I know I’ve used ‘booth’ in my previous post but realised later that ‘bhoot’ is better. Just the spelling -adapting to the correct one in this post.

So, you know what happened at the airport that night. If you need a quick recall of events, read the previous post first.

Up to date? Let’s continue.

We lost three documents: parking ticket, car registration (RC) and my driver’s license; in that order.

Let me tell you what happened to those docs in the reverse order. First, my license.

A week or two before that day, a policeman stopped me for verification over a weekend ride to the supermarket. I was on bike with Bharani. They check every Saturday or Sunday in our regular Miyapur-Bachupally route. I had the bike’s RC and driver’s license in my wallet. When the policeman reluctantly asked for ‘papers’, I patiently got down the bike, opened the seat section to access the documents compartment and handed over the ‘papers’. Those were NOT the papers he was looking for. They were bike papers of course but the ones that I need to get the RC at RTA. RC was already made so they were practically useless. I seriously don’t know what he checked but after flipping through them for a while, demanded for license. I had to open my wallet and show him the card. When trying to put it back, the card slipped out of my hands and fell in one of those gaps under the seat as it was still open.

After trying to reach for it a minute, thought I’ll look into it after getting home and we moved on. The driver’s license remained in the bike and I never got to it. I even completely forgot about it and was roaming around confidently in the city even without carrying a license! And, that day, I drove to airport too, not knowing that my driver’s licence was no longer in my wallet. So, that’s about the license. I hope it’s still there in the bike somewhere!

Next is what? Oh, RC.

This cannot be a forgotten or ‘missed it elsewhere’ case as I held the card in my own hands to verify the registration number and stuff while heading to the parking office in the airport. But then, it was missing in less than a minute.

Few days after that incident, while on our way home from office (we carpool), Venkat was waiting in the car while I got down to get some milk/ groceries/ something. Venkat is the one who was with me in airport when I parked the car, lost the ticket and when all the bhoot drama happened. It was his license we used to get out of the situation.

While waiting, he bent down a little to take a look at that coffee cup storage area one more time. There was a small gap into which he slid a finger and fiddled a little. He apparently felt something like a card and pulled it out. Viola! RC!!

One of my habits while driving is: I don’t hold anything in hands. I wear a seat belt and use hands just for steering or the gear shaft and that’s it. If I have to handle any toll tickets, money, phones, I do that real quick and pass them on to the navigator. If not, my next preference is to dump them in the front seat or the cup holder area and address it later. I think I left it in the cup holder area that night too. But I still don’t understand how it got stuck in a small gap, deep inside under the dashboard, huh! I tell you it’s the airport bhoot!

First one with driver’s license was completely my forgetfulness, I agree. Even later, Bharani reminded me of the bike incident and I did not recollect it on my own.

The second one was ok-ok. If the document was technically existing in the car, it’s our ineffective search. However, there is no way it can be hidden so discretely in that small gap under the dashboard. This hiding part, I blame on, the airport bhoot. So, RC fiasco was in partnership.

The last document we still are yet to talk about – parking ticket? There is nothing to talk about it. The bhoot took it and it was never found.

End of story.

It’s not the English booth, like the telephone booth.

It’s the Hindi booth, like the Ram Gopal Varma’s movie. Telugu lo – deyyam!

We’ve seen it live in Hyderabad International Airport. Well, not literally seeing with our eyes per se, but experienced it. I couldn’t stop laughing all night in spite of being in trouble.

It was about 10 days ago, a Saturday night. One of our friends’ was leaving to US and we went to drop him off at the airport.

We started at home around midnight. We did have good time in reserve for the flight. We headed directly to the terminal first. After a couple of them got down with luggage at the ‘departures’ terminal, we looked for parking. We were two in the car.

We entered the parking area, took the parking ticket and parked the car. We then discussed whether to carry the parking ticket with us or leave it in the car.

We decided to leave it in the car. If neither of us two come for the car again, there would be a confusion. So, we were sure to leave the ticket with the car. We placed it on the storage area near the gear knob (near the cup holder and stuff) and locked the car.

