aabhar-mention not

aabhar-a local Gujarati term commonly used to thank someone, brings a smile to my face, as i forget the usage of merci and transform to a typical gujju girl, who once upon a time lived in france. little things you pick up from each country visited or stayed, become an indispensable part of oneself, no matter how long ago it has been since i last said merci beacoup. my head tilts and ears strain, when  hear bonjour , ca va or other french phrases around me. the mind starts to travel, to a small village in south of france, Aix where i went to school a year ago.  it used to be a norm to say merci to the bus driver in france, thank you to the taxi in new york and now dhanyavaad to the rickshawalla in India. soon, aavjo , take care and madiye replaced the au revoir and bon soir, as i try to settle back home.

but, with a hope of using merci and danke sometime soon.

Takk! :)

Do I want to remember this day?

As I walk home at 6:20 pm in the windy streets of Sag Harbor, I worry, of trees falling over me. As much as I love the noise of the trees, I fear the wrath of nature. I fear the aftermath of Sandy, its effects, loss it will cause to the millions who live on the east coast of the United States. Television across the continent may not give you a clear view of the reality here, as I read people post about being desperate to come here, to the wrecked east coast of USA.
Fallen tress, leaves on the ground, water everywhere and homeless people without any power at hand. No power to feed their phones, no power to do anything, against the power of nature.

as the MTA subway is flooded with water, the busses and subways and taxis stand still, with no where to go, as the roads are rein with water and fallen tress. Atlantic city, the city of casinos looks like maldives  or an ocean town now, battery park became venice last night, the bay at sag harbor roared like an angry lion, only to flood the bay street by ankle deep water. Our backyard was flooded with leaves, without any visible ground. Millions were powerless and thousands took shelter in the rescue lands of the government help. Another billion may have called the emergency helplines to learn about their loved ones, to know about their safety, relived like me, by just one text that says-OK.

I can only describe what I see, but the damage caused can be felt only by those who experienced it. I wonder if I want to remember this day, and yes I do, as I faced the fierce storm of the history.
May Sandy never come back again.

flooded bay street at sag harbor

Indian Gaudi? Nek Chand!

As I do some research for my project for the colors and trends in future, i came upon this incredible rock garden in the city of Chandigarh, made by a one man army, Nek Chand. They story behind it being incredible, I was curious to read more and finally write about it.

So, he started collecting waste materials resulting from demolition for Cobussier’s  construction and started making sculptures in the forest of Chandigarh. Only after 15 years government officials discovered this sustainable art and decided to keep it, after much debate! (Indian government system)
He was appointed the chief architect for some continuos income and given 50 laborers to keep his vision of the garden going and come up with a wonder of India, the 2nd poplar place visited in the country after Taj Mahal! And I JUST discovered this, sitting in NYC!
Is’nt he like Gaudi of India? But, his art is affordable to view, with 10 Rs as the garden fees compared to Gaudi’s 35 Euros in Barcelona!
India, incredible India!

Glimpses of the garden!

Drinking Traditions!

When a child is born in France, his finger is dipped in wine and he is made to taste the first blend he will enjoy forever! Strange are drinking or birth customs in countries that it makes me wonder of our ‘bhaang’ and ‘thandai’ and ‘mundan’ ! My Chinese room mate’s father makes her drink until she passes out, to train her for her study abroad and job opportunities, so she becomes strong and keeps her senses alive, even after ten shots of Vodka !

the wine put me to sleep !

rose or white?

Where is the cheese?

Where is the cheese in the cheese cake I thought, when I got my first spongy desert and was introduced to the land of cheese, France!

Provolone, Brie, Cheddar, parmesan, blue cheese, goat cheese, Mozzarella!!! There is so much variety compared to the land of Amul and cottage cheese, that everyday is a new learning in the food world. As I walk the grocery store, I try to remember and recognize the varieties I have tried and I liked, so I could pick them again! I enjoyed the garlic and herb goat cheese, Kim got home but I am going back for more Mozzarella, thanks to its soft texture and tomato partner and of course the fancy name, just like I buy drinks by names! ;) On the rocks!

