Part 2. Little Miss Adventures in the Himalayas

continued from Part 1....

 As we drove uphill, the sun started rising on the barren pale brown slopes. The image clarity and the intensity of colours was unbelievable. It seemed as if someone had edited the images on Photoshop and increased the Saturation of everything. The mountain tips turned a shade of amber orange, like that of molten lava. Gentle, silken streams of water that seemed to have been spread out at the base of the valley glistened as they caught the sun.

Eleven am: We were still entranced by the scale of the geographical features. I was mentally revising all the lessons I had learnt in geography in school. We were asking the driver to stop ever so often, to click pictures. As it is, architects prefer pictures without humans in them and here, there was no one but us, for as far as we could see! There were just two colours- dusty brown and bright blue. Then mountains opened out and there were no hairpin turns to take. We had reached a huge horse shoe shaped plateau that stretched on for kilometres on either side and we were right in the centre, on the very top of it. No picture could do justice to the scale of the space. It was one of those WOW! Moments when the mind did not seem confined to the body anymore.

After that, we had to cross ten kilometres of extremely flat land. We were in the setting in which advertisements are shot for luxury cars. We got back on the ‘road’, where ever that was! The dust had covered it all. The car was stinking of kerosene but we couldn’t open the windows, it was too dusty, dry and cold outside. It was two o clock in the afternoon and hunger had started to set in. We hadn’t crossed any human settlement as yet. There was no signal in the phone, no electric lines to be seen and only rarely we would cross another car. We did see a lot of trucks of the armed forces moving in packs of twenty five or so. I almost got a feeling that we were supposed to be thankful that there was a road to drive on. We were carrying all our cooking paraphernalia with us, down to the kerosene stove. We stopped by a lake in the middle of a splendid valley to cook our own lunch. It was extremely windy and the stove had already turned erratic (due to the pressure difference). It took all the drivers experience just to turn it on. It took us three hours just to get basic ‘khichdi’ done. Lunch became early dinner, but it was delicious, being the first meal of the day. Beautiful dusk descended on our dinner. Consequently, it was too late for us to get to the next township. It got very dark and we had no option but to stop at the nearest ‘hotel’. This hotel was a mere roadside tent, frequented only by truck drivers. The mere thought of it was scarily disturbing but I knew I would be safe. (My friends were decent and protective about me.)Our host/owner of the hotel was a local who wouldn’t let us drink anything but boiled water. We had some half boiled Maggi for dinner. We snuggled in the hotel with one and only room.. Luckily, no one else was staying there for the night. While I fell asleep really quickly, my friends played cards till the kerosene lamp flickered dead.

We set up early next day to see the sun rise again on orange mountains and streams of gold. Who knows, maybe those wind carved mounds hid ancient ruins submerged centuries ago. Awestruck, we were silent along the way.. but we did go berserk clicking pictures and I marvelled at the grandness of it all. The best thing about travelling by road was that it took a certain time to transcend that grand space. It was not about getting the perfect instant shot, it was a complete experience that required time to transcend through the space. It was a lingering state of elation. My mind had already been set to a state of permanent high. That’s when it hit me… I was really there! I was living my dream! As a child, I wanted to work for Discovery Channel, to be a marine biologist or a cave explorer. I wanted to go for sky diving and bungee jumping. I wanted to explore the Alps and maybe the Himalayas. I wanted to be a globe trotter .

Tanglangla Pass(5328mt above sea level)  bore news of serious trouble. It was the highest area and anyone who has sickness due to lack of Oxygen usually had the attack there. We were not carrying any Oxygen tanks. The air was so very thin that all of us were on the verge of losing consciousness. Our conversations had died out completely and we all fell into a deep sleep that bordered on passing out. Water supplies were low and the roads were extremely bad. We only ‘woke up’ after crossing the Pass. We only realized what had happened to us only after it had happened. Thank god the driver sustained. It wa afternoon and we were in no condition to cook. We stopped at the only roadside tent for miles that ,of course, was labelled as a hotel. All the four boys had developed a mild fever and fell asleep in the tent while we waited for half an hour for half cooked Maggi Soup. But it was good to see other human faces. We saw a biker couple. But because, it was a downhill drive to Leh, our condition improved as we descended. The valley had turned reddish, showed signs of Iron deposits. Wild horses ran free, along lush green moss dotted streams.

By early evening, we found ourselves in Leh, at last!

to be continued....

Part 1. Little Miss Adventures in the Himalayas

I don't know why the middle of the holidays always feels like that of a doughnut. Empty. It was one of those extremely dull summer days. I had been alternating between being bored on facebook for the n-th time and feeling saturated watching repeats on TV…. ranging from as intellectually stimulating as Megastructures on National Geographic to as mind numbing as MTV Splitsvilla. I had seen it all. 

