the road not taken

When i read this poem by Robert Frost, i never even imagined that one day it would be a title for a blog post that would be describing my experience in driving in India.

but seriously, it really is a road that i have never taken. You see, i got my drivers license in india, mangalore to be precise, 10 years back. and i drove in mangalore when i was learning to drive with my driving instructor.

after that, never drove in this country of mine where driving is more of an art than a science. and now, after driving in countries where people follow rules, to drive in chennai is like really a road not taken!!!

when i started last evening, i was constantly watching all 3 mirrors, sitting at the edge of my seat trying to figure out where my car starts and ends and like sweating so much with my ac on that i was drenched when i reached home.

this morning i learnt my first lesson, mirrors are not for indians.. so there u go.. stopped looking at them. I put my music full blast on, wear my seat belt (habit!!!) and then go straight and honk enough to get the guy in front of me to let me pass and ignore the honks i get at the back.. that seems to work.. so there u go.. the road not taken is not that bad after all.. but i think its gonna take me a while to get used to driving in this chaos.

There and back again...

no, i am not bilbo baggins and although i have a great resemblance to gollum and have a great liking for his character, i didnt go in search of the one ring. i am writing about my recently concluded trip to singapore. it was a trip with a lot of mixed feelings. I used to tell my friends back in singapore when i used to live there that when i fly into changi airport and drive home, it felt like u know returning home, but this time, that feeling was missing. i did feel good and happy meeting all my friends and partying till 4:30 am on saturday night, felt good to sit by the river and have brunch with a beer at brewerkz and of course the thai food and the chicken rice etc etc, but it didnt feel like home.

it is quite strange how your affiliations change in such a short time span. anyways, was a good trip and used it to tie a few open ends.

now, back and unpacking my stuff and need to get some nails and hammer to start mounting my masks, and other collectibles and have to buy a dining table, a really large book case, a nice CD/dvd storage shelf, a show case for my collection of glasses and a storing shelf for the kitchen, and yeah a couple of bean bags until my dad transfers over the sofa set.

oh btw, i should be getting my maruti swift this wednesday and so looking forward to driving.. need to figure out a name for my car.. wonder what i should call her.