the road less travelled

May 17, 2009.

A normal sunday it was that turned into one of my most treasured journeys here in this wonderful island - cyprus.

At about 5 in the evening, sarvo, deva picked me up and we head towards a nearby dam - yermasoiga in deva's car. It was just about 15 km away from home and i am quite sure none among the 3 of us would have expected it to be a journey that in the end would cover almost 160km. How could a journey to a place just 15 km away eventually turn out to be more than 10 times ? Well for most people it would'nt have, but things somehow "happen" to us. Or should i say our drives!!!.

So we headed towards this beautiful dam. It was indeed a serene place of beauty. Quiet, peaceful, lush green, winds, small lake, valleys, villages, and beautiful winding roads as well. It was a in a world of its own away from the hustle bustle and noise of the city. The villages along the roads, the people there, seemed to be happy in their small beautfiul world. And so did we enjoy the journey to there. But en-route, sarvo happened to glance at the car's dashboard and we are thankful that that glance took place. Deva was driving in a region of villages, hills, valley on an uphill road on "reserve fuel".  There was no petrol pump around and in the region we were, there was no hope of one showing up as well. The nearest petrol pump was back in the city and there was a very very remote possibilty of the car reaching there. And so the adventurous journey began!!!

We moved ahead, hoping to find a gas station somewhere in the nearby villages but no such luck. Deva was is usual self unmindful of the fact that the car would soon be out of gas. Well actually all 3 of us were not much concerned, since so many more "serious" incidents/accidents have happened to us and our cars that running out of gas on a lonely road was the least concerning. And besides, in this case, we were aware of the gas situation and had back-up plans in case we did not find a petrol pump. There was always the option of calling some of our friends, and then the option of asking some locals for help. And if that did'nt work, the speed-fire company (towing service) by now knows us and our situations pretty well since we have become their regular "damsel in distress". Besides, deva's car had still not got the priviledge of being atop a towing truck and being chauffered for a change! The last option did'nt happen and i hope it never does. And neither were the first two options required. 

We asked a group of young boys from where would we get petrol and they showed us the way. We went in that direction and soon landed up outside a couple of cafes. And were kind of lost. Not exactly. We asked the people there and voila we landed right outside what we needed. Petrol was available right there at the cafe. The people there stored fuel in big tanks and why they did that was pretty obvious since there was no gas station around and probably never will be. So this guy comes out with a big 6l funnel and pours petrol in the car. Anyone been to goa can perhaps imagine the scene here. In indian villages perhaps one may expect such a situation but here in tourist heaven cyprus in europe!!!Wow. That was quiet a moment seeing petrol being sold in that fashion.

Moving on, now with the trouble of fuel solved, we decided to go ahead on those mountain roads rather than return home. And glad we did. The places we saw there were no less than wonder. Beautiful view of the ocean from atop the mountain, the curvacoeus roads, the villages below, trees covering the deeep valley.Simple amazing. These places perhaps wont find their mention in a commercial tourism book about cyprus and it was simply great to see such beauty of nature unscathed till today by human civilization and its greed.

All the above still doesn't add up to the curiosity of how a place just 15 km away would eventually result in a journey of 160km. Now comes the cherry on top. Rather than taking an about turn and returning the same route home, we moved ahead anticipating to find another route, trying to replicate Christopher Columbus voyage to India. Well he landed up in America instead of India. And no surprise that something similar happened to us. The only difference is we knew finally where we were. Moving ahead and ahead and taking turns here and there and following Sarvo's gps and intuition, we moved on and on and on and reached Nicosia. Nicosia!!! The capital city of cyprus about a 100 km away from home. How on earth did we land there? It turned out that we had traversed the old- bylanes and old single lane highways that was perhaps in use in olden times before the super-expressway came into existence in modern cyprus. And what roads they were. Surrounded by plane lush green fields on both sides, wind in the air, rarely a car to honk and overtake, villages, churches.Amazing. We perhaps travelled through the interiors of mainland cyprus and not along the coastline.

