Ting

'Ting'!

Yes. That was the sound I made.

A loud 'Tingg!!'

Standing at the airport in a queue. Just one solitary note of the guitar.

--

Probably like the one in 'The Unforgiven'. No, that is more like 'tiing'.
Probably like the one in 'High hopes'. Yes, that's it. The one in High hopes. No, it ends in 'g'. not 'ggg'.
Yeah, I get it now. The one in 'In the End'. No No.

Ok - you can take it to be the High hopes one, with the 'g' a bit stretched, the sound dying out in the end.

--
I don't know why I did that.
--

Suddenly, the lady besides me sniggered.

I was taken aback. Then I realized what I had done. I was embarrassed.

And then, I also laughed. A muffled laughter.

The lady, realizing this, laughed heartily. And I joined in. Everyone around us watched in amusement. We were suddenly embarrassed. And we went quiet.

And then, we laughed again.

Later, I saw the lady smiling at me, when I was just about to board the aircraft.

:D

(An incident to remember)

Music: Ting, ting tiing, tingg. :)

What shall we do?

It has been two days.

Two days of news channels shouting, two days of people forming opinions, expressing them, but finally doing nothing!!

--

One person says - the Mumbai spirit is undented. We have again stood up as we did after the serial train blasts.
Another person perceives it as the dead Mumbai - which is unaffected by either of these events, and crowds up the local trains next day just to be able to earn their daily livelihood.

--

One thing is common - everyone is numb. Terror-struck. Unable to move. Nobody knows what a correct response to this situation would be.

Authorities will move away once all the hostages are rescued/ terrorists arrested or killed. Politicians will move in asap to capitalize on the situation, trying to strengthen there vote banks.

Isn't it about time we, the people, did something, except for holding protests and candle lit processions? Isn't it about time we rise against terrorism in an united manner? What are we waiting for now? Some more terrorists to come with a totally new master plan and blow up another city, like they did to Mumbai, Jaipur, Delhi, Ahmedabad?

I think we need more ideas; more agile, effective and courageous people who can implement those ideas. It's about time we stop voting for the same old politicians who have been doing nothing for the past so many years.

This is one such idea; our India is waiting for more. Pour in.

The terrorist attacks

Can't we do SOMETHING about it??

...

One of those days when you simply cant figure out what went wrong...

No beep beep please.

I want to live in a day without any alarms.

*sigh*

Will it be possible?

:-s

But it rained..

--
They justified the cause for which Daddy might give up his life
It's been so long, so long a time, still I miss Daddy at night
The ache is long gone but the never keeps staring along
The waters in the seas are high
...and all the sand castles have drowned.
--

(Parikrama)

Time

I need some time in my life. May be to sleep. May be to watch a movie. May be for doing nothing. But I do need time.

I am keeping my fingers crossed for results tomorrow. Hope they come out well.

Yawn! Good night!

I'm telling you!

The following conditions, when coming in effect simultaneously, can result in ecstasy:-

1) A dark moderately cold night.
2) A car speeding at over 100 down the highway.
3) Wind blowing in your ears because of the speed.
4) Metallica playing "Wherever I may roam" on the deck.

Just experienced the same ecstasy. :D

F***, I want a convertible to replace the 'car' in the 2nd point above.

And then, I promise, I'll repost this post!! :D :D

Mad world.

".. and I find it kinda funny,
I find it kinda sad,
The dreams in which I am dying,
are the best I've ever had."

--

After 5 days of ~0 sleep and lots of running around, the idea is finally complete and submitted. Let's just hope that the good people are kind enough to select it and revert back.

--
The thrill of running around is too good. The race being against time, you somehow manage to always win in the end. Although I dread the day when I might have to lose, the kick hence obtained is simply unbeatable!!

And now I'll probably face the void again!!

--

..And I find it kinda funny...

Dream on..

उसके थे जो सपने,
वही उसके ,थे अपने,

ऐसा था Sinbad the Sailor!!

Winner?

What happens when an infinite force meets an immovable object?

Nothing.

Other powers of universe will always intervene to make sure that an event like this doesn't occur.

ZZzzz..

That's what I am feeling right now.

Friday Night: Was feeling frustrated that I wasn't going out anyplace on a Friday night. Confined to the boundaries of house, I started listening to music. Heard a lot of music after long long long time. Infi - infi songs - some 3 hours of continuous songs. Awesome. Ended up watching a couple of episodes of 2.5 men - probably slept midway of the 2nd one.

