Well, thankfully.....

The world did not end.... Neither in that Rapture thing, nor in the manner i knew it.
And my phone is safe (just in case anyone actually believed i'll smash it, Smiroff isn't Doc and Doc). Vodafone and Nokia went the extra mile and some to sort the problem for me, though it still took 4 days. I wonder if they are nice to me because I am loyal to them or I am loyal to them because they are nice to me. Most of the world has a register full of complaints against these companies, i have hardly any!! I guess it works both ways with a bit of good luck thrown in. Plus, for Vodafone, i am a revenue center by way of sms - 60% of my phone bill is sms. They will go out of the way to sort out the matter for me!!

Nomophobic, as the all knowing (well, almost) Mahesh tells me is the fear of being out of touch due to loss or misplacing phone. I guess i would also qualify for this, by means of my anxiety was not able to send out sms messages.
When some people did not care to check why i haven't replied to their messages for 24 hours, i felt life wasnt worth living. Koi kisi ka nahi yeh jhoote naate hain, naato ka kya......When 3 people called to ask where are you, no sms for 3 days, life was better. Yuhin kat jayega safar saath chalne se......and then all was well. Expect for the small matter of losing a lot of settings, applications and saved email addresses (in hindsight, thats not a bad thing).

One thing this problem made me do was to speak to people. I cannot reply to queries by sms, i cannot ask anything by sms. For far too long, i have managed to avoid the concept of making small talk around the real agenda of the call. But now i had to do that, and it isnt a bad thing to do. Just a bit counterproductive, thats all.

End of the world....

As i know it.

Since morning, i have not been able to send any SMS from my phone. Just stuck in the outbox, never moves to sent messages folder. Everything else working fine. Maybe the phone's fault, maybe Vodafone. Last few days, it sent out the same message repeatedly. Its like a colleague's illness last week - loose motions one day, constipation next day.

If this doesn't rectify by tomorrow, i am going to smash my phone. My friend Smirnoff agrees this is the right thing to do.

Rachit
Sent from Rachit's phone

No words to describe.....awesome ghazal!

Ranjish hi sahi dil hi dukhaanay kay liyay aa
aa phir say mujhay chhorr kay jaanay kay liyay aa

(Let it be anguish, come still to torment my heart

Come, even if to leave me again)

pehlay say maraasim na sahi phir bhi kabhi to
rasm-o-rahay duniya hi nibhaanay kay liyay aa

(If not for our past association

Come to fulfill the rituals of the world)

kis kis ko bataayengay judaai kaa sabab ham
tu mujh se khafaa hai to zamaanay kay liyay aa

(Who else must I explain the reason of separation

Come, despite your displeasure, to continue the ceremony)

kuchh to meri pindaar-e-mohabbat ka bharam rakh
tu bhi to kabhi mujh ko manaanay kay liyay aa

(Respect a little the depth of my love for you

Come someday to placate me as well)

ek umr say hun lazzat-e-giryaa se bhi mehruum
aye raahat-e-jaan mujh ko rulaanay kay liyay aa

(Too long have I been deprived of the pathos of longing

Come my love, if only to make me weep again)

ab tak dil-e-khush_feham ko tujh say hain ummeedain
ye aakhari shammain bhi bujhaanay kay liyay aa

(Till now, my heart suffers from some expectation

Come to snuff even these last candles of hope)

Searching.....

Rachit : C.G.Road chalenge?
Auto driver : haan
R : kitna lenge?
A : meter se maalik.
R : acchi baat hain.

We set off.

R : accha bhaisaab, yahan ahmedabad main, aap kisi marathi auto driver ko jaante ho kya? Uske auto ke peeche 'jai shivaji' likha hai, uska naam bhi shivaji hain?? Maninagar main rehta tha.
A : bhai yahan pe das pandrah hazaar auto driver hain. Aise kaise kisi ko jaan sakte hain na?
R : haan vo to hain, main to bas chance le ragha tha.

I know this sounds stupid but this, or a similar conversation, is what i have had with 3 auto drivers on this trip to Ahmedabad. Similarly when i had come to Ahmedabad 2 years back. But still havent got anyone who would know him. Next time.

Shivaji was an auto driver in Ahmedabad i had met in 2007, when i had camped here for over 45 days. It was the 'Jai Shivaji' sticker at the back of his auto that had attracted our attention to him and then our marathi connection made him the designated driver for the rest of our trip. On subsequent trips to the city, i would call him and again he was the designated driver. It was nice talking to him, hearing his plans on how his kids would be educated, how he had got a new ric, some incidents with his in-laws and so on.

Sometime in early 2008, he called me saying his number is changing. I am sure i saved his new number. Sometime in mid 2008 there were bomb blasts in Ahmedabad, 2 of them in the Maninagar area. I tried calling him, but always got the message that this number doesnt exist. He has also never called since then. So i am asking auto drivers. I don't know why its important to search him. But it just is. Lets see.

Indulgence....

I have 4 hours to while away. There is a 5 pm show of 'Ragini MMS' in the lounge theater of Big Cinemas. 400 bucks.

But what comfort!!! Nice sofas, ample leg room, nice head rest..... Some of you would have loved this!!!!