We went up to the terminal, had something to eat at Mc Donald’s, said goodbye to our friend, clicked a few pictures around and also looked at some movie shooting going on for a few minutes. It was good time all the while, but also early hours of Sunday; we wanted to head home.

We came to pick up the car from parking.

Surprise! Parking ticket is missing!!

Normally, we would wonder whether we left it in the car or took it with us. But, as we explicitly discussed it, we were damn sure it should be in the car. Except the fact that, it was not there!

I have an iPhone and my friend has a HTC Desire. We both switched on the LED lights on mobiles and searched the car. Completely. We moved the seats around too, but couldn’t find the damn ticket!

To look into some hard-to-reach places, we even switched on the phones’ video camera with LED light ON and checked. No trace of the ticket.

Again, we know it’s not in our wallet or pockets because we both explicitly discussed and left it in the car. Even then – we emptied our pockets and scanned through our wallets. You never know!

But the ticket was not to be found.

I personally thought someone got into our car.

Two reasons for my doubt: One, the glove box was open when we got to the car. We wouldn’t normally keep the glove bog open because it’s tough to even get down that way. So, it was my suspicion that somebody broke into the car and looked around for any valuables. Two, there was a sweater we left in the front seat. Normally kept just in one seat when we got down. It was ‘thrown’ over the two seats when we came later.  That still strengthened my doubt that they were ‘looking around’.

However, am not sure now. Why would a thief leave a wonderful sweater but take the parking ticket?

But again, we thought, he/ she took nothing but the ticket was blown away when the doors were open. Fair enough. So, the thief was a good one; we lost nothing we noticed. Or, may be there was no thief.

That doesn’t change the fact though. The parking ticket was not to be found.

We repeated the process. Searched the car. Complete car. Again. And then pockets, wallets and surroundings. No ticket.

The laughs had already started. Hysterical laughs. We know we are not stupid but the ticket was not there. No reasoning seemed right.

We finally took the car out of the parking area and headed to the parking exit. Told the attendant that the ticket was lost.

He explained the process: We have to show them the car registration certificate, driver’s licence and pay Rs 350. That formality should be completed at the Parking Office on the other end.

I always carry Driver’s License in my wallet. So, if I have the Registration ID in the car, I can pay them the fine and get the hell out of there.

Looked at few documents in the car and found the RC. I was holding it in my hand to make sure that’s the right ID. It was the right card I needed. I confirmed the registration number twice to be very sure. Kool. We headed to the Parking Office.

It was less than a minute. We got down and one officer came around to inquire what the problem was. Explained that the parking ticket was lost and we were there to pay the fine.

He asked for the RC and the license.

Surprise! RC is missing!!

I couldn’t just believe it! I had held it in my hand a minute ago. It’s not an exaggeration, I am talking about 60 secs here! But, the fact  is – it’s gone.

We did the drill again. Car search, pocket search, LED light camera search. Even the parking officer couldn’t believe it. He too assisted in moving the seats around and searching the complete car, one more time. But no luck. No parking ticket, no RC.

Howzzat??

I asked the officer if there was a ‘booth’ around. He laughed too and suggested we search one more time. Another round of drill, in vain.

He probably felt bad for our luck that night. He approached me and told that just License would do for the moment. He said he can let me go without the RC because he was witnessing the situation and he didn’t think it was fake. Good that he actually believed us! Nice fella!

So, while still wondering where the parking ticket had gone and thinking about even more surprising vanish act of the RC, I walked right behind the parking officer. And at the same time, I was also taking out my wallet for Driver’s License.

Ready for another surprise? Bam! There’s no license in my wallet!

I was no longer sure what was going on. Parking ticket fiasco- fine, it’s weird but I give it to you. But then, RC and License is too much. Too-bloody-much I say!

We used friend’s driver’s licence (his was still available in the wallet ) and got the hell out of there as quickly as we could.

We were puzzled, we were laughing, joking around and all that on the way home, at 3 am. But we did not know where the booth came from and why it took our documents!

A few days after that, the mystery was resolved. Not completely, but a good start. Will continue the resolved mystery in the next post.

It was 11:30 pm and having just completed my mango picture and dinner last night, I was relaxing on the couch, watching ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ on my desktop. Few minutes into the sitcom, my iPhone beeped and showed an alert about some comment on one of my facebook Notes.

