The Times Ahmedabad Festival but no festivity for me..

Why does this always hapen to me?
whenever there is some interesting program in the city, I end up in some other city that time...
This is exactly what happened when i was in Surat for my vacations and Bam..!! Ahmedabad starts celebrating..!!
I fell unconcious when I head that KAILASH KHER..(I totally worship him) was going to open the festival..! I heard he gave a rocking performance ..(kailash bhai is the best!!)
I wish I could've attended his live concert..
Anyway I dont mind because without Kailash's biggest fan (in the whole world), the show couldn't have been too rocking..( in case you haven't noticed Im talking about me..)
So if that wasn't enough Rahul sharma whose fan I was since I heard his song "Kashmir" had also come...!!

sigh..

so much for having a blog on Ahmedabad...

Aavjo,
Ashwini

IBN-E-MARIAM

OHKAY SO THESE ARE THE RULES:

1.KEEP YOUR MUSIC PLAYER ON SHUFFLE
2.For each question, press the next button to get your answer
3.You must write the name of the song no matter what. AND YEAH.. No cheating!



SO IF SOMEONE ASKS YOU -HOW ARE YOU ?

YOUR ANSWER IS-- KAISE MEIN KAHOON-KAILASH KHER..(LOL..)

QUE-1.WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?

ANS:dil-e-naadan -abida parveen

(hahahA)



QUE-2.WHAT IS YOUR LIFES PURPOSE?

ANS:kabhi kabhi aditi..

(eh?counsellor i guess..:P)



QUE-3 WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU..?

ANS: teri deewani -kailash kher

*smiles*



QUE-4 WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?

ANS:tauba tauba-kailash kher

(ouch!)



QUE-5WHAT DO YOU ALWAYS THINK ABOUT?

ANS-khamaj-fuzon

('LIKE'as in?)



QUE-6:WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?

ANS- Aerosmith-living on the edge..

(wow!!)



QUE-7:what do you want to be when you grow up?

ANS-saiyyaan-kailash kher

(??honestly i wanna b a photographer!!)



QUE-8:WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?

ANS-kahin to hogi vo..-jaane tu.....

(hahahah thats a gud 1)



QUE-9:WGAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET??

ANS-khwaja mere khwaja..

(what??)



QUE-10:WHAT SHOULD YOU POST THIS AS?

ANS-IBN-E-MARIAM

(ohkk..i like dat 1)



:)



aavjo,

ashwini

i missed aapnu Ahmedabad..

Archana got married on the 28th of August in chennai....As she was getting married on the 28th ,being her
sister, we all had to leave well in advance...We left Ahmedabad on the 22nd of August and came back on the 3rd....The marriage was great and so were the receptions...."receptions" coz the poor souls had to smile through
the chennai, Bangalore as well as the Ahmedabad receptions!!good for me though....getting ready,showing off my anarkali,getting to take pictures and ofcourse eating
fabulous food. what more could i have asked for!! :)Although I had lots of fun there, i was still dying to come back and write to you ,dear readers...As much as I hate to compare ,I am really eager to this time so i can weigh the negatives and the positives
of two major cities....Chennai and Ahmedabad..!!!!
First and foremost of all ,as soon as I entered the Chennai station one thing that greatly impressed me was
the announcement....the announcements were very clear...by clear i am not referring to the voice of the
announcer but the way it was heard...it didnot echo at all and had the perfect volume and could be
understood despite the commotion....but,here it comes--the accent was horrible and very funny....for e.g:ahmedabad became agkhamadaabaad and platform number chhhe(6) became platform no. che(chakli
waala ch)
The roads seemed to be very clean but the potholes were awful at some places....Another funny thing was that-If uve been living in ahmedabad for a long time you'll agree with me that
when you go to a city outside gujarat and suddenly find each nook and corner having a bar cum restaurant,
you are baffled for a moment at the thought that there are bars here!!specially for me as i was sticking my head out of the window examining chennai closely when i saw 6 bars
on the first lane from the station ,for a second my mind thought,"oh my god...how do i see the word 'bar'
on these boards..maybe ive not read it properly..isnt it illegal?"and then i remembered that we were a dry
state or so we want people to believe .. :)
ask me about the nightlife i enjoyed there...and i would say ya it was great i ate my food at 8:15 and slept
at 9.....if u ask me if i went out anywhere in the evening just to hangout..i would give you the reply that
chennai taught me--"are you mad???go out in the evening all alone??only girls??are you out of your
senses...!!it sounds so funny to an amdavadi...
And the traffic jam bappa re!!you wont believe but we actually missed our train eventhough we were well before time due to traffic
congestion..!!
But one thing is sure that the food there is soo soo cheap compared to ahmd that we can feed 2 people
with the money...masala dosai-15 rs.. idli-10 rupees a plate (4 idlis) including sambhar and chutney...and im not speaking
only of southindian dishes...food in general is cheaper...pot bellies proved this as I saw them eat"mounds and mounds of rice for break fast, mounds and mounds
of rice for Lunch and mounds and mounds of rice for Dinner" :)
From what i saw Chennai gives a lot of importance to sports...I saw atleast 2 spors centers or sports
grounds teaching various sports in a stretch of every 2 kms....During my stay there I also saw numerous boards and posters announcing various sports competetions
around the city...
One thing that i dislike abot chennai is that very few people understand Hindi...as much as people
defended tamilnadu saying people dont speak hindi here,no one does-i still think they should as it is our
"rashtrabhaasha"...but it is also improving a lot after many northindians have settled dowm south...Chennai resembles Mumbai in a way as it is always working...very few people seem idle and everything
moves fast ...
And how could i forget the most important thing------ power cuts!!!I have to tell you that Chennai is quite hot this time of the year and i had to live through horrible times
of power cuts there....As soon as the clock struck 12 the power was gone...gone till 3:00PM and sometimes 5:00.PM...imagine the
condition of people at this peak afternoon hour without electricity!!and wait theres more...as soon as it is 7:30PM, the current would go again , this time only for an hour or
so...and this was not occassional but happened every single day and people sort of just live with it ...and
back here i barely remember any power failures except a few times due to some short circuits or some
fault...even if the current went it went for a maximum of an hour and not more than that...Ahmedabad is
much much better in that aspect...
well ive weighed all the pros and cons and is there a slightest doubt as to what my answer is???well maybe its not fair as im greatly biased for Ahmedabad..No matter what, my heart will always come back to this walled city of fun,frolic,culture,food and most of
all, the amazing people...
aavjo,ashwini

