Pursuit of Happiness: Finding Oneself!

Back in 2011

As the smell of old books lingered around my bedpost and the economic books under my pillow started making way for the previous year’s edition of RSM's (read Rolling Stones Magazines), winter had faded away and the sun had started greeting me earlier in the bed. Chipped wooden floor, torn out film posters, towering unused tea-cups and tea-bags and the covers of newly rented Dvd’s gave my room the ambience of a David Finch film set from the 90's. I was lazy, tardy, confused, angry and frisky most of the times and could be seen sporting long unkempt bed head and worn out sweats and shorts. I would wake up in the middle of the night and realise that I had been sleeping at a stretch for three continuous days. I would stay locked in the room for hours without any care for the outside world. Sometimes, I would step outside to realise that I had not been home for over a week and had been sleeping over at a friend’s place. My phone would have missed calls from weird unknown numbers and my music player would still be stuck on repeat, playing the same damn song it had been playing a day before.  I had no clue where I was heading and nor did I care.

Today

I haven’t slept in over 48 hours and have been working as a freelance copywriter, editing articles for an advertising and marketing firm based in Singapore. I have a meeting at 2pm with fellow film enthusiasts to discuss the concept of our next television episode and a research paper on the positive impacts of piracy to be completed. I need to meet film directors and producers for interviews related to my research later in the evening and need to go on a recce at night for the next week’s shoot. In the last one year, I have been the editor cum creative head of a college based annual magazine, the video editor/director for a college based film club. I have worked for an International students’ film festival and currently am heading the festival’s next edition. My entire next week is planned in advance and if you could see me right now, you would find me hitting the keys of my laptop real hard and staring at its brightly lit screen as if I am zoned out. I am writing this post for a blogging competition in the college and with 15 minutes for the competition to end I am still running a race against time. I can still be seen sporting worn out sweats and shorts and I still get missed calls from weird unknown numbers on my mobile phone. And yes, I still step outside sometimes to realise that I haven’t been home for days. I don’t have the time to think as to where I am heading nor does that bother me. So, what has changed in these two years, you folks may ask and to that I say. I am driven, motivated, creatively satisfied, possibly in the best shape of my life and most importantly happy inside.  In these two years, I think I’ve found myself, and boy do I care? Well, I leave that upto you to decide.

In the past two years, I followed my heart sincerely, made decisions that made me happy within and never gave in to procrastination. In another six months, I will be a Journalism and Mass Communication graduate and boy do I take pride in that. O yeah! *Smirks*

The Gods of Thrash Metal came down to our city. Megadeth kicked the daylights out of Greater Noida. One memorable experience of my life. All hail Megadeth \m/

I was here. It was magical. ^-^

CHILLSPOTS KA ITIHAAS: HOW IT ALL STARTED

When you’re the youngest in your family, with two sisters from JMC,  a Stephanian as a cousin brother (who spent almost his entire college life crashing at your place after his late night revelry and his midnight exploits), numerous uncles and aunts and innumerable friends and acquaintances as alumni’s of the country’s hippest university, chances are you grew up on their legendary tales from college and you know everything from their Top Bird watching(if you know, what i mean) sites, to their most favored hangouts.

Now since the beginning the North Campus slackers had K-nags, The Bonta(The ridge) and Majnu Ka Tila to call as their own territory, while the South Campus revelers had Satya Niketan to call as their own turf. They had the odd Qd’s and Chache Di Hatti  in these areas, which had almost mastered the “craft of being a Chill Spot ” for all the wild ones, or as could be told by the number of people that thronged these places. Now as time passed by, a whole bunch of new universities cropped up in and around the city, with its students forming a major chunk of the college going crowd. These kids were left with the options of either “biodegrading” (yes I did use that word intentionally) in their own, rajma chawal serving canteens or to follow in the footsteps of their cool DU bhai bandhus and wander around in their terrain, feeling like a pale skinned donkey amongst a herd of UV colored zebras(not trying to glorify them).

Cut to 2012 (transition used is a fade out) 

Umpteen number of restaurants, cafes, coffee shops, standalones, food courts and other eateries come up in every nook and corner of the city, trying to recreate the charm of a K-nag and a Satya Niketan outlet, drawing scores of people. It becomes such a phenomenon that the capital today boasts of a rich café culture, with innumerable cafes catering to the young and the restless, with school kids who just hit puberty and kids from the recently opened colleges and universities forming a major part of this crowd along with their DU counterparts who are too tired of the limited options at their disposal and are in a constant quest for something new and refreshing.

