Sing Sing on a song

4 sept 2010 (day 1):

Our flight to Singapore was at 00:20 hrs and the 5 hr odd flight landed at Changi airport at about 8 am Singapore time. After the immigration formalities we proceeded to Chinatown, a place ivan and me had previously marked for our stay in Singapore. An airport staff advised us on buying the Tourist Pass which allows for innumerable travel across the MRT network and the buses within Singapore (excluding sentosa) and the pass held us in good stead, as, in the days to come we used the pass to the point of abuse ;-)

We checked in at Service World Backpackers Hostel and headed out to explore right after. Firstly we headed to the Merlion’s Park. Something that surprised me was when we asked people around for directions to the Merlion Park, most of them seemed clueless (or was it us). Nevertheless, the Merlion is certainly promoted more in tourism than it is known. When we reached the Merlion, we took as many snapshots of it as possible for our image bank (Sanjay @ ddw, for one, would be more than delighted about it). Then we proceeded to Boat Quay (pronounce boat key) for some beers and music. Some beers down, we headed to our hostel and downed a coupla Jim Beam shots before we hit the sack.

5 sept 2010 (day 2):

We slept like logs and when I woke up, the room was dark and cool. I tossed and turned, waiting for the sun to come up before I finally got up and the moment I opened the door, bright lights hit me in the eye and the realization dawned that it was already 10 am. Since we had already lost a couple of hours, we got up to speed and headed for Sentosa.

Sentosa islands must be on the itinerary for anyone visiting Singapore. Of all the various offerings on the islands, we headed to the Universal Studios and we decided to check out the others after that. Universal Studios holds you in awe from the moment you set foot in it. There are different sections with various themes in within which one is greeted with shops selling memorabilia while there are LIVE ACTS happening all around the respective theme. The excitement around is contagious and you become a part of the celebrations. We started off with a joyride in the Jurassic Park where or raft cruised into the river and T-Rex and family pop out from behind trees and foliage. The highlight of the ride was when our raft began to rise and a huge Dino appeared right in front of us and roared at us in the face and the raft suddenly dropped into a rapid and got us drenched. The ‘Far Far Away’ Shrek 4D movie is a must watch. The best joyride was ‘The Mummy’. This one took us at high speeds through an abyss of darkness, flinging us around every now and then. Phew!
By the time we stepped out of Universal Studios, it was 7pm and we decided to come back to Sentosa for the underwater world the next day. We joined our neighbors at the hostel , a Phillipino and 2 Australians, with Jim Beam and our evening progressed to late night.

6 sept 2010 (day 3):

Once bitten, twice shy; we set an alarm to wake us. We had set our itinerary to visit the zoo and thereafter the underwaterworld at sentosa. We travelled the MRT to Ang Mo Kio for the zoo. The Singapore zoo is an amazing for the various animals it houses. The wild cats section is quite fascinating and more so because the beasts are not caged. To view some creatures, we had to step into an enclosure and I wondered which was the beast among us. To greet the Cheetahs, there wasn’t even an enclosure. Though it was bounded with a low fence, I still do not cease to marvel at what stops a cheetah, with a determined will to kill, from scaling the low fence and running amok. Ivan had a field day capturing not just the big beasts but even caterpillars and the indescript likes that weren’t meant for intentional display.
We reached the Underwater world at Sentosa right in time for the dolphin show. Dolphins are childlike and fun loving; they respond well to humans and are easily cajoled by applause to put up a great show. It’s a great sight to watch them perform in sync. The aquarium was also spell-binding with big fishes moving all about us. The bright and colorful ones are a spectacular sight and it delighted me no ends.
Little India in Singapore was not at all on our list since the purpose of our trip was to experience other cultures and it was for the same reason that we had chosen to stay in China Town. However two days of Chinese food had us craving for Indian food and there we were headed for Little India for some good biryanis and beer among fellow countrymen.

