The eventful day -- Day -1

The flight landed at Delhi 15 minutes late than its scheduled time of 9:00 am and yes I had touched Delhi, the capital of India. 31st Jan 2014 was supposed to be the D day of my life and I was looking forward to it. 

A day back when I started on my voyage from Amsterdam I was surprised to hear an announcement in Hindi at the Schiphol airport. It is surprising to see the presence of so many Indians where ever you go. In fact, people recognize Bollywood and Indian stars everywhere. In Berlin, which I visited some time back, we had passersby dressed in some flashy costumes shouting Sharukh Amitabh and some old Bollywood movie names. In Amstelveen, which has been my abode for the past year, I saw a beautiful painting of Sharukh Khan. You can find Indians and the Indianess everywhere. 

The Schiphol airport in Amsterdam is a hub for travelers flying to and fro the Netherlands. The Airport is pretty big and remains crowded most of the times. I pushed my stroller and looked for belt number 29. A lady greeted me with a smile and I handed over the online checkin slip to her.

I got my boarding pass and in fact there were 2 of them and a luggage slip. I looked carefully at the first boarding pass and then moved towards the directions mentioned on the way. "Emirates economy queue" the board read and there were hardly 4 people standing there as there were still 20 mins for the boarding to start. 

The glass pane on the wall overlooked the huge Boeing 380 airbus standing there majestically. Me and some other people took some pictures of the big machine as we waited for the boarding to start. 

Very soon the crew arrived. The splendid hostesses of the flight walked by the Business class entrance and were the first to be scanned through the machines which looked like MRI scanners. They had a rotating sliding doors and you had to stand with your arms in the air making a dance like pose as if you are saluting with both hands.    

Keep wearing your watch, said the security personal when I took off my wallet, belt and moved towards the alien looking machine. I made the dance pose and the door slid once. I moved towards the doors where the crew was already seated and then started another wait, the wait to get on the Airbus 380.  

Zone C passengers can now board the plane said the man at the gates and I hopped to the front. The plane was huge and had 2 aisles, I moved towards the one on the right. "May I help you" asked a pleasant voice. I non-nonchalantly showed her my ticket as I knew I could get to my seat. Please go ahead towards the last, said she again. Thank you, I said and moved on. 

I had an aisle seat and another luxury that there was no passenger on the seat besides me. I could make full use of the hand rest bar on both sides and I thought to myself, "this is luxury indeed."

We have 19 people in the crew who speak in 16 languages, boasted the captain. It was surprising to see that the plane had an in air Wi-fi which could be used at a cost though. I switched off the wi-fi after an attempt when I saw that I had to shed some dollars for a chekin in air.   

The Asian vegetarian meal seemed not so bad and I tasted some rice and some curry. "Can you please take this away", I asked the hostess who gave a stern look but took the tray away anyway. The standard meals arrived later and most of the others took their pick from lamb or chicken. 

Meanwhile I focused on what was to come the next day. I was anxious but prepared mentally.  

Kya arranged marriage aur Kya love marriage???

Kya arranged marriage aur Kya love marriage??? (One a lighter note, On one side Kuan and One one side khai :P India is my country, all Indians are my brothers and sisters except One. Let's find the One :D)

Finally, I am sitting with my laptop and writing about a very cliché topic which has haunted people for long:

Can one find love in an arranged marriage? or Can one arrange love?

During the time of our forefathers (Baba aajam ka jamana) love marriages were a taboo. People got married based on an odd picture or just a small conversation. The success of these marriages was pretty high owing to societal pressure and prejudices present in the society at that time.

The prejudices in the society more or less declined over a period of time. However, as evident, the society is still not over its love for arranged marriages.

What marks the difference between the two times, then and now is not just a change in the thinking of the masses, the liberal attitude has provided many people with an opportunity to love and then marry their love. The bigger difference is the status of the women folk. In the past women were home makers and in the modern world they are much more than that. The women are more evolved than ever, more educated and have a greater say in the family.

As such, the parents who cared for their children and did not allow them to talk to strangers when they were young, wake up one fine day and find that it’s time for their kids to get married and settled. Then starts the blind hunt for the perfect match. The IT industry is playing a big role in the search now a days and thanks to the search engines you are just a click away from your perfect match. The fact that there are so many choices at your disposal makes it even more complex and adds to the pressure of finding a better match. The search for a partner soon turns into a competitive battle.

