Let's Kindle the Fire to read

Kindle, one of my most prized possessions, was gifted by my brother when I didn’t even know e-book readers existed! Anjan had pre-loaded it with enough fodder for reads and I absolutely loved every feature on this gadget. I went on to buy the next generation when I lost this Kindle on a flight, and I now own the super light Kindle Paperwhite (PW).

My friends around never fancied reading on Kindle earlier due to various reasons, but have now developed a great liking to it. There must be more than one good reason that Kindle has makes its customers so happy? Though you might miss the feel and smell of flipping through the pages of a new book, the pros of Kindle outweigh the cons much convincingly. Reading generally sedates me; to get up to switch lights off at that point can be quite disturbing and lethal to sleep. The inbuilt light on PW obviates the need to keep lights on at night while reading and you can drop the e-reader the moment sleep comes in. Primarily being an activity before going to sleep, it’s troublesome to keep changing sides on bed while reading right and left pages on a harcdopy, the sleeky reader saves efforts here as well. Not to forget its e-ink feature, which makes reading experience least stressful to eyes (just like a normal book), unlike flashing tabs and phones.

One generally comes across unfamiliar words while reading and this necessitates looking up a dictionary, I’m too lazy at times to do and save it for later. A directly linked downloaded dictionary, enables checking meanings and related information instantaneously by long pressing the word, this is one of my favorite features. The capacity to store a lot of books in this lighter-than-mobile device, allows voracious readers to read multiple books at a given period, saving the burden of carrying individual hard copies. The same applies to the library of books that occupy a significant amount of space in a limited room and all the hassle of shifting/shipping while making a move. Most importantly, this eco-friendly digital technology saves tonnes of papers killing hundreds of trees. Battery consumption is minimal, so Go Green!

While it’s a boon for readers, the low price kindle editions probably put the authors at disadvantage, which has initiated library rentals for e-books.  As a reader, I totally believe it’s a worthwhile investment to make your reading experience much exciting, convenient and enriching.

                 Musical High with the Maestro: Sonu Nigam

My boundless excitement and thrill to attend this much awaited concert after 6 long yrs was evidently palpable; all my friends bear a testimony to that. To keep the enthusiasm mounting, a hand made October calendar flew onto my fridge magnet, counting down to the concert day (10^th Oct), striking every day off by the midnight. The D day saw me able to focus little on my work with periodic whatsapp chats with friends for evening plans. Reaching the venue, Vinaya, Lavanya and I, being just a few rows away from the stage, were almost jumping on the seats imagining the legend live, conveniently ignoring the stares from people around. With a mindblowing orchestra set on stage playing a warm up piece, MC for the evening Shruthy Menon welcomed the audience and there came on stage Jonita Gandhi. Winner of Sonu ji’s MJ contest, Jonita kicked off the show with a few hit numbers like Main Pareshaan, Dum maaro dum etc. 

The auditorium was jam-packed to capacity; with a burst of adrenaline rush on, it was an impatient wait to see the man of the evening on stage. Dazzling dancers first made an entry blocking centre of the stage, when THE melodious voice from background went live with a beautiful aakar leading to Shukran Allah. The group swiftly gliding aside, exposed the Star of the Evening- SONU NIGAM; he was greeted by a deafening cheer and hoot by thousands of crazy fans. Ever-charming and ageing like wine, Sonu ji was decked in all-black attire, he paused a bit-- courteously acknowledging the audience, further continuing with the song. Sonu ji being an improvisation king, can twist the song in a way so as to keep the crowd guessing – next on the list was Mera Rang De with his brilliant modulations. A series of slow, melodious songs like Mannat, Sun zara, Chanda ki doli followed; scintillating lights falling complementing the song pace. One of the most powerful skills he possesses is engaging and interacting with the crowd, which totally keeps them bound and captivated. Giving the audience an opportunity to sing in one of my favourites- Tere haath mein, the fans threw themselves together into giving their best singing. Getting his hands running on his Pianica he shree ganesh-ed one of his most recent “Dildaara”; thanks to twitter I’m all updated with new ones too.   The music of what seemed like “Soniyo”, went onto one of the most soulful romantic songs- Chori kiya re jiya, with the audience swaying into the music. Yes! The divine out-of-the-world hit in Sonu ji’s voice, Soniyo followed it with the graceful dancers back on stage. Wittily enough, Sonu ji just stopped when the guys held female dancers on their shoulders, taunting them- “Kahaa tha, auratein bhaari padti hain”, leaving the audience of the lion city roaring in laughter. He ended Soniyo so beautifully taking “Tu bas de de mera saath” to higher scales and reaching highest octaves, leaving us all spellbound with his ability to recast every song in a different manner. 

