Mostly Harmless

2009-07-29T23:35:00.002+05:30

The ever elusive B-School run (the adhoc blog)

When I came in, they said life will be better after the 1st exam.

Then, it was the 1st term.
Then, the 1st year.

But, it's still the same. And, now I'm sure that it'll be so even after this thing finishes :)

P.S. If you don't realize, this post is just meant to remind myself that I blogged once :|

2009-06-14T22:27:00.005+05:30

Finally, it rains !!!

With cyclonic winds, heavy downpour and a drop in temperature, many will be happy. But, what will happen to the nest that that bird created after a whole week's effort?

2009-06-01T14:22:00.000+05:30

Of third time (un)lucky!

So, this was the third time I was getting a clearance form signed by the same librarian and that surely felt pathetic. However, after thinking about it for a moment, I realized that my state of emotion had been completely unmatched during all those three occasions.

I remember the first time I came to this company. It was for a training that I undertook before finally joining the company. That was my first exposure to the corporate world and, needless to say, I was aghast. Everyone looked busy; there were state-of-the-art video conferencing facilities; the coffee vending machine had so many options; the labs were filled with towering equipments. I was more than joyous to know that in some months I would be a part of all this and would be tinkering around with all of these. But, for that particular moment, it was strictly business – meeting mentors, project assignments, reports and all that jazz.

The second time around was a much prolonged stay. There were more than 100 of us who had joined and each had that desire to prove him or herself. They were ready to be challenged and were eager to perform. Of course, leave aside those who hated the company from the very first moment and opened monster.com or naukri.com as soon as they got their own desktop.

But, the second stay was the perhaps the best of all. This was the time we made and, in some cases, remade friends, realized our potential, got a deeper perspective on what we wanted in life. It was filled with experiences – working late, getting help from unexpected people, handling over-ambitious, backbiting colleagues, dealing unnecessary work pressure from managers, getting work done by the lazy ones, getting work done for the lazy ones and multitasking to ensure that you get selected for that coveted b-school. To sum it up, it was perhaps the eye-opener, a revelation of sorts that looked you deep into your eyes and screamed – Wake Up!

Coming to third time, as it’s happening with this post, I was bored by the time I reached here. So, there started my glorious term with me sending a hate-mail (almost!) sent to the HR people before joining, followed by a tussle with the security guys on the second day. The manager went missing for the first few days, leaving me high and dry with no clue on what to do. And, a repeat act, with him going missing again on the last day, delaying my relieving date by a day. Don’t even dare make me say anything between those two days; I call them shitty-summer-afternoons-with-too-low-temperature-and-too-high-caffeine-and-no-one-to-guide-me-and-do-something-meaningful days.

So, as was my status message a few days back, I guess this is, in fact, the end of an era. The one I took unknowingly and the one that I am leaving purposefully.

Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go
So make the best of this test, and don't ask why
It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time

2009-04-10T21:52:00.002+05:30

It's been a while....

It, indeed, has been a long time.

There have been no cribbing, no frustration, no why-don't-people-get-it-right, no I'm-like-this-only on Mostly Harmless. Seems that everyone's at peace with him or herself.

Is it really so?
Or, is that people moved on; got busy with work and life, in general.
Or, is it that the whole blogging thing is out of sync these days. Well, Facebook and GTalk! status act as better venting machines (Meow! any one?)

"My name is Sherlock Holmes. It is my business to know what other people don't know."

~ I seek no questions. I desire no answers.

2009-02-03T14:47:00.001+05:30

Has Madmita officially left us!? :|

2009-01-02T23:35:00.004+05:30

Arbitness (revisited)

This continues from Marvin's comment on zz9's last post -

As for growing up .. I think its overrated. I refuse to grow up if it means giving up on random thuss sessions and fooling around in general and behaving weirdly instead since I have a gf/bf. Why can't people be normal ... the world really doesn't care if you are going out with someone. Strongly urge people to get a life before they get a bf/gf ... its not a f******g race where you have to get a gf/bf just because everyone else is! Might even solve the soulmate issue.

I know I'm not in that 'race' (as described by Marvin); neither do I care about joining one. And, there's not one but so many reasons for doing so.

Life's usually complicated. You have so many stuff to do. You don't want to get all tangled up in a relationship. You are not ready. You might not have a good feeling about it. You might have had a couple of bad ones. You are already hard-pressed for time. And, so on and on and on.....

But, I think I have some unique excuses to add as well.

First up, I never actually liked any of them. They were all a tough case and I had no patience in dealing with them. Further, I easily get tired of two individuals trying to play what's-going-on-his/her-mind game. (Though, I realized during MBA that this was something to do with asymmetric information, bounded rationality and game theory) . Yes, there were one or two who didn't fit the 'usual' bill, but let's not discuss them for the time being.

Second up, "Why?" I mean what's the need? Give me the answer and I'll start looking for a girl straightaway.

Now, why did this topic came to my mind?
Well, I had posted some 'unusual' pics of me playing guitar on the stage and I got some rather 'unusual' comments. Sample this -

"Lot's of girls must be after you"
"I'm sure you did this to get some chicks"
"So, you must be humping around these days"

Hello!!!

Isn't there something called 'love for music' left in this world?
Or, are all your actions governed by your pervert-ness and should have a sexual connotation.

I certainly fail to see the rationale.
And, then the world will recall me as an a**

P.S. Simply dig Marvin's line - Strongly urge people to get a life before they get a bf/gf ...

2008-12-14T02:09:00.003+05:30

Still alive (but kicking) !!

A complete half year has passed.

Back then, I didn't know what this journey would be like or what ups or downs will it bring along. But, to be honest, I never tried to figure that out either. The idea of coming here neither excited me nor did it bring shivers down my spine. It was just a moment that I believed would soon be over.

But, nature had some other things in mind (it always does).
It knew how much I hated roller coaster rides and that's what I received in abundance.
Late submissions, learning new topics 30 minutes before the exams, lack of sleep, long and tiring classes, personal schedule going haywire, I putting on weight - all the things I hated, yet have to live with. That's not all. That's probably the uppermost tip of the iceberg.

I could continue whining on and on.
Let's save it for some other day (in the best interest of everyone:))

2008-12-07T01:36:00.004+05:30

Arbit

Last week was probably the last ever scheduled break of my life...unless I give into the urge of a second, phoren MBA, or of adding the initials 'Dr.' to my name..
Anyhoo, what's weird (and sad) is I spent a lot of evenings attending marriages - of friends, classmates, relatives and unknowns. It was as if the whole city was getting married. Now all these functions are generally very nice n all...food n drinks n a good way to catch up with friends n cousins....and aunts who have a list of girls waiting for you to evaluate and pick one from!
But then, it sends the philosophical side of me into an overdrive. When will the sham of the great-Indian-wedding end? Why dont these nosy aunts mind their own f*****g business? Does the concept of arranged marriage still make even the slightest sense (despite its awesome success rate in our parents' generation)? Are 24 year olds ready for the matrimonial bond-for-life (and does such a thing exist in the first place)? Do soulmates exist...and what if I ain't marrying mine!??

Damn...I hate feeling grownup. I hate my classmates getting married so early and giving my parents ideas. I hate feeling that studies are done and the expected next step in life is you-know-what. Aah...the phoren MBA or the frauddie 'Dr.' prefix (and the PhD to achieve that) seem such welcome deviations now! I love studying and I hate this MBA that's getting over so fast!!!

2008-12-04T21:57:00.005+05:30

EGO R.I.P

I know I have been hallucinating in most of Prof. Sen's class.
But, as Abhishek puts it, he surely is one of my favorite profs out here :)

2008-11-02T02:21:00.005+05:30

Finally!!

Yes. Finally! For the 1st time, I'm happy with myself. :)

Featured above - Lake Joka at its fullest.

2008-10-30T18:10:00.002+05:30

What? Not Again!

Autumn descends and everyone starts pulling up their socks, yet again.

The "summers" time is here and I can already feel the heat in the chilly winds that blow easterly these days. Loads of broken ambitions, friendships falling apart, backbiting - all held by a single sheet of pasted on the wall.

Bertie had warmed me about these times a long time back and I can clearly see the clouds in the sky, albeit without any silver linings.

~ Wishing for better/brighter days......

2008-09-28T20:48:00.003+05:30

Done at last.

1 Night.

50 Songs.

The numbers speak for themselves.

And, how JBS BaroC carried out this humongous task is a story in itself.

After all the technical goof ups - sudden sparks of reverbs on the vocals, guitars sounding too shrill, synth continuously displaying 'Low Battery' warnings, time and again tuning issues with guitar, broken strings, drunk musicians on stage - and the rowdy crowd, we finally played 50 songs.

Though, we missed our initial target of 65 songs (for which we practiced day and night), the number achieved was not at all unimpressive.

A totally new experience, I can still feel the rush of blood to my head.

2008-08-29T17:01:00.002+05:30

And, then I thought.

Everything was subtle, depressing, disillusioning and full of cribs for a long while. The cyclic fevers didn’t help either.

But, suddenly there was a barrage of events that went around me. Though not related to me, they made me pause for a moment and think.

The early signs were there when I wrote earlier and it was good to see Bertie somewhat agreeing to my point of view. I thought that things will settle down after a while but new events just keep on augmenting my concerns.

I see people around me who are brilliant; Give them any damn problem to solve and they’ll crack it in a buzz. But, then they start doing things that completely disturbs the all-happy-utopian-landscape one could have imagined.

Is it really necessary for people to grab on everything they can?
Even if the benefits could have been afforded by them, had they not filled their wardrobes with Adidas's and Nike's of the world!

Is it really necessary to show your arrogance and so-called "attitude" to guests?

Is it really necessary to start listening only when the other person starts talking about dollars and pounds?

Is it really necessary to not end any conversation without mentioning the P word?

Is it really necessary to display your individualistic superiority at the expense of someone else?

Is it really necessary to stop dreaming just because you know the world is not going to change?

P.S. I’m even ashamed to tag these posts.
P.S.A. Have started listening to this song. I don't know a word they say but somehow a certain connect happens - http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=ADD7ga9Bs_k

2008-08-25T12:03:00.002+05:30

Poppin' Pills

Repeated night outs, a confused mind, and a even more confused weather man - What do you get out of all these? Cold, fever, constant headache and, more importantly, a fear.

It's an unsaid rule in b-schools that thou shall not fall ill. And, if you do so, you're screwed. I need not even explain why :)

So, here I am, happily popping pills, hoping they have the promised effect.

Damn! Even this post is so confusing :(

2008-08-22T14:22:00.005+05:30

The Disadvantages of an Elite Education

Long but really nice article:

http://www.theamericanscholar.org/su08/elite-deresiewicz.html

2008-08-20T18:42:00.001+05:30

Paradise Lost.

It was one of those bandh days when the whole of Bengal comes to a standstill. And, all that we are left with is no transportation, no open shops, and most importantly no food since mess workers are part of the union.

But, somehow we managed to get some outside workers who could cook at least a bare minimum quantity of food for us. Needless to say, the utensils were scarce since there was no one to wash it and make it available for reuse.

So, in a situation like this and with hundreds of so-called “best” brains in the country, you can obviously be assured that people will manage the crisis.

But, what do you see instead?
People rushing and fighting for food; stuffing themselves to the brim; grabbing on spoons, forks and bowls that they didn’t even use; taking out serving spoons for personal use.

It looked as if it was the end of the world and this was your last chance for salvation.
It’s a shame to even imagine that these will be the people who’ll lead the country tomorrow :|

That brings me to another important issue -

Is good education enough to make you a good individual? Comments.

2008-08-05T12:54:00.001+05:30

The 1st ones..

These were the days I dreaded the most - stuff nightmares are made of.

The very idea of going through the whole grind of examinations and evaluations all over again sent shocks across the whole of my body. The last time I felt that way was when I accidentally tripped on a high voltage wire.

