Edinburgh

0740
After a night journey of 8hrs 40min fron London Victoria, we arrived at the central Bus Station at St. Andrew Square. After some hot coffee and a light refreshments, we locked our haversacks away in the lockers and geared up for the day ahead.

0900
Hmm, the first views of Edinburgh! As we stepped out of the bus terminal, we found then unfamiliarly bright December Sun shining down at us. Telling ourslves that we knew the weather better, we strode toward Princes Street passing by the Royal Bank of Scotland (Incorporated by a Royal Charter, 1727). As we arrived at the intersection of Princes Street, it was difficult to miss the towering Walter Scott Monument or the magnificient Edinburgh Castle. Built in the years between 1841-44, the Scott Monument is a victorian gothic monument in the honour of Scottish author Sir Walter Scott (remember 'Ivanhoe' and 'The Lady of the Lake'?)

Statistics for u :)....

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TANU:
                   Why INDIA is in trouble?
                   Population: 100 crore
                   9 crore retired
                   30 crore in state Govt
                   17 crore in central Govt
                    (people in both categories don't work)
                   1 crore IT professional (don't work for India)
                   25 crore in school
                   1 crore r under 5 years
                   15 crore unemployed
                   1.2 crore u can find anytime in hospitals
                   Statistics says u find 79,99,998 people anytime in jail
                   The Balance two are U & Me.
                   U are busy "checking Mails /sending fwds.. "..!!
                   HOW CAN I HANDLE INDIA alone?


PAVAN:
                   Bharat mata ki jai !!!


ANOOP:
                   Bharat mata ki jai for being in trouble ???


PAVAN:
                   Noooo .. for being the only soul leadin her country, even though she is herself in another continent (and I’m busy replying to mails …damn these journalists) …She doesn’t let anything come in the way of her motherly feelings .. truly Mother India .. bharat motors ki jai .. sorry for the typo .. bharat mata ki jai .. ;-)


TANU:
                   no motherly feelings yet ... just plain patriotic ;)


PAVAN:
                   She's just being so humble ...


ANOOP:
                   No motherly feelings yet ?? Tanu !! congrats :P .. when will u have the motherly feelings :P???


PAVAN:
                   Anoop … what do you say, will it be pink or blue ?? :-D


ANOOP:
                   Wat.. the baby ?? I thought it was boy or girl .. when did colors come into the picture ( except for black or white)


PAVAN:
                   Technicolor …


ANOOP:
                   Wat bout rainbow colors :P ….hehehehee


TANU:
                   i had not done family planning in this detail yet...thanks for the novel ideas though!!! we have made lots of advancements in genetics and it is alwayz a thrilling idea to have it experimanted till the time u r not the one who is called mom or dad by such colourful kids


ANOOP:
                   Make sure it fluroscent color kids.. So that they’ll be bright J muhahahahahaaaaaa


PAVAN:
                   And come out with flying colours :- D

Mixed Veg

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Ingredients:

To serve two

• 1 tomato, cut in big chunks
• 1 onion, chopped
• ½ cup peas
• 1 baked potatoes, mashed
• 1 tsp each ginger-garlic paste
• 1 green chilly, finely chopped
• 1 tsp pepper powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• A pinch of asafoetida
• Salt to taste
• Oil for cooking

For garnishing

• Shredded cheese
• 1 tsp cream
• ¼ cup fresh coriander leaves chopped

Method:

• Heat the oil.
• Add the cumin seeds, chilly and asafoetida.
• Now add onions and cook till golden brown.
• Add the ginger-garlic paste and mix it up.
• Add all the vegetables, cover and let cook
• When the vegetables turn soft, add all the spices and mix well
• Let them cook for a few more minutes on low flame
• Garnish with the cheese, cream and coriander.

Serve hot as an accompaniment with bread or rice.

The pain of separation

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1040. I dint turn and look behind when I went for the check-in. Dint want to. Call it superstitious, if you'd like to but i'd rather call it sentimental. Got my check-in baggage scanned. The guys there put a security strap around my suitcases. I headed straight ahead to the Jet Airways check-in counters and joined the queue. The lady probably dint care to weigh my 2 suitcases, at least I couldnt see the weight being displayed. The helperboy who put my suitcases from the trolley to the conveyer belt, was so surprised at the weight of my hand baggage that he couldnt stop himself from asking me about it. I smiled and told him that I was carrying food stuff and some chakli. Perhaps he took me for a little girl who couldnt stay away from maa ke haath kaa banaa khaanaa and just ignored me. Collecting my boarding pass and seeing my suitcases being pushed away by the conveyer belt, I directed my trolley towards the immigration check. With some struggle to heave the cabin baggage on my shoulder, I reached the immigration desk in no time. The immigration officer, Mr. Shinde, took interest in my family origins for obvious reasons. The fact that I was from Pune dint probably go down with him so well as my telling him that my Dad is from Gwalior. After telling him why I was heading to the UK, I was through with the immigration check. I remembered the last time that I had crossed the line and not being able to come back to you both.

1100. I reached the lounge and waited there for no more than 5 minutes than we were called for security check for 9W118 at gate 6. My hand baggage invited a manual check for chilli powder. When it was not found, I got the stamp on my boarding pass. But the lady was surprised to see aata, rice and dal. I sat down next to Navaz awaiting the boarding instructions.

