Facebook Fever

Face it! Face Book has revolutionarized our social lives. Started in February 2004 by four friends in Harvard College, who shared the love for Computer Science, Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes have since then created history. Boasting of more than 500 million active users today, Facebook has become an addiction for many. Think of days when your hands itch to log into that simple Blue and white coloured site, where faces of your friends stare at you but it invokes a feeling of euphoria. Those long lost friends and acquaintances, with whom you have lost touch, seem to be mushrooming day in and day out. Whether you used to hate them or love them, you cannot ignore them and 9 out of 10 times you end up adding them in your network of friends. They might help you create your Farm on Farmville! Whatever be the reason, one thing is for sure that Facebook has changed the rules of the social networking game.

Those neighbours of your childhood, those kids of your parent’s friends, those classmates of your school and colleges, those distant cousins, those numerous crushes, those old collegues and the present ones, those uncle and aunties, those nosy relatives, all can be found on facebook. Many of us have changed numerous schools and colleges in their student life. But it is only through Facebook that they have been able to trace my long lost friends and revive my friendship with them. Believe it or not, Facebook has acted as Aab-e-Hayaat for many people, infusing life into their depleted social lives. Today, even the people labeled as Introverts, flaunt an average of 100 friends.   

A person’s profile page has become an extension of their personality. What’s on your mind? as your profile page asks, has given people a platform to voice their thoughts, which not all can do when talking in person. The pages liked by people, the nonsensical quizzes played by them with the subsequent results posted on the Wall, the photographs uploaded on their profile, all give a glimpse into the personality of a person. This not only acts a discussion platform with friends, but also prompts replies from people you least expect. Your friend might be sitting in Antarctica, and behold, you get an immediate reply to your update! Many of our friends have shifted base to foreign countries and talking on phone gets heavy on the wallet. So chatting with them on Face book has become easy, as its free networking. And these days, it is only through Facebook that we get to know about our friend’s marriages or birth of their kid. Such is the impact of this brilliant masterpiece. One click, and you are surrounded by updates that change like the prices of shares on the Stock exchange terminal.

Be it an 8 years old child or an octogenarian, all use Facebook with full fervor. Facebook also has links to many a sites and acts as a one stop solution for all the hassle of opening multiple web pages. Forgetting important dates, events, anniversaries, birthdays are now a thing of past as Facebook will remind you about these each day. One line wishing your friend on his/her important day goes a long way in strengthening the bond of friendship. It shows that you care.        

So just click your button and spread your web, Superman Style, and connect to all your friends and family all over the world in a jiffy. We all surely “LIKE” it.

Delightful December

On a cold December night,

by the Oleander

I lie in my bed,

prepared for a slumber.

Engulfed in my Blanket,

smelling the timber,

Memories start tumbling,

of days gone yonder.

I listen to the splutter,

of the burning Embers,

As fog dimmed moonlight,

surrounds me tender.

Wind blows in muffled sounds,

from a distant choir chamber,

And I snuggle and surrender,

to a Delightful December.

Jambo Tanzania

Serengiti, Ngorongoro, Zanzibar, Kilimanjaro, Lake Victoria… Tanzania has so much to offer to the tourist that it will satiate everyone’s palate.  Called as one of the most alluring countries of the world, it is not surprising to see traveler flocking this country from all over the world. Exotic and wild…what more can one ask for?

After getting fascinated for decades, we also decided to see for ourselves as to what is it that people from all over the world admire. We landed on the Julius Nyerere International Airport at Dar-es-Salaam after a flight of 5 hours 45 minutes from Mumbai. As soon as we entered Dar-es- Salaam, humid air slaps you on your face that takes you back to where you came from. But, India has made us used to that kind of climate and we were seasoned to face it all. As our car ventured into the city’s depths, I came across civilization and beautiful coastal city of Dar-es- Salaam or Heaven of Peace in Arabic. Most people make this city a stopover for going to other destinations, but it has a lot to offer to tourist. ‘Dar’ is a picturesque city with various historical monuments, seaport, beaches, good restaurants and shops to keep travelers busy. Influences of African, Arabic and Indian culture are very prominent.

One fascination we had was with the Tinga Tinga paintings and the minivan Daladala. The tinga tinga paintings are usually made by the Masai tribe of Tanzania which defines their culture on a canvas. And the Daladala is a local public transport that overloads itself like the local trains of Mumbai. That little trip in the daladala will tell you that bollywood music directors have visited Tanzania before. Not much to my surprise they played their local folk music in the minivan that dint seem unfamiliar, even though it was in Swahili.

After soaking in the essence of Africa in Dar-es-salaam, we decided to explore Zanzibar Archipelago. A two hours trip in the ferry from ‘Dar’ in the Indian Ocean brought us to Stone Town in Zanzibar. Zanzibar is EXOTIC in every sense of the word. Beautiful stoned alleyways, fragrant and dense spice farms, historical St. Joseph’s Cathedral, striking Old Fort, all will blow you away. If this is not enough, the Indian Ocean in various hues of Blue and Green bordered by the pristine beaches will make you marvel at god’s creativity.

We came back to our base in Dar-es-salaam for our journey beyond. If one wants to enjoy the countryside of any place, it’s always advisable to take the road. We did the same and found ourselves in a Bus to Arusha from where we would start our journey into the wild. That long 8 hours bus journey to Arusha was a delight in itself, as we got to see the majestic Mt. Kilimanjaro from our bus window and it enforced our belief that flights should not have been our first preference. Arusha is a quiet town with Mt. Meru as its backdrop. Arusha’s claim to fame is the John Wayne movie, Hatari that was shot near Arusha. The Arusha Hotel has been dedicated to John Wayne and Hatari, who stayed there during the shoot. It has been swamped with pictures from that time along with John Wayne and other actors from the film.

After spending a night at Arusha, we headed early morning towards Serengeti National Park in our hired jeep. On our way, we came across another National Park called Ngorongoro. We all debated whether to visit it or to avoid it. But I want to thank my stars for letting my curiosity taking over me. Never in my life have I seen such a beautiful setting of a national park. Situated in the crater of a dormant volcano, it covers an area of more than 8000 sq. kilometers. Leopards, Lions, Hyenas, Rhinosaurus, Deer, Fox and many other species of animals roamed around the area as if on a vacation like us. It was one of the most humbling experiences of my life to come face to face with so many other species that reside on this earth like us. We decided to stay back in absorb more of this experience and stayed at one of the Top 50 hotels in the world called Ngorongoro Crater Lodge. It was every bit luxury at its best.  

After the breathtaking experience of Ngorongoro, we headed towards Serengeti National Park which is one of the greatest national parks in the world. The park gets its name from the Masai word, Serenget, meaning 'endless plains'. One glimpse of the park and you won't ask why it has been named so. As soon as you reach the outskirts of the park, you are greeted with endless African savannahs filled with wild animals. It is this place, which draws thousands from all over the world and not to forget the Discovery and National Geographic channel to witness the migration of the Wilde Beast and Zebras. Lakhs of Zebras and Wilde Beast migrate from Tanzania to Masai Mara forest in Kenya in search of food. We were flabbergasted on seeing this migration from so close. It is truly one of the occurrences that one should experience before bidding goodbye to the world. 

Our journey came to an end with memories that have been etched well in our minds and will remain with us forever. This country is truly a traveler’s delight as it is whole of Africa packed into one. I have added my name in the list of millions of admirers from the Planet Earth and headed back to Mumbai with a promise in mind to come back and explore this country again and dig in to find more hidden treasures.