Baba As A Teacher

Baba has always been a great teacher, be it English grammar, Sanskrit shlokas, English literature, and even Marathi literature. He has always helped us understand the grammar rules and the logical ways of learning a language. And he has always been a humorous teacher. He would explain things in a funny way, giving funny anecdotes, play on words and bring out the humor in the language.

But of all this, I become proudest when I hear his praises from his students. All over Pune, somewhere in a mall, on a road, in a hotel, in a ticket line, we come across his students. All of them say that he has not changed a bit since all those years. They name the students from the batch, the year when he taught them.

Baba never remembers them. He never remembers names or faces. But his students remember him even after so many years. That, I think is the sign of the greatness of a person. That people remember him even after so many years, including the way Baba taught, what subjects he taught, his jokes, his personality. That is when I feel proudest!

I feel emotional and extremely happy to see his students bowing down to take his blessings. I grin madly when I hear the students telling their spouses or friends who are with them about how wonderful a teacher he was, how much it has affected them, and how much they still remember him.

Baba has taught students of standard five to right up to the university. Now-a-days he teaches English to students appearing for competitive exams. There have been so many cases where students have remembered him in the smallest possible ways and repaid him.

I remember a Bengali student, Shaunak, who used to come home to learn English. After he passed his exams with flying colours, his parents had specially come to present Baba a gift. They had also gifted Aai a saree. Frankly, it was completely unnecessary to gift a saree to Aai. But that was the power of Baba's teaching and Aai's hospitality.

Another incident that happened recently was when a student offered them a trip to Goa, all costs paid. It is extraordinary how people have reciprocated their appreciation and love. And I love it all. I say it again, I feel extremely proud.

I am so glad to have a father like Baba. My sister and I have been really lucky. Love you Baba!

ती. बाबांस आणि सौ. आईस,

ती. बाबांस आणि सौ. आईस,

शि. न. वि. वि. पत्र लिहिण्यास कारण खरं काहीच नाही. सहज मनात आलं, की तुम्हा दोघांशी पत्रातून बोलावं. म्हणून हा प्रयत्न. खरं तर मी तुम्हा दोघांना खूप जास्त miss करते. बऱ्याच वेळेस असं वाटतं की तडक तुम्हाला येऊन भेटावा. पण वेळे अभावी नाही जमत.

आज लग्न होवून दोन वर्ष होत आली. मी रुळले आहे नवीन घरी, नवीन ठिकाणी. तरीही तुमची आठवण पदोपदी आल्यावाचून राहत नाही. आज आई-बाबा काय करत असतील? आई निघाली असेल का कामाला ? बाबांचे क्लास्सेस कसे चालू असतील? असे कायम विचार येतात.

तसे आता "रुटीन" चालू झाला आहे. खर तर, काही महिन्यांपूर्वी असे व्हायचे की खूपच आठवण येते आहे तुमची. पण आता, जसे प्रत्येक जण सवय करतो, तशी मला पण झाली आहे सवय तुमच्या शिवाय राहायची. तुम्हा दोघांना पण झाली असेल कदाचित. तुम्ही "मुलगी सुखात आहे" यातच तुमचा सुख मानता. पण म्हणून मला तुमची आठवण येत नाही असे नाही.

घरात स्वतः काही गोष्टी करताना विचार येतो, की मी कशी होते लग्नाआधी. मग विचार येतो की आई-बाबांबरोबर कसे करायचे मी ह्या गोष्टी. मग थोडा लग्नाआधी करायचे ते, आणि मला जे बरोबर वाटते, अथवा करता येते, जसे करता येते तसे, असे दोन्ही एकत्र करून एक वेगळ्या प्रकारे केला जाते. त्यात पण गम्मत आहे.

आधी सगळेच नवीन आणि वेगळे वाटायचे. पण आता माझा स्वतःचे वेगळे आयुष्य चालू आहे. काही गोष्टी ज्या मी आधी कधीच करायचे नाही त्या करते. आधी ज्या करायचे, त्या आता बिलकुलच करत नाही. खूपच वेगळे आहे, तरीदेखील सारखेच आहे. प्रत्येक लग्न झालेल्या मुलीला असेच काहीसे अनुभव येत असणार.

