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  • Tea Stall by चायबाज़ देवजित आचार्य


    Tea Stall., originally uploaded by cheerfull_soul.

    I loved the green walls … that prompted me to take the picture.

    Time for another ChaiBaaz to be introduced on Chai Ki dukaan…
    Name Devjit Acharya, nick name Cheerful Soul

    and the photo is from the streets of Banaras.

    What I like about him is his fantastic eye to capture moments from the streets and the powerful compositions he presents. Dev is also one of the people who is excellent with photography fundamentals from the group of people I know, needless to say he is one of my favorite photographers and a constant source of inspiration!!!

    Check out his flickr page (here) and enjoy !!!

    Thanks Dev for letting me post this photograph on Chai Ki Dukaan !

  • of Love that is not that common, but IS !

    I was in college, and like most of the other college going lads would not leave an opportunity to show off my smartness at the drop of a hat !

    So I went to this marriage function and I saw her !!! She knew me and I knew her, we had met a few times previously, were introduced to each other too, but never got talking !!!

    It was her brother’s marriage, and she out of courtsey came and talked to me… and then the smartass mr. Prashant spoke, “आप अकेले अकेले chewing gum खा रही हो, मुझे नहीं दी !!!” (aap akele akele chewing gum kha rahi ho, mujhe nahin di)… and she simply takes her gum out of her mouth and offers it to me !!! I am stunned and She just laughs her ass off !!! and I still shocked ! Thankfully I am saved from any further embarrassment, and her friends come and take her away !! I am sure I was their laughing stock for the evening !!!

    However later in the evening, we met again and I took her number… I think she felt safe giving her number to a stupid guy… we cannot be much trouble, I guess !!!

    I did not call her for a while… weeks in fact, and after a month or so I gather enough courage and call her up, hoping that she picks up the phone… she does, and she says,” ओह, तो फ़ोन कर ही लिया आपने, मुझे तो लगा के फ़ोन नम्बर कॉल्लेक्ट करने का शौक है आपको “! (oh!, to phone kar hi liya aapne, mujhe to laga phone number collect karne ka shawk hai aapko) third encounter, second embarassing moment !!!

    That one phone call matured to a call a week and then, in not too long a time, our daily 1600 hrs 30 minute call… and then transformed into one of the most beautiful relationships of my life… It did not work out the way we wanted ( but that’s another story, and I rather not talk about it right now)

    Bhoomi and me went around for a good 4 years, and she, till date, is the only woman, who managed to pull my leg as often and leave me dumbstruck and in a state of shock like no one else… but her chuckle and more often than not a loud laughter at my state, made me happy…

    It was like I grew up with her, from college to masters, overdose of Theatre in Graduation, to loads of study and Basketball in Post Graduation, to the IT bubble burst and my hunt for jobs and the stress and struggle, and my first training/job and then the real fist job !!! I think it was THE perfect relationship… no point regretting now though…

    anyway, why was I talking about Bhoomi?

    because I was reminded of my second longest relationship ( yea yea, I have a few extra feathers in my cap, but so what!!!)

    Radha… another relationship that did not take much time to develop and only got stronger with time !!! My first and only “Love at first sight” as far as I can remember… here are a few pictures of her that I took on our first long drive together to Uttaranchal ( now uttarakhand).. More than 4 years now and her charm is still as strong as the day I first saw her !!!


    Some more pictures from the trip here and here. and if you are keen on reading about the trip click here.

  • Chai Ki Dukaan by चायबाज़ क्षितिज


    Chai Ki Dukaan, originally uploaded by HappyHorizons.


    notes from me:

    Am I really an attention seeker? I am not sure, but attention does add fuel to my acts… I feel more responsible coz I realize someone is watching and maybe taking notes as well…

    Thanks Kshitiz for the lovely photograph…

  • I used to be HOTT, but now I am too COOL !!!


    Oh and the girl in the next cubicle was just speaking to someone, and in that 10 minutes of conversation I heard a good angrezi accent, and a dilli type accent and a south accent together though at different times !!!

