"It took me years to forget your landline number", she said. A lovely forty minute conversation was brought to a stand still when she said it. He stopped breathing for a moment and sunk those words in, one syllable after the other. It all came back to him in a flash. The 8 digit number that he knew too well. Her phone number. The one that he used to call out loud in sleep. The one he dialed and dialed so many times. "Well, I still remember yours clearly", he said.
It was twelve years back in time. Bajaj Chetak's "gaadi bula rahi hai" was doing the rounds. It was on the TV during the world cup and on almost everyone's lips. Transistors were still used a lot. Boys took it to school and surreptitiously tuned in for cricket scores. TVS 50 became TVS champ and people were upgrading their moped (Moped seems like a term from the past). Tuition classes were about those first five minutes when her batch got over and his about to start. And a slew of ladybird cycles were going out and a chain of hercules getting parked. Life should have paused. Just there. Not an inch ahead, not an inch behind.
There are a million things in our lives that we want to change. We feel like we should have had the option to go back in time and redo those things. We wonder what would have been...if only....how nice if. To remain trapped within the confines of good times is more than just a luxury. It is some kind of salvation. It could even be unachievable.
Thirty years from now I will be near the wrong end of birth. I would have changed a lot as a person and I would probably look back to this day and smile at myself in the mirror. Not realizing how much of me is still in me after so long. We don't suddenly wake up one day and see life-altering changes in ourselves. It takes a lot of time for change to happen, our identities to shift, like the larva from the cocoon.
While all of it is so complex and there isn't much that can be changed about the past, it is better we understand this predicament in life's design.
1. If there is an asset worth more than all your assets put together, it is time. Especially when you are young, this is the greatest thing ever in your possession.
2. Some people and some moments are there to be etched in your minds forever. Love all your folk and cherish all the moments for you don't know which ones will make it to the final précis for etching.
3. Most of us in this world want the same things. So when you want something, just go and take it. Someone else also wants it and it pays to not be late.
4. Just enjoy everything that is available with you right now and take care of them really well. Be it your girl, your bike, your books or your coffee mug. After a while you will realize your stuff is special and other stuff is someone else's anyway.
We all want to describe our own lives through a bunch of breakthrough narratives. So we wait for these breakthroughs to happen. And we wait amidst all hope and despair When we see that cute girl down the road we think she is the one. When we start a new job, we think this will be the one. When we put the money in that oil company stock, we are anxiously thinking that will be the one. We are always waiting for those life changing moments to come and knock us out of slumber and give us some flowers.
Only that they will never show up. They have come and gone. Those moments that we were living and dying for came and went. Like it did 12 years back when he was driving that moped in front of her bungalow, slowing down hoping she would hear the sound of the motor and run out of her room into the balcony. She did. She came out and saw him till he disappeared round the street corner. Albeit a few seconds later.
Showing posts with label Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Life. Show all posts
Friday, 26 June 2015
Friday, 7 December 2012
The Grass is Green on the Other Side!
I'm back! or so it feels. I thought of a better come back line because this one was a particularly long hiatus from this chirpy world of small talk and polarized opinions, but couldn't do better. A come back line is more of an irony at this juncture as I would not summarize my current state of affairs as anything like the one of Earl of Emsworth after the Shropshire race for instance. It's placement season here after all. Nevertheless, I am back to writing and it feels good.Similar emotions with the title of this post as I was wondering what to name it. Cliched as it sounds, a truer word was never spoken.
The "grass" is greener on the other side. Is there a better time for the avid blogger to make a comeback than placement time at b-school? Probably not. But I ain't going to whine here as one would expect from a lesser soul than mine. It's a matter of time before the curtains would roll down on this one year roller coaster ride called b-school and I have mixed feelings about it. Sucking blood is an amusing hobby by any standards. Vampires used to do that notoriously as they say in many a folktale. But this one called b school is adept at sucking blood even more than the vampires. This bubble reminds me of that carnivorous island in the movie "Life of Pi". One makes merry now and one is left gaping for breath the next moment. It's an amusing place to say the least.
Talking of greenery and grass (as I rightly should after naming it so), though they could mean one and the same thing in some sense of the words, they are two entirely different concoctions when looked at from the "other side". The "other side" is an amusing place to be or so I understand from people who tell me to look at it from thither. Think about grades. There is the other side called learning. Think about a job shortlist, there is the other side called long term prospects. Think about money. There is the other side called true happiness. What I fail to understand in these analogies is how people flip the coin to see it from the so called other side.
I remember this day when I was in school, vividly, for various reasons. The girl I used to have a thing for during that time was moving out of town. I guess her father was in the army or something and at that time call of duty came from an "other side" of the country. So they were moving to Mizoram or some such place which I failed to place on the map during that time, thanks to me being geographically challenged. I would deceive one if I said I am any better now. But for one thing, it was far away from Bangalore, where I was picking shells at that point in life. The incredible thing about this girl under scrutiny was that she was the most beautiful thing on earth back in the day and many eyeballs rolled at her sight. I use the word incredible carefully here because, among all the eligible boys in class, she chose to do combined studies with me. Stressing upon the wise usage of the term incredible in this particular context, I would like to bring to the reader's notice here that I had a head in the shape of a full onion at that time and my brains were slightly better than that of a cauliflower by any standards. Incredible, when I come to think why she chose me! But all's not fair in this world of jerks and morons and so be it. The point here is that her last day in school was a melancholic one of sorts for many a soul. I was sobbing when I thought of the next term after summer break and the dark clouds seemed to close in faster than I could imagine. Then an interesting thing happened. It involved my best pal from school, who I hang out with solely for image pepping purposes. If my head was the shape of an onion, his was more like a soda bottle, if you get my drift. He told me many things at length, but I don't recollect much of it since it was more nonsensical than one would imagine. But one thing that he said made sense to me. He told me to look at the neighbor's lawn, the other girl from section b who was better looking, healthier and overall greener in order to forget the loss of this one.
There is always scope for some free advice to say things like there's other stuff on the other side and all that sort of gibberish. But the problem here is that it is frigging easy to say things like these (happens often in the b school classroom too, especially with these strategy professors) and bloody difficult to make anything of it.
So the story, for the curious, ended on a sad note and as I grew up, the onion on top of me grew into more of the beetroot kind and I lost chances if any to hold on to a beautiful girl since then.
The point is that this other side argument is complete bull crap and I wouldn't buy it for as cheap as dirt. But the thing about "grass" and the greenery has amused me to some extent. The other day I was reading a Wodehouse since I was completely demoralized due to a sequence of events here at b school and I came across this thing about greenery. Most of Britain according to Wodehouse tales is covered by lush green lawns with a lake here and there and beautiful couples strolling with their Pomeranian.
The part that is amusing is that they always have an air around them, these people from those country side castles. They seem to own excessively large chunks of property and sit on filthy piles of cash that their daily schedules look like this:
Wake up for the breakfast gong,
Eat till the chicken yells from inside the stomach,
Look at the blue sky and pass a comment or two about the weather,
go to the library and pick up a book like "How to fool the princess at the castle" or some such piece of literature,
Wait for the lunch gong,
Repeat step 2,
Go for an afternoon siesta,
Wake up for an evening stroll with some gorgeous girl who also sits on a pile of cash,
Wait for the dinner gong,
Double up the efforts and perform step 2 even better,
Sleep,
Repeat step 1.
When will I get to engage in such routine? Will I ever get to? As greedy as I sound, that is what one would secretly wish for. Let's face it (as my room mate here would put it). It is so funny to be dreaming of such things when one is fighting to get a shortlist (let alone a job) for a handsome pay package to pay off the huge loans post b school. But nonetheless, I want to live like those characters in Wodehouse (on the "other side" of the ocean :-P)
I said I wouldn't whine, but here I am whining in front of you, but only for two really really sound reasons.
1. There is no brighter other side. period.
2. The greens are a mirage they don't seem to up the mood anyway.
Screw the green, screw the sides, Cheer up! For in times such as these, there is "grass" (a soft pillow from mother nature to sleep on, if you got the message wrong!!!)
P.S: As lame as this post would sound, I request for some concern and pity owing to the long gap in writing. Thou shall only get better.
The "grass" is greener on the other side. Is there a better time for the avid blogger to make a comeback than placement time at b-school? Probably not. But I ain't going to whine here as one would expect from a lesser soul than mine. It's a matter of time before the curtains would roll down on this one year roller coaster ride called b-school and I have mixed feelings about it. Sucking blood is an amusing hobby by any standards. Vampires used to do that notoriously as they say in many a folktale. But this one called b school is adept at sucking blood even more than the vampires. This bubble reminds me of that carnivorous island in the movie "Life of Pi". One makes merry now and one is left gaping for breath the next moment. It's an amusing place to say the least.