Saturday : Blur. Was getting a document ready. Talking to people. Went out in afti types to Nirmal. We were there till night. Got books- hunt for a special book still continues- floaters - and a chori ka free chocolate (5 star Fruits and nuts :D - I love shoprite Hyper!! :D:D). The Juice lounge besides Shoprite is also good! :). McD's fries - that too after a long time. They should open a McD's in Powai. Loadsa food!!

Sunday: T (Yippeeeeee - I cracked!! :D). Ups place. Again yipeeee - she's back!! :D. Chocolates - umm hmm. Ivy, and then Bachelor's!! Sitafal shake - yum yum yummmmyyyyyyyyyy!!

:)

After all this, I desperately need a weekend when I can just sleep.

:-s

:)

It feels so good to bring a smile to someone's face!!

:D

Words

इतने कम शब्द, इतनी सारी बातें
तुम ही बताओ,
कैसे कहूँ वो सब जो दिल में है!!

Some 600 words- that's all I got - that too to express the 'something' ( which is ~nothing) that is going on in my mind.

God help me!

Seriously, God, please come and help me.

Oh God, if you are reading this blog, why don't you come and help me?

Are you still reading this blog?? I told you to come and help me!!

Oh damn! It seems you are still reading this post.

Ditch. I'll go and help myself.

[In fact, God helps those who help themselves. So, I'd better sign off and start writing :)]

Weird Random thought

If, all your body parts were aching all the time, will you ever feel the pain?

p.s. The though originates from the fact that most of my body parts are aching very badly :-(. I desperately need a damn good long sleep.

In this world...

No one in this world is happy. No one.

Why is that so??

Clarity

Some people are so clear on what they want in life. I think I can only wish that I could be that clear.

Where are we headed?

I was reading a friend's blog today - and he talks about how he loves food cooked by Mom, and how, earlier in life, dinners used to be so much fun - with elders sitting in lounge - discussing various things, while all kids used to run around- causing havoc; and now, these dinners have changed into 60 minute formalities at a restaurant with everyone fidgeting to get out of it.

***
An interview excerpt that I saw sometime back:-

David Letterman: "Do you still live with your parents? As in, is it common in India for over-age people to live with parents?"

Aishwarya Rai, " Ya.. you know - It's also common in India that we don't have to take appointments with our parents to meet for dinner"

I felt immensely proud to be an Indian that day.

***
In the past 3 months, since we have moved into this flat, the no. of dinners that the four of us, had together, is less than 3.

Just got me thinking... where are we headed? Towards dinner appointments with our next generation?

:-)

Square root of three?!?!!

I fear that I will always be,
A lonely number like root three!!
A three is all that's good and right..
Why must my three keep out of sight.

Beneath a vicious square root sign
I wish instead I were a nine
For nine could thwart this evil trick
With some quick arithematic

I know I'll never see the sun
As one point seven three two one
Such is my reality
A sad irrationality

When hark! What is this I see,
Another square root of a three
Has quietly come waltzing by,
Together now we multiply..
To form a number we prefer..
Rejoicing as an integer!!

We break free from our mortal bonds
And with a wave of magic wands
Our square signs become unglued..
And love for me has been renewed!!

- Awesome
--This is from one of the latest flicks!

Heaven

View from the aeroplane window : Clouds floating all around :)

Is this where our film-makers got an idea on how to picturize heaven? ;)

The story of life

His life has been a story,
Of a person trying to find glory,
Of unkept promises,
With less of hits and more of misses.

Today, this person is wondering,
Does this life have a meaning?
Should he care to continue,
even when he doesn't have any clue!!

Time and again, he's overcome by this thought,
On whether he should continue or not?!
And even as he keeps on wondering,
the life, it keeps on going.

One fine day he'll find,
Many a years have caught behind,
And then he'll realize,
(If he forces his mind to analyze)
Instead of lying around and thinking,
About what's life's meaning,
He, could, probably, have done something
which was more worthwhile and much more interesting!!

You work so hard for something - to complete an assignment, to do a project, to do good to the society, to bring a smile to someone's face - but it simply doesn't materialize.

...And then, there are these sudden realizations when you suddenly stop caring..

For all you care, everything may go to hell!

So for now.. just go to hell!!

You too.

High - The 1st time

The last night was like ..... OSSOM!!!

:-D

23

It's official!!

