Atheist's World

People who are well acquainted with me know how far I can go to just please my taste buds. Ever since I landed in Delhi and had first heard about Nihari and Paya, I was intrigued. Nihari is meat cooked overnight and Paya is the feet of goat. I had made quite a few plans but none materialized. The main factor being that Nihari and Paya are typically served as breakfast and me being a nocturnal animal, waking up early was never easy. So after a long shift, instead of heading to our caves for some much-needed sleep, we were off to the metro station for a trip to Karim's. Upon reaching Karim's at 7 am, to our utter dismay we found that it hadn't opened yet. An employee responded in his sleepy tone that they would only open at 9am. As we stepped out of the little alley, I was, "Darn! this can't happen. I can't go back without a taste of those niharis." There were couple of vendors selling tea. We checked with them about other restaurants serving nihari, a guy ...

एका बिहानैको मिर्मिरेमा व्हिस्कीको चुस्की लिंदै विलिन हुन लागेको चन्द्रमा टटोल्दै निन्द्रादेवीको पर्खाईमा बसीरहेको छु| रातभरिको अनिदो शरीर थकित छ| आँखाहरु लोलाईसकेका छन् तैपनि निन्द्रा भने लागेको छैन| मनमा अनेकौं कुराहरु खेलिरहेका छन्| निन्द्राको अभावले हो कि व्हिस्की को नशाले हो, ठम्याउने प्रयत्न गरिन मैले| मैले त्यसदिन पक्कै पनि आफुले आफुलाई नंग्याउने अठोट गरेको हुनुपर्छ| गाँजा र चरेश को धुँवामा रुमल्लिएको ति दिनहरुको स्मरणले मस्तिस्क ताजा भयो| क्याम्पसको कक्षाहरु छोडेर माथि बुढासुब्बा डाँडामा राँगाको सुकुटीको साथमा छ्याँग र निगार पिएको झझल्को आयो मनमा| क्याम्पस जाने निउमा होस्टेलबाट एउटा कापी च्यापेर हिड्थे म, तर मेरो दिन बित्थ्यो छाता चोकको पूल हाउसमा| घर बाट ट्युसन पढ्न मागेको पैसा (भविस्यमा डाक्टर, इन्जिनियर बन्न I.Sc. पढदै गरेको छोरोले मागेको, बाऊले नपठाउन पनि कसरी) गिल म्यारी र चुरोटमा सकिन्थ्यो| कोरेक्स र प्रोक्सिबोनको खर्च चाहिँ बेला-बेलामा किताब किन्ने बहानामा पुरा गरिन्थ्यो| यसैबीच एकदिन घर गएको, आमालाई देखिन| बाऊले घरबाट निकाली सकेछन्| भाई-बहिनीहरुले रुँदै सुनाए| दु:ख लाग...

I slipped on the edge and fell off the cliff. My sorroundings zoomed and passed by me in flashes as I rolled over tumbling to the chasm below. I struggled, swinging my arms and legs desperately hoping against hope that I would strike something that would stop me. I took bumps on my knees and my head occassionally bounced off the rocks. I tried to grasp the rock with my bare hands but was no match against the mighty pull of the gravity sucking me to its pit. As I approached the end of the chasm, I realized there were a lot of things yet to be done and the worst would be to give up trying. Twigs and branches snapped off as I tried to hold on to them and I rolled on continuing to fall. There was a sudden pain on my left wrist and a searing pain rushed through my body in a flash. Everything was numb then. There was no pain, I wasn't feeling anything. Instinctively I stretched my right hand and grabbed the branch with both hands as I clung to it with my dear life. I tried to lift my hea...

Beating the chilly Delhi night with a blower and a laptop resting on my thighs, drinking Scapa with Buff Sukuti, Pork Luncheon Meat, accompanied by a wonderful company. Who could have imagined that a laptop could be so handy. It was very flattering to have her watch while I was cooking. It was indeed very gratifying to sense her joy and have her appreciate the spicy tea with black pepper. We sat listening to playlist comprising of the favourite numbers from Scorpions, G n R, John Lennon, Garth Brooks, Kenny Rogers, Dire Straits, Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, Phil Collins, etc. I didn't know "Another Day in Paradise" had a soul version. That was weird in a nice way. Lounging on her cane chair with the blower desperately trying to keep us warm, had me thinking, "Could the night get any better?" I doubted, but yes, falling asleep to the tunes of Kenny G was definitely the icing on the cake. The best time I've ever had in Delhi. Its right up there among the best time...

We knew that for the next 12 days we wouldn't be eating any salt. I was ok as I thought its just 12 days, its just gonna fly away. Wishful thinking, I bet it was!! That evening just passed by eating lots of oranges, few apples and a couple of potatoes with sugar and black pepper. There were quite a few people who would stay there all night long giving us company. Its a belief that the soul of the dead body strays around on earth for 13 days and hence the rituals (kiriya) for that many days. Only upon completion of the rituals, the soul heads for the heaven, so it is said. During these 13 days, the immediate family members who are in kiriya are considered impure and are supposed to be vulnerable to attacks by the straying soul. Hence, people giving us company or simply kurawas . The next day began with the Brahmin waking us up early in the morning. We were to take a bath. Never in our (me and my brother) lives had we taken a bath early in the morning that too with cold water. We a...

As my dad's body lay sitting cross-legged on the wall, me and my brother sat in either flanks. With the rooster's call, the new day dawned on us and my head was filled with turbulent thoughts. I approached dad's eldest brother and informed him about my decision of not doing the rituals. Within minutes my decision was ridiculed upon, and I was branded an outcast. I was given a choice that I could either choose to leave, not being allowed to carry the family name any further or just carry on with the rituals. Of course, they gave me half an hour to make my decision. Honestly speaking I could have just got up, carried my bag and walked away. I didnt give a rat's ass to what people thought about me. I wouldn't let anyone dictate the terms of life to me. I decided giving a last glance towards mom before I walked away. I could see her still red-eyes full of tears just looking at me intently as if to say, "please, don't go away." Then sister came to me and wh...

Since dad's passing, I've had some harsh realizations. Life in itself is nothing but a mere journey. All of us are travellers who co-incidentally happen to just bump across each other. With some, the journey is brief, with a lot of others it is even briefer. The only real destination is either the funeral pyre on which we are burnt to ashes or the ground beneath where we are laid and fed upon by the maggots. Getting good grades, landing a good job, owning a car, owning a house, falling in love, marriage, settling down, having kids, having a family are all the norms of life. It was done in the past so its an unwritten law and meant to be just followed. No questions asked. When something is done repeatedly over a period of time, it automatically becomes the law of the nature. Its like the points of attractions you have on your travel guidebooks. So, they are a "must do". If a guy/gal decides that he/she doesn't want to get married, he is considered either insane o...