Friday morning looked terrific. Thought I was in Ooty. The fog had engulfed the entire city and me was feeling all chilly and perked up. Strangely, none of my roomies looked as excited as I was. My nose was blocked. And I could not smell the air. Apparently, Bhogi Pongal was celebrated today. So, one honours Lord Indra by burning all old unused articles. And what I saw was smog, not fog. I was really put off.

The other 'real' treat to the eyes was the excellent Kollams that all the women in the neighbourhood have been preparing at the entrance of their homes.

I haven't bothered to enquire 'Why'. Its been a ritual for the past few weeks now. And the most complex of designs are restricted to this single stretch of straight road that I take on my way to work. I've spotted them washing the tarmacadam at an odd 2200hrs. And then chalking out the Kollam pattern on the roads under oil-lamp lighting. Dunno how long it takes, but when you traverse the route in the morning, you want to ride everywhere except on the road. Indeed, the stuff is beautiful.