My Life! My World!

Goan nights – 1

// December 5th, 2009 // Comments // Random, Travelogues

I should first tell you, I did not know there could be a place like this in India. I am talking about Goa. It did not feel like India. Or at least, the India that I knew. Music, dance and parties everywhere, with thousands of people doing nothing but chilling out! The streets are filled with restaurants and pubs. And some resorts. Add some DVD shops, and bike rentals. Although I stayed only at Calangute beach during my 3 day stay, it was a good sample of what life is like in this small coastal state. Thanks to the wedding of Aswin and Arti, my close buddies for years, a gang of 7 of us packed off to Goa on a tempo traveler (or Swaraj Mazda… whatever you call it). Now, am not going to get into each and every detail of what all we did in the trip – I might be assassinated by the Russian Mafia (Sorry Akshay ) but I do want to share with you guys about my party experiences there. So, fast forward, second night in Goa:

Nepali dhamaka:

Nights in Goa is all about party, as we had heard. So we were checking out the places where we could go partying. Then this friend of ours told us about a place where Nepalese girls dance with you. After a bit of inquiries here and there, we finally set off to this place. The entry fee was 500 bucks for which you get some beer or vodka. We got in straight to the bartender girls – 4 of them, all Nepalese – and got ourselves a shot of vodka t(y)elling ourselves the night belonged to us. And bang we entered.

I could see a big circle of girls slowly dancing to the beats (Oh, don’t ask about the music. Its some shady desi mix which I do not remember, not do I want to) and there were chairs all along the walls where a few middle aged men sat with a drink in their hands ogling at the women. I had no idea whether to get into the circle and dance or to go and sit in one of those seats and join the ogling. Anyway, we guys moved to a corner and slowly started dancing ourselves. As I was slowly moving with the music, a girl with a black jacket and shorts came closer and started dancing. At first, I pretended not to notice and continued dancing. Then I realized she was too close to my side that it almost seemed intentional. And it was. She brushed her arms against mine while she danced and If I did not pick up the cue now, I should be a real dumb-wit. So, I started playing along and slowly danced with her. I asked for her name (which I dont remember, of course) and where she was from as I danced. But she was not too keen on a conversation. She just grabbed my hands and started dancing. I had no clue how to hold a girl and dance, so I kinda broke into a smile and tried telling her I was not too good at this. The reply I got was “Will you buy me a drink?”. I did not know what to say. I simply said, “Why don’t we go after a while?”. She seemed not to have heard me, and she repeated the question again. I thought it would be mean for me to deny her a drink, so I obliged. As we walked towards the bar, she happily pulled me close to her. Although, I did not understand her sudden attention, I simply played along without thinking too much – Who would want to get into deep thinking when a girl pulls him with her? As we got to the bar, she asked for one drink, then another. Bomb. 500 more bucks vanished. And we happily walked back. All of a sudden, a realization struck me – I had spent 1000 bucks that night and not an hour had passed by.

Then I looked around to see if I was the only one doing this – I almost broke out laughing. My friend Adith, was taking two girls one on each side to the bar. I knew he’d be broke in no time. And Ajith followed suit. Damn, now I get the rules of the game. Men come in, dance with the girls employed by the club, and the girls take them to buy drinks. The more drinks the men buy, the more commission the girls get. Its that simple. And it cost us a few thousands to realize that. (Adith realized it the next day). Once I knew this, I stopped getting close to any of the girls out there and preferred to sit back and relax with a beer. Very soon, each of the guys was scurrying along looking for cash as they’d burned out all of theirs. And thank God, the club did not accept credit cards! Akshay was a smart ass though, as he preferred to pay through his “glowing horns” that he had purchased outside the club. Whichever girl asks for a drink, they’d get the horn on their heads which would make them laugh. If they continue dancing, good, but if they insist on a drink, the horn goes to the next girl. Pretty smart, huh? And oh, amidst all this moolah, Aji was trying to bond with a burmese chick (of course, after spending some drinks on her) – so much for the romance, huh? And the chick with black jacket, who started her day’s revenue with me, had apparently managed to extract considerably from each member of our gang. Good job.

And did I tell you we were the only guys of our age there? The men out there were typically in their late 30’s to early 40’s and had come there to dance with the girls who could easily be their daughters’ age. Poor guys, Wonder what kind of lives they lead… Watching them was both sorry and annoying. But thats the way it is.

Since it got really late (around 3 AM) and Adith was literally switched off (Yes, he was walking with eyes closed) we decided to leave home. And we had to literally pull our casanova Aji who was still not done bonding with the burmese chick. And thus ended the first party night…..

Take me down to the paradise city…

// November 13th, 2009 // Comments // Musings

‘Cause there’s a hunger, a longing to escape
from the life I live when I’m awake.

So let’s go there.
Let’s make our escape, c’mon
let’s go there.
Let’s ask, “Can we stay?”

Can you take me higher?
To a place where blind men see.
Can you take me higher?
To a place with golden streets.

- Scott Stapp

Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace
You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one

- John Lennon

Animals and children tell the truth, they never lie
Which one is more human
There’s a thought, now you decide

Compassion in the jungle
Compassion in your hands
Would you like to make a run for it
Would you like to take my hand

Cause I want to live like animals
Careless and free like animals
I want to live
I want to run through the jungle
With the wind in my hair and the sand at my feet

- Darren Hayes

Make A Little Space
Make A Better Place…

Heal The World
Make It A Better Place
For You And For Me
And The Entire Human Race

- Micheal Jackson

எங்கு சிறு குழந்தை தன் கைகள் நீட்டிடுமோ
அங்கு தோன்றாயோ கொள்ளை நிலவே…
எங்கு மனித இனம் போர் ஓய்ந்து சாய்ந்திடுமோ
அங்கு கூவாதோ வெள்ளை குயிலே…

- Vairamuthu

Auroville wants to be a universal town where men and women of all countries are able to live in peace and progressive harmony above all creeds, all politics and all nationalities. The purpose of Auroville is to realise human unity.

- Auroville