt like it’s running like a super jet. When you are used to curvy roads of hills, where bus crawls with speed of 15 to 30 kilometers per hour, speed of 60-70 really feels like a jet. It is the great relative theory of great Einstein and I was seeing the live example of that. With the first few rays of sun in early morning, some high storey buildings welcomed us. We had reached Ghaziabad and were trying to count number of floors in each building from the running bus. The highest one, I counted, was a 26 storey building. We finally reached Delhi bus station (ISBT). Anand Vihar bus station didn’t exist at that time, so we had to travel by auto / taxi for 1 hour to reach bua’s house in Shahdara.
We stayed in Delhi for almost 8-9 days and had loads of fun. First time in my life, I saw people from different states. We used to play a lot with children of a madrasi family (my bua’s neighbors). Important point is every south Indian was madrasi for the senior people of our family, and I used to tell them that they are from Tamilnadu, they are not madrasi. We played a lot of ‘chhuppan chhipai’, ‘chhune ki’ in those days, and got two days to visit all the nice places at Delhi. Lal Qila, Chandani Chawk, Jantar Mantar, India Gate, Raj Ghat, Qutub Minar, Lotus Temple, Cannaught Place, Palika Bajar from that time is still crystal clear in my memories. Really, I found Delhi more beautiful than I thought, it will be.
Then, I got multiple chances to come to Delhi throughout my childhood (almost every 2nd or 3rd year). We visited more and more beautiful places, and started knowing about the ugly side of Delhi as well. There was pollution (pre CNG and pre metro era), increasing crime rate, careless blue line buses (Dadaa faced the brutality of these buses and couldn’t walk for one year because of these buses in 1999), and endless crowd. All in all, a tough city to survive. My longest stint was for almost 6 months in the first half of 2004 during my last semester of college (training period). I used to live in Maharani Bagh / Kalaka Ji area with 4 of my friends, and had some great time. People sometimes call it struggle time, but for us it was a fun time. It would need a separate chapter to write about that six month period; I have to move on for now.
Now for last 7 years, is Delhi for me another place for night halt? Technically ‘Yes’, but in reality ‘No’. Whenever I have to go to Nainital from US or Bangalore (and then return journey), I stay in Delhi for at least two days. I’ve my dear relatives staying there. I’ve me dear friends staying there. I still feel that this is the soul of my nation. I still feel like visiting Chandani Chawk, though time does not permit. I still feel like sitting on the benches of lotus temple, I still have thirst to touch the Rajput swords at Lal Qila. Dilli is still a Dream City!
- Neeraj Mathpal
July 13, 2011
बुधवार, 13 जुलाई 2011
मंगलवार, 12 जुलाई 2011
हिमांशु के प्रति
कोहरे के पीछे सरकती आकृतियाँ
उन घुमावदार मोड़ों पर खतरे का निशान थी
लेकिन दिन के घंटे ही आठ थे
उस पर वो २० किलोमीटर प्रति घंटा की गति
उन चंद गोल घूमते पैरों पर
कम से कम ४६ लोगों की जान का जिम्मा
वो पतली प्राणहीन सड़कें
पता नहीं कैसे उन कनखजूरों को थामे रखती थी
एक खबर पढ़ी थी कि ऐसे ही
३० लोग घाट कि खाई के हवाले हो गए
कुछ ऐसे ही गोल घूमते पैर
मुश्किल समय में भरी आँखों से दगा दे गए
जैसे कोहरे में डूबी वो सड़कें
यातायात का माध्यम नहीं
मौत की सफ़ेद - भूरी सजावट हो
गोल घुमते पैरों को जैसे
यमदूत की चुपचाप साथ दौड़ती आहट हो
एक दोस्त हमने भी बचपन में ऐसे ही खोया है
उन्हीं सड़कों के गोल घूमते पैरों में
वो आज भी हँसते हुए ही सोया है
- नीरज मठपाल
जुलाई १२, २०११
उन घुमावदार मोड़ों पर खतरे का निशान थी
लेकिन दिन के घंटे ही आठ थे
उस पर वो २० किलोमीटर प्रति घंटा की गति
उन चंद गोल घूमते पैरों पर
कम से कम ४६ लोगों की जान का जिम्मा
वो पतली प्राणहीन सड़कें
पता नहीं कैसे उन कनखजूरों को थामे रखती थी
एक खबर पढ़ी थी कि ऐसे ही
३० लोग घाट कि खाई के हवाले हो गए
कुछ ऐसे ही गोल घूमते पैर
मुश्किल समय में भरी आँखों से दगा दे गए
जैसे कोहरे में डूबी वो सड़कें
यातायात का माध्यम नहीं
मौत की सफ़ेद - भूरी सजावट हो
गोल घुमते पैरों को जैसे
यमदूत की चुपचाप साथ दौड़ती आहट हो
एक दोस्त हमने भी बचपन में ऐसे ही खोया है
उन्हीं सड़कों के गोल घूमते पैरों में
वो आज भी हँसते हुए ही सोया है
- नीरज मठपाल
जुलाई १२, २०११
Road to India - 9 days to go [Packing]
The countdown has really begun. One of the fun parts of vacationing and moving places is ‘The Packing’. Yes, it deserves a ‘The’. It is a common question for everybody who is moving to a different place or going for long vacation, “it the packing done?” Answer depends on what kind of personality you have. It shows how disciplined you are, how casual you are and how careless you are. Let’s take these case by case.
