Monday, October 29, 2007

Boston, MA

Pic: In front of MIT
Blogging is a strange thing; there is so much to be written, and it depends on you to pick the right topic to be written about. I thought I was bored of writing travelogues, but then after a rather eventful weekend, I just could not think of writing anything more important. It was planned weeks earlier that Yadu and Karthik would be joining us for the weekend here at Boston. Boston is one of the cities on the east coast which can make you feel absolutely pleasant. There is a feel good factor associated with this city, so famous for education and sports, among many other things; a touch of class that can be experienced by staying in this beautiful city. Truly English!

Pic: In front of Harvard

The best part about friends visiting you from far off places has more to do with staying together than just touring the city. You look forward to meeting them with a sense of longing to catch up with the good old times. All of us hailing from the same school, we generate tonnes of gossip, talking about totally trivial things that can leave outsiders stupefied. Every small talk is magnified, extracting information from wafer thin connections, coming up with out of the world conclusions, exploring the tiniest bit of clues to frame the unwanted and still feeling unsatisfied with the amount of talk. Every second is utilized to unravel as much information as possible to get the feeling of completeness.

Yadu and Karthik joined us on Friday night, and off we headed to the dance club. I had never been to a dance club before and the other three wanted to make sure I did not come up with dumb excuses to avoid the proposal of going to the club. I had no choice but to join them to shake my legs to some foot tapping music. Shubhika had a reservation at one of the clubs in downtown Boston. I felt it to be a different kind of an experience. The fun lies in seeing how the crowd behaved to few glasses of alcohol. Luckily, I had my share of soda and obviously, the other three were not surprised. We reached home well past midnight dropping Shubhika on the way back. The three of us retired to the warmth of the comforters with some amusing talk. Not exactly some, since it was early morning before we actually slept. Karthik was trying his level best to put on an act of drunkenness, failing miserably.

The next day, we got up late, save for Yadu, who had got up early as if he was supposed to burst crackers early in the morning of Diwali. We were up quickly, and two of non-Rolla members joined the party. We were to make a quick tour of Cambridge, the heart of education in MA, well actually, USA. Every visitor to Boston would want to see MIT and Harvard. Shubhika and I have been to these places many times in the past with many different people. This was my fifth trip to the Mecca of world class education. Every time I go there, I am filled with a sense of positive energy pepping me to great heights. It is great to just stand in the campus, and know that you are at a place which is considered to be the best. The cameras just clicked away. The walk from Harvard to MIT on Massachusetts Avenue is simply superb, and we always make it a point to walk on this road rather than take a T (Boston metro transport). The evening was just as great, as we helped ourselves to some good Ethiopian food. Saturday night was long with talks till early in the morning.

Pic: Boston Public Library

Sunday it was, and we made sure that we went to a posh restaurant for lunch. It is not everyday that Karthik agrees to treat us, and so, we went to a good Italian restaurant for lunch. We then spent some good moments in downtown at Copley Square, one of the oldest parts of Boston. The Trinity church facing the Boston Public Library was a sight to behold. As always, it was beautiful. We entered the library and we were just too happy to see the structure inside. We saw a nice corridor connecting the library to a central fountain. This is where Karthik and I decided that we will film a small video enacting the South Indian super star Rajini. The director in me and the actor in him produced a video of absolute entertainment leaving us in splits. In the evening (night show), we decided to watch the latest Hindi movie, Jab we met, and contrary to the reviews, we did not appreciate it much. We reached home close to midnight, and ended up watching the videos and pictures, chatting till 3. A couple of hours of sleep, and off we went to the airport, and two hours later, with eyes full of sleep, got back to yet another day full of work.

A superb trip having all the ingredients of fun was finally over. We were already discussing about where we should be meeting next. Time flies so fast that it would be a matter of time before we realize that the next meet is around the corner.

In general, when it comes to travelogues, a right balance should be achieved between the description of the place and the group, and invariably my writing tends to shift towards the latter.

