life is beautiful

last day of school

2012-01-14T20:26:00.000+05:30

Those timeless paper planes remind me that friendship as a function of life is independent of time.

The three of us walked back from school directly to my home-me, Adi and Ankur. Mom & Dad were not coming till late in the evening. So we decided to play. But what should we play? It was a day that would never come again. It had relief from past and mystery for future. It was a day of extremes in many ways and yet there was nothing remarkable about that day. It was just another day and so we decided to play.

We made paper planes. Lots of them. Then we decided to have a competition. Whoever's plane stays in air longer wins. It was a stupid competition if I ask my contemporary self and yet it was so symbolic of the day. There were things we could not control. There were things which controlled us. Yet we were free. We were the paper planes trying to stay afloat as long as possible.

Those moments were timeless. We laughed at things we will never think of laughing at. We were more than friends. We were brothers - the blood of common past ran among us.

the sons of fortune

2011-09-04T00:19:00.002+05:30

There were those who wrenched from the fists of fate what they wanted. Then there were those who wished but never had. In between were us - the sons of fortune - the right people at the right place at the right time. We got more for less. We had what we wished. We did what we wanted to do. It was too damn easy. No responsibilities, no nerve-testing adventures. We had no back-from-the-cliff stories to tell. Yet we were listened to. Yet we were followed. Yet we enjoyed verdict by default. It was the dawn of a new era. An era where imbalances were aplenty. We were the tilt. We were the agents of cataclysm.

The drive's not that boring ...

2011-05-08T19:56:00.002+05:30

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10.00 Start from home on my Walle. FM surfing begins on music system.
10.05 Akshardham passes by on the right. Metro passes overhead.
10.08 Yamuna flows below.
10.10 Humayun's Tomb is visible at Nizamuddin Bridge traffic signal.
10.15 Old Fort stands proud at left.
10.20 Delhi High Court is buzzing to start the proceedings at 1030 HRS.
10.27 Prime Minister's residence is visible on the other side of the road while I fill fuel at HP station.
10.35 China Embassy does not look that crowded.
10.39 Dhaula Kuan maze is crossed in a single shot.
10.45 Plane passes above while my speedometer shows 120 kmph on Gurgaon Expressway.
10.48 Mahipalpur Warehouse is warming up for the day.
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e-books my ***

2011-04-28T20:50:00.001+05:30

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E-books ! Ha ! When I read lotr on computer seven years ago, I had no idea that a product which is marred by piracy, thanks to its copiability, will one day make the beloved books obsolete. Hence it took me few days to assimilate what Manish told me.

Tell me how a .kindle. will replace the smell of a new book. Can I sleep reading it while my fingers are not ready to leave the thick pages I just finished? They will have a bookmark for sure but will it go oft missing to drive me crazy which page I was at?

I am telling you this technology thing is going out of control. Today it is e-books. Tomorrow they will develop a half an inch wide three inch long hi-tech bottle that you just need to push inside your ass and you will no longer need to poop. That convenient !
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tolkien's class

2011-03-12T10:40:00.001+05:30

Frodo: I can't do this, Sam.

Sam: I know. It's all wrong. By rights we shouldn't even be here. But we are. It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back only they didn't. They kept going because they were holding on to something.

Frodo: What are we holding on to, Sam?

Sam: There's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo. And it's worth fighting for.

the reset is close?

2011-02-07T06:17:00.004+05:30

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For about 1.728 Mn years everything was going perfect. A committed workforce and defect-free output was trademark. The days were called Satyug. The next 1.296 Mn years were not bad either. There was some slack in supply chain but the machinery ran smoothly. The period was called Tretayug. By the end of it the system started showing maintenance issues. Inventory started piling up in front of input area. Zero tolerence policy on defects was compromised now and then by the workforce which, although totally committed, started demanding salary-hike at par with the market. The phase is said to have lasted 0.864 Mn years and was called Dwaparyug. Then came trouble.

The so called incorrigible Managers fell first into the trap of convenience. In the absence of constant vigil, workers started taking periodic swap-naps while the machine was still running. Defects ran high. Interdepartmental friction was commonplace. Capacity utilization took a deep dive. Marketing team was insouciant. It was as if the entire plant was following the Murphy's law - things were going from bad to worse and then the cycle would repeat itself. The era, popularly remembered as Kaliyug, was a phase of leisure pleasure, sin & pain and lasted for a good 0.432 Mn years.

Then one day the Plant Manager decided enough is enough. He pressed the cataclysmic reset button that was placed conveniently below his table and all of a sudden life as we knew at the plant ended . True story.

2010

2011-01-02T09:48:00.002+05:30

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Chikmagalur. Belur. Hampi. Vrindavan. Agra. Dalhousie. Khajjiar. Chamba. McLeodganj. Kalatop. Rishikesh. Mussoorie. Panchgani. Chitradurga. Hogenakkal. Hyderabad. Copenhagen. Bergen. Voss. Stockholm. Luxembourg. Brussels. Amsterdam. Bruges. Fredrichshafen. Zermatt. Spiez. Salzburg. Munich. Helsingor. Flam. Godvangen. Oslo. Jelling. Berlin. Grindelwald. Interlaken. Lucerne. Bern. Basel. Hamburg. Paris. Zugspitze. Pisa. Rome. Venice. Naples. Nice Villa. Monte Carlo. Antibes. Cannes.

Dear N73

2010-12-13T20:41:00.005+05:30

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Today is our third anniversary and believe it or not, I haven't loved you more. It seems only yesterday that I planned my Kerala trip with you. Many a travelogues have come and gone by but you stood with me the sands of time like an enamored soul.

Days into our relationship, I let you slip into the Athirapally but you came out intact and, I believe, even stronger. Only last fortnight the way you pulled yourself together from a twenty feet fall at Naples fort was unbelievable. You are my Seabiscuit.

I know I have not been a good friend all these years. If I say I have used you, it would be an understatement. I downloaded movies from you. I reduced you to a GPS guide on my Delhi- Bangalore drive. You were my music library and you were my photo album. You were my single point of contact to this world. It was always me. When was I thinking about you?

People say you look old. that you don't look like a three year old. I am to blame. I have not treated you like an equal. Call it an anniversary gift, but the least I can do is dedicate to you the pictures you collected for me these last three months. For 90 days in 35 different cities across 11 countries you never let me down once. Let the world know that it was not me. It was you - my BFF. N73.

http://picasaweb.google.com/neo.prashant/EuropeByN73#

Prashant

Calvin says ...

2010-12-10T16:01:00.003+05:30

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"Why isn't my life like a situation comedy? Why don't I have a bunch of friends with nothing better to do but drop by and instigate wacky adventures? Why aren't my conversations peppered with spontaneous witticisms? Why don't my friends demonstrate heartfelt concern for my well being when I have problems? ...I gotta get my life some writers."
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the fifteen miles stroll

2010-10-19T13:48:00.005+05:30

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It must be the 11th mile when I started dragging myself. By the 13th mile I had this queer feeling that I will not make it. When the youth hostel finally materialized at the other side of the river, I was incapable of joying. Another 10 minutes, which felt like an hour, went by before I filled the forms, collected my bed sheets and checked into my room. I must have rushed into the bath.

The hot water coming out of the shower were drops of pleasure as my legs and brain recovered back to sensation. Walking was painful in the beginning. A pleasant combination of warm sun and cooling breeze welcomed me outside the hostel. I bought a few bananas from the nearby Coop store and settled at a round wooden bench in front of the sea. I have always loved the kind of landscape that Norwegian Fjords epitomize. Sky high hills suddenly give way to water.

I reflected back at the very morning when I started walking downhill from Myrdal for Flam. It was an act of innocence and had its rewards and pitfalls. I would cherish both of them. They add to the beauty of life - pain and pleasure. Pain makes pleasure a little bit more fun.

interesting perspective

2010-10-17T08:21:00.002+05:30

“Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends. You are constantly off balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things – air, sleep, dreams, the sea, the sky – all things tending towards the eternal or what we imagine of it.”

– Cesare Pavese

it happened in Basel SBB ...

2010-09-23T01:06:00.003+05:30

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Its 5.13 PM. I am sitting comfortably sipping a hot cup of coffee. In front of me is tri-nation point - which means that I do not even need to angle my face to see what people are up to in France Germany and Switzerland. Simple exaggerations won't hurt the thin readership of my blog. What was the time of my train? Was it 6.41 or 6.31 PM? Let me check.

6.04 PM? The train departs at 6.04 PM? Its like a mild thunderbolt running through my spine. Even if I run for the bus it would not be possible - its already 5.15 PM. Still I run. The bus is there to take me to station. Now let me get the ticket from the vending machine. Before I am back with the ticket the bus departs . Its 5.23 PM on my watch. The next bus is scheduled at 5.32.

What are my options now that I have missed the train? I can take another train for Hamburg. Or I can enquire if it would be possible to catch a fast train to catch this one? That is for short run. The long run option is not to be such a dumb slack wanderer. I can only curse myself and I am not liking it.

The bus moves slowly through traffic. It is now time for me to curse the driver. I check my watch - 5.50 PM. We are not even on the street that leads to the station. I have given up - and yet that little flicker of hope is there. These two never desert you - hope and doubt. It is as if: hope + doubt = 1, while none can be absolute zero or negative. Only god knows if the equation is correct.

The bus reaches station at 5.59 PM. In the milieu of thoughts I almost forgot to see the time. I run again - this time through the crowd. I glance at the big board while running. There it is Basel SBB - Kobenhavn at 6.04. Platform number 5. The train is there.