I've now wasted full 23 years of my life!!

:-D

Lots of people around, lots of phone calls, some unexpected too!!

Rcvd a sms in morning, wishing that my dearest wish comes true. We'll see soon enough, still 12 hours to go :-)

Thanks to all who made it to my home yesterday, special thanks to Ayush, Gandhi and Sid for organizing the 'surprise' ( it was indeed a surprise :) ), thanks for 'decorating' the room and obviously, thanks for the big cake and the invisible candle(:-D) on it !!


And yes, sorry for being late :(

Mood: Delighted!
Humming: Hum bhi agar bacche hote....

कितना दूर है भाई?

" भैया, चौक कितना दूर है यहाँ से?"
" यहाँ से करीब आधा किलोमीटर होगा "
:O :O

I was perturbed. Distance? In Kms?? Since when?

--
In Mumbai, the distance is always measured in minutes and hours.

" अँधेरी कितना दूर है यहाँ से?"
" सीधे सीधे जाके 5 मिनट में आ जाएगा "
"वैसे तो १० मिनट का रास्ता है, पर ट्रैफिक हुआ तो आधा घंटा तक लग सकता है"

For the past five years, it has always been like that.
--

So used to we are to this fact, that it took me a while to realize that the Bikaneri person in front of me, was actually using the correct units of distance. That distance is measured in kms, not minutes.

Correct he was, but of no use.

We, the Mumbaikars, will still prefer it if the distance is told in terms of seconds, minutes and hours. :)

Mood: Still frustrated from Bikaner journey.
Music: Musicless.

p.s. Only 60% of the week is over till now, really?? :(

Bikaner..

This trip was like one of those things you wish you never did...

Learnings:

1) Never, never undertake a train journey which is 25 hours long. Nothing, and I mean, NOTHING, is worth the backpain and frustration you get in return.

2) DO NOT travel in a train which doesn't have a pantry car. At least, not for a journey which lasts 25 hours.( That fckin' train, which is destined to travel 25 hrs at a stretch, didn't have a pantry car. X-( X-(. ).

3) Do not take the seat close to AC vent. DO exchange it with some other stupid fellow in case you get it by mistake. Else you'll wake up coughing and sneezing in the middle of night, and there won't be anything you could do about it then!

4) CARRY EARPHONES. For any damned journey. Else, whole world around you will kill you, simply by staring at you, because your laptop is uttering kissing sounds, or words like .. oh shucks, I am afraid to even mention those simple words now!

5) ALWAYS carry a return ticket ,whichever place you may be travelling to!! It simply sucked to get stuck in that stupid city with nothing to do, all day long, staring at the stupid comp screen, all the while worrying, how the hell would we get out of here.

6) And yes, I had one of those times, when after waking up, I said, " Oh, I'm never drinking again! " Terrible headache/ hangover/ what not, that too just after one bottle beer, don't know what had got into me that time. My room mate predicts it was the effect of finishing that thing in less than 5 minutes that did it to me.

As I was saying to my friend, " Jo hota hai, bhale ke liye hota hai". I guess these learnings were the best part of all this madness. I hope I never repeat these mistakes again.

(Even as I write this, I am sitting in the same train, for the same 25 hour long journey, that too without a pantry car. But yeah, this time, I've oodles of food with me. Some learning, I must say.)

We, the Indians

Even at 11 in night, there were people hanging out from balconies, windows, roof tops to watch the Baraat progression ( I can't say for sure, whether it was because we were keeping them awake because of loud music, or because of the excitement, but I am gonna assume it was the latter case, because, in my childhood, I've used looking at a baraat as an excuse to delay the sleeping time).

We won't change, will we? :)

Mood: Upbeat

Life is good!

Date : 4th of July

Place: Hyderabad

Event: As depicted in picture above.

After Event : Glad to be alive!!

Rain Rain... Come Again!!

~Day 1 - 10: Rains, drizzles.. what not!! Getting wet almost everyday!

~Day 11 : Get an umbrella!! yayyy!! No more getting wet!

Next day: Rains vanish for a week.

After a week, one day, the umbrella is lost.

Again, next two days, Heavy rains!

I get another umbrella.

Next day, we go to dinner to NH1 ( a place close to office). The weather is clear at that time and I leave my bag ( the umbrella is obviously in the bag) behind. When we come out from the restaurant, it's raining again!!!

Ohh Murphy... I soo hate you!!!

Rain rain!