Laptop wasn’t very far – so while still following Ray’s comedy on big screen, opened facebook on laptop to review the comment. I then moved on to email in another tab and was browsing through without any particular intent.

Then I saw one of my old colleagues initiate a chat conversation on facebook. It’s been a long time I spoke with her and was a little surprised to receive a message at that hour. She started with regular pleasantries like ‘how u doing?’ and ‘what u upto?’ stuff. Everything was fine with me, and I told her so.

When I asked her the same questions back, response wasn’t as expected. She said things were not good at her end. I thought it’s the regular “missing-India” kinda complaints I receive from many people I know who live outside India.

This situation was different.

She told me they had a worst vacation ever. I assumed something did not go as planned and so she was still feeling bad about it. May be it was a couple of weeks ago or so, I thought.

As our conversation progressed further, she explained that she got stranded in Scotland at the moment. Based on the fine language she was using and calm composure she maintained, it did not appear right. But if she is on facebook, catching up with a long lost colleague, she’s possibly held up at an airport, bored, with an Internet kiosk or something. Why not?

I inquired if it was a flight delay. She said they were mugged at gun point and were stolen of cash, credit cards and phones. A story like this, fiction or real is in general associated with phishing. So, I paused the show I was watching, and started thinking about the live situation. I sat upright and took a moment to scroll up and read the complete conversation again, just to make sure I got it right.

Few questions ran through my mind, some sensible and some cautious.

Is this a real person talking to me? I mean, I know her as a colleague so I know she is a real person. But, is she the one who is actually chatting with me at the moment? Is she in a situation where she could use some help? If yes, I ought to help in any way I could. May be I can buy her flight tickets so she could reach home! But, wait. What if her account is hacked and if this is a phishing attempt?

There is one more clue left to judge if this is an authentic trouble situation or phishing – asking for sensitive information like bank or credit card details. That will help me decide to some extent. Asking for help is understood; asking for credit card number and related details is suspicious!

This friend of mine is a Telugu girl, currently staying in US with her husband. Just a habit I guess, chatting was in English all the while. I continued the chat after the mugging story, but in Telugu. If she is who I think she is, I know she speaks good Telugu and should not be any problem in discussing the situation further. I got prepared to help her (of course) but only after at least one confirmation of her authenticity. However, what if she is hesitating to ask for help because we haven’t spoken in years? I myself asked her if she needs any help, in Telugu. As soon as I sent a few sentences in Telugu, she went offline.

I was a little worried and confused at the same time. What if she was my colleague, really in trouble and lost connection due to some technical problem. I was waiting for her to come online again so that I can try to get her out of there. My idea probably was to book flight tickets online, Scotland to US, using my credit card and let them print/ access it there.

I was reminding myself to NOT disclose the card details. Getting flight tickets for someone who lost everything in a foreign land is a good help. As the card is physically with me, even if I share the card number and other details, they have to book online too. So, why not I book online from here and let them access the tickets from there?

If it’s a phishing attempt, they wouldn’t benefit much from a ‘Scotland to US’ airplane ticket, do they? They would need my card details so that they can buy something else. Yes, that was my move. If this is a genuine situation, once she comes online, I would confirm the necessary details and book her tickets online.

But there was a second thread that started in my head when she went offline. May be that’s someone who hacked her account and was phishing! He/ she logged off because they couldn’t continue the conversation in a foreign language!

Anyway, she was offline. I did not know which way to go – shall I wait for her to come online and help her get home? Or, go to bed considering that as a close call to phishing on facebook? I resumed Ray’s comedy and was glancing at facebook page once in a while to see if she shows online. Another 10 mins or so for the episode to come to an end. If I don’t see her online by then, I would go to sleep. Fixed.

10 mins passed and Ray’s sitcom show was over. Have to hit bed. But the first thread didn’t allow me to sleep. I wrote a big note on her wall before I logged off. It was a request to all her friends to help her if they see her online on facebook or get in touch by any other means elsewhere. I also sent her a message with my mobile number if she needs to wake me up.

After a little tossing and turning in bed, sat up again and logged into all messengers on iPhone. Unless something’s final on this drama, how can I go to normal sleep?

