Post-Delhi Post. (Yes, It's A PJ!)

I didn't take too many pictures in Delhi-Gurgaon this time around, because (and here comes the bored, been there-done that expression) it was my seventh time there, and well, once you're more or less familiar with the city, you just don't take that many pictures. (Add to that the fact that I'm a lousy photographer in any case.)
Anyway, we didn't go out too much, it was mainly all relaxation and spending time in each others' company. But here are a handful of pictures I did take. (On my new Canon PowerShot A495, no less!)

Lady Puchuguni inside one of our bags. She's an adorable little animal. She even 'fetches', like a dog!

Us, in Guppy's car. On the way to Galleria, to do some shopping.

Right before dropping Ma to the airport. Guppy being goofy as usual.

Ma, with her two daughters. :)

Sometimes words are just hopelessly insufficient.

But Pasta makes up for it all. This is what I cooked for Guppy, Divya, and their friends on my last night in Gurgaon.

I wish Guppy weren't so far away. I wish I could see them more often, I wish Ma didn't have to get a lump in her throat every time we talk to them on Skype. But maybe this is better - maybe the magic stays, this way - because absence makes the heart grow fonder.

A Few Words From Gurgaon.

It's strange seeing my brother married. Having a full-fledged shongshar with a wife, a cat, and even a stacked fridge. Somewhere, somehow - Guppy grew up on me.
I am visiting him and Divya, am in Gurgaon at the moment. As I write, they're in office, and I'm alone in their apartment. Tomorrow I leave. (Ma had come too, but she left on Sunday.)
It's been an amazing trip so far. Eating out, a fair bit of shopping, playing with Lady Puchuguni (their cat), and of course - the new camera that my brother has gifted me. *grin*
Tonight, I'm making dinner for my Dada and Boudi, and a few of their friends.
And tomorrow, I fly on my own for the very first time.

Wedding Wows!

Well, it's finally over. The Dasgupta-Nair wedding.

After one week of whirlwind activities in Noida, Gurgaon, and Calcutta, after almost-sleepless nights, frantic tatya-packing, and usual marriage chaos, my brother has finally tied the knot. Who would have thought he'd settle down so soon? Well, settle down he has, with a very lovely girl called Divya who's been close to us for about 2 years now, and everything went off fabulously well - right from Divya's family and friends taking such good care of us up North, to our Bou-Bhaat and Reception here in the city.

The less said about my exams colliding with the marriage, the better.

Here's wishing the married couple a long and happy life together. And here are 5 of my favourite pictures from the wedding.

At the engagement, Army Club, 27th November 2009.

The newly-weds, right after the Bengali rituals, at the Guruvara Temple, Noida, 29th November 2009.

Mr. and Mrs. Dasgupta, at the Bou-Bhaat, our place, 1st December 2009.

All smiles at our terrace party, 1st December 2009.

And finally, the grand reception at Tollygunge Club, 3rd December 2009.

I Will Survive - From The Scribbles Of A Workaholic.

I shall be in Delhi from the 26th to the 30th of November, for Guppy's wedding - and I have a Macbeth exam on 1st December. But I will survive.
I shall miss the Bou-boron and Bou-bhaat because the Macbeth exam is right at that very time. But I will survive.
After our reception party on the 3rd of December, I have a Modernism exam the very next day. But I will survive.
Come on, I've managed much worse than this.
I can get through all of it - studies, work (and there's a lot of it, make no mistake!), and wedding planning, not to forget leisure time.
All I need to do is slog my behind off these next few days, so that I don't sink during the exams. It's going to be tough, but hopefully with less time-wasting and better time-management, I shall get through.
Like I said, I will survive.
It's such lovely weather. Ideal for a steaming cup of sweet milky coffee, a blanket, a good book and a furry cat. Too bad I have articles to write, mails to send, work to supervise, essays to read, and syllabus to complete. But somehow, I quite like being a workaholic. God forbid I should be one of those people who revel in having nothing to do. I have nothing against them! But I don't think I'd be able to live as one. Takes all kinds to make a world, eh?

