:: naazita ::

Thursday, June 30, 2005 at 18:07

Carribean Coast Ahoy

The Tambourine Man is here. Looking a bit less Carson-ish and more like The Castaway after his fortnight long adventure in Venezuela. For the moment, I'm playing the hospitable kill-joy, since I've taken the kicks out of his backpacking fun and just upgraded him to expat high life. So far, it's been good clean fun. Chris is still in a state of disbelief at how peaceful and pretty Bogot� is, and how there are no tourists around. They ain't kidding when they call this country the 'best kept secret in the world'. Tomorrow we begin our adventures on the Caribbean coast. I can't wait. For the heat and the sun and the rumba. Cartagena, Santa Marta and a quick look at Tayrona National Park. Almost certain there will be no time for blogging in the interim. See you in some days. Travelogues, pictures, coming soon.

Friday, June 24, 2005 at 17:41

My favourite geek turns 27

Meet my brother. Japanese-speaker, code-writer, open source propogater, electronics-ethusiast, aviation freak, plane-doodler, jazz-connoissuer, guitar-player, mush-baller, day-dreamer, magic-writer, ever-so-slightly-off-his-rocker.

Well, he started out ok. You could even pass him off for 'cute' (grade 2 picture with Snow White being highlight of his somewhat shortlived 'cute' career).

And look what they did to him.

Ah well, he's a lovable geek, this one.

Happy Birthday Fuzz. Now go throw some yen on a haircut : )

Thursday, June 23, 2005 at 08:03

Birds Eye View Of

Bogota. Well at least one small section (not far from where I live) of this massive urban sprawl of 400 sq kms and 7 million inhabitants. Situated 8700 ft above sea level in the Northern Andes, making it the third highest capital city in the world, after Laz Paz (Bolivia) and Quito (Equador). I think : ) This picture could be your typical Bogota landscape: mountains, green and the pink-ish edficios.

Monday, June 20, 2005 at 18:40

AIESEC is Loco

Had a proper AIESEC weekend after a while. Was chairing AIESEC in Colombia's Exchange Preparation Seminar - for outgoing trainees. Made shammi kababs and mango lassi (yum) for the 'Global Village' on Saturday, and put on my lime green salwar kameez, lookin' as splendidly punjabi as possible. And there there was all the usual madness of AIESEC. Met some cool new people, and hence social life slowly but surely looks up.

Friday, June 17, 2005 at 17:35

Dopey Dog Cuddle

You see some funny things on the streets in Bogota. For instance, look what we came across our afternoon stroll during lunch hour today. Some old bearded man had these six doggys in a cuddly zzz...

So I played the good tourist, took a photo, dropped some change in the box and walked on by, adequately amused.

Sunday, June 12, 2005 at 12:10

Within you, without you

India is one of those countries that's hard to escape. It's always in you, and invariably it's always around you. One-in-six-people and what not. No matter where you travel in the world, you're likely to bump into some Indians, eat some 'curry', hear some cheesy bhangra mix, pop into the local Indian store for some ready-to-eat packet o' Pavi Bhaji, masala tea or the latest Bollywood movie, yada yada yada.

Colombia, though, is ever so slightly off the beaten track in this regard. I haven't met any Indians (not to be mistaken for the indigenous folks) since I got here. I'm told by the embassy that there are about twenty, but that includes the embassy staff :) For starters, there is no Indian shop even. (I'd rather disregard the 'Kamasutra Sex Shop' and the 'Hindu Tienda' that sells bags with mirrorwork and some frightful long dresses that look more like maternity gowns, but definitely nothing Indian). Of course, some standard Indian 'exports' are inescapable - like the token Indian resturant, the neighbourhood yoga group, the Kama Sutra or the Reiki guide in the bookstore. But generally, it can feel pretty cut-off from home. So understandably, I get quite excited by the odd trace of anything Indian. Like hearing a reggaeton song with a Bollywood remix on the radio (yes, that happened once). Or finding a Ravi Shankar CD in a music store. Or stumbling upon a travel guide to India and looking through the pictures... feels just a bit surreal.

Thursday, June 09, 2005 at 17:21

If Pointy-Haired Boss Blogged

This Scott Adams, I tell ya, he just gets better and better.

Saturday, June 04, 2005 at 17:33

Chinese Circus in Colombia

This this may not reflect extremely well on my mental-health/current social life, but what the hey, the highlight of last week was probably my visit to the circus :) I can't even remember the last time I was at a circus. There's some vague childhood memory of pre-1990 Hyderabad. In a nutshell, bloody ages ago. So coming to the circus in Bogota last week - not your average countryside-roaming circus - this was all the way from Peking, China. There's something fascinating about a circus. It's this mix of Raj Kapoor-esque romanticised sadness and comic-book heroism and fantasy and what not. This circus had some neat acts. Girls lying on their backs and twirling big tables on their toes in mid-air. The rubbery-est (?) guy I have ever seen do strange things with his body and a hoop. Even had an act with 7 tigers. Don't know about you, but personally, I'm not a big fan of the animal acts. Then there were the usual suspects - dragons, clowns, gymnasts, trapeze artists, the works. All in all, a grand time.

Thursday, June 02, 2005 at 08:33

T.V a la Colombia

Colombian television is plenty amusing. For instance, yesterday (or was it the day before?) primetime national news was preoccupied investigating the rumour that the newly crowned Miss Universe from Canada, in fact has a boyfriend here in Colombia, a sincere looking young bloke from the army. Of course, the s.l.y.bloke denies the rumour and says 'somos solo amigos'. Hmm. Then there's Reality Shows galore. Most of which involve tropical beaches, ex-footballers, playboy models and other miscellaneous tanned n' toned folks. And they've even just launched the Colombian version of 'The Apprentice' (El Aprendiz) - hosted by Jean Claude Bessuda, who owns the largest travel company here (incidentally, he's an AIESEC alumnus, and I know this for certain 'cos he was at the alumni event two weeks ago!). And no, his hair looks nothing like Donald Trumps'. Oh, and then there's the tele-novelas aka soap operas. Tele-novela of the moment is 'La Viuda de la Mafia' (Widow of the Mafia). When the sultry widow (who is no less than a Ms.Colombia in real life) is not managing the affairs of the family narco-trafficking business, she's falling hopelessly in love with her bodyguard, who unbeknown to her is actually a policy spy. Ooh. I hope Bollywood's taking notes.