Not that I never gave examinations in my life. Engineering was full of “those” things. But then, only an engineer knows the inside story. And once, that you have actually been in the industry, it's only the threat of losing dollars/euros that takes the shit out of you. All other things are passé.

So, what was it like?

Six gruesome days which were never accompanied by nights. Endless doze of Tea, Coffee, Cold drink, Rolls, Sandwiches and whatever you can grab throughout the so-called nights. Listening to the same song on full blast after each exam.

But, somehow I felt somewhat at ease. While others were not sleeping at all, I was logging 5-6 hours daily. Though, I am yet to see the repercussions of such a move.

But, all said and done, I'm sure that people will introspect deeply after this mayhem. The lines have been clearly drawn. We now know who's gonna burn the midnight's lamp from here on (of course, with high hopes of high returns) and who's gonna try his level best to extinguish the lamp (of course, to keep the spirit of relative grading held high). Rather than just following the mad race, people have to find their own way.

Am I right in what I just said?
Maybe the more experienced, and we have a hell lot of them, people can share their experiences. Especially, since they had stopped blogging during their b-school days **fuming**

2008-07-11T12:51:00.005+05:30

Second Year :D

My past two weekends at K were probably the best ever. Partying. boozing and dancing till the wee hours ... listening to, amongst other things, an impromptu (and more importantly, an awesome) rendition of Nothing Else Matters by a fachcha in the OA amphi. ... and wrapping it all up with pan and apple flavoured Hookahs in the balcony, creating new philosophies with friends while the sun came up... filling with light the cloud-covered valley. Aaaah...what a sight!
Sleeping at 8 in the morning, getting up at 4 in the evening. Eating whatever, whenever. Doing whatever, whenever.

Is this what they call the bohemian way of life?? Is this a defense mechanism that the PGP2s adopt...having returned from the nerve-reckingly boring summer internships, getting a glimpse of what awaits them for the rest of their lives?? (Ahem..this philosophy is a by-product of one of the hookah sessions only...)

Who cares...the year has started in a great way. Looking forward to making it the greatest ever!

@Blatherer - hang in there dude! Second year's fun is in direct proportion to first year's misery!!

2008-07-06T19:51:00.004+05:30

Run Devil Run!

Just ran a 5KM track to get an entry into the adventure club at Cal.

Though I couldn't complete it within the limited time, the good thing was that I actually completed it :D I never thought that I could do it. But, then, I never tried it.

Learnings? :P

p.s. damn! I think I have started sounding MBA'ish **yuck**

2008-05-19T17:28:00.002+05:30

To Joka?

Reality is stranger than fiction. And, yet, there's a sense of tranquility that reality brings with it.

Till a couple of months back, everything was in place. I was to fly off to US, do my MBA and what not. My mind was so preoccupied with it that I started getting constant nightmares, thinking about all the work I'll have to do - cooking, cleaning, traveling and, yeah, studying. The Dollar-Rupee exchange rate was the first thing that I started noticing in the newspaper. And, the thought of leaving behind friends was haunting me. All in all, I guess a cocktail of fear, unexpectedness, excitement and sorrow started creeping in.

But, alas, things were not to happen the way I thought they will.

Rapid events flashed in front of my eyes and here I was, packing my bags for Joka - a small nondescript place in the outskirts of Kolkata. Where in Joka? The famed Indian Institute of Calcutta, or IIMC, as everyone knows it. Probably, a place millions dream to be and yet it seemed so incidental to me. The dreaded interviews and group discussions were, to be honest, okay. They seemed more like casual chit-chats and, at times, heated arguments. I guess they'll take there revenge once I am there.

So, here I am, off to IIMC Joka - the breathtaking campus of lakes, birds, rains, mosquitoes and, most importantly, the people.

People@Joka - Beware :P

2008-04-20T12:35:00.000+05:30

Knock .... Knock ....

Anyone home?

2008-04-01T23:45:00.002+05:30

Untitled Songs of Tyranny - Part 3

Just a mile down the road,
ran a small unknown stream.
And, though, it had its own beauty,
it was lost somewhere in between.

There were rivers large and glorious,
that weren't too far off.
And, needless, it is to say
he ran towards them with awe.

The water wasn't smelly or salty,
neither was it stale.
And, never, did the stream ever complain,
while serving him without a fail.

Yet, he build bridges
and bank for the river.
Forgetting if the stream
ever cried a tear.

The stream died a choking death,
before it turned into a drain.
Oh, how much it missed,
it missed for a rain.

A rain that would have made it flow
the one that would have poured all night
But, alas! the dream was too big;
too big before the river's might.

2008-03-15T01:24:00.000+05:30

Untitled Songs of Tyranny - Part 2

Just as I started to sing,
I had those mellow feelings calm me down.
Blending with the music that played in the background,
they took over all the senses that remained.

Everything started drifting away
and everything became so subtle and calm.
And at a distance was that sound,
the one that didn't exactly call my name.

I still tried to listen hard,
battling stiffly with everything that came across.
But with each beat they faded away
both the senses and the sound.

2008-03-11T00:50:00.003+05:30

Untitled Songs of Tyranny - Part 1

I don't have a story.
I'm still wondering why!

Nothing just crosses my mind.
I stand stupefied.

Is there any was there?
Don't ask me to whine.

Are we still wondering?
I guess that is right.

And, just as I started to pack my wares again.
There they stood in the darkness to snatch it all away.

Time has completed its cycle
and I'm still at the same stage.
Just wondering if it's time again
for me to sway away.

2008-03-03T22:40:00.005+05:30

Chandni Chowk ....... Done
Neemrana Fort ......... Done

Too much work, busy weekends, sleepless nights, no partying, no doing-crazy-stuff, 18hours in front of a machine (which, by the way, is way more intelligent than me). I knew I had a crisis in hand. Some correction was required and it was required a.s.a.p.

I started off with a movie binge a couple of weekends ago (the post is somewhere down there. With no one posting, this blog looks like my personal blog :P).

Movies are fun but they are not fun enough. Point realized and it was time for some traveling.

First up, a trip to Chandni Chowk.

Exactly an year ago, I did this. And, I was doing this once again. Nothing changes in Old Delhi. The awesome choice of paranthas (aalo, gobhi, karela, bhindi, kela, papad but the one that deserves special mention is the mewa parantha–beat that if you can!), the walk in the busy lanes, the metro ride, the kulfi at Giani's. And to top it up, a trip to India Gate. Why'O'Why didn't I find this joy before?

One down, the next was a trip to Neemrana Fort.

Now, this was something that was in pipeline for a way too long time. But a 200km trip on a bike was something that I was scared of. So, after much deliberation and procrastination, my friend and I decided that enough was enough and we'll take our chances.

The start wasn't that good.

Just an hour before the decided time of departure, one of us was still dozing off. The situation looked dicey but we somehow managed it. So the ride that was supposed to start at 8:45 started at 11 :)

After passing the long barrage of trucks on NH8, we finally reached wide open spaces. Taking turns on the bike, we 'cruised' throughout the journey and safely reached the destination in 2.5 hours. Exploring around the fort, eating a highly-overpriced lunch, talking about what must have been those times like and deciding whether the 'thing' floating in the pond is a dead fish or a log of wood took us another 3 hours before we decided to head back.

While coming back, we were thinking about the great ride that we had but something surely was missing. So, there we went into a ditch (of course, with our bike). We did suffer some injuries but the laughing-at-the-time-of-tragedies took it all away (though, we realized after reaching home that we had injured ourselves a bit seriously and the bike still needs some thorough inspection).

But, as they say, even the fall has its own story and we might have a lot more falls tomorrow.
But, what the hell.
It was a heck of a ride! And that's all what matters.

2008-03-03T09:51:00.006+05:30

(No Title Needed For This Nonsense)

So we're back to that time when me n blathy are the only ones who seem to posting on this blog (even if in a posting ratio of roughly 1:20). Where are rest of the weirdos?? Ummm...lemme guess. Bertie is boozing away the last few days in that mad house. Madmita is most prolly out exploring the scandinavian countryside (do they even hav it there?)...and Marvin, well...mugging away to glory!
Now don't get me wrong..this ain't another one of those "come on guys start posting!" calls. Nuh uh. The one area of thought time and experience have 'wise'ned me in, is that you don't ask people to blog on MH. It simply does not work. Though I do fondly reminisce those days of mad blogging...when the the only way to cheer up on a bluesy monday morning in office was to read up on the last late-night-sunday-post...Anyhow...life takes its turns and we move on to more 'important' things...
Now do not think that this post is drawing to a close. No sir. Am right now sitting in this Marketing Research class, least interested in the numerous data analyses being spoon-fed by the proff...and hence plan to spend one whole hour on writing up this nonsensical piece.
...
...
...
Ok... the weird part is, that it actually took a lot of effort for me to think of writing about something un-related to a bschool, or philosophy for that matter. But then I remembered that I still haven't posted about my much-awaited trip to Goa last-to-last weekend. I still remember having dreamt of going to goa ever since i could pronounce it (trust me, it wasn't so long back). And finally I did. 4 of us, barely managing a berth in the calicut-goa train landed up on a 3 day escapade to India's very own Tijuana (more on that and Spring Break and why we too after 10th and 12th should have one too, some other day).
What followed were 3 days of 8-9 meals a day, gorging on yummy seafood and more. But unlike the expectation of being stoned/doped/drunk and partying the nights away, my days (and nights) in goa were spent lazing away at the beach or hotel or a nearby cafe'....which makes me wonder whether I've already become that old?? That, at the age of 23 I din't smoke one joint nor jived in a single party, in GOA!!???
Arrrghhh...am not gonna be all philosophical again. And hence gonna blame all this on my elderly and mellow company :-)...fyi, am not through with goa. Not yet...and next time, its gonna be wild.

2008-02-28T01:01:00.000+05:30

i, blatherer.

It all started when I decided to give birth to my alter ego, allowing it to come alive on-line.

I wanted a unique name - something that described me in a single word; yet, wasn't too obvious to reveal my identity (Mr. No-sense-lazy-ass would have been too easy for anyone to guess that it's me).

Many people take the easiest way out and name themselves bond007, hellboy, sexy-babe, and the likes. But anyone, who knows me well, knows how much I hate clichés (at least in theory). And, so began my journey in search of 'that' name.

After much search, I stumbled upon a word - blatherer.
thefreedictionary.com describes blatherer as someone who talks foolishly/gibberish.

Fits to the tee, I thought.

I had the habit of talking non-sense; often, confusing the listeners on where we started and where are we headed to; lost in transition; circling around a square that has no corner - Got it?

But wait! Why am I writing this? Did anyone ask for it? No one seems to have an issue with the name.

Well, because the name has its own darker side - the one that's oft confused on what to say during tight situations, the one that's ready to churns out rubbishes, the one that redefines sarcasm, the one that almost lost a very good friend because of this.

I just hope that I'll always stick to the funnier part because the rougher side of the coin is too hard - for me and, more importantly, for the people around me.

Blatherer died tonight.
And, somewhere in the distance, the music faded away -

So hold me when I'm here
Right me when I'm wrong

2008-02-26T01:33:00.002+05:30

The right fit

I used to think I'm quite flexible and not-so-choosy when it came to making friends with people. Here, however, I've come to realise that it's quite the contrary. You just can't stand some people, while with some the closeness is more of a sine wave. Even the select group of people, the so-called close friends drift apart at the minutest of causes (or even without them), their void getting filled (though slowly) by others.
Why is it that school/college friends stay dearer than any latter ones?
Is it the idiosyncrasies attached with growing up and becoming more opinionated? Or is it the constant urge of people to mold others in their 'model' casts - something at which they continually fail? Hard to say...
An operations guru may say that the most optimum way to deal with these is to Stop Caring. Sadly, ops ain't my cuppa tea...