15 comments:

  1. Maga GK,
    I really really enjoyed this trip. I guess it makes a huge difference if we see the city with right company. Thanks to you, Shubhika and one and only Dr. Basha I had a wonderful time. Lets plan our next trip sometime.
    -Yadu

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  2. Yeah.. As Yadu said.. its all about people.. and Shubha and GK were very very hospitable and excellent guides too!! :)
    So.. yeah.. Next trip should be arnd the corner!!!!
    And.. hope all 3 of U had a productive day at work on Monday!! :)

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  3. Wonderful blog, sir! Sounds like you are having a lot of fun there, enjoying weekends and stuff. We try to do it here too, but no where to go expect Forum mall, and things like that. You are so lucky to have seen MIT and Harvard, I wish I could see it some day. You are right, I think there is a lot of positive energy in these places, sort of inspires u to study, right? And BTW, thanx for such a nice comment on my blog. I have decided to ignore harsh comments and continue blogging. Who is that girl in the photo? She is really pretty. :)

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  4. Hey Praveen,

    So u did write another one!! and excellently written...yes we live in a city which we can proudly show to our friends when they drop in. no matter how many times we go to the same places, each time is unique in its own way....looking fwd to many more trips of harvard, MIT and so forth to come. and hope to have u here always as a co guide.

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  5. "In general, when it comes to travelogues, a right balance should be achieved between the description of the place and the group, and invariably my writing tends to shift towards the latter."

    Hmm despite the above we are simply "two of non-Rolla members", wow thats a nice description !!

    Yadu and karthik:
    "Thanks to you, Shubhika and one and only Dr. Basha I had a wonderful time."
    "and Shubha and GK were very very..."

    yea, I know no one else deserves a mention.

    kidding guys ........ excellent article and a great trip, just trying to crash your party. But really I have had soo much fun since I met GK, every weekend is fun. I love his writing too, its like the sweet dish after a heavy meal, cant do without it :). Hope to meet all ya guys again soon.

    Oh and btw lakshmi:
    Thats not a girl, thats me in long hair, thanks for calling me pretty.

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  6. @ Sid
    How could I forget Sidd!! who actually matched GK in .. (you know what). U rock dude.. :)

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  7. Thanks a lot karthik, I was just kidding :). Hope to meet you soon.

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  8. Praveen, Sid getting wrong ideas about the compliment!!!

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  9. Yadu,
    If we say that the trip was awesome, I think that would be an understatement!! Yeah, it makes hell a lot of difference to see places with the right people. Btw, in future, don't get up early in the morning asking us to get ready!!!:-)

    Karthik aka Dr. Basha,
    I am itching to tell my readers what Dr. stands for :-) It is great that Mani Ratnam and Rajini came together at Boston :-) Well done sir!!! As both of you say, hopefully the next trip is not too far off.

    Lakshmi,
    Thank you for the comment. We have a good group to hang out. So, we make it a point to get together now and then, and have fun. It was a dream come true for me the first time when I stepped foot on MIT and Harvard. It inspires you no end to achieve something in life when you go to such places. Make it to Boston, and I can see MIT and Harvard again :-)

    Great to know that you will continue blogging. Looking forward to reading your posts :-)

    The pretty girl in the photo is my good friend, Shubhika, from school (UMR, Rolla), and it is just that, both of us landed up with jobs in Boston. So, we, along with quite a few, hang out together during the weekends. By the way, the message to the pretty girl is conveyed :-)

    Pretty Girl,
    Yep, I did finally write about our Boston get together. After all, Karthik told me that this trip definitely needed a writeup. Yes, more MIT & Harvard trips in the pipeline, my fellow guide :-)

    Anonymous Sid,
    Hahaha!! It was pretty nasty of me not to include your names. But, you see, I was protecting your privacy :-) Since it was a mistake from my end, I will take a treat from you :-)

    Sid, don't tell me you want to be called pretty :-)

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  10. Karthik,
    You don't have to pretend anything now. Damage completely done! You have failed miserably as a diplomat :-)

    Sid,
    Kidding!!! You can't be joking Sid!!!

    Shubhika,
    Yes, yes!! He is definetely getting wrong ideas as always :-)

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  11. Amazing description GK, very well written. It makes me want to visit Boston ... :D just so that u know what's coming your way next !!

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  12. Asha,
    Just now got news from the company. We are moving to Alaska!!! I might have to shuttle between Alaska and Antarctica. So good luck for your visit in Boston. :-)

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  13. GK,

    I cant believe that along with Boston I am getting to visit Alaska and Antarctica ...
    Tumbha Thanks GK!!u rock ..

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  14. That sounded like a fun trip! I've never been to Boston. Always thought of it as a snooty kind of place. What are the people like?

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  15. Mr. Shenoy,
    Boston, according to me is the best place to live on the east coast. The people are not bad save for some of the "desis" :-) It can be intimidating with MIT and Harvard around, but the average intelligence of Boston went up by 50% after I came here. Now, now that's wishful boasting :-)

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