Luckily, she was online on Yahoo!

I sent her a “hi” and “u ther?” real quick.

She responded ok but was asking my whereabouts. May be she forgot my Yahoo ID. I login to yahoo only once every season.

Reminded about our encounter a moment ago on facebook and asked if she really needs help.

She was stunned too. A little more conversation helped us realize that her facebook was hacked. And the worst, part – she was not aware of it!

I was online until she reset her password for facebook, showed her the initial phishing chat conversation, deleted the help request on her wall and logged off.

All has ended well. It was a close call but no information was disclosed to the phisherman. Moreover, there isn’t an old friend stranded in Scotland, mugged at gunpoint, looking for help. What a relief!

Anyway, that was my personal story. But, here are a few more threats with facebook in general, FYI.

I am not sure but I think this is the code used by hackers to chat as the account holder. I like the comment number 0 on that page:

“This one should be so simple to prevent – it relies on a user actually copy and pasting in a command they don’t understand.

The downside is – “enough people are stupid enough” so it spreads.”

Take care fellas!

About a month ago, I requested your favorite Telugu TV shows. The idea was to understand the tastes a little, compare the entertainment/ information patterns and conduct a poll to get the creme of the lot.

Well, as there are no responses to help me out, here are the top TV shows I watch and why (not just Telugu). I picked a couple of them and the others just fall into my recently developed TV watching schedule/ time slot.

CNN IBN 8 PM PRIME (English): I actually got Tata Sky for this channel and this news hour. I felt I needed more current affairs and therefore developed the TV watching habit recently. It gives a quick and good round up of events all over India and I like the role it plays in the media unlike the worst-ever news channels AAJ TAK and STAR News.

Andhravani (Telugu): No nonsense, crisp, quick (30 mins), early morning tea-time dose; Telugu round up of local news from Andhra Pradesh. 7.30 am on E TV.

Nat Geo 9 PM (English): I am still not sure of the pattern for 9 PM shows as it appears to address one theme/ kind of programmes every week. Either way, if time permits after my IBN Live 8 PM PRIME, this is what I would like to watch for an hour. The series BIG, Mega Constructions, shows about the mega factories etc are all awesomely good and informative.

Paadutha Teeyaga (Telugu): 9.30 PM on Mondays on E TV,  it’s an hour with Telugu reality show for singers. Again, I like this because of S.P. Balu’s presence of course, but also because it’s unlike many other reality shows, is simple and straightforward. No staged dramas in attempt to tweak the TRP curves.

Sitcoms (English): I watch a good deal of sitcoms, but am not sure if I can add it to the ‘TV Shows’ list. I usually watch the complete season back-to-back and not when it’s telecast on TV. Major shows include: The Big Bang Theory, Two and half men, FRIENDS, 3rd rock from the Sun, That 70′s Show and few adventure series from Discovery Channel.

If you have any recommendations, please add in the comments.

I saw an ad on TV couple of weeks ago. That was the first I saw for that bike. While I didn’t concentrate much on the ad, the idea of a new vehicle from YAMAHA made me open the website and take a look at the available products. I was not happy with the already existing products like FZ and Fazer etc, for various reasons. The new one however, looks kool. Read through the specs real quick, checked if it’s available in black (I mean- compleeete black) and made up my mind.

Two or three days later, left office an hour early, Bharani and I went to the dealer, swiped a Credit Card and bought the new companion home. Dot.

Yes! I got another YAMAHA.  It’s YAMAHA SZ. This is my second (The two other vehicles I used between two YAMAHAs are an Activa, which, my dad is using now and a SANTRO, which I disposed after using for 2.5 years). Though it wasn’t as dramatic as I got the first, I do have the same thrill of owning one. Of course it was a quick decision!

I understand you don’t see a lot of SZs on the road; and that happened with my first one too, YAMAHA Crux. For most of my contacts, my bike was the only means they knew the product Crux existed. Looks like it happens this time too, and here is why:

• This one has a 153 cc engine but has no disc brakes: While most of the riders prefer a disc brake for any bike, it is a common feature expected for the ones with 150 cc and above. However, I feel comfortable with the old fashioned drum brakes and SZ just got that. Both the wheels. Not that I tried tricks back then but it’s been a lot of time I got out of college and I have no feats to perform on road.
• Of the two variations in SZ, mine is the low end one: No electric start, no RPM meter. The high end is named SZ-X, has an electric start, an RPM meter and a little extra plastic designer attachments to the fuel tank. While I like the SZ-X so far, the problem is it has no kick start. That, to me, is a bad configuration. Especially, if the lights are directly connected to the battery and can be turned on even without starting the engine, like car! If the battery dies one fine day, I should be doing experiments with wheel rotation or the typical push-n-start stuff. No no.
• No digital meters. While I prefer old fashioned manual needle pointers, I see a lot of them prefer digital indicators. I think more than the question of reliability of the digital stuff in rain etc, what turns me off is the ugly orange backlit displays. Yack!!

When I used Crux, I used to ponder over a few things. I wanted a little more powerful engine to rip once in a while as necessary (I think Crux had a 98 cc engine, or 106 cc am not sure now), one additional “speed gear” to cover highway distances without putting a lot of stress on the engine for longer durations, probably a fuel indicator and an rpm meter. I think SZ has them covered except the rpm as I got the low end model. But that’s ok, I’m content with the existing features.

My first YAMAHA purchase experience is posted here.

YAMAHA SZ specifications can be found here.

Not a canal, just a regular street.

We stay near Miyapur (enroute to Bachupally) and work in Madhapur. Hyderabad. Some call these areas as ‘in’ Hyderabad, some call it ‘just outside/ sub-urbs’ of the abad and we just call it Miyapur, Hyderabad; whatever that association may mean to different people.

This is our normal route to office: Bachupally road Vikas school – Miyapur X roads – Miyapur (old?) Police Station – Miyapur Cheruvu – Hafezpet flyover – Hitex – Madhapur.

We’ve witnessed different traffic conditions – low and high volumes; travelling by different means – bike and car in the last many days. The maximum time it took could be one hour – to, or fro, with last Tuesday being an exception. We started around 6.35 pm at my office and reached home at 9.15 pm. Quite a long drive huh? Oh, we did break for a pizza (HAD to) for 15-20 mins.

It rained like hell and traffic congestion is expected. When it took 30-40 mins from Google office to Hitex charminar, we thought it was a little too much. It was kool all through the Hitex campus though, until we exited on the other end in Kondapur.

We had many vehicles entering the wrong side of the road. We deligently waited for our turn and got into the correct lane. If I drive on the right half of the road, papam where will the inflow traffic go? If there is no divider, it sometimes happens that the complete road is covered by the same direction traffic; entering the wrong side in spite of the road divider is too much I say!

We were moving at snail pace and looking around to analyze situation and water levels. On our side of the road, it was dead slow but was still moving. For 2-3 mins the traffic on the other side of the divider was moving fast. We know something bad will be awaiting the flow and it in fact did. All the cars slowly came to a halt. We were still moving at our same pace looking on the right at the stalled vehicles. We passed about a dozen cars and there was a break-down. Couple of them were trying to push the car to movement. We felt sorry for everyone on that side but we moved on. Another dozen cars later, another break-down. Crap!

That was not all. The traffic from the opposite direction was in full swing by then. That’s their legal side of the road and the ‘break-downs and the batch’ were in fact creating more problems. A little further, the worst has happened. These cars in the wrong lane are by the divider, there is no median to slowly even get into the correct side, and the opposite traffic, including a Mercedes bus was waiting in 6 lanes. Hu la la! No space to move forward and no space to turn back. For those who have observed, am sure the ‘HOT CHIPS’ store nearby was a big releif!

I have no Arya 2 sadism properties in general but I really felt ‘nice happened’ for those who created the problem. It did take another hour or so for us to get home, but we at least moved ahead. Apparently, that block was cleared after the complete normal flow traffic in that direction has stopped – which was around 1.00 am.

After a lot of driving, worrying, waiting, observation, facebook updates and Radio Mirchi traffic-beats, it occurred to me again. Even if it takes a little more time than usual, stick to your side and stick to your lane. Even if we are stuck there for some reason, at least the rest of the traffic will flow smoothly, creating way for us to get along. What say?

(Keep songs from Kotha Bangaru Lokam and Ye Maya Chesave handy, traffic lo irukkunna time atte gadisipothundi bore kottakunda )

I received a ‘missed call’ from the driver, something he does every day when he reaches my place and that indicates the cab is ready. I completed my lunch, grabbed my bag and ran down the stairs. It was drizzling but that shouldn’t matter as I have a cab to get to work. I reached the gate and was looking out at the cab that was parked on the other side of the road. All I have to do is cross the road and get in. Driver was waving to help me locate him. I saw him there already; he parks his cab right opposite the gate all the time, in the very same spot. I guess I was hoping for something else. I wished he turned around and came right in front of the gate, so that I can get into the cab without those few rain drops falling on my head and shoulders. If I can keep dry till I get into the cab, am safe until I reach my office and back.

Isn’t getting drenched in rain fun? Of course it is. All the more if it is in first few rains of the monsoon. Well, if it’s on the way to work, how damaging can a few drops be? Nil. Was I the same a few years ago? No. What has changed? Is it the rain or me? Obviously it has to be me. But why? That is a very big question!

A few years back when I rode to work on my bike, rain has never bothered me. It was hardly a point to consider before starting to work. May be a little consideration; to help me carry the windcheater or jerkin and that’s it. Calling in late or taking a leave was not even an option. I used to ride for about an hour without stopping in bus stops or under the trees on the road side. Or, maybe once for a hot cup of chai, if I had company. If I can reach office, it’s as good as the work day was over. Getting completely drenched was very common for all my friends as well. Yes, not just the shoulders or head (I always wore a helmet though) but top to bottom, inside-outside and deep under. We still used to be ready for next day with the same energy and enthusiasm.

When I got into the cab, closed all windows, turned on AC, spared an ear to the latest movie album tracks and funny gags on Radio Mirchi softly playing in the cab stereo, I was wondering what has changed in these few years. I mentioned this point-worth-pondering with colleagues at work and we were all smiling and exchanging stories of what all we could happily do without a second thought a few years ago. We also admitted that we are not game for many of those ‘feats’ now, not knowing the reasons of course. Or at least, there is a second thought.

One says it’s the corporate life and shift changes that have put us in this place. Another says it’s the food habits and ‘city life’ meaning pollution and stuff(?). One more says we can still be the same, but only sparingly. Who would say no to a road trip to Srisailam on bikes? But how many are willing to ride to office in rain every day? There is a difference and equal ambiguity too. I don’t say it’s better or worse than before; I just say it’s different.

Anyways, what do YOU think has changed? And how have YOU changed, if at all you did.

“Do you have a brown one?” I asked the sales guy in between grasping breaths as soon as I rushed into the YAMAHA showroom. He stared at me for a few seconds and asked with a puzzled look: “What?” I then gave him a few more details. “I am here to buy a YAMAHA Crux. Do you have a brown one??” He looked at his watch. It was about 9.00 pm, maybe, and he was winding up his work to close the store.“Please come in tomorrow. I will explain the finance options as well if you want to opt for a two wheeler loan. We will need some documentation done. I need some proofs and some forms filled out. All this takes time and we are almost closed today”, he was not interested to process the sale that evening I guess. I was a little disappointed. If there was no option, I would have left then and returned the next day. But I wanted to give it another shot before I stepped out. “I have the proofs, I can fill the forms out, I have 75% of the price as cash in my pocket right now, and I have the cheques and stuff to process the remaining amount as loan. Can I have my bike now?” And I had it.

Am not sure if the 75% down-payment impressed him or maybe he thought I would rush into another store if he wouldn’t sell me one right then. Either way, he started talking about the sale. First thing he told me was that the brown one was not in stock. I asked him to make the loan papers ready and called my friends, Shiva and Sai. They were 10 mins away and started immediately. As soon as they joined we checked out the colors available. It was black and silver (I guess). Sales guy was probably thinking we would return after a couple of days to pick up the brown one I asked for. But, my friends and I looked at each other and blurted out together – “We’ll take black”.