2008-02-16T01:05:00.002+05:30

Whose value is it anyway?

Oft-repeated, fused and confused, values or value system, to be more precise, is something I never understood.

Everyone has a common stand on it – an individual has his/her own value system; right for one may be wrong for another.

But, what else?
Isn’t there a common set of attributes that are never ever spoken against?

Can ‘standing by your decisions and beliefs’ be wrong for someone?
Can ‘sticking to what you vouched for’ be wrong for someone?
Can ‘speaking the truth’ be wrong for someone?
Can ‘honoring your self-respect rather than ducking humility’ be wrong for someone?

Show me someone who answers affirmatively to any of these questions and I’ll show you a fool.

Of course, there are grey areas. Something that all the shiv shainiks of the world take advantage of. Divides on the basis of cultural acceptances and religious tolerations are bound to happen, especially when we have such a complex social setup. But, I do believe that if we probe harder, we’ll reach a consensus on what’s right and what’s wrong though someone’s voice may find lesser volume the other’s.

The V(alue) before the We. And the We before the I.

2008-02-11T01:42:00.000+05:30

What you see is What you don't get

After a long drought, I finally ended up with 3 movies this weekend - Mithya, Control and American Gangster.

Though the three movies are totally disconnected, there's something that remains true for each of the 3 movies - All the three movies portrays characters that saw something and wanted to be that something, just to realize later that they didn't want it.

Mithya revolves around a struggling actor, VK who couldn't get a role in a film but ended up with the role of a gangster in real life. He hated it. Starts loving it later. And, then got lost somewhere in between. A very very sad end.

Control remains a well directed biopic based on Ian Curtis (the front man of Joy Division) - his musical journey, the sheer genius in his songs, the pressures he couldn't cope up with, a rocky marriage, an extramarital affair and his suicide at the age of 23!

American Gangster is your regular gangster movie but for the fact the guy who gets the booties this time happens to be a black and not someone from the Italian mafia (very much clichéd & done to death).

But be it VK or Ian or Frank Lucas, none of them never thought that they'll end up like this. All of them started on a path with a focus and a vision. They knew what they wanted. And, they were very determined at it. But then, life has its own twists and turns. You never know where you'll end up.

Maybe, what Shakespeare said remains true for all of us.

All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;

2008-02-05T22:13:00.000+05:30

:|

Well, that's what my response was when I heard about something that should have stirred every minute muscle and bone in my body.

Is it that I have become numb or is it that I have realized a larger goal that goes beyond the local highs and lows?

2008-01-28T01:01:00.001+05:30

Re–Booted.

I remember myself making fun of people who went to these annual “boot-camps”, where one is supposed to slog for more than 19 hours a day to check whether he/she has it in him/her to make it to the top. The whole thing looked so phony, gaudy and, most importantly, useless to me. But unfortunately (or maybe fortunately, only time will tell), I finally landed up in one.

So, after the busy weekend that I had in Mumbai some time back, it was time for yet another busy weekend for me. But rather than talking about the boring details, let’s skip straightaway to the key takeaways :) (see, it got me already)

Indian Engineers are the epitome of un-diversity.
Fresh graduates are not fresh at all – be it the staleness in the way they think or the all-that-jazz image they have about life in general.
Attending a talk at 12:01 AM is dangerous; especially after a sumptuous dinner that you had thinking that you’ll have a good night’s sleep afterwards.
I am still good in talking crap with people.
There are actually people out there who are far more clueless than me.
I hate people who are clueless and can shout at a very high pitch.
I hate Indian MBAs.

So far, So good.
The roller coaster has just picked up its pace :(

2008-01-21T21:33:00.000+05:30

Wayanaaaaaaaad!

Flawless highways winding through scenic valleys and tea estates to little towns n caves n waterfalls hidden away in God's Own Kountry...that's how one can go about describing wayanad. This past weekend I took the best-ever bike journey of my life...100 Kms of pure bliss.
IIMK - Edakkal - Kalpetta - Chembra Peak - IIMK
Never did I imagine I could love my Avenger so much, be it racing through the straight stretches or winding down curves on the ghats, she held her own, showing the Pulsars of the world their true place...far behind! Sadly I forgot to ask someone to click a pic with me on my fav ride :(

@Blathy - Would have loved to have you along dude!

2008-01-17T23:32:00.000+05:30

Phew!

This must have been one of the busiest weekends of my life (discounting the weekends when I sit in front of my monitor, exploring things that I haven’t understood yet).

To start with, an opportunity to fly after a very-very long time but I wasn’t scared (thanks to the loud gujju aunty sitting besides me and her army of equally loud kids). The Mumbai airport was like a fresh breeze of air, especially after having been through the Delhi airport experience. And, not to forget, the 35kBps free internet at the airport; thanks to it, for the first time in my life, I saw a youtube video in real time 

And then there was “wait” :(
First, a 2-hour wait for a friend at the airport. The next day was an even-lousier 4-hour wait, with me reaching for an appointment way ahead of schedule (5 hours, to be precise). Though, the day after that was surprisingly fast – things going past in a zap.

But, what remains unforgettable is the Cultural Learnings from Mumbai – PDA
PDA a.k.a. Public Display of Affection is something that I hardly ever noticed in Delhi and something that seems to be in abundance in Mumbai. I mean, have you ever seen a couple making out in the middle of a ‘family restaurant’? Man! Those guys deserved an applause. But at the same time Mumbai reminds me of religious extremists who fight tooth and nail against such displays.

Well, India never fails to surprise me 

2008-01-07T00:31:00.000+05:30

Where is the real Blatherer??

I was shocked to learn that dear old carnivorous Blatherer has decided to give up food and stick to herbs and vegetables ... I think he is confusing grass and weed with vegetarianism ... our dear Blathy needs help. Kindly contribute to the Help Blathy fund ... please call 1800 - C-H-I-N-K .

2007-12-29T02:28:00.000+05:30

Blank Noise

Blank defines randomness – empty spaces greeted by unforeseen events that zip-by without a meaning.

Blank defines completeness – thousands of entities revolving around anything and everything to create a sheet of noise that so-easily dissolves with the background.

Blank defines emptiness – spaces that are devoid of any character, either black or white.

Blank defines happiness – a serene environment with non-existence of any disruptive interruption.

Blank defines sorrow – the lull that follows.

.

2007-12-19T10:52:00.000+05:30

Continuing with the AM BE AY spirit...

CAPM, WACC, Black Scholes...LOL

2007-12-05T13:36:00.000+05:30

Oh! You have an MBA

2007-12-01T21:15:00.000+05:30

Insanity is good. Right?

The path was tiring.
And that’s why you chose it.
What fun would it had been.
Had everyone just strolled by.

The seeds were bitter.
And, probably, that’s why the fruit tasted so sweet.
What you may had lost.
Had you plucked them in between.

The night was over.
And the dawn was about to break.
Hadn’t it been too frightening.
Had you opened your eyes in the dark.

Part sane, part insane – you might feel.
But don’t just stop in between.
Hang on for a moment or two.
Because, you never know what lies beneath.

By the way,
Something struck me in the night.
Insanity is good. Right?

2007-11-28T22:39:00.000+05:30

Sitting Waiting Wishing

For December 15 to come!! And for me to rush back to Gurgaaaon!! And meeteatshoproamlive...
Till then, it's submissions, submissions...and yet some more submissions...
OB assignments that I can't comprehend
FinMan quizzes that make my head spin
OpsMan classes that make me feel like puking

They'd said 2nd term would be hard. It's not hard...its mind numbingly boringirritatingfrustrating...

Where's the rest of the junta gone...

2007-11-22T21:23:00.000+05:30

$*%# off!

The candles burnt.....but the aura remained.

bought a laptop but the shipment got delayed by a week....blew up money on repairing my old pc but that didn't help....fought with friends....slipped twice on my bike....almost died, driving towards a big truck that came out of nowhere in the dark....the tyre burst and I had to walk for kilometers at a stretch....stuck in work about which I do not have the slightest clue....deadlines cut down by 60%....sleepless nights....and they say that a great year starts along with every birthday.

2007-11-10T14:38:00.000+05:30

Interesting.

Diwali used to be Diwali back then.
Candles. Sweets. Gifts. Lights. Crackers. And all the fun.
Slowly and steadily we struck off one item after the other.
Diwali turned out to be just-another-holiday when it’s compulsory to take a bath.

But this Diwali was different.
Even though I was as usual left out – all alone – at home, that didn’t stop me from having fun.

First up, my PC went into flames (actually!)
It would easily have been the winner in the Best Home made Videos Ever! series. So there I was, with flames coming out of my machine, trying to blow it off using all the wind power in my lungs. With my first-hand experience, I can guarantee you that a burning PC may be a costly affair but it’s surely worth the fun :-)

Next up, my evil mind made me watch a crap (read – Om Shanti Om) on the Diwali night. Yes! The actual Diwali night – right after the pooja, when people go out and burst crackers and exchange sweets – I was there, holed up inside a theatre with the mall wearing a spooky deserted look, getting myself tortured.

You just can’t imagine it. You have to be there to get that feeling.

And on the top of that, Om Shanti Om!!!
Damn! We know that we like meaningless Govinda-type films. But secrets like these are to be kept hidden inside the closet. You don’t go out and declare it to the world, making a mockery of yourself and your fellow artists.

But, as they say – agar happy ending nahi hui toh samajh lo ki picture abhi baaki hain, mere dost (If there is no happy ending, then remember that the film is still not over) or something like that :-( (since it’s a quote from Om Shanti Om, I’m sure that people will overlook my ignorance).

Thus wishing that this extended weekend ends on a happy note.

p.s. I'm sure that even zz9 celebrated in style ;-)

2007-11-01T00:43:00.000+05:30

Deadlier than the deadliest!

So, here we are - our annual winter hibernation mode.
With zz9 & marvin starting off with their (Am)-(Be)-A and bertie finishing his.
And with, madmita disappearing in thin air.
Am I the only one alive :(

2007-10-20T20:47:00.000+05:30

Racism in India

Here's an excellent piece on the Symonds issue.

2007-10-18T21:23:00.000+05:30

He.

They never saw
They never heard
All that he lost
in his way to Elysium

He left marks
Shifted stones
But nothing ever
really worked his way

Today, he's gone
In our memories
Though, still remains
in photographs

They took them out
Out of the almirahs
And burnt them down
one by one

2007-10-12T22:39:00.000+05:30

Yet another day!

It's funny how good days turn into bad nightmares and that too in a flash that flies past you before you could even notice its presence.

So, there I was, feeling happy about the way the day progressed - successful meetings, flashy mails to clients and the good time I had with a friend.

But then suddenly , I got the 'New Mail' notification. The first few lines - We have carefully reviewed your ____ - and I knew it was over.

And suddenly I saw myself submerged in a sea of feelings.

The feeling of someone shouting at my face - Screwed you!
The feeling of someone saying - I told you so.
The feeling of someone saying - What are you gonna do now?
The feeling of someone saying - Are you sure?
The feeling of someone saying - Come on!! Move your ass.... Give your best shot to the rest...You got to make it man!!!
The feeling of someone saying - Don't be a loser.... Give it a fight...as u have always done.

All these feelings are making me, kind of, sick.
I better sleep.
Ummmmmm....... Naah.... Better watch - No Direction Home. Bob Dylan surely knows how to tackle the blues :D :D

2007-10-07T02:10:00.000+05:30

Can't get any worse.

I knew that my humor sucked.
But this is outrageous :(

Me: Hey, Can you send me across your CV. Need to have a look.
Friend: Ya sure. But please make sure NOT to share it with anyone.
Me: Of course, not.
Me: Even if a girl agrees to sleep with me in exchange of your CV, I won't do that.

