Of Buses and Windows

I like traveling in buses and trust me I know a thing or two about them. I must have put in some couple of thousand kilometers traveling in this very Indian mode of transport. If only they had frequent traveler points for these buses and I would have traveled enough to go around the world in a bus!

Traveling on a bus gives you a great chance to meet so many new and different people. I have always felt that the cheaper your mode of travel is, the better your travel companions are and the better your chances are for interacting with them. This logic has always worked for me. If I travel by the sleeper class in a train, I end up having a more memorable and enjoyable journey than a journey in the AC coach where the people are so snotty and conversation (if any) so boring. Maybe it’s just me or are we all getting so into ourselves that we no longer feel that interaction with the world is of any importance, or maybe we feel that whatever interaction has to be done, should be done for networking purposes?

All said maybe it is just me with all my prejudices J

Now the windows. This is something that all my fellow travelers will relate to. If by any chance you get bored talking to your neighbor (fat chance of that happening), just look out of the window and you see the beauty of India whizzing by, the plains, the mountains, the people. Trust me on this, if you don’t have the time to sit back and admire this beauty you are really missing out on something.

A bus ka window is different; it gives you a peek into the lives of all the people around you. Where else can you extend your Peeping Tom tendencies, without the danger of getting caught! J

I will remain in awe of these mechanical monsters and always remember these wonderful journeys. 

About Airports and People

There is something about Airports I tell you!

When I was a kid, I used to love it every time we had to travel by air. Now this was not because of the airplanes, but because we would be spending time at the airport! Those were the days when air travel had just seen the entry of private players. Damania, ModiLuft, East West and Sahara Airways.

I used to love observing all the beautiful people, imagining how lives of the super rich would be. Trying to guess the profession of each person and where they were headed next. Visits to the airports just made me want to grow up fast.

Then in Class XII, the year spent studying for engineering entrance exams, my visit to airports became a motivation for me to study harder. The (childish) reason being so that I could get rich like the people around me!                                                                                                                    

Today, I am sitting at the Delhi Airport waiting for my flight to Ahmedabad to get back to WORK and still the airport seems to be as exciting as ever. Now its akin to a crowded train stations, only difference being the clean and air-conditioned halls and the number of security teams in place (which seems to indicate that the government perceives life to be more valuable here). The crowds have added more variety in the passenger profile at the airport, and now it’s thousand times more interesting.

Now I see all the jet-setting business class passengers flying from one metro to another and then the old couple traveling back to their hometown after meeting their son in the city. Airports now represent the true picture of developing India.

And yes now I do wonder whether growing up was that great an idea!

Land of No Alcohol!

A mallu stuck in The Dryland. Fish without water?


By now people who know me from my Engg. college days in Kerala would have started sniggering - Elvis was never really a Drinker - But then the first line sounded really dramatic!

I was never really a drinker, till I started staying at the Hilltop. But now I fondly remember the days I spent at Quorum and Midway Dhaba:) The days lived with such abandon, no responsibilities, no complications. Life was much simpler(?) then.

All said, I must say Gujarat has treated me well. Other than the fact that I am never called Elvis here. Elvesh Bhai, Elvish, Selvesh, Elvin.. I have lost track and am beyond caring. Call me whatever, I will respond to whatever! But no more shall I correct people.

I have always wanted to travel, see India. And this job has taken me across Gujuland and I am enjoying myself full on. People here are different, culture is different. And the difference in the cultures between two different places in Gujarat is even more startling.

There is Ahmedabad with the hard workers, where everyone is so very busy. I dont think I have ever seen a more industrious race. Then I went to Saurashtra, (west Gujarat for the uninitiated) and what a change in attitude. People here like their breaks, life is slower here. All shops stay closed from 1 to 4 in the afternoon, people are busy with their siesta. Time spent with the family is valued here, and business is given lesser importance.

After seeing this I wonder who is living life the right way? The people who work hard, so that they can rest later or people who work to live and not live to work.

I dont know the answer, but I guess atleast some of us will learn it the hard way.