Talking of greenery and grass (as I rightly should after naming it so), though they could mean one and the same thing in some sense of the words, they are two entirely different concoctions when looked at from the "other side". The "other side" is an amusing place to be or so I understand from people who tell me to look at it from thither. Think about grades. There is the other side called learning. Think about a job shortlist, there is the other side called long term prospects. Think about money. There is the other side called true happiness. What I fail to understand in these analogies is how people flip the coin to see it from the so called other side.
I remember this day when I was in school, vividly, for various reasons. The girl I used to have a thing for during that time was moving out of town. I guess her father was in the army or something and at that time call of duty came from an "other side" of the country. So they were moving to Mizoram or some such place which I failed to place on the map during that time, thanks to me being geographically challenged. I would deceive one if I said I am any better now. But for one thing, it was far away from Bangalore, where I was picking shells at that point in life. The incredible thing about this girl under scrutiny was that she was the most beautiful thing on earth back in the day and many eyeballs rolled at her sight. I use the word incredible carefully here because, among all the eligible boys in class, she chose to do combined studies with me. Stressing upon the wise usage of the term incredible in this particular context, I would like to bring to the reader's notice here that I had a head in the shape of a full onion at that time and my brains were slightly better than that of a cauliflower by any standards. Incredible, when I come to think why she chose me! But all's not fair in this world of jerks and morons and so be it. The point here is that her last day in school was a melancholic one of sorts for many a soul. I was sobbing when I thought of the next term after summer break and the dark clouds seemed to close in faster than I could imagine. Then an interesting thing happened. It involved my best pal from school, who I hang out with solely for image pepping purposes. If my head was the shape of an onion, his was more like a soda bottle, if you get my drift. He told me many things at length, but I don't recollect much of it since it was more nonsensical than one would imagine. But one thing that he said made sense to me. He told me to look at the neighbor's lawn, the other girl from section b who was better looking, healthier and overall greener in order to forget the loss of this one.
There is always scope for some free advice to say things like there's other stuff on the other side and all that sort of gibberish. But the problem here is that it is frigging easy to say things like these (happens often in the b school classroom too, especially with these strategy professors) and bloody difficult to make anything of it.
So the story, for the curious, ended on a sad note and as I grew up, the onion on top of me grew into more of the beetroot kind and I lost chances if any to hold on to a beautiful girl since then.
The point is that this other side argument is complete bull crap and I wouldn't buy it for as cheap as dirt. But the thing about "grass" and the greenery has amused me to some extent. The other day I was reading a Wodehouse since I was completely demoralized due to a sequence of events here at b school and I came across this thing about greenery. Most of Britain according to Wodehouse tales is covered by lush green lawns with a lake here and there and beautiful couples strolling with their Pomeranian.
The part that is amusing is that they always have an air around them, these people from those country side castles. They seem to own excessively large chunks of property and sit on filthy piles of cash that their daily schedules look like this:
Wake up for the breakfast gong,
Eat till the chicken yells from inside the stomach,
Look at the blue sky and pass a comment or two about the weather,
go to the library and pick up a book like "How to fool the princess at the castle" or some such piece of literature,
Wait for the lunch gong,
Repeat step 2,
Go for an afternoon siesta,
Wake up for an evening stroll with some gorgeous girl who also sits on a pile of cash,
Wait for the dinner gong,
Double up the efforts and perform step 2 even better,
Sleep,
Repeat step 1.
When will I get to engage in such routine? Will I ever get to? As greedy as I sound, that is what one would secretly wish for. Let's face it (as my room mate here would put it). It is so funny to be dreaming of such things when one is fighting to get a shortlist (let alone a job) for a handsome pay package to pay off the huge loans post b school. But nonetheless, I want to live like those characters in Wodehouse (on the "other side" of the ocean :-P)
I said I wouldn't whine, but here I am whining in front of you, but only for two really really sound reasons.
1. There is no brighter other side. period.
2. The greens are a mirage they don't seem to up the mood anyway.
Screw the green, screw the sides, Cheer up! For in times such as these, there is "grass" (a soft pillow from mother nature to sleep on, if you got the message wrong!!!)
P.S: As lame as this post would sound, I request for some concern and pity owing to the long gap in writing. Thou shall only get better.
Thursday, 28 April 2011
Not there yet, Try Again
It was not the first time,
That the thing was close to reach.
The wind pilfered that valuable possession from the trembling hands of mine.
Life, by and large, holds many a lesson, and offers to teach.
Strewn on the path of this journey called 'Life'.
Are the flowers that meet your eye from the face of mother earth.
Wise are those who spot the ones that are fresh among the rife.
But they are aplenty, there is no dearth.
Pick the ones that come your way and keep the stride going,
Never give up if the flowers meant for you are not fragrant.
There are many more for you, waiting.
Try, try, try, because Thee rewards he who is diligent.
That the thing was close to reach.
The wind pilfered that valuable possession from the trembling hands of mine.
Life, by and large, holds many a lesson, and offers to teach.
Strewn on the path of this journey called 'Life'.
Are the flowers that meet your eye from the face of mother earth.
Wise are those who spot the ones that are fresh among the rife.
But they are aplenty, there is no dearth.
Pick the ones that come your way and keep the stride going,
Never give up if the flowers meant for you are not fragrant.
There are many more for you, waiting.
Try, try, try, because Thee rewards he who is diligent.
Monday, 18 April 2011
Monk! I need a Monk!
Well, I've lost almost all of the motivation I had under my tray in this big ordeal called life. I mean, I am not that drugs kinda person. So I have nothing too specific to attribute this one to. I have been riding with this level of motivation (or lack thereof) for about a month and a bit longer now. I am part of the many crazy people on earth who love their cars. Old or New. To add to what I have been going through in the recent past, I ran into a mind block this morning when I drove my car alongside the apartment gate and bought myself a rather nasty scratch on its nice and glittery red clothing. Like the way J.D.Salinger puts it in his epic novel, I think I'd rather have a Goddamn Horse instead of this one.
The feeling of nihilism is one that is a superlative of what I am currently going through. I know it is not that bad with me. I did try out a couple of those traditional approaches of getting over these mind blocks. Once I came out of it like I never cared about anything in life. I thought there wasn't much to worry about in terms of job, love, money et. al. But then, these things grow upon you. Even a slight-ish impact on your state of mind like the one I had this morning is good enough to add salt to the wound. The picture of those long white marks keep flashing in my mind ever since and I am not able to get out of it.
These phases in one's life, by and large, tend to make one lose hope on oneself. You can go out under the sun and start dancing to your favorite tune or sit down on a couch at the bar and sip your favorite whisky with soda. But it doesn't work like any sort of magic. I've tried drinking 2 cups of tea each time I go to the corner store. I've tried losing my mind to some lengthy hours of cleaning ordeals around the house. I've even tried to go out to the beach to untangle my mind from what is currently holding it. I know these things aren't going to give any motivation to fill the void that I am referring to. But I expected them to get my mind out of the logjam. In vain.
Socializing/Finding someone to love have been agreed upon as good options out of these nasty situations. But in my case they aren't helping either. I kind of have a screen in front of my facade that filters the good energy out of what touches upon me in day to day life. It is not about the career/job. It is not about the lack of love. It is about something else that I am trying to figure out. I always believed the culprit in my case was, more often than not, the idle time that has filled most of my agenda sheet in the last months. But trying to keep me engrossed in conversations didn't help either. So I am ruling that out of question too. One intriguing thing that is probably still inscrutable to me is the fact that in this period, markedly, I had a number of unrelated and random dreams. Different and more in number than usual. I think it comes down to saying that the mind is preoccupied with something else and is not able to negotiate with its subconscious brother.
The emotional snapshots that these dreams give me are probably arising out of a good number of unanswered questions in the mind that the subconscious of mine is not able to handle. These blocks have been a burden for quite some time for me. And they've more or less made me retire from a few things that I used to keep myself busy with in life. I am totally idle. I think I need some food for my brain, mind and body.
The feeling of nihilism is one that is a superlative of what I am currently going through. I know it is not that bad with me. I did try out a couple of those traditional approaches of getting over these mind blocks. Once I came out of it like I never cared about anything in life. I thought there wasn't much to worry about in terms of job, love, money et. al. But then, these things grow upon you. Even a slight-ish impact on your state of mind like the one I had this morning is good enough to add salt to the wound. The picture of those long white marks keep flashing in my mind ever since and I am not able to get out of it.