 

Well aware of people’s itching ichcha to dance, Sonu ji started with his high energy numbers calling it “asliyat pe utar aana”. A hybrid of retro lyrics, “Pyaar hua, Iqraar hua” from Rab ne.. got the audience on their feet, he effortlessly blending in some yesteryear hits like Sapno ki raani, bachna ae haseeno. Bringing in some humour, he mimicked a section of audience who had their hands rigidly clasping their cheeks, some of who seemed like attending a “Satyanarayana Puja”, encouraging them to leave their inhibitions to dance. He was also impressed with and appreciated the audience participation and synchronizing calling us a surili janta, while honestly it sounded harshly cacophonic contrasting with his melodious voice. Then came a super lively song Dil maangta hai, merging in Kajra Mohabbat waala; it was an awesome combo which woke up even the zombies from their slumber to come onto the floor. Jonita joined Sonu ji at this point for a couple of duet songs like Mahi ve, Bole Chudiyan, with some amazing dancing in the background; though went less noticed owing to the show stealer Sonu ji. He shared with us his challenging musical journey he started at the age of four, ofcourse there was a short teaser of his impeccable mimicry of singers, making the audience split their sides. There followed an amazing mix of old and new songs, subtly amalgamating different emotions, leaving us gasping for more. The most awaited song took its turn- Bijuriya, with crowd dying to watch Sonu ji do the famous step; his control on his breath simultaneously singing and dancing was beyond commendable. Style personified, his hands and legs were moving as fast as a buzzing bee in rhythm with the percussion beats, he simply left us in awe of him. Organizers of the day thanked and felicitated Sonu ji, he paid tribute to Jagjit Singh ji singing “Hothon se choo lo tum, Jagjit amar kar do”, marking his third death anniversary.

 

Sonu ji generously dedicated last leg of the concert to “Janta ki Farmaishein”, when his fanatics took their liberties to crowd up near the stage, catching a closer glimpse of him. Sonu ji being audience friendly, shooed the security away, allowing them to dance, swing, scream, some of them jumping to touch his hands (I remember when this happened with me 8 yrs ago, I didn’t wash my hand for 2 days!). From a rocking yeh dil deewana, he smoothly transited into a meditative state, dedicating “Abhi mujh mein kahin” to his mother, with everyone in rapt attention respecting its sanctity. The concert concluded with the song that hardly any Indian would be unaware of- Kal ho na ho, with a bit of somberness pervading through the air anticipating the end of this magical night. It would have been delightful to watch the Kolaveri rockstar Nevaan who sometimes accompanies Sonu ji, singing dauntlessly in front of huge audiences. I’ve had the opportunity to attend three concerts of his, each being uniquely memorable in its own way. Master of all trades, a nifty concoction of music, dance, wit, humour and mimicry makes him an absolute performer. It’s a task to comprehend his skills and innovativeness- he’s a music software/technology who can stretch at ease to a range of voices at any scale, pitch, frequency of humans and instruments: Massive respect.

 

I had a second time privilege to meet this human I have admired, loved, respected and looked upto ever since I can remember myself. With not an iota of pride being the most idolized contemporary singer, Sonu ji treated me like a kiddo friend; calling him humble would be an under statement. The meeting was surreal: it was unimaginable to have a casual conversation with this celebrity who is worshipped worldwide and was thronged with a multitude of crazy fanatics just ten minutes ago. I was shocked to know Sonu ji was ailing and on antibiotics for the past week and still performed with great gusto as he would have otherwise: a non-stop 3 hour blast performance. I’m still recuperating from the hangover of the musical high on Friday, with Sonu ji’s magnetic voice resonating in my ears. Wishing him a speedy recovery and hoping that his next concert here happens before I finish my doctoral studies (2016)!