There are these days when you want the rain to go on and on and on, because you just wish to lie cozy in a blanket in your bed and don't want to go to the office.

Then there are days like today, when you desperately want the rain to stop, because you wish to reach the office asap!!!

Don't you wish we had SOME control over all these things?!?!!

4 days of this stupid disease did what 3 months of workouts couldn't do.

Lost 3 kgs in 4 days.

Don't know whether to be happy or sad! :-|

GO AWAY

I din't invite you.
Why do you keep pestering me?
Why do you keep following me ?

Why do I have to entertain you?
Running to washbasin 3 times an hour, drinking all sorts of Cough syrups, not being able to eat what I want. Even if I have to drink water, I am reminded of you.

I didn't ask for you. Stupid cold, cough and fever. That too, for four full days. Unacceptable.

GO AWAY. GO AWAY.
LEAVE ME ALONE.

Mood: Irritated.
Music: Still hooked on to Ya rehem.. ya rehem..

Aam!r

Brilliant Movie!!

Gripping story, awesome direction and incandescent performance by the actor.

However, there was a glitch in movie. It's about a habit of Mumbaikar's.

Aam!r asks for directions to the National Restaurant. The reactions were:-
1. Ignore.
2. " Jara sochne doge"
3. " Meri jeb me hai "

Now, this is not what you expect from 'aamchi mumbai'.

A typical mumbaikar, irrespective of how much hurry/tension he is in, would stop, explain you the way, then hurry again. That was 2nd thing I liked about this city. The 1st one was obviously, the pace at which this city moves ( we are not talking about the sluggish pace of traffic).

--

I alighted at Andheri station, and the scuttling pace of people took me by surprise. I distinctly remembered the scene in DCH, where Aamir khan is just standing, and people keep passing him at a furious speed. The causes were different, the effect- same.

Anyways, I gathered courage, tapped on shoulder of a passerby, then asked him how to get to Powai, and then made an attempt to keep up with his pace. The person abruptly stops. I am again taken aback. He stops, tells me the exact way, to reach the destination ( right when you are on bridge, then the bus no.s etc etc). Then, in a jiffy, he's back to his normal pace.

I couldn't help smiling. :)

--

Anyways, more on Mumbai later. Back to movie.

Again, a brilliant movie.

The sheer ferocity on Aamir's face when he beats the goons, the chopping of lambs when he passes through the market are the scenes that have a deep impact.

The word Aam!r, means a leader, as was stated in the movie. And in the end, the protagonist, turns out to be a true leader, that too,leading by example, probably, the rarest of it's kind!!


Must watch.

Music: Ya rehem, ya rehem...

Weakness? Or Improvement area?

Recently, a discussion of mine with one of my colleagues ended with these lines:-
--

" Don't ever think you have capability issues. It's just that you need to develop some additional skills. It's an improvement area of yours.

...I was once asked in an interview - " What are your weaknesses? "

I replied - ' I don't have any weaknesses that I know of. If I come to know of a weakness, I work upon it.'

--
There are times in life when you feel low. You have doubts. Your confidence has been brutally fragmented. You think you are of no use. And then you wonder, why are you here? Are you even fit to be here?

At those times, remember these words. Identify your weaknesses, work upon them.

May the victory be yours...

(Thanks A)

Winning!

23 years.

Almost 23 years of this life spent.

Life, till now, has been a mixed bag.

I had my share of failures and sorrows. I have never been able to excel at a sport, neither could I thump my feet to the beats of music, nor could I train my fingers to bring out a melody from the guitar. And yes, the musketeer could never defeat the b@ng!ng at UT (@$%!@).

The Lord be praised, the successes and joys have been abundant.Bansal's, JEE, IITB, Unnati , TechFest, Asian Paints, Procter and Gamble..... just to name a few. All the names that make the heart go la-la-la-lalala...

--
However, a thing was missing in life. It was only recently that I realized that.

Sitting on my office desk last Friday, I reflected back, and realized that I never had been first. Never, ever. Neither in any competition, nor in any exam. Academically, I ranked 10th in Bansal's in the last exam, the test just before JEE. Non- academically, the best was UT, where I was 2nd all the time. That was the closest I came to being the first.

Thinking all this, I realized that it was my 5th continuous chocolate bar that I was eating. And as that last bit of chocolate melted away in my mouth, I further realized that the chocolate didn't taste that good.

It was something else, that was making the taste of chocolate go away.

