Getaway

Our trip was due; though I have been on the move every now and then this year, but we together had not done any travels in 2024.

It boiled down to first week of October - and per my experience it's an ideal time to visit Manali. Looking at places to stay, we both have been suckers for old Manali properties and as Johnson’s had been done one too many times, it was time to try different. Year 2011 was when I had stayed at Baikunth Manali, and ever since then I have carried its impressions. Great place, cozy and wholesome green, excellent garden breakfast and expensive on wallet - had to do it with Sonia. Thirteen years later, I was back at Baikunth.

2011 post →  http://simranjeetgill.blogspot.com/2011/09/manali-2011.html

It was our first journey on the newly opened highway to Manali and man have the views changed. Altogether different route post Kiratpur all the way till Sundernagar, then Mandi bypass and post that you can relate to some old views of the Manali highway which will also not be visible for long, once a few pending tunnels are opened. The whole perception of reaching Manali and the time it takes - has changed. With Q7 it was fun negotiating the twists and the turns and the ups and the downs - to the extent that one of the cameras clicked a nice picture of famed QUATTRO in action, alongwith with a footnote demand of 1500 rupees for having fun. Repressive times.

with love from Auhar Bilaspur

The assessment so far to the rush scene in Manali, was spot on and we had no trouble reaching our stay negotiating the narrow stretch of Circuit House road. Quite a road has been damaged on the way to Manali, but one can see the real aftermaths of 2023 flood fury on Manali - Solang stretch. Entire sections of road have been wiped clean and one can recognize presence of earlier road only from remnants of one or two odd guard rail sections that stood the fury. Beas river bed is scattered with huge boulders which were not present earlier and now are at their new resting places.

beyond Sissu

One day we went across tunnel to Sissu and beyond, which has become more of a ritual as I would want to get a feel across Rohtang yet not having to negotiate Rohtang - more like cheating. For someone who has been browbeaten by mighty Rohtang one too many times, this feeling is epic. Night rituals would include shifting between Johnson’s or Lazydog, and walk or take auto on the way back depending upon sobriety levels. Hadimba Temple is always a soothing experience as is the walk through the nature park.

Baikunth breakfast lay

Baikunth treated us well. Besides us there was probably one more room occupancy which rotated throughout our stay of three nights. Since we were the constant guests, I believe we were treated well. The property though located in the middle of the town belies its location with complete green cover from all sides, with one side skirting the nature park. Thanks to less tourist traffic; the old manali road (which is usually abuzz with sounds of autos making there rounds up and down the road) was way silent, giving us the just right getaway. 

The stay was nice, as was weather, as was traffic, as was drive, as was companionship. Thank you for the opportunity and experience.

Manali - Oct 2024

Malik Sir

It's hard for me to come down to it and write - I've been trying for sometime now but somehow have been evading it. Don't know where to start and where to end but I guess the best way is to just go about it.

I met Mr. Sanjiv Malik (Malik sir) in year 2007 regarding his requirement of air-conditioners in his upcoming house in Sector 27 Chandigarh. For a twenty six year old me, Malik sir was true as a senior and in course of time we became friends.

A pass out from IIT Delhi and Stanford University, Malik sir was extremely well read and upto date on happenings around - for me he was a sea of knowledge and wisdom from which he never hesitated to share. I needed a guide, a mentor in my life and life gifted me Malik sir. Seventeen years of life we shared among ourselves and it's hard to comprehend the journey it has been - from where I was when I met him and where I am today. There is not one close associate of mine who has not heard of his name from my mouth - for invariably some topic would come, where the fundamental of it all I would have discussed with him. His doors were always open for me - I’ll just call and go with no defined timeline of length of meet.

I cannot believe that I would be writing what I am writing - he’s gone. A man who left indelible print on my personality - a man who guided me just right - a man who taught me what intelligence is - a man who was my quasi father.

Excited like a youngster he would get on hearing my travel tales and would keenly inquire on route details and the know how. He travelled Leh/Spiti in bus when people did not even have a notion of these places as ones to visit. Then his gypsy travels through the region and his vivid memory of the taste of mutton cooked for hours in that guest house - oh that smile on his face. Always encouraging me to be me and not give two hoots to the noise, I could share and I could learn from him.

Seventeen years is just too long and I don't think I can do justice with words. Despite your raging battle with cancer for 5 years, I never saw you down and defeated - I saw Chardi Kla right there sitting in front of me. You would say you would go down fighting (and you remained true to your word), live everyday to the full and end it by saying BAAKI DEKHI JAEGI..