Knock Knock #10-208- Its 2^nd Anniversary Oredi!

Last few months have been quite uneventful to have found a place in my blogs, but time spent at home with flatmates doing random stuff has been wonderful. Two whole years flew away, with people, celebrations and memories turning this apartment into a homely haven. Mrinal and I were the first ones to move in, the initial months restricted to cold and formal hi-byes. Little did I know, that an overnight ice breaking conversation a couple of months later, would make her one of my dearest friends here. Six months later, Priyanka became a part of our family, to readily put up with a light sleeper (me) affecting her nocturnal nature. An ardent cook like Mrinal, second semester witnessed unprecedented religious cooking sessions almost every evening. One year passed happily, and it was time to welcome a new flat mate, all of us hoping for a like minded one. In fact, we even talked out that the new one has to accommodate acc to us, as the three of us were already living together agreeably. Then came Satarupa (Satty) – coincidentally an extended friend’s sister; we hit off well right on Day 1 knowing we shared the same school memories without even knowing each other- it’s THE Kendriya Vidyalaya (KV) nostalgia. There started a beautiful journey with us four spending fun-filled times together, putting up with each other’s eccentric sides, comforting and taking care in the needy times, sharing each other’s “dark” secrets, gossip-gyaan (G&G) sessions and much more..

One of the reasons we have fun together is all the four of us work in different departments, and hence it’s a treat to spend time together sharing everyday’s happenings, news around, work stress etc. This usually happens over a cup of cold Milo at night on the couch adjoining the window; the view from the couch being one of the amazing things about our apartment location. A certain kind of humour (owing to some secrets) has grown within us four; with even a cue of it in presence of others, can leave us convulsed in laughter. For a healthy and destressing time back home after work, it helps to have understanding flatmates with good chemistry. Regardless of who’s throwing a party and who are invited- ours is one of the rare houses with a decent participation from all the four of us in every aspect of the event.

Initially all of us possessed inherently different characteristics and habits, now some of them are modified, hybridized or changed. According to the 3-time CSIR scholar (once not eligible) Mrinal Shah, Michelangelo phenomenon explains how people living/spending time together sculpt each other’s personality and behavior. One of the most tangible changes has been in our sleep cycles. I have always been an early to sleep (10ish) person, whereas Mrinal, Satty and Priyanka have been primarily nocturnal (1-2 pm sleepers). There have been alternate cycles where three of them converted to my timings. But now, almost all of us have synchronized our sleep cycles by averaging it out to sleeping at around 12 am. One of the reasons for which is also post dinner gossiping and “stating facts” about incidents.

Mrinal has inculcated in 3 of us the habit of brushing teeth at night; it’s a ritual to brush together, and not let the kin sleep before brushing; kudos! Satty is the bollywood storyteller, unsaid that she’ll make the coffee and breakfast- she’s the kiddo of our house. Priyanka has been my gyaan giver in my long dental ordeal; accompanying me during my tooth extraction, advising me on pain management. All of them looked after me in every possible manner during that painful period. I’ve felt so much at home and being taken care in the most trying times I’ve been here. Besides the amenities the swanky UTown offers, having such flatmates is “cake on the icing”.

Of course being girls, we all have indulged in trying fancy dresses, self + mutual obsession, hair styling, clicking pictures, having an impromptu girls outing on a school night (Monday!). The Friday night begins; our neighbours downstairs already start dreading thinking “Crazy party on the weekend begins”! We do make it a point to have atleast one meal over the weekend together, be it even breakfast; its usually filled with random conversations, singing songs that can be heard till atleast 2 levels below, watching a sitcom, Utown gossip etc.. With this unique comfort level and chemistry developed amongst us four, we earnestly wish to stay together till the end of our PhD’s. Cheers to us!