What happened in these few years was that restaurant owners realized that there was a huge crowd in the city dying for a eating out experience in a young and buzzing campus sort of atmosphere. Also with colleges and workspaces witnessing formation of small little cliques with people with varied interests and likes forming a part of it, entrepreneurs found a perfect business opportunity here.  Over the years, the city witnessed cafes catering to special groups of people like the backpackers, photographers, cinema lovers coming up.

So, here is a list of some of the uber cool options that the capital has to offer to all you restless souls out there scouting for a place to call your own.

1. Sams Cafe/ Club India Cafe: If international cuisine, rooftop seating's, cheap food and a mixed race crowd to mingle with is your idea of chilling out, Paharganj is the place to be at. Located in Central Delhi, Paharganj is the hippie haven of the capital and boasts of some dirt cheap international food serving type pseudo dhabas, where almost everything from Italian, Mexican, Lebanese, Russian, Japanese, Korean and Israeli food is available at throwaway prices. Sam’s Café and Club India Café are two of the well known cafes in the area amongst the various others. Ideal time to visit them would be once the sun goes down, and that is if you wish to enjoy their terrace garden seating overlooking the busy main market.

Price: Approx Rs 600 for two.
Highlights: Israeli Schnitzel, Chicken Lasagna and the deserts at Sams. Masala Chai at CIC.

2. Spell & Bound: Located right across IIT Delhi campus, Spell & Bound is the quintessential destination for all the book lovers in the capital. The concept is quite simple, there is a book store on the ground floor and a small eatery on the upper floor serving sumptuous rolls  and lip smacking shakes. The decor is classy Victorian with shades of dark green and brown thrown in. It attracts crowd from the schools nearby and the IIT Campus which is right opposite to it, along with the book loving, British council membership holding, literati from all over the city.

Price: Approx Rs 300 for two.
Highlights: The Kashmiri Kathi Rolls along with all the shakes, and great collection of books.

3. Kunzum Travel Cafe: One of its kind “pay as you like” Cafe located in the upmarket Hauz Khas Village. The walls at Kunzum are adorned with the pictures clicked by the owner and photographer Ajay Jain. Kunzum is a travel cafe and is a small place for travelers to meet, exchange travel stories, make plans, post travelogues or simply laze around and get to know each other over coffees and cookies. There’s free Wifi too, so you can just sit, work on your laptop for endless hours, without worrying about the time or the bills or anything else, besides this place is always buzzing with some sort of interactive activity like book reading sessions with authors and screenings of documentaries and short films followed by a discussion on the same. There is a small donation box at the exit, where you can put in any amount, keeping your experience in mind.

Price: Pay what you like.
Highlights: The photographs, the free WiFi, the lovely staff and the people, the ambiance, the books and of-course the coffee and the cookies.

4. Iron Curtain: If you love your movies and your food together, Iron Curtain is made for you. One restaurant, one mini theatre, screenings of classic films and some great gourmet food, perhaps the only place in the country where you can enjoy a gourmet meal and watch a film all at once. The food is slightly overpriced, however, food served in your seats and the whole experience of watching a classic film at the same time while digging into your food, kind of makes up the experience worth the money you shell out later. In short the movies are free, the food is not.

Price: Approx Rs 1000 for two.
Highlights: The mini theatre, the movie collection, the friendly staff, the mac and cheese and  the hot girl sitting next to you.

5. The All American Diner: The kings of Yankee cuisine, All American Diner is the place that defines coolness for me. Done up in a 70’s style look, the American Diner is the place to visit if you love your bacons and sausages, pancakes and cheesecakes and waffles and maple syrup and you like them served huge. Located inside the Indian habitat Centre, AAD is the place to visit if you like kickstarting your day with a heavy breakfast.

Price: Approx Rs 1000 for two.
Highlights: The huge portions, the sumptuous food and the ambiance.

6. Indian Coffee House: Now if you happen to be out of those “too cool for a Mocha and a V spot” and 'other fancy cafes in fancy locale' types(which usually attract the biggest attention seeking superficial little brats from the city) and prefer a more desi, Parsi bakery type atmosphere to chill and hang around, ICH is the place to be at. Indian Coffee House boasts of a rooftop seating, and also has an indoor seating option for those less enthusiastic about an open roof cafe, which reminds you of the once popular Iranian cafes and Parsi outlets in Mumbai. The crowd consists of mostly artsy students and government office employees, who come for a quick snack and a long chat.

Price: Approx Rs 300 for two.
Highlights: The mutton dosha, the hot cream coffee, the odd langurs chilling with their buddies(Yes) and the laid back atmosphere.