मला फक्त कधी-कधी असे वाटते की मी मुलगी असल्याने तुमच्या जवळ नाही राहू शकत. त्याही पेक्षा, मुलगी म्हणून स्वतःच्या आई-बाबांची जबाबदारी कमी, आणि सासू-सासर्यांची जास्त, हे बऱ्याच वेळेस ऐकते, त्याचे वाईट वाटते. तुम्ही देखील किती तरी वेळेस म्हणाले आहात...की आता त्या घरचे आधी सांभाळायचे. त्याचे थोडे वाईट वाटते. मग जास्त आठवण होते. असा आपल्या समाजात का विचार केला जातो, हेच कळत नाही. आणि आवडत त्याहून नाही.

मला कायम वाटत राहते, की शेवटी मुलीच्या आई-बाबांचे हात रिक्तच राहतात का?

असो! एव्हडेच सांगायचे होते की मी मजेत आहे. काळजी करू नये. पण तुम्ही दोघे नक्की स्वतःची काळजी घ्या.

तुमचीच,

प्राजक्ता

Another Award

...yes, I got another award in office yesterday as an appreciation and recognition of work that I did in the last release.

The last release that happened in the end of July was a real big release, and I had absolutely slogged out for that. I was handling three products, three writers, interacting with numerous, numerous people, and overall handling complicated information.

Out of the three products, the one that I was supposed to only manage was the one in which I ended up writing too. It was being handled by a novice writer, and ultimately I had to review and almost rewrite everything that the writer had done. It was a learning experience for me. It taught me patience and working in pressured environment. I learnt the lesson that for novice writers, I need to adopt a different strategy.

The second product was again being written by a junior writer. I spent a lot of time again in making the writer understand the mistakes, only to find the same mistakes being committed again and again. By the time I could again help the writer understand the fine nuances of writing, I had to concentrate on the third product, which was going to be the toughest of all.

I learnt a valuable lesson while handling the second product. I learnt that how much ever you try to be at all places every time, you cannot. How much ever you try to do all things on your own, you cannot. How much ever you try to make people do things perfectly, they will not. Because, they will do it only as per their capacity.

And finally, that you have to let go. You simply cannot do all the things, all the time, all the way. You have to stop yourself and not stretch. You have to let go and understand that you cannot be there all the time, and that you are not responsible if people do not do work as you want them to do.

The toughest was the third product. Information was hard to come by, and when it came, it came in hordes. Multiple people commenting on existing information in the documents, providing new information that had to be added, requesting to delete some information, requesting for a fourth or fifth review of the updated information. It was crazy! But there was method in all this madness.

I could handle it because I had learnt how it was to handle the third product from the last time. I had faced similar people and similar sources of information in the last release. I was prepared for it. The good part was that people had started trusting me with the documentation for that product and readily helped me.

There were days when I was struggling with my information. At times, I was at loss to understand where to start. For some information, I couldn't see when the reviews and comments would stop coming. A week before closing the docs, I was done with most of the documentation. However, with my past experience, I knew that there was one block of information that was still pending from a team.

That's what exactly happened. It was crazy handling the complex information. But I could do it and get the reviews too. It was a mammoth task of interacting with so many people and getting information from them.

But I have learnt so much from this. I have actually seen myself grow as a writer, as a senior person in a team, and moving on to handle bigger things. I really, really love my work here.

During this last release, it was only once that I was off my rocker when I was facing issues on my personal front and when there was  just too much of information to handle at work. But then, all my colleagues helped me and supported me. My manager especially knew how hard I was working and asked me to take a week off when the release was over.

I have really been lucky. I thank God for giving me opportunities to perform, to excel, to help me grow, and to test my mettle. And I thank Him for putting me in a set of people that support me, understand me, and help me grow!

To Babai

Babai in a pensive mood

Dearest Babai, who is right now not as healthy as she used to be. It is heart-wrenching to see her like that.