Next day early morn was our flight to Vietnam and was I excited…

Check out the pics here: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/album.php?aid=221072&id=686198445&fbid=444007748445

Just another rainy day

The alarm woke me up early morn so I could start my day by hitting the swimming pool. Even as I started to get up, one glance at the condensed window pane told me that it was pouring mighty hard outside and I rolled back in the same momentum hitting the bed with a plop. I woke up again later only to see that it was still raining and by the time I was ready to leave for work I was contemplating whether to take the bike to work or hail an auto. Usually I am glad at the prospect of riding in the rain, but I prefer to invoke that adventurous side on a holiday so that I can come back and get out of the wet clothes when I am home. The idea of wet clothes and shoes/socks at work is not appealing. Experience told me that it was futile to even think about looking out for an auto and it was best that I take my bike. So I pulled out of my building compound and I was pleasantly surprised to see four autos lined up outside the gate. I did the second u-turn of the day and parked my bike. And with a smile I headed to the nearest auto. “Amboli” I told him as I leaned to get inside. The Ass stops me as I try to wriggle in and informs me that his engine refuses to start. I walk to the other auto and before the first syllable “Amb” has left me, “No sir” he says. “Sir, my left fuckin foot, you bastard” I yell at him. I turn away to the other autos, and they are both engaged by other passengers now and as they move out, I did my third u-turn of the day. Terrific morning. I kick-start my bike and head to work. As I near Andheri station, my sight is more obscured by people than the rainwater hitting my face. People here. People there. People everywhere. If there is a thin line that distinguishes a pedestrian from a jaywalker, it was washed away by the rains today. Much as I wanted to do the fourth u-turn and head back home, I maneuver my way through the maze of people and finally reach office. At my workstation as I get my laptop out, Arun appears instantly with a steaming hot cup of ‘chai’. “Cheers” I say as I visualize ‘Rum’ in a glass and begin a wonderful day.

Can you take me higher?

Of the seven solo flights that I managed during my CP course, the seventh one remains my favourite. I had already done a short flight earlier in the day and managed to top-land on Tower Hill. It was afternoon when I prepared to launch again. It was a bit thermic and the wind conditions had stabilized a bit after a gusty while. Ash, Kunal and Anand had already launched themselves and were soaring for sometime now. My attempt at launch was foiled by a strong gust and I prepared to launch again. The wind favoured my launch this time around and I was up there among the air traffic. Instructions from Steve were pretty clear that we were to fly with little or no instructions from him and any time we felt uncomfortable, we had to head towards the landing field. We were all flying around for a good while soaring by the ridge and occasionally drifting away to hunt for thermals.

About half an hour later, I saw that the surrounding sky was devoid of gliders save few, including mine. But I was sinking soon and my various attempts at scratching around for any thermal was in vain and I knew that before long I would have to head for the landing field as well. Even as I started to veer towards the landing field, Steve’s voice came alive on the radio instructing me to do just that. With a heavy heart (that seem to be pulling the glider to the earth even more), I steered the glider. And then it happened. I suddenly felt a tug on the glider as I got lifted momentarily. It was as if some giant had pinched the wing, pulling it up before releasing it again. All this while when I was hunting for the thermal, I couldn’t find it and now as I headed for the landing I had encountered it. I cursed as I was torn between two choices. I could either ignore the incident altogether and begin to approach the landing OR at the risk of offending Steve, turn around to take one dig at the thermal. At that very instance, Steve’s voice came over the radio acknowledging the lift and further instructing me to turn left and back into it again. Steve then instructed me over a series of 360s and I could feel my glider rising. Occasionally, during the 360s, when Steve urged me to pull more on the left brake, I was awestruck and the feeling that I was rotating almost parallel to the ground was overwhelming and it was accentuated whenever I saw a major portion of my wing out of the corner of my eye without any attempt at looking towards it. My heart was pounding in frenzied excitement as I continued executing 360s and rising with every maneuver. When, finally, Steve asked me to fly straight, I glanced about. Even as I was executing the 360s, I didn’t imagine that I would gain so much height. The launch area was directly below me and from where I was (approx. 300 mtrs above it), people appeared the size of ants. The landing field was a distant spot at approx. 500 mtrs. I did a 3-dimensional survey of my neighbourhood and with only my feather-winged friends for company, I settled in the harness to enjoy solitude in space, grasping the vastness of the horizon as far as my eye could behold. I was in the air for another good twenty minutes after which I had descended to a point where I had to head for the landing. Now I was satisfied with my flight so much so that if I had to encounter another thermal, I would have simply acknowledged it with a nod and continued on my course toward the landing field. Rather, this behaviour could be attributed to the fact that I had drained the contents (water) in my camel-bak during my flight and the liquid had percolated to my bladder and was trying to force its way out against my will. I executed a perfect landing in cross-wind conditions and after unfastening my harness straps, I headed to pay nature a visit.

CP, revelry and more.

I am usually skeptical about long leave of absence from work since ‘chill out’ in its true sense leaves me more bored than anything else. However, when I decided to go on a leave for 10 days, I was excited since I had applied for the CP (Club Pilot) course in paragliding and it was to be my ‘dream come true’ of flying from high mountains and soaring for a long time.