7. Andhra Bhawan: Now most of us in college are broke by the end of the third week of the month, but hunger can strike you anytime and any day of the month and eating out becomes an expensive affair. It is during these trying times of the month that Andhra Bhawan comes to the rescue of us young poor souls, with its all you can eat super yummy vegetarian thali(with an option of turning it into a non veg platter for few extra bucks). Be sure to reach an hour early for lunch and dinner, if you want to save a seat for yourself. Andhra Bhawan can’t be called a cafe but the kind of food that it serves and its dirt cheap prices earn it a spot on every students eating out list.

Price: Approx Rs 200 for two.
Highlights: Unlimited South Indian Vegetarian Thali+ Non veg options+ Cheap food+ Great taste,  Kya bole toh pheeel.

Also visit Café 2 2 tango HZV (previously the brick house diner), Thadi HZV, Ziro HZV and Eatopia Lodhi Road, which score well on the coolness quotient.
Auur Jaankaari ke liye Kkrrrupiya share kare blog aur Kkrrrupiya acche comment daalein yehaan.  Signs off!   

The Art of Gyaan Batowing!

"Dude i was Omw to college, when i saw that Silky fucha getting totally bajaod in the bus for trying a breast-stroke on some BTM chick from Gargi rofl!"
"Lol he'z such a lend. Haha(Both Laugh)"

Ever heard a similar conversation and had half the words fly over your head? Well chances of you having a deja vu are pretty high, if you've just made the transition from the comforts of your AC school bus and your healthy snack serving, fully furnished, wooden floored, A/c school canteen to every college students nightmare, the DTC and some roadside Chai serving panwaadi.

Welcome to the colourful world of delhi college types, where class no longer divides people but radness does, where people spend hours slacking off with their buds, trying to find out new words to cuss each other with and where you find kids in all sorts of small little cliques, from the Hippie rockers and Psi Heads to the wannabe photographers,Cinema lovers and writers and then the rest of the university oddballs; nerds, theatre-types, activists, and so on.

However, inspite of the diversity that you will see around yourself, there is one thing that unites them all, the colorful vernacular of these delhi colleges. Everyone uses the same slangs as others, more or less.. slangs that were inherited from a mix of Dosco's(Doon School Boys), Stoner Comedy Flicks(Cheech and Chong series, the big lebowski, dude wheres my car and the pineapple express), anglicized versions of desi words and the international hippie culture in general. Now if you are tired of being the guy/gal whose left clueless at the end of a joke that cracks up everyone else gathered around you, or if you happen to be out of the ones who laugh at every other joke but fail to understand any, do Not Sweat Yo, help is at hand (TWINK).

Here are a few words that'll make the next three years of your stay in college one smooth ride. Hahaha(Wicked Laugh)

1.Starting off with some of the most obvious and most heard terms

Univ: stands for University.
Res: means college hostels or some time is used for kids who reside in them.
Soc: stands for society.
OMW: stands for "On My Way."
Amma: refers to the hostel warden.
DRAMCHI: means a Drama Queen.
Fucha: A Fresher, a newbie, a sophomore in college is called a fucha.
CATing: Someone whose preparing for CAT, is known to be CATing.

Over to the more creative and complicated ones

2.Bajaod: to get screamed at by an authoritative figure or to get stoned.

"Dude i got totally Bajaod by sheila in the MLS lecture today." OR "what on earth did you put in that brownie dude? i got totally bajaod."

3.Silky: Boys/Men who always(often) hang out with girls and engage in their silky or girly talks. Should not be confused with someone, with a girly touch to himself(example-Bobby Darling).

"Dude quit being so silky and get a life."

4.Breast-Stroke: It is one step above eve teasing and one below rape and means exactly what its called. Girls and Boys(in rare occasions)who choose to travel by public modes of transport are often victims of this shameful act, that delhi metro and DTC's are famous for.
(Refer to the first line of the article for usage.)

5.BTM: stands for "Behenji Turned Mod" and it means exactly what it says. Girls who suddenly take to fashion in hopes of aping someone they admire in college or outside, hoping to get everyone's attention and who fail miserably in their attempt at doing so.

"Your Girlfriend is such a Classic case of a BTM. I mean what sup with that put on accent.lol"

6.Lovely/Lovelies: This was a recent addition i suppose and is used for all the Punjabi's living in Delhi  The inspiration was the recent advertisement of a Punjab based university that has been airing on the channels since a while.

Mallu: 'What is this Lovely Professional University dude? What it turns everyone Lovely?'
Gujju: 'No it teaches all the "lovelies" how to become professionals dude(laughing).'

