Opus..

'Why do all good things come to an end.. ' - Nelly Furtado croons on my head unit.
my question exactly.

Its 12.45AM and I am on the way back from my first 'kroak-nite' at Opus - and it was their last night in Pune. Though i didnt dare go on the stage, i wouldn’t think twice to call it 'my' first kroak-nite. :D

I dunno what it was - may be the coupla beers i had :P or the overall atmosphere or some sorta spirit of the place itself ? The way vivek handled the whole show, was surprisingly makin everyone feel at home( that’s quite an assumption actually :P ).

No air of a 'performer', no attitude of a 'controller' - just pure love of what he does - and trust me – right from the bottom of his heart ( too cliche' to use this phrase, but i guess that describes it the best )

Pretty unusual setting and attendees for a resto-bar - a family with a bunch of old ladies from a typical 'marathi' household ( आज्जी types if i am not flogged for using that word ! ;) ). Keeping them a good company were the 'usual' crowd - regulars comin over to say their goodbyes, some who felt it was there second home, the enthu gang from which 2 gals were just grooving, standing onto their seats for all the time and the 'first-timers' like myself..

Even wit such variety of a crowd, vivek goes on with his commentary : a mix of sarcasm + genuinity + a bit of abusive language + a dash of irritating verbal stepping : all of it coming out so spontaneously that the one being flogged has no time retaliate equally ! lol..

The 'kroak' part : First of all, kudos to all the guys/gals who had the courage to come up on stage and perform ! It actually takes quite a lot of it to actually 'karaoke' when a mindbogglingly superb keyboard player and a classy guitarist are there to accompany you and the benchmark is very well-set by Wendy, Vivek and Carlton ! :)

The whole place was run more like a 'family' – evident from the way Vivek fell short of words and Wendy broke into tears at the start of the last song..

Felt like it’s a kinda place where its done for the love of it, and not for business’ sake..

I don’t want to ‘end’ this post in a proper way.. for it will mean end of Opus in pune and it does not end here I hope.

Vivek, Carlton, Wendy – we wait for you guys to startup again somewhere else in Pune – and that too, as soon as possible..

Cheers !

Not on talking terms ! :P

One line that says so much !

Just came across a beautiful song 'Kal tum the yahan..' from the movie 'Hum, tum aur ghost'..
Love the second line in the 1st verse that goes :

तनहाइयाँ पूछे तो.. बतला दो क्या कहूं !

photoblog 2k10 !

Damn.. first post of 2010 - that too 2.5 months of it are over ! :P
Well, frankly speaking, been keeping a lot of posts un-published due to their personal nature.. works better that way i guess ! :)
Here's a small photoblog - clicks from the last few months, that i feel are worth posting here..


1. Some wild orchids at home.. this was a pure spontaneous shot - was leaving for work in the morning, saw the light playing on the petals, and just couldnt resist clickin it !



2. Spotted a couple of these baby squirrels playing on the office wall on site - and somehow both of them were were trapped.. I was standing right in the middle of their escape route towards a coconut tree about 15 ft away ! One guy was brave to get on the ground and run away just about 5 ft away from me, but this one was a sissy i guess ! :P
Never mind - he atleast gave me a good oppurtunity to get a few portraits !



3. Was on Garware college bridge on the night of Laxmipujan, clickin the fireworks. Got this and the next one by fluke !
And btw, this is my ride. :)



4. This again, was clicked on Laxmipujan night - my friend's bullet..



5. All the 3 photos are of Garfield - a street-cat. All the pics were clicked after we tried to formally introduce our new pet german shepherd, "Major" to him ! :P
The dog was hardly 3 months old then, but Garfield's instincts were something to watchout for ! The way he got up in fraction of a second and climbed the tree was super ! :P
All three pics show different stages of his alertness..

first one was immediately after they were introduced.. :P
This guy just refused to take his eyes off Major and even bat an eyelid !


This one was just after Major was brought almost to his eye level, by Gaja.. LOL.


And this one was after he realized Major didnt give a shit abt him OR even reach upto him ! :D
Love the 'Who's your daddy' expression on his face !




6. There's so much to click on my construction site - that sometimes i feel like going invisible, and clickin ppl working there ! Though thats impossible, I try clickin as many pics as i can, without the workers knowing it ! One such shot...

This guy is a labour contractor, and a total nutcase ! Photographed him without letting him know abt it, right in the middle of some serious haggling over a payment ! :P
There are so many diff emotions comin outta taht photo, i cant decide on a caption to this one. Any suggestions ?? I am all ears !




7. Wicked, but i love this ! Every time i see that barbed wire, those knots seems like making a 'rock' sign to me !



8. Last one, for the moment..
This Ganapati idol is casted on the vrindavan that we have at our chinchwad house.