Back with(out) a bang...

Bang... whoosh... kaboom... rat-a-tat-a-tat-tat…. No no no that's not me coming back with a bang. These are the sounds that are rocking the very insides of my mortal existence... Yes it’s that time of the year again… Happy Diwali!!!

These sounds, though they don’t mean much to me anymore (except of course for the rock concert of a racket they create ya that khalbali inside the brain), do sometimes transport me back to Kolkata and Kali Pujo. Oh ya the amount of chocolate bombs, dodomas (double dhamaka ones), rockets we used to launch. Those were the days. Well a lot of memories are associated with those festive evenings. A lot more sounds linger in my memory apart from those of the crackers. The popping up of a crush somewhere, the sound of a well rounded puchka (gol guppa) going squish inside the mouth, a heartbreak here, a window pane there. Well that’s a walk down memory lane for you. Now you know a bit about my childhood and also know that I can actually tell one sound apart from another.

Well, life has been quite fast over that last few months. Lots happening, no no not my love life… I am not telling you anything about that in this post. Ok let me list down a few events arranged, hmmm let me see, well in no particular order (just like my life no law and order):

1. People thought I was good enough to host a show. Don’t go “Egaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad how could they”. I was shocked my self. I was so shocked that I actually went ahead and accepted it. Well it was the annual day function at work and I was teamed up with this pretty young thing. A true case of beauty meets the beast if you ask me (of course me being the beauty there… just kidding). I also found a didi (there are you happy now) from Naktala (my locality in Kolkata) @ office. Guess who the chief guest was, yeah Sagarika Ghatge (a.k.a Preeti Sabharwal of Chak De fame). The audience was all going ga ga over her, but I maintained my grace and dignity and stayed aloof from her and her attempts to talk to me. Darn was the security tight or what. I did manage to get a snap clicked with her, and also had a little chit chat with her mom ;-)

2. I got my visa stamped and might be going onsite early next year according to some (un)reliable sources. The trip to Chennai was great as usual, the loving autowalas, the caring policemen, and the pleasant weather. I just can’t seem to get enough of the place. Well actually these are the only negatives of an otherwise great city. The hotel was overbooked so they gave us a suite, with an internet connection, mini bar and all the works. Talk about getting lucky.

3. Oh talking about lucky. Lucky was here in town for a couple of months, always a pleasure to have around. Thank you Lucky for all the coffee and wada treats. We also went and watched a movie in the Gold Class @ PVR. Pretty neat setup but a tad overpriced I feel. Also in town was Sameera a.k.a blogu, my friend from the blogsphere. We went saree shopping and I increased my G.K. about where to find great sarees in Blore. Hope my mom is not reading this. Hi mom!!! It’s a good shop but I kind of forgot the name. Also caught up with Vivek and Sarosh, my pals from school, at Barista the other day. They complimented me on my perfect figure.

4. AB and band have come up with a new track All The Girls Go. Make sure you listen to them @ http://www.myspace.com/rhythmmandir.

5. I am buying a car. Yep finally fell for the black Swift. It will be delivered within a couple of weeks. There goes half my salary every month for the next five years. Well it’s technically not half my salary for the next five years because I am expecting a raise sometime in the next five years but yes let us not go into the details of my rather messy financial life. It will just suffice you to know that if anything is more messed up than my love life (or the lack of it), then it’s my financial life (or the lack of it).

6. I tried out Facebook. Pretty neat stuff. Loads of virtual goodies. Great place to kill some quality time. Oh yeah I tried out something pretty cool too. A friend of mine took me to a bartending session, conducted by Smirnoff where they taught us a lot about cocktails and home bars. They even gave us cool certificates and taught us cool bartender tricks. I actually spilled a lot of alcohol all over the place trying one of those tricks. Can't wait to start my own personal home bar, will have to find a way to fit it into a conservative Mallu home, but Sumod always finds a way out doesnt he.

7. Last but not the least, from the frivolous to the spiritual. I went on a pilgrimage to Sabarimala. Yes people I actually climbed all the way up, one painful step at a time and oh if that was a piece of cake then they climb down was defenitely the icing on that cake. I couldn't feel my left thigh for two days after the trip. I am sure all my sins were washed away by that barefoot trek. Well atleast it washed away a few extra calories. The darshan was great and the prasadam was yummm. I was actually abstaining for a period of 41 days before the trip, no cursing, no non-veg, no alcohol, no wild parties (rather no making parties wild) and no err, ummm, well no "a lot of other things".

This is essentialy the gist of all that has been happening in my life over the last few months. The decibel level in the street has gone down and I think its safe to venture out now. So long people and I really hope that you found this peep into my life most insightful and informative. Please make sure your children read this. Who knows they might just get a question or two from "The life and times of Sumod Nair" in their tests.

Till we meet next time good night, namaskar and shabba khair (can someone tell me what it exactly means).