How about if I start with careless types? There are many people I know who like to pack in the very last hour or last minute. It is fine if you are going for a short vacation within your state / country to have some good time. You only need to have few basic things such as tickets and money. But what if you are returning back to India from US? I have seen people forgetting their passports on the way to airport, getting late for airport because they hadn’t packed their stuff earlier. I remember, I was going to drop one of my colleagues at airport for a 4-45 PM flight once, so I took some time off from office and reached to pick her up at 2 PM, but she was nowhere to be found. Got to know that she went for some last min shopping; finally she came back at 3 PM and most of the things were not packed. Some of her neighbors finally helped her in packing and somehow she got ready at 3-45 PM; I had to drive fast to drop her at airport. Fortunately she was able to enter into the plane in time, but not without forgetting some of her stuff in the apartment. Only few things were later couriered to her, and rest of it faced trash bags, but that didn’t make any change in her life. So there is a class of people, who do not really care if they miss something, if they (or others) have to face consequences of their carelessness. Sometimes it is good to be careless, but most of the times, it is a pain not only for that person but also for others. So if you fall into this category, it’s time to be a bit more planned. Again, it is ok if you are going to a nearby place for a short vacation, but not if you are going for something important or going for long vacation.
Second type is the people, who over plan things. It is good to have everything planned, but, in too much detail, sometime takes the fun out of it because it reduces the surprising / exciting factor. You should have Plan A and Plan B, but there should be little flexibility in it so that you can take dynamic decisions to enjoy your trip and vacation more. If you fall into this category, relax a bit, take less tension. Have faith in your decision taking abilities and be fun.
Now the third type, they are the people, who plan well but not in too much detail. It is good to be in this category. Away from extreme of both types (first and second). You would find most of the funny stories for the people in this category. Sounds contradictory? How come funny stories involving people who plan well? That happens, generally, due to mistakes, overconfidence, lack of re-verifications, external factors. One of my friends (who is a responsible person and always plans well) missed an early morning flight (6 AM), because he was gossiping with friends till 2-30 AM, then thought of taking rest for 15 minutes. But those 15 minutes were costly as he woke up at 9 AM. It has happened to me also once. When I was flying to California from Bangalore via multiple airports, my first flight was at 5 am per my itinerary. I even thought what kind of international flight goes at 5 AM, but never bothered to check my tickets. Anyway, my plan was all set and I reached airport at 2 AM, only to know that the flight was at 12:05 AM. I had a long chat with airlines customer service and finally looked back at ticket that was showing 00:05 hrs, and I had interpreted that as 5 AM. What more can be said? I had to wait in Bangalore for 2 days to get the flights again. So, if you fall into this category, don’t be over confident, verify the important things at least once yourself (and if possible second pair of eyes would be great).
Now coming back to packing, plan is ready for this time as well. Separate list of items for my wife, for myself, for the stuff / gifts we have to drop in India, important documents, etc. Isn’t this funny? This cycle goes on for each person in life. We do have many firms to provide ‘movers and packers’ help for permanent moves, but we still do not have professionals who can help you in packing for vacations (of course, there are few exceptions specially if you are rich enough, you would have personal secretaries). Doesn’t it sound like a good business idea?
“We provide online packing services for your vacations. We have a step by step online guide and professionals to help you for this. Hire us and our experts will pack it for you in few minutes. Powered by Skype”.
