for mandali

valentine day ki shubhkamnaye....

my saadu gets hitched

just back from a great vacation. the occasion was my brother's wedding. setting was my hometown. goa in all its simple splendour. got there on the 3rd of feb. kokan kanya zindabad; sirf one hour late. got home just in time for the 'haladi' ceremony. thats essentially the 'fattening the goat before the slaughter' ceremony. everybody was there after a long long time. pramod is my chacha's son. they stay next door to my mama.

ace swimmer, fisherman, marksman and generally a great guy at heart. when he finds time he also doubles up as a lab-in-charge in a college in goa. most of our clan was present, coming from various corners of the country. folks stationed abroad called. the haldi done, pramod was groomed further...

undistracted we continued, hogging our way through some outstanding goan food... vegetarian.. it was also a time to catch up,take stock of all the kids floating around, figure out what one is upto, catch up on all the local gossip. we had the traditional rice grinding ceremony that night. lots of fun, all the ladies get together and grind the opposition along with the rice, good hearted ragging of all and sundry. the next day saw all of us decked up at the marriage hall; on time.. featured here are my sisters and bhabhi alongwith detali.. oops jetali

amidst some rather melodious mangalasthakas and adroit gymnastics, pramod ushered seema into our family. featured here mr. and mrs shirodkar. may they live happily everafter....

mandali is here

airport arrival lounges must surely be the happiest places on earth. its a treat to see people come out of the swishing gates, look around to catch a familiar face, see 10 of them and then the glow of absolute bliss. tears flow unchecked, grown up men and women venting emotions bottled inside. some people catch a glimpse of their child for the first time, hugs abound, kisses from a normally restrained race.some exchange coy glances at a sweetheart they met long ago.

it was fun to spend almost an hour waiting for mandali. amazing positive energy.got talking to an old man who had come to receive his daughter. his narration of travelling by ship in the 50s was a stark contrast to the age we live in. we have come a long way.

the shortest journey is the one that brings you back home.

zizou turns 1

zizou wheeled into year 2 of her life in great style. lots of people got together, blessed her; wished her well in life. great biryani from god old kabab corner rounded off a fabulous evening. missed mandali though....a big thank you to all friends who called......

mandali in germany

Ain't no sunshine when she's gone.
It's not warm when she's away.
Ain't no sunshine when she's gone
and she's always gone too long
anytime she goes away.

happy diwali

i believe someone has written a book on 'people i would like to meet in heaven'. yesterday, i met most people on my list, right here at home... and it sure felt like heaven... amazingly positive vibes in our house...mandali got a good send off... the kids had a real blast... god bless all of you wonderful people.

vinu mama-last of the mohicans

there is something about maternal uncles; all the people i know absolutely love their mamas... as a child, i believed that shiroda was goa and that my mama owned everything around. i never saw him pay for anything; everything was just a word away from being droppped off at our home. quite easily one of the most generous men i have known. stories about him actually giving his shirt off to someone who said 'nice shirt, man' are legendary. he instilled in all of us a deep love for our land, made us work in fields, taught us the value of a hard days labor and most importantly taught us to be fearless. 75 years to, theres no slowing him down. here's to the next 25 for now...

75 and counting

vinu mama turned 75 on the 22nd of september. as part of the celebrations, a puja was held on the 2nd of october. featured above with my mom, maushi and mami. bhai and his better half also did a varadvinayak puja. great fun.

rakhi celebrations

Generation Next..

Deep thought.. Undoubtedly the next prank is being hatched. the ladies just cant stop grinning...

mandali and the gang..

all in all a great evening.

Zico

Ladies and Gentlemen, presenting "Zico". Latest addition to our clan. Currently in the US of A.

Zizou

My heart leaps up when I behold

A rainbow in the sky,

So was it when my life began;

So is it now I am a man;

So be it when I shall grow old, Or let me die!

The Child is father of the Man;

I could wish my days to be

Bound each to each by natural piety.

............wordsworth

Mausha

The largest heart i have ever known stopped beating on 14.06.09. Journey well..