God! I deserve a BIG one for this.

2007-10-05T22:04:00.000+05:30

Nuttin' Happenin'

What? Why? How?

2007-09-10T01:56:00.000+05:30

If

I must have read this in some textbook during the school days but now is the time when I can appreciate what he wanted to say.

If - by Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!

2007-09-08T00:39:00.000+05:30

Random Musings

It’s not glory but the feeling of being content that makes you bask the sunshine for a bit and take the next step forward. The rush of blood into your head that makes you believe in what you do. The dreams that refuse to go away even as the sun shines overhead. The faces that show you the light when there’s pitch dark outside. The gut feeling that refuses to go even though you know it is foolishness. The heart that overtakes the brain to reach your senses.

2007-09-01T01:34:00.000+05:30

Aerials, in the sky.

Music. Music. And, more Music.
Have I ever had a moment when I couldn't relate a real-life scenario to a song? Guess, that's why they say - "Life is a song, let's sing it".

And here's the latest in my life (courtesy SOAD) -

And we are the ones that want to choose,
always want to play,
but you never want to lose.

p.s. btw, it's raining posts. looks like september is the month.

2007-09-01T00:41:00.000+05:30

Random Thoughts

Disclaimer: Yet another post related to a "B"-school...now I know that my past (few!) posts reek of the "B" word, and can imagine the force per unit area with with you must be grinding your teeth right now in frustration but I can't help it. When you're totally engrossed in something so interesting, it comes out in all that you say/do [ read: a b-school sucks all imagination out of you :( ]
Anyways, coming to the point...following is a list of things a B-school definitely teaches you...and that too in a short span of time:

Using words like 'definitely'. And 'totally', Im 'so' telling you, 'seriously'...
Satan descended one day on this planet, and created what are now popularly known as "group assignments" in an MBA programme. Hence involvement in them must be avoided at all costs
Doing the weirdest things such as 'PJ faceoffs' on the IP msgr at 4 a.m.
Hence->staying up late. Insanely late.
Accepting that best case scenarios DO NOT happen
Mastering the art of 'gaseous' PPTs
Doing the same things again and again and again, and still expecting people to appreciate it. For eg. Writing a blog
Discussing how Mumbai sucks vis-a-vis Delhi...and both vis-a-vis Gurgaon...waise this I could do even before!
Watching ads and thinking about the product positioning being used instead of checking out the hot new model...

And many more random behaviours...staying your own self here is one big challenge :(

2007-08-26T12:29:00.000+05:30

Sachin, Douglas Adams, The Universe and Everything else....

You might be wondering about the title of this post. Its to do with a post i found on a blog at www.cricinfo.com. It brings out the undeniable genius of the two men and the fact that there is no book more insightful book than the HGTTG.
______________________________________________________

Sachin Tendulkar smiled. Now that's not a codeword for a nuclear explosion but it was how Tendulkar reacted to an umpiring decision when he was one short of his 42nd one-day hundred. What an injustice, cried millions of fans across the world. How can such a great batsman fall in the 90s in three out of five one-day innings? And how does one explain two 99s in two months?

Hang on. According to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, 42 is the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything. Surely two months isn't long enough for solving such a mighty problem. It shows that the step from 0 to 41 is surely demanding but the one from 41 to 42 is gigantic. It's a leap that our Sachin needs to take. Douglas Adams obviously saw it coming several decades earlier but when it does arrive, it deserves one heck of a celebration.

2007-08-22T22:09:00.000+05:30

and it's beginning to get to me.

I met an old friend, some time back. He was the topper of our class and could have easily made it into any of the world's top IITs and IIMs. But, there was one thing that differentiated him from us, the lower mortals - he had a dream.

So, all the time when we were busy, chasing our 'goals', he was taking a step forward towards his dream. He knew that the path was not easy and the pot at the end of the rainbow was not that lucrative either. But, he bravely fought against everything: the temptation of an easy life, the lure of easy money and the eternal peer pressure, from which all of us suffer.

And now, here we are.

We sit comfortably in our air conditioned office, contemplating about the next job change or the way out from the mundane job responsibilities we have. Whereas, he sweats it out in the high court, pushing files and talking to under-trials.

We rush off to the mall and spend our easy-earned money on things that, we think, will make us happy. Whereas, he is more than happy to return home at 11 in the night after spending all his evenings in the company of mammoth books that cover the Indian Penal Code.

But even after all this, he has one thing which we don't.

He has a dream!
And, all that we are left with are illusions of a nightmare!

2007-08-13T02:02:00.000+05:30

Weekly Status : Week 32

First and foremost.
Homer Simpson Rocks !!!!!!

In Homer, we believe.

Finally, a weekend when I did it all.

Blew up 22,000 rupees (some of my really hard earned cash)
Actually traveled in a blue-line bus (God's very own messenger of death)
Wondered around in Connaught Place, discussing why guys hold on to their girls while walking.
Traveled in an auto-rickshaw (after a very-very long time)
Got simpson'ed (finally!!)
Wrote a crazy mail to all my friends, asking them to get back to me for all that I've done to them till date.

p.s.1. 2nd part of 'personal rantings of a guy gone crazy'
p.s.2. now we are officially global (with no two bloggers logging in from the same city). hell! we even have people seeing this from finland :D

2007-08-10T22:37:00.000+05:30

Knock..Knock..

Oh! How I jotted down all the things I'd do, once I have the time.
The plans were on paper and the maps were ready.

But then, the usual vicious cycle of oh-wait-for-the-right-time-and-then-you-can-do-it came knocking on the door. I hate unexpected guests and, especially, this damn thing - it tops the list.

Yet again, I pulled myself back. I took a deep breath and comforted myself, promising that this would be the last time. But going by my dubious track record, I knew that it isn't. It's not even close to the last time.

So, till that time, let me sing aloud -

Take me down to the paradise city
Where the grass is green
And the girls are pretty
Take me home
Oh, won't you please take me home

p.s. 1st part of 'personal rantings of a guy gone crazy'

2007-08-03T02:08:00.000+05:30

The power of uhhh....... Pink!!

Today was a gloomy day.
Not because it rained cats and dogs.
Neither because a bus drowned at the Dwarka underpass.
Nor because I was asked to (yawn!!!) study some docs at office.
And, particularly, not because a client replied to my mail that I had sent her on February 28th, 2007.

In fact, I made a friend suffer a minor heart attack by telling him that I'm getting promoted and being sent for a 9-month on-site stint (which of course was a lie). And for the fact that after such a long time I finally failed to miss My name is Earl and 30 Rock.

But it was gloomy. And it was strange that I wasn't able to identify the reason.
And, hence, the day was about to end at a very gloomy note but then...

A phone call at 12 o'clock and the midnight sun started shining bright behind the dark clouds in the sky. A conversation which made me realize the things I enjoy the most.

"To each his own", they say.
Some people find watching television interesting, some people feel the happiest in the company of books, some people gorge like pigs to make the blues disappear and some people do good in their own company. But, for me, I have realized that one thing that can beat the shit out of my bluesy moods (ok! let's try and not think about beer for a moment) is -

trumpets......
rolling drums......
tadaa......

Office Gossip !!!

So, there I was - happy like a little child who just snatched away the lollipop out of the bull dog's mouth; with sparkling eyes of a scientist who invented something today; the guy who realized that he'll be marrying Paris Hilton;

And why was I happy? Because I'd just concluded a 2 hour phone call discussing - pink!
Oh! how I love office gossip. I adore it. In fact, I have a business plan to make a living out of it (any b-school student listening).

God save the souls of those who interact with me at work :P

2007-07-01T12:01:00.000+05:30

If life were a song

The rain that wakes me up in the morning; the sun that peeps through the slit; the music that plays in the background; the wish that life were a song.

Years and years of music that went through my ears (to such an extent that my friends point out that my hearing has impaired to some extent), thousands of catalogues that I went through, hours that I spent waiting in the line to get into that big gig-in-town and I realized what life would be like if there was no music.

There would be no Tequila Sunrise and there would be no one to Start Me Up and make me cognizant of the Morning Glory that lay ahead. No Fourth Time Around for All I Lost. No one to tell me that We’re Gonna Groove at times when I sat Dazed and Confused. Sitting, Waiting, Wishing wouldn’t have been that easy had there not been The Everyday Love Song that made you learn Walking The Blue.

I would have never realized the joy of singing Somebody Else's Song and shouting Fuck the World just to accept at the end that it’s just a Cynical World, the World Where You Live.

No one to make me stop thinking about What Will They Say and let me fly away Up in the Sky, Flying in a Blue Dream, shouting Don't You Know Who I Think I Am At the Top of My Lungs

And, as Louis Armstrong sang, no one to remind me –

Don't Forget To Mess Around.

*Courtesy –

All I Lost – Zero
At the Top of My Lungs – Dashboard Confessions
Cynical World – Thermal and a Quarter
Dazed and Confused – Led Zeppelin
Don't Forget To Mess Around – Louis Armstrong
Don't You Know Who I Think I Am – Fall Out Boy
Flying in a Blue Dream – Joe Satriani
Fourth Time Around – Bob Dylan
Fuck the World – The Vines
Morning Glory – Oasis
Sitting, Waiting, Wishing – Jack Johnson
Somebody Else's Song – Lifehouse
Start Me Up – Rolling Stones
Tequila Sunrise – Eagles
The Everyday Love Song – Zero
Up in the sky – Joe Satriani
Walking the Blue – Willie Dixon
We’re Gonna Groove – Led Zeppelin
What Will They Say - John Swan
World Where You Live – Pearl Jam

2007-06-27T16:56:00.000+05:30

People Power

So my first post out of Kozhikode...a bit late because with the superb weather and scenery around, it's actually painful to sit in your room/CC and write a blog (or pretty much do anything else :(... )

...

Anyways, as per my first impressions, more than being than anything else, a B-school is amongst the best places to meet and experience people. But of all kinds...

Contrary to the office, people here are generally loud/pushy/argumentative..and sadly, just like something Bertie was talking about a few days back, most of them take themselves too seriously. Two days into the programme, a person with 2 yrs of IT workex is dead sure he wants to handle m&a at an investment bank (or something like that only!). In the sociology class, people protest during an amazing lecture that this course does not add value to their CVs. And don't even get me started on the whole shenanigans over class participation.

But on the other hand, there are (albeit a few) interesting people to meet too. Beautiful ones who give you an insight into the life of an army family :-). People who talk in all sorts of accents as they vividly, and indivdualistically describe their experiences, expectations, how much they miss their homes n stuff. People with phenomenal ideas and passions to match.

If these few days spent here paint a true picture, then the next 2 years are surely going to be one big rollercoaster ride. But what probably excites me the most, is the wealth of human management to gauge and learn from here.....for sure.

2007-06-23T02:03:00.000+05:30

The times they are a changing ...

Was just killing time randomly looking at old posts on the blog when I realized that so much has changed over the past 2 years. The blog has gone through various phases .... kiddish humour to event log to random philosophical questions to plain old frustration venting etc etc. Maybe you can say it has evolved ...

This blog needs a new description maybe ..... anyone??

And just a random note ... the spell check on this blog doesn't recognize the word 'blog' as a valid word ... weird ...

2007-06-12T22:19:00.000+05:30

How long does it take to change your thoughts?

Sunday, June 12, 2005

I just had a long chat with Bertie. Both of us were to start a new journey from tomorrow. The college days were over and even before we could swallow the hard hitting truth (that we've to start our career from tomorrow), we were to be ready for the bright, sunny day ahead.

There were sparks in the eyes.
There were reflections of beautiful clouds on the rose tinted glasses.
There were expectations from something which wasn't even visible.
There were apprehensions about the road we were being asked to walk on.

Those were the stuff dreams are made of.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

A quick recall and images from the past 2 years swipe past me at a speed comparable to none.