Now that I introspect, I shouldn't have been so hard at myself while at bus. Actually I am a dumb slack lucky wanderer :) and I am liking it.

हज़ारों ख़्वाहिशें ऐसी ...

2010-09-06T23:22:00.000+05:30

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हज़ारों ख़्वाहिशें ऐसी के हर ख़्वाहिश पे दम निकले
बहुत निकले मेरे अरमाँ लेकिन फ़िर भी कम निकले ।

डरे क्यूँ मेरा क़ातिल क्या रहेगा उसकी गर्दन पर
वो ख़ूँ, जो चश्म-ए-तर से ‘उम्र भर यूँ दम-बा-दम निकले ।

निकलना ख़ुल्द से आदम का सुनते आयें हैं लेकिन
बहुत बे-आबरू होकर तेरे कूचे से हम निकले ।

मोहब्बत में नहीं है फ़र्क़ जीने और मरने का
उसी को देख कर जीते हैं जिस काफ़िर पे दम निकले ।

ख़ुदा के वास्ते पर्दा न काबे से उठा ज़ालिम
कहीं ‘एसा न हो याँ भी वोही क़ाफ़िर सनम निकले ।

कहाँ मैख़ाने का दरवाज़ा “ग़ालिब” और कहाँ वाइज़
पर इतना जानते हैं कल वो जाता था के हम निकले ।
_

DETP Assignment 2 Submission (Word Limit 250)

2010-07-28T16:38:00.002+05:30

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Summary

An inflextion point was reached in 1967 when the landless agricultural labourers of Naxalbari, led by few CPI (M) leaders, could not tolerate further and revolted against the exploitation of landlords. The first phase of Naxalbari Movement (1969-75) was characterized by ‘direct action’ taken by dalits in the form of attacking the landlords, burning the mortgage papers and looting granaries for redistribution among themselves. The second phase (1978-90) was known for the repressive measures taken by the state and the involvement of police as an agent of the state. The third phase (1991-2005) was contemporary to the economic reforms.

One of the prominent repressive measure taken by the state has been in the form of ‘grouping’ where villages after villages are relocated in a single area to cut them off from the underground Naxalites who depend on these villagers for their daily needs. The area thus vacated is being allocated to MNCs like Tata and Essar. On one hand renegade Naxalites are receiving protection from state to become powerful and exploitative. On the other hand it is not uncommon to declare Naxalite a person who questions the state and its institutions. This is happening all over India.

Opinion

It seems the problem is not disparity but it is the 'forces' which want to sustain this disparity and to thrive on it.
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life is ...

2010-06-16T20:00:00.003+05:30

There are moments in my life that, I am convinced, were designed exclusively for me. Standing at the top of Chitradurga Fort, I had exactly this in mind. Clouds were gathering around me. The surrounding hills were as green as could be. It was windy up there. A spinkling started which later on developed into a drizzle. The entire city covered itself with mist in front of my eyes. I watched and felt. The more I watched, the more I felt, the more and more I craved for. It was an insatiable hunger to feed the senses which was building upon itself.

There are moments in life which are worth ages. I believe that that is how we end up living more than the years that have been stipulated to us. I know there are also moments which are forgettable and yet not forgotten - so terribly painful that they stifle life out. It is a game that someone very powerful is playing with us and I have a hunch that that someone is only interested in knowing one thing - are we game enough?

across the nimbus

2010-06-07T17:24:00.005+05:30

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no more blue was the sky
no more white was ground
no more was horizon clear
no more was I bound

the maze is visible oh so well
now that Nimbus' above
and yet I love the binding
and yet I love love
_

i ain't no shantaram :)

2010-05-17T18:24:00.004+05:30

I started walking from GTB Nagar Station. CGS colony was still two miles away. I love walking. Crossing the overbridge, I saw poor people sleeping on the pavement. A young mother was trying to cover herself and her daughter in a net. How do they sleep with the train thundering past below them every three minutes? May be they sleep after midnight when the trains stop. May be they are used to it so much that they won't feel sleepy unless two three trains pass by. I was indifferent.

There was a big jam building up on the road towards Antop Hill. No point taking a bus now ! I walked past the traffic policemen who were trying to manage the unmanageable. There was a stretch of small shops selling from juice to oil and offering from hair-cut to massage - all kind of services. Gradually on the left a hillock came up with a temple right on top of it. It was beautiful against the backdrop of a full moon. I started looking for a path. There were several gullies created by little homes made on the foothills of the hillock. I ventured into one. The gully was wide enough for me. Another person would have to stop at a corner for me to pass. Fortunately there was nobody. It was 10 PM. I could see through the creeks into the houses. There was a tube-light, few little children and a TV. What is a TV doing here and how did they bring it in?

The gully started ascending. There were houses still there on both the sides. However now it was much more open with the sky visible. I climbed further. It was sweating hot. That's one of the problems with Mumbai. Once you sweat, you won't be able to dry it - not even under a fan. The temple was getting closer. Another turn and I would be there.

I stood there on the front yard of the temple. GTB Nagar and beyond was visible. It was a harsh view - the land had elevated a further level and had accommodated thousands and thousands of slum dwellers within itself. The full moon was not helping. It could have not been there. The view might not have been visible to naked eyes. I would have been saved those painful moments. It took me a minute but I was indifferent again.

Walking down I came out on the road at the point where the jam had started building up. A truck was standing there innocuously keeping the road three way jammed. I started walking again - towards my two bed room apartment - faster. I had to complete a couple of chapters from Shantaram tonight.

मैं ...

2010-03-25T13:25:00.001+05:30

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चलते चलते उन्ही राहों में मैंने लोगों को भागते देखा
रहा न गया मुझसे, जिद की आदत से जो मजबूर था
मैंने बहुत रोका, पर मैंने तो ठानी थी सबको हराऊंगा
दौड़ पड़ा मैं जो, पता न था की कभी वापस न मुड़ पाउँगा
फासला जब कुछ तय हुआ, एक पल मेरी नज़र औरों पर गयी
हैरान था की हर कोई मैं ही था, मात तो मेरी ही हुई !

(Acknowledgement: Rohit Ag)

the cyclicity of life

2010-03-13T00:38:00.000+05:30

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What has started has to end. But then the starting and ending is also in reference to something. There is something before 'start' and something after the 'end' . Except that for the thing that started and ended, the thing itself was not aware of when it started breathing and when it stopped.

Frost relieves me with his words - 'life goes on'. I am alive and will remain so.

SRK se bachna ...

2010-02-23T00:57:00.001+05:30

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Last night we were giving the final touch to our Apex (Application Exercise) Report when Viraj mumbled - 'Why do they call this thing Apex. They should rename it Rapex.' We laughed our heart out on the humor which was actually not very far from reality. Each one of us had already invested more than 20 hours to this exercise and yet we were not sure how things would turn up today.

We were on our toes as Mitra started presenting. We knew that Rambo can tear us apart if he doesn't feel that we have put efforts. It actually turned out that we were able to please Rambo and he had some nice words to say to our team.

The world looks like a feather-bed after the Apex presentation. Nothing looks incomprehensible. Nothing looks invincible. Nothing ... I feel sleepy ... When was the last time I slept?

Junior Woodchucks Guidebook: Delhi :)

2010-01-31T11:28:00.004+05:30

There are five exits from Delhi for a traveler as numbered from 1 to 5 in the map below. The number in bracket in the writeup indicates minimum time for which one should plan for these places.

Route 1. There are two hot spots on this route - Chandigarh and Pathankot. Chandigarh is base to Shimla (2), Chhail (2), Kullu Manali (3) and Lahaul Spiti (5). Pathankot is base to Kangra (2), Dalhousie (2) and McLeodganj-Dharamshala (2). One can also go to Jammu (2) and through there to Srinagar (4) from Pathankot. Amritsar (2) is also within a 100 miles of this spot.

Route 2. This one goes to Haridwar. From here it basically splits into two - one goes to Mussoorie (2) and the other goes to Rishikesh (2). Rishikesh is another hot spot. It is a base to a plethora of religious places like - Badrinath (4), Hemkund (4), Kedarnath (3), Yamunotri (3), Gangotri (3). The ones that attract tourists the most are Valley of Flower (5), Auli (4) and Chopta (3).

Route 3. This one is another treasure path and opens up at Nainital (2) which is a hot spot. Most of the natural beauties of Uttarakhand are accessible through this place including - Mukteshwar (3), Bageshwar (3), Pithoragarh (4), Binsar (3) and Ranikhet (3). There is one diversion on route 3 that takes us to Ramnagar which is the halting station for the giant Corbett Wildlife Reserve (2).

Route 4. This one goes directly to Mathura (1), Agra (1) and Fatehpur Sikri (1). Undisputedly, this route accounts for more foreigners than rest four added.

Route 5. This one goes to Jaipur (2) which is another hot spot. From here one can go for Chittorgarh (3), Ajmer (2), Jodhpur (3), Bikaner (3) and Jaisalmer (4).

वाह वाह...

2010-01-28T22:28:00.004+05:30

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वक़्त-ए-रुखसत-ए-अलविदा
का लफ्ज़ कहने के लिए

वो तेरे सूखे लबों का
थरथराना याद है ...

ग़ालिब कहते हैं...

