A colourful journey...called Life

This plan was not even on the PRD a year ago..and look at it now! Its on the brink of its GA :D Yaaay, we are finally going to pree's new place! We are going to bangalore to make it a noisy noisy place, filled with chatter and gossip and laughter and giggles! Its just another..how many? what?? less than 24 hours? wow! it still hasn't sunk in :) Okay, i'll start describing the planning phase and then maybe i'll come to believe i'm really going. When pree went to bangalore we had always thought that we will go visit her one day, and these plans always remained only plans until the 2nd of October when pree was here and we went to Lohgad. I still remember it was then when we got serious and discussed our leaves. Everyone had leave for Christmas and Ash, had very less leaves and so we all took leaves when she had a week long off (week long..even i want a week long off for chrsitmas :( So, anyway..amz and me were discussing how many days leave we need and then we set...

- You are responsible for your actions. Don't think anyone else is supposed to take the blame. - When you are vulnerable it is your responsibility to avoid putting yourself in a vulnerable state. - When you want to rebel, it is always better you don't. - In India power is vested with uniformed gundas . If you try to fight them you end up as shown in      movies - insulted and looked down upon by other onlookers who know not how to help. - If you expect others to help you for the sake of humanity, you are not fit to live. - When you don't want to be frustrated (since you have all the reason to rejoice) you will always find plenty of    reasons to be frustrated. - When you are not wrong, you have to gulp down words of disgust. If you cannot do so, you are not fit to    live. - You would like to believe 'honesty is the best policy' but you should probably know that the ability to lie    perfectly is inbuilt in humans these day...

6th December, 2009 Welcome to the  24th International Pune marathon , AIDs charity run. I heard about it but was not very sure I was going to run. I sort of organised the whole 'going together' in the company. And now since I got people to get ready early in the morning and run, I had to be there on time and so I went :) Driving early morning in the fog was fun. Traffic lights said 'make your way' and my rear view mirror liked the misty cover. I loved the speed my kine loves and we made it to office by 7:15am, bang on time. Out of the 24 participants that registered only 11 showed up and I was happy I hadn't ditched the group :P Anyway, the run started at 8:20 (can you believe it started before time :P). We were to run from Alka chowk towards Nehru Stadium a mere 3.5 kms. But was it a mere 3.5 kms? No. I barely ran 500 meters and I was tired. Almost at every look at vehicles stalled due to the run I felt like hitchhiking :P. But thanks to my friend and motivat...

An unexpected plan..formed at the spur of the moment..because of something someone blurted out very innocently....turned to be one hell of a night! We were out celebrating "International" Men's Day, this 19th of November, when we stumbled upon a possibility of catching a glimpse of the leonids meteor showers at lonavala. The plan was sudden...permissions...asking other people not present there..how to go..where to go..what time to go...all of this was decided in less than half an hour. We all decided to leave that night around 10 from office and reach office on friday around 5am. Sounds pretty good right..and we are used to not sleeping all night and still being fresh (Remember our engineering papers ;) ). Anyway, it was a little difficult to explain that to my parents and their concern was more than valid. The only question they asked "How can someone, who has been working the whole day, drive without sleeping even a wink". Anyhow, that part was cleared and w...

The sky is blue I want it to be mauve Thoughts are in a mess But I think they can be sorted The coffee is hot I want it to be cold The wind is cool I want it to be warm The sky is clear But I want it to be cloudy I know its not that difficult But I choose to complicate it Cattle can't fly But I want them to I can see the reason But I want to ignore it The heart aches I'm trying to mend it Questions are simple But I'm trying to gauge the answers My mind thinks logically But I can't see through it Has logic ever helped I know the answer isn't trivial All these parallel running threads seem so independent Why can't they all work in different contexts I know I was difficult on you But I'm sure you can see The mess I am in, leaves me no option. I wish feelings were binary and answers were public If emotions weren't private life could have been simpler!

All of us have seen the movie 'Parineeta' right? Majority of us liked the movie for the sheer brilliance in the simplicity of the story telling and the brilliant performances. I happened to read the novel, the english translation by Malobika Chaudhuri. And I was overwhelmed by the simplicity, not only of the lives of people then but also of the language used. Nowadays we don't come across novels written in such simple language. There wasn't a single word that I had to lookup and then move ahead. The plot as we have all seen in the movie, is of a family with a greedy rich businessman, eyeing another poor friend's house and bossing over him for a loan given. The rich man's son falls in love with the poor man's niece. Its a simple plot and the ending is happy. But, why I chose to mention the novel here is just how much difference it makes while watching simplicity and in imagining simplicity when someone describes it. This novel felt very fresh. The life way...