    Kind of funny 😀

    And Fiat has introduced Linea and I am in love already with how she looks, though like Deepu also wrote to me in his email, is a bit underpowered… However I feel that FIAT even though looks underpowered from a CC point of view, has enough under the boot and in their brains to decide the torques that a car should have… Radha has might not reach a 60kmph as fast as a Suzuki or Hyundai would, but take her past the 2500rpm mark on the Tacho and it can give any of the much stronger cars a good run for their money.. and this is a personal experience after so many drives between Delhi and Chandigarh !!! It has a punch that is hard to ignore… mmmmmuah Radha !!!

    Back to Linea, I like the way they have labeled the versions of the car : Active; Dynamic; and Emotion… makes it closer to your heart !!! That happens with FIAT anyway, this is just that small change that makes it look better instead of a calculative SXi or VXi.

    Another interesting thing that I see is the Arm Rest in the front row, I have realized this in the US that it does make a lot of difference in comfort when you are driving… That should also explain why a lot of people like to keep one hand on the gear knob when they are driving!

    One thing that I am missing is the ABS and Disc Brakes on the rear… But I also think that there are not too many takers in India yet. Also the OEM versions of these seem to be much expensive than what you can get it done for in open market.

    Anyway… Enjoy the Linea website and drive safe !

  • Finally Denim

    Who says wemmen take a long time in buying things !!!! It took me about 2 years to get a second pair of jeans !!! but I finally did it !!!
    I don’t remember how many times I tried buying one but never really bought, I even got one but never wore it… my tummy was growing at a rate which the jeans could not take after that first trial attempt !!! However, this weekend, I finally got a pair that I can wear !!! and I am not surprised that its very very similar to what I was wearing so far !! almost the same pattern, almost the same blue !!!

    So two now !!! sahi !

  • Another one of (not so) random thoughts

    Mon, a dear friend, few days back wrote about how people change with time, how close friends grow apart and a few other things… Somehow that does not surprise me at all… People change, distances grow or reduce, and so on and so forth… with time I have learnt to accept that as a fact, however the good thing is that with time my faith in those handful of relationships that I guard like crazy and will do ANYTHING to save has also strengthened !!!

    What surprises me are those people who can be absolutely different like black and white at the same time ( and that includes me too at times)… The warmest souls to some, and the worst people on earth for someone else ! Saying something and being someone ELSE at the same time! Thankfully I cannot be someone else and claim to be a different person at the same time, but there are people who can. I can get into the tactical details here, but that would just mean talking more about a few people I know, which I am not sure is required !

    While I agree that this can happen with every one, every time I think about this, I am reminded of someone I knew who was a classic example of being two faces at the same time !!! Phew !!! Before that I never knew that such extremes are possible!

    I secretly hope that I do not bump into one of such amazing people in my life, but then I am not the one deciding the flow here 🙂 I am just rafting !!! let it come !!!

    Tushar bhai, I miss Rishikesh and our rafting trips !!!

  • 2008, the year that was !!!

    This is a long post… I would recommend reading along with the pictures but then if you just want to have a look at some pictures, scroll on !!!

    While I was getting ready for the new year…


    I thought, why not write about what all I have been upto in 2008…

    I was at the Chai ki Dukaan

    I was in Air

    I was in Water


    I drove

    I traveled in Trains

    I travelled in Buses

    I relaxed

    I walked

    I was with friends

    I was with Family

    I was alone

    I saw rains

    I saw clouds

    I saw Snow

    I saw Sunsets and Sun-rises

    I saw buildings that man made

    I saw caves that man decorated

    I saw some Art

    and made some myself


    I started cooking

    I spread some smiles

    met some great new people

    and let go of some !!

    Took more photos of nature

    and even more of people

    I realized how much I love B/W, both in Life and Photography…

    I even had an exhibition in New Delhi 🙂

    I got closer to my country
    And I stayed far far away from it too…

    All in all, this has been such a remarkable year for me that I could not have imagined !!! Lets hope that I come out a winner in 2009 as well…

    Amen !