Me and Ash left for Kamshet on the 27th November and on reaching the ‘Native Place’ at ‘Nirvana’, we met our third batchmate Kunal, while our fourth batchmate Anand was to meet us at the site the following morning. Though the four of us were not quite unfamiliar with each other, I didn’t in my wildest dreams imagine that we would gel so well as a group. Sanjay said we could party as much as we want for 2 days following which we were to be off booze and maintain an early bird schedule during the CP trainings; we followed his instructions to the ‘T’. We partied like crazy on the terrace for the first 2 days. Apart from us, there was a group from Sweden who had come to India for flying. Among them was DJ Atmos, who shared a wonderful collection of music that played while we partied. The second night was a Jam session as Anand had got his guitar and we had some more company from a group from Delhi that sung some and squealed some.

Our CP course commenced on Monday and we were up and moving by 6 am so we could get flying by the time the sun was up. It was an absolute fun experience as we had a wonderful instructor in Steve who would quip every now and then and be stern with his jibe when any one of us messed up. On reaching the site, Steve began with instructing us about the course and no sooner than he had finished that Kunal bombarded him with the first of his many questions to follow. Half an hour later Steve must have realized that we were still grounded and he figured out a wonderful way of getting of the question/answer session, not only for the day but also for the other days to come (Steve has not admitted this yet). He chose Kunal to be the first one to fly. In flying terms, the first one to go is called the ‘Wind Duffer’… rather ‘Wind Dummy’; ‘Wind Duffer’ was a term coined by me out of sheer jealousy (since they got to fly first) until I realized the brilliance of the idea behind it. Steve chose Ashwin as the second WD; guess Ash merited it. Since Steve had already made up his mind on the WDs of the group, he took them tandem first. While our WDs were having the sky to themselves, me and Anand were literally shackled to the ground to improvise on our ground handling techniques. The second day was good as we all got to fly for a bit. Third day was exceptional because of fabulous wind conditions and we got to fly while there were many paragliders in the air as well (air traffic). This was probably the day when Steve chided us all the most. Steve reprimanded us in this unique characteristic, the shades of which I have come across only in English novels. While he rebuked one of us for inattentiveness or gaffes, the others would inadvertently end up sniggering. I can’t help but recount a few here. An instance comes to mind when Ashwin was supposed to turn around left on the ridge, but kept going straight. The next moment we could hear Steve condemning him on our radios thus “For God’s sake, Ashwin, switch your brains on. Turn around left.” While we are left guffawing, Ashwin takes a silent left. There was a time when I was flying close to the ridge and I didn’t realize that I had to turn in order to make way for another glider ahead of me to turn. Steve’s voice comes hissing on the radio “Richard, why are you chasing the French lady? Turn around to your right unless you want to kill yourselves.” I don’t think Steve offered me an option there. And, I am beyond any doubt that the following conversation between Steve and Anand could find its way into the annals of business schools under the chapters of effective communication. Anand had landed after completing his flight and Steve commented on his flight to which Anand replied “Roger”.
Steve: “Who the fcuk is Roger?”
Anand: I mean I understand.
Steve: “Then why don’t you say so. #@& !#@^% &#$^ #%^^%. Do you understand?”
Anand: “Roger that!”
Steve: “#@& !#@^% *&#$^ #%^^%.”
If it weren’t for the chest strap and leg straps keeping me in check, I would have fallen off my harness.

I wouldn’t do it justice if I ignored this conversation between Steve and Kunal. On the final day, we had completed our flights and Steve had called us in the AV room to recount the points covered in the course. Once done, he asked us if we had any questions. Needless to say, Kunal pounced on the chance like a warrior with a polished sword, waiting only for a cue. He charged. Steve answered them all patiently. And Kunal asked. Infact he kept on asking even when it was Anand’s turn, Ashwin’s turn and my turn later. Once the Q&A session was over, Steve put on a video on paragliding that he wanted us to watch. Just as the video started playing, Kunal conjured up one more question and blurted, “Steve, I don’t understand…” “I know” said Steve before Kunal could go any further and walked away from the AV room leaving us in splits.

All our evenings were spent on the terrace and each one of them was laced with fun. Though, we played the guitar almost everyday, I particularly enjoyed on evening when a girl gang from Mumbai had come down to Kamshet. We were already done playing music and were having dinner when they arrived. One of them requested if we could play a couple of tracks and of course we relented. One song led to the next and before long it looked like we had only begun. While me and Ash played the guitar, the group lent their vocals to the songs played. If I get my hands on the video of this jam session that was shot by them (and I am promised a copy), I’ll definitely share it here.