The elixir of artistic inspiration and motivation for life had probably evaporated in the summer heat. My paint brushes were crisp and dry from lack of use. My diary had not seen me in long time. Fiction was gathering some realistic dust. Going out of the house in the burning sun was just not an option. Life seemed to be in the middle of nowhere- meaningless. The concept of time had blurred out. Just when I had been thoroughly bored of being bored, the seriousness of the situation struck me….. I was wasting my last holidays as a college student.

This time next year, I would be a graduate, either looking for a job or worse still, already working!! Mild panic set in. I needed to make the most of what I had! Time was a currency that employers are never too happy paying you in.

Clearly, it was a now or never situation. I had been feeling extremely dejected sitting idle and I was  in that state of extreme desperation to do something exciting with my life. 

It had been looming in all the discussion my fellow classmates had been having for the last few months. When they would ask me, I'd just say, "Hmm! Let's see..I'm not too sure". I was never too keen, precisely because I felt I might not be able to take the harsh physical conditions. I used to feel suffocated in the winters in the plains, always had altitude sickness as a child,had developed a nagging case of bronchial asthma, a dry cough that apparently had no cure. I had never been on any trekking trips and I wasn't physically in the best of states. 

I had seen tremendous documentaries on TV about this, of how cold it got and how thin the air was, the lack of oxygen and how bright the sun was! It is just one of those places that I had had glimpses of on Discovery Channel and read about in the National Geographic Magazine. It is almost a pilgrimage for people in my profession- for architects, portrait photographers,for trekkers, motor cyclists. . It is the bling in the been-there-done-that of the adventurer’s list. It is one of those dreams, that in my mind,  had a bleak chance of materializing. Those landscapes, the spirit of adventure, the possibility of camping and trekking seem to be too far off for me personally. But, desperate times were calling for desperate measures and I went as far as signing up for a trip to Leh Ladakh on the very last day! 

There is something crazy about deciding to leave one's inhibitions behind and go on a ten day trip to the highest and coldest desert in the world . People dream about this adventure for years before the plan finally materializes. 

A lot of people, most girls changed their minds at the last moment. I was the only one left but it was too late for me to change my mind. Finally, we were to be a team of six. Four boys, myself, plus the driver of the Qualis that we had hired. We packed with us drinking water, a kerosene stove, utensils, a pressure cooker, lots of Maggi, rice, daal, onions and such. Our journey started around two at night and we woke up in Manali at seven am. What used to be the termination point of the family trip was now a mere starter. We did not feel the need to take pictures. Leh promised much more. We had a quick breakfast and carried on to cross the ugliest pass at Rohtang. It was full of taxis and tourists who were making the most of the snow. Even if it was just puddles of muddy ice. Was it reason enough for those hundreds of clumsily woollen clad families? Or had they been over promised by touts? I could see baggy bodied over sized unwashed fur coats playing with the equally unappealing roadside snow. Couples emerging from the tourist cabs to get pictures clicked in heart shaped frame s that spoke nothing of the location. The picture could have been taken in a studio! The sights and sounds and population density were not to either of our tastes.At least the driver got his tea.

As some consolation, soon after, the landscape started changing. Almost immediately, the scale of the mountains began increasing and the air turned chilly. And well, the roads suddenly became extremely bumpy. As if the workers had just decided to turn back after Rohtang. But that was not the case. Maybe due to the rarity of the event, some roadside workers would wave at us. For the others, we were a mere distraction.

By six in the evening, we reached Keylong which was to be our stop for the night.It had gotten dark.  The air had certainly gotten thinner.  My heart would race uncontrollably upon climbing the stairs. I could not really carry my luggage more than five steps. Of course, we were there for acclimatisation.  I noticed that most of the women were wearing almost similar overcoats. It amused me much but they were all too busy or shy to stop on the street to answer my queries. I wanted to know if they were from a religious or social sect or they were all teachers in the same school or something. Or maybe, one day a truckfull of overcoats had decided to pull up into the small town, and news must have spread and they all bought the similar overcoats.At east something would be better than nothing.  

I drew many a curious glances from cute red cheeked, golden haired teenage boys hanging around playing cricket with custom made rules that called for much arguments. Rules that emerge when you play cricket on a steep road on the hills wher retrieving a ball is not an option.Where the boundary for a four, or a six as close as possible. "Where were all the young girls?" I wondered and (so did all of my classmates ;)), as we could not spot a single one on the road at dusk. However, little children roamed the streets fearlessly making eye contact and smiling. One of them curiously tugged at my hair while we waited for the dinner at a roadside cafe'. It was cooked from scratch upon ordering. The lady took one hour, and well we found out that it was no cafe', but their living room that they had opened onto the road and they decided to make some money out of that.