I was of 'vote'able age a couple of years ago, but I somehow could not get myself registered. I submitted the form twice, but to no avail. Not that I do not value my power  to vote, but I was too lazy to move some muscles and go and do my work myself. I always gave this one and that one forms, and it was 4 years before I realised that I have to start moving myself if I plan to contribute a drop to the ocean. Then when the 'jaago re' campaign started, I registered myself there and they're constant reminders maybe, somehow, subconsciously made me do the needful. So, here I am, my first invaluable vote cast on the 13th of October 2009. Mixed feelings ensue... Did I use this right of mine, correctly? The answer to this is, you can never say so. You have to pick from a bunch of rotten tomatoes and you have to pick the 'best' 'rotten' one. So I don't ever see a foolproof solution to this problem. I was never so much into politics. I never really ...

The last weekend, was a long weekend and pree was here. Whenever pree is here, we have a closed circuit and memorable fun is guaranteed :) The planning part as always so full of confusion, not here there..how when etc etc..but I won't get there as that's part and parcel of any planning process :) So, the plan was set. 2nd October, we were going to Lohgad and Visapur. Ash n me were to catch the local at 6:30 from pune station and pree and amz were to board the same train from shivajinagar at 6:36 :D. I  was already tensed, as boarding the same train from different stations etc, I never agree to. But according to our very own amz, it is the tension that makes trips fun :P. So, ash & me somehow managed to catch the said train but the remaining people were late..so we got off at shivajinagar. Decided to board another Kolhapur-Mumbai express. This train was crowded, so even though we had tickets we travelled in the luggage compartment. Was fun only till the sabjiwalas c...

Yes, I loved reading books. I have read quite a few..but I had stopped buying them a long time ago, just because I never really read them. But staying in between people who never stop buying one pile of books after another, I am getting into my old forgotten groove yet again. I just purchased 'Three cups of Tea" and "Parineeta". I hope to finish them and only then buy my next lot :) P.S. That reminds me I have still not complated books I purchased last time which includes 'Twilight', 'Angels and Demons' and 'A brief History of time'.

This weekend (12th and 13th of September '09)...we visited Satara, Mahabaleshwar. Plans were in place atleast 4 days before the weekend. Work delegated appropriately and everyone was looking forward to the weekend. Our carrier reached my place at 5:30am. I was ready in time (even though excitement didn't let me sleep the previous night). Next stop was Charuta's place and my road skills came into play when I couldn't reach the place even though I have been there a couple of times now. Anyhow, Lalit also reached there early (earlier than the last trip :P). We then proceeded towards office to pick up the remaining gang. As Amit was accompanied by his fianceé, our agenda for the day was troubling the couple ;). Journey started at around 6:30am. Our firsts top was at Shirwal, Sriram vada pav center. Nice food and decent surroundings. We moved towards Satara now. The road that leads to Thoseghar is surrounded by greenery and valleys. Its so beautiful that few people took ...

Recently, I was introduced to ficly by Mohsin . I found the idea a brilliant one, and was forever thinking of writing atleast one ficlet. Little did I know that I would churn out so many (ok the many is only 5 for now, but I think its an awesome number to start with). I started with a nice idea, but not so well written one based on teleporting. Next came another nice idea but I personally didn't like the way it turned out. Story revolved around blogger and the sequel . Another common idea but well written with werewolves etc. Then today, I read this awesome awesome poem and wanted to write a sequel. But since the poem was so brilliant, I was unsure if I would be able to do justice in the sequel. But turns out I cannot believe that I wrote this wonder. Its just frigging awesome! I am on top of the world and you don't want to miss it. So I'll put it in here, and save you having to open another link. So here it goes I forgot how to worry, and never ran out of happ...

It so happened yesterday, that I could not decide whether I should read a book or watch some movie. Since I could not choose between any of these, I decided to do some vella online. But bsnl loves playing spoil sport and made me choose between my two previous options. Since I had a good Agatha Christie book titled 'The Big Four' and it seemed interesting, I made my choice. Everyone had slept off and so I had to choose the hall to read. And then I felt the same as I used to during my PLs. I used to sit with a book in my hand, on my very comfy couch, and my cell close to me...txting away to glory. During exams I used the landline too a lot to chat away with anyone who was only willing to have some fun. I used to talk and laugh and giigle in whispers, lest anyone should wake up and find out about my late night activities :P. As for the telephone bill, don't ask :P. The landline is at a very convenient location if you are on the couch, thats the primary reason for choosing th...