violence everywhere....

july 4:

two children studying in the asaram bapu school go missing..

july 5:

their bodies are recovered from the sabarmati river bed..

after july 5:

violence all around...

the father of one of the boys is on a hunger strike since he wants to know the exact reason for their death and the ashram says it is not necessary that the ashram is responsible for the deaths....

following this innocent people were beaten up severely,reporters were beaten up by mobs,there is still bloodshed all around..

we were studying in the college on friday when various student leaders came and threatened everyone to leave the campus and ordered the college to remain closed the whole day...

many shops were closed down....

and I ask why??

it takes two hands to clap..in the same way noone is responsible for all this..

first of all i dont think it is right of the father to go on a hunger strike...i donot think remaining on a hunger strike will solve everything..this is the time his family should be strong...he should himself try to find out the real reason and not lose hope....by going on a hunger strike,leave alone mental strength he will not even have physical strength to recever from this loss...

but on the other hand his appeal for justice is correct....

asaram bapu is known for his non-violent and rational thinking....he is like God for so many followers,yet many of his so called"supporters"have not maybe followed his footsteps and have created havoc and violence all around....

what is the use burning so many vehicles and hurting so many people physically and mentally..??have people forgotten all about humanity and the fact that Gandhiji was from our very own city known for non-violence and its unity??

The only way this can be solved is by arranging a personal meeting for both, the parents of the children as well as asaram bapu...this way they can both get to know their side of the story and maybe patiently bring out a rational and less-violent solution....

It is said that ,'too many cooks spoil the broth'..this is what is happening..too many people crowding over will be really disturbing for both the parents and the ashram..so we should leave them alone for a while and just hope for justice ....

let us pray for peace to prevail like always in our dear city ahmedabad...

aavjo,

ashwini

kya natak hai yaar....

now as im in the process of making new friends in my college...
many of them come from other places...many come from delhi too...I ASKED ALMOST ALL of them whether they are liking it here...
got just one answer"no not at all...humare dilli mein hum kitna ghumte the yahan to ghumne ki koi jaga nahi hai"
is it really true amdavadis?do we seriously need new places to hang around and have fun??

by the way!!!
u know near devashish school there's a new music cafe' in construction called the right brain...
its got music,books,karoake etc...im really looking forward to it....
aavjo,
ashwini

MY DAY OUT....

DEAR READERS(IF THERE ARE ANY),

I KNOW IM A VERY IRREGULAR BLOGGER BUT I WAS SO BUSY WITH MY LIFE THAT I JUST DIDNT HAVE THE TIME TO WRITE ABOUT IT...:)

SO SOME NEW THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING IN MY LIFE ARE -I JUST GOT ADMISSION IN ST.XAVIERS...(YAY!)

THATS A GREAT THING FOR ME BECAUSE I THINK FINALLY ILL BE ABLE TO LEARN MANY NEW THINGS...

ANYWAY SO I AM NOW DOING MY MAJOR IN ECONOMICS....