Snippets of the Delhi Trip

• The biting Delhi wind as soon as we landed.
• The chicken Guppy cooked for us.
• Buri saying, "3 minutes to midnight!" on New Year's Eve, and promptly falling down!
• Shorma- need I say more?
• Grapes, grapes and more grapes.
• Sarojini Market- there's something for everyone!
• The endless malls in Gurgaon.
• Guppy's bean bags.
• The ragging sessions. (Poor Divya..)
• Phone balance fading away into nothing. (All thanks to Roaming!)
• The way Ma had to be picked up from the bean bags- every single time!
• Guppy and his antics.
• Gora saying my 'gajar ka halwa' had a slight flavour of baking powder. (Of all things!)

Those were just snippets, mind you. I can't possibly begin to describe the entire trip- some things just cannot be put into words. And those are not all the pictures I took, obviously. There are many more, to be posted on Facebook soon. So watch the space!

Delhi-Agra Trip. Day 4: Sunday

Yippee, it's back to Calcutta today! Much as Delhi-Agra has been enjoyable, I'm missing my place, the cats, home cooked food, and everything in general.

Day is pretty uneventful. We drive to Gurgaon, where Guppy loses the bet that we spot any public transport vehicle. Now he owes us 1 grand. Methinks we won't get it anytime soon.

We drop by Gora's place. He's wearing a T-shirt that says 'Buffon!' I shall refrain from saying anything further. He explains that it's not Buffoon, as many people think, but Buffon is a football team.

Then it's to City Centre, a huge mall in Gurgaon. Ma drives everyone crazy with her window shopping. My shoulders are aching from carrying my bag around. I help Ma pick out a pair of shoes, and then it's time to drive to the airport.

The usual hugs and goodbye kisses. It's been fun. I'll miss Guppy. But it's going to be nice getting back to Calcutta.

Delhi Airport is horrible. Our own airport is so much better organised. They need to take a leaf out of our book.

I make friends with a girl from SXC 3rd year Mathematics on the plane. Turns out we know loads of common people The time goes by- chatting with her. There's a most uncouth man snoring at the back. All the passengers on the plane are miffed. Irritating.

And now the plane's landing.

I'm back home! :)

Delhi-Agra Trip. Day 3: Saturday

*Yawn* It's friggin' 7 in the morning, and we have to get ready for the long day ahead. It's nearly daybreak! We all drag ourselves to the shower and get ready- not together of course! Heh.
I throw together some stuff- shades, water, a bottle with some leftover Coke, and camera, and we head for the car. Bitta drives at 40 km/hr as usual. Our stomachs are rumbling with hunger- we haven't had breakfast, so we tell him to stop at a dhaba. But he drives on- he never stops for anything or anyone. Finally we do manage to stop at a dhaba. Yaay! There are cute rabbits in a makeshift hutch.. Or should I be saying Vodafone? Heh. Sad joke, sorry. We have aloo parathas and rather spicy stuffed aloo, and then we're on our way!
It's an unbelievably long drive, but we see lots of interesting things on the way- a protest march in Chandigarh, camels in Uttar Pradesh, you get my point. We break the monotony by taking rather self-obsessed snaps of ourselves, listening to music, gossipping about random stuff under the sun, ragging Guppy...
The drive is supposed to be a 4 hour long one, and we reach in 5 and a 1/2! All thanks to Bitta. The line inside is LONG. We have to buy tickets, I have to give up my bag- too many formalities.
I squeak and giggle when the female bodyguard checks me for weapons- read: feels me up.
And we're finally inside!
On a serious note, I'm pretty blank about the walk to the Taj Mahal. The sight of the monument just erased most of the memories. All I remember is us walking towards it, and catching glimpses of something big and pale and white in the far distance. And then we were in front of it.
It's beautiful. It's something everyone should see. Many of us can't go to Paris, some of us aren't able to see the Pyramids, but the Taj Mahal is a different story. It's more accessible than most. For those of you who have seen it, you know what I'm talking about. For those of you who haven't seen it, DO GO. It's worth seeing. And I'm never one to heap praise where it isn't deserved.
The Taj Mahal is HUGE. We've come at a good time though- in summer, the marble burns beneath your feet. Right now, it feels quite cool. There's some restoration work going on. The Yamuna looks quite dried up. Guppy points out a dog supposedly bathing in the river. And then of course, there's the usual posing for photographs, smiling fake smiles that are supposed to be photogenic, et al.
We don't go inside though, much to my chagrin. We would like to, but the queue is too long, and we have to leave in a while if we want to get back to Delhi at a decent time.
What architecture! We call ourselves advanced with all our glass walls and Spanish tiles, but THAT'S what advancement was! The whole monument is just so well structured and balanced and planned. It's so carefully thought out.
It's wonderful. It's a legacy. Imagine having a monument built for you.
Saikat, if you're reading this... *hint hint*
We stop at the Taj Mahal museum for a brief five minutes. There are weapons of sorts, coins, and even the blueprint of the Taj Mahal. Most impressive.
And now it's time to set out again. Bitta drives faster this time- methinks he's in a hurry to get home. Wonder why. We stop at a dhaba, ask the boy to come to our table. He's in a hurry to get to another table, flashes what seems like the middle finger but turns out to be the index finger in a gesture to ask us to wait for a second. This time we have steaming hot tarka and roti.
We reach Delhi in 4 hours this time. Go Bitta!
After a quick dinner, it's time for bed. We're exhausted.
But it was a wonderful day.