2010-01-23T01:07:00.006+05:30

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सब कुछ हो रहा है इस तरक्की के ज़माने में
मगर ये क्या गज़ब है के आदमी इन्सां नहीं होता

या तो दीवाना हँसे या तू जिसे तौफीक दे
वरना इस ज़माने में रह कर मुस्करा सकता है कौन?

a case of compulsion

2010-01-20T17:00:00.004+05:30

Rambo (our behated conb prof) was just warming up for his breathless act (one and a half hour of non-stop blabbering) when a student asked him what exactly is the difference between compulsive and impulsive buying. He promptly replied that both are the same. Now these are one of those few moments when I allowed my mind to do that extra bit of exercise to find out if what he was saying was correct (or an impulsive reply :)

So I impulsively drew out my mobile and compulsively searched for the definitions on internet. Compulsion is urge or addiction to behave in a particular way. Impulsion is reacting to a situation without considering the consequences. What is the difference?

Lets say I am a compulsive traveler. But am I impulsive about it? No. I plan ... which means that compulsion takes time to build up while an impulse is rather for an instant after which it may die out. Looks like Rambo was finally wrong about something!

let the next page be fun

2010-01-13T17:07:00.006+05:30

The world is a book and there is no point staying on one page for a long time. So the next page is Hampi ! What should I expect from Hampi ? On second thought maybe I should not expect anything . Expectations are the worse kind of spoilers. Well actually thats when we expect a lot and don't end up with that much. But why do we expect a lot? Is it a basic human tendency? Or does it vary with people? If it does vary with people I am very much sure those who expect less are a much happier lot. So is expecting such a bad thing?

Hebbe Falls

2010-01-07T17:52:00.009+05:30

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5.30 AM. Room 312 @ Hotel Soundarya. Chikmagalur. Ashutosh is up and ready. Sumeet is making a 'hangover face'. I am also trying to get some sense out of the morning rush. We get down from the hotel and sit on a jeep. Its cold. Our immediate destination is Kemmengundi. Somebody told us yesterday that Hebbe Falls is one thing we should not miss and so we, who don't get up on time for a 10 AM class, are moving briskly through a treacherous forest at 6 AM to check out this place. The sun is visible now.

9 AM. Kemmengundi. We should have been at the fall by now. The roads are tricky and our stomach is empty. We halt at a roadside dhaba. Vivek pounds on the lemon rice served. I am drinking my third cup of tea. The sun is warm. The wind is chilling. The tea is hot. Some moments are priceless.

10 AM. Hebbe Falls. Almost. Last few minutes were 'nail-biting' to say the least. The jeep took us through a hill road which was more of a thin trail. No doubt the view on both sides was panoramic. Still someone should have advised us to check all our insurance papers before we started. Now we are standing at a barrier. Thick tropical kind of forest confront us. We are supposed to trek half a mile through this forest and walk through few streams. Big deal.

11 AM. Hebbe Falls. Finally. Am I dreaming? It is huge. The sun is shedding light at an angle which is making it difficult to estimate the height of this fall. It is more than 100 meters definitely (169 meters actually). We are ready to take the plunge. The sprinkles of waters are giving me goosebumps. Its lush green around. Cold wind is gushing in with the water. A permanent rainbow is visible.

Jaipur revisited

2009-12-29T01:48:00.009+05:30

Technically we never entered Jaipur. The best we did was sitting at a cafeteria on the walls of Nahargarh Fort and eating evening snacks while enjoying a breathtaking view of the Pink City. I cannot recount anything better that happened on my recent term break which by the way was extra-ordinarily packed with fun.

Driving some 300 miles in a day, chatting with an old friend all the way, feeling like a child running around an old majestic fort, relaxing and hurrying intermittently - these things don't happen together often. Even going crazy in a traffic jam at midnight for some two hours was somehow fitting. What a day that was !!!

the darkness that's within

2009-12-05T22:29:00.003+05:30

I bought my pet bottle of coke and tried to cover the lighted area of mess as quickly as possible. It was a relief to enter the darkness. Darkness is cool. It is where I am with myself. It is where nobody knows about anything.

Some say darkness is bad. I feel otherwise. How can darkness be bad if it reduces everything to such simplicity as nothingness? When it is not dark, we witness the complex. Then to comfort ourselves we try to simplify what we witness. That is life.

Autobiography: Entry 0

2009-11-01T00:08:00.008+05:30

My grandpa was compounder to the village doctor. My dad retired as an Assistant Engineer. I was a Manager at 25. The growth is exponential and as it is with every exponential pattern, the secret lies not at t = T but at t = o.

Around 15 Km from Patna is the village Khagaul. My dad was the eldest of eleven children from a poor family in this village. The situation obviously meant that he had to work right from a young age. Something remarkable must have happened. Dad was clear that education is important to the future of our family. I am not sure from where he got this vision of his because there was nobody around educated enough to guide him. It took some effort to convince my grandpa who himself was burdened with a dependent family of thirteen. To cut a long story short, my father worked and studied at the same time and finished a diploma in engineering. How he did it would make an inspiring biography. It was a big deal at that time. He received an immediate offer from Bihar Government for the post of Junior Engineer at PWD.

There was no looking back after that. Each of his siblings got progressively educated. It is not a surprise that the average qualification in my generation is a graduate. The more I think about it the more I tend to believe that the destiny of our family was written in one single moment. That moment was coincidently on the first day of a cold November, 70 years ago, when the first child was born to a poor family.

Happy B'day Dad :)

RDB Rocks

2009-10-22T13:15:00.000+05:30

Strange but this pre-independence revolutionary dialogue, as depicted in Rang De Basanti, still holds ground :)

...मैं जानता हूँ आप चाहते हैं मेरी शादी हो लेकिन मेरी दुल्हन तो आज़ादी है॥

A comment on achievements

2009-10-09T16:08:00.001+05:30

You don't realize what you have achieved until you look into the eyes of the person, who believed that you can do it, and see in those eyes the real joy and pride of being correct. In my case there are a handful of such eyes and I believe that that is a greater achievement.

sometimes, not always :)

2009-10-01T03:08:00.001+05:30

जिसे भी देखिये वो अपने आप में गुम है

जुबां मिली है मगर हमज़ुबां नहीं मिलता

I am what I am ...

2009-09-17T03:57:00.001+05:30

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I am an intelligent geek to my high school friends. I am an agreeble batchmate to my under grad pals. I am a smart resource at office. I am a dumb anti-social anomaly in my family. Among my PG group, I am the big old guy who lives in his own world. To my oldest of friends back from school days, I am the guy 'who did that and ben there.'

It's amusing but I tend to behave in different groups differently. All of us do. Isn't it strange that we live so many lives in one. Isn't it stranger that we allow ourselves to be so.

What if ?

2009-09-17T01:25:00.002+05:30

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We sleep because we think we need to sleep. We eat when we feel hungry. We smile on a joke. We care when we feel like caring. We think we do what we do is because we want to do it. How wrong we are.

Life weaves a neat web of needs around us. We feed life to keep this web intact. It grows.

I sleep today because I have to wake up early morning tomorrow to attend classes to do well in my class to get a good job to repay my loans and to earn a living at par with my status to spend on lavish flat rent and expensive friday night parties and a flamboyant lifestyle suited for an MBA.

What if I decide not to wake up early tomorrow?

PS: This blog has no connection with any living or dead person and certainly not me.

Aliver !

2009-09-08T02:04:00.003+05:30

Add colours to your life !

That was one of the most remarkable advice I received in one of the mock interviews. I went on to question that remark - 'But Sir, is my resume so colourless? What about traveling as an interest? The guy smiled. He told me that I better consider how others perceive me in this regard.

True. I do not consider others in my grand plan of life. To some extent I live in a cocoon. The world is too complicated for me. Yet it feels correct to add more colours. But how? Would a wild escapade do? Or a whimsical act? Or something not ever expected from me?

What would make me more colourful, more alive?

there is some good in suspense ;)

2009-08-30T10:53:00.003+05:30

दायरे इनकार के, इकरार की सरगोशियाँ ।
ये अगर टूटें कभी तो फासला रह जाएगा ।

Ne...phew :)

2009-08-27T18:06:00.006+05:30

There is something about my nephew. I can't believe how my life has transformed since he was born. I remember his existance was an instant life-support for me at that time. I was going through the lowest phase of my life. The good omen didn't cease there and then. I can feel the turned tides everyday.

Its as if he is looking straight into my eyes and telling me - chachu, don't worry ! I won't let anyone mess up with you.

The buffer that is MBA

2009-08-24T22:50:00.004+05:30

There is close link between MBA and buffers. In fact this link is probably the most significant reason why an MBA is suited for middle management and not entrepreneurship. A buffer is backup. When a person receives an MBA degree, he also receives a degree of freedom. The freedom is that of choice. He / she can now choose from multiple options of job profiles and salary packages. It is the same reason why b-school grads are found to hop from one job to another in search of an ideal role. Hence a post-graduation from a good b-school it is a state of minimized risk.

One can argue that under given circumstances of reduced risk in one aspect of life, an MBA would rationally go for a riskier job profile i.e. own business. However, this is not how the real world works. Out there, individuals are pushed to the brink and it is at the edge that they learn. Those who are pushed far, fall. Those who turn the tides around are the ones we see as successful entrepreneurs. The rough figure given is 1 out of 10 in India.

Earning is not easy in a competitive market-place. It would be foolishness to assume that studying theories in class on how markets work will give us even a tiny glimpse of reality. The two key take-aways I see from MBA is the confident self and an enhanced short-term memory developed in slogging for exams after exams. This is apart from the buffer that MBA actually creates.

आराम करो आराम करो

2009-08-17T05:49:00.003+05:30

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आराम ज़िन्दगी की कुंजी, इस से ना तपेदिक होता है
आराम सुधा की एक बूँद तन का दुबलापन खोता है
आराम शब्द में राम छिपा जो भव बंधन को खोता है
आराम शब्द का ज्ञाता तो विरला ही योगी होता है
इस लिए तुम्हे समझाता हूँ मेरे अनुभव से काम करो
ये जीवन यौवन क्षणभंगुर आराम करो आराम करो

--

गोपाल प्रसाद व्यास

'Sir. How did I fare in my mid term exams?'

