Tempest

Outside, a storm brews.

.

Gusts of wind blown across the Arabian Sea strike land,
Channeled by the geography of the Western Ghats,
Into nooks and crannies of the Sahyadri range,

Leaving no place for petty civilization to run or hide
Save for hutments of stone and lowly earth.

.

Like the Gods themselves blowing with all their might,
The gale brings forth rain and hail,
Freezing every living being to the bone.

.

Bhosegaon, off Panchgani, is one such nook.

Perennially engulfed in fog by the clouds funneled in,
With trees bent backward shorne of leaves, thrashing wildly about,

Buffeted by the very nature that created them,
Tugging at their roots, begging to be set free.

....

Inside, calm prevails.

.

Quietly curled up in woolens and warm blankets,
They stare at the grayness through the glass, eyes wide in wonder.

How two points in space, separated only by a few inches of wall,
Can have such different fates.

.

As branches snap and disappear into the distance,
And howling winds search for the elusive gap between door and frame, whistling their way in,

They huddle around a bowl of warm steaming Maggi,
Lost within themselves, enjoying the small pleasures of life.

Like a day spent lazing around, indoors,
Waiting, for a storm to pass...

....

Panchgani, Dist. - Satara, MH
19.09.16

...

Panchgani is a famous hill station in the Satara district of Maharashtra, approximately 285 km (or six hours drive) from Mumbai and 100 km (or two hours drive) from Pune. 

Situated at an elevation of 4,200 ft and named after five villages in its vicinity, it is a popular weekend destination due to its cooler climate in the monsoon months of June to September, and winter months of November to February. 

It is easily accessible by car or cab, and is also well serviced by popular luxury bus lines as well as state transport buses. Accommodation options include numerous hotels, resorts and home-stays. 

Tip: It is advisable to make reservations a couple of weeks to a month in advance, if travelling on popular weekends of the monsoon or winter season. Some facilities may be sold out.

Tip: Panchgani is an ideal location for the weekend, given the weather, view and the number of hotels, if you plan to run the Satara Hill Half Marathon, held every year mid-September at Satara city, 45 km away. Most facilities at Satara and Kaas Valley will be sold out on this weekend. It takes an hour and fifteen minutes to drive down to the Start/Finish line for the marathon.

We were at Exotic Homestay - Panchgani, off the Panchgani - Mahabaleshwar road, situated above Dhom Lake. The delightful caretaker family drummed up delicious Maharashtrian meals and made our trip truly memorable.

Youth, Innocence and the Anachronism of Monday Mornings

Two Greek school kids at the corner of Kipselis Street and Zakynthou,
With their pot-bellied father, awaiting the school bus.

.

Excitement and energy writ large upon their faces,
As they jump around and play with each other, a fun start to a new week.

.

The boy pours out water from his bottle, and wets his hair to spike it,
Then pours out some more and sprays his sister.

.

They shout in joy, as their friends emerge from the neighbouring apartment block,
Two's company, four is a reunion, after a long weekend break.

...

In the distance, their father spots the bus,
And holds his arm out to flag it down.

.

The kids squeal, their happiness unbounded,
as they playfully push and shove each other out of the way,
in a bid to line up first and get the best seat.

.

They wave their parents farewell from the windows.
Youthful exuberance rubs off into the smiles on the parents' faces,
and on the face of a boy watching from two floors up, across the street.

...

Monday
16.05.16
Athens, GR

..

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Act III, Scene VII - Slowdown
Act III, Scene VI - Peace

The Introduction

Having browsed through numerous online introductions and summaries of eminent and not-so-eminent personalities (the latter being friends and acquaintances :P) i have come to the conclusion that modesty is lost on the human race. So in the interests of following the herd, i shall do the same with mine own.

< Statutory warning > Many of the sentences in this post will start with an 'i'

I am currently pretending to be a credit analyst at a leading financial institution in India, which basically allows me to sit at my desk the whole day typing away at my laptop, whilst staring at spreadsheets and financials full of numbers.

On a more serious note though, the asset finance division where i work is concentrated on building a portfolio of niche equipment with specialized applications like heavy lift cranes, work-over rigs, aircraft pullers, trans-shippers and anchor handling tugs. Having grown up in awe of (and wanting to someday operate) all types of huge machines, probably explains why i love my job

The profile also gives me an opportunity to travel to sites where the assets we have financed are deployed. Somewhere along the short two year journey, I realized that any other finance professional (read i-Banker, hefty pay packet, BMW/Audi in garage, typing away at his presentation for 15 to 20 hours a day) would never get to experience the exhilaration i look forward to in my job. So, just to make up for the lack of those materialistic things quoted above, I will expand in great detail about the amazing trips and how these man made marvels work, in later posts.

Meanwhile, proceeding in reverse chronological order, the two years i spent studying for my MBA, before taking up a job in finance, have been the most productive years of my life. Luckily, i stumbled into an awesome set of friends who made life on campus an unforgettable experience. It is possible that they may, too, have a few posts dedicated to them somewhere down this road.  

Time off from work is generally spent in a variety of sports. Luckily i am quite good at very few sports, so there is always space to improve, be it badminton, football or cricket. Of late, cycling has entered my life with some regularity on Saturday mornings and also brought with it the beneficial side effects of cutting out Friday night binges. Of course, like almost every other person in this world, I can also be found on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Until next time. Cheers.

The Beginning

So i have contemplated writing a blog for a long time.

At first it was about the platform to adopt. Inspiration and flow of thoughts tend to hit me at any and all times of the day, whilst having a bath, in the middle of a football game, or on my bed trying to fall asleep. So the decision to start with 140 characters was easily taken, with the device always at hand, at first via sms, and then through a mobile app.

Writing came easy too, ever since school time essays, right through press releases and promotions in grad school as part of the Media and PR Cell, and later, on Facebook, as buildup for an awesome sporting event (more on that in later posts) But the central theme of a blog eluded me.

It still does.

After a little bit of research, a lot of procrastination and having overcome pure laziness, < kborlikar.blogspot.in > is finally here. For starters, this space is about all that is an integral part of my life and makes it more meaningful, expressed in a bit more than 140 characters. It will be used to brazenly plug things that i use everyday, describe what i am up to and harp on whatever else occupies my mind and inspires me to wake up and face the daily routine.

Please feel completely uninhibited in the comments section and throw as much criticism my way as possible, your point of view and insights will only serve to improve the discussion board and my thought process. Cheers.