Welcome To -62 Celcius In SIBERIA!!!!

SIBERIA - doesn’t the word send a chill down your spine; atleast to those for whom this place on earth has found its existence only in their geography books. For me, IT does indeed! All I knew about Siberia was that it’s notorious for its extreme low temperatures during winters; “-40 C, wow how does that feel” that’s what I wonder! I surely know how +40 C felt. Sounds interesting to me; but GOD now what! Will I have to experience it in person? “Are you kidding me”, that’s what I asked Prateek when he told me that I was to accompany him to Siberia. But wow that smells like some adventure; “so pack my backs and here I come Siberia”!

Sunny days at sunny places got over just a little too soon when we boarded our Emirates flight from Dubai for Moscow. Personally this has been my best flying experience. It was one of the most breathtaking flights, atleast for a first timer like me in the land of snow. As we approached Moscow, TVs inside the flight were turned on with forward view and downward view cameras. Snow clad land with sparsely scattered ever green trees here and there; white that’s what it looked from top. As we were ready to land all we could see was snow on both sides of the runway and before we realized there was a thud; the flight had made a successful landing. Then came the news hearing which I was so crestfallen. “Temperature outside is only -6 C. Is that what I came here for? A week passed by in Moscow and hey the temperature doesn’t bother to go below -8 C. Prateek tells me to have patience till we go to SIBERIA.”

This time it was sooner done than said; we were finally deported (as he would like to call it) to Siberia one fine winter morning. “Here starts the adventure” I thought to myself. But on boarding the flight I was taken aback; it was actually a MISadventure. It was not fit to be called a flight; it was nothing better than a government bus back India. Small, cramped up, no leg space and the funniest part being no space to keep cabin luggage; Lol! “Fine, not bad” I thought sarcastically as we endured a fair enough bumpy two and half hours ride to land at our first stop in Siberia - Noyabrsk. “What’s the temperature outside” was my first question. It being 20th December I was surely expecting something enticing. “But well, excitement doesn’t last forever; atleast it has not been for me since I am here. It’s only -15 C. Prateek duped me with all fake stories!!!! Siberia in December and only -15 C what on earth is this? This is so depressing; what will I go back to India and talk about”; but somehow the depression had to take a back seat as that night we encountered one of the most spectacular phenomenon of nature.

At 11pm local time (Siberia is 30 min adrift of IST), as we lay in our room, suddenly the sky outside looked extraordinarily bright for that time of the night. First we thought it was those street lights; but then can they be so bright. We went to peek outside and to our surprise the sky looked like one natural display of fireworks. Before we could realize it was over. Yes it was those Northern Lights that again most of us either keep hearing about or read about. “Wow now it feels like I have seen something worth to talk about!”

21st December morning: still -15 C outside; we set out to reach our destination, a town on the Arctic Circle in Siberia called Gubkinsky where my dear hubby has to report. We traveled for three hours on bumpy icy roads; finally at dusk we entered this small town that had a fairy tale look to it. Snow spread all over with churches and buildings that looked like those straight out of the medieval age; I liked the look and so did my hubby. We settled down in our apartment and days passed on fine with -25 C outside till Dec 31, 2005; we woke up that morning only to discover that my dreams had finally come true. Yiiiiiiiippppppppeeeeeee the thermometer outside read -40 C! “Whoa finally I am seeing a temperature I can go back home and talk about”. Finally an experience worthwhile; that morning I was surely quite high on energy and on our way to office I had specially stopped outside for a while without any warmers just to feel the chill. “Awesome I feel numb. Finally here I am in Siberia. This is what I have heard about for all these days and now I feel so welcome to this land.” That was my way of welcoming the New year.

Happy and contented days passed by with temperatures hovering between -45C to -50 C. Life became slightly tough as the temperature dipped further. Then came the dreadful Jan 12, 2006; when we were taken aback by what the thermometer read. It was -62 C outside without the wind chill factor added. As we peeked outside all we could see was white fog and nothing beyond that. As we stepped out, I could feel the cold Siberian wind slash across my face and say aloud “WELCOME TO SIBERIA”. My eyelids were freezing and I was finding it tough to breathe, as I endured a 30 sec walk from my home to the car. It’s Jan 20, 2006 today and temperature is no higher than -47 C. As our days here come to an end, all our plans of skiing and visiting the ice city remains a plan as Siberia has finally decided to fulfill my wish and show me its true colour. All in all, so far it has been an experience worth cherishing for all my life; THANK YOU SIBERIA.

