Adieu Jazz...

It was Friday afternoon and I get call on my extension from one of my very nice friend from China... Jassica...
She asked me if we can meet at food court...I was almost done with my work, so I said why not... So, I was on my way to food court and met Jassica and her friend in Food court near the juice parlor... They were waiting for me at Juice junction... after some normal talk Jassica said, it was her last day at Mangalore Infosys... Oh god... It was almost and half month and they are leaving for home, Shanghai... I really dont know how time passed... I was so unhappy that they were leaving... Since time they were in Mangalore, i had promised them to take around places in Mangalore and I couldnt keep to the promise... I feel sooooo bad...!!

They spoke to me about the time they spent at Mangalore and at Infy... I couldnt resist showing my feelings towards them and said "I really dont know how time passed by... I still feel like u came yesterday and I have some time to spend with you people.. How I wish you were here for some more time..."
What I feel most wonderful thing about my Chinese friends is they never show unhappy expression... They are Always cheerful may what come is what I came to know about them... I am gonna miss them a lot...

And yes, they had bought a present for me.. Yes, a beautiful 'Opera face' printed Bottle opener.. Here is how it looks like:

MCPD... Investigating absconding case...!!

"Is Mr Suraj at home..? We are from .........................”.

Sunday morning, rather noon; it was half past eleven when I opened my eyes. It was one more weekend in Mangalore when I was alone at home. I brushed my teeth and was lazing on the bed in our drawing room. Switched on TV and was watching repeat telecast of a reality show. TING TONG... Someone was at the door. I got up and while moving towards the door, I was guessing who might be there at this time... Cable bill... nah, we have already paid it... Paper bill, might be, but the guy usually comes early morning... Was it Maid servant? Nah, she has keys with her... Neeraj? Uh ha, it wasn’t yet morning for him. Then who was it..?

I opened the door and saw 2 people standing. They looked at me and one of them asked "Are you Mr.Suraj"..? I thought it may be someone sent by Suraj's father to pick his bike. But why will he ask for Suraj...? I gently said, "No, I am his room-mate"...
The same guy asked me again, "Where is Mr.Suraj"...?
I replied, "He is currently in U.S.A. Last Friday he took a flight to Houston and he is there for an assignment".
The two guys looked at each other and gave a disappointed look. The expression on their face was a bit strange. I was a bit surprised by their reaction. Something was fishy. I thought its better if I would ask who they were before I disclosed any information to them. I asked one of the guys, "Where are you people from and why are you asking for all this information". Both of them stared at me, one of them replied, "We are from Urwa police station and investigating on a case".
Bullshit, what has Suraj done before he left? Is it something serious? Since elections are near, may be the local police are just verifying how many people reside in the flat. But no, it was something different which I never could have guessed.

"Can you come to Police station with me now, we wanted some information about Mr.Suraj", one of the guy asked me. It was hardly 15 minutes since I was out of bed. I said I can’t come with them right now and it will take me at least of 1/2 hr. They took my number and asked me to be in at the station on time. They left and I closed the door.

I looked at myself in the mirror. I realized it was a week since I shaved. I was looking like a criminal with long hair, beard (rugged look) and glasses with black frame on my eyes. Since I was not sure why I was asked to come to Police station, I thought it would be better if I was clean shaved. At least I shouldn’t look like Suspect. :p I took a bath and went to police station by 12.30P.M. I always hate to go to Hospital and Police station. Especially the ambience in police station is what irritates me. And as far as hospital is considered, I don’t remember a singe instance when I have not fainted. Leave it, I don’t want to talk about that now... :p

I was escorted by a police constable from Lobby to the place where the person was sitting who was going to interrogate me. Now, before he asked me any questions, I asked him to brief me about the case and also why was I called here. He was very soft spoken (usually u don’t find such person in Police department). He told me the whole story.