Who grated my cheese??? :D

Movie conversations~!

Movies can be great conversation starters or even comments! As I host at Page at 63 Main restaurant, my manager who recently met with an accident and walks on crutches, limped by. He says, I feel like Lieutenant Dan from Forest Gump ! and I could not control my laughter as I caught the joke only because I had seen the movie 3 days ago thanks to my landlords large collection of films!

One day I asked my boss, what would be the dress code in office and he said, ‘’Don’t worry its not like The Devil Wears Prada, its very casual here!” and I could not help giggling ! Ha ha!

So , save some time folks and go watch some nice movies instead of Facebooking! and then of course, post your status as, MUST WATCH MOVIES-and list them down! ;)

Merci thank you xie xie!

While I rode back to my dorm with an American, we practiced some Chinese on the way to prepare myself for the next semester in Hangzhou. So France taught me ‘merci beaucoup’, USA changed it to 'Thanks a ton man’, and Chinese will evolve it to ‘Xie Xie’ ! 

Take my advice

Advices come in small packs, from unexpected people at random times.

As I host an elderly couple at Page, the lady told me to doll up and find a rich man in the Hamptons !

My landlord said, to do business, you have to know 2 things-some personal likes about the person and next thing I forgot! (thats the problem with advices, they come in such a flux you tend to forget them! )
My mentor at Bandhej told me about colors, if they don’t match, contrast them!
and ofcourse my dad always told me-people who do not work 100 hrs a day, cannot succeed! early to bed early to rise, makes jack healthy wealthy and wise! ;)

PS:Dont forget to make note of the post! 23:55 , still up and working! ;) Night!
Morning to the other part of the world!

And I thought I will be Stuck!

And I thought I will be stuck in small town when If I came to Sag Harbor, little did I know, it was a heaven’s paradise with the local famers market and bay by the office window. A small island town located on the edge of Long Island in the Suffolk county,  Sag Harbor is the most beautiful town I have lived in. With ducks on the bay and swans on the beach, I sit by the bench and eat my meals. Walking through the Main Street, I encounter women in beach dress suits and men in white and navy shorts. The whole world comes out here to spend the summer as I hear the Brits talking and French smoking while the Manhattanies stroll with their kids. and not to mention, stars like Mary Kate and rock stars like Usher ! Old men smoking their cigars and women playing guitars, as I work on my fantasy jobs-a hostess for the Page restaurant and a research assistant for a forecast company, I enliven my dream, a dream I never dreamt of...

View from office window 

A globe-trotters travel blunder tale!

After a few flights around Europe and bus journeys in USA, I was very confident of traveling abroad, until I encountered this strange situation from the Canadian Embassy for a Canadian Transit Visa. Apparently, I booked my tickets for Hong Kong through Air Canada, with a 3 hr transit in Vancouver Terminal M. I was supposed to CHANGE flights from the SAME terminal, WITHOUT getting out in the city. I had a travelled a couple of times before, with transits at the Dubai and Belgium Airport through Emirates and Air India flights. Thus, my obvious assumption, I will not need any Canadian Visa to hop on to my next flight. But, only to discover, that I made an ASS of U and ME-ASSUME !

Luckily, my elder sister-Anita recalled having a conversation with one of her friends, who had a similar itinerary booked. And he told her, that he needed to apply for a transit Visa, which came free of cost. She called me up ASAP and we looked into my flight schedule, called up the Air Canada airline, Travelocity and the Canadian Embassy to get some guidance on the matter. With no useful responses, from any of them, she decided to inquire personally at the Canadian Embassy in New York. All this happened while I prepared and gave my final presentation for the exam. I came home in the afternoon and we looked over our available options.