These phases in one's life, by and large, tend to make one lose hope on oneself. You can go out under the sun and start dancing to your favorite tune or sit down on a couch at the bar and sip your favorite whisky with soda. But it doesn't work like any sort of magic. I've tried drinking 2 cups of tea each time I go to the corner store. I've tried losing my mind to some lengthy hours of cleaning ordeals around the house. I've even tried to go out to the beach to untangle my mind from what is currently holding it. I know these things aren't going to give any motivation to fill the void that I am referring to. But I expected them to get my mind out of the logjam. In vain.
Socializing/Finding someone to love have been agreed upon as good options out of these nasty situations. But in my case they aren't helping either. I kind of have a screen in front of my facade that filters the good energy out of what touches upon me in day to day life. It is not about the career/job. It is not about the lack of love. It is about something else that I am trying to figure out. I always believed the culprit in my case was, more often than not, the idle time that has filled most of my agenda sheet in the last months. But trying to keep me engrossed in conversations didn't help either. So I am ruling that out of question too. One intriguing thing that is probably still inscrutable to me is the fact that in this period, markedly, I had a number of unrelated and random dreams. Different and more in number than usual. I think it comes down to saying that the mind is preoccupied with something else and is not able to negotiate with its subconscious brother.
The emotional snapshots that these dreams give me are probably arising out of a good number of unanswered questions in the mind that the subconscious of mine is not able to handle. These blocks have been a burden for quite some time for me. And they've more or less made me retire from a few things that I used to keep myself busy with in life. I am totally idle. I think I need some food for my brain, mind and body.
Thursday, 3 February 2011
His Name is D-E-E-P
I have always been interested in a good number of four letter words and have wondered a lot about how the combination of a paltry four English alphabets convey huge meanings. One can take 'Life' for instance, or 'Love' (for those who've had luck with girls), or the other obvious four letter word starting with 'F' that sprang up to your filthy mind at the very mention of "four-letter-words'. All of them have intense meaning and can be associated with deep emotions. So yea, cutting the tangent, yet again, I came across this blog and thought I can violate the creative commons license for writers, by giving a small and invisible credit to him towards the end of this writing.
Coming to content, I would like to introduce to you, this person who I have known for a really really long time now and in my opinion, is the most arrogant pig that has mingled with mankind since the days of Adam, Eve and their old, respective flesh and blood.
He, works in one of the numerous IT firms that litter the IT Expressway (better known as the OMR) in Chennai and to borrow from the inspiration itself, is one of those people on this profane thing called earth, who do not have something called "Life". The owner of this thought claims that half the people on earth have a life, while the rest work in IT. Going deeper on the introduction of this piece in existence, I would like to explain from four (again four :-)) different fronts...Personal, Professional, Financial and Spiritual.
Personal: He hails from the land of Cholas, viz..Tamil Nadu and belongs to the notorious and famous community of Tambrams. His Dad is a graduate working in the Automobile Industry, while his Mom is a home-maker. His brother is another speck in the large ocean of blighters who don't have a 'life'. Or, if I have to be exact, he works for another firm down the same IT Expressway. His passions are a conundrum to himself. But he has toiled and found some inclination towards Manchester United, PG Wodehouse, Sachin Tendulkar, South Indian Food and Movies(only the ones that are critically acclaimed).
Professional: He claims to be an engineer in Electronics and a Master degree holder in Chemistry, though no points would be awarded for guessing that he is nothing more than a nowt in those/related fields. His working philosophy is 'Work hard but not hard enough to become a donkey and in the process make a lot of money'. He is fascinated by almost anything at work since he does not have professional interests of his own. To rephrase that complex one, He is not any domain specific person (leave alone a domain specific expert), to call himself as such. He was one of "that poor lot", which graduated in the middle of the "global recession" and landed in places all and sundry shattering their dreams, interests, career ambitions et al in the process.
Financial: It would be to tamper with facts, if I went ahead and said he was a cunning professional who aspires to be a billionaire. But it would be exact, if I said, he wants to live like one of them. He spends most of his money on movies, apparels and fuel. He is by and large a pessimist and he likes that fraternity solely because he doesn't have to repay any loan to anyone from the fraternity. Not that he borrows a lot though :P. He doesn't read any book to enlighten him on "how to earn quick money" or "getting rich in no time" or some such thing. But he is on the lookout for someone who has achieved that end to give him a short sermon on those lines.
Spiritual: He is not an atheist, nor is he a staunch believer and of course he is not an agnostic. He is trying to find a suitable term to explain his position in those affairs. To give a brief description, he is not among those privileged few who can give an answer to the "Does God Exist" question. But he believes there is some super natural force exists at large, somewhere in the universe.
By design or by accident, I meet this guy day in and day out and I am not able to get away with that chore and in my personal opinion, people fitting his description should be "handled with care" for the good of mankind (womankind, to be more particular).
And if you have exhibited such a nerve as to have reached this point in the post, he wishes to say 'Thank You' and 'Hats Off'.
Introducing to avid readers of this space, 'Me' (Better late than never)
P.S: Though this post should be classified under the general heading of "Of No Use whatsoever", it would be of help one day, when someone might want literature references of this 'celebrity-to-be', for some kind of biographical work of thou!
P.P.S: Due credit to the author of this idea of a blog post
P.P.P.S: And to explain why I started talking about four letter words while drafting this one, I have introduced 'DEEP' (a four letter word) to one and all!!
Coming to content, I would like to introduce to you, this person who I have known for a really really long time now and in my opinion, is the most arrogant pig that has mingled with mankind since the days of Adam, Eve and their old, respective flesh and blood.
He, works in one of the numerous IT firms that litter the IT Expressway (better known as the OMR) in Chennai and to borrow from the inspiration itself, is one of those people on this profane thing called earth, who do not have something called "Life". The owner of this thought claims that half the people on earth have a life, while the rest work in IT. Going deeper on the introduction of this piece in existence, I would like to explain from four (again four :-)) different fronts...Personal, Professional, Financial and Spiritual.
Personal: He hails from the land of Cholas, viz..Tamil Nadu and belongs to the notorious and famous community of Tambrams. His Dad is a graduate working in the Automobile Industry, while his Mom is a home-maker. His brother is another speck in the large ocean of blighters who don't have a 'life'. Or, if I have to be exact, he works for another firm down the same IT Expressway. His passions are a conundrum to himself. But he has toiled and found some inclination towards Manchester United, PG Wodehouse, Sachin Tendulkar, South Indian Food and Movies(only the ones that are critically acclaimed).
Professional: He claims to be an engineer in Electronics and a Master degree holder in Chemistry, though no points would be awarded for guessing that he is nothing more than a nowt in those/related fields. His working philosophy is 'Work hard but not hard enough to become a donkey and in the process make a lot of money'. He is fascinated by almost anything at work since he does not have professional interests of his own. To rephrase that complex one, He is not any domain specific person (leave alone a domain specific expert), to call himself as such. He was one of "that poor lot", which graduated in the middle of the "global recession" and landed in places all and sundry shattering their dreams, interests, career ambitions et al in the process.
Financial: It would be to tamper with facts, if I went ahead and said he was a cunning professional who aspires to be a billionaire. But it would be exact, if I said, he wants to live like one of them. He spends most of his money on movies, apparels and fuel. He is by and large a pessimist and he likes that fraternity solely because he doesn't have to repay any loan to anyone from the fraternity. Not that he borrows a lot though :P. He doesn't read any book to enlighten him on "how to earn quick money" or "getting rich in no time" or some such thing. But he is on the lookout for someone who has achieved that end to give him a short sermon on those lines.
Spiritual: He is not an atheist, nor is he a staunch believer and of course he is not an agnostic. He is trying to find a suitable term to explain his position in those affairs. To give a brief description, he is not among those privileged few who can give an answer to the "Does God Exist" question. But he believes there is some super natural force exists at large, somewhere in the universe.
By design or by accident, I meet this guy day in and day out and I am not able to get away with that chore and in my personal opinion, people fitting his description should be "handled with care" for the good of mankind (womankind, to be more particular).
And if you have exhibited such a nerve as to have reached this point in the post, he wishes to say 'Thank You' and 'Hats Off'.
Introducing to avid readers of this space, 'Me' (Better late than never)
P.S: Though this post should be classified under the general heading of "Of No Use whatsoever", it would be of help one day, when someone might want literature references of this 'celebrity-to-be', for some kind of biographical work of thou!
P.P.S: Due credit to the author of this idea of a blog post
P.P.P.S: And to explain why I started talking about four letter words while drafting this one, I have introduced 'DEEP' (a four letter word) to one and all!!
