Agra

The Itimad-Ud-Daulah, aka Baby Taj, at Agra, Uttar Pradesh

I realize nowadays that I have nothing fun, interesting, or even distressing to write about.

Yes, I still reminisce about going to far-flung places where nobody’s ever been to, but apart from that …nothing. No fantasies about romancing the next Ms Universe, no plans for having a wild party the coming weekend, or the weekends to come, not much knowledge about what new movies are in town, no daydreams about monsters, buildings or scenarios to put on paper while attending a boring meeting, no ideas for creating new writing scripts, no looking forward to a good old computer hack-the-helloutta’em game, no longing for a nice novel, no roaming animals in the street to gawp at (because this is a bloody desert, and animals, apart from camels, are usually smart enough not to loiter around a barren patch of sand)…

And no ideas at all for a stupid title to this entry.

The only things which are in my mind nowadays, are, what type of management systems I can put in place for the new Project we’ve just got? What sort of bloody way we can use to tackle this new project? When is it time to go home to be with wife...

I think I better go with pictures of Agra from last year… That’s the place where we did our weekly grocery shopping when we were in Bharatpur. Agra is about 1.5 hours away on our very own Project Highway, 2 hours or more when the state border guards decide to check the lorries (usually at night when all you wanna do is go straight home and jump into bed, and you’re caught up behind, in front, or beside a mess of huge trucks arguing, blowing their horns, bloody flashing their lights…). Driving to Agra and back are the highlights of any trip to Agra, you get to manoeuvre around slow big fat tractors, killer trucks and buses, safety barriers (ours) and potholes that pop up from nowhere; squeeze your cars in between the hordes of rickshaws, push-carts, bicycles, street vendors, pedestrians, cars, …gosh, how I miss that…


Anu and the surreal Taj Mahal ...bloody expensive entrance fees (for foreigners), i've paid 3 times the 750 rupees!


On the bank of the Yamuna River, at Itimad-Ud-Daulah


Anu’s eldest sister Manju and son Kunal at the Agra Fort

In Memory of Rani

Our little doggy, Rani, passed away on the 1st of May in Fulertal, Assam.

She was we think, killed by a much bigger dog, a guard dog from a nearby school at night. Anu’s sister Amrita found her body in the morning near the house, with a small wound on her belly.

Rani was the best and gentlest doggy we’ve ever known. Throughout the 2 years that she’s been with us and Anu’s family, we’ve grown to be very fond of her and Anu’s family has taken to her like part of the family.

Thank you Rani,
for being such a wonderful companion, not only for me but for so many people who know you,
for the sweet company that you provided me in my times of loneliness and troubles,
for bringing me and Anu together,
for being so excited and happy every time you see me or Anu, even after so many months of us not being around,
for always wanting to cuddle up to us whenever we’re around,
for giving me so many fond memories,
for being the most adorable dog I’ve ever known,
for being my good ‘daughter’.

In my heart, you will always remain. May you rest in peace.