2009-08-04T19:59:00.004+05:30

Just when I was tending to achieve pareto suboptimal (a state from where improvement is impossible .. or something like it :) in my BGS paper the idea clicked. What would different course teachers respond to a single question say 'How did I fare in my mid term exams?' And the answers were so amusing that I laughed in the middle of paper.

Question

'Sir. How did I fare in my mid term exams?'

Answers

Business,Govt & Society: Let's see what Milton Friedman has to say about this.

Quantitative Methods: The answer to your question is a joint probability distribution of two discrete random variables which looks like Poisson. In short you are screwed.

Financial Accounting: Your marks are so bad, you better write it off as bad debt.

Managing Organizations: You marks are telling me that your pooled dependency with fellow students is very low.

Micro Eco: Its a diminishing marginal quantity since your first test. You better avoid inki pinki ponki on objective questions.

Managerial Communications: Boy !! There was no mid term exam in my course.

the dilemma of non-participant

2009-07-19T17:43:00.005+05:30

In any given class, there are approximately 20% students who participate. Among these Ps, half are active in all the classes (call them APs) while the rest half change with the interest of subject. The rest 80% of the class comprise of active non-participants (ANPs) in the sense that they choose not to participate.

Two questions arise. How does it matter and to whom? Some basic thoughts would say that the group misses on the contribution of an ANP and the ANP loses vital opportunities of putting forward his / her thoughts in a structured way. These, however, are concerns that come later and are related to individual or the group he /she belongs to. The more important concern is how to use the potential of an ANP in the best possible way. In a class, it may be a trivial matter but in corporates, it is essential to strive to bring the best of ALL employees .

It has intrigued me frequently as to why an organization designs itself to push only the APs who are any way ready to take initiatives. My experience says that they would anyway find ways to contribute. The real goldmine is the majority who sit on their desk and wait to be told what to be done. Pushing them into active participation would be more productive according to me.

and then i laughed

2009-07-16T13:41:00.008+05:30

As I entered the campus, I felt big. Why today? I have no idea but I felt big. I just moved through the green surroundings towards Admin Block. Suddenly there came an urge to explore the Insti. I walked to a remote corner from where I could see the series of pillars supporting a ceiling which was covered with creepers. At that moment I realized that the grey structure was sending strange cold vibes. It made me feel lonely. Deserted. I started looking for someone. Anyone. Computer Centre was nearby. There must be a few people down there. I took the stairs. As I entered, a cute looking girl looked at me and gave a smile. Whoa! That never happened to me before. Well, not never but the timing here was immaculate. Suddenly I started feeling a lot better. Girls should smile. I came out. It was raining in sunshine. I walked out into the rain. It was one of those mild drizzles that leave me with goosebumps. I love rain. It rains everyday in Bangalore. I love Bangalore. Suddenly I realized the chain of thoughts from feeling big to lonely to exuberent. I laughed. I laughed like a child and it started raining harder. I was wet and life was as beautiful as ever.

thirteen days on wheel

2009-07-04T00:13:00.004+05:30

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Delhi > Jaipur > Udaipur > Ahmedabad > Mumbai > Davangere > Bangalore

It all started on 8th of June. I began my long drive from Delhi to Bangalore on dear Walle (my little zen estilo). A total of 2000 miles was to be covered in 13 days. I remember different people reacting differently to this supposedly crazy idea but the one I found most amusing was what Sabiha said :) "PK drive kar ke Bangalore jaa rahaa hai". Both of us laughed on that comment but that seems to be a different era.

There is so much to tell about this journey and so much to share from my experience that one blog is insufficient. However I would recount one - the last one. At the closing stage of this journey, I was crossing Chitradurga, some 130 miles from Bangalore. I realized that there is an ancient fort at the top of the city. I drove my car, walked my way and found myself at the top of this fort. The view was simply surreal. On one side I could see the ruins of palatial complex. On the other side, there was this huge farm of windmills visible for miles. It was as if with a 180 degree turn, I could move from 500 BC to 2500 AD.

That was the last of memories that I collected before entering the realms of a city that has found itself a place even in English dictionary.

जो बीत गई सो बात गई

2009-07-03T07:36:00.005+05:30

_
जीवन में मधु का प्याला था
तुमने तन मन दे डाला था
वो टूट गया तो टूट गया
मदिरालय का आँगन देखो
कितने प्याले हिल जाते हैं
गिर मिटटी में मिल जाते हैं
जो गिरते हैं कब उठते हैं
पर बोलो टूटे प्यालों पर
कब मदिरालय पछताता है

-बच्चन

A tribute to Master

2009-06-11T13:10:00.005+05:30

"To Sachin, the man we all want to be"
- Andrew Symonds wrote on an aussie t-shirt he autographed specially for Sachin.
"Tuzhe pata hai tune kiska catch chhoda hai?"
- Wasim Akram to Abdul Razzaq when the latter dropped Sachin's catch in 2003 WC.
"We did not lose to a team called India...we lost to a man called Sachin."
- Mark Taylor, during the test match in Chennai (1997)
He can play that leg glance with a walking stick also.
- Waqar Younis
'I Will See God When I Die But Till Then I Will See Sachin'
- A banner in Sharjah
To get his wicket better not prepare. Atleast u wont regret if he hits you for boundaries.
- Allan Donald
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!!
- Peter Rebouck - Aussie journalist
"I have seen god, he bats at no.4 for India"
- Mathew Hayden
"He has been in form longer than some of our guys have been alive"

- Daniel Vettori

A journey to remember :)

2009-06-10T18:38:00.001+05:30

12 days. 1500 miles. Me and my car. A whole list of places to visit en route. Sounds travelfreakish :)

Right now Sid is driving the car and we are heading towards Ahmedabad. That would complete the first leg of this odyssey.

We were at Monsoon Palace yesterday and pampered ourselves with chocolale brownies. Actually it was much more than brownies - in front of us was the royal palace; on the left was an engrossing view of Udaipur; on the right the sun was dying behind a blue range of mountains. Of the four I can't decide which was keeping us more occupied.

Today's morning was spend appreciating the intricate marble work @ Ranakpur Jain Temple. It's 90 km from Udaipur through a tortuous but smooth road mostly into hills. The temple is a wonder in itself. Pillars after pillars are carved with deftness - 1440 in all. Domes have radial symmetry - each with a different design so complex that Sid caught me looking at them with mouth agape.

Udaipur leaves me mesmerized. All I can say that there wouldn't have been a better place to begin with.

An evening at Laltibba

2009-05-22T12:12:00.003+05:30

Writing a blog on my mobile at 7000 ft above sea level with a stunningly colourful view of himalayas in the background and bun-butter-tea in front of me. Can life be any better? Unfortunately yes :( and thats cos I am missing good company ...

That's not fair

2009-05-18T23:50:00.001+05:30

It's 11.30 at night. Kolkata Knight Riders need 6 of 6 balls. Can they do it? I'll bite them if they don't. Even the most anti-KKR fan wouldn't have the heart to see them go down thrice in three games - all of them close like hairline. A blogger has aptly remarked - with KKR the match is not over until its over.

These last few days of IPL were not good for weak hearts. One match after another has found me on the edge of my couch biting my nails at frantic pace. Unfortunately KKR has been not mostly but everytime at the receiving end.

It's 4 of 3 balls now. Anybody watching this game wouldn't believe that this team has already 185 runs on board. It must be those excrutiatingly painful losses in last couple of games that is blinding them.

3 of 2 balls now...

Chit-chat

2009-05-14T21:26:00.005+05:30

_X: paaaaani chala gaya

me: hmmm

X: tere ghar ke pas wale swimming pool mein raat mein jan suvidhayen hain??

me: jan suvidhayen matlab?

X: nahane aur dhone ke liye

me: nahane ka hoga

dhona kya hai?

X: M S dhoni ko!!!!!!

me: dhona dhone dhoni !!!

X: ya sanskrit lessons online!!!!

me: ouuuu

tabhi wo dhobi ki tarah khelta hai :)

Age old wisdom

2009-05-13T23:10:00.005+05:30

Received fresh from dad today :) thought I should jot it down...

काक् चेष्ठा, बको: ध्यानम्, श्वान निद्रा तथैव च: ।
अल्पहारी, गृह-त्यागी, विद्यार्थी पंचम लक्षणम् ॥

438

2009-05-07T19:17:00.000+05:30

In a game where numbers mean everything and nothing, this one figure stands apart as a reminder to everyone that nothing is impossible. This number is the mantra that generates hope and audacity even to the most down-trodden.

Perspective

2009-04-24T17:57:00.003+05:30

मैं क्या हूँ, सब कुछ तो हूँ।मैं क्या हूँ, कुछ भी तो नही।

My top ten: Romantic Comedies

2009-04-15T23:34:00.006+05:30

1. There Is Something About Mary
Diaz is stunningly desirable and there is a crowd vying for her including our hero Ben.

2. 50 First Dates
The cutest one. Adam is in love and has to remind Drew everyday how much he loves her.

3. When Harry Met Sally
A total commoner Billy and a charming Meg play acquaintance that gradually grows into love. I can't stop laughing when Meg slaps Billy for being a total jerk.

4. Notting Hill
A superstar from Beverly Hills befriends a bookstore owner who lives in Notting Hill. I love the dialogue Julia says ... "I'm just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her."