Wednesday, 12 January 2011
Of Corporate Worlds, Software dummies and CATs
So yes, once again it is the usual set of chores. I start feeling the need to write after a good few decades and then I realize that I have lost that thing for writing these days, and that leads me to a state of limbo where I wonder what topic to write on, what would make a good blog post..what for the humor bit in it.. et al. and then decide to write something about some shit in football or give some tangential funda to the poor readers who chance upon this blog. Deja Vu. I went through such emotions for a couple of days now and after good amount of deliberation, decided.... better not to write at all....
One may wonder what the hell made me write this shit then....Folks, the answer is "frustration". If the thing has already put you off, please hit the red cross button to your top right...Alternatively, for a detailed description of this thing called frustration...read on.....
Frustration, taken as a wholesome feeling, is definitely one of the frequent visitors in a common college passout's life. I mean...you see a chic on the road and think she is the only woman in this world and start wondering which of her wonderful features strikes you so hard that makes you think she is the apple of your eye and all that sort of thing when you suddenly realize there is this specimen, 6 feet high and 3 feet wide that's acting like her escort more or less, staring at you intently. This gross situation, I would label as one that leads to frustration, anger fear etc. Or to take another instance...you watch a bollywood flick where Sallu bhai unbuttons his T shirt to show his six pack and hottie Katrina's eyes widen and she falls for him and they go to Switzerland for a song sequence..then you start dreaming about the song in general and slowly start substituting you for Salman in the scheme of things when your friend calls you out for a cigarette break....That gives a similar kind of feeling. But the kind of frustration that i was alluding to in my introductory note, cannot be classified under this kind. It is the feeling that creeps into you when you realize that you have written an exam for 3 years in succession and still don't seem to have grasped the knack of getting through. I mean, such problems are not disturbing.... for people whose brains are no different from a rotten cauliflower stored in a refrigerator (borrowing from PGW, if I may). But for sharp ones like mine, which can tell a white cat from a black one, this is certainly a disturbing thingy.Cutting the tangent and coming to matter... For the third time, I have royally screwed up my CAT and wonder what....the third one was the nastiest amongst the three. These, if I may use Bertram Wooster's patented phrases, are deep waters, my friend. One does not know where to go from such faux pas situations...
As I write fervently about the frustration that makes me go crazy at this juncture, I notice on the 'Title' area and realize I have to touch upon 'Software' and 'Corporate'. Real Stinkers...That is what they really are....Why can't we all just be self employed? All of us I mean. It is just getting sicker by the day..this software thing... that's earning the bread, butter and alcohol for us poor twenty somethings....it is a pain in the ass. Listening to the dumbest of customers who blab from across several thousand miles is one thing. But "indeed, sir- ing" and "your are right sir-ing" to such dumb asses makes you go crazy. When are these fools who buy 4000 lines of half-baked software for a few million dollars,going to cut the crap and start thinking rationally?I mean if they don't exist, this industry wouldn't exist and if you get the drift, we software engineers wouldn't exist at large. And we would be forced to do some other shit for the bread, butter and a. One may definitely tend to ask me at this point.."Why can't you quit and do something else you brat???". Yes, valid question. That takes me to the other part of the corporate equation. With software on one side, the corporate equation holds 'money' on the other side. Take a minute to try and look at it from the other side of the court. Isn't it just too difficult to say no to big money that comes for nothing???
Ok.....I am bored of this obfuscating the trivial problem thingy.....Point is....I am not able to get a b-school admit nor am I convinced about quitting a software job that pays...In other words, I am ok with one part of the corporate equation...viz money...but not ok with the other viz..software.... Thoughts????
One may wonder what the hell made me write this shit then....Folks, the answer is "frustration". If the thing has already put you off, please hit the red cross button to your top right...Alternatively, for a detailed description of this thing called frustration...read on.....
Frustration, taken as a wholesome feeling, is definitely one of the frequent visitors in a common college passout's life. I mean...you see a chic on the road and think she is the only woman in this world and start wondering which of her wonderful features strikes you so hard that makes you think she is the apple of your eye and all that sort of thing when you suddenly realize there is this specimen, 6 feet high and 3 feet wide that's acting like her escort more or less, staring at you intently. This gross situation, I would label as one that leads to frustration, anger fear etc. Or to take another instance...you watch a bollywood flick where Sallu bhai unbuttons his T shirt to show his six pack and hottie Katrina's eyes widen and she falls for him and they go to Switzerland for a song sequence..then you start dreaming about the song in general and slowly start substituting you for Salman in the scheme of things when your friend calls you out for a cigarette break....That gives a similar kind of feeling. But the kind of frustration that i was alluding to in my introductory note, cannot be classified under this kind. It is the feeling that creeps into you when you realize that you have written an exam for 3 years in succession and still don't seem to have grasped the knack of getting through. I mean, such problems are not disturbing.... for people whose brains are no different from a rotten cauliflower stored in a refrigerator (borrowing from PGW, if I may). But for sharp ones like mine, which can tell a white cat from a black one, this is certainly a disturbing thingy.Cutting the tangent and coming to matter... For the third time, I have royally screwed up my CAT and wonder what....the third one was the nastiest amongst the three. These, if I may use Bertram Wooster's patented phrases, are deep waters, my friend. One does not know where to go from such faux pas situations...
As I write fervently about the frustration that makes me go crazy at this juncture, I notice on the 'Title' area and realize I have to touch upon 'Software' and 'Corporate'. Real Stinkers...That is what they really are....Why can't we all just be self employed? All of us I mean. It is just getting sicker by the day..this software thing... that's earning the bread, butter and alcohol for us poor twenty somethings....it is a pain in the ass. Listening to the dumbest of customers who blab from across several thousand miles is one thing. But "indeed, sir- ing" and "your are right sir-ing" to such dumb asses makes you go crazy. When are these fools who buy 4000 lines of half-baked software for a few million dollars,going to cut the crap and start thinking rationally?I mean if they don't exist, this industry wouldn't exist and if you get the drift, we software engineers wouldn't exist at large. And we would be forced to do some other shit for the bread, butter and a. One may definitely tend to ask me at this point.."Why can't you quit and do something else you brat???". Yes, valid question. That takes me to the other part of the corporate equation. With software on one side, the corporate equation holds 'money' on the other side. Take a minute to try and look at it from the other side of the court. Isn't it just too difficult to say no to big money that comes for nothing???
Ok.....I am bored of this obfuscating the trivial problem thingy.....Point is....I am not able to get a b-school admit nor am I convinced about quitting a software job that pays...In other words, I am ok with one part of the corporate equation...viz money...but not ok with the other viz..software.... Thoughts????
Monday, 26 April 2010
Do I really know what I need in life?
This is a thought that has been spinning my head for quite some time now. Me and my close circle of friends (read: my girl friend) discuss a lot over this topic and have been cribbing over how we want to change the typical IT lifestyle that we currently have. We have clearly realized that our goals in life are quite far from what we are doing right now. As in most cases of human predicaments, we talk a lot about it but haven't been able to get a concrete step taken in the right direction.
Let's consider my daily schedule. My Monday starts like a scene from the movie rush hour, where i realize that I have a stupid meeting to attend at 10 AM (wee hours of Monday I would call that) and this aforementioned realization usually happens around the time frame of 9:25 AM or so. After making it to the meeting at least 10 minutes late, I extend my nap in the conference room only to be awakened by periodic gurgles from the organizer sitting next to me. After a lot of deliberation and almost nil participation, I get out of the room for a cup of tea to stimulate my grey matter. The day goes by with a couple of fights with the disastrously slow computer which is my lone companion for the day. After a few hours of #including and ClassA-extends-ClassB-ing, I get out of the shit hole like a tired pugilist who has fought 5 rounds only to lose it all during the final stages. It would be like deceiving my readers if I said the time of the day when my exit from office happens marks the end of the day. To put facts straight i should rephrase that sentence to read "End of the Night".
If weekdays are so boring and pass me like a turbulent storm, weekends are worse. I get up fairly early in the morning(read: 11 am) and spend a substantial amount of time thinking what I should do over the weekend. With that thought doing all the calculations in my mind, the clock decides to tick something like 1 pm or 2 pm and there's a call from my gastro-intestinal tract to save it from dying of hunger. After dealing with things and managing to call off that hunger strike, English Premier League/Indian Premier League or some such league demands an attendance and I sit glued to my TV set for what I think is close to 2 or 3 hours. But in fact, the time I would have spent on that ordeal is much more.... which in turn means that it is time for the next meal so as to avoid another turbulent attack from my digestive faculties. With a ditto repeat of the same itinerary on Sunday, I face the rocket-speed-weekend-that's-close-to-an-end phenomenon. With nothing much that can be done about it, I go back to bed ruing my 2 wasteful days only to wake up for a repeat telecast in the next week.
