That Bloke In The Big Smoke

...I arrived in London to settle here permanently. The photos below were taken on the night and subsequent morning of that memorable journey. It was my first flight to Blighty in three years - and I only stayed a night on that occasion - so this was actually my first proper visit in nearly four years. I was over the moon, making childhood dreams come true and all that jazz.


With mum at check-in in Muscat (then Seeb) International Airport. Dad had a separate flight that night to attend a conference in Italy. I think my sis was still in India. You can see bits of my Liverpool jersey that I was wearing in honour of the Champions League Final that was taking place as we were flying towards the Continent. The Mighty Reds were taking on The Rossoneri (AC Milan) in Athens. The pilot was kind enough to give us two score updates along the way. Unfortunately, we lost 2-1.

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Instructions:
1. Reply to this post and I'll assign you a letter.
2. List (and upload, if you feel like it) 5 songs that start with that letter.
3. Post them to your journal with these instructions.

I was graciously conferred with the letter R:
1. Rock Around The Clock - Bill Haley & His Comets [spotify; youtube]
2. Respect - Aretha Franklin [spot; yt]
3. Rag Doll - Aerosmith [spot; yt]
4. Rapunzel (Live in Chicago '98) - Dave Matthews Band [spot; yt]
5. Reptilia - The Strokes [spotify; yt]

As a fan of BBC Radio Four's Desert Island Discs programme, I really enjoyed this short exercise. All the tracks were chosen from my custom-made playlists on Spotify of: Pre-60s Classics, 60s & 70s Classics, 80s Classics, 90s Classics and 2000s Classics. I picked a track from each playlist but was surprised to find so few beginning with the letter R! The first track brings back memories of high school, the second track is an all-time classic that became Franklin's signature song, the third track takes me back to middle school when one of my best friends who had just moved to Oman introduced me to the band he was obsessed with. The fourth track takes me back to my first year at uni. I'd never heard of Dave Matthews Band until I met the people on my floor who turned out to become my best friends at McGill. This particular version of Rapunzel was my best friend's favourite and it quickly grew on me. And finally the last track reminds me of my mum. I heard it on the radio hours before flying to India after her passing away (which I didn't know of at the time). It gave me peace and comfort.

If you'd like a letter, leave a comment. :)

The last time we celebrated my mum's birthday as a family, and a special occasion it was - her 50th! (10 June 2008, Muscat)

On the night of 9th April, my sister and her team of volunteers will camp overnight and take turns walking around the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life track to raise money, awareness and save more lives from cancer. It would be nice if you could make a donation towards their cause and the still larger cause of a cancer-free world! Thanks a lot for all your support, both before and after her death. :)

'THEN a woman said, Speak to us of Joy and Sorrow. And
he answered: Your joy is your sorrow unmasked. And the
selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes
filled with your tears.
And how else can it be? The deeper that sorrow carves into
your being, the more joy you can contain.
Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was
burned in the potter’s oven? And is not the lute that soothes
your spirit the very wood that was hollowed with knives?
When you are Joyous, look deep into your heart and you
shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is
giving you joy.
When you are sorrowful, look again in your heart, and you
shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been
your delight.
Some of you say, ‘Joy is greater than sorrow,’ and others say,
‘Nay, sorrow is the greater.’ But I say unto you, they are inseparable.'

-----

A good friend of mine sent me this. It comforts them when life's been painful. I should get a copy of the book. My sister has one.

Getting blessed by the holy elephant in Madurai's Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple in Tamil Nadu. (July 2005)

In 48 hours I will be on a flight to Muscat. I cannae wait to get away. As much as I love living in London, sometimes you just need to get away from the hustle, bustle and big nights out. I've also been studying non-stop since October and I want a change of scenery.

In Muscat, my dad has organised a two-week training for me with Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP, an American-based international law firm. It'll be my first work experience in the legal profession. I'm quite excited about it. However from previous work and training experiences, I've finally learnt two important lessons. Firstly, don't go in with expectations of coming out with the perfect experience or achieving misplaced pre-conceived goals. Secondly, while it's always useful to learn things during the training, speaking to others and from my own experiences, I've realised that the real value of such experiences occurs sometime after the dust has settled.

I then have a few days to relax before jetting off to Madras. It's my first trip to the motherland since before moving to London in May 2007. As usual, I'm excited and nervous about it. But so much has changed in my life since my last trip, than compared to any previous trip to India. Most obviously, I have cemented my confusing twenty-three year relationship with the British Isles. It's got to the point where I hardly feel Indian anymore. I only have a handful of good Indian friends but I hardly see or chat with them for it to have any real meaning. I don't listen to Indian music or watch Indian movies much anymore. And besides the fact I eat a lot of Indian food, keep in touch with my family and follow Indian cricket, the former obsessions have dried up big time. I don't read or watch Indian news as much as I did before. I'm a Londoner now. I'm a part of the United Kingdom. This is my home. But am I British yet? I don't know...

It'll be an interesting week in the motherland. I won't have much time to think while I'm there because I'll be shuttling between Madras and the towns where my extended family live. There's even a wedding to attend, one of my second-cousins, which will be fabulatastic. I'll definitely be taking pictures and hopefully posting them on here before the return of Halley's Comet. Watch this Space!

And then exactly a month after leaving The Big Smoke I return a day before my solicitor's training course begins. I won't have much time to recover from jet lag. And the weekend following my arrival in September I travel to Newcastle. There really is no rest for the wicked!

I didn't sleep well last night. I kept having bad dreams and eventually gave up trying to fall asleep properly. So I got up and looked up the photos my mum sent me of their trip to Mumbai. Five of the ten photos have geographical relevance to this week's tragic events:


Sis standing in front of the iconic Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, built in 1903 by Jamsetji Tata.

( Four more pics under the cut )