Welcoming myself

It has been a long time since I wrote anything on my blog,(almost four years). Many things have changed since the time I last updated my blog (But I will keep those for later). I have decided now to update my blog at least once a week; type down my thoughts (can’t pen them these days). These fingers have written for a lot of people but hardly for themselves, and this is what I want to change. I came across this listicle which described a few traits of those who were born in August (August 29^th). One of the traits was that we express ourselves when we write.

That one single line sparked something in me, and after that all I wanted was to write, not for others, but for myself. I guess I will have to be selfish now! I am sure you must have seen Shia LeBouf’s video where he primarily just yells JUST DO IT! Well that is what happened to my brain and my feelings when I read the article. They yelled at me, JUST DO IT!!!

Here is a little motivation, in case you are procrastinating!

Last rode a cycle when “I was in class…..”

I have been doing cycling for quite some time now, not on a professional level though. I keep thinking that I will write something about cycling someday or the other, finally today I plan to write something about it. In India we are seeing a growing trend of people taking up cycling as exercise and as recreational sports. All this is majorly due to the efforts of “Firefox.” (personal opinion)

A typical Indian cycle would be the one which we often term as Cruise bikes. They were heavy, the components were cheap and easily available and of course not to mention unreliable. The seat post was quite large with springs attached to it. One could not alter the height of the post according to one’s own height. Like many other things in India, cycle was not thought very attractive, so hardly any work was done in this sector, in terms of geometry of the frame, quality of the components etc. Although Indian companies like BSA, Hercules, Hero Cycles, did try to make amends and succeeded. They came out with fancy designs and framework which appealed to the kids.

Then in early 2005 Firefox came to India, and with it came quality and cycling revolution in India. The scene changed dramatically in India. Cycling as a hobby or as an exercise not only appealed to the children, but also to the people who had last ridden a cycle when they were in “class…….”

As far as professional cycling is concerned, it has also changed a lot. Earlier if one wanted to buy a racing cycle, he had to import it from outside, and it resulted in lot of money being spent on import duty. What Firefox has done is that it has introduced bikes which are of international standards and they also go easy on the pocket. So because of this more and more people have started to buy cycles. In the metros a lot of people have also started going to their offices on cycles. A lot of people have also started to cycle across India. Every year I hear about at least five or six groups people who have done a trip across India. This trend in India is slowly in rise, so is the cycling trend in India.

The cycling scene in India is definitely on the rise and by the looks of it, it is here to stay. Only eight years in the Indian market, Firefox has changed the cycling scene in India, let’s wait and watch how the decade goes by…….

 

Death

The winter raindrops were hitting against his face , the wind roared and he clutched his grandfather’s trench coat tightly, trying to keep himself warm and dry . He was just returning from his grandparents home . The sun had long set in the sleepy town of Dehradun . Dark figures sillhoutted against the orange light of the street lamps. An occasional vehicle passed lighting up the wet road , raindrops were seen against their headlights. It was just too cold and he had a long walk ahead . The drains and the canals of Doon were over flowing with water.Ocaasionaly the sky would smile at his plight in the from of lightning. His feet were covered with mud . He liked this weather a lot . Winter and the rains were the best time of the year for him . Everything changed , people would try to take cover form the rain and the cold . Maybe light a fire and warm their hands around it , but not him..not Bhanu. He just loved this weather .He used to like the sound of the raindrops falling on the raincoat. He was a wanderer . Whenever he went he did not go to any specific place, he just went to random places . Never he used to decide where to go what to do. He used to just go, without thinking . Sometimes this used to land him in trouble .

 

He lay there  on the road , and saw the raindrops fall , he could feel them on his face. His heart beat had increased he could feel that too . They say that when you die there is a  hightened sense of things . His left was hand holding his right side of the stomach ….trying hard to stop the blood. He lay there knowing that it was too late…..

 

He looked across the street , his hands still clutching the trenchcoat. The road was deserted , the small alleys looked threatning . Suddenly he heard the sound of footsteps on the wet road. He was a bit too slow to dodge the dagger . He felt a sharp pain on the right side of his stomach. He opened his eyes , an unknown face was rummaging through his pocket. The flash of lightning showed his assailants figure. The man was big …but even big men can be vulnereble. Bhanu took out the knife from his stomach and puts it right through the big man’s throat. He felt weak and sick .He wanted to vomit but could not. He just lay there looking at the sky and feeling the rain on his face . He knew it was too late . He could feel some weight on his his legs . He raised his head and saw that the unknown face was looking directly at him . Their eyes met and bhanu knew that the stranger was dying . The raindrops fell on his white cheek. His eyes were wide open . His hands holding his throat, as if he was trying to strangle himself .