Next morning, we woke up feeling marginally better while breathing in the thin air. We packed our entire luggage and checked out. Surprisingly, the car had started to reek of kerosene. The difference in air pressure had affected the valve of the stove because of which, it was leaking. We cleaned up the leakage as much as we could. But what cannot be cured had to be endured. Seven am, after a cup of salty tea, we leave for LEH!

to be continued...

Give me a dream and I will chase it. Part 7/7

"
Hiiiii!" I say as I shake hands,my voice quivering, as his cuteness hits me... 'I am a big fan of your work!'
'Obviously. DUH! ' He must have thought to himself,while he smiled at me, holding a glass of red wine.

Looking for something meaningful to say, I took a deep breath and said,
'You know, your music brought the love of life back in my life and brought the love of my life (trance) in my life!'

Now, he grinned and said, 'Well, that's what this is all about, hey!'
' I just love the positive energy that you spread in the world.. through your music!,
'I love it too!' he said!! still smiling.
'I just wonder if there is any way I can give it (the love) back to the world?'.. me getting all philosophical in the moment.

He says, 'You already are, by being the person that you are!'

What an insightful answer, I thought to myself.Surely he had a deeper side to himself...
My spiritiual query answered, I attempted being like a Normal fan,  'Hey, I can see that you truly love what you do, is there ever a time when you need a break from the music, that it becomes too much?'

'Nope! Never!' he says. (What a stupid question!), he must have thought to himself!

'Hey Armin! shouts the bouncer, We'll be leaving for the hotel soon!'

'I was planning my life around you, just to come to Europe to watch you live, am so glad that you came here instead!'

He smiled a huge smile.. and I shout out in the green room,
'Someone, please take a picture of me with Armin!!'
So one beautiful white girl, who was busy talking to her friend, said, 'Why not!' As she came over to us, I raised my empty hands;'but I have no camera!' I was empty handed, remember!
'I can take a picture, but what's the point? You won't get it!' chirped an Indian fellow, who was passing by.
I said, 'I don't care, just take the picture and it will get to me, somehow!'
So well, the white girl's heart must have melted, she got out her Blackberry and clicked a picture. She said, 'Let me mail it to you right away! So I type in my email address. Mail sent."
She says, 'I am not too sure if you will get it!' .
I say, 'I am sure it will! Thanks a lot, you have NO idea of how much this means to me!'
She looks at me for a second, gives me a look that must have meant 'Oh!you are so star stuck'.

With that, I say 'Bye Armin! Am so glad I met you! All the Best!'
He says, 'To you too!'.
We exchange a smile and then I take leave.

5am:
The crowd had thinned. Monika, her friend and myself decided to leave.
We sat in the Hotel Lobby for an hour chatting. She could hardly believe all the stuff I was telling her about my entire ordeal. But that's how the two of us are. We like to climb over mountains. She has a lot of stories of her own.. of times when life has given her a dream and she has chased it .. one day, maybe I will write some of them down on her behalf...

6am:
The Metro restarts. It is time for me to leave. We say goodbye at the Metro Station and am on my way back to Gurgaon. She would leave for Jullundhar at ten am, with the guy friend of hers.
In the Metro, I found two familiar faces. One guy had been dancing right next to me. And there was another girl, whose shoes were killing her. We all made eye contact that said, 'I know where you are coming from' and ended up sitting together, talking about our love for EDM, music and how we first got introduced to it. This time the three of us were getting stared at by weary looking early risers, who had grumpily gotten ready for work to catch the first Metro. We three we weary but as far away from grumpiness as possible.

7.30am:
I was in a rush to reach my place in Gurgaon, Run!, turn on the computer and check my mail. And it is there! I got the picture with Armin! Of course,the first thing I did was to upload it on facebook and comments started flooding in. By far the best comment I got was,

'richa guy next to u ... look like dj armin van burren ... serch on google and see his pictures ................. worlds best dj ......'


and I thought to myself, grinning, 'Yea,tell me about it!'


---------------x----------------

Give me a dream and I will chase it. Part 6/7

 Monika is not reachable, here phone went dead probably an hour ago.
11:40pm:
At the entrance of the club, I get stared at again! By mean Hawt looking girls..'Eww, Why is she wearing so many clothes!! Like who wears a sweater to a club? And stocking? And Flats!!'

Yea, some people do.

As we stood in the really long queue, those cute dynamic student organizers recognized me.
'Hey! We were wondering where you were! It would be impossible for you to not be here! Not a lot of girls love trance so much, you know!!'

Ha, Ha, I Know. Trust me, I know.

Ok, so my guy companion is really sweet. He is younger than me, still in college, and it is his first time attending something like 'this Armin guy's show'. Uh OK! 'this armin guy' hmmm..Well, to sum it up, he was harmless.