I am not any soothsayer or fortune predictor. But I am pretty confident that most IT folks are stuck with the same/similar kind of schedule in their daily life.
On one such Sunday, that has been well described above, I happened to read a book by Paulo Coelho where he talks about what one does in life and how a winner is determined by the essence of his presence (excuse me for the rhyme) in this universe. I wake up the next morning to welcome another dreadful Monday and I realize that one thing has changed. I wake up a completely new man and realize i have a drastic change in attitude and outlook. That situation demands some explanation. I agree. Here it goes. The change that has been mentioned above is that I start to think "If I really know what I need in life". I know that is not a change per se. But as our experienced ancestors have repeatedly said, thoughts lead to actions and all that sort of a thing, It is always a good sign in the right direction if we start thinking about challenging the status quo that rules over us. But that thought took me nowhere which is an unfortunate thing and I ended up understanding the fact that I just simply exist in this world and occupy a corner of it like other stones, rocks and trees do.Period. I am sure a good number of IT folks who have managed to make it to this point of the long and boring passage will resonate on the same plane apropos the thoughts I have shared.
But the sad part is I am looking for someone to show me the way to correct this awfully boring lifestyle and I have not met anyone who can show some light at the end of the tunnel in that respect. Any thoughts?
P.S: Ok I have been tortured by an abysmal young blot who wants a mention in this post. Where I said: "I have not met anyone who can show some light at the end of the tunnel", I should have said "I have met someone(This Idiot) who could not show any light at the end of any tunnel even after hours and hours of gyan and free advice he gave me."
Let's consider my daily schedule. My Monday starts like a scene from the movie rush hour, where i realize that I have a stupid meeting to attend at 10 AM (wee hours of Monday I would call that) and this aforementioned realization usually happens around the time frame of 9:25 AM or so. After making it to the meeting at least 10 minutes late, I extend my nap in the conference room only to be awakened by periodic gurgles from the organizer sitting next to me. After a lot of deliberation and almost nil participation, I get out of the room for a cup of tea to stimulate my grey matter. The day goes by with a couple of fights with the disastrously slow computer which is my lone companion for the day. After a few hours of #including and ClassA-extends-ClassB-ing, I get out of the shit hole like a tired pugilist who has fought 5 rounds only to lose it all during the final stages. It would be like deceiving my readers if I said the time of the day when my exit from office happens marks the end of the day. To put facts straight i should rephrase that sentence to read "End of the Night".
If weekdays are so boring and pass me like a turbulent storm, weekends are worse. I get up fairly early in the morning(read: 11 am) and spend a substantial amount of time thinking what I should do over the weekend. With that thought doing all the calculations in my mind, the clock decides to tick something like 1 pm or 2 pm and there's a call from my gastro-intestinal tract to save it from dying of hunger. After dealing with things and managing to call off that hunger strike, English Premier League/Indian Premier League or some such league demands an attendance and I sit glued to my TV set for what I think is close to 2 or 3 hours. But in fact, the time I would have spent on that ordeal is much more.... which in turn means that it is time for the next meal so as to avoid another turbulent attack from my digestive faculties. With a ditto repeat of the same itinerary on Sunday, I face the rocket-speed-weekend-that's-close-to-an-end phenomenon. With nothing much that can be done about it, I go back to bed ruing my 2 wasteful days only to wake up for a repeat telecast in the next week.
I am not any soothsayer or fortune predictor. But I am pretty confident that most IT folks are stuck with the same/similar kind of schedule in their daily life.
On one such Sunday, that has been well described above, I happened to read a book by Paulo Coelho where he talks about what one does in life and how a winner is determined by the essence of his presence (excuse me for the rhyme) in this universe. I wake up the next morning to welcome another dreadful Monday and I realize that one thing has changed. I wake up a completely new man and realize i have a drastic change in attitude and outlook. That situation demands some explanation. I agree. Here it goes. The change that has been mentioned above is that I start to think "If I really know what I need in life". I know that is not a change per se. But as our experienced ancestors have repeatedly said, thoughts lead to actions and all that sort of a thing, It is always a good sign in the right direction if we start thinking about challenging the status quo that rules over us. But that thought took me nowhere which is an unfortunate thing and I ended up understanding the fact that I just simply exist in this world and occupy a corner of it like other stones, rocks and trees do.Period. I am sure a good number of IT folks who have managed to make it to this point of the long and boring passage will resonate on the same plane apropos the thoughts I have shared.
But the sad part is I am looking for someone to show me the way to correct this awfully boring lifestyle and I have not met anyone who can show some light at the end of the tunnel in that respect. Any thoughts?
P.S: Ok I have been tortured by an abysmal young blot who wants a mention in this post. Where I said: "I have not met anyone who can show some light at the end of the tunnel", I should have said "I have met someone(This Idiot) who could not show any light at the end of any tunnel even after hours and hours of gyan and free advice he gave me."
Tuesday, 29 December 2009
2009- A Round Up
That's another fabulous year coming to an end. It has been a roller coaster ride for most of us with the world-wide recession, job turmoils, RIP MJ, Obamotopia, Tendulkar's 20, Woodsaga and a lot more. Some good and some bad. My year wasn't too different. The "one last time" visit to Pilani as a student was a wholesome experience. 15 days of ecstasy filled with assorted "highs". One last shot at The Age of Empires and Fifa, Movies, Sitcoms, Series and more. January and February went by looking forward to and reminiscing from the trip to Pilani respectively.
2009 was the year of Journalism with Digital media coming to the fore with all the might and power. One of those things what we could have done without was the hype that media created for Kareena's saree act or the Woods' bedroom act. Social networking took a new shape with the prominence of Facebook and Twitter. 09 was the year of linking and networking of course. Blogging became popular all the more and personally i was part of that Blogger revolution. The months of March and April indicated some respite after a dull ending to 2008 on the economic front.
I became a graduate in June and the eventual melancholy for missing college days ruled over me for about a month since then. First Job, Heavy work, Coding miseries, Corporate tamasha, Late nights, Team outings and other common buzzwords did buzz past me in the months of July and August. 2009 has been a 'year of reading' for me and I managed to cover a wide variety from Wodehouse, Orwell, Mohammed Hanif, Khaled Hosseini, Forsyth, Ken Follett to Gurcharan Das, Tharoor, Jhumpa and Naipaul. Later parts of the year witnessed a first order ruckus revolving around CAT and the mouse. A 'colossal failure' would more or less capture the essence of the CAT 09 saga. So after calling it 'RIP CAT09' after November, the footballing world caused surprises with the Big Four in England taking a beating. Now, the stage is set for a competitive season overall. An obsession for writing and journalism began to evolve and i started devoting a lot of time on political, economic and social writing in the month of December.
Overall, Not a great year. It did have the good's like the first job, great football, good movies and awesome books. The bad's were there too with RIP MJ, Religion and Politics, Dirty Media, Swayamvars, Hype on Climate change, Costly movies, Costly food, CAT meltdown and more......
Looking forward to a better year in 2010 with better health, better wealth and better knowledge. A Very Happy New Year to all !!
2009 was the year of Journalism with Digital media coming to the fore with all the might and power. One of those things what we could have done without was the hype that media created for Kareena's saree act or the Woods' bedroom act. Social networking took a new shape with the prominence of Facebook and Twitter. 09 was the year of linking and networking of course. Blogging became popular all the more and personally i was part of that Blogger revolution. The months of March and April indicated some respite after a dull ending to 2008 on the economic front.
I became a graduate in June and the eventual melancholy for missing college days ruled over me for about a month since then. First Job, Heavy work, Coding miseries, Corporate tamasha, Late nights, Team outings and other common buzzwords did buzz past me in the months of July and August. 2009 has been a 'year of reading' for me and I managed to cover a wide variety from Wodehouse, Orwell, Mohammed Hanif, Khaled Hosseini, Forsyth, Ken Follett to Gurcharan Das, Tharoor, Jhumpa and Naipaul. Later parts of the year witnessed a first order ruckus revolving around CAT and the mouse. A 'colossal failure' would more or less capture the essence of the CAT 09 saga. So after calling it 'RIP CAT09' after November, the footballing world caused surprises with the Big Four in England taking a beating. Now, the stage is set for a competitive season overall. An obsession for writing and journalism began to evolve and i started devoting a lot of time on political, economic and social writing in the month of December.
Overall, Not a great year. It did have the good's like the first job, great football, good movies and awesome books. The bad's were there too with RIP MJ, Religion and Politics, Dirty Media, Swayamvars, Hype on Climate change, Costly movies, Costly food, CAT meltdown and more......