5. Clueless
Alicia is at her best. This movie is supposed to have created the biggest fashion trend in the US.

6. My Big Fat Greek wedding
A situational comedy with punches so often that I remember falling off the chair laughing.

7. You've Got Mail
The first one to capture chat-n-date culture. Meg is adorable and Tom Hanks looks as serious as possible in a romantic comedy.

8. Love Actually
Several lives entwined and all seeking love. This movie is a class apart.

9. Serendipity
This would have some bias cos I think Kate Beckinsale is the most beautiful woman in Hollywood. The movie is good.

10. America's Sweethearts
Strange but I found Julia much more beautiful than in Pretty Woman. Here she plays sidekick to CJ who is a star and she is in love with CJ's ex-husband.

Life is a waste anyway :)

2009-04-15T14:20:00.003+05:30

me: i was gettin pholosophicalwhat do u think

suppose somethin bad happens to u that u think u dont deserve

how wud u respond

X: ya

I'd ask GOd y me

me: he he

and then

X: thn wht

nothin I guess

may-b gt all phylosph lk u

me: how long wil u blame god

1 day

2 day

a week

a month

X: tru

thn?

me: well after u get over it

u will start realizing that those days were the days u actually wasted

X: vr perfectly rt

I hv felt it2

at times

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

chalo no more time waste

At the wrong end of business cycle

2009-04-14T20:31:00.002+05:30

I hate hearing about social responsibility! Whatever happened to unbridled greed, the conspicuous consumption of wealth, and the get-ahead-by-any-means credo?? Don't tell me it's all over! I didn't get to participate! They can't change the game before I am old enough to play! It's not fair!

-- Calvin

(Contributed by Manish Kumar)

Partyyyyyyyy !!!

2009-04-13T19:45:00.004+05:30

Me: Ho gayaa.
Friend: Wow ! Great !! Ausm !!!
Me: Yeah.
Friend: Party ??
Me: Anytime yaar.
Friend: When?
Me: Jab tu bole...
Friend: Time bataa.
Me: Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Friend: Saturday?
Me: Nai yaar Saturday तो I am with family.
Friend: Sunday?
Me: :( so sorry yaa already hav plans for Sunday.
Friend: To kab dega party?
Me: Anytime yaar. Jab tu bole....

Help me makeover!

2009-04-09T05:19:00.005+05:30

So there is this guy who was always into studies and now he is working in US doing I dont know what. Has to be something boring cos anything a bookworm would do is boring. Just then I realize that I was also a bookworm once. Let me correct the statement. For many of my acquaintances, I 'am' a bookworm. It's like once a bookworm, always a bookworm. And bookworms are boring. Even if they are trekking in Amazon with the hottest playboy model, they must be doing it in the dullest possible way !!! At least that's what everyone thinks !

Now I notice all those comments I get from my distant family members on my focus and concentration when all I am doin is just watching my favourite genie (aadhi adhoori jadooi aasmaani taaqat ;) i jus luv him) on cartoon network.

Man ! I need an image makeover and this mba stuffz hardly gonna help :(

definition of success

2009-04-09T00:28:00.001+05:30

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To laugh often and much;
to win respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
to earn the appreciation of honest critics and to endure the betrayal of false friends;
to appreciate beauty;
to find the best in others;
to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
to know even one life has breathed easier because you lived.

That is to have succeeded.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Was it a nightmare?

2009-04-06T11:39:00.004+05:30

Kush is shouting in my ears. I wake up. Where am I ? Oh ! This is the Rotherham flat where we are living for past one month. But what's the din about? Kush is looking horrified. Someone has stabbed Saurabh to death last night. Apparently there is a serial killer on loose in the small town. Now I panic.

Kush suggests we leave the town immediately. More shoutings. I collect my pajama and yellow t shirt and run down the stairs. Surprisingly the same car is waiting for us that Kush drives in India. It has a driver also. But what is it doing in the middle of UK? No time to wonder. We all get inside - Kush, Kunwar and me. We ask the driver to take us somewhere outside the town. Again noisy discussion starts. Who is this serial killer? Why Saurabh?

Suddenly the driver stops the car. He removes his cap. Now his face is visible. He is Bobby Deol ! He looks at us and gives that typical mocking smile of his which says what a bunch of fools we are. Now we realize. He is the serial killer ! He slowly takes out his gun and starts fitting silencer on it. The last thing I remember is that there is a question mark on each of our faces. There would have been bullets had I completed my dream.

Was it a nightmare? Not exactly.

(R) for Recommended

2009-04-06T03:37:00.005+05:30

Two evenings. Two friend circles. Two places. One word - Awesome.

I suspect things went too well this weekend. Choki Dhani was an amazing outing on Saturday and GK 2 was surprisingly wonderful on Sunday. What was common apart from the awesome experience? Two things. Firstly I was with friends. Secondly all of us were expecting pretty less from our excursion besides the fact that we were in good company.

Both Choki Dhani (Jaipur) and Diva (GK2) are now (R).

Provide, provide!

2009-03-31T01:39:00.002+05:30

_
No memory of having starred
Atones for later disregard,
Or keeps the end from being hard.

Better to go down dignified
With boughten friendship at your side
Than none at all. Provide, provide!
--
Robert Frost

The most entertaining religion?

2009-03-28T15:17:00.000+05:30

It was during that long conversation when Bibi asked me if I was born with a choice, which religion I would choose. I said, why, of course Hinduism. She asked me why and the answer was something I had realized a few seconds ago.

If I were to choose a religion, I would choose the most entertaining one, which would keep me occupied in case I want to be. Hinduism scores maximum on both these parameters. The number and variety of festivals and rituals in Hinduism are far more fun than others. Then those long travels just to see a stone that vaguely resembles one of the thoughts of one of the gods. I remember figuring out why we are calling a tetrahadron as Shivling at Kedarnath. Even when I first visited Vaishnodevi, I totally missed the Pinds and as we came out of the cave, I was asking Ma what we were supposed to look at. She was furious and decided to take me for a second round.

Anyways, I love the amount of travel that comes with the Hinduism package and so it is my first choice.

Because I choose to.

2009-03-15T21:49:00.000+05:30

Agent Smith: Why, Mr. Anderson, why? Why, why do you do it? Why, why get up? Why keep fighting?

Do you believe you’re fighting for something, for more than your survival? Can you tell me what it is, do you even know? Is it freedom or truth, perhaps peace - could it be for love?

Illusions, Mr. Anderson, vagaries of perception. Temporary constructs of a feeble human intellect trying desperately to justify an existence that is without meaning or purpose. And all of them as artificial as the Matrix itself. Although, only a human mind could invent something as insipid as love.

You must be able to see it, Mr. Anderson, you must know it by now! You can’t win, it’s pointless to keep fighting! Why, Mr. Anderson, why, why do you persist?

Neo: Because I choose to.

Press On !!

2009-03-13T01:21:00.003+05:30

Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan Press On! has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race

- J. Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States of America

My Top 10: Favourite Treks

2009-03-09T18:12:00.007+05:30

Love for trek is one attribute which I associate with trustworthiness. An ardent trekker with a penchant for nature can only be truthful and beautiful from within.

1. Khajjiar to Chamba
I can never forget climbing down the hill, crossing that wooden bridge and then having my lunch beside the flowing river with Bhaiya. This is just half the story :)

2. McLeodganj to Triund
This one is difficult (9 Km uphill) but the contrast of green and white at the top makes it worth the effort.

3. Mukteshwar Trek
This one is memorable because of the M Team we made. Standing at the protruding rock on Chali ki Jaali was awesome.

4. Dalhaousie to Lakkadmandi
Part of National Trekking Expedition, this one was one of my first long treks in Himalayas.

5. Summer Hill to Chadwick Falls
Not many people know about this waterfall in Shimla. Its secluded and natural to the core.

6. Hanuman Chatti to Yamunotri Glacier
One of the most difficult treks. It is not long (7 Km) but the path is rocky and elevated.

7. Kedarnath Trek
Long (14 Km) but simple. The morning view of surrounding hills at Kedarnath is breath-taking.

8. Pavagarh Trek
Ropeway to the top is available but still trek is preferred. This one is near Baroda and reminds me of our bunch at Ahmedabad.

9. Periyar Night Petrol
Manish and Vikash will share this memory with me. Its one of the few wierd things we did in our Kerala trip.

10. Daulatabad Fort Trek
Bhaiya still wont forgive me since we had to abort our trek to the top of this fort cos I developed pressure. It is near Aurangabad and has a terrific defense system.

Triund Trail: A Perfect Weekend

2009-03-05T22:51:00.010+05:30

Take a 10 PM train from Delhi to Pathankot on Friday. There are at least 5 of them. Pathankot is overnight journey and you will be there before 9 AM on Saturday. Take a bus from Pathankot to McLeodganj which is a 4 hour drive. You will reach there before 12 Noon. Check into one of the HPTDC hotels. Fresh up and go for Pema Thang Restaurant nearby or better order something in your room. Try some Tibbetan delicacies for lunch. Plan how you would like to spend the rest of day. Ideally you would like to visit the famous Dalai Lama's Monestry which is hardly 5 minutes away. Other places to explore are Bhagsu Waterfall and a trek to St John's Church.

Sleep comfortably because the next day is going to be very hectic. You will have to start as early as 8 AM on Sunday. Take a cab to Dharamkot which is 4 Km from hotel. The long trek starts. Carry 2 bottles of water per person, two chocolates and some food. Triund Ridge is visible from here. It is 10 Km uphill. The first rest would come at Ganu Temple after an hour. Trekking further to Mid Way Cafe will take another one and half hour. Further up is a difficult patch but you will forget everything once you reach the summit. It is a green patch with ice-capped mountain in front. Pleasent breeze and warm sun will make you feel sleepy. Have some food and lie around for a couple of hours. You will realize how good life can be.