Waiting in the queue, Monika is NOWHERE to be found and her BATTERY is OUT. I can't see her. I can't get through to her on the phone either.So,  I leave her pass at the entrance with a bouncer, show him a picture of hers in my phone, 'this is what she looks like!' I had to submit my camera at the door(what was I thinking! Why did I even bring it along?! I wasn't thinking I'll get pics with Armin, now would I!!). So we enter. I ask the huge bouncer if he could also keep my sweater, and I would take it on my way out.. He looks amused, 'NO WAY!!' He was taken aback by the absurdity of the request but also smiled at me, or maybe at how tiny I must have seemed to him from that height! :P

Inside the club: Armin had not started playing yet. Blake Jarrell was building up the tempo. We made it to the very front! In twenty mins, everyone went crazy shouting, and well Armin entered! He with his body guards, walked through the two feet space between the crowd and the stage. And his arm brushes against my slightly outstretched hand. And then the realization:
AAAHH.. am here! This is for real! He is real! I MADE IT! I MAADEEE IT!!!

But, Where is MONIKA!!! Oh, she will be fine. She is probably inside by now! It is too crowded and I can't leave this spot in the front, I can't stand in between the crowd, I will suffocate..but I am sure, SURE, that we'll find each other...
So, Armin plays his set, creates his magic. It is absolutely awesome! His crowd interaction is brilliant!..He makes eye contact with his crowd! Wait, Did he just WINK at me?? No WAYYY , It is not possible! I imagined it, right? I look around to see if there were other girls around me, none. It was for real. So what?! If he does it in every show, I am glad he picked MEE!!! AAAAH!
MUSIC madness, absolute ECSTASY. It had found me. Talk about a dream coming true... and HOW.

12:30 am:
The bouncer at the gate was brought inside  on duty, probably because the crowd was going insane! Incidentally, he stood right in front of the area where I was standing.. I asked him by gesticulating and because of the context, he was able to tell me that Monika had entered! Thank God!
Half an hour later, I found Monika! Her hug lifted me off the floor!!! It was just magical. My sense of accomplishment, Armin, Trance, Monika,.. all of it put together was insane! 

We enjoyed the music till 3.00am.The encores kept Armin on stage till 3.45am. Time had just stopped for me, no feeling can describe it. Alcohol is not required but Red Bulls and lots of water, yes please!
Finally, Armin was done playing!!! At last he left the stage...and Blake Jarrell took over.
The crowd began to thin out. My guy companion had also left, he had an exam on Monday. I happened to see one of the organizers, looking absolutely exhausted.. I asked him where Armin was and if I could see him.. He told me, that security was really tight and he himself was not able to get the opportunity. Oh well, never mind.

As I waited outside the super full women's washroom, I looked around and saw three bouncers outside the male washroom. Hmm.. brainwave number 3. I just went and stood in front of the three bouncers and asked coyly, 'Is it absolutely impossible for me to get a picture with Armin?'  I was empty handed,I didn't even have my phone with me, and I must have been looking completely harmless. The Indian bouncer and Armin's imported bouncer had an argument for five minutes,while I waited in the background. Then the white, who happened to have the heaviest voice boomed, 'Just let her go!'
The door opened and just like that, I found him, sitting four feet away ona bench, sipping red wine.
My brain froze, speech slurred.. I extended my hand, we shook hands! "oh my goddd.... ' .As he made eye contact and smiled at me, I realized that he was in no hurry, no one would push me out and I could actually talk to him!...  I took a deep breath..

to be continued...

Give me a dream and I will chase it. Part 5/7

Ten minutes into waiting, the corporate guy, comes up to me to say that he can't get any other cabs from his office, but he could give me a lift in his cab and that cab driver could further drop me to the connecting Metro Station. Gut feeling: Say yes. I call up the shady driver I was waiting for and cancel it. Disaster averted! Phew!

9:30pm:

We are on our way! We exchange business cards and start talking. He was looking to buy a house, for he had recently gotten married to the love of his life and was on top of the world. He was a CA and traveled daily to Gurgaon. I took some income tax tips, he was telling me about the architectural features in his childhood home, etc. While we made conversation, he had that curious look in his eye. He could not understand why it was so important for me to go FROM Gurgaon TO another place,dressed like that, at that hour, when my house was right there in gurgaon...'Why don't yu go there in the morning?' I todl him that wa not an option. Nothing would convince him enough, just then, the driver pulled over. Now What!? We have a flat tire. Yea right! As if,I hadn't had enough for the night. At least, I was sure that this problem was solvable. And Armin would not start playing till eleven for sure, so I won't miss it..Back on the road, the cab driver gets a call and says he will not be able to drop me any further than where he would drop the corporate guy. That's fine, he says he will help me look for an auto rickshaw from his stop till the Metro Station.