Finally, I cannot express in words the gratitude I feel towards Steve, Sanjay, Ravi, Sandeep, Bond, Vinay and my three partners in flying i.e. Ash, Anand and Kunal, for making this a wonderful experience. Also, I cannot thank Pushkar enough for the lip smacking dishes served us during our stay. A week after I have come back to Mumbai, I still reminisce about everything that made this CP course special. And to add to it, I am still to come to terms about my longest flight that lasted 1hr.40mins. and my highest flight that took me 200-250 mtrs above the launch area (approx. 1500 feet above sea level). I look back and I say to myself “Wow!”

Click here to view pictures.

And if you are interested in flying/chilling out, you can log on to www.flynirvana.com/ and get details.

Behold! My name is .....

“What’s in a name?” quotes Shakespeare in his popular works of Romeo and Juliet. Of course, he was alluding to the fact that a rose wouldn’t be any different if it was called a sunflower. Some fodder for the grey matter there, but of late I have come across people with some unusual names that I can’t help digging in the deep recesses of my memory to credit as many as I can remember.

Let’s begin at the beginning. When a couple brings a child into this world, I am positive, one of the first things that they as parents of a newborn do would be to discuss what to name it. You just can’t keep referring to it as ‘tch tch’ or ‘hey you’, for that matter. You also don’t name it ‘Surf XL’ or ‘Lays’ because you have not manufactured it; you have given birth to it. If a man has put in effort and if a woman has borne the child for nine months, it’s only fair that they spend an hour if not days to freeze on a nice name that the worthy child can carry it for the rest of its life.

Just the other day, I came across Perpetual, a cousin of mine, (Perpetual, as a name, has always been a muse when discussing names) and after the initial pleasantries were exchanged she launched on a barrage of everything unpleasant in life, so much so that despite valiant efforts on my part (which included flailing my arms in the air) to escape the incessant chatter, I was rooted to the spot. Poor me thought I was perpetually screwed… to the ground, I mean. Another name that baffles me is Immaculate and if I come across someone who’d introduce herself as “Hi. I’m Immaculate” I’d surely retort “What makes you think I’m not?”. A classmate of my brother went by the name Assumption. The list could go on but some people ought to have paid more attention in the grammar classes or should have been detained in the same class for another year if they could not tell the difference between an ‘Adjective’ and a ‘Proper Noun’. Equally amazed am I when come across people named after flowers e.g. rose, tulip et al. or colours like Pink, Violet etc., my only concern being one can get carried away and start naming children Burgundy or Bluish-green. A few years ago, on my trip to Kerala, I had come across a man whose name was Baby Jacob and no kidding about this. This was one Baby that was neither a girl nor a baby. This Baby was a towering 5’11”, had a rough and loud voice, sported a moustache and was forever seen in a lungi, an end of which he held in his left hand as he walked a masculine gait, partially exposing a hairy lower leg. I stopped referring to any girl as ‘Baby’. Another incident reminds me of how misled I was when I was in the eighth standard in school. I had always been under a preconceived notion that ‘Durgaprasad’ was the typical second grade eatery or restaurant in the bylanes of any streets in Mumbai until in std VIII, I came face to face with a bloke who went around with the same name and when we were introduced I couldn’t help but exclaim ‘Holy Prasad!’. I am reminded of yet another chap from std. VIII whose name was Y.P. Reddy. Even the teachers addressed him as YP. And if you are wondering why, YP had a unique first name which if one attempted to pronounce, would result in a knotted tongue in the mouth. If his elder brother is to be believed, it was on one of those days when YP was just born and his father had reached out and affectionately lifted him from the cradle when, without warning and in probably one of his mood swings, YP swung his leg and hit his father right in the family jewels. You don’t need a Sherlock Holmes to deduce how his father got even with him. Now he’s got a name he can’t pronounce and initials of which rhymes with ‘Why pee?’.

This reminds me of the time when my dad told me how I got my name. I was the first born and my parents were debating on what to name me. My dad had a list of names and when he discussed the list with my mom, she disapproved the list. She wanted her first born to have a typical regional name. My dad waved his list at mom; my mom counter argued. My dad recalled that even I raised objection to mom, but my wails from the crib fell on deaf ears. Just when it seemed like my dad was about to give in, one look at this helpless child gave him some inner strength and he stood his ground, refusing to be cornered. He launched a staunch tirade against mom till she relented, however with one condition that he would not have any say when naming future children. True to her word, she carried on with her threat and named my siblings that followed ‘Anita Lopez’ and ‘Preeti Lopez’ and I still get the shivers when I think about how narrowly I escaped being named something like ‘Ramu Lopez’.