Delhi-Agra Trip. Day 2: Friday

Guppy turns out to be right after all. It is slightly cold in the morning. Brr.

Ma has a meeting. Trust her to come up with work to do. Guppy and Divya leave for office. Divya supposedly has a meeting at 9. By the time they both leave, it's 9.45.

Show some professionalism, guys! :)

Ma and I drive to someplace called Vasant Vihar. Mean looking auto driver giving me looks from his auto. Snap! I take his picture. He looks even more disgruntled now. Luckily, the car begins to move, before he can think of anything erm...violent to do.

Ma goes off for her meeting. My stomach is rumbling. I buy a packet of Lays' American Style, and munch on the chips. Magic Masala not available. Waah! Me want Magic Masala. Aah well. I take a short walk around the neighbourhood. There are some shops. People try to lure me in to buy salwar kameezes that look like they're made of sequins! I mean- where's fashion taste when you need it?

I get lost for five minutes. It's a nice feeling. The area's a pretty good one. I find my way back to the car. Who was it who said I had no sense of direction? In your face! Ha!

And now it's time to go meet Guppy's colleague and bosses for lunch. We go to this great little place called Ego-Thai. Not too big, not too small- not too swanky, not too casual. Just right, as Goldilocks would have said. I have the most amazing mocktail ever. It's made of mixed fruit juice. We order red curry, green curry and rice for lunch. They had more fancy names, obviously- but they've slipped my mind now.

Tito-da and Vikash-da are very nice. They're Guppy's bosses. Vikash-da says I'm even prettier in person than I look in photographs. Ahem. He also says I'd do pretty well as a copywriter in O&M should I ever want to join. A job opening available- *whoops with glee*.

Gora is adorable. He and Guppy look like brothers. Lunch is a very enjoyable affair.

Then everyone pushes off to their respective places, and Ma and I set out for Indira Gandhi Memorial. The place is thick with history. If you've been there, you'll know what I mean. If you haven't, well- do go. It's worth seeing. We see the fragments of Rajiv Gandhi's clothes, and Indira Gandhi's sari. If you squint a bit, you can actually see the bullet holes where she was shot. The compound is really big. And then we see the place where she was shot. Unbelievable.
We buy a few key chains with this really nice line: "I don't understand how anyone can be Indian and not be proud." Courtesy Mrs. Gandhi.
The place really wakes me up. There's so much to be done for the country. I come back to the guest house all patriotic and inspired.
I don't want to become stagnant. I want to learn as much as I can, do as much as I can, and experience as much I can. Some of us have such great opportunities and exposure. We need to make good use of it.

And next on the list is Red Fort.