Ratnagiri and in between

The conclusion of my extended leave found me getting re-acquainted with long winding empty roads, soulful music playing on the stereo and invigorating conversations. Mahesh had to drop off his daughter Anyushka at their "native place" - Ladghar. Daddy had some work in Ratnagiri. The Konkan beckoned and off we went, our merry band of 4. Started off at around 6:45 a.m.; driving on empty roads in Mumbai is a rare treat. Zipped past Vashi and other assorted suburbs to reach Panvel in a good 90 minutes. Breakfast halt at "Shanbar Vishranti", a shade prior to the Karnala Bird sanctuary. After demolishing some "mendhu vadas" washed down with tea, we proceeded to Mangaon.Halted at a smallish tapari for some bhajiya pav, after a failed attempt at finding tea at what turned out to be the local bar. Man, people were downing bagpiper at 9:00 in the morning. We made our way to Dapoli (roughly 160 kms from Mumbai) accompanied by some truly moving Marathi bhavgeets. the songs made even more memorable with Daddy reminiscing about musicians, singers and poets of an era long gone by.

There is something infinitely peaceful about a long drive (out of the city); believe me nothing better than this to take your mind of the daily grind. I must thank Daddy and Janaki (my better half) for having me learn how to drive a car. I must also thank them for getting me acquainted with the Konkan region. It is a fantastic combination of surf, sand, clear blue skies and sea food. I have traveled to Goa (my home town) many times without ever saying hello to this wonderful place. Bachpan mein, bus mein baithe around 4:00 p.m. got off in Goa around 7:00 a.m. next day. The Konkan would speed by during the night, unnoticed, silently.. I guess I am making up for lost time; I have explored various parts of the Konkan in about 7-8 trips in the last four years and have always returned exhilarated.

Cut to the journey, Ladghar is about 8 odd kms. from Dapoli, a newly reinforced bridge appeared like a sentinel zealously guarding paradise. Over the bridge, just beyond the local school, an almost invisible turn off the main road and a rakish one thereafter found us at the ancestral home of the “Bals”. Mahesh’s moms place, now tended to, by her brother. I am pretty sure that 99% of all people polled would choose “mama” as their favorite relative.

It’s a typical Konkani “kawalaru” house, built some 60 years ago, surrounded by coconut and supari plantation. The sheer hard work put in by mama and his family has indeed borne rich fruits. We proceeded to filling our stomachs with an absolutely delightful meal. Daddy and mama got along lke a house on fire, exchanging thoughts on mango cultivation and some serious politician bashing. Mahesh and I spent the afternoon lazing in the aangan watching some ladies thresh rice and anyushka gambol about with the house cat. Cutting through the plantation, we made our way to the beach just about a stone’s throw away. Caught Daddy in a reflective mood, quite easily photo of the trip...

Mahesh and I visited the local school. Pretty neat, portraits of the only heroes we have adorned the walls. Bahar baith kar (always the outstanding kinds), we had a long chat, the longest in years, caught up on a lot of things and still had more left. Dinner beckoned as it got pretty dark, rapidly as it does in rural India.

Next day we proceeded to Ratnagiri, got there in about 3 hours, just in time for lunch at “Amantran”. Just next to hotel Vihar Deluxe, Maal Naka. Heavenly, ghar jaisa khana, highly recommended for sea food though the veg section is pretty good as well. We shacked up at Daddy’s place. Shyam ko thoda marketing kiya, Mahesh took time off to catch up with relatives. Dinner at Amantran, uske baad Mahesh and I had a long shaayari, old songs session. Really felt like old times, missed the cutting chai at NIASA though.

Janaki and I have known Mahesh all our adult lives. We have managed to remain in touch with each other despite our jobs, transfers, multiple residence changes, the traffic in Mumbai. I guess you make a lot many acquaintances in life and very few friends. We are indeed lucky to have Mahesh inhabit the latter category.

That brings us to the 24^th of May. After a quick breakfast, we purchased some fruits, collected some stuff from Mahesh’s relatives and started back to Mumbai around 10:30 a.m. Daddy stayed back. It was fun coming back, I have noticed that the journey back home always seems shorter. Since we did not have any fixed plan in mind, took a short detour upon spotting this bridge. Snacks at Chiplun, followed by an unsuccessful attempt to get some lunch at a charming restaurant just by the river. Do not know the exact spot though. We reached Nagothane at around 3:30, stopped for a quick bite and then did the home stretch to reach home around 6:00.