Babai, my Aai's Aai, has always been this one strong woman, who has never ever bowed down. To see her in the bed all the time, too weak to talk is very disturbing.

When me and my sister were kids, we used to stay at my grandmom's place after our school. We used to be dropped by our rickshaw-wale kaka in the afternoon, and stayed there till evening, when Baba used to come to pick us up.

Those were magical days! Babai and Kaka (my Ajoba) used to stay at Prabhat Talkies, literally in the heart of Pune city. They had a two-room home that housed so many people at a time. We used to have all our cousins, uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces, all together under one roof. But the house always seemed enough for all.

Babai was almost the head of the house, taking care of the kitchen, the kids, the grocery, everything around. She was a solid support for my Mami who continued working as a nurse. My cousin, my sister, and I used to spend afternoons together after school. We used to fight during lunch for the place closest to Kaka. We used to fight again for the afternoon siesta for a place closest to Babai. She would pacify us saying that she had long hands and would reach up to all.

She was the one who taught us to read time. She had this old, broken-down clock that she used to tune and change the hour and minute hands, and then ask us to guess the time. I can never forget that red-faced clock and those "timely" hours spent in the balcony.

Babai had always been strong, at times very, very headstrong, to the point of being irritating. She always gloried in the work that she did, the contacts she maintained in her big family, be it on her own side, or her husband's side. Everyone in the family used to respect her, love her, and never forgot what she had done for them. And she really did do everything possible for everyone. No one left her threshold unsatisfied. She was there for everyone, a lighthouse, a beacon, a solid wall of support.

She had her flaws. She was too headstrong. She had been too much in the limelight, too much in the power to give up easily. She always wanted things her way. She has had a tremendous ego. But all in all, she never bowed down, never gave up.

Today, when I see her in the hospital, I can only remember how she was once upon a time. She is diminished, faded, and tired. After 85 years of being headstrong, it is hard to see her bowed down due to her age. She is slowly losing against time.

We all love you, Babai! Just one more loving request we make of you...do not go away by losing away to life. Fight back! Be your own self! Be the iron lady you have been! Make your final exit on your own terms. Not by simply fading away!

Being Lucky

After a long time, I have got the time to blog. And now, I cannot think of anything to write about. There were so many things that I wanted to write about when I was working hard and had no time to write. But now, I can recall nothing that I want to write about.

So, I am just going to write here whatever random thoughts come to my mind.

Today, when I checked my office mails, I found appreciation mails from all my senior members. Not just my team, but also the senior manager of two of the products that I was working on. And also an appreciation mail from VP Engineering. I was happily surprised. I am glad that my work has been recognised and appreciated.

Whenever I think back on what all I have been working on, the opportunities I got here in my present job, the experience on all different fronts, be it writing, handling people, overall industry experience, I just feel I have been so lucky. Two and half years back when I was ready to work again after a break of two and half months, I had two choices. The other company was more famous. But I somehow went for this one, because my previous manager was here. And somehow, at that time, it made sense. In what way, and how, I don't know. But at that time, it just seemed to be the right choice. And boy! It really has been the right choice.

I have been really lucky to get a great team lead and manager. They have helped me grow and learn so much. Some years before, I might have thought that I had lost some good chances of promotion. But today, I don't feel that at all. I know that my experience today has been useful for me to get to the position that I am today. Posts and designations never mattered a lot. Of course, I am not a saint. So, when people who were junior to me got promoted, I used to get jealous, only a bit. But today, I am happy at what I am doing and where I am. I am proud to say that I have not got an undeserved promotion. I have really worked hard over these two years. I love the work that I am doing here.

The best part is that when I say that I have an experience of seven years, I feel I have gained knowledge equivalent to the number of years and designation that I have. It's not the feeling that I used to get when I was interviewing candidates to hire them. I found them all having an experience of more than 3-4 years. But if you really questioned them about the kind of work they had done, they couldn't really stand up to the designation they had. I am glad that promotions have come in at the right time for me. Not the kind of higher designations handed out to candidates just to retain them in the company.

