The Merry Muses

Rotterdam clearance, Papa hotel papa golf oscar engine start-up.
Papa golf oscar start-up approved.

Rotterdam tower, papa golf oscar ready to depart.
Papa golf oscar line up and hold.

Rotterdam tower, papa golf oscar ready to take off.
Papa golf oscar clear for take off.

Full throttle and within 6-8 secs our 2-seater Cessna 152 is airborne. We head westwards towards the  North Sea.

Papa golf oscar glider moving westwards
Papa golf oscar roger that.

We reach an altiude of 1000 feet and continue our journey at 900 knots. Many greenhouses below and huge ones too. The harbour at Den haag, Den Haag central, Statenkwartier, Scheveningen beach, Kurhaus, the vast green fields, the sandy shores, the islands, yours truly takes control of the aircraft for a few minutes, the stone barriers, north sea entering the mainland, flying at 500 feet, the acrobatics at 1500 feet, the 180 and the 360 degree turns, from 1500 feet to 1300 feet and then gaining height while turning right at 180 degrees, the 2g-force, the lift up from the seat, the city of Rotterdam, clear blue skies and bright sunshine. An experience :) 

Rotterdam tower, papa golf oscar ready to land.
Papa golf oscar clear to land .

Thought of the day: Mohabbat main nahi hai farq jeene aur marne ka…jisko dekh kar jeete hain usi kafir pe dum nikle

Hi Jaspreet,

I guess the below mail was intended to be copied to you.

Have a good weekend.

Kind regards,
Jaspreet

This was a mail I had sent last Friday to a colleague in Kuala Lumpur. We share the same first name. Someone in her group had AGAIN copied me in the mail instead of her.

A day later I recieve a mail from a senior in campus, this time on Gmail:

Hi Jassi

Congrats on winning the Tie Canaan challenge. I saw it covered on so many blogs

So do u get some help from u-soft ?

Regards

Thank you everyone. I am as happy as Nadal is after winning the Wimbledon

I google the competition winners and find that a startup by the name Dhruva had one of its co-founders as Jaspreet Singh, an IITG alum. He was my senior in campus. Infact he was the GSec when I joined IIT and till date I remember the first thing he told me when he got to know that I was his namesake “Apna naam badal le, iss naame se teri badi ragging hogi”. Encouraging words they were from the Institute GSec to a fresher on his orientantion day

On many occassions friends have send messgaes to the other Jaspreet, in either case. I have recieved Orkut friend requests, scraps with my seniors addressing me as “Bhaiya”. I have a friend in the US who sent me a congratulatory note on orkut.He had read an article on rediff which talked about the same Startup Dhruva (co-founded by Jaspreet Singh, IITG alum). FYI: Dhruva has a very sound Business model and had impressed few Vcs.

It is easy to identify a Sikh name though not the gender always. I share my first name with an elder cousin brother and a niece. Have you heard about Mr. and Mrs. Sidhu, he is Navjot and she is Navjyot

It seems like ages since I last visited my blog.  I opt for an easy way to start again, a tag which I should have posted, again ages back. Here is a fresh start to hopefully frequent and passionate blogging.

A-Age: 23

B-Band listening to right now: Indian Ocean

C-Career (plan): Ummm..hmm..ummm..aaaa…I think..

D-Drink or Smoke: Nopie.

E-Easiest friends to talk to: There are quite a few, spread across the globe!!

F-Funniest moment of your life: Not on a public forum..

G-Gummy bears or gummy worms: Huh?

H-Have a girlfriend?: I am an optimist

I-In love: Oh Yes!

J-Junk food you like: (Not exactly junk, but the closest) Falafal..

K-Kids: cute. I love their curiousity, their free mind and their innocence.

L-Longest ride ever: Feb 94.. Bombay to Calcutta by Geetanjali express (40 hrs)

M-Man/woman you love the most: Me & Myself

N-Names for your kids: Gudda & Guddi

O-One wish you have now: To be able get back to the soccer field/the tennis court (Damn the stretched ligaments in the ankle)

P-Phobias: None that I have experienced

Q-Quote (favorite): Humko mita sake yeh zamane mein dum nahi, humse hai zamana, zamane se hum nahi..