1.Go to the nearest Embassy in Washington DC and apply for the Visa, commute through taxi or bus, stay at a hotel for a day, or until I received my passport back. I was determined to get my passport stamped with the Visa and not return to Raleigh without it because of the time crunch.

2.Go to New York ASAP, get in line for the Visa at 8 am, travel by trains, stay at Anita’s and wait until I received my passport back., as she knew the city well.

Relieved.

We chose option 2 and I decided to take the over night Chinese Gotobus from Raleigh to New York as 11 pm and asked Vasanth my friend to drop me to the bus stop 5 miles away from home.

Relieved again. But.

Only to my amazement, it was over booked and there were no seats available now. Thus, I printed a 9:20 pm Greyhound bus ticket at 8:30 and requested Sineade, my dear room mate to drive me to Greyhound 2 miles away from home. We ran, as fast as we could, to the computer room, trying to print tickets in a jammed printer at Wolf Village. Once printed, we dashed to the parking lot and she rushed me to the Greyhound stop. I said my farewell to Sineade, as I will not see her again anytime soon :(

Relived, we reached!

But. As soon as I went to inquire about the boarding time of the bus, I heard an announcement-‘’The 9:20 Greyhound bus to New York has been delayed by 3 hrs and MAY depart by 12 midnight’’! I was shocked and cursed the bus company. I spoke to Anita and she suggested, I fly to New York ASAP at night or take an early morning flight, not to miss the Embassy, which closes at 10:30 am. If I missed the Embassy, I would loose a day and be late for my graduation on Saturday, the 13^th May. So, I called up Vasanth again to pick me from Greyhound and drop me to Airport, as Raleigh transport is not very efficient at night. We could not find night flights, so I decided to take the 6 am morning flight. Vasanath dropped me home, only to surprise Sineade of my early return!

Relived. Home finally with an early morn expensive flight to NYC.

I reached the Canadian embassy in time to submit my forms and when I crosschecked them, after submission, I found a few mistakes! My heart started pounding! What IF I get a rejection, after spending bucks on a flight to NYC, as getting a full refund on my HK Flight was not possible. I started to chant God’s name and carried on with my work for the day. I was ready for his decision and came to collect the passport next day at the Embassy.

Relieved!

Got my Canada visa to go to China !

Strange, but true!

RELIEVED!

And its time to leave again...

The MGIM program is based in 3 countries, starting from France, heading to USA, and finally ending in China. The moment you start feeling at home in a new place, its time to board the plane and jet to the next destination. You meet people from all over the wold, make connections, initiate friendships, and create a global network. The sad part being, leaving behind the people you just got accustomed and friendly to. To some, thats the beauty of the program,but for me dealing with changes, cultures, people, attitudes has been a great learning! So, while I try to make the most of my last 2 weeks in Raleigh, I am ready to move to China, traveling through Hong Kong and returning to USA for my internship. I made some great relations here, friends from India have been a great help to generate new friendships here and school friends based in USA have always given me immense support whenever I felt home sick.
thank you all.

Love America, the land of diversity.
Love France, the land of historic culture.
Love China, lets wait and watch!?

a bucket full of amul butter!

There is a famous saying in Indian academic life, 'he is buttering the faculty', or trying to impress him with tactics and sweet talk for extra marks or favour. It is a common assumption among people, 'he may want something back in favour from me, that is why he is so sweet to me'! Had I carried this misconception to the Southern State of North Carolina, everyone I met would have wanted something in return!!!

I was introduced to the Southern hospitality, while I waited by the bus stop at Wolf Village and a student cycling by, remarked “May all of you have a good day today! “! I was surprised as the comment brought a smile to my face and a sense of belongingness, to a city I recently moved. I thought to myself, ‘Welcome to the Raleigh, North Carolina, Sothern hospitality at its best’! Ever since I have taken care to wish ‘hey how are you today?’, ‘may you have a good day!’ to every driver of a bus I enter,  a coffee shop I visit, a stranger by the dinning hall and a faculty passing by the lounge. This being happened and I thought I had seen it all, but to my amazement, not!