I have had very rigorous 4-5 months. I just completed a release on Wednesday and have taken these two days off. I am really enjoying these two days off. But believe me, I am more than willing to go back to work on Monday and start something new. It really makes me happy.

I only want to wish the same good luck to everybody of my colleagues. It has been great with them, and surely I wouldn't have achieved this success without each one of them. Thank you all!

On A Cooking Spree

I was on a cooking spree for the past couple of weeks. Cooked all this:

Rawa ladoo
Dal Makhani
Palak Paneer
Kobi Pakode
Chicken cream curry
Chicken pasta
Bhendawani
Paav Bhaji
Egg Biryani

All tasted pretty good. :) Had fun!

Happy Birthday Buba!

Dearest Buba,

Wishing you a very Happy Birthday! May you always have a lot, lot books to read!

This wonderful man, my dad, turned 70 today. He has been the kindest, calmest man I have met. He has been a scholar of English, Sanskrit, and Marathi. I am amazed at how many things he knows...philosophy, religious, political, language, happenings around him, people around him. His vast accumulation of knowledge is unbelievable.

Today on his birthday, I just want to let him know that I miss him and think of him everyday. His calm and quiet nature, support, wisdom, and humour is all that I miss.

I wish him good health in years to come. Good Luck Baba!

Visiting Vishrambaug Wada

Vishrambaug Wada, is a nice old style wada situated in the heart of the Pune city. For shoppers who are well-known with Tulshibaug won't find it difficult to find this place. It's just opposite the entrance to Tulshibaug on Bajirao Road. Lot of confusing names for the newcomer in Pune. But don't worry. Just hop into a rickshaw and ask the rickshaw-wallah to take you to Vishrambaug Wada. You'll be alighted right at its entrance.

Inside of Vishrambaug Wada

So...to start with the history, this palace or Wada as it is called in Marathi, was built in 1807 at a cost of Rs. 2,00,000, which was a whooping cost at that time. It was owned by Peshwa Bajirao II, who stayed there for around 11 years before he was imprisoned by the British.

In 1821, a Sanskrit school was started in Vishrambaug Wada. Government Engineering College (now called COEP), Deccan College, Pune University, and Agricultural University were all had their humble beginnings here in Vishrambaug Wada.

A well inside Vishrambaug Wada

An interesting placard in the Wada mentions that William Wordsworth had written to the Public Works Department (PWD) complaining of the unhygienic conditions of the Wada at that time. I am really not sure if this could be true. Need to verify that. Nevertheless, it does give a different charm to the Wada.

At this Wada are now some municipal offices such as the Birth and Death Registration Office, Post Office, and a few shops are also operative.

What is also of some interest is a very small showcase of old buildings and structures in Pune, right from Council Hall, Gokhale Hall, Kasba Ganpati, Mandai, and various other notable structures. Miniatures of all these noteworthy buildings are on display. But this showcase seriously needs a makeover. More information about these buildings, clean and bright environment, old photographs, and many more interesting facets of life in Pune in the 18th and 19th centuries will make this a veritable source of information. This display is for free now. But I wouldn't mind paying if they upgrade it.

Also. if they take some serious restoration work for the Wada, make a few more rooms open to the general public by providing them information and entertainment, I am sure it will work wonders for not just tourism, but also for our glorious history.

Wish someone does take some efforts!

An Year Is Already Gone...

... I can't believe it.

What started as a casual acquaintance has turned into a deeper relation.

It's been a whole year of learning to understand each other, adjust for and with each other, learn and discover newer things about the other, caring for and fighting for each other, and of course fighting with each other.

And in spite of the whole year gone by, it seems just yesterday that we had met.

There are so many things that I have learnt...whether be it new roads, new avenues, new places. I have learnt to share things, be there for someone, keep away selfishness, be caring, supportive, helpful, useful.

But I have also at times expected a lot, fought a lot, misbehaved, mistook things, demanded unnecessary things. I have also been fidgety, unhappy, unreasonable, stern, moody, abrupt, unclear of things, angry, adamant, and lots of nasty things. But in all this, Sanjeev has been by my side, supportive, and helpful. Thanks for everything.

