Aug15 2008!

"HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY"

Freedom in the Mind,
Faith in the words,
Pride in our souls!!

Lets salute the nation on our 61st independence day!

An evening in Tolichowki 08-08-08 @ 8:p.M. :-)

Its not the Olympics at Beijing neither the power saving initiative to switch off the lights at 8:00 P.M. for 8 min made the day memorable.It was the heavy traffic jam which made me stay on the dirty and crazy roads of HYD roughly for 3 and 1/2 hrs that made the evening memorable.Was about to start at the office in a jubilant mood as it was friday evening after winding off my work @ 7:00 P.M. sharp..but one of my colleagues came back saying "Its impossible to step out"..When I saw through my window I could sense the TOOFAAN atmosphere with gush of water and wind beating the window panes with "VROOM" sound.Helpless we started chit-chat and loud laughter with a hot mug of coffee.I was clueless how to reach home when I got a call from my Bro who saved my thought saying" B ready .I Will pick u up in 1/2 hr".It was 7:20..spent the time discussing the rating of "Singh is Kinng"!And does the double "n" in the name really a good omen ;-P !Will "Rock on" hit the box office or not..IS Farhan Akhtar more dashing or Arjun Rampal :-) and is Mahesh babu a revdi or Manly!!were actually njoying the long long talks and gossips par ghar to pahunchna hai! :-(Two of my friends craving for hot fish curry left for New food court and I started towards the main gate getting wet top to bottom!(Y do we always carry umbrella only when there's no rain :-o??)Office umbrellas were picked by almost all and the scene at the main gate and few yards inside and outside it reminded me the climax court scene of :"GURU".I could see only the umbrella tops neatly placed in long rows and columns like a matrix !The scene was worth enough to be captured in a cam but DAmn its raining "cats n dogs!"Power saving initiative was strictly followed and lights went off at 8 sharp!I saved my head under all the "Guru Bhai's " :)umbrellas and reached my car emerging out of 100s of umbrellas as the "GURU OF THE DAY"! While all the others were eagerly waiting for the buses and cabs..me Bhayya and driver started off happily with PAppu cant dance saaala on 91.1 FM but the happiness didnt last long :-( Crossing Gachibowli is not a big deal.The road was clear.Only Obstacle is the terrific rain.The real challenge is to cross "TOLICHOWKI" with occasional pools of high current water.The car halted .I thought it might be the routine traffic jam we dialy face here!!With the flow of the songs "chand sifaarish " "woh Ajnabee" "pehli nazar me" "Kabhi Kabhi aditi" and many more I didnt realise how long we were stuck in the traffic!INDIAN MUSIC "A real life saver" and even a misguide at such moments ;)When I checked my watch shockingly i realised from the past 45min we have moved only few feet... so did my brother who was immersed in his lappy!
The impatience, cold sneezes and the rumble in the stomach intensified when I was able to see only and only VEHICLES as far as my eyes could see!The heavy population of India is clearly evident is such moments!All sorts of vehicles Possible on this globe "A Honda City " "A Innova" " A WAGON R" " A INDICA" and what not..(IS Indian economy really low?!!?)"gosh! these gigantic vehicles should be banned on such depressing roads!"This was the first thought struck me that night..Entered the adjacent one way traffic road which was empty but invain.How blindly people follow others when facing a common problem ":-("! Obviously almost immediately even this road got jammed..We had no other choice than entering the "OLD IS GOLD" road through a passage in the divider.The intensity of hunger increased so much so that "Kyu Aaj kal neend kam Khwaab zyada hai" Seemed depressing on 92.7 FM..."Hyderabad House" was nearing but the moments were so unpredictable that we cant go attack BIRYANI and come back....but we were not moving either...In such a distressing hungry second my genius bro suddenly got down and bought a Chicken pizza and cream rolls from a near by bakerY.Three of us had a moon light cum HEAD--LIGHTS dinner:-).."RARE PEOPLE RARE HAPPENINGS"!First time felt the joy in satisfying the rumbling stomach to some extent (as my share was just 2 pizza pieces and a roll) is heavenly :-D!
We were slogging yawning and dragging the time some how.Radio me love guru shuroo and the same old long consoling suggestions, ideas which raised the count of "YAWNS"!The gup shup ended and even the pizza got digested.Its taking 15min on an avg to reach from one shopping mall to the next road side.!Got a crazy idea to enter in to a function hall and have dinner where "Shaadi" bells were feebly ringing due to splash of rain and lack of crowd..but "BOSS who will believe three withered faces came to attend a wedding!"Many restaurants passed but no one had energy enough to get wet in rain and have food.It seemed like after ages we touched the borders of Tolichowki where we have a temple and a Darga!few cars were half drowned in the muddy pools at few places!!It was 10:45 and the rain didnt rest ::A CLEAR AND LONG INTERACTION WITH WHAT IS CALLED "CYCLONE".The jet of water from the fly--over splashed the car top with a "DUB DUM" sound which strengthened me a little as it indicated "At last we reached our destination"..Am almost home..Reached home at 11:15.So A 3 and 1/2 hr restless journey on Hyd roads which normally takes not more than 40min!
The first thing I wanted to do is jump on my bed and just sleep, but the dinner table with hot tomato dal "cucumber chutney" and paapad were inviting.So gulped some food as soon as possible and had a sound sleep.The saturday morning I got up late and saw My window panes are still being splashed and..."AAAAAhhhhhh" I yawned loud and sipped a hot releiving tea with situational rain song "Vache vache nalla mabbullara" which means Dark xlouds are on the way!..:-) from the movie AAnand on radio:)

----------By Afshan-----------