Looking forward to a better year in 2010 with better health, better wealth and better knowledge. A Very Happy New Year to all !!
Saturday, 14 November 2009
Journalism-Philosophy-Cricket-Life, My Stochastic Journey
How often has an article from the 'Times of India daily' been motivating or mentally stimulating? The question should be lauded for the humor content in itself :-P. The answer to it is 'Most often not'. Today, journalism is a field with high levels of cash flow in its arena and as is rightly said, in today's environment, 'Media means Business'. Having celebrated the luxury of being India's largest daily for ages together, the newspaper has created a new dimension in the field of advertising and media. Sex, Fun, Youth, Masala, Movies, Paparazzi news, Celebrity talk and a few more on the same lines can be termed as suitable labels for most of the articles that are covered these days. Nevertheless, Economics, Strategies, Terrorism and Politics do take center-stage in the Editorial section with contributions from stalwarts from the above mentioned domains. So I have in no way taken up an evaluation of the celebrated daily.
Having said that, what I wanted to write in this post was something completeley different. The first paragraph is more of a digression and the basic intent was to write about a full page article on a recent edition of the Times.
No points for guessing the topic chosen for discussion as terms like 'Master Laster', 'T-20' and twenty-"Ten" are ubiquitous in recent-day print and media. Yes, it was an article on 'The great Man'. A lot has been spoken and debated about his closeness to 'Divinity' in the religion of cricket and of late, even in a newer religion called 'Sport'. I am not going to grind that grain once again. What caught my eye was how motivating that article turned out to be.
I have heard of an incident in North India, which is not the sort that makes the headlines but yeah, interests a few amongst us. - "On a train from Shimla to Delhi, there was a halt in one of the stations. The train stopped by for few minutes as usual. Sachin was nearing century, batting on 98. The passengers, railway officials, everyone on the train "waited" for Sachin to complete the century. This Genius can stop time in India!!". Now how does the process of 'deifying' happen? What are the ingredients that enable one to become a candidate running for that post? Trying to figure out answers to these 'almost always' rhetoric questions, I realized the answer lies in removing the abstraction in them. Take the example of the same game and the gentlemen who've evolved in the last decade. I can think of England captain Kevin Pieterson's debut about three or four years back. In a period of six to eight months of international cricket, the 'modern media' that we were referring to at the beginning of this discussion, elevated him to a status of being compared with the master. Terms like 'Next Tendulkar' and 'English Master' did the rounds owing to his aggression and technique. 4 years into the arena and take a look at where he is now? He is undoubtedly one of the most important players of the English cricket team today. No denying that fact. But why isn't he tipped to be the next sensation any more? Genius is made out of perseverance, determination and a host of other virtues. But to me, the most important ingredient to it is 'feet on ground' and that is in coherence with the answer to the 'KP question'.
Achievement is something that every one of us encounter and come across in various stages of life. But the way we treat those encounters with 'achievement' is all that matters. The answer to that intriguing question on ingredients was in one quote from the Master himself - "Let the world think of our past. We should think of the future". An adage comes to my mind at this juncture. "You are very unique, just like everyone else". So, celebration should be a fleeting phenomenon when it comes to a bigger picture of life and its obstacles. Having said that success has to do with a combination of a variety of virtues, some more important than the others, one should stay motivated to reach the pinnacle of glory and be smart enough to keep that place until another touchstone is spotted high up the same ladder of life.
Anjali Tendulkar revealed in an interview that Sachin has sleep-walking tendencies and surprisingly, she said "Now we know what it takes to make a genius". I mused for a while after reading those two lines for i am an astute 'sleep-walker' too. But jokes apart, what was meant by usage of 'sleep-walking' is important. The determination and obsession that leads one to think of his duties day in and day out is what makes the genius. Sleep walking in most instances is associated with toiling minds and continuous thought flows during sleep as a result of the obsessive nature of the mind.
Masters come and masters go and we, for our part incessantly speak of them. But the paradigm shift from the connoisseur's role to the artist's role is what should be mulling in our minds and food for that kind of a thought comes from such great personalities and their lives.
Now, as a vindication of the levels of confidence and fearlessness involved in such instance of genius, watch this - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oez4TSdZvJI
Having said that, what I wanted to write in this post was something completeley different. The first paragraph is more of a digression and the basic intent was to write about a full page article on a recent edition of the Times.
No points for guessing the topic chosen for discussion as terms like 'Master Laster', 'T-20' and twenty-"Ten" are ubiquitous in recent-day print and media. Yes, it was an article on 'The great Man'. A lot has been spoken and debated about his closeness to 'Divinity' in the religion of cricket and of late, even in a newer religion called 'Sport'. I am not going to grind that grain once again. What caught my eye was how motivating that article turned out to be.
I have heard of an incident in North India, which is not the sort that makes the headlines but yeah, interests a few amongst us. - "On a train from Shimla to Delhi, there was a halt in one of the stations. The train stopped by for few minutes as usual. Sachin was nearing century, batting on 98. The passengers, railway officials, everyone on the train "waited" for Sachin to complete the century. This Genius can stop time in India!!". Now how does the process of 'deifying' happen? What are the ingredients that enable one to become a candidate running for that post? Trying to figure out answers to these 'almost always' rhetoric questions, I realized the answer lies in removing the abstraction in them. Take the example of the same game and the gentlemen who've evolved in the last decade. I can think of England captain Kevin Pieterson's debut about three or four years back. In a period of six to eight months of international cricket, the 'modern media' that we were referring to at the beginning of this discussion, elevated him to a status of being compared with the master. Terms like 'Next Tendulkar' and 'English Master' did the rounds owing to his aggression and technique. 4 years into the arena and take a look at where he is now? He is undoubtedly one of the most important players of the English cricket team today. No denying that fact. But why isn't he tipped to be the next sensation any more? Genius is made out of perseverance, determination and a host of other virtues. But to me, the most important ingredient to it is 'feet on ground' and that is in coherence with the answer to the 'KP question'.
Achievement is something that every one of us encounter and come across in various stages of life. But the way we treat those encounters with 'achievement' is all that matters. The answer to that intriguing question on ingredients was in one quote from the Master himself - "Let the world think of our past. We should think of the future". An adage comes to my mind at this juncture. "You are very unique, just like everyone else". So, celebration should be a fleeting phenomenon when it comes to a bigger picture of life and its obstacles. Having said that success has to do with a combination of a variety of virtues, some more important than the others, one should stay motivated to reach the pinnacle of glory and be smart enough to keep that place until another touchstone is spotted high up the same ladder of life.
Anjali Tendulkar revealed in an interview that Sachin has sleep-walking tendencies and surprisingly, she said "Now we know what it takes to make a genius". I mused for a while after reading those two lines for i am an astute 'sleep-walker' too. But jokes apart, what was meant by usage of 'sleep-walking' is important. The determination and obsession that leads one to think of his duties day in and day out is what makes the genius. Sleep walking in most instances is associated with toiling minds and continuous thought flows during sleep as a result of the obsessive nature of the mind.
Masters come and masters go and we, for our part incessantly speak of them. But the paradigm shift from the connoisseur's role to the artist's role is what should be mulling in our minds and food for that kind of a thought comes from such great personalities and their lives.
Now, as a vindication of the levels of confidence and fearlessness involved in such instance of genius, watch this - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oez4TSdZvJI
Wednesday, 14 October 2009
Enjoy Maadi
I have been cribbing for quite sometime about life at Hyderabad not being too eventful and i have contrived to a decision that if one has to enjoy life and spend money, one has to work in Bangalore.
Reasons:
1. Most/All of your friends invariably work in Bangalore.
2. You have numerous malls and weekends can't get better with the 'bird-watching opportunity' one always gets at these hangouts.
3. Since almost all of your college chums sit here, there is no scarcity of gossip.
4. You start biking like crazy for otherwise commuting is usually tough on weekdays.
5. Your virtues get better as you need to exercise a lot of patience owing to traffic.
6. You will not find any difficulties in knowing Bangalore's geography as it is almost a straight line on the map.
7. If you are a 'tamilian' you tend to feel at home for the language is spoken almost at every street corner.
8. Most/All high paying jobs are available in the city for almost every Indian company has a branch here.
9. You become immune to most/all air-borne diseases as the normal amount of Carbon Monoxide you inhale is awfully high and it overrides or suppresses other problems.
10. You can travel to any of the other three South Indian states by an overnight's journey.
If you are a Southie, Bangalore is 'the' place to be in.
P.S: Can somebody who has read this post find me a job at Bangalore? (Lol)
Reasons:
1. Most/All of your friends invariably work in Bangalore.
2. You have numerous malls and weekends can't get better with the 'bird-watching opportunity' one always gets at these hangouts.