My child got 99% in maths, 98% in physics and 97% in chemistry and got a scholarship for going to XYZ College. Yeah! Of course he did that!!! That’s why he never found a girl and you are sitting and finding a girl for him. ;)

There are advantages of this shift in paradigm. The traditions remain intact although with added competition. I wonder when parents will start taking written exams of candidates suitable for their children :P. There are less chances that the partner will fail to keep up with the family structure and values which is more likely to happen in love marriages. Also in the current state of the society you get so many choices that even the children can make an educated guess for the kind of partner they need. The kids are more intelligent now a days and given a sufficient amount of time and choice they can make a better choice.

    

It’s a win win situation, you can create a partner preference, talk to multiple people and finally marry the beautiful girl or the rich guy :P :P

Love marriages no doubt can last long in a liberal society but given the current situation it will definitely remain a less preferred option due to the so called values and traditions. You fall in love and then remain in love, it’s a less likely proposition in itself, and then convince the society that you can marry each other and then live happily forever. It’s not tough to declare arranged marriage as an obvious winner over love marriage.

You find a match for two single people who owing to various reasons could not find or stick to their love. You have dating sites in the west and matrimony sites for this purpose in India :D

Find two likeminded people and they will fall in love. Love grows with a relationship and respect for the other. You can’t arrange love that’s true but two strangers can definitely fall in love. Whether you can find a person who can spend time with you and remain in a committed relationship before you get married is your luck.

 Ultimately the success of either form of marriage is not guaranteed. (Mehengai ke jamane me guarantee ki ummeed na Karen ;) )

Admonitory: Any reference to a person married or unmarried is totally unintentional. The above are just the views of the author and you can completely ignore them in case you got married to the beautiful girl or the rich guy. If not then happy searching.  

The beautiful Dolomite mountains in Italy

The trip to Italy came to an end with a visit to the beautiful Dolomite Mountains. The place is fit to be featured in a Bollywood flick with Super star Akshay dancing in the valleys with the beautiful Katrina.   

We reached the place early morning after a night long drive. At that point, when we were around 45km away from the destination and where the foothills of the mountain range started, we were stranded due to a steep and narrow pathway which had no protective fence. We decided to take another route but ended up desperately looking for another accommodation.

Meanwhile, we witnessed the dawn at the foothills of the mountains. There were few passersby around, preparing for their trek to the hills. People spoke in German when we inquired about directions. We tried to inquire about accommodation but the prices there looked steeper than the mountains. I utilized the opportunity to take some pictures with the camera mounted on a tripod as the light was very low.

After a struggle of about 2 hours we resumed the journey to our destination. The path was dangerous but very beautiful. There was a repulsive feeling in my stomach resulting from lack of sleep and the regular circular turns that were leading us on.

After 3 more hours of drive and around 3000 more turns later we reached our apartment. The place was absolutely beautiful. We recollected that we had crossed 2 big mountains and were now taking refuge on the third.

The apartment that we booked was fairly neat and cozy. The walls, floor etc every thing was wooden. The bed in my room felt like heaven as I lay flat and then moved into a deep slumber.

When we woke up it was already noon. We had a good time clicking pics with the mountains in the background. The view was breath taking.

We had a real nice time in the mountains. Its amazing to see how the mountains turn red at dusk.

     The people around were very helpful even though language was a barrier. We had a great time and I would love to visit this place again just for its natural beauty and off course for the great delight the place is for photographers.

Infosys Project Party ..

Myself performing with Sushaank Rana ....

Guitar Masti ...

Some Masti time with the guitar ... 

Vo Dekhne me from London New York Paris

Its a beautiful Song with Beautiful Lyrics .. Liked it a lot ..

I Learnt to live (Self Composed)

You burnt the bridge 
So i built a canoe

You put sharks in water 
that's when i learnt to roe

The walls you built were strong and high 
but i climbed them all and i touched the sky

I tried to search but u learnt to hide 
You neglected me when i was by your side

I asked for love 
but what did you give 
You let me die but i learnt to live !!!!