The best part about the trip was as always the journey, frankly the destination is immaterial. Got to renew a long standing friendship. Will always remember Mahesh singng Caravan Guzar gaya, made even more sublime by the pitch darkness and absoulte silence of the night in which it was rendered.

The First Bow-avanti

Ladies and gentlemen, presenting "Zizou". Also known as "Khadyo", "Babdya" and "Manikda". All of six months old, does a mean flop onto her stomach and is currently searching for the elusive first gear.
(photos- Hari Adivarekar)

Goa - Lagin 2007

It all started sometime in November 2007; Dinya informed us of his bro deciding to tie himself in a knot of the matrimonial kind. Their parents (god bless them) had decided to have this ceremony in Goa. So off we went, sah kutumb sah parivar, into the land where time is irrelevant. Konkan railway ke madhur safar ke baad, we stepped into a cosy resort at Calangute.

Well our better halves had actually met for the first time; all our feeble attempts at arranging a get together prior to this trip had come to a nought. So formal introductions over, we did the most natural thing one does upon spotting a pool... dive right in....

Ok introductions for the uninitiated; Kj with kid Ashmit, Alpesh with KJ, Dr. Prafulla with son Maitreya.

L-R Priya (alpesh's better half, maitreya, Arushi (alpesh ki beti), Sharmilee ( dr. ki MD), amita (KJs better half) holding ashmit and KJ (just in case you did not recognise him with his clothes on)

Not sure whether food followed drinks or vice versa, which is how it was for the rest of our stay. It was great, the only thing we had to decide was where to eat and drink. Time as i said earlier is irrelevant in Goa. The soul simply chills, its in the air.. take it from a true blue Goan. Now for the wedding. Traditional style, simple ceremony followed by lunch. Dinya was all over the place (basically apna bhi kuch jamta hain kya), the ladies had stepped out in style as had all the kids...

(majhi mandli, 2nd from left)

Post this all the guys assembled at "O Coquerio"; the restaurant where Sobhraj was finally nabbed. We had managed to give the wives and kids the slip. The conversation was as sparkling as the beer which seemed to flow endlessly. Called up the two stragglers Vaibhav and Santosh who were to join us but had got caught up in work at Mumbai. Back then to the resort, dinner was at some place close to the beach. Featured below Kj ani mi...

Dr. was busy photographing everything in sight.. Hari you will love these photos.. surreal man...

Next day was devoted to adventure sports....

aur bacchho ko manana...

Whatever we did seemed to work, the kids really enjoyed themselves soon after.....

As for us we kept it simple, decide what to eat
and..... well.... these guys would turn up all by themselves...

Next day heralded the arrival of vaibhav, aryan and santosh.. Simply great on their part to come even if it was for just one day. 6:30 a.m. while the land slept, we greeted them with two cans of very dilligently chilled beers (courtesy doc). Mein dinya aur uske dad ke saath gaya machli bazaar. Quick breakfast and off we went to my hometown.. Shiroda.. machi ghar par rakha and took the gang to the river for a round of fishing...

Kj fed the fishes like never before, Aryan enjoyed himself, I caught one actually so did Santosh... par photo mera hi hain... What followed was a great gastronomic experience at my place, Vaini had outdone herself. Various types of fish in curries and fried avatars truly transported us to a "Vaapas nahin jaaoonga main" kind of state....

Uske baad next day breakfast lunch ke baad, alvida to the most wonderful time we had...

Follow up party in Mumbai followed around Christmas time where the ones who could not make it namely Mugdha, Rucha (santosh ka family) aur Smita (she who has to bear the vaibhavisms all the time) caught up on all the action.....

For me this trip was all about deepening friendship; looking forward to Dinya's marriage now. ladki koi bhi ho, shaadi Goa me icch hone ko mangta hain..

Finally my favorite konkani song... only song i ever heard my father sing... enjoy and "dev barem karu"