Old Delhi is amazing. The people are so unbelievably different. Red Fort itself is HUGE. Buying the tickets and putting my bag into the locker takes quite a while- but oh, it's SO worth it. There's a little market inside, selling all kinds of knick-knacks, bags, and many other things. We see Diwani-Am and Diwani-Khas. What beautiful architecture. How did people come up with such amazing things?

Then it's back to the guest house- Guppy orders a pizza at night. From Slice of Italy. It's really yummy. The cover is just too creative for words. It's of an Italian newspaper, with a 3-D effect of a slice of pizza coming out from it. Guppy's boss has made it.

Slice of Italy, you've simply GOT to open an outlet in Calcutta! Yeah, I know I said that about Nirula's too, but I feel the same way!

Ma looks at Divya's legs and says, "Sexy!" Divya is slightly scandalized. A bit scared too, judging by her expression.

I'm too full for dinner. Time to go to bed. Long day tomorrow.

Delhi-Agra Trip. Day 1: Thursday

Things have really moved fast. Booked the tickets on Wednesday morning, packed in the afternoon, confirmed everything in the evening- and next morning, we are on our way to the capital. Great idea! Good that Ma doesn't have work for the next few days.

Flight is pretty much uneventful. I get the window seat. Woohoo!

Air hostess announces that its 29 degrees outside. Guppy, you idiot, you said it was 10-15 degrees, that it was cold, and I should carry sweatshirts!

We land in IGI Airport, claim luggage, and then go outside to look for a chaffeur holding up a placard that says "Mala Dasgupta". Instead we find Guppy holding up a poster he made himself, with our pictures on it, saying roughly something like this: "Welcome- have a good time!" Ma is beside herself with laughter. I giggle quite a lot myself. We unload suitases into the car, drive to guest house, dump stuff, and then go out again. Guest house isn't too fancy, but it isn't bad either. It'll do.

We hit Nirula's. I've never been there before. But heard loads about it. And now I speak from knowledge when I say their Big Boy Cheese Burger is yummy! Of course, the Chocolate Fudge Sundae is an experience in itself.

Nirula's- PLEASE, open an outlet in Calcutta!

Feeling stuffed to the brim, we drop Guppy off at work, and set out for Indira Gandhi Memorial. We reach just as it closes, so it's India Gate next on the list for us.

See quite a lot of stuff on the way. We see the MP quarters, where a scene of Rang De Basanti was shot- impressive! We see North Block and South Block- where the MPs and other politicians sit. We see Rashtrapati Bhawan, and Parliament House.

And then- we see India Gate in the distance.

It's lovely. I feel small and insignificant. The writing on the top is very moving indeed. There is a guard standing stiff and straight, a la the Buckingham Palace guards.

We strike up a friendship with a mehendi-girl. I take a picture of her, and she asks to see it. She's not too happy with it though, thinks she could have looked better.

It's getting dark now. We get into the car again, and drive to Connaught Place. Divya meets us there, and takes us to Janpath. It's pretty ordinary. Nothing there that isn't here in Calcutta. I like a pair of harems, but I don't buy it. Who knows if it'll look good on me?

Speaking so much Hindi is beginning to take its toll on me. I'm not used to it. Divya wants to give the driver directions, asks to speak to him, I tell him, "Aap phone pe baat kijiye. Divya aapko bulati hain."

Needless to say, driver gives me a strange look.

Dammit- MUST learn Hindi!

Go to Guppy's place in the evening. He lives like a slob. He defends himself by saying it's only a temporary arrangement. So what? I know I'd like my things neat and tidy, even if it was only a temporary arrangement. Ma throws herself into the landlady's arms, greets her like she's her long-long sister. Divya stuffs her face into the packet of chips and runs out of the house to laugh in peace outside.

Ma, Ma- WHY are you so funny???

Then it's back to the guest house. It's been a great day.

Point to be noted- what's up with my hair? It's being smooth and silky, and very manageable. Not behaving like itself at all. Time to ponder on the point.

The last time I was in Delhi, it was only a stopover- couldn't see any of it. This time, I shall get to. Yaay!

Am tired to the bone. I hit the sack. Day 1 is over.