A colourful journey...called Life

What does it take to judge a mocktail contest? Simple, don't participate in the competition and call yourself a foodie and you are the judge of a mocktail contest :) So, I had the honor of being one of the judges in a mocktail contest in my office. It is a great responsibility (not the mocktail contest thingy, but being a judge in general). You judge a group (of people). No, you're supposed to judge the product i.e. the mocktail prepared. But how easy is it, to be misled by your own impressions of the people in the group? I'd say its an Herculean task. You may tell yourself you are being fair, but it is the subconscious that is making all the decisions for you (subconsciously :) ) Anyway, getting back to my experience as a judge. It was a new experience. Not judging, you see we are judging people every moment. So that part was not new. What was new was the experience of interacting with people I don't usually interact with so often on office. Some judges judge, keep...

The moon lightens the path....heart beats are fast...soul is at peace...soothing music sets the mind free...and words remain etched in memory... "You only see what your eyes want to see How can life be what you want it to be You're frozen when your heart's not open You're so consumed with how much you get You waste your time with hate and regret You're frozen when your heart's not open..."                      --lyrics from the song Frozen by Madonna

The very tolerant "me" suddenly realised that she isn't really that tolerant. What irritates me? 1. Bad grammar. Atleast know basic grammar. Even worse, someone who doesn't want to know that one is wrong. 2. You say "hairs" and "sheeps" and "deers" and I say, "चलो हिंदी में बातें करते है. " 3. I do not consider jokes based on religion "grown up humor" 4. Do not brag. If you are what you think you are, we will find that out. 5. Extra high processed english sentences. Seriously, we aren't writing essays. 6. When I don't laugh on a joke (a sentence you thought was a joke) I don't find it funny. Please don't tell me to laugh. 7. I don't like waiting. So, if you state a time, be there within 5 minutes. Else, schedule the next meeting and bear the brunt. 8. When I come in with a new haircut and you can see that it has to have been cut, else they would have been longer, don't ask "You cu...

You remember those times when you are out with friends and a nice cam in hand...taken plenty of snaps...but all you now need is a group snap! So what do you do? look for someone..someone who seems bored..or not busy with anything...and ask him/her to click a snap for you..right? Most of the people never say no, unless ofcourse if their bus arrives (assuming you were so dumb as to ask someone at the bus stop, waiting for their bus :P) Infact I never knew anyone would just say no for the heck of it, until I met this weird family..in Mysore. We were at the Mysore palace and wanted a group snap. We saw this family passing by, brother sister mom and dad. We thought they were a safe bet. So we asked the dad, he said sure...and we posed..but he never did get the camera lens to focus on us...after a while we asked if he took the snap and he says yes...and what do we see..he took a snap of the floor! His wife was somehow furious at him for agreeing to take a snap for us.. So now we look fo...

How does it start? Vijay and Nishant start planning diwali celebrations before everyone leaves for their respective hometowns to celebrate the festival of lights and/or vacations with their family members. The day decided is Wednesday i.e. the 27th of October, 2010. Activities incharge were unanimously chosen (no one else was even considered actually :P) as Vinaya and me. So, then after a lot of contemplation whether the event should be done etc, should it be TTMM etc it was only when Vinay showed a lot of enthusiasm for the event, did all the fun start. Finally we decided on Monday afternoon that we will go ahead with the celebration. We started planning the games. Tuesday evening was when we really started getting things done. First we got gifts from BB, fun gifts all nicely gift wrapped. Clues for treasure hunt were finalised, chits ready and hidden :) Kumar is a great help while hiding clues. So next time you know there is a treasure hunt, follow Kumar the previous evening :D N...

PMC is constructing roads. Why? Pune is a metro in the making, so the roads should be of good quality. Which roads? The highways. Okay. That's a great thing. Go on, do it.  Now as the PMC has its budget drawn out, funds allocated, what do they do? They take years and years to complete a small stretch of the road. In doing so, they dig up the road and then, do not build approach roads for the bylanes. Result? I don't see any resultant progress in the current state of transport by roads. All I see is a deterioration. Now what? The residents somehow manage to find a way to get to the main road, troubling their vehicles, tyres too the hilt everyday, while leaving home and also while returning. Then one fine day, PMC feels they should be an approach road, no matter how stony, however large the difference between the levels of the main road and the approach road. Okay, so residents now go over the stony, unlevelled path. No complaints still. Now, as the rains approach PMC gets into t...