R-Reasons to smile: Many

S-Sleeping hours: 7-8 hrs daily

T-Time you woke up: 6.45 am

U-Unknown fact about you: Green belt in Karate (This was back in School)

V-Vegetable you hate: None that I can think of, I am not fussy about food or should I say my Mom is a great cook

W-Worst habit: Always on time when meeting people who follow IST.

X-X-rays you’ve had: Wrist, Ankle, Chest, Sinuses

Y-Yummy foods: Guests lick their fingers when I cook.

Z-Zodiac sign: Sagitarius

Note:  I tag all who read this blog

I enjoy the build up to the blog the most. The inital kick to compose one could come from a conversation, an observation, a thought that could trickle through your wandering mind, a book, anything. But not always is it enough to get converted into a post, though you are sure you need to post one on it Then the gradual build up, thoughts get consolidated,  events follow and finally the tipping point which results in the blog.

Quite some months back, a senior from campus happened to be in India for vacation. She has had her share of boyfriends, and in our conversation they are always refered to as “Khotta”, its a punjabi word for someone dumb. I remember telling her that “love” is only a feel good feeling that doesn’t last for more than 6 to 18 months. She after a few experiences said that love is an over-rated and a hyped concept.

A few weeks later a close friend asked me to make a New Year resolution. She said its high time that I got senti on a female, and that I need to chart a plan, corporate style to get senti. So the task assigned was to prepare a document detailing the process/steps and project deadlines. The first phase is the identification, which needs to get done by March end. Honestly, I see the project shooting its deadline by months if not years

A few days back, “Bhabhiji” came to Rijswijk. While she is on her journey, I am on call to Bangalore and I am told “Yaar, uska khayal rakhna”. Jo hukum. I buzz her.

Me: Charan Sparsh Bhabhiji.
It took her a minute to get a hang of things, and then: Jasssiii, hadh hai yeh. In the conversation that followed, she inquires about whether I have settled into my apartment. And I am like “Haan, finally sab settle  ho gaya hai, ghar bas gaya”.

Bhabhiji: Bas ab Ghar basane - waali chahiye
Me: Use dhoondne ka kartavya toh bhabhi ka hota hai

..

Another tale of two friends, who to my surprise are amazing planners. The guy is in UK and the lady in Amsterdam. During the summers the dude plans to come to Holland for a vacation and we intend to go move around Europe. The two of them plan that lets get Jassi a girlfriend so that all four of us can back-pack together (Couple of Happy couples). You can’t imagine how hilarious this sounded to me when I got to hear about this a week back. I am not into the picture at all, I get to know of this plan a fortnght later. All I need to do is get a girl friend, and they are ready to help me too… Why on earth do I have such crazy friends around?

And then finally Sid’s blog. .. Hmm.. Whats Love? I have a very different take on Love. Love to me always sounds like a need. It seems quite cynical to me as well. For some reason I could not word my opinion on love the way I intend to. I could explain it in length but could never sum it up in a sentence. Sid’s post got me to put that extra effort. I still will not get into those “magical/mysterious” feelings and believe in putting other’s interests before self. How about the day your needs change, your interests don’t match with that of someone whom you love? It should be an experience, a conversation and a journey for both.  I look forward to a relationship. And I came across this wonderful sentence which I think comes close to sum up what I opine :
“When you meet someone who challenges your beliefs to make you a better person with every passing day, you know you have finally found the right one.”

From Namastey London : “Ishq di mere mitraan pehchaan di, mit jaaye jadon zid apnaan di” .. to make it sound a little melodramatic

Don’t get me wrong. I am not a fan of his movies.Though I admire his oratorship and his acumen to give the audience (especially NRIs and Non Indians) what they seek. And in all earnest I wonder what the apparently blooming romance between Ekta Kapoor (the queen of Saas-Bahu soaps) and Karan Johar could result in for all Indian television viewers and movie goers. What can they possibly come up with if they end up together? A new twist in all saas-bahu/family soaps/movies is just about to be scripted. Ekta supposedly seeks a lot of ideas from her future saas, Karan’s mother. What a family!!