THIS IS MY 4TH DAY IN COLLEGE...

YESTERDAY I WENT TO FERNANDES BRIDGE TO GET MY BOOKS...

I TOOK A RIK TO THE MAGICAL OLD CITY...

THE RIK TOOK ME TO SMALL LANES AND ROADS BUZZING WITH PEOPLE...

AS IT HAD JUST RAINED THE WHOLE ENVIRONMENT WAS SO FRESH AND COOL...

THE BOOK SHOP HAD SO MANY BOOKS...NAME ANY BOOK AND YOU WILL FIND IT HERE IN FERNANDES BRIDGE...

AFTER STUFFING FRESH NEW BOOKS IN MY BAG I WALKED LIKE A TRAVELLER ON THE STREETS OF TEEN DARWAZA...TEEN DARWAZA LOOKED ABSOLUTELY HEAVENLY...

STREETS WERE FILLED WITH FRIENDLY PEOPLE ,LAUGHING,TALKING AND TRYING TO CONVINCE YOU TO BUY SOMETHING FROM THEIR SHOPS...

I BOUGHT TWO LOTUS FLOWERS FROM A LADY THERE FOR 5 RS. AND WALKED ON...

A LITTLE FURTHER I SAW THE VERY BEAUTIFUL SIDI SYED NI JALI...

AND I COULDNT STOP THINKING ABOUT HOW ARTISTIC THEY WERE AT THAT TIME ...

AFTER MOMS 5 MISSED CALLS I MADE UP MY MIND OR RATHER SULKED BACK HOME....

WHEN I CAME TO THE NEW PART OF THE CITY I REALISED THAT THE STREET CRIES WERE MISSING,LESS PEOPLE PREFERRED TO WALK OR CYCLE AND PEOPLE WERE A LITTLE LESS FRIENDLY ...

SOMEWHERE I FEEL THAT WE ARE LOSING THE CHARM OF THE OLD CITY....THE HISTORICAL PLACES ARE NOT TAKEN CARE OF IN THE PROPER WAY,SOME ROADS ARE NOT AT ALL CLEAN...

HOPEFULLY EVERYONE WILL REALISE IT SOON AND THEN AHMEDABAD WILL BE A BETTER PLACE ALL OVER AGAIN...

AAVJO,

ASHWINI

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AHMEDABAD!!!!!

Today is ahmedabads birthday(or not...)...well apparently it seems that 597 years back,on this day(26th february 1411) our dear city AHMEDABAD was established...

MAGICAL AHMEDABAD :

I always say that this city is magical....I now found out that even history has its proof....

Sultan Ahmed Shah (who laid the foundation of A'BAD) was on his hunting expedition when he once saw a hare chasing a dog,against the law of nature...

he asked a sage for explanation,The sage pointed out unique characteristics in the land which had such rare qualities which turned a hare to chase a ferocious dog. Impressed by this, the sultan, who had been looking for a place to build his kingdom,built it on the same soil.....THE SOIL OF AHMEDABAD!!
Did you know ...In 1487 ,the grandson of Ahmed Shah, built the city with an outer city wall six miles in circumference and consisting of 12 gates,189 watch towers and over 6,000 battlements to protect it from outside invaders!!!!!

NO WONDER ITS ONE OF THE SAFEST CITIES ;)

It took an army of 1 lakh infantry,800 elephants,3200 camels,600 cannons,1600 carts and 5 crore to establish ahmedabad(itna paisa to sanjay leela bhansali apni aek film banane mein kharch kar deta hai...kuch sikho bhai..!)

I only wish that this magical city never loses its charm ....I hope people realise that its one of the most beautiful and amazing cities and take care of it .....

Heres a poem written by a person which totally shows the nature of amdavadis...

We know how to enjoy our life and always have an easy going attitude...:

In Ahmedabad Airport
In a hurry to go home

despiteThe nice room booked in Taj Residency

In Ahmedabad. Home as destination

Is looked forward to as the resting-place.

Not realizing that itIs one more station,

a place of restlessness.

The train of time keeps moving,

Leaving all stations behind.

Here I am, (not waiting for the rains)

But an old man all right.

Because I said I want Indian,

To get more points on Flying Returns.

The constable at domestic advised

to goTo international airport

Using the red bus of Indian Airlines.

But I called Dinesh the taxi-driver

quicklyOn cell: he came back,

I had tipped him 30 rupees!

He took me to the International side,

Much drearier with customs and immigration.

But here in front in the security lounge,

Is a family, talking and laughing:

One old lady with full gray hairs,

One young couple,

man in yellow t-shirtWife in red dress,

wearing black specs

And a cheerful middle-aged manIn a lively manner,

setting off peals of laughter

.And another man with two young boys,

Aged eight and twelve.Each one laughs so differently

No need to patent it.

