My lack of blogging is generally a sign of things going wrong back in NY. In Delhi, it seems to be the opposite.

Things are going at a slow yet steady pace. I turned 23 without much noise here in the hills of Uttaranchal. Contrary to Apple B's prediction, I was not showered with gifts. My family was quite unprepared for the birthday due to their preparations for the trip, which worked out very well for me. I'm very hard to please with readymade gifts.

Baby T was good fun. He's madly in love with my Dad, and would turn red in the face every time he had to leave him to go to the next room with his parents! My dad was committed to teaching Baby T to walk - and we got a few steps from him a few times. But every time Baby T would take two-three steps, all five of us would show our delight in our standard loud, Punjabi manner (that we are so ashamed of) - and poor Baby T would get scared and land on his ass.

Baby T gave me a very special birthday gift. He started saying "Maa - chee". "Maa" comes from what he calls his mom - and "chee" is what he knows as an expression of disgust. So basically he refers to me as a disgusting version of his mom! And some times, when he feels especially smart-assed, he says "Baa - chee", translated into human talk means "baasi", or stale! Also, he finds the second part ("Chee") very amusing - so in the end, a simple "maasi" sounds very much like an insult, but I do appreciate the effort :)

I did have a good time the day before my birthday - had a spicy mallu meal at Kerela House, saw Sarkar Raj against my wishes but ended up enjoying it, saw Aamir followed by a good time at India Gate until midnight. After the holiday, I've celebrated with two groups of friends. With one, we got crazy drunk at Blues and went on to sing the night away (I was the happy listener, and in charge of the playlist) in Central Park. After all, I was with a trained Indian classical singer, and a trained opera singer! We're planning a musical gathering at my sister's place soon - since she has a cool keyboard form her pre-Baby T days. And I really need to collaborate with musicians for my films - so this is how I start networking - and also learning about what I need from them.

The second post-birthday party was yesterday with my school friends. We wanted to go to the new amusement park in Noida (we're not in school anymore, I know, but try telling them!), and then it started pouring. The rain hasn't stopped since, and I'm thrilled! So amusement park was replaced by bad food in a food court of this crazy huge mall next to the amusement park. Then it was Barista, a few colorful sheets of paper and pens (from the big stationary store in the mall where we indulged ourselves), and our favorite childhood game.

Now the sad bit - haven't met Sunshine yet. He's not in Delhi and isn't expected for another ten-fifteen days, which is a problem since I need to plan my trips soon. My family wanted to visit my Aunt in Singapore, but thanks to the efficiency of the passport office, Baby T's passport has taken over two months and is still being processed! If that does not work out in a day or two, the trip will be cancelled, or it'll be just me going to meet my disappointed little cousin who is eagerly expecting the whole family!

After that is the trip to Nepal with a friend to meet a friend who lives there. That is tentatively planned for the first week of July, but traveling is the big issue. By train and road is adventurous (but highly unsafe), and by air is too expensive (and completely devoid of adventure). Any one reading this know anything about cheap and safe (and adventurous) ways to reach Kathmandu??

Apart from all the traveling plans, there are the filmmaking plans. I have a shoot tomorrow, for which I will have to rent a camera. Though the act of paying money to get equipment seems unfair to a student like me, it does give me a sense of responsibility for the quality of what I shoot. This is for a documentary that I want to make in the Nizamuddin basti. Then there is the narrative that I'm seriously considering now.

Have to go eat now - here is my favorite place - my window seat. Don't miss the Pepsi bottle :)