Hen’s Night with Chics, Theme: Russia

With one week to go for Joy’s D Day, we planned a bachelorette party for her, trying to incorporate some Russian element with every activity we did (She’s marrying a Russian!). Joy had no clue about it: was a surpriseee!

Aicha, Joy and I headed to the “2 degree Ice Art Exhibition”, located in proximity to the Bayfront MRT on a warm Saturday evening. Aicha explained to Joy the reason why we chose this: to make Joy get acquainted with the cold climate in Russia (No, she isn’t moving there so soon..). Fastening the long fluffy rented jackets, we entered the exhibition experiencing the sudden transition in temperature from 35˚C to what felt way below -5˚C. The exhibition had a display of monuments from all over the world sculpted in ice, with colourful background lights. Starting with a statue “Father of Singapore: Raffles”, there were various ice carved tourist attractions of Singapore like Merlion, Singapore flyer, Raffles hotel etc. There were a few famous ones from rest of the world like, Statue of Liberty, Eiffel Tower, I must say I was surprised not to find Taj Mahal!

It was around 15 mins by the time we spotted the ice slide, Aicha refused to join us. Joy and I went up climbing stairs, with slippery surface and all crushed ice into my shoes, my legs were literally frozen and started to ache. Aicha and Joy have weathered such extreme temperatures, and wasn’t a big deal at all. Having experienced only tropical climates of late, I was shivering throughout and could even feel my teeth getting sensitive in the frigid air. It was a situation similar to Bikram Hot Yoga (42˚C) that I did last week, both having polar temperatures: I simply wanted to run away from the room to normal temperature.

 

Joy quickly did one normal slide along the sides, Aicha captured it on phone, and immediately we just rushed out: it was so difficult to run with my legs almost numb! We enquired from outside what the inside temperature was: it was -15˚C; misnomered to “2 degree ice art exhibition”! We just munched some snacks to warm ourselves up, by the time Joy’s friend Bilge joined us. We made a second (last permitted) entry into the exhibition and re-visited the initial part quickly, taking a lot of selfies; which was the only fun part. This time I joined Joy for the bumpy ice slide, we had to sit in the tire and slide down: this area predominantly had kids aged 8-10 years, so we moved ahead. By this time again it was icey cold, with the time-space continuum, it was hard to guess which parameter was more crucial.

We came out with all frosted peripheral ends reddened, for one time relieved to feel and breathe in the warm humid Singapore weather. We went to the Ice bar adjacent for having a shot of the almost Russian national drink: Vodka. With around the same temperature inside, the girls ordered Vodka shots, whereas I tried the beer in ice-mugs. Vodka shots were ofcourse quickly gulped, but I still needed their help to finish my chilly bitter beer. Following which, we proceeded to ice wall where the ice mugs had to be smashed at to be crushed into pieces: sole reason for me having beer!

It was great to have Aicha organize this, she being a vegetarian chose a Russian restaurant which had considerable veg options as well. The restaurant looked elegant with an affable modish waiter (Indian!) serving us, who specially customized menu for us on request. We started off with potato and mushroom stuffed Veraniky, with Russian bread on the side. Each of us ordered a drink, raising a toast to the end of Joy’s bachelorhood. I followed Aicha’s suggestions, she being a wine connoisseur, whereas Bilge and Joy ordered cocktails. We realized it was such a multi-national group: one German, Turkish, Taiwanese and Indian each with no Singaporean! Random conversations filled in the dinner: Intercultural differences, Industry vs academia, marriage, some jokes too! Everyone else except me got their maincourse orders soon enough, and the waiter was sweet enough to serve me as well some eggplant wraps for that time so that I wasn’t left alone; that was enough for the girls to start teasing me.