10.15pm:
We reach his stop. My corporate friend instructs me to sit in the cab, while they go out and look for an auto. 'Actually Madam, because of what you are wearing, it will be best if you sit inside'. And all this I have to listen to, when I was fully clothed (only my face and hands were showing) and I was not even wearing high heels. Fifteen minutes pass, no autorickshaw! They just whizz by; eager to get home. But I just focus on being inside the club. I will see Armin. I WILL. I WILL.

10:30pm:
I get into the Auto, thank the corporate guy profusely, completely drenched in gratitude..amazed that genuine helpful people still exist in this world and in Delhi! Had a love marriage made him a better person? Maybe. Or was he a great person to begin with - which is why he had love in his life?
I beg the rickshaw guy to rush, for the last Metro leaves in thirty minutes. And if I count the security check, elevators and walking time, I would barely make it. Luckily, his auto was in excellent condition. He drove fast. Starting from my toes, I began to free ze in the chilled winter night, whizzing past the beautiful Delhi roads. In my head, I knew this was the last lap of my chase. I had the change ready and ran as I reached the Metro Station. 'RUNNN FORRRESTTT, RUNN!!' rings in my brain. (Jenny to Forrest Gump in the movie Forrest Gump)

10:55pm:
I am new to the big, intimidating, empty station. I ask two travellers, run and board the Metro whose doors were just closing! Again, I get stared at by the morose passengers in the train. This time due to the contrast in their energy levels and mine. I was RUNNING late by two hours.Hmm.. In twenty minutes, I was at my stop. The guy who I had spoken with for the first time that very day picked me up from the station. He told me how pretty I looked, 'but why are you wearing so many clothes? Why so conservative, han?' ;)  

to be continued....

Give me a dream and I will chase it. Part 4/7

7 pm:
Looking good, feeling good, happy, grateful.. I step out. Yeah its PARTY time!!!!
Monika texts me she has reached  Noida and is at the guy friend's sisters house, really close to the club. And that her phone is dangerously low on battery. But she will see me outside the club at 9pm. Done!

7:15pm-
 I struggle through a jam just to get to the Metro Station.
Upon reaching the Metro station. Was EVERYONE is looking at ME..? Yes? Yes.
Because of what I was wearing? Obviously.
And was it unusually crowded or was it just in my head? I wondered away..
I walk into the station only to be turned away by a coarse looking cop..
'Metro kharaab ho gai hai.. kal subeh tak theek hogi..'
(The metro headed to Central Delhi had some electrical fault and was out of service for the night.)
HUHH!!!! Panic! OH NO! How can this be?!! No WAY! It has never broken down before..at least not in the last three months. Yes, there are delays, but never has it given up...COMPLETELY. FOR THE ENTIRE NIGHT!!
WHAT to do! ??
SIMPLE. I'll take a cab till Central Delhi and then I will get onto the Metro... I know it is not safe to do that all by myself, so I walk out to a group of girls. I get scanned from top to bottom again. Typical Delhi girl behaviour. Huh! I try to find out if even one of them was headed in the same direction.. none of them was. Most were waiting for their cabs.
Fine! I'll just get my own cab!! Nevermind the risk.. I have to get there! Three people are waiting for me. Monika has traveled TEN hours for this.. AND I HAVE ALL THE PASSES!
Quick cab, Easy cab, Meru Cab, etc etc etc..kept me on hold for fifteen mins each only to send me a text later that 'they were unable to process my request' because everyone was using the cabs to get to Delhi.

8.30pm:
Am still stuck outside the Metro station. I had a cab drivers number in my cell, but I could not recall when and where had he given me a ride or his phone number.. was he the one who had helped me look for an accommodation in Gurgaon? Maybe.

I called him up. He was dead tired, said he had a long day, and was not in a position to drive. None of his other drivers were available. To my amusement, he was suspicious of me!! He could not recall how he knew me. Such is the curse of big cities, for all the crime that happens, such are the times that a cab driver interrogates someone who wants to use his cab!!! Even if it is a girl. I got furios and started shouting at him.. 'Why are YOU scared?? I should be the one who should be scared, travelling at this hour, alone!!' He says, 'Are you alone? Then I can't send any of my drivers, I will have to drop you MYSELF!! You wait Madam, I will be there in fifteen minutes."...'Umm..ok, I am waiting(gulp)!'. A corporate fellow was standing next to me, looking at me apologetically.

There was a sweet expecting lady standing on the other side,waiting for her husband, listening to the whole conversation..I started talking to her, for her expressive eyes were saying so much. I was sharing my predicament with her but the gut feeling, that most girls are blessed with, was getting stronger..'This is not right, don't do it Richa, don't go with this cab guy'...I was asking the lady the best place from where I could take the connecting Metro. In the meanwhile, the corporate guy - about 35 years of age joined in. He was conversant wth the routes and guided me well. Courtesy the gut feeling plus brainwave number two, I blurted out,.. 'Do you know of a trustworthy cab driver working with your Company or somewhere who could drop me.. I would pay him the right fare or more. I just feel that it would be safer than the shady driver I am waiting for!'.  He looked at me from head to toe and said, 'I will let you know in a bit." In the meanwhile, I wait for the cab, sulk and text Monika that I will be late.
How could getting to Noida be tougher than getting to Europe?!!!