MS to MRS.

Life for a girl has its own phases; one of the biggest is the transformation from Ms to Mrs whereas a man always remains Mr very conveniently. The journey to this phase is long but when you reach the zenith the change happens within a blink of your eyes.

Life has been same for me too. 22 years of my life I have been happily just being myself, Ms Banerjee; proud to bear my surname and flaunt it. 22 years when I had all the freedom on earth to take decisions just for myself and do things on my own knowing the fact that the consequences will be all mine. Only people I would report to were my parents and that too almost disappeared as I started working. 17 years of my life have been in a sheltered surrounding when I had my parents to fall back upon everytime I needed. Though an independent child from young, I had my share of flips. Made my decisions but parents were there to rectify them; those 17 years when I learnt and still remained unadulterated.

But then there ended those guarded years like a dream and I was let out in the open in the human wild to fight and survive on my own. The only mantra my parents gave me was “Survival Of the Fittest”. Since then life has always been a roller coaster ride where every step was my decision and after effects were mine too. There was no more falling back upon and no more parents being around to recheck my decisions. College life was a phase of knowing a different culture and accepting and getting accepted. With some trustworthy friends around it was still a cozy world. But once out of it I was to face a world so full of masked faces, hypocrites, good leaders, and a lot of demotivators. Working late in office, partying hard on weekends, traveling on long weekends, watching movies and just be with self at home was what my life comprised of; life full of uncertainty and ‘Play It Rough’ attitude; still those trustworthy friends around but lesser time to unwind. It was one of the most important learning phase; a phase to learn the value of patience, to smile inspite of being in pain, to be strong, to learn to be diplomatic and most important to leave your original self at home when at work. But all said and done those were the independent years of my life where the motivating factor was the inflowing salary every month end which was all mine. It gave me a feeling of self-contentment that I was earning my living on earth and not being a parasite. It was that period that gave me a self boost and made my identity to stand on my own as just Anusree. But as we say nothing lasts forever and especially for a girl there comes the transition phase gain.

This time it’s a much bigger transition where in my identity is being transformed from Ms to Mrs. Decision of taking up this challenge was surely mine as it’s me who fell in love. The word LOVE that changes your world and brings in this another person in your life for whom you care for so much so as to agree to do almost everything. As the society norm goes love cannot stand alone for too long without being tied into a social bond called MARRIAGE. So here comes those days where you contemplate between your career and your love. As it goes love has to win and so it does. Marriage is on the cards. All sleepless nights and pre marital bliss; all these for just one day, the D day when, within few hours even before you realize, you become MRS. Few hours and your surname is taken; your identity is attached to being someone’s better half. You get a secondary identity. HOW is the question that haunts your mind for days to go without finding an answer. Why do I have to give up on my surname when he doesn’t? But alas all these thoughts are waste as there is no logic to it but just a simple illogical string called society norms.

So that’s the journey that was 22 years long for me yet too short to realize the reality. Ms to Mrs; that’s what I have been converted to and now my entire purpose for living revolves around my love, MY HUSBAND. No more working late, partying hard and that waited last day of the month. Now life is more about being responsible, being sensible, caring, making decisions for both, thinking of your family above everything else and no more ‘Play It Rough’ attitude. It’s a transformation from being a girl to a lady where the child within you comes out only in private. But at the same time it’s a feeling of being one with someone you love so much. The days of being with yourself is over where I know there is someone who will come back to me at the end of everyday; who cares for me and loves me more than anything else in his life. Someone for whom fulfilling my wishes is his sole dream, for whom being with me matters the most and is on top of any other thing. 2 months into my married life, all I will say is that the journey from Ms to Mrs has been tough to accept yet fulfilling as what matters now is being with my SHRUK, as a PARI in his DIL!!!

Adieu 2005

It’s another year that just went by and I suddenly realized that since my last blog about Goa I haven’t written anything about the year that we welcomed in Goa. Yes I am talking about 2005 that just got over and left over such happy memories with me deep down my memory lane.