The waiter let us taste different wines before we could choose which one to go for next; red wine it was. By that time, I already started feeling funny in my head, so Aicha and Bilge strictly did not let me have much of the red wine before I finished a glass of water. Being a bit tipsy, I was too dazed to notice that Bilge actually took away the glass from me, and made me finish my dinner and had some bread. The waiter, who had a sound knowledge on wines, and did recognize Aicha to be a wine fanatic showed her around the various wine bottles they had preserved since 1900’s, a couple of which were known to have been on the Titanic. In sometime, a live band started playing and singing some music, but we already had to leave.

We then spent sometime in a bar at Clarke quay, drinking and talking on random topics. I felt slightly unwell, and had to make a move first. Others went clubbing until early morning and had a lot of fun; apparently here too the waiter played a significant role. It was such a memorable evening spent with company where everyone hit off well and comfortable; different ideas, opinions, conversations, sense of humour: it was refreshing! We all wish the bride a Joyful and fun-filled marriage and togetherness with her husband! 

                                  Aping the Primate - Adventure!

After spending a couple of anxious days overthinking if I should go ahead with the Forest Adventure, I finally decided for it, mainly because my friends Pratik, Aicha- Peter would be leaving Singapore soon. Feng Wei (FW) who initiated the plan tagged a friend along; My friend Satty jumped on hearing the word “Adventure”, and was excited to join us without even dwelling on what the courses consisted of. So it was a multi ethnic group of seven adventurers, all set to embark on the venture in Bedok forest!

We were dot on time (12:45 pm), and after signing the indemnity form, we headed straight to the safety briefing. The instructor explained and demonstrated to us the way to use the carabiner, pulley, interpreting the signage boards etc. I volunteered to demo the wearing of the safety harness and headgear, wasn’t as big a deal though. Being the most apprehensive of the whole lot, I dictated the sequence in which we would journey the whole trail, making sure every girl has a guy on atleast one of the sides’, FW being the first, and Pratik being the last.

The grand course consisted of four sites, each with increasing level of difficulty. The first site was essentially to register in mind the usage of the different safety systems, learning and applying the skills in a less risky course, while the instructor was monitoring us constantly. Anyone who violates two of the “don’t” or “do’s” rules, is kicked out of the course, so one couldn’t really afford to be mindless. All the sites started with climbing onto a tree with a rope ladder, I literally shivered while doing the first one, and Satty helped by holding the rope tight from below. It was followed by walking on a rope and finally a mini zipline to learn to steadily land cycling on the sandpits. During the later part of the same site, we climbed a longer rope ladder to a circle platform surrounding the tree. Securing the Pulley and Carabiner on the rope, we jumped from the platform swinging fast and landing on a cargo net, from where we climbed up the web like Spiderman to land on a tree platform. At all times, we would make sure there are two people on the same platform to ensure the locking systems were secured in the right manner and  bid a bye to the next person! Seeing me anxious, Peter would make sure I understand what all to do next before he leaves, whereas poor Pratik who took care of Satty, had nobody to check on him. Every site ended with super fast ~100 m long zipline running above the Bedok reservoir water, landing on the other side into the cushioned bed of sand.

Site 2 started with the rope ladder onto the tree, the first task of which was a child’s play- walking on the rope with wires on either side to hold on to. Peter and FW took the longer and complicated route whereas the rest of us did the V-shaped 2-obstacle path. Now came the task which freaked me out the most- walking on a rope with other ropes hanging from up to pull. Initially I held onto the loose and unstable rope where I had my pulley attached, and realized that I couldn’t balance myself. Aicha who was already on the other side, was screaming that I should hold onto the higher hanging ropes as they are tighter. At one time, I was shivering and shaking so much, Satty and Aicha could see how frightened I was and tried to buck me up. I tried to grab the hanging rope on one side, and couldn’t reach the other one, so clung on to the rope with my teeth. Had I lost the grip, I wouldn’t have fallen down, but it would have been so difficult to have made a come back – I anyway would have to be on my own to save myself. With my hands sweaty and panting, I let my breath normalize before I started taking measured steps again, and there came and end to my seemingly eternal trauma. Satty and Pratik managed this one with no trouble. As Aicha says its less about fitness/strength and more about the fear in the head.