One day, I walked by a car wash near the Catham square in between the neighboring town Cary and Raleigh as I was trying to reach the nearest Triangle transit bus station to head back home. I noticed a young boy, who was washing a car. The moment I made an eye contact with him, he shouted aloud-‘’hey, how are you today?’! And once again, I smiled and walked, as I experienced the real USA today. I sensed what I had heard or seen only in the movies, where passer-bys greeted or wished you morning, the teachers spoke to you with Pleases and Thank yous in the class and shop keepers wished you a good day.


Being said that, I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend! J

PS: Its not amul butter, but southern tea here! :P

judge me not ! Connect 4 !

Canada born-Ottawa raised-Boston studied and New York based Indian percussionist: Rohin Khemani,
was my discovery of the night for 2 hours at the Busy bee cafe in down town Raleigh, after we witnessed a foot tapping performance by the band Red Baraat at the NC State Stewart theatre. As a young child, my father scolded me if I made fun of obese or short people, teaching me NOT to judge anyone by their looks or clothes they wear. That said, coming from a Fashion School, judging people on their clothes or observing them is my time killing task at school and in the wolfline bus I ride everyday.
So while, the lead singer at Red Baraat: sunny jain took the audience's attention with his Dhol and strategic lead positioning, Mr.Rohin was playing his little instruement in the backdrop of the band, easy to miss anyone's eye. I did not care to take a picture with him, when I walked up to the band for a group picture, as he sat far away from the len's frame. I greeted him faintly when we entered the bar, but tried to stick around the lead singer, as he was the lead!!! But birthday for Sunny changed positions as Mr.Rohin vanished in the space and I overtook his seat, little did I realize that he will be back. A gentleman, he let me sit and we started out our conversation with general Indian American upbringing, school, career discussions leading to my family and his, parents, house, travel, etc. etc. until I told him I was looking for internships in the Fashion industry. Instantly, he suggested me to get in touch with his dear friend, Namrata Joshipura, an Indian designer based out of Delhi and take some guidance or talk for internships/job opportunities. I was surprised and amazed to the level of courteous good doing a person can do, to someone he met an hour ago. It made me think of our MBA case studies, where a lady is involved in various friend circles did good all the time, no matter who it be. Our conversation revolved around his life in Pune learning tabla and the band's will to tour India. The good doing syndrome had got a toll on me and I suggested them to start playing in India with my will to connect them to someone at Blue Frog, Mumbai's happening gig place for international/national bands. He instantly wanted to connect to me on Facebook, but ended up jotting my e-mail address, as we discussed about the amount of time people wasted on facebook. We grabbed some drinks, and danced on the first floor of the cafe, but our vocal chords were more active than the shin muscles. Thus, we ended up in the outer Portico at the cafe, but rain god did not want us to hang around in there, bringing us back to the ground floor to talk, rather than dance. Our next destination: The architect, a dance bar near by. Situation:a long line outside. Conclusion: back to square one at the busy bee, until it closed down at 2 am and Kruti drove us ALL back home through the Dollar Tree Hotel, past Wolf Village Way and the Indian guy's house. Thus, connecting 4 people-Namrata, Blue Frog, Ritu and Rohin through one glass of whisky and water.

o' balle balle!

Potatoe day

When groceries are cheap at Food Lion or the Around the World Market in Cary, one tends to get tempted to buy bigger packs for good deals, only to realize that a 5 pound Potatoe bag for 2 people is way more than potatoes needed for a month. So, when C cile and I saw that our potatoes were germinating in the black net bag, we decided to call it a day and set the pan on stove to bring out some carb delicacies. I tried to look for French preparations, but quick Indian recipes caught my eye on youtube. We dished some cumin seed potataoe, potatoe in tomatoe curry to last us for 2 days of lunch, and some baked potatoe wedges for a midnight snack.