Thank you for sharing time with me Malik sir - fare well, for I know you are in a happy place.

Kolkata

Work sojourn - 2 nights - Kolkata - I was in.

Best part of the whole affair is that the flight is direct; you fly from home and you land at home. My grandfather has worked in Kokata (erstwhile Calcutta), my father has worked in Kolkata as have a few of my cousins. Since my early days, whenever there used to be some news or some sighting on TV of English Royal family, my father would refer to queen as my TAAI. For a while, I lived scantily believing that we had some rishtedaari with royal family of England.

So there is the connect - however never thought of or felt motivated to visit the West Bengal capital. The impressions that I have had is that Bengalis are an intelligent lot, good with art and music; that industry is scarce in WB due to communist ideology and relatable face for me was Comrade Harkishan Singh Surjeet. That my cousins wife is from WB and my friend Tejas is from WB. Distorted it might be - but thats all I had about Kolkata in my head as we landed.

Victoria Monument

New Town is a clean and green place - many a times the impression was of it not being India but some South East Asian country. The buildings adorned different kinds of art and were not dull looking concrete blocks, walls filled with graffiti - very colourful. Visited the famous Victoria monument and was blown by its grandeur and enormity of construction, that too a century before not to mention made possible by the contribution of THE PRINCES AND PEOPLES OF INDIA. What power and money can make people do - one wonders ! One wonders what the thought process of principal promoter of monument would be, who would tax people to build a stone collection for a lady gone by, whom all I had known about thus far was from the movie - Victoria & Abdul. While splendid construction it is, the English did have the best of this sone ki chidiya.

Mr. Kohli’s spot

Onwards it was to the famous Howrah, wherein we jostled with locals in heat and sweat as my companion was hell bent on ferry ride across the Hoogly River. Six rupees up and six rupees down, the ride was done and dusted. Hunger and Beer pangs happened soon thereafter, and we asked our cab driver to take us to a decent spot - which to his best of intellect was HINDUSTHAN RESTAURANT & BAR at Lindsay Street. Interiors belied the outlook of the joint and we were soon munching and gulping. The service guys reckoned we were Punjabis, so implored their owner who was also in the premises to meet us. Mr. Kohli had come to Calcutta 50 years ago; hailing from Sialkot in Pakistan, he worked hard to own several of such places alongwith a flourishing catering business. Taking his leave, Mr. Kohli very graciously invited us as his guests in evening when the place would peak in pomp and show. Having said a few times, we thanked him for the offer fully aware that we wont be able to make it.

Breakfast

I can say I have been a few places and stayed at a few properties, yet Fairfield by Marriott stood a mile out in their breakfast lay compared to all others. Never ever have I seen a dutch oven filled with veg Maggi and hot Gulab Jamuns in breakfast outlay - both being my highly rated, I gave chefs a run for the money. Quite a sight it was with people lining up for fruits and so called healthy options and here I was with a plateful of Maggi and Gulab Jamuns and an apathetic glee I cannot describe.

Thank You Kolkata - when I shall think of you I will feel positive; I had a good trip.

Summer of 24

It's 0428 hours and I cant believe that there is a break …… finally a break. I have opened all the doors for cross ventilation, with a satiated mind that the walls and the roof would heave a sigh of relief from the onslaught. The onslaught of this summer - the summer of 2024 which has been different in so many ways.

Now I feel, weather changes are cyclical assuming that the powers that be did not deploy weather modification systems - what this years summer stands out is the way the temperatures have ranged in the mid 40 degree celsius range for more than six weeks straight - without a break; this I had not seen in my 40+ years of existence this far. Someone is asking “where are we headed” while others are rhyming in chorus the magical words - Global Warming. I personally will not give too much importance to human and his doings; human is too small a blip in the larger scheme of things - called Life.

So yea as I write, the sound of thunder is most pleasing to ears and is no less than Godsend AAKASH VANI. The sound of lashing rain can be best described as orgasmic - oh yeah bring it on. While I would love to bitch and moan about all that happened and how we got through the last six weeks - but thats not how you express thankfulness isn't it; although I am pretty sure some future Bryan Adams would sing a song titled - SUMMER OF 24

Happy and Thankful for the break - RAIN RAIN COME AGAIN

for record at Delhi

Hello

It is hot and hot is should be - every season has it meaning whatever we might say - bottomline is, its good to be above surface to witness another summer.