...a year now... What's your raashee...at Rahul... an evening well spent at the Pune University campus... getting lost there..unable to find our vehicle...tensed moments interspersed with concern...first impressions.. getting late..to meet frnds... forgetting the dandiya passes at home.. awesome fun at dandiya... a wild drive back home... an awesome night with frnds.. an awesome day..well spent.. an awesome day..tat will remain etched in my memory forever... Love you.....blogger :)

Very often these days I come across thoughts like these in the IT industry, "I'm bored of this ***** job!" "I'm bored of my life. Its not what I dreamt of" "Is it the work or the nature of the job itself?This isn't a life I wanted" Caught in these thoughts and wandering through the streets, I came across a couple of people and it felt as if they read my thoughts and hence had decided to show me the reality of life. A bus conductor. What is his job? Collect fares in a moving bus, full of people with no place to stand or move. plus minus multiply in your head continuously while making sure you do not make a mistake. At the same time you are expected to make sure people get down at their respective destinations, make sure everyone has bought a ticket. Does this sound boring? Ever thought about why conductors are invariantly irritable. The people travelling are their means of getting off their frustration, at least that's what I have come...

Me : Mom, I won't be late. Mom : (thinks to herself) How many times has she said she won't be late. Has she ever turned up on time? Me : And its at E2...its not that far from home. I'll leave at 9 (I mean 9:30 here) Mom : (thinks to herself) Yes...not far at all..just say 10kms? its at a stone's throw right? She is going to go anyhow. (says to me) Okay, go ahead. Come home on time. Don't be late. Me : Thanks mom :) You're the best! :) Now i'm at this awesome place called "not just jazz by the bay". It is awesome because of its ambience and more so because of the people there. (Yea I'm counting myself as one of those who are the "special" people :P) I'm enjoying, laughing, smiling, eating (yea and not hogging for a change :P), thinking, laughing and so on. Suddenly, as if some angel tells me to check the time right away, I just get my cell out, glance a casual look at the time. Me : OMG! its 10!! I was to reach home by this...

Yes..first ever! After having a gruelling argument on how English is better than devanagari and then losing by falling flat on my face...(not that I wasn't going to write the post in marathi before) but then I though, what better way of losing graciously than writing a post in devanagari itself ;) Okay, so here is the post. Feel free to point out mistakes in spellings and grammar as well as sentence formations. I'm sure there are plenty of them.

Have you ever wondered about the purpose of your life? Have you then felt that there must be something much better and greater than the current state of your daily affairs? I'm not sure I've ever thought about these things before. Is it age? Is it work? Is it the pace at which people around are moving? Or is it just some passing thought? When something stings you, and stings you real hard you tend to look for solutions. In this case I was clueless about any direction to look for to locate even a clue to the clue to the solution. As always, mood swings lead to irritability lead to fits of temper lead to instability of emotions which ultimately lead to depression which lead to a breakdown which gave a clue to the clue of my solution via an advisor. So, the answer is look carefully. There is always something you like to do more than what you are currently doing. While a job is necessary for all your material comforts and even maybe to fulfill your interests, it will sometime...

...yup..this weekend seemed to have really rejuvenated me..and why? Earlier...on Monday I always remembered what I had to finish this week..before the build..what I had to investigate..etc etc...But today, - I also forgot the way to office..that route that I have been taking for more than 18 months now :P - I reached the office gate and went ahead before I realised I've missed the gate :P - I don't remember the password to my machine :P - I remember to start eclipse after almost 30 minutes - I still haven't started MS Outlook :P - I have to check my TODO list (thankfully I had made this last Friday) to even start thinking about work! Is it the weekend..or is it the two years..I can't say :)

It starts with....stopping anywhere..even while its working..running... Then you know, its time...this one was a huge sign..but it isn't dead yet... Smaller signs follow....like what happened today. I was standing peacefully at a signal, and someone starts blowing the horn. I'm wondering why someone is so impatient..coz the signal was just turning green. A policeman was glaring at me...and I'm telling myself..its not me..its someone behind me..look at him..give him the stares....but then he finally yells at me "ka vajav taye horn?" and I tell him "mi vajvat naiye baba" . But he insists so I listen to the horn more carefully through the loud blaring music in my ears and voila...its my vehicle...yaay... If your vehicle's horn stops functioning...you can live with it right. But if it keeps blaring..and does not want to stop...yea yea..it felt as if I was riding in an ambulance..only difference being people don't make way for you, they keep sho...

I write here because... 1. I know nowhere else where I could post these ramblings 2. I know nobody who could answer these rhetorics 3. I know nobody who does not already see the ugly truth behind these So, here are my few subtle questions... 1. Does destroying public property prove the public's point of view? 2. Does a strike mean you have to resort to vandalism for people to follow it? 3. