Magic Days!

My Hostel dayzzzz - A true unity in diversity!!

When one stays away from home, he finds family in friends! And that's exactly what happened with me at my hostel! I miss my hostel and my hostel group! Its just been a month that I left them but I am missing them already! The two and half years that I spent with them were magic times!

All my girl pals - Aaji, Amruta, Pradnya, Shweta, Nikki, Nikita, Suprita, Supriya, Yogu and Pranita

I miss :
My bed by the window : Where the world looked different outside
Watching all the chick-flicks together!
Our official hostel Maskot " Masakali" cat who was always behind Pradnya's love birds.
Bed bugs here, there - everywhere
Sleepless nights due to bed bug havoc in Summers
Going out on Gandharva Bridge for Night walks
Having extra chilled kulfi on winter nights
Visiting temples with pals before their exams, interviews and engagements
Shopping with Girls at Tulsi Baug
Dancing on Mobile songs on weekend nights
Singing songs together - especially sad Gazals
Pajama parties
Group Study
Celebrating each others Birthday by cutting a cake at Midnight!
Looking after eachother when any one was sick
Listening to all my friends chattering about boy-friends
Consoling girls after boy friend tiffs
Cooking together - great Bhels, Pavbhajis and Pulavs
Just dressing up on weekends to have fun
Going to the same restaurants for Sundays when the girls didn't have their dabba
Taking Aajji on her medical check-ups
Dancing at the Dandiya-rass in the building
Taking each others bikes outside
Sundari our sweet dog
Guarding and planning for girls coming in late in the night
Eating non-veg food without telling Aaji
Having long sessions of horror stories late in the nights and then getting frightened even to go to the loo!
Sharing a nice warm cup of tea and coffee!
Attending my friends weddings and engagements!
Going on late night walks to Naturals!!
To pounce on all the khau that used to come from our homes!
We even had a break-up party!! : )
Having loads and loads of Maggie!
Not stepping down the bed when a rat used to enter the premises!
Applying all the tricks and acrobatic stunts to put on the TV - after Aaji had shut it off! And succeeding with teamwork!

The best part was we all came from different cities with different backgrounds! But we always brought the best of the worlds together! Everyone stayed together as a family without fighting with each other! We never interrupted - we always added value to each others lives! This was the place which gave me a lot of practical tutorials in valuable lessons of life - few of which were sharing, adjusting and just being there when one needed support the most!!

My hostel friends brought a lot of happiness to my life! I will always remember this time!

How I miss you girls! I miss our good ol' days!

Not So Mundane Conversations! 3

When I annouced on my google Buzz about my New flat in Pune, "NOW AM OFFCIALY A PUNEKAR" I got the following replies from My friends!! This is really really interesting Stuff! Enjoy!!

Saurabh Bongale - अभिनंदन Feb 15

Ketaki Joshi - DANKE :) Feb 15

deepti sane - hey congrats.......PUNEKAR !!Feb 15

Ketaki Joshi - thnks di! howz u babes ? Feb 16

Niyant Lohakare - congrates. V happy to hear dis g8 news.Party time.Feb 16

Milind Naphade - Party!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Congrats :-DFeb 16

Aakash Gupte - Lateshtt news > Ketaki's trying hard on her nasal tone!!

Aani tine ek painter pan bolavlay > jo puneri patya paint karun deil!! :))Feb 17

Aakash Gupte - pahili paati > AAMHI JOSHI ASLO, TARI AMHI KOBRA NAHI.....AANI
JATIYAVADA LA AMCHA AAJIBAT PATHIMBA NAHI.Feb 17

Aakash Gupte - Ketaki Joshi - DANKE :)15 Feb :O aaila germann!Feb

Saurabh Bongale - lolllaaa.... fattyang pati hai....
दुसरी पाटी >> आम्ही मुंबईचे पुणेकर आहोत. किमान शब्दात कमाल अपमान करणे आम्हास शक्य नाही. बोलण्यापेक्षा कृतीवर आम्ही जास्त भर देतो. सरळ कानफाड फोडण्यात येईल.Feb 18


Milind Naphade - lolamm Feb 18

Aakash Gupte - hahaha!!Feb 18

Prathamesh Bhamburkar - aaga ho kite vela... saangnar?Feb 18

Aakash Gupte - aaja bhai, ketaki chya gharchya patya design karaychya aahet!Feb 18

Prathamesh Bhamburkar - bas bas....
full sadashivpethi khass puneri patya..Feb 18

Saurabh Bongale - तिसरी पाटी >> हि खानावळ नाही, घर आहे... जेवणाचे पैसे स्विकारले जाणार नाहीत...Feb 18

Prathamesh Bhamburkar - lol....
4) AAmhi electricity cha bill bharto, bell wajvu nahi...Feb 18

Aakash Gupte - waah saurabh > tu tar maze mess chi paise vachavless!! aani aplya barobar guest pan astat!! kay prof.?Feb 18

Prathamesh Bhamburkar - bas ka bhai...
ata kadki janar.....Feb 18

Saurabh Bongale - aare mag kay... hakkane jaycha... bharpur kha kha khaycha...Feb 18

Prathamesh Bhamburkar - hmm ghar aaplach ahe...

ketaki kahi aplyala hakalnar nahi te changli guni mulgi ahe..
lolFeb 18

Aakash Gupte - apan tya flat chya khalli pan- thela lau! aani parking madhe carrom club!Feb 18

Prathamesh Bhamburkar - lol...

ketaki's carrom club..Feb 18

Saurabh Bongale - ५) हे घर आहे मंदिर नाही, तरी चपला बाहेरच काढुन प्रवेशावे...Feb 18

Aakash Gupte - 6) nighte-weli apan jya coach-a-war basla hota, tya warchya acchadanachya churghalya mitvun jaava!

- Hukumavarun!Feb 18

Prathamesh Bhamburkar - 7) Krupaya aat yenacha aadhi parvangi kadahavi..
aakash aathavtay ka?Feb 18

Aakash Gupte - aarey ho na
aarey banglyachya baher dara war pati > parvangi shivay aat yeu naye.....chya mari > fataka-war chadhun >jor joraat haaqa marun > parvangi ghyaychi system asavi! kimman baher aatla phone number tari dyaycha. "Hello saheb, mi aat yeu ka?"Feb 18

Prathamesh Bhamburkar - nahi re yeud sabhyapana nasto karaicha...
saral ek dagad fekun khidki che kaach todun mag parvangi kadahaiche...
mag aapan aat nahi jaicha re tech baher yeil...Feb 18

Saurabh Bongale - hahahaahahaa.... aare pan ghusaycha bindass... tikde konachi parvanagi ghyaychi he thodich mention kela asta? sangaycha yenarya janarya konala tari vicharun ghuslo... :P Feb 18

Prathamesh Bhamburkar - are hoo ke he lakshatach ala nahi...
lai bhari..Feb 18

Prathamesh Bhamburkar - barazala sangitlas nahitar ugach tod-phod zali asti...
lol...Feb 18

Saurabh Bongale - युक्तिपेक्षा शक्ति श्रेष्ठFeb 18

Saurabh Bongale - chukla chukla...Feb 18

Aakash Gupte - aarey kautukachi goshta mhanje > te ghar kuthe bhugaon chya javal hota....aani te pan tekadavarchya rastyawar! tyachya aslya parvangi sathi ugach salyane swatahla badvun ghetla asta. chonga sala Feb 18

Saurabh Bongale - chonga............ haaaaaaaaaahahahahahaha kay bhari shivi aahe...Feb 18

Prathamesh Bhamburkar - abe he shivi nahi...Feb 18

Saurabh Bongale - loll... padavi aahe ka???Feb 18

Prathamesh Bhamburkar - hmmm.Feb 18

Prathamesh Bhamburkar - he padvi fakta bavlat, shamlu.....etc lokannach bahal keli jate...Feb 18

Saurabh Bongale - :O lolzzz.... jaoode... aapla patya rangvaycha udyog maage padla hya nadat... chala patapata patya rangava...Feb 18

Aakash Gupte - my zoo-zoo baghat baslelo!! aata jau dya na ghari, ata vajle ki bara!Feb 18

43 more commentsAakash Gupte - 8. Ho, Tumchi Sakhar sampli asnaar na! Amchya kade sugar free chya golya aahet. 8.50 rs la ek goli, krupaya sutte paise dene!Feb 18

Saurabh Bongale - lolzzzzFeb 18

Saurabh Bongale - ९) पाट्या वाचायला आवडत नसतील किंवा वाचून कंटाळला असाल, तर बाजूच्या खोलीत जाऊन फळ्यावर काय लिहलय ते वाचा.Feb 18

My AHA Moment!!!

The Ultimate Dilemma:

A few days back I was facing a deadly internal battle. A slew of open-ended questions were circulating round and round in my brains--- both cortex and amicdala J
Should I or should I not?
Will I be able to recreate the magic?
Will I be able to pull this off?
Will I be able to live upto the expectations of people who have entrusted me with this responsibility?
What if I cannot make it?
It has been eons since I felt the fire in my face?
Should I take my chances or just chicken out?
It has been 6 years since I last held the MIC in my hands?

After all, it was an opportunity in itself to become a Master of the Ceremony at an Official Function.

So I said yes……..

A little bit of background:

These exact kind of questions gripped my mind back in July 2001. I was selected for our College K.J. Somaiya Arts and Commerce’s Cultural Forum- Literary Department after appearing for the written test and 3 Interviews with the CF Panel, Vice-principal and Principal.

I was given the job of hosting the inauguration function. I had never done this before. It was a maiden attempt.

I remember the first time I went on stage I was gripped by a jumbled feeling. There was happiness of facing the challenge and there were butterflies of a lot of “ifs” and “buts” hovering in my stomach. I remember standing there looking the audience in their eye with a smile. Assuring myself that I can do it and then beginning to host the function.

But I somehow knew that I was cut for stage. So I took up the challenge head-on. And after that for 3 consecutive years I hosted more than 10 programmes in front of a crowd over 700 people.


Present Day Situation: Continued

I said yes but there were a lot of things that needed to be contemplated. It was different to host a programme in front of 700 cherubic youngsters who looked forward for all the fun and hosting a show in front on your employers and guests was a different ball game all together.

I was going to host a full-fledged corporate function which was going to be graced by national and international dignitaries and an audience of a whopping 200 people. And I had less than 2 days to prepare. There was heavy performance pressure and I didn’t want to blow my chances at this opportunity.

OMG!!!!!!

I saw my quote calendar- It read “ There would be nothing to be frightened of if you refuse to be afraid”

And I assured to myself- What the heck – I can’t keep on brooding – I need to start practicing the one lettered Golden rule “PREPARE”
So then began a tedious phase of scripting, rehearsing and re-rehearsing AGAIN!

Thanks to all my friends who patiently gave me a keen ear, their precious time and genuine feedback & helped me in practicing the act!!!

And then the D-day arrived:

There I was all dressed up appropriately very much looking my part….hoping that I would speak my part fluently as well.

Familiar Feeling:

Do you know the feeling when you suddenly find something you lost years ago. And you find it in exact intact position. That’s what I felt! Once I went on the stage, faced my fears, coaxed myself in giving my 200% I could sense the positive energy that filled me.

Revelation: I found out that no matter how the circumstances change for an individual, his/her innate positive talents and traits never completely vanish. They remain, waiting to be re-explored!

Of course I went with the flow and did put up my fumble-free, confident, expressive best performance! More than the abundant appreciation I received from my peers I think what was best was that it gave a facelift to my sagging self-worth.
The feeling: Absolute Sense of Achievement in its Simplest Form.

I remember my personality Coach Ritika Ramtri Mam telling us: “You cannot grow until you challenge yourself” back in May this year.
I know she was right. I experienced it. I guess it works wonders!

The Last Dance!

Down the painful memory lane again!



Its New Year time and memories have flooded my mind again. This photo just reminds me of someone……….I am trying desperately to forget…

The sad co-incidence is that this picture which is on web is also named as “the last dance”……..That has provided inspiration to the title of this post……….

Last year on New Year’s Eve I had a blast…….danced away in the night, had great booze and food with the person I loved so dearly by my side. Felt like heaven on earth………when a new year began with a kiss from someone who was my life………..

…..

If only wishes would come true……………

If only……….



For you my love, I have died a thousand deaths every hour, every second of the day……..

And that is not love for thou, for I am just a big mistake adding to your dismay………

May Luck and glory kiss your feet always……..

And may the happiness that you seek always be with you after we part ways……..

The Gifts of 2008!

AAAAAAAAHHHH Welcome 2009!!
Its just 15 days for 2008 to get over and you all must have already started making elaborate private plans and resolutions for the new year. Lets take a quick review of the incidents that occurred in my life in 2008.

I anticipated great expectations from 2008, what I got in return was completely different......You can say a shocking volte-foce that hit my life suddenly! It caught me off guard and left me paralysed for a few months before nature got its best healer time to put me back in my place!

Loss :(

Bajirao my pet kitten passed away in April 2008 thus triggering a downward spiral of my life!

Immensurable loss of one-sided love, leading to a depletion of self-respect, self-worth and ultimately depression because of a lot of mud-slinging from someone I called my own! Shock, distrust, rejection had all culminated into almost destroying me.

What 2008 gave me( I believe this is more important than the loss section) :)

Lasting friendships and bonds, Strong inter-personal relations, Valuable realisations, Lot of experience, Scope for change, Immense strength to fight back difficult situations, Optimistic and progressive attitude, Independence and sense of responsibility, Furtive opportunities to proove myself, Pragmatism, Inclination towards Meta-physics, Cherishing what I have rather than lamenting a silly loss, True meaning of love, Respect for my indiviuality, To smile no matter what, Iron - maiden vigour to bounce back from an adversity but more importantly it has awarded me with something that I feel I missed all these years a solid purpose and focus in life!

I say Thank You 2008 for showering me with so many important gifts in life! As a return gift, I vouch to continue working on what 2008 has taught me! The loss I guess acted like a catalyst in changing me for the best!!! : )

I await thee 2009........I await thee to be a harbinger of my happiness!! : )

Sunday Funday and the kissa of the Broken Rs. 100 Chappals!

Yesterday was a super blast! Had fun at Falguni's place! Though felt very sad that she and Ajith and the lil baby wont be staying in Pune anymore! The baby is such a doll!!! It felt so good to reconnect with old pals Nilesh and Nilam. Bhagwan unki jodi salamat rakkhe! Mann we really had a good time remembering cool old memories. The food and celebrity spotting at SGS Mall was amazing!
But the most hilarious experience was taking my broken chappal in my hand and hopping from one shoe shop to the other all over SGS mall ( With head turning attention) hunting for trendy, stylish, comfortable, white and more importantly affordable shoes( Yeah I am serious bout all the adjectives used here! And after a long hiatus, I finally found the perfect pair of Chappals that fell in all the above mentioned brackets at Westside after rejecting Mochis, Pyramids and City Walk)! Mann I got a fatka of Rs. 699( Writing 700 spells an even bigger hole in my pocket) due to Rs. 100 chappals that broke all of sudden without any warning signs of giving up on me. I don't know why all the mochis in Pune were on a strike yesterday. We searched for them everywhere from Sanghvi to M.G. Road, all of them seem to have vanished in thin air!! Not a single one was spotted!!
Thanks to them I had to indulge in some compulsive shoe shopping that is going to cause a serious budget interruption. Hehehehe! Thanks to them and my chappals, I had to use my contingency reserves for splurging over expensive shoes! Grrrrrrrrrr (Growl). And also become a mock stock with people staring at me walking with my chappals in my hand.
After that we hit Inox and watched the latest hit Dostana! Even the super salty cheese popcorn were kind of fika in comparison to John Abrahim( He steals the show). Having Banoo scream everytime he came on the screen in his underwear was fun!!! And those dimples just melt your heart! Posing for photographs in front of someone else's AUDI in the parking lot was super duper fun!! Hanging out with friends is so important, you get de-stressed in just a matter of hours! Its like your own customised Psychotherapy where all your friends play a part of the free of cost Shrink( I like the sounds of "Free of cost".......saving on the Bling Bling!)
Your mood is elevated and you unwind and get mentally ready to combat the Big bad Monday ahead!
Thanks guys! Had so much fun that today's Monday is going to just fly by! Looking forward to spending many such fun weekends! And Banoo and Cliff get well soon so that we can hit Sinhagad on our bicycles in the wee hours of a Sunday morning! Just can't wait for that one!!!

Song I absolutely love!

Song: Gagan, Sadan Tejomay
Singer: Lata Mangeshakar

Listen it Here.

It is one of the most melodious songs I have heard with absolutely beautiful lyrics~

Gagan, sadan tejomay
timir harun karunakar
de prakash, dei abhay

chhaya tav, maya tav
hech param punyadham
varyatun, taryatun
vachale tuzech naam
jag, jivan, janan , maran
he tuzech rup saday

vasantik kusumatun
tuch madhur hastos
meghanchya dharantun
premrup bhasatos
kadhi yeshil chapal charan
vahile tulach hruday

bhavamochan he lochan
tujsathi don dive
kanthatil swar manjul
bhavmadhur geet nave
sakaal tuch, tuch vilay

I say a little prayer for u!

Aha! Saw my best friends wedding the other day, I am soo in love with this song! Aretha Franklin has written amazing lyrics! Its a bit retro! But it still does rock! I absolutely love this song!

The moment I wake up
Before I put on my makeup
I say a little prayer for you
While combing my hair, now,
And wondering what dress to wear, now,
I say a little prayer for you Forever,
forever, you'll stay in my heart
and I will love you Forever,
forever, we never will part
Oh, how I'll love you
Together, together, that's how it must be
To live without you
Would only be heartbreak for me.

I run for the bus, dear,
While riding I think of us, dear,
I say a little prayer for you.
At work I just take time
And all through my coffee break-time,
I say a little prayer for you.
Forever, forever, you'll stay in my heart
and I will love you Forever,
forever we never will part
Oh, how I'll love you
Together, together, that's how it must be
To live without you
Would only be heartbreak for me.

My darling believe me,
For me there is no one
But you.

Dard-e-Disco

Today I got this sms from my dear friend Mansi....It was so beautiful that I couldn't avoid the temptation of posting it here.....

Dil ke dard ko chupana kitna mushkil hai
Tut ke phir muskurana kitna mushkil hai
Dur tak jab chalo sath........
To phir tanha laut aana kitna mushkil hai........

.........Anonymous

hmmmmm!

My igoogle page is full of different literary applications likes word of the day, synonyms, wikipedia, current news, small poems, word games etc but one of my most admired one is quotes by my fvourite poetess Maya Angelou. Early morning today I saw the following quote and couldnt help putting it here! Coz it holds true for so many of us!

History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.
Maya Angelou

Bappa Morya!

Yesterday was a rocking day! I bid adieu to my favourite God by dancing in tandem to the gyrating sounds of the Nasik Dhol. My best friend invited me over at her place for celebrating Ganesha festival! And man what a fun it was! We hung out with a couple of common friends, made 21 modaks, enjoyed the Aarti thrice in a day and danced crazily in a Ganpati Procession! But all this fun became a little more eventful when day before yesterday, I tripped on something in the dark and had my right leg twisted and swollen. But no matter what! Once the beats of Dhol started I couldn't keep my feet on the ground. Danced endlessly for hours at a stretch completely soaked in the down pour that also among 60 complete strangers on the road. A new experience that I had never had. Sometimes it helps to let your hair down and go footloose and dance like nobody is seeing. The Nagin and been step, the kiss-bai-kiss, the patang and manja, the friends step, the Dil chahta hai jumps, fugdis, Albela Step, Amitabh Bacchan step and my favourite Dharmendra ishtyle step along with the many other regular ones stole the show! I had a blast! Initially I was conscious of dancing but once the mood set in, I saw myself getting absorbed in the whole atmosphere and invigorating with immense energy. The air resonated with the sounds of magnetic catch phrase of Ganpati Bappa Morya! It was a completely mesmerizing experience! I haven't danced like this since last 5 years. The last time I had a rapchik rowdi dance it was at our sendoff in 2004. I thoroughly enjoyed myself yesterday, even with a painfully swollen knee and ankle! Sometimes the things you love liberate you from your deepest and darkest pain...and extend help in elevating your mood greatly.....that's exactly what I experienced yesterday!!!

Peace atlast!

I was so close to you yesterday that I felt a strong urge to extend my hand and anticipate your warmth but then I realised it is only a mirage of vapourised sublime nondescript possibilities that were never there and shall never be.......So Long....

Old introduction: Just for record!

I, An Unsolved Mystery.
This blog is a toast raised in the celebration of the much " loved, hated yet lived" life. It is my contribution towards understanding its transient ways and the paradoxical repercussions life has on me.
Coined in totality.........I AM EVERYTHING, I WANT TO BE.
My mettle is woven of a contrasting fiber and this is what intrigues me a lot...
Life is after-all..... 'living in an amalgamation of antonyms'. Merely attributing my behavior to the universally accepted norm, " expected of human nature" doesn't hold suffice persuasion-power for me. I vouch to strive for not restricting the ambit of my thoughts and amputating my progression.My writings are a purposeful attempt to explore and surmount the drawbacks of my cognizance and comprehension. Packed in a nuget, 'I' try to quiz the complex 'ME' in an effort to understand ' MYSELF'

A Date with Nature!

Sometimes life brings you little windows of opportunities, and I had mine when after months of waiting I went on a wonderful trip to Amby Valley. This lovely locale is situated right in heart of Lonavala. You can imagine how beautiful the environment must be in these monsoon days. Everything looked completely washed and fresh. The scenery threw a slew of colors all over the place....a dash of green, sprinkled with lime green, fresh yellow and white flowers. Oh...All of it looked absolutely breathtaking. There was an occasional drizzle and the roads were covered with mist and fog.
Step inside the 10000 acres of Amby valley and you understand the real definition of man made wonder. The location is perfect as it is surrounded by hills, the man-made water-bodies and recreation centres that are just so great. I wish I get to visit this place one more time....I am finding it difficult to frame my experience in words.....All I can say is.....
It was just so beautiful, it was all so pristine........it was like a private paradise!

Sun-Kissed Bliss

Dear sun,

Everyday at around 6:06 pm on the top most point on the flyover on my way to home, when I am sitting 2nd on the 1st seat of my Company bus, you send your dim rays to effortlessly penetrate the front glass pane of my bus to make a hasty reach towards my face.
For that micro-second with my squinting but gleaming eyes, I try to make an eye contact to register my revolt and disapproval of your audacity. I take my hand to shield my eyes from your lethal aggression in an attempt to just catch a glimpse of my de-tractor. But the truth is, for that period it feels so special to be bestowed with the undivided fleeting attention and cozy warmth of your flirtatious demeanor .
Though this is a private confession, I shall gladly accept that for the time-being my forehead twitches and my brow curls up in contempt, my eyes and spirit turn the color of luminous ambers filling me with pure joy of being left sun-kissed.
Basking in your glory always.
Yours lovingly,
IM