3. Since almost all of your college chums sit here, there is no scarcity of gossip.
4. You start biking like crazy for otherwise commuting is usually tough on weekdays.
5. Your virtues get better as you need to exercise a lot of patience owing to traffic.
6. You will not find any difficulties in knowing Bangalore's geography as it is almost a straight line on the map.
7. If you are a 'tamilian' you tend to feel at home for the language is spoken almost at every street corner.
8. Most/All high paying jobs are available in the city for almost every Indian company has a branch here.
9. You become immune to most/all air-borne diseases as the normal amount of Carbon Monoxide you inhale is awfully high and it overrides or suppresses other problems.
10. You can travel to any of the other three South Indian states by an overnight's journey.
If you are a Southie, Bangalore is 'the' place to be in.
P.S: Can somebody who has read this post find me a job at Bangalore? (Lol)
Monday, 6 July 2009
Downtown Tadipatri !!!!~!!!!
The merits and demerits of the "Life at the Country Side" is an age-old topic and i have come to discuss the same in this space. And here I am, back from a first-hand country side Experience. This post is dedicated to my visit to a small township on a hillock near downtown "Tadipatri" where i spent my blissful weekend. Tadipatri is a small town located en route to Chennai from Hyderabad and it is worth mentioning that it boasts of UltraTech's largest Cement Plant in Asia.
To start with, i concede to the fact that "Life downtown" is always a better bet than the one which involves the hustles and the hullabaloo of the metro. As part of the "clan" at college which threw tantrums at villages and village dwellers from down south, I have been actively involved in mocking at the way civilizations have, by far, neglected those people, who we are at this point, debating about.
My weekend involved a really splendid outing to my best friend's sweet home near Tadipatri. Nature was at its best and the gated community had loads to offer when I did my first sightseeing around the township on Saturday. The greenery and the peaceful community that inhabited this township, was so new to me for I have more or less grown up in a city, brought up with all the mall culture and other typical metro offerings.
I would like to introduce the four characters in this post who would be henceforth referred to as "Sir TPJ"(Daddy), "Rchie"(Sissy), "Chota Don"(Friend) and "Aunt Bliss"(Mommy). To talk of Sir TPJ, it would be a gross understatement if i just say he is a revered gentleman who commands a respectable position at this Township which nurtures a group of little over 1000 people from various parts of the country. Aunt Bliss is a wonderful cook and she loves cooking " elaborate four course meals" "three times a day". Fresh vegetables for lunch and dinner came from nearby gardens and the delicacies straight from Aunt Bliss' kitchen are worth mentioning. Rchie is the sweet sis who is currently enjoying her summer holidays back home and Chota Don is waiting to join college for his post graduate studies.
The wonderful weekend involved the fantastic walk down the park, delicious food served at regular intervals throughout the day, Malayalam movie on Asianet, UNO Card games, badminton outing, late night wodehouse humor, hot career discussions, dinner time family chit chats, Channel V Music hits, evening time lychee treats, endless football story times and lastly, the marathon Wimbledon final to finish it off. That final was one of the best tennis matches that i have been witness to, till date. A-Rod was at his career best only to lose out to the damned luck (courtesy: Fedex's "Black Magic") at the end of the day. The 5 hour finale bade good bye to me along with this cute family of four who took up the task of entertaining me for the weekend. Needless to say they did a fantastic job out of it and i would fail miserably if i miss out on mentioning the elegant Urbana "Tie and Handkerchief set" which was my parting gift.
This post is purely a tribute to the place and people that made my weekend downtown so remarkable. When it all turns nostalgic later one day, and i go back to turn the pages of my life fervently, these two pages would without doubt be a "highlighted couple" that would keep me entrenched in emotions for ages to come.
P.S: Uploaded a few snaps
Thursday, 14 May 2009
Bidding Adieu!!
It's been a while since i wrote something in this space and i would blame my mad-ass workplace for it. Really long since i even got some respite from "coding to glory".
August 3rd, December 14th, January 6th, May 14th...These are some dates that a handful of highly overrated engineers in the country would seldom forget, for these are fixed dates when semesters start and end at BITS, Pilani.
I am nevertheless proud to belong to such a place- Bits, Pilani. But what saddens the thought is the fact that it is all coming to an end. In a way i have delinked myself from that lovely place when i opted for a double semester PS (For people who are unaware of these amazing BITSian terms, read as internship). Technically a student still, until i complete my second semester stint here mid june, I sense a feeling of doom and dismay.
Yeah..I'm gonna miss this place like crazy..I’m gonna miss a lot of things..and if I start listing them down..its gonna go on n on n on...
A few things i would like to mention
ANC, Wing Cricket, GymG Football, Amazing winters, FIFA, Counter Strike, AOE, Common Room EPL, Temple, Sky Lawns, CDC Tutorials, 404,Gandhi::223,Gandhi::223,Krishna::440,Malviya, SAC, Oasis 2006, Pahadi Trip, Sleepless nights, The unforgettable relationships, C'NOT, ICF-PS1, The Sand Storms, Krishna Redi, Kulu Manali Wing Trip, Dualites' lonely world,OT, OR, IPC, My Hercules Cycle, 24*7 music, prison break, RAF Movies, BOSM, Ganga gate, Bluemoon shakes, Bluemoon hot coffee, Sky Lab Cheese Pizza, Late night walk at the staff quarters..............
Yes i am going to miss this place. I felt it as i wrote down some of those million things that would never come back into my life.
The Freedom, The Friendships, The fun, The frolic...All of it seem to have become past when i ponder about them. It hurts to say goodbye...but reality awakens me. I bid adieu but with no sense of happiness.
P.S:An ode to everthing and everyone that came in my life in those 5 years at the best place in the world.
P.P.S:Million faces...Million expressions...Million hearts...Million memories...One place...One love...BITS Pilani!!!!!!!
Tuesday, 7 April 2009
Thirty-30
Thirty things I would like to do before I am 30. This is yet another Tagged post (this time by one of my old school pals).
Ok here it goes....
1. Add a PGDM behind my initials.
2. Work for a consultancy firm and analyze a big thing like the Tata Nano Release or an RIL-RPL merger.
3. Complete the IMDB list of Top 250.
4. Read all of the 90 odd works by P.G.Wodehouse.
5. Start a Retail Chain of something really innovative-may be jewellery...lolzzz
6. Create and shoot an advertisement for Vodafone or Pepsi.
7. Play a protagonist in a documentary.
8. Win an All India Chess tournament.
9. Carry my bat in a 30 over a side domestic cricket match after opening the innings.
10. Taste Champagne.
11. Watch a United-Arsenal match at Old Trafford.
12. Watch a football match on boxing day at a pub in London.
13. Walk along the LOC in the kupwara sector or Poonch District.
14. Design my dream home from scratch.
15. Eat all possible chocolate varieties from around the world.
16. Cook an elaborate meal for a group of 10.
17. Build a Personal library of over 500 books I have read.
18. Give a lecture on Theology or Philosophy at some prestigious management school.
19. Go on a world tour with family.
20. Eat only chocolates from morning to night on a single day.
21. Spend a night on a star cruise deep in the middle of the seas.
22. Shoot 10 terrorists in a guerilla fight.
23. Serve the Indian Air Force for a short period.
24. Be a commentator alongside Harsha Bhogle for an India-Australia match down under.
25. Conduct a Sports quiz at the national level.
26. Own a super market in some hill station.
27. Write an article for the Time Magazine.
28. Dine with Warren Buffet on a moonlit night in Mexico.
29. Coach a Division II football team in England.
30. Officiate an international cricket match.
Thursday, 2 April 2009
SouthFull
It was a windy sunday evening. I woke up from my afternoon nap, which is becoming kind of a ritual during weekends of late. A mini sandstorm had just passed by. The weather was really awesome. A perfect one for a romantic walk or something along the seashore. I streched myself and got out of bed to get the picturesque bird's eye view of the IT park nearby, from my third floor apartment. It was gratifying. I walked out to get some cool breeze coz it was one rare evening in the month of march when the temparatures usually start to soar. I walked towards the tea shop with my room mates for a cup of 'chai'-customary on a sunday evening. As I walked past the narrow lanes with the low walls that helped many couples on lazy weekends, I started to feel as if I was walking through lush green fields, enjoying the scented fresh air. I got lost in thoughts as my mind wandered. The picture of the green fields in my mind slowly made me feel nostalgic. I wondered about those small vacations to less known villages in south tamil nadu about a decade back. The village atmosphere has always interested me a lot since childhood. I was excited by the freshness in the air coz these valleys have really low pollution levels
Having spent the most part of my school life in Chennai, I have always had a liking for the serene and calm valleys in the southern countryside. I have a bucket list of things to do before i die and the first in the list is to live a year or two in a hill station running a small shop for daily bread. That sounds pretty weird for the detailing of the occupation and stuff in those couple of years. Looking up into the black sky and wondering how many stars there are in the universe, from a hill top--an out of the world feeling I would say. The most attractive thing about a hill is the fact that you see the most beautiful creations of mother nature below you--I mean, the altitude. It gives you a feel. I am running out of words to explain the beauty of it.