7. Stifler: Inspired from the popular adult comedy film series "american pie". Stifler is a character in the film, who is known for his desperation and who always stares and gawks at the ladies around him, and tries to woo them by hook or crook. This word has since, replaced the other popular synonyms like player,boner and Cc and is used for boys/men with a wandering eye.

8. Lend: A poser, a wannabe, a brown noser, a fake individual, who pretends to be something he/she is not. Easily distinguishable by his/her clothes and his/her personality. Can be seen wearing the most uncomfortable, out of fashion clothes(extremely tight pants, deep neck body fitting t shirts and pointed
formal shoes for boys and blingy clothes ,shoes and handbags and over the top make-up for girls) and talking in the most grammatically wrong, heavily accented(a put on accent that is) English.

"Her boyfriend is such a lend."

9. BT: British telecom would be surprised to know that BT was the most used term in Indian campuses recently. However, the term used in campuses have nothing
in common with the telecom giants. BT in campuses simply mean 'bad trip'.

"Dude the music in the party gave me such a BT. It sucked balls."

10.PMS or PMSing: PMS stands for 'pre menstrual syndrome'. It refers to that time of the month when men are supposed to be wary of the fury of their
girlfriends and wives that can hit them at any time, any place, without any prior notice. PMSing is when someone is undergoing the situation.

"Dont annoy her with your stupid jokes dude,shez PMSing".

11. Wassab: Inspired from the desi pronounciation of the anglicized 'whatsup' which simply means what's happening. Wassab however has another meaning to it. It usually refers to how much a person has a say in the matters of a particular area. Can be heard a lot in the JNU campus, especially in the canteens where, boys try to brag about their 'res' and how much they have a say in matters related to their 'res'.

"Dude, apne res me apni badi wassab hai re. You are welcome, anytime."

12. Like: A Californication that you add on as much as possible wherever possible.
“I was..like..so totally…like…fried…and like…he was like…totally taking my case…and like….”

13. Fried/zapped/Spaced Out/Zoned Out: Simply means stoned.

"Dude i was so zoned out, i didnt realise when she left."

14. Morrison: A guy who has long hair like Jim Morrison. Usually used as a cat-call.
“Oye! Morrison!”

15. Munchies: Feeling hungry,often as a result of smoking pot.
“Dude. I have the munchies.”

Some other overused ones include
BMW: BADE MUMME WAALI
CC: Choot Chaat refers to desperate boys who can go to any extent to get laid.
Doobie: means a joint or a jay.
Fag: calling someone a fag means calling him/her a homo. Asking for a fag means asking for a smoke.

Alright, so these were a couple out of the zillion terms that are used in the day to day life in a campus.However, due to space constraints and explicitness of the content i had to stop at 15, but feel free to follow me on twitter @ucancallmeish, if you want me to shower more Gyaan on you and enlighten
you on some other crazy topics related to the campus. Over n Out. Peace!

Urban Tales of Hunger: ANAND The Saviour

So it was another saturday afternoon and i was sitting at home, lazing around in my pyjamas, binging on some milkmaid left in the fridge when an over enthused foodie friend of mine called up. I could feel excitement dripping from his tone and somewhere in the back of my head i knew the reason behind his call. the call started with the usual "howdy's" and "whattup's" and all the swearing. 5 minutes into the conversation , the talk shifted straight to our most favourite topic. Food.

We both were hungry and out of options.We both had to go for work in the evening. The only viable option was picking something on our way to work. Those were the days when we both were interns at Hindustan Times and the timings werent a major problem, thanks to our "cool as ice" boss. We both got out of our lazpants, changed to a pair of cheenos and chappals and left for work.

Now the HT building is surounded by a number of small food outlets serving chili potatos and samosa chaat,but we werent in a mood for the usual knickknacks. I had to call up a friend from my food trip group for ideas.

Cut to the restaurant
We crossed the road and took the first right from scindia house. After coming across a few restaurants, we saw a couple of guys soaking boneless pieces of chicken in some heavenly smelling gravy filled with some out of the  world spices. The board outside read "Anand" and boasted of specialising in biryani.

We entered the place which looked a little shady at first with the dim lights and the torn cusions. The place was filled with a couple of guides with some goras who seemed to be thouroughly enjoying the food in front of them. We looked at the menu and without taking any time, we placed an order for a plate of chicken and mutton biryani, which the restaurant boasts about being one of  the finest in Delhi. The service was quick and within 10-12 minutes of placing the order we had our food in front of us.