When Suraj left Mangalore, he had booked a cab to drop him till Airport. Unfortunately, the Cab and driver both were reported absconding. The Cab owner had complained in the nearest police station and police had started investigating about the person. Now the question that came in my mind was why the hell they were asking for Suraj? Driver just picked Suraj from Home and dropped him at Bajpe Airport. When I asked this question to the guy interrogating me, he told me about the procedure they follow when such absconding case is registered. What they do is, they track all the activities related to the person. They start investigating about his activities 4 to 5 hours before he was reported missing and when they tracked the details of the incoming calls on drivers mobile, they found that Suraj had called him at around 6.51 PM on 18th (the day Suraj left Mangalore). That cop showed me the drivers photograph and asked if I recognize him. When saw the Pic, and recognized him. I could remember what the driver was wearing, the cab, and everything when we were standing in our apartment seeing off Suraj. Everything was as clear as if I was taken back into flashback!!

I told him everything as it was.He asked me a few more questions, noted down my number and then I was asked to come back in the evening. It wasn’t anything serious... Just a part of investigation and all I had to provide them is some information. I was fine with it. I came back home and told Suraj the whole story. Even he was surprised/shocked that all this happened.

So I visited the Police station all the three days and was asked the same set of questions. And today, the same guy requested me to inform him if I get any more information about the driver or the Cab. Yeppieee... No more going to police station... :)

Gosh..!! Never call a cab driver from your cell phone; No matter how far you have to go to find a phone booth. You never know what mess U will get into. Thankfully this isn’t a big one... Ha ha ha ha... Just kidding..!!

**By MCPD I meant Mangalore City Police Department... :p

A walk to remember...!!

Love is like the wind. You cannot see it but you can always feel it. The punchline from movie 'A Walk to remember', based on the romance novel by Nicholas Sparks. I dont know how you guys will feel about this movie, but this movie really touched my heart... The guy in the movie shares true love with the girl, but a heart breaking secret lies between the couple... The movie runs at slow pace but it has a real nice end...
The most catchy line in the movie was when Landon Carter(Shane West) tells Jamie's(Mandy Moore's) father that he is sorry he could not grant Jamie's wish to witness "a miracle" before she died. Her father says, "She did. It was you."
A very nice and touchy movie, typically a romantic drama and I loved watching it.

New Year..? EVERYDAY....is NEW

Nothing is different today, than yesterday, except for the fact that we ALL are marking a new calendar and calling today, NEW. Another year is starting and another one has ended. It is time to reflect on our past and make new hopes for the future. Some of us will make resolutions and others will just keep on doing what we are doing. Whatever it is that you decide to do, I hope that 2008 will be filled with good health, prosperity, love, and new horizons. It has been a year with lots of up’s and down in everyone’s life. We always remember the good things at the end and that is the way we it has to be.

It was Friday evening, and as it’s the end of the week I was on my way back home at around 7.30. On the way back to my room, I was thinking of how to celebrate on the New Year (NY) eve. Bhim had called me on Thursday and had asked me to come to Bangalore. He too was coming to Bangalore to celebrate as he feels much at home in Bangalore (BTM to be specific). Till Thursday end of day I was in the mood to be in Bangalore on 31st. Since I didn’t get leave on Monday I had to drop the plan. But guess what I didn’t get to regret for dropping the plan. On Saturday Vikram called in the evening and asked me if they can come to Mangalore to celebrate NY. I said “WOW” and asked them to drop in and stop pooling any more ideas for NY.

It was Sunday morning around 8.00 AM; Anand called me and said they are in Mangalore. As typical Hubli guys, they were in a hotel having cup of Tea. Finally at around 8.30, I heard people talking in Hubli-Dharwad Kannada in high pitch in our apartment. Who else, it was Anand, Bhimanna, Pavan, Vikram and Vinay. I was more than happy to see all of them in Mangalore. Though I couldn’t give a perfect red carpet welcome, the red colored door mat was always there. He he he. Sorry for that PJ, I know it was really pathetic.

Saturday night I was searching for the places to visit over the internet. I found out few places but didn’t finalize anything. Since we didn’t have much time and wanted to have fun and enjoy every moment, we decided to go to Bekal Fort. 80KM from Mangalore is this beautiful fort on the sea shore in Kerala. Bekal fort, the largest and the best-preserved fort in Kerala, lies 16 Kms south of Kasaragod on the national highway at the northern tip of the state. The fort, a circular imposing structure of laterite rising 130 ft. above sea level, stands on a 35 acre headland that runs into the Arabian sea. This fort is more than 300 years old and is believed to have been built in the 1650's by Sivappa Naik of the Ikkeri dynasty. We were 7 including me and my roommate Pranav. Somehow we got one more bike and were all set to leave at around 11. As everyone was hungry, we had our late breakfast at “Utsav” and were back in an hour, picked our bag and were off to Bekal Fort.