To be continued...

Give me a dream and I will chase it. Part 3/7

One day to go.

There are no train tickets available for Monika to get to Delhi. All I can do for her now, is call up the Jullundhur Bus Stand, find out timings and fare in Punjabi, translate it and tell her what to do. She knows what to do and which counter to go to for the ticket and at what time. She will leave in the morning and get here indelhi by Seven pm.

Now, I need to look for two guys who are decent, well behaved, trance lovers, who would be OK with paying their share and who will not only give us sufficient company to keep loafers at bay, but will not become threats themselves.

If we don't find the right guys, we will have to go there by ourselves. She is white and puttogether,  we do attract a lot of attention and that could create considerable problems. No one on my friend list fits the bill. Now what?

Brainwave! Let me call up the organizer and ask him if he knows of two such guys who have gotten passes just for themselves and would be suitable for us, in the given situation. The young, cute, dynamic organizer says he will let me know if he comes across any such people. Off hand, he says, he might have  one friend who he could trust..he says he will get back to me. But he just knows one suitable guy.

In the meanwhile, the gig shows up on Armin's official website. Phew! It is going to happen after all!!

Day 0

The show is in the evening. Monika takes the morning bus and she tells me she has a guy friend who, decided early morning to accompany her. Perfect! She is on her way!!! Now all I need is to get confirmation from this one guy friend to accompany me. Even if that does not happen, we would be fine, for at least we would have one trustworthy male companion! This looks good!

5pm: The cute Organizer connects me on conference call to his friends' friend. We talk. He says he would be happy to give me company.Then the organizer texts me, 'He is a well behaved chap.Good guy. You will have nothing to worry about'.... I add him on facebook, so I know what he looks like. He will meet me outside the club, so would Monika and her friend, who promised to get me some quick dinner.Are you kidding me!! This is ALL falling in place. YES!!!

I get back home from work and get dressed. It is very cold outside. So I wear a sweater over my dress, stockings to keep me warm on the way. They would have no place to keep the overcoat, so I skip it. It will get too hot inside, anyway. I am fully covered, no high heels.. (I want to dance the whole night, I will be there till 6am). Yes, I might get stared at by the other girls for not doing enough justice to the tiny club wear. But I still look sharp. I have to. It is Armin we are talking about! I hope I can see him from the crowd. Why am I not tall enough?!! I will HAVE TO get to the front row. It will be packed today. At least two thousand people.. and the club can hold not one more.

I have everyones' passes so I better not keep them waiting!As per my calculation, I need to travel in the Metro for one and a half hour and accordingly, I leave at seven thirty. I should be there by Nine pm. Monika will get me some Subway dinner before we enter.

To be continued...

Give me a dream and I will chase it. Part 2/7

Let me just call up my friend at Deep Sound Entertainment..POA: One of his friends' friend will be there at the metro station of my choice, to sell me the Early Bird Passes. Of course, this entitles me to a special discount. (As if, I need that incentive to attend!) A young guy turns up to hand me over the passes. He is almost my age. 'Cool! dynamic people' I think to myself!. I pay him cash for four people, out of which two(girls) definitely WANT to attend, but the other two(boys) will have to materialize out of thin air. One pass has Monika's name on it and the other one has mine.
What if the event gets postponed?? Normally, you would put your name on the guest list the day of the event and show up to pay on the spot and enter. So, I ask the guy, 'What happens if Armin decides not to show up or the event gets cancelled?'. He gives me that look and asks, 'Why would he not show up??'.'Umm.. yea why wouldn't he?..'OK thanks, Bye!' ... 'Hey! me and my friends are hanging out in the mall nearby, do you want to join us?'. 'Umm, I have to get back home, maybe another time!' So I get on the Metro, back home. On the way, I worry. What if Armin can't make it? What if Monika does not show up? I have passes for four people and am not sure whether anyone except me can make it there. But I am going be there for sure. For sure. Right?

What makes me so confident that I will be there?
I am hooked to the concept of 'the law of attraction'. It states that if you orient your mind and actions towards a positive outcome then your subconscious mind helps you find ways to overcome obstacles and make that positive outcome a reality. I have been at it for a while. I have enough proof that it works. So, I know, for sure, that I will be there.