Today, after one year, I wish for a wonderful, beautiful life together. Hoping that all our dreams and wishes are fulfilled. Hoping that I help you realise your goals just as you would help me realise mine. I know that in years to come, we will have a good life together, supporting each other through thick and thin. Hope you have a great First Anniversary! Take care!

Two Days Full Of Surprises

November 7-8, 2011

What memorable days!!

Yesterday, I had a double surprise of getting two awards in office: Pat-on-the-Back and Team-of-the-Quarter.  It was awesome. Though, I really didn't do a lot of work in this. But it was good to be recognised and appreciated.

And today, what can I say!! The day started at 00.00 hours with Sanjeev wishing me. The wishes just kept coming. It's such a great feeling to feel loved and remembered!

My BMC gals turned up at the office and surprised me with a cake and flowers and showered me with love and affection! It was just too good. I was so touched to see them all by my side, celebrating with me, and being there with me. Love you all gals for your support! Thank you Zainab, Revathi, Aparna, Pallavi, Deepa, and Pooja!! Thanks for making my day memorable. I won't ever forget your love and support!

And there's still some more...heading for a quiet dinner with Sanjeev. I am looking forward to the evening!! Thanks for the wonderful evening, Sanjeev. This day is not complete without you!

Thanks everyone!

Bird In The Car

Today, there were feathers all over in my car. There was fluttering of feathers and frantic attempts to escape. And how it all started, we have absolutely no idea.

It was actually a bird that got into the car as we drove. We were on the highway, going to office. Suddenly, I heard some noise in the rear just like a plastic bag makes when it flutters in the wind. And then, there were feathers all over. My first thought was that some chicken feathers had got in from the tempo that carries chickens and hens.

But then I saw in the rear mirror and and was amazed to see a red-vented bulbul trying to escape through the closed windows. I stopped the car. Sanjeev got down and opened the boot and the left rear door. The poor birdie had panicked and was sitting near the left rear door. Sanjeev shooed it off and it took flight out of the door, glad to be ridden of the closed cage.

We were laughing for so long at the amazing and rare incident. The only way the little bird could have got in was through my open window. It probably wanted to fly across the road before my car passed. But with its mistaken timing and the speed of my car, it zoomed into my car instead of across. Poor soul! What fearful moments it must have had before it could escape! But, it could escape and be free! 

I can only say this: पक्ष्यांचे पण अंदाज चुकू शकतात!

Crappy Day With A Wet End

Started my day today with a fight. Went to office in a rage. Got late. Was stuck in traffic. Got late. Attended a stupid presentation. Did some work. Was irritated the whole day for unnecessary reasons. Got irritated with a colleague and did not even apologise. Started back from work. Found car was not working. Took rickshaw. Reached destination. Heavy downpour had started. Travelled back to office in the rains. Car still not working. Waited at office for some time for rains to stop. They didn't (of course!) Took a rickshaw till the bus stop. No bus was stopping at the right place. Had to walk to get a bus. Finally got the bus. Got down and walked back home.

End result: Dead tired and feeling all the more crappy!

That's life!

Typing An Ode

Here's a wonderful article that I read about typewriters: Typewriter lives on in India.

As I read it, I was transported back to my days, not too long ago, when I was learning typing. I was just out of school and my mom wanted me to learn typing. Even then it was considered one of the things that girls ought to know. I had readily signed up for the typing class, not because it was a girl's thing. But because it was something exciting, something new, something that connected me to the outside "office" world.

For so long, typewriters, typewriting, and the typewritten word have been associated with the "official" world. A world that included so many memos, proposals, calculation sheets, orders, accounts, receipts, and bills. It also included legal notices, affidavits, lawyers, laws, and bureaucratic work. It was a representation of governmental procedures, and rules and regulations.