It was the taste of victory, the taste of being 1st, that too, for the 1st time in life! :-D

I, had just won, the speed Scrabble tournament, topping the 16 teams that participated ! :-)

--

I can tell you, the feeling was better than dancing in the rain, a taste sweeter than chocolate, a thrill greater than riding a motorbike at 120kph, a surprise better than finding a 500 Rs note in an old pair of jeans, a thing probably more addictive than coffee, just a bit harder to get.

Oh! I want to be 1st again!!
Oh! How much I wish to get the feeling again!!

:-)

Working Out

See ? Does that explain all my workouts and all the cheese burst pizzas and all the chocolates I am eating? :-D

Stop Cribbing. Do something.

I've recently got addicted. Addicted to blog-reading. Sitting through the night, just following one link to another, reading views of people - some of them pro's in expressing them, some newbies.

Some blog entries are just one-liners. They have this knack of saying a lot in that one sentence. Eg:-

"When you look back in your life to the times when you were extremely sad, disappointed or the times when you were extremely happy and delirious... more often than not you will see that things weren't as bad or great as your first impressions of them at that moment."

"Life is a continuous chase. Stop running after one thing to start
running after another. No end in sight. :("

Some of them are like totally devoted to social issues. I HATE them. All they do is, sit around and crib about some situation ( be it the traffic situation, be it the reservation quota, be it the degrading environment, or be it what the news channels are broadcasting ), but they just keep on complaining about it. And not just blogs, atleast one of the four times in lunch at office, you find a person cribbing about the traffic at Sakinaka or on the road in front of IIT. Really, if you are so concerned, please stand up from your comps and seats, go out and do something about it! For god's sake, stop coming in your cars alone - start car pooling - urge others to do the same! And if you can't .. STOP cribbing!

Oh wait! What am I doing? Cribbing!! I should stop cribbing about the cribbers! Oh, there was this thing I was gonna do to create awareness about the environment. Time to start working on that.

Stop Cribbing. Start working.

Mood: Aching to do something constructive.

(Tx Dewani)

Some stats!

More than 60% of dialogues of a human being are spent doing the following two activities

1) Stating the obvious
" बारिश हो रही है|"
" बहुत धूप है |"
"taxi नही मिल रही|"
2) Speculating:
" आज तो Mumbai Indians जीत ही जायेंगे"
" कल तक बाढ का पानी निकल जाना चाहिए"
" आज बारिश होगी "

--

99.99% people are afraid of death.

" To an organized mind, Death is nothing but the next great adventure" - Dumbledore ( Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone)

--

Have you heard of the study which concluded that 82.3% stats are made on the spot?
:-)

--

Re: Eternal Eve-Teasers

Reference : A blog entry that I recently read. It is a very well-stated case of misfortunes that the fairer sex experiences.

However, here are some incidents that you'd like to read...

The first two are actual incidents told to me by girls, enjoying every moment of the incident as well as of narration.

Incident 1 :
Event: Girl's day out
Venue : Some mall

G1 : Hey G2! Lemme give you a dare
G2 : What?
G1: See that guy over there? Give him a stare .. eye him ( long enough to make him conscious)

G2 does that with pleasure, long enough to make the guy look to the other side and then finally walking away.
(Referring to the blog entry, lemme ask- " ghar me baap bhai nahi hain kya??").

Incident 2:

A statement from a girl:
" अबे यार !! कल fundoo मज़ा आया !! हम hawaiin shack गए थे। खूब नाचे । मस्ती आ गई ... जगह थोडी कम थी उधर ... पर मतलब ठीक है ... चलता है ... पहले तो हम दोनों ( she and her bf) ही नाच रहे थे... फिर 1 दूसरा group भी आ गया ... उसमे सब लड़के थे ... सब मेरे चारों तरफ़ नाच रहे थे ... बड़ा मज़ा आया "

Incident 3:
Venue : Enigma ( Club )

Every one is dancing. My friend finds himself standing to an unknown girl. After dancing a couple of minutes, the girl says:

G : " I'm feeling thirsty" (expecting my frn to go get him a drink)
B : " Then go get yourself a drink" (He uses a modest tone thus making it very clear he is not very interested in her, esp, he ain't gonna spend any money on her)

The girl dances a couple of more minutes, then strays off to another similar single looking guy. This time she succeeds in getting a drink. The person, getting (or interpreting in his mind that he's getting) signals, starts advancing on her. Our dear sly girl, very tactically, comes back to my 'decent' friend, and starts dancing with him. She repeats the cycle umteen no of times that night. And yes, she does expect my decent friend to protect him from those people who did get her a drink!