- Neeraj Mathpal
Jul 12, 2011
How about if I start with careless types? There are many people I know who like to pack in the very last hour or last minute. It is fine if you are going for a short vacation within your state / country to have some good time. You only need to have few basic things such as tickets and money. But what if you are returning back to India from US? I have seen people forgetting their passports on the way to airport, getting late for airport because they hadn’t packed their stuff earlier. I remember, I was going to drop one of my colleagues at airport for a 4-45 PM flight once, so I took some time off from office and reached to pick her up at 2 PM, but she was nowhere to be found. Got to know that she went for some last min shopping; finally she came back at 3 PM and most of the things were not packed. Some of her neighbors finally helped her in packing and somehow she got ready at 3-45 PM; I had to drive fast to drop her at airport. Fortunately she was able to enter into the plane in time, but not without forgetting some of her stuff in the apartment. Only few things were later couriered to her, and rest of it faced trash bags, but that didn’t make any change in her life. So there is a class of people, who do not really care if they miss something, if they (or others) have to face consequences of their carelessness. Sometimes it is good to be careless, but most of the times, it is a pain not only for that person but also for others. So if you fall into this category, it’s time to be a bit more planned. Again, it is ok if you are going to a nearby place for a short vacation, but not if you are going for something important or going for long vacation.
Second type is the people, who over plan things. It is good to have everything planned, but, in too much detail, sometime takes the fun out of it because it reduces the surprising / exciting factor. You should have Plan A and Plan B, but there should be little flexibility in it so that you can take dynamic decisions to enjoy your trip and vacation more. If you fall into this category, relax a bit, take less tension. Have faith in your decision taking abilities and be fun.
Now the third type, they are the people, who plan well but not in too much detail. It is good to be in this category. Away from extreme of both types (first and second). You would find most of the funny stories for the people in this category. Sounds contradictory? How come funny stories involving people who plan well? That happens, generally, due to mistakes, overconfidence, lack of re-verifications, external factors. One of my friends (who is a responsible person and always plans well) missed an early morning flight (6 AM), because he was gossiping with friends till 2-30 AM, then thought of taking rest for 15 minutes. But those 15 minutes were costly as he woke up at 9 AM. It has happened to me also once. When I was flying to California from Bangalore via multiple airports, my first flight was at 5 am per my itinerary. I even thought what kind of international flight goes at 5 AM, but never bothered to check my tickets. Anyway, my plan was all set and I reached airport at 2 AM, only to know that the flight was at 12:05 AM. I had a long chat with airlines customer service and finally looked back at ticket that was showing 00:05 hrs, and I had interpreted that as 5 AM. What more can be said? I had to wait in Bangalore for 2 days to get the flights again. So, if you fall into this category, don’t be over confident, verify the important things at least once yourself (and if possible second pair of eyes would be great).
Now coming back to packing, plan is ready for this time as well. Separate list of items for my wife, for myself, for the stuff / gifts we have to drop in India, important documents, etc. Isn’t this funny? This cycle goes on for each person in life. We do have many firms to provide ‘movers and packers’ help for permanent moves, but we still do not have professionals who can help you in packing for vacations (of course, there are few exceptions specially if you are rich enough, you would have personal secretaries). Doesn’t it sound like a good business idea?
“We provide online packing services for your vacations. We have a step by step online guide and professionals to help you for this. Hire us and our experts will pack it for you in few minutes. Powered by Skype”.
- Neeraj Mathpal
Jul 12, 2011
गुरुवार, 7 जुलाई 2011
Road to India - 14 days to go [Florida]
Florida is one of the most beautiful states to live in United States. It never gets cold here except may be for 5-10 days. It rains a lot here for 3 - 4 months making all kind of spicy snacks such as Pakoris tastier. It has many great beaches on the east (Gulf of Mexico) and west side (Atlantic Ocean). If you are into water sports, this place is your paradise. It is very popular for the retired people, who love to spend twilight of their lives under the sun, sitting near beaches and having margarita.
My first interaction with this beautiful state was during thanksgiving vacations of 2006 (late November). Weather was very pleasant, no rain, no hot Sun. In summer, you might convert into a humanized lobster under the hot sun, but in November, you don’t need to worry about sun screen lotions and their quality. I used to live in New Jersey with my apartment mates. Three of us and one more friend took a flight from Newark airport to Miami airport and went straight to one of the South Miami Beach hotels near ocean drive.
The very first moment, I went to Miami Beach, I was in love with the place. I wished and told my friends that what it would be like to get a project in such a beautiful place, and as they say, be careful about what you wish for, the wish was fulfilled in Mar 2009. I came to Florida, that too near Miami, and staying here for more than 2 years now. My love for Florida increased with each trip to a different beach. It turned into even more beautiful place, once I got married in Nov 2009 to my lovely wife and came back with her to this beautiful place.
