Weekend tidbits

If you happen to be a privileged resident of Bangalore, I am sure you must not have missed the amazing treatment that the autowallahs give you here (sarcasm very much intended). They actually feel as if the entire working crowd in city of Bangalore are money minting machines having loads of money. They just don’t think twice before charging exorbitant sums (Sometimes I feel that this is latest kind of extortion mechanism!).

Just penning one of the innumerable experiences with the autowallah…
Last weekend I had to go to Forum (a mall) which is from my place a minimum charge by a rick (Rs 12). It is just 4 in the evening and I stop a rick

Me: Bhaiya Forum?
Autowallah: Ummm…theek hai. Only 30 rupees
Me (Muttering under my breath): What the..!!!

My roommate has a brilliant punch line for these autowallahs. She will approach them and say…

Roommate: Bhaiya waise toh hume pata hai ki aap xyz jagah par nahi jaayenge. Phir bhi hum aapse pooch hi lete hain kya aap xyz chaloge?
(The autowallah gives a confused and surprised look, and sometimes outta this confusion he reluctantly agrees to take us!)

Jai ho Bangalore ke autowaalon ki!!!

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It has been so long that I left Mumbai. But it still seems that I belong there. Remember those good old days when people used to get something or meet someone from their native place and immediately felt a bonding towards that thing or person, thinking…”arre ye mere gaon ka hai!!!”

Something similar happens to me when I come across someone or something remotely related to Mumbai in this alien city down south.

So it was simply a moment to cherish when after months, I decided to have Vada Pav last weekend. I was all alone at that time and usually hate eating without a company. But surprisingly, I enjoyed my Vada Pav a lot. To tell you frankly, it felt as if:

I relished Mumbai again!

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Ahhh…..I have moved and traveled so many times from one place to another in the past couple of years that I have almost become quite comfortable with the trauma of packing and unpacking every time. (Given the optimistic person that I am, I have started seeing it as an alternate career opportunity….having my own Packers and Movers Company. Tell me if you are looking for a job change. Don’t get me wrong dude…I won’t hire you…I’ll come and help you pack!) :D

So it did not bother me much that I have to pack a cupboard full of clothes and other stuff before moving from Bangalore to Calcutta. My dad was after me for last two weekends and every time he brought up this topic, I would assure him that this weekend I’ll finish most of the packing (and no prizes for guessing, I would postpone it every time!).

But last Sunday, I decided to take action on my dad’s advice (phew! finally!!) and started packing at 11 in the night. Boy! It turned out to be more tedious than I had thought….and then, I started feeling hungry. Cooked up something in the middle of the night (wanna use the phrase “I was burning the midnight oil”…hee hee). After satiating the rats in my stomach, I started packing again.

And after three hours of slogging, the moment finally came when I took a deep breath and calmly said:

Khallas!!!