6-6-6: Nothing Devilish about it

It’s been 6 months since my last post and my first post after entering the corporate world. My days in employment have been pretty ‘happening’ (for want of a better word) so far, with the 6 weeks training in Kuala Lumpur being the high point. Presenting to you, 6 anecdotes from an awesome time in KL:

Dooba Dooba: 21 Hours, One crazy performance

12 Midnight – Decide to sing a song for the gala night, the token Indian “cultural performance”.

2 am – 5 Tam Brahms, 1 Guitar, 1 Flute...singers 1-2 are tired, singer 3 doesn’t know how to sing, guitarist is irritated, flutist is trying to keep the others awake

5 pm – Borrowed Guitar is taken back; flutist’s talents have been noticed, encore requests putting paid to any fruitful practice; Singer 4, the only non Tam-Brahm, enters the mix.

6.30 pm - Some rehearsal in the hall.....with permutations of singing pairs tried out. Meanwhile, the just-mollified guitarist is offered unsolicited tips on playing the guitar, and gets back to uttering expletives.

7 pm – All dressed for the “gala nite”. Guitarist pulls off a stunner and unleashes the Tam Brahm within him. An explosive mix of the guitar and the Veshti (South Indian dhoti for the uninitiated) earn him the moniker of Remo Mama 2.0.

9 pm – Performance exceeds all expectations......no need to sing at the end, for all South Asian IGs step on to the stage and join in the singing at the end. Three cheers to SAARC Unity. J

Demolition Dinner: Hotel Saravana Bhawan

A day long trip to Genting Highlands, which is like Nandi Hills, except for cable cars, amusement parks, casinos etc. developed at the peak. Fully famished and tired, 5 Tam Brahms land up at HSB for the first semblance of South Indian food after arriving at KL. What follows is absolute carnage. Within 5 minutes, the first order, comprising an assortment of the major items on the menu is swept off. The Hotel Staff run out of breath trying to catch up with our speed. The other Indian IGs, following about 10 minutes after us, are shell shocked. And to round it off, “C’mon Iyer, lets put filter coffee”.

The Indian impact: Bus delay in Malaysia

Getting taxis is pretty easy in Malaysia, in Melaka, it was not. Wait for taxi: 30 minutes. Time left for last bus departure: 30 minutes. Time required to get there: 45 minutes (accounting for an unexpected traffic jam). Amidst tension, repeated phone calls to the others, unsolicited advice to the cabbie, and of course, the final 5 minute sprint to the bus in a crowded bus station. Of course, the others contributed by holding up the bus for 5-10 minutes with repeated requests.

As they say, Indians leave their mark everywhere.

Arbaaz “Banga” Khan – The Entertainer

Never more evident than that night in Langkawi.....Banga searches for alcohol all around the place. Despite his claims of “not being high”, he barges into our (Mahesh, Bharath and I) hotel room, entertains us for the greater part of 3 hours. His antics include singing some kindergarten-ish song about dancing, sky and stars (Refer to Banga for the exact lyrics), makes us dance to the song, even though Mahesh and I are almost on the verge of dozing off. But the killer dialogue is:

Banga takes a washroom break, Bharath has ‘somehow’ dozed off, Mahesh and I are ROTFLing (ok, not on the floor). Banga comes out and asks “Kya, tum logon ne mujhe lock nahi kiya toilet mein?” [We were actually contemplating the same]. 

Surrealistic: Siem Reap, Cambodia

It’s not every day that you get to see an airport constructed to suit the traditional architecture of that country. It’s not every day that you get to visit a somewhat “off-beat” tourist location. It’s not every day that you visit the world’s largest religious structure, and be overawed by its sheer grandeur and magnificence. It’s not every day that you visit a fully functional “village-on-water”, encompassing floating shops, monasteries and restaurants. It’s not every day that you sleep off like a baby on the boat in the floating village, under the burning sun.

It’s not every day that you are unable to single out any one experience as the best in a trip. It’s not every day that you get to go to Cambodia.

Crazy Cabbies

Drinking and driving don’t go hand in hand.....try telling that to this crazy taxi driver in Phuket. Mr. Cabbie stops thrice on the way to the Phuket Airport, blabbering excuses like “drank a lot of water, gotta pee”... and still manages to get us to the airport in double-quick time by taking us through smaller roads at 120 km/hr, thereby avoiding the traffic jam on the main highway. Some roller-coaster ride it was.....and we weren’t done. 3 hours later, the cabbie in KL zips through the highway at 140 kmph.