Avoiding the hustle and bustle of city life, one really gets to experience paradise on earth. The other thing about small towns of the south that interests me is the annual festival that happens as a custom. It is known as 'thiruvizha' in tamil and it would be a once-in-a-lifetime-experience for a city dweller. Crowds thronging the narrow street that has those exhibition stalls and the legendary eat outs-Absolutely amazing. The event is a chance for people from nearby towns and villages to spend a lazy weekend evening with their spouse and children. I have been to a couple of these melas during my earlier summer vacations. And both the times there was this light drizzle early in the evening that makes the climate really enjoyable. One can embark on a new chapter of life in these towns located on the hills and the nearby valleys. It instills a feel of romance. The ice cold fresh waterfalls in these hills have made me dumbstruck many a time. These places are fraught with the complete beauty of mother nature. I got immersed in the thoughts of the life in such places which are known to have very low population densities.
I sprang back into reality when my friend patted from behind to tell me that i had walked past the tea stall. The weather was pleasent yet. I had my regular cup of 'chai' and walked back to catch up with the weekend premier league football. It was the early kick off that i wanted to watch that day. I wanted to think a lot more about those but i ended up watching the lunch time football with the usual packet of potato chips and my mug of beer.
Friday, 13 March 2009
Analogies make you think!!!
Keeping oneself engaged thinking of the philosophy around nature and life is not a commonplace activity. I am not an exception to it either. Such things don't usually interest many people. These thoughts generally take you nowhere. Even after hours of thinking one completes a circle of thoughts and comes to no conclusion. But what's amusing about this activity is the reason why you start doing it then after all. I have been wondering why it suddenly comes to your mind then. A tranquil state of mind is an arena in which this school of thought is said to rein frequently. Notice here that i just used an analogy. Reining a 'state of mind' which i just called an 'arena'.
I chanced upon an analogy about life very recently and it interested me a lot. I saw the usage in "Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance" by Robert Pirsig. There is this guy who is on a road trip on a nice autumn weekend and the book goes through his mind as it wanders throughout the journey. Thereby taking the reader through a journey of life from a very different perspective. The book talks a lot about the author's ride on the motorcycle and a lot more about the art of maintaining it during such long trips. At one point the author refers to two different views to life- "The Classic View and The Romantic View". The Classic view involves understanding everything we come across using it's underlying form. The Romantic view involves understanding of things based on it's functionality. To understand these two views to an extent, there was an interesting reference to a blue print of a building. From a romantic point of view, it just means a maze with hundreds of lines leading to nowhere. From a classic point of view, it leads to a huge apartment with a dazzling facade. It is important to see the beauty behind such a thing.
Man is almost always a romantic thinker. A Classic view of anything is tough to comprehend from a human brain perspective. But it is not impossible. Consider the example of the blueprint. An architect would obviously understand the blueprint from an almost classic point of view if not fully. But that doesn't make him a classical thinker. It is important to view everything (even those that you don't relate yourself to or those that don't bother you) from the classic point of view. And then will one realise the essence of nature and life. Laws of nature are understood from the romantic point of view as some supernatural creation. But science created them says the classic explanation. 'Nothing can be called a valid assumption' is also one of the tenets of the classic view. Now the analogy that i was talking about- "Human mind is a knife. It cuts a person's thoughts into two worldly views..The Classic and the Romantic." But the latter half seems to be the dictator of the human mind. The knife that cuts my mind made me write this post where i think i am trying to cross the fine line that divides the two cut halves. It is a very fine line and it is important to try and identify and cross over to the less comprehended but more invading school of thought.
Monday, 9 March 2009
Random Tag
Here is the 25 things about me post!!..I just learnt from a couple of pals that one of the few inital posts ought to be this. Random things about you. I dont know if i can pen down 25. Will try to make a decent number atleast.
1. Firstly i have something close to "brain fog". Dont google it now to see what it is. It might give fearful results. Just that i dont remember things too well.
2. I trust in very few people in life and they ve been there with me since long. One of them is of course my brother who seems to understand me better than anyone else in this world. The other few are a couple of my close friends.
3. I eat anything served (but vegetarian). This habit of mine has come to me recently after a series of events in my hostel mess over my 5 yrs at college.
4. I remember a few things very keenly in life. They are a selected few which seem to interest me. But i emphasize on the "few" here.
5. There are two priorities in my life- My career and my family. Nothing other than these two are of serious importance to me.
6.I believe in Charles Darwin's theory of Survival of the fittest. I am good at adapting to the surroundings andd changing myself to adjust to the milieu.
7. Getting high is one of the irresistable things in life.
8. There are five things i love..Special mention these 5 things require-because i get into a different frame of mind wheni have a majority of these with me at a given particular time.- "Manchester United", "Funky techie cell phone", "my bike", "internet" and "cricket".
9. I love Manchester United-Hardcore.
10. ARR, Ilayaraja, Creed, Switchfoot, U2 and Pink floyd make up for almost 90 percent of the music i listen to.
11.I get angry kinda frequently but only with people who mean a lot to me.An assumption which makes me feel that these people are ok to mess up with. After all they ll be back with you kinds.
12. I can control the hours of my sleep. I am neither hypersomniac nor insomniac.
13. A trusworthy person is how my friends have judged me as yet.
14. I talk to myself more than i talk to others. I love solitude but not an excess of it. I can keep yumm yumming for hours. But there are certain topics which i prefer to discuss with myself.
15. I keep my time and expect people around me to do it either. But a far cry. Not many live up to it. In short i am punctual and a time freak.
16. I can sit idle for hours and hours and hours. It does nt disturb me.
17. I am too pragmatic at analysing situations.
18.I have a very different view of God. In short i believe God created something called evil.It did not start existing by itself... and i feel God makes man think.Man does nothing of his own.
19. I am over ambitious but i am over pessimistic too. So a plethora of confusions rule my thinking in general.
20. I select my friends and keep those which i think add meaning to my life.
21. I expect my best friends to live upto what i think of them.Because i value them a lot and they form an important part of the decision making process in my life.
22. I am afraid of rats since childhood. It is an allergy, a fear or whatever..i really don't know.
23. I am not a great liar. I get caught too easily. Disadvantageous many times.
24. I love the way Indian culture revolves around a number of values. I dont mean to say i am against westernization, but i prefer limitations to it.
25. I cant think about a thing for too long. Lack of concentration i should say...coz i took about 3 hrs to draft this page.
And i would tag somebody for sure to do this bugging task of thinking about oneself for so long.
Thursday, 26 February 2009
Classic Two!!
Apparently, the two books that i am talking about were my latest two.
I can't read P.G. Wodehouse every day, nor would I want to. They are like a deliciously decadent and fattening dessert that you allow yourself to indulge in once every so often, except that Wodehouse's decadence lies in his luxurious, playful and masterful manipulation of the English language. A perfect day for me involves lounging on the deck of my best friend's family cottage with a Jeeves and Wooster book in one hand and a margarita in the other!
Aunts Aren’t Gentlemen by P.G. Wodehouse
As with most of the Jeeves and Wooster series, the plot of this novel isn’t as important as the language Wodehouse uses to describe the messes that Bertie gets into. Nevertheless, the long and the short of it is that Bertie leaves the city to improve his health only to find that Aunt Dahlia has other plans. An important horse race hinges on the presence of a certain cat and as usual, Aunt Dahlia wants Bertie to steal the cat so that a certain horse will lose the race and she will collect on her rather large bet. Bertie has also managed to get between a friend and his lady love and must convince the friend that he is not a threat and convince the lady that he is not the marrying kind. As usual, it is Jeeves who comes up with the cunning plan and saves the day.Lightest book that I've read till date.
Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
The novel relives the days following Caulfield's expulsion from Pencey Prep, a university preparatory school based loosely on either Ursinus College or Valley Forge Military Academy, Salinger's alma-mater. Caulfield tells his story in cynical and jaded language, frequently using disparaging language and profanity. In the end i felt i had just come across a new type of humour which is not much different than that of PGW's. But a thoroughly enjoyable book,i should say.
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