Of course we were all excited about the bike. The first in our ‘gang’. It was on July 8^th 2002, about 40 days after I joined my first job. I was planning for a bike since I was in college. My parents could hardly afford my tuition fees so I didn’t even think of a bike then. But I always thought bike will be the first thing I would buy after I get a real job. And there was my chance and time. I would leave the store with my own bike!

Meanwhile, the sales guy came up with a bunch of stuff in both hands. Those were the optional accessories I may select. The stuff included seat covers, number plates, buzzer and much more. It took less than a minute to say yes to anything that made sense and no to others that we didn’t think was necessary. We had to make a selective choice as all that comes at extra price. The sales guy gave us a weird look as we smiled to convey that the choice was over and it was his turn to fix those super fast. He probably thought we found somebody’s lost money and walked into the store directly to get ourselves a luxury.

In fact, we did the project for two weeks. We considered price, weight and other technicalities from various brands in various classes. We made visits to the showrooms and ate their brain until we understood why something was better than the other. Color was the only option we left open to finalize towards the end. I think I still have the data chart we made to come to a conclusion that we would buy a YAMAHA. My license was ready too in June that year, an arrangement to gear up for the bike [ad]venture. And it was getting ready right in front of us!

We signed the papers and all proofs necessary were ready in my bag. We paid the cash and processed the loan for the remaining amount. The sales guy got suspicious maybe; he wanted to visit our place just in case, as we told him we were renting rooms as ‘bachelors’. We told him we were ready for anything as long as I get my bike that night. It was 10.00 pm by the time I got my hands on it. The fact that we agreed to show our place readily changed his mind probably, the sales guy shook hands and left for the day closing the store behind him. “Manishi meeda manishiki nammakam undali sir” was all he said.

The moment the bike was delivered, we had to do a ‘tricky’ to the nearby café. After a hot chai with all our faces gleaming with pride and happiness, we rode to my place. My sisters broke a coconut and we rode off to our bachelors place with beer and chicken to celebrate!

Next morning, I was at work flaunting my new bike! And Danny still never understands the complete episode of our on-the-fly (was it?) bike purchase! I guess this is one of the pages in my diary that will always be highlighted in fluorescent green to cherish the wonderful moment. I don’t think I was that happy even when I drove my car home!

PS: I borrowed the 75% down-payment from my sister and paid her half my salary every month until it was paid in full.

I am sure everyone is happy that it rained over the weekend. Though delayed by almost a month compared to the standard schedule, monsoon started everywhere else a week before and finally it is good that Hyderabad is catching up as well. Hope this is not a false alarm like it happened a few weeks ago. But anyways, as I declared today in facebook, I flipped the mattress this morning. So, summer is officially over. Cheers!

Here are some scientific facts you need to consider to believe that I personally am the reason for the rain over the weekend:

I had to attend a wedding on Friday evening. A school friend got married somewhere deep inside the old city. This would be my first attendance for Islam wedding so was curious to see how it’s done and especially how it is different, if any. I had to be there by 7pm. I started at 7 from home and caught up with a three other friends on the way and reached Charminar by 8pm.

I didn’t have my camera with me. Normally I would, but this being my first Islam wedding I was not sure of the laws-of-the-land. I preferred not to carry my cam compared to any trouble or inconvenience or even embarrassment there. But then, how can I stand in front of Charminar and NOT take a picture? For a moment, I was a tourist in my own city! What an awesome monument in Hyderabad! Last time I stood there was when I gave BCA semester exams. One of the colleges in that area was my examination center and I therefore had a glance of the Charminar few times that week. And before that: when I was in seventh standard when we came to Hyderabad on a class trip.

I survived the moment by my inability to take a picture anyway and reached the venue. It was 8.30pm. We entered the function hall and were the first four to be present there. Surprising! We sat in a nearby café for Irani Chai and called our groom friend to find out the status. He said he would be there in an hour. I wasn’t very impressed but what if that’s how the weddings are? We were chatting and catching up on all old memories for an hour and called him around 9.30pm. We were told the wedding party would arrive in 30 mins. Meanwhile, another friend joined us. I wanted to leave but they convinced me to stay for 30 more mins and decide if the wedding didn’t start by then. 10pm when we called, the status hasn’t changed much. Expected wait time was 20-25 mins to START the wedding. I promised another friend to see him by 10-10.30 and so I left without even saying hi to the groom. It was bad of me but they were already three hours behind the schedule! Being night could be a little problem but more than that it was somewhere deep inside the old city. And it was Friday! I wouldn’t even know how to get out of there if I have no company!