I like to share my choice of movies with everyone. Let them hear what I thought about the movie. Let them know (if ofcourse they value my suggestion) whether the movie is watchable or ignorable. So I decided to dedicate a separate blog for the purpose. So here it is, the movie blog. Happy reading!

I couldn't find a better place to put it...no not even twitter. So here it goes... Life is a game... Play it safe and you feel you've won, but in reality you've become numb. Play it rough...and you've won, but ofcourse that's an illusion,coz when the long lost skeletons come haunting, you only realise how wrong your approach was... In short, you never win this game of life, coz the rules of the game aren't static n yes, they aren't real...

Human mind is impressionable. That is what makes a human so gullible. I happened to read a very well written crime fiction titled "The return of the dancing master" by 'Henning Mankell'. The story starts with all the usual murder,investigation etc., but what impressed me the most was the way the plot was woven into people believing and following Nazi ideals. Anyone, who has the courage to stand up and impress upon others his ideas, thoughts, beliefs can create a whole race of dumb followers. They follow,execute unquestioningly. How easy it is to convince a soldier that he will do good by murdering an individual just because he belongs to a different race. No wonder the seeds sown 62 years earlier still result in riots in India. If you are successful in creating a single offspring of your beliefs, it will propagate through generations. Is it always that the wrong ideas manifest themselves firmly and those that should remain strong for ages to come, fade away much befor...

Yeah, the title reveals it all...that was simple. Some would expect the title to 'not' reveal the subject so easily, while others would say simple should be the way of life. We are always cribbing about life being too complex. Forget the world, I myself usually complain about everything being so hard to decipher. So, lets take it step by step. We'll list down the pros and cons, and of course these are pros or cons from my perspective. Each his own. What if everyone started talking directly, as in, everything I say has only one meaning and its said directly. Now this sounds like a good solution right? Now talk about telling someone his weaknesses. If you say it directly, is the person at the receiving end going to take it in the right spirit? One may say, that's not my lookout...but everything should be clear. Another may believe that we can add an exception in such cases so that criticism doesn't have unwanted effects on the person concerned. Adding an exception wil...

We at office, had not gone for a trip since long (there hasn't been a single outing after I joined, owing to recession,layoffs etc etc) The trip was planned for the 10th of August '09, a Monday. Usually monday is accompanied with mooonday blues, and getting up late..procrastination, finding reasons of going late to work and so on. But this monday, I woke up much before 6am. Had to reach office by 7:30 and so had decided to leave home by 7. Roads were very clear and though I didn't really drive fast (Ok, my kine can't really move very fast..but still :)) , I reached office in 20 minutes and didn't find anyone, not even the bus. People started trickling in and in some time all of us were ready to leave. Everyone settled in the bus and the journey started towards MavalShrushti. We played dumb charades...even our VP Engineering, joined in very enthusiastically. While playing the game I only just realised just how much I needed a break from code, as I tried explaining th...

Clearing some myths about swine flu here.

Ok, I know you have guessed till now that the title is in korean. If you don't want to go and translate let me tell you, the title is "Jigsaw". And as for why Korean of all the languages, let me tell you...Korean has given me sleepless nights and 'loggy' dreams..so I more than love the language :P I was always fond of solving jigsaw puzzles. I remember putting together the innumerable cardboard pieces together as a kid. It was fun solving puzzles I had done before too, each time solving it faster. I've still preserved many of these, and believe me its still fun playing with the cardboard pieces. Recently I heard of jigzone (thanks Khyati) and I'm a fan already. It has daily puzzles. It has a huge archive. You can upload any pics from your system too. The best part is the variety in the shapes of the cuts. Ever imagined pieces in the shapes of lizards? :). The crazy cut and the triangular cut are awesome. Use these cuts when the number of pieces are more th...

Yeah, this is what they keep saying. And I believed them as I never really had a problem with them before. Infact I always fought people’s criticism about VF’s customer care. They were prompt, precise, helpful and rather amiable. But, thanks..thanks for enlightening me with the truth. Call 111, and a voice answers how may I help you? At once you know that this guy is going to have trouble talking in English. So you change the language to Hindi..but the guy doesn’t budge. You ask him the set of documents required for verification..he states very clearly “An id proof and an address proof.” I ask “Will a licence and a PAN card do?” HE says “Yes, madam. It will do.” He has my number, he can see my current verification status and documents required. Then why can’t he open his mouth and speak you need a photo id proof too? If you can’t follow English, or you cannot speak in English…its ok buddy! Just give me correct and complete information. Speaking in English is mandatory when the only com...