We reached nicosia in about an hour, had food at mc-donalds and then was time to head home. This time we decided to remain sane and take the super-way back home. But finding that also was a journey of its own. We again got lost in the old lanes of nicosia and reached the UN military zone or no-man's  land. Surrounded by ruins of the old city of famagusta, the broken houses, the vandalized stores, the barbed fence and the big wooden gate separating the turkish part of cyprus from here. It was as if we travelled through time and re-lived that period of history.

Finally we managed to reach modern times and on the express way. In about an hour's time we reached back home and back to living our normal work-aholic lives.

That day was an experience in itself. Those 15 km would perhaps have never gotten longer had deva not been on reserve fuel in the start.

The road less travelled.

a 100 kms in the night

Wednesday, May 13

It was frustrating day but the night more than cheered me up.

A week ago, the night shifts had got over. It was back to day time sunlight working hours and how relieved i was to see the end of night shifts. But this day had plans to give nightmares in day-time. 

Me and my team (that is if we are allowed to call 2 ppl a team) were head-banging and  scratching our eyes out to fix some things up. Well we knew from the start that we are asking for trouble big-time since we were trying to make something work in linux when that thing was built for only and only for unix. So after billions and billions of changes here and there and everywhere, we got success and were so happy when things came crashing down all of a sudden. And what we were getting on the screen was a not so pleasant " http 404 not found ". Damn you http.

So after a very frustrating day, i decided to just forget abt the http and go to our "now regular joint" mc-donalds. I asked my friends if any of them would come or would want something but only sarvo, lalit and pradeep showed some interest. So we headed to mcdonalds, took the food and headed to lady's mile beach to enjoy there. We ate to our hearts content and then took off to home. Oh and while driving to lady's mile, pradeep got a bit-scared of my driving i dont know why. But i guess he will get used to it.

So i dropped off lalit and pradeep at their home and headed back when sarvo thought of " lets go and buy milk". For the confused reader, this phrase has kind of become a substitute to just go on a long drive which originated a couple of months ago. In our earlier days in cyprus, we would just head out actually to buy milk and stuff and would end up far away from our home searching for it and many times we returned home without any milk. Thus the phrase caught on and now we just go about buying milk every now and then.

Anyways, coming back on track, i was quite frustrated and thought why not go on a drive and have a good time since driving is one of the things i enjoy the most. So we reached the highway and instead of heading right towards nicosia which has been our route till now, we went left towards pafos. Initially driving with the intention of returing home soon, but then, we had a good chat, nice music in the background, the drive kept going longer and longer and longer. So i finally took an exit towards the aphrodite hills. Assuming the name would be the name of some hill, i headed where the sign-board directed only to land up in front of a resort. So we moved ahead and the next sign-board said secret valley to the right. Secret Valley!!!. What would be secret abt this valley and so we headed there. A narrow road wide enough for only 1 car, trees and small shrubs on both sides, pitch dark, not a sound, we moved on and on and the name of the place was sounding to make sense. It did seem like a secret place unexplored till now, but the end showed a big golf-course. Guess it was not that secret after all to have a huge golf-course.

And now, sarvo removed the gps to find an alternate old route back home. So we followed it, and this was the best part. The road leading back home had a small hilly terrain on the left and the deep blue (maybe should write black in the night) ocean in the night. And no other car traversing on this route. We headed on and on and stopped in a place. There we saw the moon and its sparkling reflection in the water. It was so over-whelming and the sound of the water hitting the rocks below, the sights of city lights in the distant dark, was all too good. We spent a couple of mins there, clicked some pics and headed back.

Then we came across a road leading to pissouri bay. We took that turn and there was no road there. Just a narrow stretch cleared of the trees being called a road. There we found ourselves in front of a beautiful, quiet beach. Sometimes just standing in places like these gives so much peace of mind and brings back that little smile which we yearn for.

After a good drive from there on we were back home in the civilized world. I never imagined the frustrating day would end so well at night. 

A 100 kms that ended my day in tranquility.

Election '09 - the votes that are'nt

May 03, 2009.