Aint she a b***h?

Yes. Some boys/ men are jackals. But isn't somewhere, someplace the fault of the fairer sex? Ain't some of them bitches?

It isn't a case of a few samples taken out of the fairer sex.

To the more general fairer sex:-

1) Haven't you ever walked into a Lee's/ Levi's showroom and went for the low rise/low waist jeans.? Tell me, when you do go for that ooomph jeans, aren't you expecting the men to stare down when you are wearing them?
2) While moving out of the cricket ground/ a crowded theatre, wait for the some of the crowd to walk away. Move when the crowd is thinner. Don't expect crowd to be smooth if it's thick. It is supposed to be a mosh-pit, with everyone in the hurry to get out.
3) Get a bottle of Vodka in your apartment next time you want to go high on alcohol. Don't go to a bar, esp a small crowded one, which has a dance floor. If you do go, don't expect everyone to be a gentleman there.

I'm not writing this to justify the behavior of the motorcycle guy or the people who do bad things in crowded places. I condemn them.

But what i AM saying is, you AINT a saint either!

Tu god hai yaar... :)

How much baffled can you be by seeing a mail like this in your mailbox one morning:
(no subject line, only thing that was written in mail was this):-

" Tu god hai yaar"

This was a 'survey' I conducted sometime back.

The responses of some people:

Researchers
Sanket : give reasons in support of ur comment...

Bade log
Archit: ?? ( Can a reply get shorter than this? )

and Prerna types ppl
Prerna: kya matlab??

Typical replies
Shash : Kyun bhai maine kya kiya?

Frustoo log!
Deepak: kya ?
there?
Sent at 2:28 PM on Tuesday
me: haan bol
Deepak: kya bol raha hai ?
mail kyon?
me: aiwe hi
Deepak: bol na
me: are tere ko godd bolr aha hun usme bhi problem hai? :-s
Deepak: batayega ?
Sent at 2:57 PM on Tuesday
Deepak: kya hua ??


2nd runner up
Baba: ye mail karke likhne ki kya jaroorat thi?

Runner up
Aseem : thanks yaar...manaa nahi karunga.. :)

And winner for the best reply was...

Sid: IS BAAR kis liye ?

Someday!

Someday...

Someday, I'm gonna have all these friends by my side,
That day, we're gonna have a jolly time..

Someday, I am gonna have enough time to do all the lukha I want,
Someday, I am gonna have enough time to have all the sleep I want,
Someday, I am gonna have enough time to listen to all the music that I want...

Someday, I'll watch a movie on a beach at a screen wider than a theater,
That day, I'll have Jolie by my side...

Someday, I am gonna be big and famous...
Someday, I am gonna be recognized...
Someday, I am gonna be envied...

Someday, all my dreams will be fulfilled..
But for today... I'm gonna dream about that Someday!!

Lets say a cheers for today!!
(Dream on....)

Tashan!!

I don't say the movie was totally bad. It had it's good points. Kareena, Akshay's dialogue delivery, Kareena's legs, the cool summer collection on display, Kareena's tashan, entry of Akshay Kumar, Kareena......

And yes, not to mention, Bhaiyaji's english, Akshay's fight scenes and the superb hit song-

"dil dance maare, daance maare,
dil yeh daance maare,
o very happy in my heart dil dance maare re!!!"
--

" लिए चार top के actor, डाला अछा सा music,
using एक घटिया सी story, कर दी देखने वाले की life tragic,

पहना दिया बुद्धि को कफ़न ,
यही तो, यही तो है yashraj का टशन !!!! "

--

Mango :)

The king of fruits is here!

Go to naturals and have the Mango with Malai icecream.

Sweet, ripe, juicy, toothsome, ..... yummmmyyyyyy!!

Slightly overpriced at Rs 75/- per serving - but in the end if you succeed in convincing him to put in some more mangoes for you - totally worth it!! :D

Last time I watched out for mangoes in Big Bazaar, they were priced at Rs 1000 per Kg [:-|]. I guess they are in a more affordable range now :-)

Naturals icecream reminds me - the natural guy is a real 'nice' fellow. Last year, around this time, me and my friend went there for the same thing. We asked our uncle for two mangoes with malai icecream. We took the plates, went outside, chatted for an hour or so, while enjoying the icecream. Obviously, our " shaitani" dimag came into action, and we thought of dine n dash. But our stupid conscience - forced us back in to the shop. We say to our dear uncle - two mango with malai icecream - while taking out the money. Our dear uncle, turns back and asks the fellow serving to give them to us.

