Yipee its wedding season

Have had to attend Three weddings over the last 2 weekends.. what is this ..everybody wants to get hitched at the same time..must be something in the stars..when the planets align and the pundits say that its the best time to plunge headfirst into marital bliss.
You know what this means..yes i had to get rather drunk so that I could also partake in the merryment ..enjoyed it thoroughly though.

I seem to have got this new hobby..whenever I am near marlyborne street (Its the road behind Baker Street) I walk into the same two shops ..browse ..then go to a certain coffee shop... where they let you smoke ..usually sit on the same seat and plug in my radio....is this a sign of me getting old and having a routine in my life or do i just have to get a life

Bumping into old friends

What are the chances of bumping into someone you haven't seen for ages in an alien country...Not much..But earlier this week I went for a screening of a documentary on the history of Delhi. .Fascinating stuff but..and heres the thing..a couple of plays are being performed in the UKand one of them is written by a good old mate.. ..I rushed to the organisers and asked if he was in london..they said he could not make it.as he is busydirecting it in Singapore..fair enough!! I thought..on leaving the building and walking off.. what should happen ..a taxi pulls up and off he gets....must be fate..exchange numbers he is only here for three days...cant get over the fact that he is a rising playwright and director...i will have to veiw
him in a different light now.

Travelling to & fro while collecting coupons

September just came and went in a woosh!!! before I know it , even Octobers flying by...Lots of Festivals and lots of plays in london...A couple of premiers in India... was at wembley on the weekend for the asian mela but the real highlight was going to wembley Arena to see the legendary Asha Bhosle..Awesome.... One of the weirdest things i've done recently is cut out a coupon from a newspaper take it to my local cinema and I got to see 'Once upon a time in Mexico' ...who knows where this may lead ..I may start collecting coupons and sending off for special offers..or trips to France or even Books and Limited edition statues that I have no interest in.....Its probably payback time for the fact that as a kid I never collected stamps or built model airplanes.

Festival in Millenium Dome

The Festival of Asia which took place at the millenium dome over the bank holiday weekend was pretty dire..what happened to the hordes of people that were supposed to turn up...though sat with a few people in the front seats watching superstar Indian playback singers (the ones that actually sing the songs that the film stars mime) Kumar Sanu and Alka yagnik....the announcer said they have sang over 10,000 songs ..good grief....had to wait for S to finish her radio show which was being broadcast live then we made a mad dash to the Notting Hill Carnival ...which was packed from what I could see..and they say attendance was down 40 percent.
There is one major advantage about all these festivals and carnivals...you get to taste some of the most yummy food from different corners of the globe and thats always good.The carnival was multicultarism at its best

Chaos getting home last night as the underground ground to a halt and there was a central
london blackout ...managed to crawl home and go straight to bed...must be getting old now as i feel tired after a long day......

One Hectic Week

A packed weekend , barely got time to recover...out tomorrow and having to work through the whole bank holiday weekend.. yes i know but someone has too!!
The london mela was quite good very hectic and hot... S . had to give a bag of goodies on stage to the mayor of london who made quite an impressive speech.
Next weekend see's the Festival of Asia..lots of star names i'm told...have to work hard now coz promised do do a write up of these events for a couple of papers and Mags ..but havent got round to it yet. Must make time to sit down infront of this wretched comp.
havent even had time to watch telly properly..just a bit at night before i doze off...zzzzzzzz

America blacks out, the world panics

Gridlock in New York, chaos in Detroit.. traffic stops..shops close there is panic....!!!!.
now lets cut to the little village in Delhi where i lived...theres never any light, its boiling no electricity so no fans..Remember writing about this in my column ...about the fact that i cant even have a cuppa...... no electricity so no chance of using an electric kettle and just suppose your kettle works , then cross fingers that waters coming out of the taps.. so there is some thing to boil.
Welcome to the real world!!!