These 2 years have been full of experiences - The ups and downs shared by us; The times when we felt we've done it all; The times when we felt miserable; The times when we would try to get over our office blues over a bottle of beer; The times when we had our arguments; The times when boasting about one's work felt great; The times when someone else robbed off all the credits you deserved; The times when colleagues made you feel at-home; The times when some other colleagues made you feel not all that good about the at-home feeling; The times when you felt bad about friends leaving the company and, at the same time, felt good for them.

And although some people get all too boggled by these sine-wave like life cycle, I'm sure there would be no fun at Utopia either.

And like they sang -
it's times like these you learn to live again
it's times like these you give and give again
it's times like these you learn to love again
it's times like these time and time again

* never mind the L word :P

p.s. madmita warned us not to whine like little girls, so i would definitely try to post at least 3 happy logs before I get back to my whining again.

2007-06-11T09:30:00.000+05:30

Losing perspective

I find it hard to believe, but the cup of earl grey kept in front of me right now is making me nostalgic!
Just realized this is the last of the many bluesy monday mornings at office, that I spent writing on the blog...

2007-06-04T20:03:00.000+05:30

4 days to go .....

2007-05-31T13:52:00.000+05:30

Scott Adams knows what's in my mind!

Coincidence at its best :D
See this

2007-05-29T11:13:00.000+05:30

"How can i lose something i never had?"

Is it even possible? Its like being in a dream in you are painfully aware of the loss, but have no idea who or what has slipped away from you. A dream in which an absence is a presence, a hole moving like a ghost in the space around you. Did i fall in love with somebody who showed me the slightest bit of attention?

Lonely. Sad. Empty. Fake smiles. Unloved. Clementine. Alone. Happy memories. Mistakes. No future. Beautiful relationships. Orange hair. Dream. Best Friends. Weird. Fantasy. Disappointment. Meomory erasing. Desperately holding on. Give up. Move on. Can i??

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless mind.

2007-05-21T15:50:00.000+05:30

Errr... Swimming. Anyone?

I was sitting idle, doing nothing (as usual) when suddenly those images entered in mind.

I used to be a small kid (sic!) when I first entered a swimming pool.
With fear and anticipation, I let go of the ladders and I was there alone and completely on my own.
The instructor asked me to float and in I went. For a moment everything went berserk. I couldn't understand which way was up and which way was down. I didn't know at what angle I lay with respect to the Mother Earth. All I knew was that I was lost and I had to somehow survive. And so did I.

First lesson learnt, I was soon the king of shallow waters (thanks to floor of the pool which was just 3 feet below and easily within my reach). A friend tried to test me and dragged me into deep waters. I fought for some time and again came out, with a fist in the air.

So there I was, the king (with all due respect to HANce King) of all waters (or good times?) - be it shallow or deep.

Now starts the funny part.
Somehow, I am able to correlate the experience I had while learning swimming to that of life in general -

We leave the safe environment we grow up in, start the lonely battle, don't know which way we should head and most importantly don't know where we stand.

Slowly, every thing sinks in and we find ourselves in peace with our environment. Just to be reminded by a jolt that there are still much deeper waters to be conquered. We take a deep breath and start our journey for survival (or at least that's what people make us believe). And at the end come out victorious.

But we never ventured out of the pool. Only the size of the pool changed. We never took on the waves that hit hard on the shore. We never tried to swim across a wild river.

So, does that mean that life will also follow a similar track. We'll look for challenges but within what we describe as risk-free-environment. We'll never act wild and act as if we don't have anything to loose. We'll always have something pulling us indoors.

Think about it.

Next Up - Life and how it relates to the art of motorcycling :D

p.s. am I quitting my job? naaaah.... am too lazy for that :P

2007-05-18T10:41:00.000+05:30

When you try your best, but you don't succeed...
When you get what you want but not what you need...
Stuck in reverse?

Recently I found out what would have, in all probability, inspired Chris Martin to pen down these lyrics. It would have been a day spent at (trying to do some) shopping!
I mean, is it just me or do all guys (and some minisule proprortion of girls) have a hard time when it comes to picking out clothes/shoes/shopping in general ? Shouldn't there be a easier way to compute the complex logic of deciding what's gonna look good on you AND is affordable? How do you know whether the next shop at the next mall isn't selling something better? And I'm not even talking about following fashion here;that just opens a whole new dimension :-(
In my case all this has had catastrophic effects. I wear t-shirts that make much nonsense; I spent upwards of 3K on shoes that look like the ones in a bowling alley; and my jeans always, somehow, become ill-fitting the moment I take them out of the shopping bag at home...

Think I desparately need professional help. I remember seeing in some crappy star world sitcom that chicks take along their gay friends while going out for shopping, as seemingly they have finer feminine tastes...
So...err...should I try finding some lesbians?!!

2007-05-17T23:57:00.000+05:30

Of hailstorms and all that rings in my ear

Ever heard of hailstorms in the middle of May (the month when Delhi temperatures are all too eager to break on through to the other side of 50°C).

So was Al Gore really serious about all that stuff he blabbered in An Inconvenient Truth?

Will we ever get hit by a meteor and start living in thousands of small Earth's that will take birth due to the collision?
Planet US will attack on Planet Iraq with troops having to fly hundreds and hundred of galaxies away.
Planet India will send its cricket team to the cluster of planet dust know at the West Windies.
I'll hit a lower low :P

*disclaimer - all that is written above fully complies to the little red book on Ethics@MostlyHarmless

2007-05-13T10:40:00.000+05:30

Ahem ... v3 ;-)

Yes yes I'm back. Thank you! Thank you! I know your fingers must be trembling with excitement and you must be sending quiet prayers saying thanks to the gods above since your wish has finally been granted and all that. The credit for my return must go to Bertie who off late doesn't miss a single opportunity to compare me to an uncharacteristically lazy specimen of the female section of the canine family.

As ZZ9 rightly points out the flurry of random posts by Bertie off late has completely disrupted the think-write-read-comment cycle whose periodicity, in my case, had started showing a strong correlation to the position of the earth in its orbit around the sun.

It is not that there is nothing to write about which has kept me from posting on this blog, infact, it is just the opposite. Life has been such a blur the last few months with all the sleeping, partying, working and driving that I havent had the time to sit down and ruminate over the various events which keep whizzing by. It has been this rumination which has made my posts such fun to read in the past (people keep telling me how modest I am all the time :-)).

Life, in the recent past, has turned extremely strange. I still havent come to terms with the fact that I will be going back to being a student after 2 long years and will no longer be a part of the work-force. I often find myself wondering if I can ever get back to my full student form again since work seems to have done a good job putting my already few and sparse little grey cells to sleep. Assignments, exams, no money, no weekends etc seem scary to me now but somehow I am really looking forward to that kind of life again.

- "Your plastic pal who's fun to be with"
(c) Sirius Cybernetics Corporation

2007-05-11T09:27:00.000+05:30

Hmm...
So it's been quite a while since i wrote my last post here...and it's not because the time in between hasn't been worth writing about! In fact...so many things are happening right now that, frankly speaking, my lazy and accustomed-to-slumber-mode brain is spinning, unable to cope up with the things happenin around!
Firstly...these flurry of posts by Bertie has completely thrown me out of sync. In the past few months I had grown accustomed to one bluesy post a month routine here at the blog...where i'd spend a week thinking about a post...another writing it...the next one reading any new posts...and the last was dedicatedly reserved to reading-n-writing of comments . But alas..things here have changed, and all I can hope for is another year of hibernation from Bertie once he returns to helL ;)
Secondly...there's the other flurry...of mails in my inbox from the Ko-rr-icode yahoo group. Here again, my 2-3 mails-a-day inbox is being tormented to 100+ mails from an excited bunch of people...asking anything and everything that comes to their mind.
Add to this the anguish of missing out on a europe tour with the family...and the weird feeling associated with living in a hostel 2000 miles away from home for the first time in my life, with Komrades at the Kampus of Ko-rr-icode in Kerala.....phew!
No wonder I feel like a doped out junkie most of the day...

2007-05-03T17:21:00.000+05:30

Conspiracy Theory

There is a conspiracy against me and i'll tell you why. Recently i had the first ever heartbreak of my life. You must be saying its shoo unfair, itney haseen mijaj ka, mazakiya ladke pey.

Say whatever, but i was recovering in my own way, consciously avoiding anything even resembling mushy stuff. That meant leaving dirty, smelly socks in my room, watching 1980s hollywood movies about college, the type that is unapologetic, raucous, cheap laughs for cheap-laughs sake, male-bonding fraternity kind of cinema and was turning in at night, reading my copy of "340 reasons not to have a girlfriend".

Also, unintentionally, for some insane reason, i'm being nice to most people. So much so, that my mom must probably be saying,"This boy is the apple of my eye". In other words "Yeh ladka toh meri aankhon ka tara hai." Although, come to think of it shoudn't it be "Yeh ladka toh meri aankhon ka seb hai."

Anyways the point is i was doing fine. Then why you must be wondering am i through this blog hell bent on popularising my latest book "Getting over heartache in 21 days for dummies". Blame what happened in the morning today. I got up in a cherry'ol mood. Conviniently ignoring the fact my pillow was wet with my drool i'm up and about with a confident air, ready to face whatever this world throws at me. Have breakfast, mummy ko bye karke aur papa ki blessings, apna basta leke nikal pada listening to one of my favourite inspirational songs on my mobile,

Risin' up, back on the street
Did my time, took my chances
Went the distance, now I'm back on my feet
Just a man and his will to survive

Fast foward some 10 minutes later.....

I'm in my office cab sitting quitely, minding my own business. I should have recognised the early warning signs, as 3 of the 4 songs played in a segment called foreplay (??) on the radio were of the mushiest kind. Then it happened. The lady sitting infront of me suddenly started to look out of the cab putting tremendous strain on her neck in the process. Now she is not hiven to such a tendency, she's pretty, seemingly smart, dresses well, perfectly nice female probably in her mid-twenties.

She then pokes her female friend sitting on the front seat and coos,"See that white car infront, there's Blah blah (her husband) in it....see see...can you see him?" The other female didn't quite share her enthusiasm and didn't really think it was the same as sighting of a rare, exotic, almost extinct bird. She seemed a bit cheesed off at the unwarrented poke i think. So, she simply mumbled,"Oh! He leaves at the same time as you?" Sitting at the back, i raise my eyebrows, talk about obvious questions.

Anyhow that chit-chat dies down after couple of minutes. We are at the Dwarka-Kapeshra crossing red light. Now, let me tell you as far crossings and red lights go this is hardly a romantic setting. By now she can take it no longer, gives the old blighter (in the white car) a call."Hiii !! I just messaged you. Didn't you get it? My cab is behind your car. Nahi just behind...oh you can see me...hehehe...(frantic hand movements going on). Chalo byeeee!!" And then she waves that typically girly goodbye. The one where the fingers come down one by one slowly.

She then sat through the whole journey with a goofy smile, her eyes rolling in their sockets, and her face had taken on the colour and expression of a devout tomato. I could see she loved like a thousand bricks. Ah! life.

2007-05-01T13:44:00.000+05:30

Marriage...eh!!

Seems like it is fast developing into a national past time these days. Discussion in offices over coffee, TV coverage, newspaper headlines, actually getting into one seems to be very much the rage.

Well you can hardly blame me for adding as somebody once profoundly remarked, fuel to fire. The Ash-Abhi wedding, impending nupital of cousins....hell even my best friend is getting married soon. So why the heck is it eating me so much, you may venture to ask?

Is it cause i see people cozy and happy together (atleast on the surface) while i like Schumacher in his prime am heading towards the dangerous curve of life called mid-20s at breakneck speed. Or that my younger cousins are attaching the words "old ancestor" in their warm salutations while greeting me. Or that just the other day i saying to my aunt, "Young Rahul would do well to concentrate on his studies rather than the girls in his engineering college."