I remember going to the class early morning to start hammering away on the typewriter. It was only then did I realise the importance of the little finger on my left hand that's used to type the "A." And it pained so much! I started with the middle line on the keyboard. A, S, D, E, F, G had to be typed with the left hand using the little finger, ring finger, middle finger, index finger, and index finger again respectively. And then, ',  ;, L, K, J, H had to be typed with the right hand using the little finger, ring finger, middle finger, index finger, and index finger again respectively. It was so damn hard.

Once I had fairly grasped typing the much-harder-than-computer keys, I proceeded to learn the upper and lower lines. Till then all my fingers had gained the power and strength to type all those keys. As I continued individual letters, I was waiting to move on to the next level of typing words, then sentences, paragraphs, followed by those letters, memos, notices, and what not.

I progressed on to type smaller 3-letter, 4-letter words. In between, there were those dreaded how-many-words-can-you-do-per-minute exams. I never fared well in those exams. Perhaps it was the teacher. She looked so sinister, and so old-worldly. So much like those typewriters whose prime time was gone. Or I think it was the machine, it was so old, it took time to print the word on the paper after I had typed it.

Whatever it was, once I had grasped the complete keyboard, I didn't take too many efforts to attend the class regularly. I ended up using my typing knowledge to type less harder keys: the computer keys.

Today we talk about the QWERTY keyboard for mobile phones. But we must remember that it was the typewriter that gave us that keyboard and made life easier for us.

In its own time, the typewriter had its glory. It was a status symbol to have a typewriter. A status symbol to let your neighbours hear you hammering it on those keys, and showing off the immense important work that you were doing. And rightly so. It was one of those machines that made life easier, creating multiple copies of your writing using a carbon paper, providing a standard of fonts, types, and stationery that made your work look so very "official."

Typerwriters have had their claim to fame in Bollywood movies too. Movies of the 1960s and 1970s showed the film heroines as typists for a multi-millionaire, whose spoilt sons would ultimately win the heroines. Or it would be an office romance, where the girl is a typist and the boy working on some post in the office.

One such movie of office romance is Choti Si Baat. It is a wonderful light, heart-warming comedy. The opening credentials are actually shown as being typewritten. The story talks about large financial firms in Mumbai in which the girl and boy work. And as the narrator talks, we can hear the background of hundreds of typists typing away gaily on their machines.

But not all the times were typewriters used for love (letters). There were incidences when typewriters were used to obscure the identity of the perpetrators of crimes. Notes of abductions, ransom, murders, unnamed posts, all were typed rather than hand-written. Of course, people from the investigative departments also were specialised to recognise the make of the typewriter, and find out the individual characteristics of each typewriter. The method of obscuring the identity is in fact now easier. You just need to create a fake e-mail address and send out terror e-mails out to the world. Power in the wrong hammering hands!

Typewriters are now replaced with computers. Life moves on. But in between, things do remind us of our glorious past, making us nostalgic, happy, and content.

Salaam to the typerwriters!

I Know...

That's what I learnt from The Everywhereist.

And that's what I want to say to all those things that bother me at times, to those people that irritate me, but who still love me the way I am, seeing the good in me, helping me, loving me, being with me, supporting me, and most importantly, overlooking my flaws.

Those things and those people might have their flaws. I know. But I still love them! Thanks Almighty for each of them!

Cheers!

Has This Happened To You...

...that at a wedding lunch, you looked up from your food and saw a man sitting opposite you drop food on his shirt, and the man realises it and looks up to see if anyone noticed it only to look at you watching him, making him feel totally embarrassed?

...that you are in a meeting room waiting for someone, and you withdraw the curtain of the glass window to look at what the man sitting just outside the room is doing, only to look straight in his eyes as he too looks up at you at the same time?

...that you mistakenly spoke an incorrect word during a conversation, hoping that no one would have heard it, and hear someone silently telling you in your ear that they heard what you actually said?

...that you are riding on you are pillion riding a bike and see another biker's cap go flying away, and just as you start laughing at the funny episode, you feel your cap too blown away by the wind?

...that when you are out in your best clothes, or hurrying to an important appointment, that's when birds from above are at their most giving attitude and target you for their charity?

Half Yearly Celebrations

Hee hee hee! Cheers!