    And now !

    I should get back to work 🙂 I have spent more than 90 minutes on this post already 😛


    But you keep visiting Chai Ki Dukaan !!! It feels great to have company here !!!

  • I want to forget those few hours !!!

    when I saw Ghajini !!!A medical student playing detective…
    A villain who can speak haryanvi, rajasthani and a bit of stuff from UP in the same word…
    His men who will fly many feet away in one blow…
    Fight sequences picked up from any random South Indian movie and the men too…
    Background score ranging from Enigma, to Matrix to Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam

    That’s Ghajini for you…

    oh wait there is more…

    Aargh !!! forget it…

    Even if I do not think about how sadly the director has picked up the idea from Memento, Ghajini is one movie which I feel is absolute CRAP !!!

    The only and the only life saver being, Amir’s expressions !!!

    Ridiculous movie!!! DISGUSTING attempt !!!!

    But on second thoughts, this is a movie that I am going to enjoy like crazy if I have a few close friends around !!! I am sure going to Laugh my guts out on almost every scene of the movie !!!

    Thank you AR Murugadoss !!! Its idiots like you, because of who, we lesser mortals get a few laughs with friends !!!!

    And they live happily ever after !!!

  • Happy New & the not so new year with some Chai !!! (Photo – चायबाज़ क्षितिज )


    Chai, originally uploaded by HappyHorizons.

    I am enjoying both 2008 and 2009 right now…

    2009 with everyone who is in India and Nida in Pakistan 🙂

    and

    2008 in the US where there still is almost half a day before we call it a year 🙂 and London where Abhishek is !

    Being in two years, one place, many thoughts and wishes is such a nice thing !!!

    Happy new (and the not so new) year to everyone !!

    Hope the new year is as refreshing, and tasty as the कुलहड़ वाली चाय (Tea in a earthen pot [Kullahd])

    Thanks Kshitiz for letting me blog the picture above, welcome to ChaiBaaz family

  • White and Christmas !

    I had read on Tushar’s facebook page a few days back that he was hoping for a White Christmas ! In Noida, having a white Christmas is not really possible, so I thought why not collect some white here in Milwaukee and make the day white for him ! so here you go bro, this post is for you and the white Christmas that you were hoping for !!!
    This is how my walk to the office was a couple of weeks back !

    A few days later, snow started melting and the green grass leaves were visible again !!
    But a few cars were still covered with snow, like the one above and below… BTW I missed Radha when I took the picture below 🙂

    The County team here has to work really hard to keep the snow off places where people walk…
    This my friend Gaurav’s Patio… we get a lovely view of the snow all around from his place !

    And lets get back home to some warmth now… and this is me making the Shimla Mirch 🙂 And did I tell you that it tasted yummy yet once again 🙂

    And then it snowed heavy again last week… I even got a snow day off !!! It snowed about 12 inches in the night, bringing the entire city to a halt. Even the Milwaukee Airport was closed that day !

    The roads were full of snow, the cars stuck, and walking difficult, with driving almost impossible !
    See it was almost about a foot of snow like I said !!!


    A Newspaper box and a cycle stand !

    The shopping carts at a local store !!!

    And I decided to venture out in the evening too, and saw some really beautiful views around… The snow does make a lot of things look much more beautiful than they are otherwise…

    The Milwaukee Arts Museum view from my office, and the lake Michigan in the background.

    A park near the Lake Michigan !!! This is where loads of Summer Festivals happen over the spring and summer time in Milwaukee !

    Some more views from my office !

    Some interesting pattern that snow flakes made on the glass walls in office !

    There is more coming, as the snow does not seem to stop here 🙂 Hope everyone has a great happy Merry Sweet Christmas !!!

    Me is going out in a while to walk around in that park… and the temperature right now is around 0 deg Centrigrade !