Come down fast without break and you will reach McLeodganj before 5 PM. Eat around. Try Italian this time. Now you must start thinking about packing up. Take a bus for Chakki Bank. The last one starts at 7. You will reach the station before 10. A train takes you back to Delhi (you need to reserve a week in advance for both up and down) and you will reach home in time to start for another wonderful day at office :)

Budget for trip = 1000 (A/C train fare) + 200 (bus) + 500 (hotel) + local transport (300) + food (500) = 2500 per person.

About love

2009-02-12T23:10:00.002+05:30

_
Love is about liking and knowing - liking each other, knowing each other, knowing the fact that two people like each other and liking the idea that there is still so much more to know.

The most amazing thing about love is that it grows stature wise, not taking giant steps but through little moments of joy. A minor incident recalled, a small altercation resolved, an unusual yet reasonable demand fulfilled, a peculiar characteristic observed, a serious discussion on future - all exclusive to a couple, adds to the beauty.

Robin Williams once said- "Love is a gift. If you have received it, try and appreciate it. If not, don't worry. Someone is still wrapping it for you."

My top 10: Animations

2009-02-12T20:54:00.005+05:30

1. Cars
A racing car named Lighning Mcqueen learns the most important lessons of life elsewhere from the track and realizes that there's a lot more to racing than just winning.

2. Kung-Fu Panda
A fat slob of a Panda starts believing in himself and becomes the greatest Dragon Warrior of the land.

3. Shark Tale
Lenny, the sweet shark, is vegetarian and can't confess this to his father.

4. Wall-E
A waste collecting machine (Wall-E) falls in love with a flying vegetation finder (Eve) and follows her to create the most adorable love story ever set in hyperspace.

5. Finding Nemo
Nemo, the clown fish, is gone and his father has the entire ocean to look for him. The problem is how to proceed?

6. Lion King
Simba, the cub to be king, thinks his father died because of him and leaves his 'to be kingdom' in ruins. He returns in time to save the day.

7. Shrek 1
Shrek, the ogre, saves Princess Fiona so that he may spend his life peacefully in his swamp. He ends up adding another of his kind there.

8. Monsters,Inc.
Monsters Incorporated works because chidren are scared of monsters. It takes a crackling smile of a baby to make them realize that true potential lies elsewhere.

9. Ratatouille
Remi, the rat, is an excellent cook and he knows it. The problem is that the world is not ready to accept it.

10. Ice Age 1
A mammoth decides to save a baby boy and return it to his father. There are conspiracies to tackle and an ice age to confront.

Anything but the best

2009-02-02T15:02:00.005+05:30

It's funny thing about life. If you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it - Somerset Maugham.

About me...

2009-01-29T23:30:00.004+05:30

Hear the eternal procrastinator.

I am an optimistic person with a big fat greek nose. I am considered human only because textbooks say troglodytes no longer exist (at least not in sub-urban India). I procrastinate. If I were to compete with a pregnant hippopotamus on who is more lazy, I would let her win. This also shows my generosity to the fairer sex. I am still figuring out how to communicate with women. So if you are a girl and I am still talking to you, there's a fair chance that I might have stopped considering you one :O

On a lighter note, I have an IQ of 160 and an attitude of a self proclaimed roman emperor (I might remind you of King Julien). It is a miracle that I have a handful of friends whom I wouldn't trade for my next seven hundred lives. I was gifted with a huge loving family - not that I deserve it. And now I have a nephew - the most adorable, kissable, lovable piece of life. And I am his best Chachu - has to be cos I am the only one ;)

I believe that life is beautiful. Beauty is in the eye of beholder. I hold life beautiful and that is the essence of my happiness.

ग़ालिब कहते हैं...

2009-01-21T21:33:00.003+05:30

ज़िन्दगी तेरी हर बात पे समझौता करूँ
शौक जीने का है पर इतना तो नही

जो मुड़ के भी ना देखे एक बार को
ऐसी मगरुर तमन्नाओं का पीछा ना करो

मैं खुदा था गर होता ना कोई मुद्दा
मेरी आरजूओं ने मुझे बन्दा कर दिया

Autobiography: Entry 5

2009-01-16T20:37:00.001+05:30

KSA Technopak brought sophistication to my life. There were a lot of perfects about the company - a lot of travel, collegues of same age group, college mates residing in gurgaon, interesting job, the goa outbound etc. That one year passed in a whirlwind says a lot about my life at KSAT.

Tuhin and Shwetank were two gem of friends I made at office. Then there was the Auptyma Group. Suddenly I discovered new friends in my wingmates only - Vihag and Jeevs. While office work kept me on move throughout the country, there were some memorable trips with friends, the best being to Mukteshwar. Vihag got married to Ruchi in the beginning of December - our first wingmate to do so. Later that month I went on the Dalhausie trekking expedition with bhaiya and that was one hell of a trip to close the year.

It was a period of travel and came to an abrupt end when I moved from KSAT just after bhaiya got married. I miss being on the toes for another traveling assignment but that is the way life is.

Read somewhere

2009-01-10T02:18:00.000+05:30

हम छोड़ नही पाये आजतक
संग्रह, विग्रह, आग्रह
क्या होगा छोड़ कर
एक उपग्रह...

Some stories are untold...

2008-12-30T21:25:00.002+05:30

Strange but life had given me enough hints that this would happen. I had a narrow escape a day before. The car (with its prime number) had proved itself more than lucky at times. The year has been one of the worst years of my life. Yet I decide to take my car on a 500 Km long journey without any highway experience and making a start in dense fog. That this would happen was an inevitability...

A comment on tears

2008-12-24T01:22:00.003+05:30

Tears, unlike smiles, take some efforts to come out because they don't reside in the eyes. They belong to the heart and only someone or some emotion close to your heart is capable of pushing them through.

400 miles on a bike

2008-12-24T00:23:00.002+05:30

I have done some of the wierdest things along with bhaiya but this one would be right at the top. We covered the stretch of Ahmednagar - Aurangabad - Daulatabad - Ellora - Aurangabad - Ajanta - Ahmednagar on a Bajaj Pulsar in some three days. The wierd thing was that we were going to cover some of the most famous World Heritage sites but forgot to bring a camera. The above polaroid photograph, taken in front of Ellora Caves is our only souvenir apart from those irreversible changes in the neuronal synapses that we call memory of a lifetime.

mood swings...

2008-12-20T22:40:00.000+05:30

Written on 15/05/2007

Sad Prashant

Somewhen last august, I completed 24 revolutions around that big hydrogen ball that they call the Sun. It was not exactly me. I was riding on a giant lump of mass called Earth. People around me were happy. They celebrated it telling me that its my birthday. I was amused. 24 revolutions is a long period. Why would anyone celebrate an uneventful life on a boring lump? May be they are happy because it all means they are closer to THE ESCAPE.

Happy Prashant

Somewhen last august, I completed 24 revolutions around that big hydrogen ball that they call the Sun. It was not exactly me. I was riding on a giant lump of mass called Earth. People around me were happy. They celebrated it telling me that its my birthday. I was amused. If they celebrate a revolution, why not a rotation? That would inadvertantly bring celebrations everyday. I think that should be their approach. Enjoy everyday, every minute. The other option is to be a bored yet amused moron like me.

Reunions...alas !!

2008-12-18T10:13:00.004+05:30

_
Reunions are an uncomfortable affair. The very fact that there are so many strangers to cope with at the same time, helps a little. There are familiar faces who have grown unfamiliar. There are 'close buddies at school' with whom you are in touch all these years through orkut. Then there are those people who know you while YOU have no clue that you shared a classroom with them.

I have attended several of them but I must recount the one that I consider the mother of all reunions. It was Pratap's birthday and he invited me to Sumit's place in Amar Colony. The other person I was expecting there was Pranay. It was a surprise. There were many more and I couldn't believe my eyes I was looking at people with whom I spent 10 years and that also 10 years ago.

There were Navin, Shashank, Jha, Priya, Pranay, Pratap, Sumit and myself - 8 out of 35 students of Class 10 Section C, St. Michael's, Patna batch of 1998 in that small room together almost after 10 years. Whatever we did that night, it was meant to be unforgettable anyway.

A face without...

2008-12-16T02:45:00.001+05:30

I am looking intently at my nephew. He is enjoying his afternoon sleep. Never have I seen a face so serene. This is what John Galt must look like - a face without pain or fear or guilt.

I can smell him. Have you ever smelt a new born baby? Babies not only look cute and make adorable noises but also smell sweet. I really can't describe it exactly but it certainly hints towards the freshness of life and the warmth of those months spent comfortably in the womb.

Spheres of life

2008-12-12T12:39:00.002+05:30

In one of those 'intellectual' talks with Vaibhav, we discussed about the spheres of life - professional, social and personal. The professional sphere includes everything related to work. The social sphere includes friends & family and the personal sphere involves the most important person in our life - ourselves. These three are like pillars and one has to make sure each is strong enough to keep the life in balance.
He said that when people have an urge to leave everything or to go for a long break, it is one of these spheres which is in jeopardy. I couldn't agree more. I was having trouble in personal life and the only idea that would come to my mind was to spend a month at a secluded hill station.
It is a better idea to draw strength from other spheres in such a case. In my case, the social sphere contributed on its own in terms of my newly born nephew. Not all are as fortunate as I am. In fact the recession has pushed many a people out of colour in the professional sphere. Their best choices are to spend time with friends and family. Others who can afford, the idea of a timely break for introspection is not such a bad one.