 

Suddenly the body moved and after that it lay still.

 

He put his head down….took a deep breath and smiled . He closed his eyes.. His favourute song The End by doors as played in stonned imamculate ,started playing in his mind. After that he knew nothing. Blackness took over him.

Bucket List

Things to do before i die
“Never fear quarrels, but seek hazardous adventures.” Alexzander Dumas

•  Participate in the Desert 500 cycling race
• Cycle from Dheradun – Dhanaulti – Satiu -Maldevta- Dheradun.
• Cycle to Mussorrie from the alternate route , through west .
• Cycle till chakrata.
• Try and complete atleast two courses from Nehru Institute of Mountaineering .
• Try and participate in an international cycling competition.
• Buy a kayak and do kayaking from Devparyag till shivpuri (75 kms)
• Cycle till Leh and back.
• Will keep on adding as and when i find something interesting to do !!
• Do shit loads of  time lapse photography !
• Complete the whole route of Tour De France .

Dehradun-some places never change !

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Silhouettes from a cold day !

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Naman Saraiya had a fall !

Naman Saraiya was sitting on a tilted wall,
Trying to impress a girl he had a great fall .
Dhadam! the published writer went down ,
and here he lay in the far edge of the town.
Trying to act cool he made himself a fool
how he must have wished he had fallen into a pool.
after a few hours i saw this guy ,
Using his other arm to gesture bye bye.
April the first it was when the writer had a fall,
oh! How i wish i had seen it all.

Where are we headed ?

Whenever I listen to the cult hit “the end” by doors, strange things happen to me. I began to think about our own existence. Do we actually live or are we are those humans who have been made to believe that whatever is around us is real and the truth (just like those movies, where a healthy human mind wakes up to the dawn of a world, a world full of lies and deceit  a world where the reality is the biggest lie). They only show us what they want us to see or what or maybe what we want to see. Yes people I am talking about those people who rule us. Question them as an individual, they kill you. Question them as a group, they will call you terrorists. We value metal and stones which shine, but we don’t value a life a fellow living being. We value pieces of paper, but we do not value the nature which provides us with everything.  We believe in god in time of troubled times, but how many of us believe in ourselves.   As humans we have a tendency to always look upto some divine power (does it really exists?). Politicians have no clue what they are doing. The common man has no clue what he is doing. It is mad -mad world, where nobody knows what they are doing. India a great country, world’s largest democracy, a multi-religious country, a country where many languages are spoken, a country where many ideologies co-exist together…..balls , no wonder there so many fucked up things happening in the world’s largest democracy . We don’t have money to repair the potholes, but we have the money to build an F1-racing track. We don’t have the money to feed the poor, but we have the money to build a 700 crore park. The politicians have enough money to take out rallies during election time, once they come in power, the money mysteriously disappears.

I would also like to talk about us human beings, as a race where are we headed? Have we already touched the zenith or is there still more to us. I am writing this is because we are not doing anything or inventing anything new. In the past century apart from the Computer which is the other invention which has changed the world drastically? I would really like to know a few, if my readers know about some of them please do let me know.  It might be factual or hypothetical but I feel that as a race we do not have a goal. I mean what is the next big issue which we have deal with? Is it environmental degradation, terrorism or the general callous nature of the humans? I guess humans as a race is too selfish, we all hold on to things which we should not.

We have come to a point of stagnation as far as creating/inventing new things are concerned. The only question which I want to ask is, are we going in the right direction. Are we there where we set out to be? I leave it for you all to answer that.

The dew drops carry in it’s eye both mountain and sky !

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The Rain

The smell of the earth before the rain,
Somehow always dazzles my brain.
The little drops which fall on earth,
Seem to be so rare in the city of Perth.
Across the sky, I see the flash,
The sound is worse than that of a whiplash.
The sound of the thunder is so loud,
That my eyes turn away from the dark cloud
The trees sway like the crazy hatter,
The drops fall on the roof pittar patter
The grass gets wet with the rainy water,
just lik the fur of the sea otter
I hear the sound of the rain,
And see the water trickling down the window pane.
I sit on my window and look at the world outside,
The earth after the rain looks like the evening bride.