Old Journal Entry

I have been struggling to find the time to put together two sentences for this blog so I'm cheating a little and pasting a journal entry from a cycling trip I made in 2006. This was my first cycling trip - a 11 day journey from Calcutta to Hyderabad. The trip consisted mostly of highway riding, and consequently pales in comparison to the scenery and views on offer in my later trips, but it was my first serious cycle ride and I shall always remember it fondly. Also, its always fun to see how one's writing has changed (do I dare say evolved?) over the last couple of years.

"Time:4:10 PM

Location: Lonely cha shop on lonely highway. 33 Km. from Balgaon.

Lines I can't get out of my head: You've murdered your vanity, buried your sanity.For pleasure you must now resist.Lovers obey you but they cannot sway you.They're not even sure you exist.

The sun peeps through through light grey clouds, the hills are forested on both sides, their valleys are filled with fields of paddy, coloured different shades of green with rivulets running through them. I sit near a swimming pool sized pond drinking cha, writing and listening to the men chatter excitedly about something. The children gathered around my cycle don't seem to care about their elders' problems. The winding road continues to undulate and a cool breeze blowing from the south west dries my sweat. Life is good again."

In other news, excuse me while I puke over the following lines: "Behind the I-care-a-damn stare, you can see a fleeting longing in her eyes — a longing for freedom." These words were used by Jhimli Mukherjee (reporter, Times of India) to describe Puja, a prostitute in Calcutta, (was one of the child actors in Born in Brothels) who makes more money than most young professionals and, in her own words, "lacks" little. How does this Jhimli chick get off being so damn condescending?

Oh, and Shaadi.com now allows you to "arrange your own love marriage". Best of luck with that.