Hey Dawg, don’t Bitch!

Ajmal Amir Kasab needs no introduction. By the vile act committed by him and his cronies on 26/11 and amongst them, being the sole survivor, he has toppled every other loathsome creature to become the latest international face of a terrorist. Ever since he’s been captured, he’s been trying to play the cat and mouse game, with little or less regard to the Indian sentiments. Disillusioned even in captivity, I might add. Be it making unjustified demands for newspapers (dude, you ain’t put up in a luxury hotel) or pulling monkey faces in the midst of the trial (don’t blame you for that… I’ll pass). Now, he’s sprung another bolt from the blue by confessing his crime when it was least expected. Goes on record saying “My crimes were committed in this world and the people of this world should punish me. I do not want punishment from God” (dude, seriously, you must be kidding. This condition of yours is monumental, considering you are demanding absolution from the Almighty).

Spare us the sob story, mate. Your trigger happy days are over. Crimes committed by you deserve severe punishment. You are nothing but a murderer. You ain’t shown no mercy. You ain’t getting none. Hey Dawg, don’t bitch. Allow me.

Party time at Kamshet

Needless to say we will all miss flying for a while. But it has been a fab season and we had all come down to Kamshet to bid adieu to the wonderful flying season and celebrate. For all who know Sanjay, Astrid and company, celebrations don’t need a reason and each day gone by is reason enough to make merry. And it is precisely why any visitor, a pilot or not, has a good time at the ‘Native Place’. However, the party on 30th May was a special occasion and it has been a ritual for years where the Nirvana gang gets together with the locals to host a ‘Puja’ to the Goddess for the advent of rains in the months to come. Me and Ash reached the Native place by noon, right in time for a coupla beers, some delicious pork vindaloo and chicken feast. After a snappy siesta, we were on our way to Shelar and we didn’t waste any moment to strap our harnesses on and begin ground handling. Like Anand, a co-pilot, said ground handling is an exhilarating experience and the joy of keeping the glider aloft while your feet are firmly planted on the ground knows no bounds. The place was swarmed with all of us enjoying the ground handling session. There was Noel, Apoorva, Dwayne the Daaku, Ashwin, everyone lost in trying to keep the glider overhead. I, for one, was making the most of the occasion and I was playing with the wings allotted to me with the enthusiasm of child at playtime. I lost track of the time till Vinay came up to me and said it’s time to pack up and party. Reluctant as I was to let go of the wings, the word ‘Party’ somehow struck a chord with something within me and I made my way back. Anand was having a gala time with his wings and he was probably the last person to come off the field. His enthusiasm reflected with the fact that unlike everyone who mushroomed the gliders and came off the field, Anand ran down the entire length of it with the glider aloft right to the point where we were all assembled. Some spirited performance that, and I’m sure he enjoyed every bit of it.

We all moved to the Shelar Mama’s abode. We also had the company of the Local guys and children who were eagerly waiting for the festivities to begin. While the children enjoyed the soft drinks we got started on the booze. Pushkar was behind the music console and he set the mood for the evening with a track called ‘Banao’. The guys had prepared a makeshift dance floor and as soon as the first track was over, someone requested the song ‘Main hoon Don’. The best part of the evening was that the local guys and the children wanted only three tracks to be played and the same was kept playing in a never ending loop. Since all of us wanted the local guys to enjoy, we played along. Someone did manage to squeeze in a coupla Rock n’ Roll tracks, but that was it. The music again went back to playing the same 3 songs in a loop and it wasn’t long before all of us were on the dance floor and everyone was enjoying the same 3 songs and no one gave a damn. Never in my life did I imagine that one day I would dance to the title song from the Jitendra movie ‘Tohfa’ and really enjoy it. The evening was an absolute riot. Another highlight of the evening was the dinner which was meat cooked on wood and there was a flavor to it that simply enhanced the taste. After a fun-filled evening we headed back to the native place which played host to the fireflies at night. We switched off the lights and enjoyed a few more beers in the company of the fireflies. The evening ended with celebrating Dwayne the Daaku’s birthday in the pool. The next morning, as we all started for our homes, I felt that I simply cannot get enough of this place. I am sure everyone felt the same. Astrid assured us that we will all meet again during the monsoons. I am looking forward to it.

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