Saturday morning....thats spent in sleeping right..but not today! Two early risers..and gym goers...plan a trip..to sinhagad..at the gym! Calls follow...and am woken up from my sleep at 10am...unable to register the fact that the cell number was C, but the voice was V :P Anyway what followed was a rush..at getting dressed..convincing parents...didnt have a bike..(bechara serviceing mein pada tha..) Anyway managed to get hold of another bike, petrol..rain..brakes failed me...and I reached damn damn late, thanks guys for waiting up for moi! The trip started at 12pm...but it wasn't sunny. It was pleasant for noon time. Started with a chai. Next stop was at Sinhagad. We hadn't reached the top. It was somewhere in between. We stopped for some snaps..and decided to climb till a hill...we could see some distance away. The path was carved out but was very narrow. Wind that blew was very very strong, so much so that you could actually try jumping into the valley but you won't fall....

Person X : No, false impressions are not your fault Person Y : But isn't it I, who can reduce errors Person X : Why do you wanna help everyone around, when you really can't change the way thoughts proceed. Person Y : hmm, maybe there is no hope. Person X : Its sad not being able to do, what you want to. Person Y : The world works that way, face it. Person X : How easy it is to say I wanna be a rebel, I guess I need to start implementing some of it. Person X : Calling oneself silly, is silly? Person Y : Don't ask a person as silly as me. Person X : Yeah, but if you were as silly as I thought, I wouldn't have asked ya right? Person Y : Hmm, right. Maybe calling oneself silly is being humble. Person X : Yeah, absolutely right. Just the answer I was looking for. Thanks. Person X : Is there a limit for stupidity? Person Y : I don't know my limits yet. Person X : Ohh, how would I know if I broke the records then. Sigh..a loser there too! Person X : Can we go back to the t...

I complete my first year with the IT industry...I complete 1 year of corporate life today on the 6th of July 2009. Last year, the 7th July..was a day full of apprehensions, expectations, adjustment, anxiety. My first day at work...just fresh out of college. I didnt't even have my BE results then, not that I was doubtful of the results..:P For my experience on the first day, read this . My first year has been so enjoyable, and I'm sure it wouldnt have been as much fun, had I not been at AirTight. People here are fun, and give you the freedom to work as per your convenience as long as your convenient schedules do no outstretch the company deadlines, which is more than fair. Thats precisely why I never missed important events like, results (even though they were on a Saturday),my convocation ceremony. I havent missed other fun too like meeting friends for a movie, or a coffee or for shopping...all at my convenience. The environment is conducive too. And my idea of working is work ...

It had been long since we had a family trip..it always being difficult to find a suitable time..since my younger sis is still in college. So, after we had her exam timetable all our leaves were planned and we were going on a family trip..:) First plan was Goa. Everything was planned out, but just before the bookings were made a friend of Dad's called up and incidentally he was in Goa and informed us that it has started raining in Goa. This made us cancel plans for Goa, since we didnt want to stay in the resort but have fun outside..and on the beach. So Goa cancelled, everyones upbeat enthusiasm was out..everyone was ragged. Just then Dad suggested Aurangabad, and we were like..okay we have our leaves..we dont want to cancel them... lets go...and we certainly did enjoy our stay at the city of caves! We started on 5th at around 6am. The roads were clear, but we passed quite a few villages on the way and villagers dont really give a damn to vehicles even if they are yelling their lung...

The 31st Of May '09..was a magical sunday... What was magical? Two primary reasons...Pree was here , all four of us (the Zaapies as we call ourselves) were going to meet, and ofcourse..the magical Rahman show..:) It all started with pree announcing (broadcasting rather..:P) that she'scoming to Pune on the 30th. After comparing all our (very busy :P) schedules...and since we wanted to spend some quality time with each other, and all four of us wanted to be present, the best day was Sunday, the 31st. All plans were set..we were to go Durga tekdi..and then Ghorawadeshwar..and then Rahman concert. But as luck would have it, our amzee goes and falls off (sashtang namaskar karne ko..:P) from the local train and injures herself. So now changes in plan..after all of us are up early on a sunday. Plans changed at 8am...instead of going trekking we settle for a lunch and usual restaurant hopping before going for the Rahman concert. We were to meet at 11am at Papa John's Ghole Road. Wi...