Site 3 was the longest, most complicated and demanding of all the sites, it was however more doable for me than the previous one! There were different kinds of obstacles connecting the trees, each one being challenging in its own way. Having Peter ahead of me was indeed helpful, but it was always misleading as he would finish every task effortlessly, leaving me baffled and unable to perceive the difficulty level! Most of the obstacles consisted of placing one foot on the circular rope/small bamboo blocks, resting the weight on the hands to place the other foot forward. One of the most difficult ones had hanging metallic rings to place one foot on, where the taller ones having longer legs were definitely advantaged. This course also concluded with a swift zipline, which was the most relaxing bit of every site.

We took a short break after this to moisten our throat with chilled water, whereas FW went on to finish the last set of tasks soon after. Site 4 mostly had milder repetitions of earlier obstacles and thus was quite a relief. There were again two options to go ahead with. Peter went ahead with the Tarzan Swing, which was a 2m free fall, then swinging and dashing into the Cargo net with a high speed; our little daredevil Satty and Pratik followed doing the same. Whereas Aicha and I evaded this path to do normal rope swing to complete the remaining common obstacles. Except Peter, all of us landed on our butts during the last leg of zipline, which concluded the two+ hour forest adventure.

 

Climbing the trees, jumping from one to another; reinforced the fact that during the process of evolution, man has still retained some skills from our ancestors. I highly recommend everyone should experience this kind of adventure atleast once in lifetime to test the strength of your core muscles, and experience the adrenaline rush through your body while adventuring!

My video falling on the Zipline

Adventurous Uttara on Flying Fox!

Drinking on a High..

Though Mrinal’s birthday celebration was a “low-key” event, her passing QE successfully was a “high-key” one - it was as high as LeVeL 33! Located 150 m above the ground, the spectacular view of Towering Marina Bay Sands and sparkling landmarks close by was a treat to our eyes. Glad with my secret wish of Mrinal staying back in Singapore today coming true, we made an impromptu plan to spend an evening at the World’s Highest Urbancraft Brewery. With the meeting being a spontaneous one, not everyone except Pratik and Raunaq could join us.

The special elevator took us to LeVeL 33 in a single quick shot, leaving our ears blocked with a sudden pressure drop. The brewery cum restaurant-bar looked fancy, thronged with office crowd, we being one of the few school going ones. Being a Friday night and with no prior reservation, we couldn’t manage to find a table for ourselves with an outside view initially, thus were put in a waitlist. We sat inside and ordered our first round of drinks, raising a toast to Mrinal for her QE and Rauanq for opening his new company! Mrinal, being a sample representative of “public opinion” ordered the only available vegetarian munchies for us- Bread- dips and fat chips.

Soon enough, the waiter informed us a table was available outside; the location offered the best view out of the whole lot. We were just on time to catch the light show at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore River was glittering in the vivid colours of the splashing laser lights. Pratik was his usual witty self, entertaining us with his one liner punches, his leaving Singapore soon being one of the excuses to meet up so often.  It was amusing to see Mrinal laughing and smiling her heart out on the most nonsensical jokes and comments. Raunaq, being the CEO of his new company, was excusing himself busy attending phone calls like professionals. Pratik and I took all liberties to mock at Mrinal for booking her tickets at the last moment, and surprisingly Raunaq, did make a couple of nice jokes too.

As the time passed, music in the background also changed to softer songs, completely complementing the ambience, time and eveyone’s frame of mind. Unlike 1 Altitude, which had loud music banging in the ears, jammed terrace, and marred view, LeVel 33 was a haven of peace and serenity and was perfect for spending a quiet evening we were looking forward to. As the night grew darker, breeze was getting cooler, urging us to order a second round of drinks, only to feel warmer. Sipping the drinks slowly, having the most random conversations, we didn’t realize how the time went by. At 1 am we compelled ourselves half heartedly to head back home as we needed some good rest for the plans following the next day. Pratik did ask if I’ll blog this evening giving various descriptions and ideas, I chucked the idea rightaway without giving a second thought. Seeing the pictures the next morning reminded me of the beautiful memorable evening spent, and hence this. It was an awesome evening spent, words still cannot describe the feelings! Cheers to us guys! 