Why this fuss about Armin? Why am I such a big fan?
I believe that each one has music inside us.. just like the 'heart song' talked about in the movie 'Happy Feet', there exists a specific genre that we truly connect with..While, some of us are lucky enough to come across that genre pretty early, others have to keep looking, till it finds them. I personally have hopped from Pop to Punk Rock to Death Metal Rock to Jazz to Classical to Soft Acoustic to Soul to World and on and on. Yet, nothing had quenched that thirst.

I had spent six months in London for an internship but had not gone clubbing. Lame. I know. Yet, my farewell party found me in the Ministry of Sound for a couple of hours. Instantly, I had been hooked - what is this music called, who are these artists, where to find more of this, is it only played in clubs? My friends were too high to answer. I left the city with a sense that I was really close to finding out my genre.. but the fact that it was called, Underground Music didn't help at all!
My transitioning between genres was on, when a distant friend, took me out clubbing in Bangalore,. It was the first time I was officially introduced to EDM- Electronic Dance Music. I knew I had been found. What sense of liberation I felt!!
My search for the genre had ended, my quest for live shows had begun. How I yearned to share the passion and experience with thousands of other fans. I wanted to attend live shows! I would have to move to Europe for that to be possible. That might take at least a year to happen.

And, only three months of moving to Gurgaon/Delhi, Armin decides to visit India! Could it be true?!!Yes! It has to be! I even have the passes in my hand! All I have to do is, get Monika here and arrange two boys...only two days to go! It will work out! It has to! It will! But HOW..?


To be continued.....

Give me a dream and I will chase it. Part 1/7

Synchronicity - two or more events that are apparently casually unrelated occurring together in a meaningful manner to make life better...a series of happy coincidences.

Of late, I have been investing a lot of time in identifying a dream worthwhile enough to chase... something that would keep me happy and satisfied. It has been countless days of introspection and am still at it. In the meanwhile, I keep saying to myself, Give me a dream and I will chase it.
----
It sounds too good to be true- How can someone as popular and in demand as Armin Van Buuren decide to perform in India? The Number One Trance DJ in the world..the reigning God of Trance. Doesn't he only play for crowds bigger than ten thousand? 

I share my predicament with my trance lover friend in Europe. He dismisses it right away, 'it is not listed on Armin's official website... most probably, it is a gimmick, you should forget about it.' Somehow, I am still not convinced. The event details are there on the Club's website! They have listed out contacts of the organizers... and regular updates are popping up on my Facebook wall!

What if it is true? What if he is coming to New Delhi, for real? Logically, if big names like, Above and Beyond and Gareth Emery can make it, then MAYBE even Armin would. Let's just assume that it is indeed, true. BUT, how will I get there? Who will I go with? How will I get back home safely?

I live alone, in Gurgaon, a satellite town of Delhi, in an area with negligible  local conveyance. I don't have my own vehicle, yet. I will have to travel by Metro.The club is so far away that it requires me to get to Central Delhi, go across it to the State on the other side. Travel time-1 hour 45 mins. 

My party friends in delhi are not too keen, 'it is the rowdiest clubs in the area,why do you want to go there?? Forget about us, even you shouldn't go! and who the hell is Arvin?!(Armin).'
Alas! none of my 'locally available' friends are up for it. I don't want to take 'just anyone' with me. The last thing I want is to drag along a friend and find him sulking and looking at the watch while I pay respect to my God. But, I better not be all by myself. The passes are rather expensive. It is less than four days away AND it is still not confirmed on his website. Hmm..

In the meanwhile, the organisers - Deep Sound Entertainment, had started flooding facebook with Early Bird Passes frenzy. It just fuels my sense of urgency.

Life had been different, just fifteen days ago. Upon hearing that Gareth Emery was visiting, my dearest friend- Monika and me had jumped at the opportunity, grabbed a guy friend (of hers) and gone to the Club! ( As fate would have it, she was in the process of switching jobs and had to move out of the city for good, that very weekend.)

No conveyance, no company, no assurance.. Hmm..'LET ME JUST GET THE PASS, at least..one pass valid for two people.' I thought to myself. I had happened to make friends with one guy out of the team.This organiser- was a  typical young, cute, dynamic Delhi boy. I called him up to inquire. He told me that one pass will be valid for one 'couple'. And, because this is huge,(it is Armin), two girls will not be allowed in as a couple. They will be considered stags. Two girls, two passes. Take it or leave it.' 'Umm, OK, let me get back to you.'

How I wish Monika was here! Yes, she loves 'drum and bass' more than trance, but she is always game for a good time! Who Do I go with now?! A part of me says 'So what if she has moved to another city! At least, talk to her about it!' So I speak to my Hungarian friend, Monika. (We both had moved to Gurgaon around the same time and had shared the most amazing friendhip, living together for three months.) Now, she was eight hours away by road. And guess what, the powerhouse of energy that she is; she wants to attend the event! It is too short a notice. She has very little idea of local Indian transport, does not speak the language, has no company yet and lives eight hours away. But she is game! WHY? Because she loves me and would love to meet me! I have never bonded with another, the way I have with her. Such intense platonic love that it amazes both of us. We are soul sisters.....and she knows how much I love Armin..