going to the cinema to catch your friends on the big screen

well its finally out, my ole breakfast show co- host who has spent the last two years doing music tv and working on a film has finally made it in a bollwood blockbuster(actually i dont know if its a hit yet or not) the point being that I will have to go to the local multiplex here and catch the movie as I have not really seen any of my close mates in 70mm..
talking of movies.S and me have been invited to a few premeires but then thats the nature of the business considering the amount of voice overs we've done on these asian channels for new releases
Ofcourse she's busy getting ready for sunday's festival..its called the london mela ..with lots of acts ,many stages you knowthe sort...actually she has to mention it on air before every ad break...
me- well i'll be there though got a big function on 15th as it is Indias independence day. Saturday goes in the studios and sunday morning we will have to dash to Ealing were this festival takes place.So its a mad weekend..and next weeks even busier!!!

cool and trendy!!

so what makes one in the in- crowd..after years of parties and Fashion shows in Delhi and Goa..hanging outwith some of the trendiest people on the planet..working with a few as well..this was somewhat different..a do for the opening of a music shop in Carnaby street..so dj's, skateboarders....artists, loads of vodka ..but no glamour... but can't complain on the whole it was a good night out.Is it baking or is it baking..london is in serious meltdown...there seems to be no stopping ...as van morrison once said .'Too late to stop now' .......guess we will just have to go with the flow.

A month away ,and its just as hot here!!!

come back to london , and its sweltering over here...had to take friends to the london eye..
its shut.too hot, thats what they say.It was touching 40 degrees where i've just come from .35 degrees is for wimps.. weve got the london mela in ealing on Aug 17th ...yes its a Ken Livingstone(The Mayor Of London) thing!!! and then there is the festival of Asia that we have to be at in the millenium dome...bank holiday...shame i would have loved to have gone to the Notting Hill Festival... went last year great day out. so busy August ahead for us...but gonna make the most of it.
Ofcourse i have got to take the time to go to the Edinburgh festival ...on the 22nd is the media guardian thing....with Michael Barrymore...whats going on...
no matter how much i moan ..do love to come back home...but.am already making plans to go to Puskar in Rajisthan for the camel Fair...last time i went there it freaked me out ..i think there were just as many bikers, tourists backpackers and hippies as there were guys trying to sell there camels.

Jeans or suit

A good week..nice weather.. things looking up...how long can this last....may go to some undisclosed european destination for a stag party weekend...undisclosed because no details have been finalized...S not to happy,but what the heck!!
Went to an open air swimming pool for the first time in yonks..actually there are three pools in this complex..but being a nice sunny day the place was packed...swimming was out of the question..posing was the only option.have discovered that after a swim a hot- chocolate and chips seems to go down very well.
Got to find my suit ,get it pressed- couple of meeting this week..the thing is you were a suit and all these media types are in black jeans and T-shirts..if you go casual , you can be damn sure there all wearing black suits with purple shirts....depends how i feel when wake up.

Radio Awards

tuned into the local radio station .a talk radio format heh heh.. think it all depands on the presenters ,there are some that you love and some that you just have to switch off too.,started tuning into different stations at different times of the day, depending on whose on the airwaves, get the feeling that a large number of them are totally smitten with the sound of their own voice ..and seem to argue with the listeners on virtually every point just because they can...but enjoyed it anyway...addictive ..have a good mind to phone one or two of them just to wind them up. is it just me ..or do the same handful of callers keep calling!!!! This all leads up to the commercial radio awards today...catch up with some of these producers...

Lazy Weekend

For once the weekend was our own...no public appearances or melas that we had to be present at on a sunday, so got a chance to meet friends...one is over here for 2 weeks to cover the cricket for a tv channel..and the other has been temping with the beeb and is going home.....had to do the obligitory tourist route as we met in Leicester square- a place i try to avoid ....because of the crowds..but enjoyed sitting in Covent Garden something that I havent done for yonks...though I see that the street buskers are still the same guys that use to play there when I use to hang out there many moons ago..

Harry potter...what can one say, am I the only one on the planet who has not read the book...though I have seen the first movie...must make time to read them...saw the crowds in west end.. outside Waterstones in piccadilly . Scarrry!!!