On the west side, there are Miami beaches, Hollandale beach, Hollywood beach, West Palm beach, Paradise beach, Aruba Beach, Boca Raton beach, and a very beautiful Fort Lauderdale beach. There are many more. You can never get tired in exploring all these beaches. Beautiful shades of blue water are all over the ocean. There are nice sea side drives, pathways, and lively restaurants. ‘Mango tropical’ at the Miami Beach and fries at ‘the Deck’ of Fort Lauderdale are our all time favorites.
On the east side, there are some beautiful small towns and islands with white sand beaches. The green and blue shades of water give spiritual experience. It is a great delight to mention Naples, Fort Meyers, Sanibel, Marco Island, Sarasota, barefoot beach, and many more. Shelling is one of the best time pass in these beaches. Mollusk seashells, and Bivalves are plenty, but searching for Shankh is an amazing experience.
Apart from these beach side places, there are many more beautiful places in the center and northern part of Florida. Just to name a few are the lovely Jacksonville, scenic old city of Saint Augustine (and the St Augustine beach), the ever busy theme park city of Orlando (it would require a separate tidbit to say anything about the famous magic kingdom of Disney parks, and Universal Studios). One honorable mention would be the south most city 'Key West' and the bridges over the sea to reach there (another separate topic). List is too long.
I know my days at Florida are approaching the expiry date, but this place will always have a great place in our (mine and Lucky) hearts. Just want to thank the beautiful state today. Thank you, Florida!
- Neeraj Mathpal
July 7, 2011
My first interaction with this beautiful state was during thanksgiving vacations of 2006 (late November). Weather was very pleasant, no rain, no hot Sun. In summer, you might convert into a humanized lobster under the hot sun, but in November, you don’t need to worry about sun screen lotions and their quality. I used to live in New Jersey with my apartment mates. Three of us and one more friend took a flight from Newark airport to Miami airport and went straight to one of the South Miami Beach hotels near ocean drive.
The very first moment, I went to Miami Beach, I was in love with the place. I wished and told my friends that what it would be like to get a project in such a beautiful place, and as they say, be careful about what you wish for, the wish was fulfilled in Mar 2009. I came to Florida, that too near Miami, and staying here for more than 2 years now. My love for Florida increased with each trip to a different beach. It turned into even more beautiful place, once I got married in Nov 2009 to my lovely wife and came back with her to this beautiful place.
On the west side, there are Miami beaches, Hollandale beach, Hollywood beach, West Palm beach, Paradise beach, Aruba Beach, Boca Raton beach, and a very beautiful Fort Lauderdale beach. There are many more. You can never get tired in exploring all these beaches. Beautiful shades of blue water are all over the ocean. There are nice sea side drives, pathways, and lively restaurants. ‘Mango tropical’ at the Miami Beach and fries at ‘the Deck’ of Fort Lauderdale are our all time favorites.
On the east side, there are some beautiful small towns and islands with white sand beaches. The green and blue shades of water give spiritual experience. It is a great delight to mention Naples, Fort Meyers, Sanibel, Marco Island, Sarasota, barefoot beach, and many more. Shelling is one of the best time pass in these beaches. Mollusk seashells, and Bivalves are plenty, but searching for Shankh is an amazing experience.
Apart from these beach side places, there are many more beautiful places in the center and northern part of Florida. Just to name a few are the lovely Jacksonville, scenic old city of Saint Augustine (and the St Augustine beach), the ever busy theme park city of Orlando (it would require a separate tidbit to say anything about the famous magic kingdom of Disney parks, and Universal Studios). One honorable mention would be the south most city 'Key West' and the bridges over the sea to reach there (another separate topic). List is too long.
I know my days at Florida are approaching the expiry date, but this place will always have a great place in our (mine and Lucky) hearts. Just want to thank the beautiful state today. Thank you, Florida!
- Neeraj Mathpal
July 7, 2011
बुधवार, 6 जुलाई 2011
Road to India - 15 days to go [Vacations]
Life has an important function in terms of the work, we do. At one step, there are some very hectic days when you think life is no good, then there are some fine or cool days, when you think, life is good and little bit boring. In any case, brain demands for a refreshment every now and then, and as we have seen so far in our short life, weekends are not often enough for this refreshment. That is the reason, you have some long weekends during the year, you can add a day before or after the long weekend, and you have a nice 4 day vacation. But even that is not enough; you still need some more refreshment in terms of a little longer vacation. So you get some leaves depending on what kind of career you are in, what level you are in, etcetera. Whatever be the case, vacations are always great and what is best in them depends upon person to person. For us, the Indians, it mostly means spending time with family during festivals and weddings.
