A year that was. A city that never sleeps.

11 months and 16 days to be precise. That is what it took me to come back to my blogging page again. More importantly, some free time finally that has prompted me to come to this. What else could be better than a cold chilly Christmas night eve in the city of dreams. Correction - Christmas eve yes, cold and chilly - not exactly. The last one year in this hullaballoo place called Mumbai has taught me one thing - you won't get variety in seasons over here, but what you will get is variety in every other facet of life -

Geographical varieties - from nearby hills in Lonavla and Khandala to the beaches in Kashid and Madh, Standards of living - from the absolutely towering of buildings in Worli to the slums in Dharavi , 

Transport systems - from jampacked local trains to absolutely eyepopping Porsches and Aston Martins on the Marine Drive, roads - 

From the lovely and smooth Marine Drive to the roads of Powai Vihar (where i stay, it seriously cant get worse than this),

From cheap Vada Paos and Bhel Puris to absolutely titillating Chicken Shawarmas and  mouthwatering Lasagna. 

This city has got it all. No wonder they say that once you come to Mumbai, you would never want to leave this place. I for one have taken to this city fully. And the thing that I love the most about this city. It never sleeps. In no place other than my alma mater ( read as Kharagpur) could I roam around at 1 and still find members of the opposite gender around (certainly not in our beloved capital city), the streets crowded, buses plying and loads of options to eat. So very much like KGP. 

At the start of the year I had set some weird targets for myself - to try n visit every place worth one till the time im in Mumbai, to have food at as many different places as I could and to see as many movies in as many different places in Mumbai I could (after all Mumbai is the land of Bollywood, right?). And after a year of retrospection I would say, I havent fared too badly. Thanks specially to my partner in crime , M/S Khurana and co. :D.

Lets get down to some serious shit now- movies. I am a complete movie buff. I knew this in Kgp and I knew this in Kolkata. But only Mumbai has shown me my full potential. No other city would I have got the opportunity to watch classics like Hum Dono or Citizen Kane or One Flew Over the Cuckoos nest on a big screen. Movies on laptops just dont hold any charm anymore. 

For me, the movie that took my breath away was Rockstar. No other movie had made such an impact on me till then. The music lingered in my soul for weeks and weeks and Ranbir's persona left an indelible mark too. And underlying it was a love story which touched my heart. Apart from that, ZNMD , Shor in the City and Yeh Saali Zindagi were the other movies which really deserved credit according to me. Delhi Belly created a niche in the sense it was the first movie of the genre of Guy Ritchie in Indian cinema and the Dirty Picture took all the plaudits for a sensational performance by Vidya Balan. The one disappointment came from the 2 Khans - Salman and SRK. They might be vying for the top spot , but after seeing the success of the genre of movies like Ra1, Bodyguard and Don2 I really think Bollywood has proved that Everything's in a name!!

Lots more to cover and write about . Including my upcoming trip to Kolkata (where hopefully I will get to wear my Reebok sweater (sponsored)) and maybe the reviews of Agneepath, Sherlock Holmes and others. Till then, Merry Christmas and A very Happy New Year. :)

Expressions

A look into the glass, a look of despair..

A half that is there, a half that should be there..

A shadow so like it, a shadow if ever in sight..

Coz that’s what I am, without my guiding light...

A sleep without a dream, a world without a realm,

An explorer without a map, like water in a running tap..

A lengthy wait, sand in an hourglass..

Ebbs and flows, days that do not pass..

The time does come, the rendezvous is planned..

You and me, hand in hand..

A thousand words, a lengthy pause..

A thousand and one ways to feel you close…

The flurry of days, the joys of mirth…

Moments gone by, are all their worth..

U want them all, U want them forever..

An owners pride, envy for a neighbor..

A lunch in a restau, an evening in a mart..

The setting hardly matters, jab tum ho saath..

The warm presence, that loving touch..

There’s nothing like it, not even Google search

But the thing with clocks, the thing with time…

The hands do turn, the bells do chime..

A stuttering pause, a heavy heart..

A last look, an unwanted part…

A twinkle in the eye, a smile on the lips..

The joys of being with you, make my life a bliss…

Just can't get enough of it

First things first...I m not an avid reader of blogs...actually nowadays I dont like reading at all...I dont even know whether if given the chance I would be reading my own blogs myself...Moreover I dont have any command of language or any witty jokes with which I am planning to win over people's hearts...And a mild warning at the beginning ...I am a cricket maniac..so if you are averse to cricket please stay away...

So you ask what prompted such a lazy person like me , who virtually hates reading , to write a blog. The answer is very simple. I just have too much free time at home. And to tell the truth I have finally gotten bored of Facebook (yes you heard that right). But the thing that I have realized is  - one thing I can never get bored of is cricket. I donno why...Since early childhood ever since I watched that ODI at the Eden Gardens between India and the West Indies in the Hero Cup final I have been somehow mesmerized by the craziness surrounding cricket in the land of art and culture - Bengal. I can still picture vividly the stands full of firecrackers and the paper being burnt all over the place (strange way to celebrate victory I thought). From then onwards cricket has always been my first love(Sorry Nishtha).

And to say the truth I was never such a patriotic person. I have never woken up before 12 on the 15th of August. And the only reason I woke up early on the 26th of Jan was to catch a glimpse of the parade telecast on Doordarshan. But somehow when it came to cricket, it was like India should win eveything. I have been with them through ebbs and flows, highs and lows...decided at times never to touch cricket again..but returned the next match to support them enthusiastically again..

So it was but natural that when the IPL was launched and Kolkata got the opportunity to have a team of their own..which team I would be gunning for..Ok. To clear matters first, I am not a Bengali. Yes my friends at Kgp did call me one..but it was more of a jeer n sneer than anything else..They even called me a pseudo-bengali (imagine that)..But one thing is sure - I love Kolkata and West Bengal, inspite of all the Cholbe Na's and the Cholche Cholbe's...it has its own charm , homeliness and peacefulness that I find lacking in the other cities. I had given my heart way back to Kolkata. And when KKR came into being, I was as excited as you can imagine - what with Dada being the captain and leading my dream team - it was too good to be true. And when McCullum scored that 158 in the first match against RCB, I thought that the cup was ours for the taking...but alas as Murphy has taught us things do not always go as planned... 3 frusssstating seasons in a row..but I still have not lost hope...

This season we are sporting a new team with a new leader, albeit without Dada..but I am still with them...I dont care how but I want them to win at any cost.. I would love to be able to see a KKR win in Mumbai in the IPL. As many of my friends know my dream year would be if Manchester United complete the treble, India win the World Cup, KKR win the IPL and Alonso wins the Formula 1 Championship.......and at this point of time I aint betting against any of them...are you?