Probably, although you might think that i am a tad overreacting in feeling like an old sock in the bottom drawer....hmm...who knows...but things to ponder on....in the meanwhile time to put on my jammies, hit the strip clubs, enjoy the lap dances and burn rubber with my ferrari.

I recall having rather interesting conversation regarding marriage last year. The characters in the conversation being me, aunty K and a guest appearence by me mom. Now aunty K is as far as people born before Goa was liberated (somewhere in 1961, you morons) a pretty jovial and light hearted creature.

In the noraml course of events i rather enjoy having a conversation with her. However, that day there were weightier issues on her mind. She was looking for suitable matches for both her daughter and son as they both were rapidly slipping past the acceptable marriage age in Hindu middle class families. Resolution of the Kashmir imbroglio wouldn't so much as registered a blip on her radar.

So here goes,
Aunty K: Sunn beta, you free naa? Internet laga dey....V (her son) key liye ladkiyaan dekhte hain. I knw this site.

Now, getting an oppurtunity to ogle at pictures of babes on the internet with official sanction, jumped at the chance and chirped,
Me: Haan aunty, jaroor. (Trying to sound cool, not over enthusiastic)

For one, the number of profiles of prospective grooms far exceded the ones for brides. Blasted twisted sex ratio in this country. So aunty suddenly changes track and decides its better to go through the groom profiles for her darling daughter. So then we proceed to go over them in some detail. Not an enjoyable experience to say the least. Aunty K was on fire and like a dragon slaying all in her path and rejecting prospective grooms with:

- He's too fat
- What will my daughter do married to a teacher ??
- Hmmm....decent...but the salary...
- This one is the best: He seems a bit old, my daughter loves to dance...i don't think isko dance vance aata hoga. Say what aunty, for all you knw he's Prabhu Deva's dancing coach!! (I swear this one is true)

An already dark day is getting gloomier :(

In the meantime darling mommy comes into the room and chimes, "Abhishek, you seem to be awfully interested in all the girls. Hai! Iss ladke ka kuch nahi ho sakta."

Before i coould spring to my defense, aunty K comes to the rescue,
Aunty K: Kya baat kar rahe ho didi, kitna accha ladka hai. IIM mein jo hai....(then turning to me) beta tujhe apni shaadi ki koi chinta nahi karni hai....IIM mein jo hai (again!). Sunder ladkiyon ki line lagegi iske liye toh.
Me: (Smiling like a contented teenaged girl having just bought the latest shoes from the mall.)

Two obseravtions here,

1. Wow!! finally i found the answer to the question that has proven to be a downfall of many, thinking about which many a night has been spent in agony...."WHY MBA ??" And as it is with the tougher questions in life, the simplicity of the answer is beautiful.

2. Thousands like aunty K spend spend hours data mining relevent marriage information. For crying out loud, why the heck does someone not developp some marriage index or rating ? Talk about a business oppurtunity going a begging!!

2007-05-01T12:03:00.000+05:30

MBA => Mediocre But Arrogant

With the IIM results being finally announced last week just got me thinking about my own admission last year. Like a true blue MBA (even though a half baked one as yet) i like to hear myself talk. So the naive lil souls joining a MBA course would do well to read on with max concentration and those who dunn particularly like the variety (ie MBAs, justt incase u other morons didn't get it) enjoy some laughs at their expense.

These were the words that hit us, around 270 unsuspecting souls, sitting starry-eyed, straining our ears to hang onto every word of what was being said in the orientation programme. This was the opening slide of Rocky's talk. Now Rocky belongs to the rarest of rare species. Profs loved by students, by most atleast and one of those genuinely good teachers.

Before that Dean Academic had in a rather stern voice and grim manner of long time employee of a funeral parlour, told us about the rigour and challenges that the PGP programme at one of India's leading educational institution throws at nincompoops like us. She might as well have been one of Berite's aunts, looking like one who eats broken bottles and wears barbed wire next to the skin (to complete the picture for you). Then there was the Placement Chairman along with 7 of the finest students of the senior batch (Pcom as they are known, more on that in some other post), who reassured us that we will have good placements and they would need our cooperation in that. (I know i'll ahev good placements, but tell mewhere would i be heading to, the trading floors on Wall Street or consulting fortune 500 clients in Tokoyo or London)

Well, now that i am in Placecom and know the system, those were wise words. Infact next year am already dreading that i will have to stand while he speaks infront of the fucchas. But i do find it a bit weird that one of the first speakers you listen to in a new college is the Placement Chairman!!

Anyhow, getting back to the originally point....Rocky told us the right things what every MBA grad needs to hear and remember.

- Use the tremendous resources and infrastructure usefully
- Study hard but equally work on self development
- Utilise your time in a worhtwhile manner
But most importantly,
- Never take your self too seriously (we MBAs are given to such a tendency)

This is ofcourse not his original term. It is the title of a book by Abhijit Bhaduri about his life in XLRI. Haven't read the book so can't comment but heard its decent.

Teachers like Rocky are as rare as a good fielding Indian side. In our regular huffing and and pretending to have a busy life we often forget to appreciate them. As one of my collegues wrote in the feedback form at the end of his course, "The trip to helL was made worth it."

2007-04-29T22:39:00.000+05:30

Happy Day!!

People (yes some people do land up at driftingdolts every now or then) have been complaining. The general complaint being that the posts here are anything but peppy.

People cribbing.
People puking. :D
People getting separated in Metro.
People declaring their comeback for n^th time.
People wishing to travel alone.
People complaining.
People speculating about strange questions (with stranger comments :D)

So, I thought maybe I’d write something peppy.

To begin with, today was an extraordinarily happy day.

The taste of that hot pancake with vanilla ice cream at Monk last night still existed somewhere between my teeth (I know what you are thinking. The answer is – No).

The Sunday edition of Indian Express cried aloud about the current trend of young people who were too busy with their work to forget about the leaves that they had in their kitty. Hmmm… reminds me of something!!!!
Peter Vidal says that the next week would be tough for me coz of Mars’ movement. You bet!

Sunday Morning Television is bliss.

Went to check out Spencer’s.

A guy at lift mistook me for a liftman and said – “2^nd Floor”. Feeling sorry for the guy who had no idea about what “2” looked like, I pointed out towards the number “2” on the instrumental panel.
And as expected more drama followed thereafter – A marketing girl came up to me and asked if I know about TAG Heuer. Asked her to have a look at my wrist and she fainted (Again, I know what you are thinking. And the answer, yet again, is – No).

After spending a lot of time at Tantra’s and contemplating over whether I should buy the Good Bush – Bad Bush Tee, I was back at home chatting with good ol’ bertie.

And keeping up with the trend started by bertie, I’ll sign off with excerpts from our rather hilarious chat –

Bertie: hi
whats up ?
me: hey dude
mm... fan
Bertie: ??
me: hehe
Bertie: whats that now...sistah ?
me: !!!!!
sistah !!
Bertie: yo man....my nigger
:)
me: d***-shitter :D
bro
Bertie: yo man bro
my daug
me: gimma hifi
Bertie: hifi
hochie mama
me: mm.....
that's it

2007-04-29T20:46:00.000+05:30

Chennai Blues

SweatDrippingHatefulTamilsNoseyTamilsOutrageouslyHotFood
SmellyBeachesScrewedUpTrafficZeroNightlifeRedneckColleagues
NoSexyChicksFreezingServerRoomBoilingEverythingElseTwoHourCommute
NoseyTamilDriverNoMyoozikOnLaptopScrewdupSouthyStyleSeafood
NoseyTamilClientLettingMeWriteOnlyThisMuch!

Arrrrgh!

2007-04-25T11:56:00.000+05:30

Wodehouse and books (contd)....

To be frank, i'm a big fan only of the Bertie and Jeeves stories...haven't really read many of the other works of Wodehouse - Blandings Castle, Psmith and the others. The thing about his works is the effortless use of language and style. The plot and the characters are scaresly believable anyways. But still it has given me, withy my limited reading, two endearing and memorable characters:-

Bertie: He is such a good soul. His whole aim in life is to help his idiot friends out of trouble, and he really has no thought of self. You can imagine that he'd be very good company. His use of language is so fabulous that just asking you if you'd like a cup of tea would become an event.

Jeeves: Jeeves is the guide, philosopher and friend everyone needs. The nanny to put you to bed at night and make sure you are comfortable.

I think everyone would like to have a Jeeves. I know i would. However, in these days of 'affirmative action' let me clarify i don't mean a butler or servant. For one because we would all be embarrassed by having a butler. We wouldn't know how to talk to him. It really goes back to Aladdin, with Jeeves as the genie. The genie could always mock his master.

Its quite brilliant really....

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Stephen Fry, the famous British comedian who played Jeeves on the series speaking about the challenge of the role:-

"Wodehouse described Jeeves' cough as 'like a sheep clearing its throat of a blade of grass on a distant hillside.' I tried practicing that but sounded more like a goat clearing its throat of a piece of cheese on a nearby hillside. These things are difficult. "

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Talking about helpful friends and idiot friends. Sample this chat i had with Marvin couple of days ago:-

Kshitij: what have you been eating/drinking off late pal?
:)
you seem to be on a roll with hindi movie type dialogues :D

me: i'm in a rut buddya big oneso deep that from the ground u can't even see me....

Kshitij: huh... whats wrong with you?
this is what wordweb has to say abt rut ....."Applies to nonhuman mammals: a state or period of heightened sexual arousal and activity"

me: whats wrong with this world i ask....

Kshitij: hmmmm ..good question

me: any answers my frnd ?

Kshitij: 42 ?

2007-04-25T11:37:00.000+05:30

Wodehouse and books....

I have been thinking a bit these days. Those in the know would think this is rarity of a rare order. Well, yeah!! Halley's comet seems like a blasted nuisance in comparison. Also, i just downloaded the first season of "Jeeves and Wooster". Famous television adaptation of few stories by the Master himself.

Anyways, this morning i got dressed early for work and had about half an hour on hand. So, decided to watch the first episode of the downloaded series. To be honest i was not really sure what to expect. Noone knows what we Wodehouse adorers are like. They all have an image of Jeeves and Wooster's world in their heads, and there is always the possibility that any play or movie might ruin that image. Plus the movie version of the HG2G was poor to say the least.

But i needn't had worried, it had all the humour, sillyness and settings which the stories so vividly describe. Knowing the sullen mood i'm in and the genreal funeral air i carrying about me these days just what i needed in the morning, clearing the mind like fresh winds on a nice lil hill or a gud'ol shag (whatever you prefer, no judgements).

Whatever little i saw, the series seems really good. So, on my way to work in between thinking of minor matters in life such as how much equity stake to accquire in the latest merger deal, which capital markets to invest in and valuation of equipment worth millions of dollars....i started thinking of Wodehouse books and well books in general.

He is called the master, argubaly the greatest comic writer in english and among the most brilliant of the last century. To be honest, i can't really support claims like that coz to be fair i have read very little. But i like books that take you to different world, lets one imagine, mind you not just fantasy tales, could very well be a very stark reality. Doesn't mean i don't like other kinds of books, but just feel as if too much is made of some of them.

Now here i would like to comment on the reading habits of youngsters these days. There are your Chetan Bhagat's types, immensley popluar. I know, before you stone me for even using that name in the same article about Wodehouse, hold on, i have a thought here. In way the young, diet coke guzzling, k-serial watching, fancy mobile carrying generation has a book about themselves, living their lives in a book giving a glamourised anglel to it making them look ohh so cool.

Then there are the serious books, talking about complex relationships, human emotions and the truth, at times shocking, trying to shake us out of our comfort zone. Well, i'm not sure about these books/movies. It just seems a lie, beautiful people going through there own created emotional upheavel, finding comfort and excuses for their vulnerability and cowardice.