A lazysunday. Bored to the core of boredom that boredom was bored of me and vice-versa. Browsing through facebook, i came across this interesting topic which caused the grey cells in my brain to think about it. Think beyond the a-z of softwares and work and etc etc. So i here i go about it.

The point i came across was - voting in the general elections in india 09. What about the indians abroad ? This seemed a weird idea at first glance but on more thought, i wondered - why not. I am pretty sure there is no provision in the constitution for indians abroad to vote but that book was written 60 years ago. Why not introduce a change in it which has a definite possibility of doing something good for the counry ?

I am of the opinion that there are many reasons why such a thing should be implemented and soon. There are scores and scores of indians abroad. Indians in the form of students flocking in big numbers to pursue their dreams and higher education in the lands of uncle sam and many european nations as well. Indian workers working abroad in the countless organizations spread throughout the world. After seeing so many indians in this tiny island of cyprus which i had not even heard of before getting placed here, there is little doubt left in my mind that there is any country in this world without a sizeable number of legal indian migrants.

So why should'nt these indians (including me - lets call them nri's since that is also the official lingo and slang used to refer them) be allowed to cast their vote. People may say, we are NRI's, and we care less for india, we are'nt patriotic or that i presume is the general perception but thats not true and in no way can one generalize this opinion of all of us. I do like to believe many indians abroad do care about india and occassionally, do or atleast try to do their bit for her. The results are not always tangible for all to see. So why then arent they allowed to vote. In the current elections, i saw politicians and media urging each one to spare those 5 mins, go to the nearest voting station and exercise their franchise. But when i saw the voter turnout results of Bombay, which was being billed as the city of people eager to show their power by the ballot after the november carnage, i felt so pity and sorry. A mere what 40% or so turned out out of a million citizens. And i am also at fault in this. Not that because of being abroad i can escape, but i am sure had i been there, i also would have been among those 60% that enjoyed the holiday more.

And these turnouts have been more or less not even 50 % in major states or places. Except for some eastern states where it reached about 65%, it was the same story everywhere. And with no party gaining majority with or without alliances, it sure seems headed for a hung parliament. So then if the indians in india dont seem to care much, why not give the indians not in india a chance to make a miniscule difference.Surely with the technologically advanced country in terms of telecom and IT that we are, i am of the opinion that implementing such a system for nri's would not be a challenging technical hurdle atleast. We have millions of engg, the best software companies in the world, so its definitly an implementable system i feel. Morally also, some indians abroad may crib, that the country is not progressing and will never do so, but there is a small number having tremendous faith in india and her abilities to take on any damn challenge in this world.

The indians in india missed their chance. They didnt care much to use the power given to them. But what about the indians abroad. They werent even given a chance. Even if 1 nri out of every 100 votes sincerely, it will make a difference to india. Every year, the govt celebrates the pravasi bhartiya divas respecting noted nri personalities, politicians and state govts ask nris to fund projects in india. If all this, then why not the right to vote. Why not ask us to go to the nearest indian mission/consulate and press that all important button ? Why not allow us also to have a say in the largest democracy of the world ?

This year i missed my chance. But i make a promise to myself, that if i am in india in 2014, i will walk down to the voting station and let my vote be counted. If am i not, but my wish above comes true, i will go to the indian consulate and do the same. But if this does not happen and i am abroad, i will have nothing to do than sulk and probably rewrite this blog and wait till 2019.

The 'I' in NRI stands for INDIAN.

A different hospitality experience

April 25, 2009.

A lousy saturday full of boredom. Nothing much to do except browse the net, eat and just while our time away.
Was turning out into one of those boring wasted weekends till we experienced 2 diametrically opposite dining incidents that night.

We headed to Pafos, to dine in a south-indian restaurant Keralam. After 8 months being outside india, we were quite excited to taste south-indian food for the first time in cyprus. And so we 7 guys headed out in 2 cars to Pafos, a beautiful coastal city about 70 kms away from our home.