                           Marina Run 2014- My first 10k

Despite providing myself a huge margin (>1 h) for unanticipated circumstances, I reached the venue late for my first ever official 10k. Misinterpreting the starting point to be on west side of Gardens by the Bay (GB), I was baffled to see no signage boards on the way. With twenty mins to go, I was informed that the starting point is on the GB East, which was 2.5 k ahead. Few others like me, who did the awful blunder of not looking up the venue/map properly, accompanied me on my way cribbing about it. Realizing the time constraints and distance to be covered, I started running at the Marina Barrage with my bag stuffed with sundry items. Running along with me were the finishing 5k runners playing with their colourful water pistols, who exasperated me further by splashing water on me while I was over phone. Already being a bundle of nerves, I started panting and cursing myself for being sloppy, but was surprised to see bunches of red tee’s (presumably 10k runners) walking calmly towards the venue.

Dropping my bag at the deposit counter with just 3 mins remaining, I rushed to join the broadly spread starting point, with time enough just to catch my breath, and do some warm up stretches. At the 0^th minute, we started walking towards the starting line, and started to jog as we crossed it. I already felt drained out within the first km – probably due to the last minute hassles and tensions.. Just to instill confidence in myself, I reminded myself of all the practice runs I did with Aicha and Joy in the past months. Practices at Green corridor, Park connector and the mock run a week before on the same path/time at Marina Bay- all were planned and thought through by Aicha. At the finish of the 4^th km, I was met by Joy-Sasha who were on the other side of the loop- when I realized they ran with the second wave of runners, which started 20 mins late(I panicked unnecessarily!). I continued running at my own speed, slowly getting comfortable and stable with the breath/pace.

Tired and weary, still running, 7k signage brought a faint smile on my dreary face. Just then, I heard a voice calling out- “Uttaaara, Yay! Your can do it!” It was Aicha, who was on her way with Peter to the half marathon starting point; seeing her waving at me and giving a hi fi turned the curve on my face into a broad smile, momentarily making me forget my agony. I felt so energized on being cheered at this point, when my morale and enthusiasm were flagging.

The run path though seemed eternal, was scenic- with river on one side, garden on the other, having people of all ages- biking, walking, jogging, skating and everything-ing.. Drenched in my own sweat, with my mouth growing drier every passing moment, I strongly resisted the urge to drink anything at the water stations- wary about potential stomach ache by running after drinking. Aicha always insisted on having sips of water just to wet the mouth- which I’m sure would’ve made me feel much better. During the last kilometer, I saw most of the people walking, which was so not motivating and defeated the purpose of a “run”. Despite the sore leg muscles, I kept running at a slow pace and soon we saw the cheer leaders shouting “Fast! Fast! You are almost there”. True enough, I crossed the finish line within a minute, when we were handed over the “10k Finisher Medals”- did feel a unique sense of achievement..! With the results out, I was ahead of 69% of the 10 k runners, and finished in a good timing.  

Marina Run, celebrating its 3^rd birthday, comprised of novice student coordinators, and wasn’t the best organized run-  it took atleast 15 mins of queuing before I could get the fruits and drinks into my system! Having just a single baggage collection counter resulted in a flooding of those counters.  I-Joy-Sasha were just on time to meet and wish Aicha- Peter & their friends before they started their half marathon, and they finished in an awesome timing!! I walked back to Bayfront MRT, which wasn’t very close to the venue either, so in all I did around 16 k in those 2.5 hrs, Sigh! Without losing much time, I crashed into Pushpa aunty’s house with a short notice checking their availability. I couldn’t have been happier that day- when I had the awesomest dinner cooked by Aunty, followed by long session on Aunty’s automatic leg massager machine- provided a much needed muscle relaxation that my legs craved for.

Sincere thanks to Aicha for motivating me to challenge myself with two fold distance run, it would have been impossible without you and your trainings! Looking forward to running more :-)

Swinging into Lunar New Year by the moonlight..