Visiting Daulatabad

The first stop that you can take when you visit Aurangabad is the Daulatabad fort. This fort is around 15 kms from Aurangabad on the Ellora road.

Courtyard of the Daulatabad Fort

A massive land fort, it served as the capital of the Yadav dynasty. Daulatabad is also known as Deogiri and was once considered as invincible. Devgiri is a 12th century fort that was built by the Yadava king Bhillama V. He established the Yadava stronghold in Deccan by making Deogiri as his capital.

Deogiri is a strong land fort and has seven lines of defence. The fort has never seen battles and has seen a change of power only once, and that too through treachery.

High fortified walls with watch towers

On the road to Ellora, when you see the massive Daulatabad fort on your left, you can immediately feel the strength and power of the fort. As you enter the first darwaza, you come across a courtyard

 You cross the courtyard and the second darwaza, and you are met with high fortified walls.

Victory Pillar

As you start walking in towards the fort, you can see the Victory Pillar on your right, also known as Chand Minar. This pillar was raised in 1445 by Ala-ud-din Bahamani to mark his capture of the fort. Chand Minar is 210 ft. (64 m.) high and 70 ft. (21 m.) in circumference at the base, and was originally covered with beautiful Persian glazed tiles.

Opposite the Minar is the Jumma masjid, whose pillars originally belonged to a temple.  Now it has a Devi's mandir. Close by is a large masonry tank, the common bath.  The Chini Mahal lies in ruins and was the place where Abdul Hasan Tana Shah, the last king of Golconda, was confined by Aurangzeb in 1687 AD.

Beyond the main entrance, lie the wet and dry moats, a narrow bridge to cross the wet moat, and the famous Andheri.

The wet moat has small openings from the Andheri, the dark passages. Enemies were thrown directly into the water 30 feet below from the Andheri. It was sheer impossible to cross the wet moat from the narrow bridge and then cross the Andheri.

Andheri

After you cross the narrow bridge, you are led to the dark, dangerous passages that are designed to befuddle, entrap, and finally kill the enemy. The Andheri is a series of secret, quizzical, subterranean passages coiled like a python amidst the fort. In these passages, flaring torches were thrust upon an unwary enemy. Or hot oil poured down his path, as he deliberated in the labyrinth. Heat from a brazier was blown into the passage by a process of suction suffocating the entire garrison within.

Once you are successful in crossing the Andheri with the help of a local guide, you reach the first level of the fort. I suggest that you take the help of the local to cross the Andheri. Not only is it really dark and scary, and you might get lost, but it is also worth listening to the story he tells you as you cross the Andheri. It's chilling and exciting to listen and see the places in the Andheri where the soldiers would be hiding, waiting for the enemy, and the means they would use to destroy the enemy.

In the Andheri, at some places, stone hedges are built so that the enemy walks in the darkness and gets hurt on the knees. The enemy would logically turn to a side with hurt knees only to be banged upon solid stone wall and breaking their heads.

View after coming out of the Andheri

Even with these injuries, if some brave ones are able to move ahead in the labrynth, the hidden soldiers do their work of pouring hot oil on the enemy, or shooting arrows from hidden crevices.

At one point, you can feel the blast of cool air coming and are automatically attracted to it, thinking it's an opening out of the Andheri. But you are mistaken, because that outlet opens directly to the wet moat outside. One step through the opening and you are down the drain, in the water. Fortunately, it is all closed and barricaded now. Can you imagine how many men must have lost their lives in hope of cool, fresh air?

Victory Pillar and the way out seen after coming out of Andheri

After the Andheri, you can keep climbing right up till the top of the fort. We skipped that and returned to the base, because we wanted to cover Ellora too. But the fort was absolutely mesmerizing. It is a standing example of the power, cunning, intelligence, architechtural elegance and excellence that the great Yadav rulers had.


If you plan to visit Aurangabad, do keep time to visit this formidable fort.

Nights 20 Kms Apart

It's night time and I just peeked out of our window. It's calm and quiet outside. Not everyday do I find it like this here.

Nights at Shaniwar Peth are so different than the nights at Nigdi, in all aspects.