Life goes on...

2008-12-10T19:38:00.005+05:30

"D ppl who'r d farthest 4om u, cm close, n d 1z closest 2u go far.......u lrn 2 live life as if it wz lk b4" - Saint Arpu

2nd December

2008-12-02T18:52:00.000+05:30

Today the first son of the first son of the first son of my grandma is born. He is truly special. So many eyes awaited his arrival for so long that it would be impossible for him to live a normal family member kind of life.

My grandma would have been a happy soul. She died few months ago. I still remember "terahvi", the 13th day of ritual after the day she died. We were 78 of us, approximately 60% of the ever lasting legacy of my grandma spread into 4 generations. It took some effort to bring us in a single photo frame.

I was one of her favourite, being the younger son of her eldest child. It would have been an envious yet happiest moment to be replaced in her eyes by my own first nephew.

A new lease of life

2008-11-10T04:26:00.002+05:30

Some times ago we took the task of preparing a family tree of ours. It was not easy. To say the least, my first relatives from paternal and maternal side combine to a figure close to 200. Let me come to the point. One of the benefits of a large family is that there won't be a dearth of toddlers to play around with. The last addition to our family was this January when my second Chacha's daughter gave birth to a baby boy. Guess who is next?

Is he human?

2008-10-21T22:52:00.004+05:30

It was one of those priceless Mastercard moments. Sachin was jumping like a child after taking a spectacular catch of Bhajji's ball. I felt goosebumps and my eyes were wet for a few seconds. I am dead sure that it was that catch and nothing else that pumped the Aussie collapse from 49-1 to 57-5. It was that special.

Mike Atherton sums up the non-cricketer aspect of Sachin as - "The archives recall not one single incriminating incident, not one drunken escapade, not one reported affair, not one spat with a team-mate or reporter ... is he human?"

Mobile is everything

2008-10-08T00:16:00.007+05:30

I can spend hours with my mobile and I am not just talking about those long hours with friends. Today mobile is more than a talk-talk gadget. Here are few things I can do with my Nokia N73.

Access to Gmail, Orkut and Facebook anywhere in India thanks to the unlimited access by Airtel GPRS. I can mail, scrap, download and even upload photographs.
Chat with friends by remaining online simultaneously on yahoo, gtalk, skype and msn through an application by http://www.fring.com/
Google map application which can indicate my position generally within 2-5 Km radius, then identify the address and then suggest the minimum distance path to my destination with remarkable precision. This does not require the GPS.
3.2 Mega Pixel camera ensures I can slide and shoot at my whim. It is enough for a traveller. I can also attach the pics the very moment and email it to friends across the globe free of cost.
Video camera with limited zoom enough to capture the fun with friends.
Banking through ICICI application which allows money transfer faster than internet.
Share trading through ICICI Direct which thanks to the developers, is mobile compatible.
Song downloads from www.songs.pk
Watch a large set of videos on www.youtube.com
Internet access on my laptop which is so fast that I can download a 699 Mb movie from bittorent in 7-8 hours overnight.
PNR enquiry to booking of train tickets through www.irctc.in which, again like icicidirect, is very mobile compatible.
2 GB memory which allows me to save around 150 songs (keeping space for pics) apart from the FM facility which can save 30 stations across India.
Access to my Office Outlook on my mobile which is available on web.
Blogging

Yes, I have typed all this on my mobile and have just emailed it from my mobile to go@blogger.com :)

Dark, darker & the darkest

2008-10-03T17:06:00.002+05:30

I hate the dark...not because it's dark but because there is a 0.5 probability that it may get darker. The suspense kills. That's the reason why I laugh when I encounter the darkest of moments because anything going forward is going to be better :)

Here comes the darkest...and here I laugh...

So much so on resolutions

2008-09-30T08:44:00.003+05:30

Sitting half drunk at Kovalam on new year eve, I made a resolution that I will visit 26 new places in 2008. Based on a simple calculation of one new place@every two week, I was as eclectic with the resolution as a drunk wanderer can be. It was not a big deal at that moment. We had just covered 7-8 odd places in and around Kerala in a matter of two weeks.

So how have I fared till date - Jaipur, Almora, Pithoragarh, Dhampur, Udaipur, Shimla & Chhail. If I also include Mussoorie and Corbett(since technically I rediscovered the two places), I am at 9/26 right now and the year is slipping by. It's not that there is still a chance. If I follow my doctor's advice, I am not allowed to go out of town for next six months.

That leaves me with my sweet li'l town called Delhi. It would not be a bad idea if I negotiate with myself (as the days of bhishma pratighyas are already over) to rephrase the resolution . Henceforth I resolve to visit at least 15 new places in and around Delhi in next three months :).

With the coming winters, it may not be a bad idea at all.

A forwarded email

2008-09-29T15:41:00.004+05:30

Walking on the road, you pass so many people. Some look confident, purposeful, well-dressed, well-maintained. But the majorities appear so ordinary, wear ill-fitting clothes, unfashionable footwear, have too much fat or too little, nothing remarkable about them, nothing attractive.

Yet someone somewhere eagerly waits for this unimpressive man to come home every evening.
Someone's entire world turns around by the strength of this frail-looking woman.
Someone's very purpose in life hinges on this brash youngster cutting through traffic.
Someone knows only the shelter of these old arms each time their world begins to crumble.
Someone will count hours, minutes, and weep like a child before this pock-marked face alights from a distance.
Someone will cave in, crack up, and never be the same again if this one person disappears from the face of the world.

There are no ordinary people !!!

(PS: Thanks Archana for the mail)

haan...shayad...pataa nai

2008-09-28T13:24:00.007+05:30

:))

The worse part of being confused is not the puzzled state of mind. In fact, few people that I know, like to remain confused because it keeps them occupied. The worse part comes once you take the decision and then you regret. To regret is to doubt oneself since nobody knows what is good and what is not good (regrettable) in the long run.

So be confused if you have time to be.

Here's my two pence: every girl has a right to remain confused and every guy has a duty to appreciate it.

Maria has it

2008-09-20T16:35:00.001+05:30

"I know it's as tough for my fans to handle my losses as it is for me. But let me point something out. I didn't leave my mom at the age of seven for nothing. I didn't spend six hours a day practising in the Florida sun at the age of nine for nothing.... I didn't sleep in little cots for three years, eating oatmeal out of a packet while playing in the middle of nowhere for nothing. All this has helped me build character and there's no better asset than being able to stand up for yourself." - Maria Sharapova (in her recent blog)

Love and gravitation

2008-09-15T18:19:00.002+05:30

I think the comparison of love with magnet is inept. A magnetic attraction is more likely to be compared with lust whereby the human will becomes helpless and even non-existant. I would rather compare love with gravititional force which makes earth go round the sun even if they are miles apart.

Where to find love?

2008-07-28T04:08:00.001+05:30

They say you don't find love. Love finds you.

You meet new people, appreciate beautiful faces, admire desired attributes and make friends. Some time you find love among friends and sometime you find a friend in the loved one. Sometime it takes a sight to fall in love and sometimes a whole lifetime to realize that you were in love all the time.

Everyone defines love in his or her way. So when I am asked if I am or have been in love, my question is simple - What is love? For me love is an extreme form of liking. The liking may develop from a long term relationship or instant admiration of a remarkable quality. The point is that if Majnu fell in love with Laila, it was either because they were great friends or (presumably) Laila had 36 DD breasts and a zero figure.

A travel guide for loners

2008-07-25T17:55:00.004+05:30

Everyone wants to travel alone at some or the other point of life. Either it is the absence of company or just sheer inquisitiveness to experience the difference. I have had two such excursions and I consider myself capable enough to guide others. Before I enlighten you, let me be prejudiced state that it is a guy thing. So here are few tips.

Travel alone only to popular places with at least some visible crowd. A secluded place is suitable only for couples.
Never plan the details of a trip you are planning alone. A rough idea of place to travel to and approval of leave from office / institution will do. The reason is that there is ample time to think and rethink once you are off. You would like to keep yourself engaged.
An i-pod / mobile with mp3 is a must. A GPRS activated advanced mobile with modest megapixel camera and mp3 player is just perfect for the show.
At time you would like to mix with people around you. There are several ways to do so without feeling awkward.

Ask a group to get together so that you can take a picture. No need to say that targeting group with pretty gals is desirable.
Still better, find a group involved in photo shoots and lend them a hand.
Ask for directions even though you know how to reach a spot. Some tourists enjoy sharing their newly gained information just to show they knew it all the way.
Go all the way in helping a tourist who seeks some information from you. Such interactions keep you engaged.
Target small shops with single keepers. For buying a Kit Kat, they can give you so much local information that even a seasoned guide can not.

Have your own secluded spots to plan further or for reflecting / self instropection / getting philosophical. In fact this is what you came for. The spot can be a bench with a view at the corner of a busy street.
Take a lot of pictures. Ask people to take your picture and enjoy their wierd expressions. You are not going to live there anyway.
Eat at your hotel room. One feels loneliest at restaurants. Keep a pet bottle of coke when you roam around. Add some vodka if you want.
Try to know as much about the place by exploring, chatting with locals, phamphlets etc. Again let me advice that do not gather much information before the trip. Its actually fun knowing facts on the spot.
Write a blog about your experiences when you come back.