For better readability continued in the next post...

2007-04-23T15:41:00.000+05:30

Ah! Another weekend goes by

Well there are times in life when what you feel is uncannily captured by a song or poetry or few lines. Well one such song comes to mind regarding my state of existance....

So close no matter how far
Couldn't be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
And nothing else matters

Never opened myself this way
Life is ours, we live it our way
All these words I don't just say
And nothing else matters

Open mind for a different view
And nothing else matters

--------------------------------------------------------

Well finally one interesting thing happened on this trip to Delhi. On Sunday afternoon, me and Madmita meet up at the metro station....i buy the ticket when we hear the metro rolling into the station.

Madmita shoots a glance at me like two hunters would on an expedition,sensing the prey and exclaims "Dude!! lets run for it". She belts across like PT Usha at the nationals. Well now you have to appreciate my state of being at the particular point in time. I have been in a generally dopey mood recently plus the clumsy dolt that i am, i fumbled with my ticket at the gate...the damn thing won't open!! Over and above that the thing that i have for slo-mo runs (since the days i was scarred for life watching fine young ladies like Pamela and Yasmine on Baywatch). What all this meant was that surprisingly quick madmita was out of sight (i swear, i didn't catcha glimpse of her) before i shifted from the first gear.

Then came the escalator. Now i have a thing about escalators, i dunn like running or even walking on them....i feel it disrespects the good'ol esci. Anyhow, seeing the criticality of the situation (Madmita actually made it feel like it was the last train to El dorado) i moved rather swiftly, gracefully leaping from step to step.

Ok now this is where it gets interesting....as if you haven't cracked a rib already laughing. So i reach the top on the platform now....the train is about to leave...i can just feel it. Madmita has gathered such speed that its impossible for her to grind to a halt. The doors werea round 15 meters away from the point i was standing when i saw them closing....next few moments passed in classic slow-mo style, i tried my best like a hindi film hero shouting "Nahiii......(hands flying in the air), well i didn't actually shout. The doors closed me and madmita standing on opposite sides like lovers losing each other forever....u get the picture, purra hindi movie ka romantic scene....

Yeah enough of that...this is how actually the conversation across the glass went :-

Me: "What the f##$ were you doing ??"
Her: "Get on the next metro you slow coach, moron!!!"

And then according to her all the people in the compartment burst out laughing.

2007-04-12T14:26:00.000+05:30

My comeback, Sport, World Cup and some perspective

Well to start off lemme just say the words masses of readers of this wildly popular blog have been dreaming of..."Yeh baby...i'm back". Famous words by Marvin, but actually hold good in this case.

Now that i'm back in Delhi for the summer i am going to regular with my writing. Actually inspite of being pretty busy n all i've also been super lazy. So when i did have free time, i preferred to sleep, watch a movie, chat with pals n do other stuff (i know what ur thinking.... "kids these days!!"). But i have been meaning to write for quite some time so now the enteries might seem about stuff that happened well in the past.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

With all the rampant speculation n mindnumbing news about India's World cup debacle cluttering up the media. Ofcourse as these things usually go, no real value-adding opinion is even remotely in the air or any such has been drowned. So that gives me an oppurtunity to use my favourite perspective quote, say what i think about sports n the World Cup:

"The fact that we live at the bottom of a deep gravity well, on the surface of a gas covered planet going around a nuclear fireball 90 million miles away and think this to be normal is obviously some indication of how skewed our perspective tends to be."

- Douglas Adams

To attempt to kick a round object between two poles or send a bunch of feathers over a net or attempt to knock over three wooden sticks with a leather ball might appear to be some of the most pointless things that man can do. Yet it is this very pointlessness that gives sport its allure. At its best sport means nothing beyond itself because it is artificial, controlled, and the rules change to take in either popular sentiment or commercial interest.

It is also the most profound activity we can engage in; as a legendary football coach, said, sport is not a matter of life and death - it is more important. Countries have gone to war over sport; economies have improved or collapsed over world championships; dictatorships have been given legitimacy over a tournament. This is the irony of sport - it is a pointless exercise full of meaning; an evolutionary step.

Sport is a representation of life with its dangers, pressures and the need to make a thousand judgements that would affect the outcome. Sport can seep into life, but when the reverse happens it upsets the natural order of things. When real life breaks through and enters a sporting activity bringing with it death, it is unfair.

Therefore, to term India's departure from the World Cup a tragedy is ridiculous. Tragedy is when a coach is murdered. When a champion tennis player is stabbed oncourt. Tragedy is when a world champion driver is killed on the circuit. Tragedy is not to understand what is tragedy. Dropping a catch is not a tragedy, being thrown out of the World Cup because batsmen can't score runs is not a tragedy. In fact, it is a farce.

If you saw the Australia-South Africa encounter, you knew that India had no chance in this World Cup. These teams have taken the one-day game to a different plane altogether. Everything is based on physical fitness and the ability to think on the feet. Two qualities that India lacked. If anything, by their refusal to acknowledge the importance of fielding and fitness, India were actually taking the game backwards.

Shane Watson throwing down the stumps from the boundary to break a hundred run opening partnership is what it's all about. It turned the match, and perhaps the tournament itself.

2007-04-10T20:44:00.000+05:30

The lonely traveler

Now that Blatherer has already blathered about the pukey details of my Dharamshala trip, I’ll instead harp on an interesting incident, and the thoughts that followed, occupying my mind during most of the 3 day trip.

It all started with the Volvo trip where, by virtue of god-knows-which good deeds of mine, I was able to get a seat slightly away from the 4 weirdos in my group, and next to an absolutely gorgeous female named Rebecca, who’d come all the way from Germany like the rest of the foreigners in search of some Karma crap.(suckers!!!)

Anyways, though most of the time my mind was too busy looking at her than to hear what she was saying, I managed to hang on to one of the things she said. She told, or rather advised me, to travel alone the next time!! Now I don’t know whether she said this out of mercy for me, looking at the rest of my group, or out of pure lust so that she could catch me alone the next time, but I sure am intrigued by the whole prospect of being a lone traveler. I mean, just consider the following benefits:

Only having to listen to you
Not having to wait for the last member to finish bathing before getting ur breakfast
Not having to see people wretch out bucket-fulls of puke outside your balcony
Being able to talk to interesting people like Rebecca, without facing the customary leg-pulling about what happened in the night (that is so lame :x)
Not having to pay inflated bills at some fancy restaurant, just 'cause your group-mates can't stop gorging like hogs
Just being who you are
Umpteen other benefits

And so it has been decided. My next trip is going to be solo. No pick-ups. No schedules.

Nobody knowing where I am.

Totally Free. Because that is how a vacation is meant to be.

2007-04-07T00:09:00.000+05:30

When everyone left

Continuing with the 3 theme started by madmita -

We never really understood the fuss that a 3-day weekend created.
Well, we were in college and already had our hands full on the amount of free time to kill. A 3-day weekend was more of an additional burden - a hill we had to conquer just in order to find more and more time to play with.

But as they say - 'Times have changed.'

We started working :(
And time started killing us.
It seemed as if time was running away faster than the audience does on seeing a Katrina Kaif movie.

And a 3-day weekend !!! It was the best possible thing that could have happened to us. (Second only to the unmentionable)

But alas! While the whole Delhi seems to be out on the road on their way to Manali / Mcleodganj / Rishikesh / Hyderabad and God-knows what all places, I'm here - sitting in front of my monitor writing this goddamn blog - all thanks to my Orthopedist who thinks that the world is going to fall down and it should be my shoulders that would lift it up.
And hence the prohibition.

p.s. zz9 just called. That damn fellow is getting high on Apple Cider & Cannabis and is apparently puking his way to glory: Wish I was there :((

2007-04-02T13:44:00.000+05:30

Will He? Won't He?

And yes...this time he DID! Yet-umpteenth again...
Well, since I'm in no mood for suspense...the He is our dear ol' Blatherer...and what he did do, is...well, he puked!! Yes people...the king-of-all-things-vomity did'nt disappoint us, with unmatched histrionics and acts at a recent bash at TGIF's...only to end it all with his signature puke-fall-and-roll-around-in-it sequence! Too bad you couldn't accompany us to PbN...would have been fun to see your reactions to those vodka-waala-golgappas...
The only troubling times in the entire incident were when his vows to stick to beer at parties...alas, that would only deprive us poor souls of such fineries!

2007-03-29T21:44:00.000+05:30

Will She? Won't She?

Hmmmm....
The one question!

2007-03-21T10:03:00.000+05:30

An enthu project team deciding to have a cricket match on Saturday, just before India's first match at the Cup, only to manage 2 measly innings and spending rest of the evening guzzling beer
An over-enthu member of the same team breaking off his bat when India lost...
Abuses hurled and tables banged in a meeting to decide which team would be responsible for a critical bug
A mock fire drill in which half the people were convinced there was actually fire in the building; more than half of those more worried about not having taken a backup or checked in their code, than their lives

Who says office is boring??

2007-03-20T23:34:00.000+05:30

New bands, weird bands, awesome-sounding bands....it seems I'm being bombarded with newer-than-ever alternative music these days. Even more so, with my access to BOB renewed (the alt rock channel on worldspace for the uninitiated - read:Marvin :D). Anyways, all this gr8 music about, well about nothing and everything in general, sure helps me keep my mind away from all the crap happening in the world around us. Songs with sentence-long titles, songs about a few of my least favourite things...songs about something absolutely mindless like chasing cars(???)...the past 2 months or so have truly shown me the power of good music to keep a level head in a disheveled state of affairs. Songs like Trouble make so much sense at times. And so do the ones, like The only difference between martyrdom and suicide is press coverage!!

2007-03-18T00:11:00.000+05:30

Nai Nai Sarak.

Finally and finally I got a chance to explore Old Delhi (finally!!)

Old Delhi has always remained nothing more than a small dab on Delhi's map to me. A place you wouldn't really prefer going towards, unless -

- you have to catch a train from Old Delhi Railway Station
- you need to get some "hardware" stuff (damn you pervert guys)
- you need books at discounted rate from Nai Sarak
- (and as pointed out to me lately) you need to do some serious wedding shopping :(

well apart from the 'books' reason, I couldn't imagine any other thing for me to go there. But then, we South (of) Delhi people had our own Ber Sarai. So all in all, Old Delhi has been a complete no-no for me.

And then, the time came and I really had to move my ass to Old Delhi.

But hell! it turned out to be a fun trip.
Loads and loads of walking (and while you are carrying 10kgs of books with you)
People guiding you who themselves had no clue about the place :P
Actually finding out that Nai Sarak has more Sari shops than bookshops.
Awesome parawthe (or is it paraanthe!) - deep fried and served with a whole lot of stuff and an overdose of ghee.
An overkill of Faluda kulfi at Giani's

-Hic- I'm on a guilt trip

p.s. I'm on a roll or what! Everyone else looks dead on this blog :D

2007-03-11T17:40:00.000+05:30

Yawn!

Days fly by.
And I still watch them fly past the sky.

Have a interview tomorrow (don't know where it came from :D)
Do not know what the results would be, but in all the experience has been good.

A lot of time went into self-contemplation.
Trying to understand what life is all about (I think I had lost track since I started working). And I guess same has been the case with others (zz9!)

So as Green Day said (sang to be precise)

So make the best of this test and don't ask why,
It's not a question but a lesson learned in time.
It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.....

2007-02-25T00:11:00.000+05:30

You used to be cool dude!

There was a time (in Delhi) when if you wanted to listen to good Rock, Great Indian Rock was the mecca for all the head-bangers.

Back then, live music was not that popular in pubs (It was either heavily taxed or banned - no clue). And apart from college fest's (IIT's Rendezvous in particular), there was a serious dearth of Rock gigs in the Delhi Circuit. GIR came as a respite for all the rock lovers.
Solid, good rock for 2 days - What else could a guy ask for.