1120. I thought to myself that I should hava started at 1100 from you both, had I known that the entire process would get over so soon. While in the queue for the security check, I got talking to Navaz. A smartly dressed 58 year old lady, probably parsi. She was visiting her sister, 3 nephews and 4 grandnephews in Norfolk. Her plant nursery near the airport was eing taken care of by her servants who would also take care of her 93 year old mother and 95 year old aunt. Being single, she likes it her way, spending time with the sister and then travelling to Vancouver to meet some cousin, before returning to Mumbai via Heathrow. She took a liking to me knowing about my family and my profession. She invited me to her sister's home in Norfolk and exchanged contact details.

1245. When the plane actually needed to take off, we began boarding. Thankfully mine was an aisle seat. I had actually forgotten to ask for it while collecting my boarding pass as I was more occupied with the check-in baggage being over the weight limit. I settled down in my seat 44D.

New twist to the law of conservation of mass ...

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The law of conservation of mass/matter, also known as law of mass/matter conservation (or the Lomonosov-Lavoisier law), states that the mass of a closed system will remain constant, regardless of the processes acting inside the system. An equivalent statement is that matter cannot be created or destroyed, although it may be rearranged. This implies that for any chemical process in a closed system, the mass of the reactants must equal the mass of the products.
You might also remember the law of conservation of energy. In physics, the law of conservation of energy states that the total amount of energy in any isolated system remains constant but cannot be recreated, although it may change forms. In thermodynamics, the first law of thermodynamics is a statement of the conservation of energy for thermodynamic systems, and is the more encompassing version of the conservation of energy. In short, the law of conservation of energy states that energy can not be created or destroyed, it can only be changed from one form to another or transferred from one body to another, but the total amount of energy remains constant.

But in an expected event, an extremely enlightening conversation took place between Vipin and me in May 2007, leading to a new twist in the laws of conservation of mass. Read on to know what transpired.


[17:25:38] Vipin Menon: ping
[17:25:40] Pavan Shinde: CR18243_WLR3 TO MPF
[17:28:08] Vipin Menon: MPF to WLR 3 also please
[17:28:15] Vipin Menon: i know u ar dhoonding..
[17:28:54] Pavan Shinde: you need to hang on from some tree for that..
[17:33:53] Vipin Menon: im waiting only for u to send an important report
[17:34:01] Vipin Menon: important for somebody else
[17:34:07] Vipin Menon: not fro me
[17:35:10] Pavan Shinde: SCR18285 MPF to WLR3
[17:35:25] Pavan Shinde: now jump outta the window please !!!
[17:35:29] Pavan Shinde: its important ..
[17:35:39] Pavan Shinde: important for somebody else not for me .. ;)
[17:35:53] Vipin Menon: wah! kya dialogue hai
[17:36:27] Pavan Shinde: im waiting only for u to jump outta the window .. window(s) XP :p
[17:39:03] Vipin Menon: "im waiting only for u..." why me only yaar
[17:39:17] Pavan Shinde: damn
[17:39:27] Pavan Shinde: dont break sentences in the wrong places ..
[17:39:30] Pavan Shinde: :d
[17:40:09] Pavan Shinde: some joints may get dislocated and some bones may be broken !!!
[17:41:03] Vipin Menon: ur count of bones will increase and count of teeth will decrease
[17:41:59] Pavan Shinde: that proves that calcium can neither be created nor destroyed .. it can only be converted from one form to another .. !!

Yonder The Known

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There is something I know for sure,
Perhaps you know it too,
Our paths that had once crossed
Are gonna part into two.

Would have liked this to go slow
So that neither would feel low
But things just slipped outta my hand
Can’t be changed; its not written on sand.

There is a lesson life wisheth to teach
Some things are better, out of reach

They say
Thou shall reap
As you shall sow
This is a fact
For sure, I know

But why
Have the fruits
Of my pain
Been so unyielding
So much in vain

I have not reaped
As I have sown
Why?
The answer
Remains unknown.
Yet unknown.
Yonder the known.

The pains of love ..

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With remnants of the memories, of our last call
I aint broken, and I still stand tall.
Though your memories torment my mind
And I just wonder, Was it love, or I was just blind
Through the nights and the longer days
Thousands of such questions make me to sway

Love and Relationships are meant to be kept
To offer all and make one Indebt
What did I do, where was I wrong
Why couldn’t I carry this, and make it long
Why did I lose you, when I loved you the most
Why I am writing this to you, In the last mail I post
What did you always wanted me to know
What you wanted to see in me and I could never show

Here its all over and I am all alone
And there is no one to heal me and no one to mourn
There is No one to guide me in what I do
There is No one to say’ Hey I am there for you’

No, I am out of it and I no longer care
Cause you didn’t take a part of the pain, what I wanted to share

Though now, I look happy and pretend to be sane
You got to know me more to feel my pain
To count the tears that have drenched my face
Cause I have wiped them and left no trace

I know I can live, cause I have learnt with time
That I mean nothing for you…not even a dime
With a lock of your hair in my book, and your first love letter
I will live everyday feeling happier and better…