My horoscope for 19th May '09 said... 'You will be faced with a problem today. A Gemini will come to your aid' Instantly I knew..today is the day when I will find a .. Gemini friend...something like..'a friend in need is a friend indeed'....(whatever that meant..:) Anyway, first thing was me falling in trouble, which is a rare case (considering spending majority of my time in office vellegiri). But I just found the whole proposition so tempting that I put up a status message that read 'A Gemini is supposed to help me today!' What enused was a series of discussions and discoveries. For starters, I was offered help by many Geminis I knew (rather I discovered that they were Geminis..) Then came the many specualtions as to why geminis have been given the special privilege. Of course the college crowd could go no further than who is 'the' gemini you are looking for. Then came a very funny conclusion that maybe the Gemini (the privileged Gemini) will actua...

Long weekend...got over...and come monday, I was still in the 'ftp' (i.e. full time pass...coined by Mohsin) mood. Was discussing some arbitrary...stuff wid a buddy (Hemant) and we stumbled upon the idea of a reunion of PICT (comp ppl who are in town). Initially just floated messages and tried to find out if people are actually interested. After we received affirmatives and saw that people were enthusiastic about meeting up, we started getting plans into place. First of all a day...time..and place. Most of the people suggested Sunday is a good day, and a place in the center of the city would be better, we decided on Sunday Mocha (Law college road). This plan was almost final (we finalised it ourselves actually, since people couldn't really suggest a place for 15-20 people). So then there was another round of messages...and poor Hemant, no one replied to his message(but they did reply to mine..:P) Then, another twist in the tale...sunday got sort of booked for some reasons a...

Its not that all those around haven't found out till now, that I could gobble up innumerable pastries...one after another. CadB, shrikhand..almost anything sweet goes down in a jiffy. After having an incomparable sizzling brownie at Mainland, I didn't want to go for anything else. But thankfully, after reading the description in the menu, we just called for it to give it a try. Chocolate rolls with ice cream. Sounds usual. When it appeared, our reaction was 'ok we'll have it' But when I took it close...its nothing like the usual...a roll... overflowing with thick...yummy chocolate sauce. Add to it a little vanilla icecream and put it in. It felt out of this world. Rather i was transported to another world...a world in which the rivers flow with chocolate and the rocks are brownies...The leaves are pastries and everything around me is chocable....:) It was one hell of a dessert. Not sure if it contained something that made me feel drowsy..and dizzy.  Next time I go t...

bas yaadein...yaadein...yaadein reh jaati hai... cold coffee at lalit...thick shake...fruit plate...bhel...choc truffle at ccd... club sandwich...tiffinis...nutty yums... ganne ka juice...faltu canteen... pree ka terrace...cnl lab... submission time...trouble... discussing..units over the phone... PL time dhamaal... issuing books for the heck of it.... InC...project reports...presentations...last day...of concepts... addiction....sleeping over in college... theory papers...celebrating...new years... photoshoot...dressing up...at amz place... coming in almost when the trad day is over... chidana...chidna... endless list of crushes.... tension free life...till the competition sets in... exams...over... frnds..depart... true frnds....find a way to keep in touch...others...keep getting busy with their lives.... priorities change...life changes... friends change....everything changes... 'yaad karte hai jab yaaron ko...yado se dil bhar jata aata hai... kabhi saath raha karte the... ...

April 10th to 12th...a long weekend.. April 10th 2009 : Amit's engagement Trip was planned...at the last minute...(this fact is but implicit).... Vehicle was to reach my place by 5:30. From my experience the last time, I assumed the driver won't make it before 6..so was a little relaxed but was surprised when he reached even before 5:30. Hurried up...left for the next pickup. Well, Mr. Lalit....the extra hardworking dude...didnt show up..till 6...! He woke up at 6 and till he made it...I had awesome cake with coffee and took a nap too at Charuta's place. Next stop Aundh..some confusions there too...but finally started off for Mumbai at 7am. Journey was filled with lots of tp chit chat, songs..discussions...arguments...usual kheecha tani... We reached the venue well before time...and thanks to Lalit, we reached only 45 minutes early..:) Infact we reached the place before Amit too...:) The engagement went off pretty well. The photographer was a little weird..and the poses he ...