Not so motivated seeing the deserted labs on Chinese New Year (CNY) eve, frustrated to work, we all were desperately looking forward to having an eventful evening. After almost cancelling the plan due to unforeseen hitches and ditches, we made a last minute reservation at Moghul Mahal at Clarke Quay (CQ). Ranjit, Satty and I were met by Pratik-Raunaq at the MRT, from where we started walking towards the restaurant through the lively and brightly lit ever happening Clarke Quay.

Located on top of Novotel building, the fancy restaurant offered a beautiful view of the surrounding illuminated skyscrapers against the night background. After tapping in our orders on the iPad, we  started to play the “movie hints” game, with almost everyone lacking the skill to give intelligent clues. Pratik and I were already contending with each other for our jokes rating (by Mrinal), and most unexpectedly Ranjit joined our league today- most of the humor resulting from his unintended innocent replies, leaving even the waiters amused. Satty & Raunaq were the only non-PJ audience, laughing over whatever pleased them, and refusing to acknowledge any joke/pun otherwise. The orders were served much quicker than the time we took to decide them, comprising starter chats and nondescript yet yummy Punjabi maincourse. Despite lack of space for further input, we dared to stuff our tummy with the complimentary dessert- Rasmalai, almost crossing out the swinging plan.  

To feel lighter, we took a brisk walk through the crowded noisy lanes flocked by a hysterical crowd, gearing up for the midnight celebrations. Upon reaching the G-MAX swing, and seeing a group free falling, we freaked out and decided against it, as we just had a heavy meal. Being unplanned and haphazard, we simply pandered to our whims and did random things like relaxing on a massage chair, only to while away the time. Close to midnight, Pratik, Raunaq and I were again tempted by the “Extreme Swing”, since we had been planning this forever now, and then decided- we will do it, come what may (even puke!). Ranjit and Satty were stubborn and non persuadable owing to their swing sickness and sleepiness, thus preferred watching the show..

We could witness the CNY special fireworks happening at China Town from CQ, with its sparkling reflections falling on Marina Bay Sands Towers- it was a spectacular sight..! There we went bravely to THE G-Max swing, with cold sweaty hands, our hearts pounding out of excitement, fear and thrill. After Pratik and I backed out from volunteering to being the pilot, Raunaq had no option but to accept it boldly with a smile. The swing guys tied several seat belts and asked Raunaq to push the lever when we see a green light (changing from yellow) from the top. Pratik and Raunaq tried reassuring themselves asking the swing guys- if its dangerous/safe/scary, the guy retorted asking us the reason we bought the tickets if we don’t trust.. Seriously?!

I sat in the middle, tightly holding Pratik and Raunaq’s hands on either side, legs gripping the rods on the swing. We started sliding back up on the rope slowly until we got a panoramic view of the city, looking down from there was the scariest thing. The swing stopped at 50 m height, when our face was parallel to the ground, we still tried keeping our heads up to drive the fear away. The whole body weight was resting on the belts forward, with legs hanging down, and absolutely nothing in our control. The yellow light way down there turned green, we held our breath, on Pratik’s count of three, Raunaq left my hand and pushed the yellow lever down. 

The next instant, all we felt was the swing unhooking and there we went “free falling”, with a burst of adrenaline rushing, we screaming and whooshing down at 200 kph almost crashing down, until it went to the other side and swung back at almost half the speed.. Sighh! we survived it, without closing our eyes, or puking, or even realizing how the swing whizzed by in a fraction of a moment. The swings later weren’t as exciting - with no stomach jolts, we only let our heart beats normalize, legs still shivering as a thrill after effect. No fear, no fun! Oblivious to the attached camera, our natural reactions, excitement and expressions were captured candid by it and the video is going to be an amazing memory ( link attached). Satty and Ranjit, lethargic and drowsy managed to stay up until we were done, and promised us they’d join us in the next Reverse Bungy swing. Hi5 to Pratik and Raunaq for making our long time planned event happen! It was such a beautiful way to welcome and enter the New Year.. Gong Xi Fa Cai!