God alone knows how much effort we had to make to tell him we already had those mangoes. The smirk, the laugh, the looks on our face were like " lets go for it yaar...we can have atleast two serves for price of one, esp. when we were thinking of running away without payin'!! "

Stupid conscience. Stupid Archit!! >:P

ok.. now on reading this - don't go fleece our real 'nice' uncle !! :-)

Top n Town

One of the reasons to live - to come back to Bpl and have this icecream again and again!!!!

Seriously - if you haven't had it yet .. plan a trip to bhopal - and on your trip - don't eat anything except this icecream - even then - u'll miss it on ur way back!

So many varieties - such a damn good taste - last time I almost missed my flight to get hold of a cup of this icecream ..

I love it!!

Here's to Top n town!! ^:)^

p.s. I dont think my boss will believe that I was alone ( and not treating someone) if I show him the no of scoops of this icecreams I've ordered in hotel in one night !! :P

The Other Why....

We had a fight. Yet we were going for dinner together. I pick her up.
Sensing my non talkative mood - she says
" अपन अभी भी उसी बात पे अटके रहेंगे क्या?"
That's it. That's all she has to do to make me talk again.

Again, we had a fight. I tried using the same line on her. Didn't work. I tried to be funny. Didn't work. I tried to be serious. Didn't work. Finally - saying sorry for a fault that was not mine - was the only thing that worked.

Believe me, you have to do this.

--
Forrest Gump had done many great things in his life. However, he never understood why Jenny eluded him.
--

I don't remember exactly how it started. Probably it was a smile that she passed.
Probably it was a cold coffee at the shack that we both were fond of. Or it was a common course, in which I borrowed notes.

We started liking each other, and then it all started. Sharing books, sharing cold coffees, sharing thoughts. Sitting for hours and talking. Sitting for hours and not talking. Just gazing at the stars. Getting out of room and walking more than 2 kms in dead of night, just because the other person wanted to have coffee. Dancing in the rain. The 5 Rs. icecream near Dadar. Collecting the return bus ticket as a souvenir and preserving it. The double cheese maggi.. All the eating, and then all the attempts to shed off the extra weight. All those wonderful, cherished moments :)

--

"chal coffee pite hain"
"ok" ( I think I should propose today - it's about time - she's all that I want)

"Oye.. I've to tell you something."
"ok...."
"umm.... I'm seeing someone nowadays - I think he might be...."
I couldn't focus on whatever she said later.
Dreams were shattered. I was Devastated.

--

Why?? Why???? Why can't she be mine?????

--

Forrest Gump could never understand why he couldn't get Jenny. I'll always wonder why I couldn't get her.

Some things are beyond understanding. One should wait for time to give us the answers, to heal the wounds.

I still wait.

Drunk

Drunk! Drunk! Drunk! Drunk! Drunk!

DRUNK!

dRuNk!!!

DrUnK!!

3 pegs JD - 2 beer - 2 peg vodka - 1 shot vodka - 2 rum - drunk!!

Rum tested the best.

Not high, only drunk.

Been high before, drunk for the 1st time.
Not worth it.
Probably the last time.

Headache.

DRUNK! DrUnK! druuuunnnnnkkkkk!!!

Dont get ideas. Nobody said it was me.

Anyways - go get drunk! Good Night! :)

Where are the leaders?

"Bhaiyon... plz yaar.. plz PAF ke liye kaam karane aa jana..."

- Words spoken at end of the PAF whose sole intent was to revive the lost spirit of PAF

Really? Is this the way now the pillars of PAF & other organizations of IITB are going to get people to work?

Senti maar ke?

Think back.

--

Freshie year : PAF orientation.
G. Sec. ( Khandoo) speaking " PAF is the biggest thing that happens at IIT. Paf मे जो करना है कर सकते हो .. झरना बनाना है 15 फीट ऊँचा ... बनाओ ... helicopter उड़ाना है ? वह भी lifesize ... उड़ाओ... नदी बहनी है ... बहाओ ... जो करना है करो ... पूरा OAT तुम्हारा है - तुम जो चाहो वो बना सकते हो वहाँ पे... बस बोलो क्या बनाना है ??" All this supported by videos of prev PAF's..