It was warm and sunny day, just the right amount of breeze, and bikes in right hands; perfect for a long ride… It took almost 2 hours to reach Bekal Fort. We parked our bikes, paid the entry fees and went in. Since I had been to this place before, I was the one who was guiding all of us to right spots. We took lot of snaps (I know everyone has changed their orkut Pic after this trip). It was really getting warm and everyone was thirsty it was time for a nice Lemon Soda. We felt better, and we went to the beach outside the fort and took some snaps. I could see and hear the violent waves making roaring sound when they hit the rocks. It was amazing to watch. The beach was a bit rough and we decided not to get into water. We went a bit further and found some shade under a rock. We took rest for some time and had wafers and cake. Now it was time to go back all the way till the entrance. Everyone was tired and sweating and wanted to take bath. We washed our face, went back to parking place, exchanged bikes and we were on the move.

On the way back, we stopped at a place near to Kumbla. “Back waters of Arabian sea”. Though we couldn’t get into water, it was a nice place to visit. It was around 6 and we wanted to be on the beach to see the sunset. We rushed towards Kumbla and went to the nearest beach. We were just in time and didn’t miss the sunset. It was nice to see the sunset and took lot of pics. After a long photo session, we decided to get into water though we didn’t carry any spare clothes. It was nice to watch everyone freak out and having fun. Since it was getting dark, we decided to get back to Mangalore and it took almost 1 and half hours. It was yet another amazing bike trip for me.

After coming back to room, it was time for some booze. We got some beer and hard drinks at home and the party went long till 3.00 AM. (Not getting into details of this session).

Monday morning. I was tired after trip and was in no mood to go to office. But I had to, so I took a bath and went to office. By 12.45 everyone was ready and hungry and we had a good South Indian Lunch at “Janata deluxe”. After heavy lunch Anand, Bhimanna, Pavan, Vikram and Vinay had decided to go to Udupi. All Roads in Udipi lead to the large open square in the city centre where the krishna Temple is located. This is the focal point of all activity, spirtual and commercial, in this pilgrim town. The famous 13th - century Vaishnava teacher, Madhava, is believed to have founded the temple by installing an image of Krishna he had rescued from a shipwreck. Parked outside the temple are the festival chariots with dome - like towers made of bamboo and covered with colourful textiles. The distance between from Mangalore to Udipi is 58 km (36 miles). And then, go to Malpe beach situated 66 kms north of Mangalore, near Manipal. The peaceful surroundings, makes this beach a favourite holiday spot. The uninhibited St. Mary's Island, just a boat ride away has a beach and an impressive geological formation of basalt rock pillars into the sea. I was sad that I couldn’t go with them.

Monday evening I finished off my work for the day and came back home with my roomi Suraj. We decided to go to Pub nearby as soon as these people come back. It was 8.30 when these guys returned from Udupi. They took bath and were all set to celebrate NY at the Pub “Froth on Top”. Spent some good time there and at the tick of 12 midnight, it was time for some dancing, shouting and excitement. We enjoyed the fireworks and wished everyone a bright and happy New Year.

The enjoyment continued till 1 AM at the PUB. I paid the bill and on the way back home, we took a diversion and went to Sultan Battery, a place on the river bank where we could find some peace. It is a watch tower constructed by Tipu Sultan and is situated 4 km from the City. Built in black stones, it gives the impression of a miniature fortress with its arrangements for mounting cannons all-round. It’s one of my favorite places in Mangalore and I love this place at night. We were talking about all the good times that we spent. It was almost 2 AM when we decided to get back to the room. Eveyone was tired and we slept as soon as we reaced home.
1st Jan 2008. It was time for me to say bye to Anand, Bhim, Pavan, Vikram and Vinay. We had lunch at a Dhaba near to my place and went to bus stand with luggage. They were off to Bangalore at 2 PM. I wished these 2 days of total fun never ended.
Anyways, Happy new year to everyone and guys (Anand, Bhim, Pavan, Vikram, Vinay, Suraj, Pranav), you ROCK...!!