A magical weekend

2008-07-14T18:20:00.013+05:30

weryrwpwherpuwrepppruuuip

On Sunday morning, I took the ropeway to the top of Gun Hill at Mussorie. It was a nice view from telescope point. I ordered for a cup of tea. It started getting foggy and chilly as if Mother Nature was conspiring something. I took my cup and stood at the edge of the hill top. Then it happened, one of nature's most timely gift to me. A fine drizzle. How good it feels to sip a hot cup of tea at a hilltop in a drizzle of rain that bothers no one but leaves you with goosebumps!!!
I had ample time with me so I went to see the Bhatta Falls. It is 8 km down from Mussoorie and has all the fantastic features of Kempty Falls minus the crowd. It is also a double fall i.e. one fall of 25 meters is followed by another one of 100 meters. I just wanted to see this rare work of nature. However when I stood in front of the fall, the sprinkles of water were tempting enough to break my resistance. I took off my clothes and jumped in like a child. The warm sun and cold water were a perfect combination. It was sheer pleasure.
Patal Bhubaneshwar was spectacular by any standards...an evidence of what Mother Nature is capable of. There is a slit-shaped cave enough in size to let inside a middle-aged person. Inside the cave was well lit but alarmingly tortuous stone steps downwards. It takes some body-bending and sweating to reach the bottom of cave which is at around 60 feets. The cave opens up at the bottom. Some intricately shaped structures of limestone are visible. There is a series of caves inside, one after another, almost 100 meters in all. The penultimate cave has something I can never forget in my life. Hundreds of tiny strands of rocks, grey and white in colour, combine to create a giant long haired head. Water is trickling down these strands and the entire structure is shimmering in the low lights of cave. We came out with a more credulous mindset.
En route to Almora from Pithoragarh, the tyres of our vehicle got punctured. We were not happy with the development. I now feel quite the opposite. The spot was superb. Down the cliff, the clouds were gathering up. We sat at the rocks on the edge of the cliff and started chatting. It started to rain and we continued to chat. We took photographs in turn and appreciated the fact that our parents wouldn't have allowed us to chat near a cliff some hundreds of meters high while it was raining all the time!!!

Autobiography: Entry 4

2008-06-19T21:49:00.002+05:30

My soul reason of joining Arvind Mills was to tread a different path from my collegues who were lured by major IT companies. An independent life in a new city and a new set of friends came along with the package. The fact that it was the first decision about myself that I took solely, was enough to propel me to live a happy life in Ahmedabad.

First few months were easy with minimum responsibilities at work and a group of friends to get closer to. Things changed in a week of November. First I was thrown into the challenging production floor on a single day's notice. Then an accident of a collegue forced me to look after shifts single-handedly. I still remember my first double shift on the day of my collegue's accident. It was supposed to drain me out. I was actually eclectic. I did a fair job and was proud of it.

Next few months were hectic. It started with a learning curve and smoothly crossed the 'borders of interest' to become a boring and redundant daily job. By June I was ripe with frustration and I went for a 22 day of unaccounted leave. When I came back, I was surprised by the welcome I got. I was supposed to be thrashed. I guessed I was needed.

Sreekumar Nair remained my boss throughout my stay at Arvind. Our relationship reached a low when I took that unaccounted leave. From then onwards, it reached to such confidence levels in November that when he was going for a long leave, he asked me in front of all my senior collegues to take care of his department. That was one full year after I started some serious job of my career. The next two months gave me much insights into textile processing. I was a man now. In February 2006 I decided to leave Arvind Mills and Ahmedabad. Surprisingly, the better opportunity came with the help of my existing boss, Mr Nair, and I still feel indebted to him.

the advent of kaliyuga

2008-06-19T21:16:00.001+05:30

Vishnu Purana describes the Kali yuga as following:

"In the Kali Yuga, there will be numerous rulers vying with each other. They will have no character. Violence, falsehood and wickedness will be the order of the day. Piety and good nature will dwindle slowly... Passion and lust will be the only attraction between the sexes. Women will be the objects of sensual pleasure. Dishonest will be the bottom line of subsistence. Learned people will be ridiculed and put to shame; the word of the wealthy person will be the only law."

Autobiography: Entry 3

2008-04-28T04:47:00.002+05:30

IIT Delhi campus was a world in its own. There was a peaceful redundancy about the student life there. We resided at the locus of five most popular youth joints in Delhi: Vasant Kunj, Saket, Chanakyapuri, South Ex and Green Park. Priya was at our backyard. Then there were places within a mile - The Tankoos, Giasarai, Sasi, Nescafe, Ber Sarai, HFC, Surd Shop, Juice Shop, SDA, Munirka, Katwaria Sarai - not to forget our official restaurant outside campus - Mezbaan.

Campus life was simple. Attend 75% of classes. Study 4-5 hours before exams. Eat as much outside as much you can afford. Booze hard in parties. Play underarm cricket with wingmates. Chat with friends on any X, Y or Z topic. Watch latest movies through LAN. Enjoy AOE. Have fun.

The outside world was very different. Without friends and a familiar surrounding, I often found myself at a loss. It took some effort to get along with strangers. Then there were few people always ready with an exclamatory remark "You are from IIT Delhi !!!", followed by the puncture "Which stream - Computer Science?". I would have an urge to say "No Sir. Computers are out. Fabrics are in. So I chose Textile Technology instead."

It was so easy to go back to the comfortable hostel room and sit with familiar faces and laugh on total crap of a topic. Those four years were life. There was a degree of innocence in the first year that is equivalent to childhood. Then came adolescence in the second year with all the raw energy. The third year was more towards a strategic and planning side. The fourth year was dedicated to friends and fun before the death encapsulate us all.

I almost cried when I had to leave the campus with all my belongings on a sunny day of May, 2004.

When I came back to college two months later for convocation, the sense of belonging was over. I felt like a soul without body strolling on the grounds of a familiar campus that was no longer mine.

itshappenin@India

2008-04-14T01:41:00.002+05:30

We cross the busy road, visit a nearby mall, watch an english movie at a multiplex, buy a luxury car and so on without noticing the rate at which things happen and change in India. Life is happenin@India and the people who actually appreciate it are the tourists. Seema, my cousin sis who came from UK after a long time, could easily perceive the difference. She was surprised by the huge multiplex screen with cosy seats available at less than a fourth price.

UK, where all the major problems of life have already been resolved, the country lives peacefully with its over aged population. In India the median age is 25. That coincidentally is my age also. So what happens here is that a young population struggles throughout the day and when it finds time to relax at night or on weekends, it generates euphoria. Unlike in UK, this celebration is not limited to discs or pubs. One can observe this energy in the bustling window shoppers, the mob at multiplexes, the families picnics at the central park and so on.

Things keep happening in India. Family celebrations on marriage, new projects at office, metro construction in the city, festivals, bollywood, elections, rain.....the list is endless. It all happens@India and I am proud to be a part of it.

a tale of two nights

2008-04-08T02:11:00.002+05:30

Its 11 PM on Friday. I am with Navin, my cousin from UK. Our driver has just left us in front of the entrance to Elevate. We take the lift to fifth floor. Here come the bouncers. We try to negotiate. Elevate rules are strict. No stag entry. We keep negotiating for 20 min. No success. We go down. We are now thinking about Ice Cube or Tantra. Double whammy. Bars in Noida close by 11.30 PM. Bad start. Rajat calls up. He wants us to be at South Ex in 30 minutes. We take an auto. We are on DND when Rajat calls up again. He now want us to reach CP. He is talking about some F bar. We reach CP at 12 and there is nothing there. Damn Rajat. Now we will follow our own plans. We again take an auto, this time to Hotel Ashoka for Capitol, the famous disc. A beautiful crowd is moving into the hotel so we get into it too. They are all going to the new disc there - F bar and lounge. I have never seen hotter girls. Navin says if we bring our girlfriends here, they will love us even more. We find Rajat also. We dance till 3. Some girls who know Rajat's boss meet us. They are going to Agni, the popular disc in Park Hotel. We follow them. At 4 AM, we are standing in front of Agni trying to negotiate with the bouncers. They relent in 10 minutes at half the entry price. We are in Agni. We dance till 5.30 AM. Now everyone is hungry. We take seats in the restaurant of hotel. Its damn costly. We eat a decent breakfast. Now its time to go back home. Navin likes the idea to take a Metro. We reach home at 8 AM.

You are not amused. Well, then hear this.

Its the very next day. At 11 PM on Saturday, we start for GK2. We meet Rajat and a couple of his friends at Diva. We go to Smoking House, a disc. Bouncers again. We are four boys and a girl. Not possible. Only couples allowed. We try Kuki. Some old links work. We are in. It looks more of a student crowd. We dance and enjoy others dancing. At 3 AM we get a call from Rajat's boss. All of us are now planning to go to Agni again. This boss is with his ultra hot ex-girlfriend. We take a cab to Agni. We are again at the gates of Agni at 4 AM negotiating with the bouncers. This time we pay more. We dance till 5. Again we have our breakfast at Park hotel restaurant. I don't have strength even to stand so we take a cab back home.

the legacy of one-mindedness

2008-03-26T16:16:00.006+05:30

I was watching Jodha Akbar the other day. I must say I was impressed by the screenplay. Still my reflective (and sometimes confused) mind harped on the unusual fact that had Akbar not happened to India, we would have been a bunch of fighting states. Afghanis would have continued looting us, forget India becoming a trading giant of 16th Century.

The history tells us that we live on the legacy of a handful few. They come, they see and they conquer. They briefly demonstrate the infinite capacity of a human being. Who will doubt human potential after what Mahatma Gandhi accomplished? His persuit of a single thought of non-violence changed the way we look at a conflict. On the other hand we have Hitler who single-handedly wrecked havoc on billions of souls.

Our corporate versions of Jamshedji, Dhirubhai and Aditya Birla tell us never to undermine the strength of a one-minded person. Yes, the key is being one-minded.