Things changed. Gigs were taking place every now and then. The Mezz, Turquoise Cottage, Cafe Morrison, Haze, Cafe Thai - Go to any of these places and you'll be served with fresh live music along with the usual affair. So, going by the market dynamics (hi-fi jargon) your target audience had to be more specific.

And finally, I'm proud to say - We have arrived.
GIR, rather than offering you a variety of genres, presents to you good (sic!), clean, distortion-friendly heavy death metal!

Well, that's good as well as bad.
Good for those who know what they want and what they are going to GIR for.
And bad for those who are either old timers like us and newbies who want to get a taste of rock (all that howling and mosh associated with death metal can actually be a turn off)

So the need of the hour is 2 GIR's :D
- one for the college kids (ya they look like kids now)
- one for the oldies like us (sad to say this, but We are a bunch of oldies now)

RSJ, are you listening?
God, are you listening?

2007-02-23T22:15:00.000+05:30

When the days are not long enough.

You need time; Time doesn't need you; Money is still trying to buy time; And someone just killed time. With every second that ticks away in glory, I wish I would have had more.

Life was getting cooler.
I was looking forward for a great year ahead. And then suddenly someone played an ass and put up my name in the list.

Damn! The complicated just got even more complicated.
The level of confusion has increased.
My ability to predict future just got a shot in the ass.

Soon there'll be day. The sun will shine through.
The harmless would get less harmful (mostly)

2007-02-19T11:23:00.000+05:30

Went to my first ever book reading on saturday!!
It was totally awwwesome (used this same stupid spelling in my last post, but what the heck).

The venue - Crossword, Gurgaon (a cherished influx of culture in this materialistic shit of a city)

The book - The inheritance of loss. A great read...sad and funny at the same time...but not Booker material :D (not even close to god of small things, or midnight's children......ahh, wish for once I could've heard Salman Rushdie reading from one of his own works....)

The reader - One Mrs. Neelima Ray from the american council, also a lecturer at LSR.....blown away by the depth of her comprehension. Damn...I can't stop cursing my four years of engineering for shaping up this absolutely-no-lateral, only linear thinking mind :(

Note to self - Get your bum to every possible book reading-concert-theatre event hapenning around, and redeem your culturalself!

2007-01-02T23:26:00.000+05:30

Is it lunacy! Is it a fad! No, it’s the CAT !!

Well I have been waiting a long time to write this (1 P.M, 19th November 2006 to be precise).
But somehow, never felt like doing it. Till now, the day the results were announced.

And it isn’t that I’m crying hoarse because of my inability to score well, but only because of the people around me.

People, who studied like there was no tomorrow.
People, who religiously gave practice tests over practice tests every Sunday.
People, who wasted every single weekend of their life for the past 6 months.
People, who fought foot and nails with their bosses to take some time off for studies.
People, who scored good enough in practice tests to put me to shame.

People, who meticulously did everything in accordance with the textbook, except for that single day.

And all this just to get that coveted IIM stamp on their royal posterior.

And it makes me wonder… (Led Zep to my rescue)

Isn’t it that we Indians (sorry for generalizing the whole lot) are like cows?
Simple and steady, doing what our master (replace this with any one’s name whomsoever dictates your life) orders, following each other in a herd, taking in everything our big mouth can take and cud’ing on it later. And with just two wishes in our life –

To get the right brand on our ass (IIT/IIM/NIT/AIIMS/Any damn engineering /medical college will do).
To provide our masters with the best possible milk our udders could produce

And we can go to any extent for this. Even forgetting if there exists any other reason for our existence and that at the end of the day, each and everyone of us will find his/her way to someone’s dining table (depends on which part of India you reside in) or some fat lady’s purse, wallet or that kinky little dress (it again makes me wonder…).

Hmmm….
I think I’ll have to start thinking.
Until, of course, the next bug catches my ass :D

2006-12-31T18:47:00.000+05:30

This blog is cooler than evah befoe...
And the Decemberists are awwwwwwesome.

2006-12-30T00:43:00.000+05:30

Post No. 100.

Dedicated to Google - Saviour of the In'duh'viduals

2006-12-11T10:04:00.000+05:30

My two cents...

I know this blog is dead. In fact it's way past its death, multiple re-incarnations, some subsequent deaths, burials...basically been through everything remotely related to all that life-n-death crap...and is finally in a state of limbo.
And that, actually, makes writing here all the more worthwhile. Firstly, you don't expect any response whatsoever. Secondly....umm, well there isn't anything worthier to do on a as-bluesy-as-it-gets monday morning, when ur manager's on leave, and the work can, well, (to put it easy) can be overlooked.
So.
After all this mindless thought which used to be the very essence of this blog, comes the question i've dreaded for the entire 5 mins. I've spent writing this: what to write about in the first place!?
...
...
Arrr, what the heck, I might as well write about the damn weekend yet again. At least saturday ('cause sunday was spent healing my aging muscles who had to bear the brunt of the physical and mental stresses I'd been subjected to the day before). It all started on friday itself, with my manager coming up with another one of those ideas that makes you wonder %$#^ - to have a team cricket match, at 8 AM the next morning!! Curses, pleas, brickbats came his way from all sides of the team, but he was not a man to be swayed. So, here i was, at 8 on a saturday, standing on a cricket ground, barely able to control the shivering.
Thankfully, the match turned out to be more symbolic than what i'd though, with 3 of the 8 ppl failing to show up, and the rest in no mood to do anything at all. Just a few overs of struggling with bat and ball were all it took to send us packing back to home, with joints aching as if everest had just been conquered. But just as I'd happily trotted into home, aiming to stealthily make my way into bed till lunchtime, disaster struck, with the family declaring about plans to be out in 15 mins, and head towards a day-out at Akshardham temple!
Phew! What a behemoth of a monument is that place...just the parking expanse becomes tiring to cross. But it sure is a nice change from the regular expected experience at such huge religious places - well organised, informative...it resembles a museum more than anything else.
Anyways, after negotiating through the animatronics, boat rides, miles of walking, we finally got through with it, and I resumed plans to doze off right in the car itself. But lo and behold...such wonderful plans weren't meant to be...as my enthu-about-masala-movies brother reminded that we'd made advanced booking to watch - yeah u guessed it -Dhoom 2 - at a shady south delhi theatre!! All my "God bless PVR for not showing the movie" chants failed. My repeated rants about the new levels of crapiness the movie achieves were yet again ignored as the already sleepy me was dragged into a 10 to 1 nightshow.
Well, I can't find anything to write about the movie. Just can't. Skateboards that move faster than a Honda CBR can leave you too stunned to speak. The only consolation was to be proven right, at the end, that the movie did suck. Bigtime.

As the horridly tiring day drew to a close, I was too exhausted to even let out a whimper of complaint on being reminded that the wedding season had begun, and I had to be mandatorily present at each and every one of them.
And you thought weekdays were scary...

2006-11-22T21:25:00.000+05:30

We are the champions....

And bad mistakes
I've made a few
I've had my share of sand kicked in my face
But I've come through

Nothing like listening to Queen, especially at times like these :D

2006-10-22T01:56:00.000+05:30

The questions without an answer!

A Diwali weekend, crackers that make more noise rather than exploding: ka-ching!, Motor Cycle Diaries and the biography of Che Guevara - A deadly combo that can shatter your self-beliefs and make you question yourself.

You see your friends running to add that extra zero at the end of their paychecks and at the same time you see that poor fellow trying to remove the zero from his.

Are we on the road to progress?
Definitely not that kid who looked bewildered, seeing the sky lit up with a thousand colors (or was it the thousand rupee note)

India is progressing.
Salaries sure are.
And so is the disparity among the different sections of society.
Juvenile Crime rate is.
Naxalite and Maoist revolutionaries are.

So what is the solution to all this?
A revolution.
A communist government at the center.
A more socially-responsible corporate sector.
Or maybe more and more people giving back to the society.

I don't have the answers.
Hell, I don't even know the questions yet.

2006-09-15T23:31:00.000+05:30

ic (why) ci

A company sells 2 products - A (costing 1,000 bucks) and B (costing 10,000 bucks); both at the same profit margin.
Now any economic book would tell you that it's all about the volume and numbers. The company sells A in much larger numbers as compared to the product.

But there is one market which defies all the rules of economics, comes up with its own chutzpah and makes the economists eat their words. India i.e.

The company being discussed is ICICI Lombard and the products: A - 2 wheeler insurance, B - 4 wheeler insurance.
The number of passenger cars sold in India in FY'06 was 2.4 lakh. Well, Hero Honda alone sold that much bikes in the month of August'06 :-O
Yet, almost all the 4 wheeler owners get their vehicle insured and a minuscule percentage of 2 wheeler owner theirs'.
Which directly means that companies like ICICI Lombard are not getting the expected revenue from the later.
Which indirectly means bad service and almost nil enthusiasm among the agents for pushing 2 wheeler insurance (These people are ready to collect the cheque for 4 wheeler insurance from your choice of place/time but wouldn't except cash for 2 wheelers' at their office)

And this isn't the lone case. If asked about ICICI bank, I could go on and on...

So much for the reforms, privatisation, demand and supply shaping the economy.
(My local govt owned insurance agent would blatantly demand for a Rs.50 note but at least get the job done)

p.s. wrote a 'disgusting' mail to all the icicilombard.com mail ids i could gather (including that of the operation head, mkting head, and other damn heads..suckers.. :P

2006-09-09T22:47:00.000+05:30

Week(ends) with days

15 hrs at office followed by a DP with ol'college friends and you know that the weekend has arrived.

And before you realize it, you are supposed to go to n different places, eat all kinds of stuff and drink at the host's mercy.
And compare that to a normal weekday: home-to-office and office-to-home is all that you are supposed to do. All you get to eat is the ghissa - pitta food served by the cafeteria and drink what !!!!!!

Life couldn't have been any more strikingly different.

2006-09-03T15:48:00.000+05:30

Good Will Hunting

At the mall the other day, hanging out with buddies (er..correction...colleagues), as we headed to a nearby restaurant to grab a bite, I saw an elderly couple walking out from the place. Now call me old-fashioned, but I really like (don't know the reason why, though!) to see old people having a nice time at the mall (which is o/w supposed to be a youngster's haven). Anyways, being the gentleman that I generally am, I pulled the door and held it open as the two walked out. But just then, to my utter disgust, a colleague of mine, who seemed as if he had'nt eaten anything in months or had a really bad case of diarrhoea, rushed through the door, literally pushing the couple out of the way, and almost stepping on to the poor lady, just to flash an ostentatious grin and a 'thanks, yaar' at me.
I don't know why I felt sooo bad at all this. But at that moment, if I could, I would have really landed a blow on the ass' s face, probably even asked him to apologise. But then again, the years of training that have been spent in learning to control onself and not making a scene held their own, and I spent the lunch sulking away instead.
I mean, what's with most of the people and some basic manners, that they can't seem to get along? Are we too brash or uncivilised a society, that showing even a lil bit of politeness seems too hard? Or maybe too worthless...
Hard to say.

2006-08-27T12:12:00.000+05:30

Ranjana, Ranjana...who the {beep} is Ranjana

Another addition to the shining list of accomplishments that this govt. of ours can be proud of. The union ministry for broadcasting has decided that the Indian society is still too childish and immature, that it is unable to decide what should and should not be seen on TV. That, it is too stupid that any TV content must be filtered for objectionable content, before the poor junta is exposed to it. Can't blame them for thinking this way though, 'cause anyone who brought them to power in the first place, must be nothing short of a dumbass.

And hey...no hard feelings regarding the title...just thought it conveyed the idea quite accurately...n besides its hard to have those for someone you don't really know/care about.