Best part of childhood is the summer and winter vacation, again depending upon which place you live in. For the hills of Uttarakhand, we used to get 10 to 15 days vacation in summer (in later part of June). When we used to live in ‘Pithoragarh’ (1988-1995), it mostly meant I would spend time at ‘Nainital’ playing with small handmade cycles - take a small stick (used for charts), attached shoe polish box on one of the ends, and here you go, you have a Harley Davidson. My great grandfather (father of my Nanaji) used to make these for us in minutes. There were other multiple options as well like horse riding, be a shopkeeper, visit mall road / flats, play with Mamas, Mausis, Nanaji and of course, Dadaa was always there. List is endless, but it was always fun. In any case, as a child you always have multiple options, at least in the late 80s and early 90s. I still remember the delicious food, my Nani used to cook.
Another good time was 4 to 10 days vacation for Dashhara and then for Diwali. Diwali was the time, when we used to visit our village ‘Dwarahat’. It was fun spending time with grandparents. The best things in Dwarahat was going to the fields, spending some time with our cows (I still miss two of them - a white cow Champa and a brown one named Lachhima), playing ‘Gulli – Danda’, visiting the various temples (they are made in times of Pandavas) and one small market. Still that place can be a bit boring sometimes, but never with Dadaa. For countless days we have played bus service (Dadaa playing the driver and me playing the conductor), and ‘Pasaa’ (dice) cricket. So all in all, again it was quite a good time.
Then there was the mother of all vacations - the winter vacation ranging from 40 days to 60 days. These vacations provided one of the best times as well as one of the boring times. Boring times because if weather is too bad, light will go for 3-4 days and you cannot do almost anything, even if light is there ‘Doordarshan’ used to save this time to telecast the worst (read Art) movies like ‘Rudali’, ‘Sooraj Ka Satavaan Ghoda’, ‘Wo Chhokari’. Best times because plenty time to play cricket on sunny days, to roam around, to read comics, etc. Needless to say that it was more enjoyable because Dadaa and my sister, and all my friends were also having vacations.
Did I say 40 to 60 days vacation? Can you imagine that now what would a vacation for that much duration mean? Sounds Jabardast. Well, yeah… 40 to 60 days… keep day dreaming!!
- Neeraj Mathpal
July 6, 2011
Best part of childhood is the summer and winter vacation, again depending upon which place you live in. For the hills of Uttarakhand, we used to get 10 to 15 days vacation in summer (in later part of June). When we used to live in ‘Pithoragarh’ (1988-1995), it mostly meant I would spend time at ‘Nainital’ playing with small handmade cycles - take a small stick (used for charts), attached shoe polish box on one of the ends, and here you go, you have a Harley Davidson. My great grandfather (father of my Nanaji) used to make these for us in minutes. There were other multiple options as well like horse riding, be a shopkeeper, visit mall road / flats, play with Mamas, Mausis, Nanaji and of course, Dadaa was always there. List is endless, but it was always fun. In any case, as a child you always have multiple options, at least in the late 80s and early 90s. I still remember the delicious food, my Nani used to cook.
Another good time was 4 to 10 days vacation for Dashhara and then for Diwali. Diwali was the time, when we used to visit our village ‘Dwarahat’. It was fun spending time with grandparents. The best things in Dwarahat was going to the fields, spending some time with our cows (I still miss two of them - a white cow Champa and a brown one named Lachhima), playing ‘Gulli – Danda’, visiting the various temples (they are made in times of Pandavas) and one small market. Still that place can be a bit boring sometimes, but never with Dadaa. For countless days we have played bus service (Dadaa playing the driver and me playing the conductor), and ‘Pasaa’ (dice) cricket. So all in all, again it was quite a good time.
Then there was the mother of all vacations - the winter vacation ranging from 40 days to 60 days. These vacations provided one of the best times as well as one of the boring times. Boring times because if weather is too bad, light will go for 3-4 days and you cannot do almost anything, even if light is there ‘Doordarshan’ used to save this time to telecast the worst (read Art) movies like ‘Rudali’, ‘Sooraj Ka Satavaan Ghoda’, ‘Wo Chhokari’. Best times because plenty time to play cricket on sunny days, to roam around, to read comics, etc. Needless to say that it was more enjoyable because Dadaa and my sister, and all my friends were also having vacations.
Did I say 40 to 60 days vacation? Can you imagine that now what would a vacation for that much duration mean? Sounds Jabardast. Well, yeah… 40 to 60 days… keep day dreaming!!
- Neeraj Mathpal
July 6, 2011
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