Are you experienced

No one ever told me about this book by William suttcliffe.".Are you experienced."..about this guy backpacking across India...very funny and so so true...reminds me about the days when I decided to live in manalli with the constant to and fro to goa and back..but the bit about his bus ride was uncanny....once I rather foolishly decided to go to katmandu by bus...back breaking is an understatement..from Delhi to the Sinoli border in Nepal took more than 24 hrs..as we crossed most of north India ...lucknow,..benares ...gorakhpur etc... Once I was in Nepal the thought of catching another bus for 12 hrs to katmandu was too much (I'll tell you about the state of my stomach.someother time).and even the majestic beauty that is 'pokrha' was a way off... so i hitched up with a load of japanese tourists and went close by to Lumbini...the birthplace of the Buddha ..before continuing my journey....Since then I have been countless times to Nepal..but I either train and bus it or fly (less than an hour) ....but and here's todays advice..dont try busing it up the himalaya's unless you have no choice or like me were totally skint.

Joining a Gym

Getting fat and lazy..but then thats my charm..being forced to join a gym..the thing is that i've got three rather plush ones near me..maybe i could blagg a free month by just being a guest at a different one each week..very impressed with the mohogany lockers and TV screens on each exercise bike..but no pool...the other one 2 pools but no free coffee ...the third :too far to walk.. a gym should be local and walking distance..dont get the point of driving miles in traffic..cant plan your day around exercising , not right...anyway the thought of working out is already making me sweat.....
will ponder over it and make my decision in the next couple of days.

weekend blues

Saturdays just seem to fly .....as its a marathon show on Air for S. but i do like our routine of sitting in a restaurant with loads of cuttings waffling through the papers..trying to find juicy bits of gossip that can be broadcast ... many thanks to loads of friends who are in the know and send us stuff ,most of it though is total tripe...but its the thought that counts.
By the time we finally get home we have just enough time to switch on the tv and fall asleep.

Sunday..bliss!!! just sat on the bank of the Thames..chillin out..yes Mayor Ken was having his Totallylondon festival....so we just hung around and tasted different dishes from around the world.. blaring sun..too much walking ....loads of fizzy drinks...great day out!!

Monday got sent some snaps through the post...a couple of weeks ago went to the opening of a new eating joint..S had to do a link up live on Air..(How come when i use to do the show before her I was always in the studio while someone else was out and about.) must have posed with all the local dignateries..nice of the photographer to send these...though I look awful in them..but do like the one with Syeed Jaffrey.

Wierd seeing your friends on TV ,thousands of miles away

Just got Sky.(sat tv) its making me Freak....lots of buddys from Radio are now superfamous Vj's , newscasters..actors..Gameshow hosts...take it for granted while sitting in India...seems so strange watching it here...have to txt them and say 'bloody hell'!!!
Reminds of the time when S's long lost friend saw her on TV in the middle east and managed to trace her....Sky or no Sky still going to go down the pub to watch Arsenal play coz its all about Atmosphere...can't get that feeling on my couch. Just saw G in conversation with a world famous Diva ...got a feeling it was done in Singapore..but not sure..Anyway S still on a high after her interview with Amitabh Bachaan last month.

invites to a boxing match

Got a couple of tickets in the post for a boxing match in a plush hotel .....its the meal and booze thats tempting me...as i really dont follow boxing unless its those massive fights that I see on tv. maybe it's not all blood and gore and could be a very civilized evening out though i doubt it.. ofcourse there's the aftershow party but i think i'd rather come home...lets see..so does this mean i will have to go out and buy a big fat cigar..so that i look the part while i sit in the front hurling abuse like a true pro.
key words that i must learn...left hook, south paw, uppercut, brutal...excellent. That should keep me going.

Broadcasting from London

Spent sooo much time reading other blogs ,thought its time to do one of my own...back in london...where its actually quite bearable...thats compared to the 50 degrees heat wave in Delhi at the moment....i see that Big bro has got quite tedious....but that was bound to happen. In deep contemplation right now- should i go out and get myself a cup of overpriced American coffee or save my bread for a camera phone..decisions decisions!!!
The radio stations in India Are hotting up...S and Me viewed all the offers but think we'll try are luck here ...its been quite a hectic year...what with juggling radio stations in london and Delhi... all the bollywood hype. damn funny.....S has to give up her News reading ....still shes happy ..no more tedious makeup for the camera.