And I love to see co-incidences and experiences happen one after the other.I met Wasim, an Indian who has spent little time in India a couple of weeks back and discussed a lot about Indian cinema of the 90s. The cheesy songs “Tu cheez badi hai mast mast” to “Kaho naa pyaar hai”. “Kuch kuch hota hai” too came up and the takeaways of the movie:

1. Kuch kuch hota hai Anjali, Tum nahi samjhogi
2. Squeeze me
3. Tussi jaa rahe ho, Tussi na jao
4.  The trade mark hand gestures when Anjali and Rahul meet, which ends in  both        flicking each other’s nose. This became the in-thing for all Dudes and dudettes.

A week later(during my house warming party, I cooked dinner for 8 hungry souls) “Kuch kuch hota hai” was been aired on Set Max (you have a few Indian channels here as well). There is a scene where a bevy of girls in mini skirts are seated on one of the parapets of the college and they cross their legs one after the other, like a domino effect. School goers would look forward to college life just for these moments, only to touch base with reality.

A week thereafter I attend a colleague’s birthday party. I had a wonderful time there, meeting people. In particular a French guy and a Norwegian female. I was indeed surprised to here the french guy’s views on spiritualism, religion and relationships.He had an Indian friend too and had heard about “kuch kuch hota hai”. He understood that as “Something happens”. I provided him with a background and the context that when you fall in love, bells ring/ something happens. Smart guy that he was, he understands that when the chemistry is missing, kuch nahi hota hai :P. Later during the party I see a beautiful French female who also happens to be my colleague at work place kissing him. While leaving, I had to interrupt them :P, wished her first and then the parting words for her guy. He looks at her and then turns towards me and says “Kuch kuch hota hai”

Karan Johar, Tussi great ho. Forget the Indians,the French!! He makes movies..it is all about loving your lovings !!!

Thought for the day: Liye phirte hain sabse chupaye hue, teri tasveer hum sar aankhon par.

It is half past six in Rijswijk, light rain and very strong winds (the winds pushed a colleague off the foot-path) have me only watch my colleagues play soccer on the astro turf. I get two messages in succession.

SMS 1: Jassi. She agreed. I am committed.

SMS 2: Don’t tell anyone.

The next thing I know is I am on call to Bangalore.

A very warm hug.. Gale lag jaa yaar I am so happy for you!!!

Lohri in Hague

Makke di roti te Sarson da saag in the Langar that followed

When I landed in Bombay (enroute to Amsterdam) the piolt announced that the outside temperature is 25 degrees Celsius. 15 hours later when I touched Schipol, the pilot announced that the outside temperature is -2 degrees celsius! Welcome to The Netherlands

After months of living out of a suitcase, I finally have a place to call home (Though only for the next one year)

You lazily lie on the couch, watching the idiot box on the weekend. As always, you browse through the channels and surprisingly you come across something desi. It is as an advertisement for tourism in India. Incredible India! A very well presented ad. I felt proud.

A friend who has always been around, but these days seems to be getting a little close: Mr Murphy

I have always believed in numbers, equations and logics that lead to reason and after a lifetime of such pursuit I ask what truly is logic, who decides reason?

My quest has taken me through physical,metaphysical, delusional and back and I hv the made the most important disovery of my career,the most important disovery of my life. It is only in the mysterious equations of love that any logical reasons can be found.

-John Nash, in his Nobel prize winning speech.

Parindo ko milegi manzil ek din, yeh faile hue unke par bolte hain, wahi log rahte hain khamosh aksar, zamane mein jinke hunar bolte hain . What the poet wants to say is something closer to this – the power of silence is usually more eloquent for those who have inner strength and a strong will to reach the destination.

It crossed my mind a couple of days before I left Hindustan and I shared it with a friend while in the lounge at the Bombay airport:

Aaj zindagi se ek shikayat rahegi,  zindagi ne bade kam dilchasp dost diye aur jab diye toh kuch samay mein hi mujhe unse yaa unhe mujhse door le gayi!!! Woh kuch saath bitaye pal hamesha ke liye ek dastaan ban gaye