How does she know? From the desktop wallpapers, from it being the only thing I listen to at work, after work, in the Metro.. She is willing to travel ALL the way, just to attend it,with ME.. even though she loves 'drum n bass' more!!. How will she travel? No train tickets are available - local buses? Who will she travel with? We don't know for sure, yet..but she figures that it would be great to meet me.. it had been two weeks since she had moved out..and attending Gareth Emery's show together was an exhilarating experience, simply off the roof.. It had liberated both of us. It elevated us from the complex emotional quagmires each one of us was in. Plus, we love challenges. Moreover, that's what real friends are for, right?!
'Two female stags cannot go as a couple.'  Fine! we'll buy two couple passes.  Now, we need to 'arrange' two boys. How ironic. Usually, boys are the ones looking for female companions. An look at us!!

Wanted: two boys, who are nice to be with, but not too clingy and not too stingy. Hopefully, they will be willing to go Dutch about the ticket .. and more importantly, whose presence next to us will keep shallow, stubborn drunk loafers at bay..BUT who won't get shallow, stubborn drunk themselves.

Let me get four tickets for the time being...We'll find a way out!

To be continued....

To the richa, the has been, back in time.

Dear Richa,
I am so pleased to be able to write to you today.
I have been looking for the right moment and the right mood where I would be able to convey my thoughts to you in the right state of mind.

Richa, there is a huge portion of the world that you have not been exposed to.
It is made of all the things that you know exist and it is all the things that
you know that you will one day know that exist.

Don't let the magnitude of it scare you into a state of depression.
Because this art that you have learnt of suppressing your often unreasonable emotional outbursts
will lead to a state of intense creative moments of inspiration and also of moments of dispassion and withdrawal  from the world. Let not the magnitude of your calling and your personal levels of excellence shun you into inaction.

Know that at each point of time, you will and always have been exposed to the information you have needed to get to the next step. So, who you are conditioned into being and who you are programmed into becoming maybe just as good as any other. For inside you lie the values and moral fiber required for you to really get what you want.

The decisions you will take today will get outdated really quickly for the world will see immeasurable change in the near future. So it will only be fair for you to say that you have changed your mind. You have the right to change. However often that might have to be. So never be afraid to change for  the better. Only you will be in a position to know who you really are and who you are best as. Do not give away the opportunity to be a better more effective you.

You will seek answers to your emotional self. This will push you to study psychology, literature and philosophy. You will also take totally unexpected decisions in direct contradiction to all the things your brain will tell you. And this will teach you a lot about the duality of all decisions taken.

Here are some little phrases I would like to leave you with:
Be good,  to yourself. Eat well.Think good thoughts. Meet happy well-wishers. Surroud yourself with goodness.
Believe that that which you are good at completely can give you the things you want in your life.
The way is made only after the first step is taken
Respect your dreams
Respect your inner voice
Be bold about who you want to be
Respect your inner talent
Give it expression

Love is more than the dark alleys that it will make you believe that it is. Love is a much larger concept.
It originates from a love of life. A love for improving the way we live life.That is at the core.

Know that each of us has something special to make us tick.

For some it is about
 Taking risks - in what they wear, who they make friends with, what work they do, what study they pursue, where they put their money.
Being powerful and in-charge of situations - changing the course of people's lives for the better.giving them something to do,getting things done from people, getting them done well.
Making money as a representation of their grit- traditional businessmen who do it because they are good at it.
Being influential - having contacts, networks, getting a sense of popularity and feeling
Being accepted as an intelligent person - Phd scholars and researchers
Being in demand - because of beauty or talent
Being useful to the world - being a social servant
Being creative - inventing something
Being an ideal example of what the human can be - athletes
Being a mentalist - playing with peoples minds for the kicks of it
etx.

Know that life comes to you in the form of people.
Those people are there just to manifest some aspects in your life.
They are not life itself.

Someone will show you the meaning of love.
Someone will demonstrate hate, jealousy, pride, anger, talent, passion,
Someone will show you the meaning of achievement, of drive, of commitment
of strategy..
Each person is the sum of hundred books. You come across people so that you don't have to read hundred books that make up who she/he is. You meet them to know about the set of their life choices, to see a new version version, a different genre of life. This increases your knowledge and adds richness to your life experiences. It makes you better equipped to be who you can be and what you can achieve.

What makes you tick?
You probably even know it.
It is about time that you respect it and do something about it.
Or else this feeling of emptiness, timelessness and sense of drifting from one day to another will not let you live anymore.
Do ONLY the things that make you want to get out of bed each morning, and nothing less!
Do the things that make you thankful for being alive!