The girl’sIs like serried ranks of soldiers

Advancing relentlessly.

Old lady laughs as if she isCoughing in gaps.

I could have changed my ticket to Mumbai

To another airline from domestic.

But I would not have seen this family,

Who knows how to live life,

and enjoy it,

Nor written this poem.

.D T Joseph

29.01.08

Daniel Trevelyn Joseph

AAVJO,

asHwIni.

sanjay kalal.....

It was a cold winter morning at school... A student of 11th std informed the school about an accident of an 8th std student near the highway...All everyone could think and hope and pray was that it was a minor accident....but Gods ways were different....The child was hit by a tata sumo and he breathed his last....

Sanjay kalal was not an ordinary child...His eyes had a light..A light that only successful people can have...

He was a favourite among teachers and friends for his simplicity and honesty....

A few days back our school had a ceremony for dear sanjay....Candles in everyones hands, we prayed for his soul to rest in peace and prayed that such an incident never repeats....

It was new years day..everyone was happy and sanjay was exceptionally happy because his parents had gifted him a cycle....something which he wanted for a long time...and he came on his new cycle the next day --the day he left this world.....

After he left on his heavenly abode he still did not stop helping the world...He donated his eyes for a noble cause,for someone else to see through his eyes and thats why he is still alive even today..

A teacher in our school took his tuitions and she had a strange intuition... As Sanjay got a cycle on new years day as a gift from his parents...he informed the teacher about it and she repeatedly told him not to come on his cycle.....

He missed his bus in the morning...he came on his cycle...

It was a cold winter morning at school... A student of 11th std informed the school about an accident of an 8th std student near the highway...All everyone could think and hope and pray was that it was a minor accident.....

The teacher asked"it is not sanjay right??"

------------------------- may his soul rest in peace--------------------------------------

dogged!!!!!!!!

"Im feeling really happy...i just cant believe it!"babbled another delicate darling heroine as she got an award.....

whew..."u bet"i fumbled as I made my way towards my window....

I was seeing the same old things---our watchman sleeping,some aunties gossiping in the garden,children staring at something,birds hovering about......then again our watchman sleeping,aunties gossiping and what the hell are these children staring at anyway!!!! I thought...

They were looking very tensed as some two boys were with a dog but I just couldnt see what they were exactly doing as a huge tree was blocking my way.......so I put on my new jacket[showing off was not intentional but i thought u must know ;) ]and went over....

The kids (many of them)were standing looking at 2 kids helping a puppy with something as it was moaning..For a second I thought that they were hurting it and ran towards them but then I saw a horrible sight!!!!There was an extremely heavy cemented brick on the poor puppys leg...

Even i helped the kids take the heavy brick off its leg.....Eveyone seemed helpless-me,the kids,the dog ,everyone!!!!!

I thought I should immediatly think of something so I ran towards the watchman and told him about it but he was too busy snoring ,to listen to me .I then with all the kids went to my house and searched for some animal welfare numbers.....I came across a foundation called asha foundation which claimed to have saved numerous other dogs and animals.....

i dialled their number and this was the conversation:

"hello"

"haan boliye"(yes)

"humare yahan...umm.....humare society mein aek kutte ke puppy...um..bachhe ko per pe lagi hai"(a dog in my society has hurt its leg)

"acha aapka nam pata bataiye hum vahan 10 min mein aa jaayenge"(please give your name and address...we'll be there in 10 mins..)

so as per indian standard time they came after an hour or so ....all the kids and me till that time were playing with the puppy and giving it something to eat and drink....

we led the doctor to the puppy ...it was still crying.....

He took out an injection from his bag and a little boy unable to see, ran away, but came back later....

It started wailing and crying and tried to escape as he injected medicine into his injured leg..

He examined the leg and bandaged it as we looked curiously...

The aunties didnot bother as they were quite busy discussing whether honey is good for hair or not...

anyway so he dressed his wounds and gave me a chit....In it he had written a medicines name to be given to the dog for a week.....I happily accepted.....

since then for a week me and my assistants(the kids)look after the dog...Its been one week and the dog has started walking again....

After the doctor went, the audience(all the bachhas)congratulated me and clapped for me...

It was so much fun.....

I realised that winning an award was not important to feel good or at the top of the world...little things like these make you a very happy person.....I would recommend all of you to take these small initiatives....

I am now fondly known as "doctor didi"by these kids .....I come everyday to meet the kids and the puppies and they give me updates on all thats going on in the society or with the puppies...

I took the happy dog in my hand as my trophy and thought what that heroine had said---" I am feeling really happy...I just cant believe it".....

I must say-----now even I have a huge fan following .....

:)

aavjo,

asHwIni....(p.s ASHA FOUNDATION animal helpline---- telno:9879877281,9924147407)