My MEIN KAMPF, BIBLE, RIG VEDA

Ok !!!! Here's my second BIG BIG BIG SECRET !!!! My guide to How to NAVIGATE LIFE in the twentieth century !!! This one came out in 1983 !!! Yes, almost 25 years ago !!! Its called DELIRIOUS !

And those of you have enjoyed Eddie Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop ( which I did !) FORGET about it !!! All those roles are not a PATCH on what he does here !!! Of course, this is a stand up Comedy act on stage and therefore totally different ! But wow !! what a difference !

And mind you, this is not for the FAINT HEARTED !!! He swears and is VULGAR !!!! But in all this I believe he captures the ESSENCE of LIFE oh so beautifully !!!

The way he parodies and mimics various icons of the time - Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Bill Cosby, etc. is just incomparable !!!

And in all that he steals a march away from the Cosmopolitans of the world with valuable RELATIONSHIP & SEX advice !!!

He had a follow up to this effort with the show RAW in 1987 - but I feel this one is the BEST !!! I have seen RICHARD PRYOR do similar shows, but for me it will always be Murphy who is the guru !!!

A tried and tested medical recommendation for STRESS !!!

Ok here it is !!! My secret in my life to all the HUMOUR !!! All the twisting words ! All the puns !!! This is one of my GREATEST INSPIRATION which graced my life more than 20 years ago !!!

Mel Brooks !!! Yes, the king of satire and comedy ! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mel_Brooks

And this one was to my mind his MAGNUM OPUS !!! He takes on the entire History of the World right from Cavemen times to the French revolution ! And he MASSACRES it with FUN, WIT and WIT !!!

I must have watched this movie 234 times !!! And, a word of advice, DON"T ever watch it with me !!! I know every word, every ooh ,every grunt and I will preempt them while watching the movie and will therefore make your experience MISERABLE !!!

But , watch it you MUST !!!!! Live life with this outlook and I can guarantee its GOOD BYE STRESS & WORRY for the rest of your life !!!

The best part of the movie is no matter how many times you watch it, you will always grasp new nuances of humour in the movie that you didn't get earlier !!!! That's the mastery of Mr. Brooks !

A year full of adventure !!!

One more guide to ADVENTURE in Your life !! This fabulous book from none other than Lonely Planet lists out various adventurous activities and destinations in the world and tells you when is the best time in the year to do it !!! Makes planning a lot more simpler !!!

Its also nice to see a book like this and make a mental check list that you HAVE DONE some already !!!

So here's to PUSHING THE LIMIT and maximising the sweet nectar of LIFE !!!!

My FIRST TREK !

Taranaki Falls Walk, The National Park, New Zealand, originally uploaded by abhijit_dan.

Yes ! I am back !!! After neglecting my beloved blog for months , I am back ( and with a bang !!!). I guess I needed some fuel ! And now I have plenty !!!

I was never an Outdoors person in my life - in fact City life was life for me ! The song "You belong to the City" by Glenn Frey reflected my ideology in life !!!

All that changed when I first went to New Zealand in 2005. I fell in love with nature ! I connected with it and for the first time felt the connection with my self so strongly !!!

On my second trip to NZ ( this time with my wife), I ensured that the Opportunity to Connect was phenomenally high !

I discovered that NZ was one of the best havens for Trekkers in this world ! In fact they call it TRAMPING ! http://www.tramper.co.nz/

It has superb facilities ! Well marked and made out tracks all over the country - well managed by the Department of Conservation ( DOC).

NZ has many GREAT WALKS. http://www.newzealandnz.co.nz/great-walks/

These take many days and there are huts which allow one to spend the nights. This allows people to travel light as they do not have to carry tents.

Our FIRST walk was a baby step. It was just a 2 hour looping track. But the terrain was slipperry and it started raining - so all in all it was great training !

This walk was in what is called the National Park area in the Northern Island, NZ. Also called the Tomgariro park. The Tongariro crossing is one of the GREAT walks of NZ. We didn't do that. We were not ready and neither was the weather !

However small our baby step, it was awesome ! And today we are a few treks old !!! One great step to connecting with NATURE !

My FIRST ZORB !!!

ZORBing in New Zealand, originally uploaded by abhijit_dan.

Hey !!! I found another MY FIRST !!!! And this time - a very unconventional one !!! A Zorb is a GIANT Hi tech Transparent Rubber / Plastic ball. You get INTO this ball and ROLL down a hill ! Like in the photo. By the way I am INSIDE that ZORB in this pic !!

It is great fun !!! Lots of thrills happen on the way down. They also put some water inside to make it even thrilling !!! Thats what I did ! Plus I chose the ZIG ZAG route rather than the conventional Straight way down !

Net net - might seem scary to try first - but BOY is it FUN !!!!

My first SCUBA DIVE !!! Feb 2002

Great Barrier Reef, Cairns, Australia, originally uploaded by abhijit_dan.

This is sounding like a series of MY FIRST .... But since I have blogged about My first Sky dive, My first Bungy Jump, I felt it was appropriate to talk about MY FIRST SCUBA DIVE in life !!!

It was in the FAMED Great Barrier Reef, Australia off the coast of Cairns, that I tool this step !

We were on a small cruise ship ( called Ocean Spirit) which took us on a journey across the Reef.

It was BEAUTIFUL ! I remember Sarita not taking it too well though ( she got sea sick !). Thats when they offered people to go for an INTRODUCTORY DIVE - and I got excited and went for it !!

It opened a whole new world for me ! To get underwater with Scuba diving gear, navigating the PEACEFUL world of the deep blue ocean, silently communicating with the millions of living species that inhabit that world - AWESOME !!!

I decided then that one day I would become a PADI certified diver !!! And I did ! But that's another BLOG story !!! What's next in MY FIRST .. series ? Looks like MY FIRST TREK/ Hike seems appropriate !

Taking that FIRST STEP !!! / My First BUNGY Jump !

I had been waiting for this moment in life !! I had taken difficult short cuts - like Scuba Diving and Sky diving ! But I had not come to terms with doing a BUNGY Jump ! Lot of people pacified me by saying that if I have done SKY DIVING then Bungy is nothing ! Some how I didn't agree !!!

I knew there was FEAR between me and that first jump !

That moment came ! Fast ! Queenstown, Kuwarau bridge. The first commercial bungy jump site in the world - set up by A J Hackett in 1988. It was a 43 metres jump !

The best part when I decided and went up to the bridge, I realised one critical thing !

There was NO FEAR !!! Just anticipation and excitement !!!

Wow !!! And I just jumped !!!

Hope you enjoy it !