Now this is the part where i am going to get into the details. The moment the food arrived there was an aroma in the air, which is unexplainable. It was a sweet smell at first mixed with the aroma of the desi ghee in which it was prepared. I took a good five minutes to just get over the smell of that heavenly biryani. The portion wasnt huge but wasnt too small either. I tried both the chicken and the mutton variants of the biryani. The minute i took a spoonful of the rice, it simply melted into my mouth. Now you as a reader might be thinking, that rice melting in my mouth is just me blabbering and exaggerating about my experience, but there is no other way in which i can explain how amazing that first spoonful was.

Food melting in my mouth was something i had never experienced before. I almost felt like i had just discovered a sixth sense in my body. A sense that was meant to just taste all the wonderful flavours that existed around me. i had almost forgotten about work. Now the flavour of the biryani was so different from what i had tasted till now.and for just a mere 120 bucks the biryani was a steal.
Anand is definetely one of the finest biryani makers in Delhi and with the price it comes for, it sure comes in the top 5.

Now what happened in between was that my foodie friend whom i had called for help, was working on his weekly food blog and Anand was one of the restaurants he had decided to praise. With the kind of food they serve, i am sure there are another million blogs coming on them. Go Anand!

It was a saturday evening, and i was all excited as i was finally going out on a date with the girl that i had been chatting with for about a month.Her parents were settled in uk and she had come to delhi during her vacations.The place was decided, a popular restro-bar.

I dressed up early as i didnt want to be late and reached almost on time, beating the heavy trafic and after finishing all the errands assigned by mom.She was on time too, and was looking beautiful in a blue dress, with a nice blue hairband, complementing her dress, which neatly puled her hair straightened hair backwards.

My excitement level had reached the roof, and i greeted her pleasantly by planting a kiss on her cheek.

I started the date very casually by asking her, how her day was and talking about things that she sounded interested in, like the dress she was wearing.We started talking, and it was going really well, as it had been an hour, but we were still standing outside the mall,without looking at the watch even once.We both were enjoying each others company, and i realised that i had scored  brownie point, as she kept smiling at me, gushing, each time i cracked a joke.I could figure out that she was having a good time.

                                                                 As time passed by, the date entered its second phase, as we both started feeling hungry.So, we took the elevator to the second floor, where that restrautant happened to be.I asked the waitress for a table for two, and i was directed exactly towards the table i was eyeing on.So i held the door open for my girl, pulled the chair for her.The ambience was nice, lights were dim, and the music was good.I was getting the right kind of vibes, as i knew she was impressed.

Now i was a little nervous before the date, as this was the first time that she was going out on a date, here in india.I just didnt want anything to go wrong.She was a little hesitant when i had asked her out, as she didnt know about the place, but i had convinced her and i had taken it upon myself to ensure that everything worked out.

                  Now, it was getting late, and we were feeling hungry too, so i called the waiter, and without  any further delay i asked her to place the order. She, in her heavy british accent placed an order for chicken pasta and drums of heaven and two pints of indian beer.The waiter had a confused expression on his face, which i thought was due to her british accent, so i was about to repeat the order for him, but he immediately leaned forward and whispered in my ears..Sirjee ID!!

I was a little taken aback, as i had been to the same place before, and had ordered a mocktail without showing any Id's.So i leaned forward, winked at the waiter and asked him to serve the beer.He looked back and said Sirjee CHECKING chal rahi hai..

I didnt know, what to do, i had suggested this place to her, and i had ensured her that there wont be any problem, and she was not even aware of what was going on.So, i tried to convince the waiter that i didnt hav any id's on me and that i am a regular customer.My date which was going so well till now, had been ruined.

I made my last atempt, and spoke with the manager.The manager was also adamant, that without any id's, he wont be able to serve alcohol.

                                             I was helpless, so i had to tell my girl, about what had happened.She kept quite.I knew she was dissappointed, but then suddenly she pulled out her id from her bag.I looked closely at her id,and explained it to her that in india, the legal drinking age is 25!!

She looked at me stunned, but then kept quite.So, i ordered the food, had it quietly, and left the restraunt dissapointed.

I dropped her home, and asked her whether she had fun.I knew it was a stupid question to ask, but still i went ahead with it.She looked down, took a deep breath and said

"In a country, where getting your kids married before they reach puberty is accepted and considered normal and where you are encouraged to start voting as soon as you hit the age 18, this comes as a shocker!

If you are big enough to decide whether you should get married or not, and if you are big enough to decide who is going to lead your country for the next five years, then why not drinking.

Why, is it not legal for an 18 year old to decide, whether drinking is right for him or not.

I knew, she was right, and i kept thinking about it.

I am sure everyone of us has a similar story to share and the drinking age set by the government is rather foolish, so i urge everyone to standup and be a part of the ongoing protest initiated by famous bollywood actor Imran Khan.

Its time we question, what is not right..Its time we  stand up for our rights!