We reached there in about an hour. It looked a nice restaurant. Bollywood songs were playing and it created a good ambience. Then we glanced at the menu, though we had pretty much an idea of what we would be having.
But surprisingly there were very few south-indian dishes on the platter. Just 2 types of dosas and that would be it atleast for the veggies. There was only 1 guy in the restaurant. He was the owner and he himself would be taking the orders. So we called him and first ordered drinks. But when we asked for dosas, we were disappointed when he said that there was none that day. So we basically drove all the way down there to again have north-indian food which we could very well have just a km away from our home.

Anyways, so we ordered starters and were chit-chatting when accidentally, my friend broke the glass of lassi.
We did'nt bother about it much since we thought would settle the cost in the bill. But what came next was a rude shock. The owner who was also the waiter, came and swiped the broken glass, but he gave us a mouthful of words which we least expected. He said that we guys didnt have the manners to say sorry and where was our indian mannerisms. This coming from an indian himself was all the more pinching. We accidentally broke the glass and we unintentionally forgot to apologise. I dont say it's not our fault, but he was too quick to judge us.

This didnt go down well and so we cancelled the rest of the order and settled the bill. Even while leaving, we again tried to reason ourselve and explain that we didnt mean intentionally not to apologize and be brats and that he should be a little less judgemental. But then, neither did he listen, nor did we want to create a ruckus and actually be disrespecful and so we left.

We went on to satiate our hunger at another nearby indian restaurant Pappadam. The experience we had there was amazing. We were seated comfortably, had good food, with amazing hospitality shown by the staff there. And some of them were non-indians. We had a great time there. We had indian chutneys, moraba, and a plateful of papads on the table to start with. Then good north-indian stuff, nice ambience, nice music, all lightened our bad mood which were in. While leaving, they also gave us pan-pasand chocolates which was a very good surprise getting them in cyprus. All in all we had a great time there.

On that night, we had 2 diametrically opposite dining experiences. We returned home with a full stomach and a good happy mood.

2 wheels

March 20, 2009.

A friday when I had my first out-door project event. We went to limassol zoo and had a good time as a team. One of my team leads was selling his bicycle as he was heading back home to India in a few days. And i bought it for about 40 euros.

A nice red colored bicycle with gears. I think it has about 5 or 6 of them but who cares. Its fun to ride a bicycle on the streets of this city. This city is one of the ideal places for bicycle riders. Not much traffic on the roads, lots of by-lanes, beautiful beach road along the ocean, windy atmosphere. So much i started enjoying cycling that i now almost ride it everyday. Infact i now use this to commute to and from office instead of the car. For one thing, the cycle has atleast started giving some exercise to the body, otherwise in the comforts of the car, was getting more and more lazy. Cycling will surely help keep the body in shape to some extent.

Worth the purchase. Unknnowingly doing my part in the go-green eco-campaign and enjoying the ride as well.

a vagabond's drive

March 1, 2009.

After returning from the lovely carnival, I was immensely happy. So happy that i didnt want to while away the evening sitting at home and doing nothing. And what better thing to do which gives me more happiness and which i love doing. A long long drive !!!.

So i took out the car and without any destination in mind, headed on to the beach road. Nice music playing on, cool breeze, the evening sun set everything was simply beautiful. I took onto the old highway, cruising around at speed of about 100kmph. The was minimal traffic on this old highway going through lush green hills. I was driving with no worries, no fear, humming the music along in the cool breeze.

Driving and driving, i reached the city of Larnaca. Traversing around in my car, i reached the Larnaca Marina and beach. And the scenes there thrilled me more.

A carinval on the beach. People in all costumes and music playing around, scores of people strolling the beach area in the evening. I parked my car and went for a nice walk to soak in the festive spirit.

At the marina, there were plenty of mini tour-boats and yatch tied to the bay. Parallel to the beach were people enjoying the carnival. And for all the growling stomachs, there was Mcdonalds, pizza hut, kfc and humdreds more filling them and doing brisk business. I took a quick bite at KFC and resumed my walk.

After spending around half an hour, i was overjoyed. 2 carnivals in a day. Nothing more could i have asked for.
It was now time to head back home, a good 80 km drive back.