I had to make my own dinner arrangement then. I checked my wallet and was low on cash. Target one: ATM. After much roaming the streets in the old city, found one and withdrew some cash. Target two: Chicken Biryani. It was lucky of me to see a ‘Kababish’ center (popular food chain in Hyderabad). We had food there multiple times so kind of trusted vendor. I picked up a biryani and then the grilled chicken was tempting outside. Got a bird and started off. From there, it’s an hour to my friend’s place easily- through Rajendra nagar, zoo park, mehdipatnam, kondapur, miyapur and what not. All the while my friend and I were updating each other on the status of ATM and food. And we figured out- as we have a grilled bird and a chicken biryani, how about some beer? Target three: beer. After a few stops (damn beer shortage in the city) I could find some at premium price. After 45 minutes of city sub-urban area tour, reached the friend’s place at 11.30pm.

Oh, by the way, the reason for rain? I was on bike all the while. I normally hate to stop multiple times on the way anywhere except for clicking some pictures. This night, I stopped for a dozen times and I had to! I didn’t want to wade through the old city traffic with car, so I decided to hop on Activa. That was it! Adding to all the trouble (fun in a way of course) I was going through that night, what else can make it worse? (or more fun?). It’s the rain!! And therefore, it started. Why else would it rain on that very night while millions of population has been waiting for more than a month now! And am sure if I had stepped out in my car, it wouldn’t have rained. So, you’re welcome in advance for all the thank you messages. And I apologize for the delay in getting the monsoon. I will gear up next year and make sure to get it in time!

Last night I was fast asleep when the alarm went off. I usually depend just on my mobile phone and it was right beside me. The ‘Soni De Nakhre’ song from ‘Partner’ in Sony Ericsson Walkman mobile right beside the pillow would probably wake up anyone successfully.

4 am is my normal wake up time as I have to report to work by 6 am all this month. Like many others, I too am part of the ’5 more minutes’ club. I hit ‘snooze’ and was just lying around for few more minutes. I always convince myself that this is to save the headrush from getting up immediately. There are instances though, when I closed my eyes only to open after 45 mins, which feels like 2 or 3 secs. I love the sleep during this period but hate the hurry-up after I wake up.

Anyway, I reluctantly woke up and started doing the few things I do every morning subconciously: turned on the light, switched off the fan, powered on the UPS, modem and the computer (to play music, not to go online. but why modem? I donno!), dropped feed for fish in the tank and held the toothbrush. All these take less than 60 secs surprisingly. But I could feel something different. I thought, sleep deprived probably. But, who doesn’t? I had dinner after 9.30 pm last night and watched 2-3 episodes of FRIENDS (am in Season 2 for the 7th time all over I guess) and may be dozed off only after 11. So, I hardly slept for 4-5 hours maximum.

And then I looked at the clock. It was showing about 12:10! Wrong time to notice the dead battery. Luckily I did find one in my desk and I changed the battery while brushing. I then opened media player and ‘Oye’ songs were playing. I glanced at the system clock to set time after changing the battery and that showed about 12:15. Something’s terribly wrong. I walked into the hall and looked at another clock on the wall. 12.15. I thought I knew what happened and checked my mobile immediately. Time: 12:16. Received calls: none (in the last couple of hours). I assumed I woke up to an incoming call and mistook for wake-up alarm but I could see no calls in the log.

Anyway, I completed brushing and slept off wondering why I woke up like that at 12 in the night. And, in fact, if the alarm did go off or was it a dream/ imagination. What was I thinking? I woke up around 2:45 am once and then again at 3:30 am. Alarm did go off at 4 am as scheduled and am here at work on time. Only after coming here, I noticed the ‘calendar’ items for today on mobile screen (why did I miss that in the night?) and it is a friend’s birthday. Alarm was set to go off at 12!

Happy Birthday buddy!