At Shaniwar Peth, I always experience some things that are totally absent here. Being in the rear wing of a building really does a make a huge difference. It's calmer, more sooothing there. Only occassionally will you hear a car zoom past on the road with a loud, blaring horn. Sometimes you'll hear an ambulance or police van siren and you wonder who's ill or who's being chased. If you are lucky, on a silent winter night, you'll hear the chugging of a train and enjoy the rhythmic passage of the carrier-on-wheels.

There's a cowshed just below my house and you can't miss the bells tinkling in the necks of the cows. Whenever I hear that, I imagine those cows chewing their cud, nodding away silently. It's funny how I then remember the chapter from my second or third standard science book about how and why cows chew cud, and the four parts of their stomach (can't remember now what those are, though.) Science as a subject has given me quite a few nightmares. But it also provides some lighter moments.

As I write, I can visualise the Shaniwar Peth square with all its happenings. There must be a few young men from the Mutheshwar Mandal chatting round the corner. Night walkers, people who like their night walk before they go off to bed, would be taking their night strolls. A lone dog-walker would be making his dog move over, while the dog adamantly keeps on sniffing at a car and refuses to budge.

In Nigdi, I have rearely come across dog-walkers. But night walkers, there are a-plenty. You will also find a bunch of youngsters gathered for their nightly gupshup.

The one difference here is that my home is directly on the road, which is a huge disadvantage, at least at night. All sorts of vehicles go past making a big noise, magnified by the silence of the night. Trucks, lorries, cars, bikers with their hideous horns, all go past. It's not that there's a continuous flow. But that one truck is more than enough to wake you up from your slumber.

Nothwithstanding this minor disturbance, I can enjoy the coolness of the night when I go up to the terrace. And if it's a full-moon, the beauty of the night is incomparable.

If you go up on the terrace and look around, you'll see all bungalows around you, interspersed with trees, swaying gently in the night breeze. Some of the households would still have a light or two on and you wonder what's happenening there so late at night. Suddenly a light is switched off somewhere reminding you of the lateness of the hour.

The Modern High School behind my house looms large at night. Standing dark and quiet in the night, it's hard to imagine that in another ten hours, it will be overflowing with chattering children livening up the building.

As is always the case, it's taken time for me to adjust to my new environment. But it is my new home now.

And when I miss being in Shaniwar Peth, I recall that there is at least one similarity between the two places: invisible dogs barking their heads off as if the world's about to end. And I feel at home again!

A Perfect Scrabble Game

Last week, I and Mukta played Scrabble after a very, very long time. We were at home and alone (read without Anay, who otherwise wouldn't have allowed us to play.)

And what a game it was...a perfect one. We finished off all the tiles and made some really cool words on the board.

Here's the picture of the board.

Mukta won with a flare and we enjoyed playing the wonderful game after a long time! Cheers!

The Table Tennis Guy

It is kind of exhilarating to have a star as your husband. Overwhelming too. And you get to share the glory even when you have done nothing yourself. And there's great joy in it.

This time, even after great persistence (read nagging) from me asking SP to participate in the TT competition, he flatly denied to participate. As is always the case, he had to participate because there was no one else to take part. So there he was playing doubles.

I watched him play for the first time. That too, I watched only two of the four matches he played. I think he is really a very good player. Perhaps, I am quite partial here. Probably I think so because he is after all my husband. But then, what really stuck me was the sheer number of people who had come to watch him. And I am not being partial here. I did find people who had come to watch him play. I have also heard him being mentioned as "the table tennis guy."

It was very nice to see him in action. It was wonderful to see him as a team player learning from earlier mistakes, taking quick decisions, co-ordinating with his partner, discussing quickly the strategy to play the next move, and above all, to watch his cool attitude while playing. It was great fun.

SP has forbidden me to consider him as some sports hero. I guess I am guilty of portraying him just that in this post. Forgive me for that. Also, forgive me for sounding too much of a husband's-trumpet-blower. But I did want to write about him this time.

Ohh...and just for the records, he did win the doubles title!