The words had an impact. They fired up your imagination - made you enthu enough to go to OAT atleast once and see what's happening there - made you think - what can I do to add to this big thing happening at OAT??

I don't remember the G.Sec. at that time pleading even once to get the work done - he told us only to Dream...

--

Dream - It only takes a Dream to create the future - Techfest .. Techfest orientation -
Zeeshan ( the then O.C.) - standing in front of whole LT - telling us what Techfest was - the biggest Technology festival of Asia - the only thing I could think was ( and probably every freshie in LT thought the same thing) - " What a man he is - omg- heading the organisation that will create something this big - Mannn .. I want to be like him .. I want to stand there and do all that he's doing "

Inspired. Dreams and enthusiasm ignited. Worked for Techfest.

--

PAF 2nd year -
" Ok .. It isn't even that big, not that great, but I am Soc Secy - lemme go up and see what is going on, will be back in 15 mins to complete this game"
Up I go. Some people working - others practicing - umm.. bored - comes Khandoo.

" क्या कर रहा है ? "
" आया हूँ just - देख रहा हूँ कैसा चल रहा है काम "
" अछा?! उधर देख ... 4 freshies खड़े हैं , तेरी responsibilty है उन सब को लेके yeh backdrop complete कर दे"

Responsibilty given. Task on head. Work. Involved till the PAF gets over. Later, obviously, loved it.

- -

2nd year end. Recently had been made manager , Techfest.

I was walking towards SAC for the 1st meeting. Ram Kakkad, the then G.S. Cult., was walking in front of me at some distance. I had worked under him as an organizer in 1st year, had carried out a couple of small tasks under him.

Rounding a corner, his eyes falls on me. The person stops, waits for me to catch up - congratulates me on the recently acquired responsibility, walks me up to SAC, giving me fundaes on how to balance work and acads, and everything in general. Man, what an act ! I never expected him to even remember my name, let alone keep a tab on my progress. And there he was, talking to a person who he barely knew, remembering all details about him.. Tell me, had you been in my place, would you have refused him any work that he asked you at a later stage in life? Would he, at any point of time, have to "plead" to get his work done?

Sadly, in the recent times, all I've heard is pleading -" yaar iske liye kaam karane aa jao" " yaar bahut fat raha hai, plz uske liye kaam karane aa jao" ...... the H 4, 9, 10 was probably a pinnacle of it. Pleading in front of the whole institute.. heart - breaking!!!

Where are they? The people who had the power to ignite dreams similar to theirs in others? The people who could get hundreds of people to work for Techfest, MI and PAF without any pleading? The people .. who had the power to make you imagine - what their eyes were seeing - and then - making you believe that it would be great? Where have they gone?

I read once somewhere - the function of leadership is to create leaders, not followers.
Probably, they missed out on this aspect.
Or Probably, we did.

Music : Wish you were here.....

Why?

The question has been dominating my thoughts almost for two years now.

I think that the roots go back to Techfest.

"क्यों ? क्यों करना चाहते हो ये Techfest?"

This was the crux of all the questions bombarded on me from left, right and center in that 4 hour long 'treat' that changed my life, as it did for 21 other people with me, as it does for 22 other people every year.

The answers vary. But the fact is - the answers exist - from sensible to weird, everyone does have an answer.
" I want to do this fest because it's a huge challenge in front of me - to do something this big , is an opportunity of lifetime"
" अरे , दुनिया को दिखाना है, मेरी g@#$d में भी दम है !! मैं भी कुछ कर सकता हूँ !"
And with such dreams, such aspirations, everyone starts his journey

A year later, when he has done his share for the fest, comes the period - popularly called "The Void" of a manager's life. "The Void" - this term has been coined for the period of life of a manager when he suddenly realises - he doesn't have any work left. The thing that ate up ~20 hrs/day of his life for the past one year - is suddenly - over. He doesn't know what to do with his time.

It was this void that killed me. I tried to find solace in Yahoo! Messenger, my PT, job hunt and CAT preparation, and some time down the line, in my job..but nothing has seemed to fill up the void completely.

The one year old " Why Techfest" had eventually given rise to the question - " Why life".

There was one difference this time - I didn't know the answer.

The tragedy is - I still don't know the answer.

Do you have any answers?



Music : Godsmack : Why do we dream .....