It was surely the year that started so differently where we all returned from Goa with loads of nostalgia, backpain after traveling for 22 hours in a car and needless to say the right spirit to kick off. For me it started off a little to well as it was just the first month of the year and I already had two trips planned back to back and the best part being holiday being approved by my manager. First came Kerala to attend a wedding and then came home sweet home. Journey from Bangalore to Calcutta was again different for having met Shruk in the airport and before the year got into first gear we realized our hidden feeling for each other. Yes it’s the same Shruk a stranger so known.

Love is surely the most beautiful feeling and being in love and being owned is something to cherish for life. With so much happening in life hardly did I realize that 2005 had already entered into its mid phase and I was engaged with my marriage date fixed. Long distance relationships are hard they say but as I said may be 2005 started on a little too good note for me so even long distance did not seem that long. Not only for me 2005 was surely the year of love that helped love take the shape of marriage for a lot where some of my closest friends got married and found their beloved partners for life.

This year was surely one of the fastest I have ever seen that just zoomed off and here it was time to leave my job and enter the uncertainty. Leaving job on one hand was very painful but on the other hand uniting with my love was dearer. And here before the year finally ended I was married and with marriage came some new relations and some great new friends. GJ who started the year with his wedding was a proud father of a bay boy and the event closest to my heart being someone very close to me falling in love and confessing it at the closure of the year. Yes it's Tum & Tom.

Thank you GOD for all that you gave all of us the entire year and keep blessing us this way for years to come. So time we bid 2005 a goodbye and yet again welcome another year. Happy New Year all and keep smiling.

Life Is Beautiful

It’s a beautiful day today. Warm sweet sunlight welcoming the day with open arms and the cool breeze of spring morning wakes you up. There is something very nice about this day. It’s a beautiful feeling. It looks beautiful and it smells beautiful.

I must say I am feeling beautiful today. Reason is still undiscovered but yes I feel beautiful. I feel happy, I smile, I feel romantic, I dream all these with no intentional reason in mind. This is what I call as a perfectly beautiful day. Sometimes such small things in life can give such amazing happiness and can make your day simply wonderful. Yes it’s those small things in life that actually matters and it’s these small happiness, joys and memories that we carry forward throughout. It’s these small reasons that stays on to define nostalgia. Finding happiness in small things and spreading happiness and smile are the essence in our otherwise complex life. I feel beautiful today as I am happy and I am happy as I am selfless and I can find my smile in small things and in someone else’s smile. Spreading happiness and smile is the greatest pleasure and satisfaction that makes me happier. Unlocking someone’s hidden innocence seems to be a great achievement. All these just to see a smile and to smile. Simple things like an unexpected phone call or a small surprise, feeling someone’s happiness or to relate to someone, gaining a friend and making a difference in his life, to realize that my existence matters makes the moment cherish able and makes life more worthwhile.

Life is beautiful so try and find your happiness. Look for it as may be it lies in the smallest thing. Each moment is precious so live life unconditionally. Love someone and be loved, smile and the world smiles with you.

LOVE

Love is a fireside warm secure
Love is a raindrop sweet and pure
Love is a new coin bright and fine
Love is a beautiful new design
Love is and ocean calm and deep
Love is a promise two can keep
Love is tomorrow always new
Love is sharing Life with U

SHRUK - A Stranger So Known

It’s very rarely in life do we come across people whom we have never met or interacted with but yet they seem so known and close to us. It’s a drawn feeling of closeness that gets you to move on towards the direction of knowing him better. A person never known and yet so known.