See below are the before and after pictures of our versatile vegetable: POTATOE!

when they started germinating !
and then we laid out some sustainable varieties ! :P

 

Whats your game?!

The smell of chlorine and splash of water, swimming pools take me back to the memories at Ellisbridge and Sports. Basket ball, badminton, racket ball, squash, gymnastics, mountain climbing, aerobics, you name it and NC State has the sport. I am lucky enough to practice badminton and meet new people at the game. The chinese are extremely talented and down to earth, while French curse at every lost point, I encourage my partners and liven up the atmosphere! The body ache after a game, gives me immense satisfaction of exercise and pleasure of guilt brownie !

Have time, will play a sport.

Friends?!

friends?!
with 1574 friends on Facebook, I had almost lost the value of the close ones.
sitting 1000 miles apart and connecting people in another world, is truly a good deed through Gtalk.
Thank you Sharan Goel!
No thanks Facebook !

                            V/S     

I sometimes wonder if diversity is spice of life !

With 9 floors of brick building,
its higher than every tree clinging,
The DHL comprises of students & teachers,
ready to study & eat together,
its amazing how open US is,
with Chinese Korean Vietnamese in the terrace,
chewing, gaming, talking an studying,
lads swing their brain & legs in the lobby,
red yellow blue & green,
name any colour and its here in spree,
shoes flip flops ballerinas and heels,
variety is the common thread that leads,
sneezing shouting giggling & crying,
students study oblivious of the rain pouring,
its warm in here but drizzling outside,
the weather plays games all the time.

Ipads laptops cameras & kindles,
name it and you can rent it at the DHL kingdom,
open from morning to midnight,
it serves you with ice cream and coffee lite,
chat or ask an online representative,
24 hrs he will be available,
to help you find a book,
or reserve a room for your group,

Its sad but true,
books are gone in the blue,
as internet takes over the view,
people google instead of bookle,
every doubt on moodle.
While the library remains a place to doodle
or play your favourite game in a poodle.

black & white, tan & pale,
people walk by my lane,
with unique features &
intriguing eyes,
each one has a way of life.

I sometimes wonder if diversity is spice of life !



Students gaming at the DHL

its easy to connect!!

Its easy to connect to your native people
no matter how elder they may be to you
Cuz they speak the same language as you!

A career discussion or a drive to the market,
its all in days work with an Indian target,
we talk, we giggle,
as we know all the Indian riddles!!
Masala papad and Ready to eat roti
is every student's dream opportunity! :P

Felt like home again

Living an international student's life in a city where they speak english, I thought would be easy,
but not really. After my term in France, I learnt to deal with different cultures , meet various people and interact with them, talk to them and understand their life styles, that I assumed United States would be a pice of cake, as English would be an easy medium to communicate and understand people, compared to French.

My American class mates became busy with their part time jobs,girl friends, families, old friends, and various other things, while I assumed, they would always be there to hang out.
But, change is the spice of life.

Meeting new people, hanging out with them , walking, shopping , gives life a new leash,
and I found mine today.

An Indian friend circle, finally in USA :)
No matter how much I love my American friends, its the Indians who made me feel home. I did not know mr.deep who came from the same city as mine, but we clicked! We clicked as we knew each other forever!The river front talks,  bought an aura of Ahmedabad with them. Delhi's metro and Bangalore's traffic, Shimla's mountains and Assam's tea! The topics were varied over a large Carraban platter, just like the terrains of India!
I LOVE INDIA!!! 

Its so easy for them to talk about...

I appreciate them,
but I laugh at them
They have a different culture all together!
The americans!

Its so easy for them to talk about their parents' divorce and mom's menopause,
about their bubble baths and step moms,
i Love them,
but I envy them,
cuz they are so carefree and do not worry!

They work hard and party harder!
And its so easy for them...