Being a Sunday, thought I should brush up on the blog side of life. For the last seven weeks, I have by choice put my body (which was way out of shape) through a new regimen. This regimen that I speak of, is incorporating all that I have learned through years of foolhardiness - inside and outside of the gym. This time around, I am trying not to tighten myself too much, trying not to think ahead of time, trying to re-learn patience; which I think is the biggest of all. Having said it - I am also trying to give up controlling my fate, for it is plain stupid and utterly futile in my ultra minuscule view of life. It is what it is and it will be what it will be. I cannot let my imagination pregnant with fear run amok and create something totally disconnected, which further starts dictating the way I do things in physical reality.

So yeah… easy Surdy as Mallu used to say - easy it is and easy is the way. Nobody said easy means lazy or just giving up and being a sitting duck - but doing what I can do, knowing that I do not control my fate and should things turn a way not in line with me - that I will be ok and more than ok knowing that I did what I could.

So no complaints compadre, rather I have no right to complain but I shall continue to earn my blessings and try learning all that I am yet to learn - which by the way is limitless. So my task is cut.

Easy Surdyyy

Thought this Morning

This morning there was this flash of thought - that man is always struggling to keep ahead of the pincer movement of bills and expenses. No matter how much you have, it just doesn't seem to be enough. I am not thankless, yet at the same time I live in a world surrounded by hungry dogs and the only way I feel I can survive them, is that I have more. Now myself having written it, there seems no logic to the statement but I believe thats my natural instinct kicking in - eat or get eaten.

I believe you have to engage with this wild pack of dogs for you have to learn and evolve with their techniques, that is to say, to stay current (as the pilot terminology goes) and if not, at some point or the other you would be hoodwinked into a state / position of loss. So while one is at it, why not make a buck or two or even more - that is the whole logic. 

There are days when you see the ugliness of it and you question yourself, do you still need to continue doing this ? But then everyday, things are only getting tougher / tighter economically and morally; there is always some new expense around the corner, some unanticipated money dole out which was never there in all your years of existence. So yeah it's a race, and an endless one that only culminates with this life. There are no complaints, but writing this out is a form of acceptance of the facts that are; grass root reality is ugly and there exist no civility in dog eat dog world - there are only pretensions.

I am not a hoarder, yet I believe to be ahead of the financial curve such that there is enough to maintain decent buffer between my family pack and the wild dogs. So yeah, bring it on I could have a tiring moment but not a defeating one.

PS:    Much thanks to the provider of all, for giving strength and guidance to navigate these times and abundant fruits while I am at it.

Bottle of Lies

One of my most listened to, or rather the only podcast I listen to - Joe Rogan Experience has introduced me to so many different conversations about varying subjects, that it's a treat for inquisitive mind. Many a people walking on this planet who have stumbled upon some information/fact have had their word beamed out to audience such as me, all thanks to the podcast. Thats one boon of the information age.

Listening to one such episode with Brigham Buhler of https://ways2well.com/ I picked up on a book named ‘Bottle of Lies’ which details on deceit of pharmaceutical industry. Amazon app, is now the new google and soon enough Bottle of Lies by Katherine Eban was in my hands.

What followed was page after page of astonishment as the author details on how the pharmaceutical industry in race for money, played with health of untold victims (their consumers) - case in point Ranbaxy. Myself coming from a Sardar family, I would say that I had a soft point for the two Sardars of Ranbaxy - Malvinder & Shivinder; but just as the fact of matter is, the outlook does not depict what lies within. Having their maternal side from the most known/wealthy family of Punjab (Dera Beas) and themselves starting off as scions of Dr. Parvinder Singh, it left me wondering as to what their motivation might be to commit fraud on such a grand scale - and not just fraud, rather criminal act of providing poor to dud medicines to wanting sick patients across the globe.

Yes, there exist people with conscience and the book details on multiple of those (https://dineshthakur.com/) - but in the end, it's the money that is winning. Had heard the term Generic Drugs but never got to detail of it just like so many other things; the book cleared my fundamentals on the subject with a fine comb. Revealing as it was about prevalent practices in drugs industry, it did make me recall my parents advice - at first instance avoid doctor and try traditional remedy, and in our case more than 90% of the time it did the job. The whole system is rigged and getting into all the nitty gritty of all the details, you realise that sum total is zero.

Thankful to the author for raising my awareness and for JRE for spreading the word. I now know, that our beliefs that education system gave us have to be updated with time and cannot be held in perpetuity. That despite the call of ruling government of our country for Amrit Kaal, we are nowhere near and short term gains with the adage “DEKHI JAAEGI” rule the roost.

So take care of your family and friends and do not buy cheap version of drugs. If you can, get a handle on the said book and read cover to cover.

God Bless.