This is exactly the chemistry that happened between ‘Shruk’ and me. Well Shruk that’s what I call him. It’s the name that popped in my mind out of the blues for him that seemed so affectionate. He is an ardent Shahrukh fan as I am and people say he has resemblance with Shahrukh. May be that’s the reason Shruk evolved. But if you ask my opinion then Shruk has his own charm which are so his own and not copied from the King Khan. Yes his face cut is like the King Khan’s but his smile is so his own. He does have slight touch up but from my point of view I would say that he is a very gentle version. Shahrukh has his own charisma of maturity mixed with sensibility and sensuousness. Whereas Shruk is a self blend of innocent charm mixed with a warm touch and amiability. He has this wonderful sense of humour that despite of all his efforts shows his true self. I have known Shruk virtually for 2 months and personally for less than a month now but the first time I spoke to him he sounded so known. It just did not feel like I was talking to him for the first time. All credit goes to him as he was the one who broke the ice otherwise I would have never ended up talking to him this way. That was the day when I just spoke to him for the first time 13th Jan 2005. A call slightly unexpected as then he knew me for jus a month and that too not so well so as to call me. But I loved the gesture that he did take out time and called. Meeting at that point of time was a far fetched expectation as first the urge wasn’t there and secondly the time constraint as we both were traveling with schedules so unlike to each others. But somehow destiny played it’s game with due efforts from us and the impossible too seemed possible then. He was suppose to leave Bangalore on 16th Jan and I was suppose to come back to Bangalore on 17th Jan. But as well played by destiny he postponed his ticket to 17th Jan and I reached Bangalore in the morning instead of evening. I made it to the airport despite circumstance not so favorable. It’s was one of the shortest and sweetest meet I have had. He made all efforts to talk and I listened.

All the time in the airport I kept on having this strange feeling that was so obscure. But after I saw him off and when I was on my way back I tried discovering the feeling again only to realize it was just a feeling so acknowledged. It just did not strike me that I met him and that too for the first time. By the time I realized the meet was over and there was oblivion of hope for the next meet. At that point of time heading back home I had no anticipation or expectation whether we will be friends or will meet again. He was a stranger in my life who just seemed to pass by as a known cool breeze. It was a pleasant feeling. But less did I know that the stranger who seemed so known will actually become so known. After that it surely took sometime but yes we developed this unbelievable talent of talking to each other for hours. Those long hour late night calls have slowly opened the door to know him better. But somehow none of the discoveries seemed too strange and it always felt like I knew him so well. We do talk for long hours but never anything that’s out of the way. The beauty of the relation lies in the unadulterated innocent chemistry that we share. I have no expectations from him nothing to look forward to but yet I enjoy each and every conversation. We have similarities and we have differences. Differences are definitely more striking but that have not dampened the energy level. He is definitely several parameters higher than me but he is still routed to the ground. No matter even if he does not enjoy conversing with me he have atleast never revealed it or have been unpleasant in any form. Knowing him so far has been an amusing journey and now I am looking forward to complete the journey with him.

That’s you Shruk from my angle. You have been the perfect stranger and yet so known. You have been the prankster and yet so innocent. Though unaware of your side the door to friendship is open from my side and to me you are a FRIEND.

It's Time To Party!!

It's that time of the year that rings bell in our hearts and we jingle all the way to partying. Yes it's the end of another year and everyone by now is already set in the mood to party. With Christmas and New Year being right next door you see all places decorated with lights and cute small bells,sparkles,glitters and not to forget the Christmas trees. All shops have started sporting all the party collections that shines and shimmers and sets you in that delightful mood.

You would find people rather busy at this point of year as everyone is working towards wrapping up their works so as to be free to kick off and set out. Shopping seems to be the much desired activity as all wants to look smashing while welcoming the New Year. Out on the roads you will find almost everyone wearing that warmth,smile and the high spirit that seems to be soaring with every passing day. That's how we all are. No matter how good or bad the passing year went we are always ready for the new and welcome it with spread out hands and a smile on face. We do look forward to everything new and cherish every moment learning from the mistakes of past and working towards rectification in present. So looks like all set for partying.

We are all set too. Yes we are heading towards the party zone of India our one and only GOA. It's been a plan for long and now I don't believe that it's taking shape. We don't have a place to stay yet. You heard it right that we don't have a place to stay but that's not hampering any mood. We are all geared up for adventure and no-madic condition as long as we get to get high on the spirits of GOA. The word itself is mesmerizing and sets you in the trance mood. So no matter what here we come to you GOA. Wrap us in your colors,set us high and get us drunk in your moods. I can already hear the roaring of the sea, can smell the sand, can feel the breeze. It's such an awaited and cherished plan of all of us being together in the lands of happiness,music,dance and love. So guys here we head out to rock and wish everyone else rocks too.

Needless to say it's time to party on , be merry and welcome another mysterious phase in life....The New Year that has it's own share of surprises, secrets, happiness, sorrows and promises for us. Keep Rocking and keep smiling :)