I returned from the same old highway, cruising and enjoying and simply happy. But perhaps something was destined to go wrong and so it happened. While on the beach road with a good amount of traffic, i got totally lost in the mood and a song, that i braked. A lil too late on that, and bumped into the car ahead. We both got down, the man got angry but good for me it was just a minor scratch or 2 on his car. And maybe he was also in a good mood from the carnival, that he forgave me and let go.

A had one of the best days in cyprus. And one of my most memorable drives. A vagabond's drive.

Celebration of life

March 1, 2009.

What a day it was!!! And what a carnival too!!!

Yes, a carnival. The carnival of Limassol. And not just any carnival. A carnival that changed some of my perspectives about life and i am so happy i was there at it.

On the sunny sunday afternoon, we went to see the carnival parade of the city. Vinay and Sameer picked up Punit and me from our home and we head towards the carnival location. A long stretch of the makarios road was barricaded and blocked for vehicles. After parking the car, we started walking along the path. There were scores and scores of people around. This was perhaps the first time we saw such a large gathering of people in cyprus.

People of all ages. Men and women, boys and girls, children and even lil' cute toddlers in their baby trams. And then they were people in fancy costumes. Costumes of superheroes, villains, jokers and clowns, fairies, cowboys and even some boys and men dressing up in girls' dresses. Young boys dressed up majorly in superhero costumes while pretty young girls in fairies and angels. Talking about popularity of superheroes, spiderman won the competition hands down. Spiderkids they should be called, jumping and playing around here and there.

Alongside, the pavement was full of vans selling ice-cream, snacks, pop-corn and candy floss. Then there were small temporary shops set up selling carnival stuff like hats, masks, party poopers and sprays. I bought a hat from one such shop. All along this vinay and punit were on the job clicking good pics of people in their costumes. The atmosphere was vibrant and filled with unlimited and unconditional joy and happiness.

And then the party began. The carnival parade started. Out came the tractors pulling a bunch of merry people singing songs and playing instruments. There were some dancing beautifully in sync with the tune. Then came a group of dancing funny jokers and clowns dressed in costumes that had almost all possile colours on it. Their faces painted not only with colors but with a beautiful vibrant smile as well. People watching alongside the barricade threw party poopers, spray, confetti, blew horns, whistle and also shook a leg in the music. They were happy to see the people in the carnival happy. They came not just to see the carnival, but be a part of it.

Moving on, besides the clowns, there were magicians, jugglers, kings, queens, cave-men, animals, dancers and what not. There was also a group of men dressed as ladies and dancing around. What followed was hilarious and a display of amazing imagination. A group of people dressed as policemen serving royally to cons. Wow!!!

The carnival was a best way to send across social messages. Some people were dressed as cigarettes and accompanying them were people standing with scissors effectively displaying how each puff reduces your life. Then there were people dressed in costumes depicting all religions co-existing together showing oneness in humanity. All for one and one for all. Also, there were groups displaying about our environment and how we need to care for it.

While indulging ourselves into the carnival mood, we did get hunger pranks and filled up ourselves at McDonalds and KFC.

All this celebration while the world is gripping each day with one of the worst economic crisis. The carnival and the people that came to see were too busy enjoying themselves to think about the crisis. This attitude of the locals did put me into some thought. Why and how can these people afford to be so happy and tension free in today's world ? Why would the authorities indulge in such a grand affair when it would cost them a bomb ?

The carnival gave me immense joy and happiness that day. But more than that, it changed how i look at certain things in life. Times are not good, there is no job security, we are living in the fear getting sacked or at best being repatriated back home to India. But so what if any of this were to come true. You would most likely change your job to progress, there is no security in any field, and most certainly there would come a time to head back home to family, to friends, to your motherland. These things are not certain in life and they will never be.

The question that played in my mind was that how important are these issues in my life. What will happen if i get sacked. This is not the only job in the world. Life is not the end of it. Well, of course having a good job with good steady income is something that perhaps we all want. But it certainly isnt the most important thing in my life.

That's something which i learnt from the carnival. I went there will a million worries in life but came back home happy and simply happy.

Life is too short to worry. Live your time. Live your life!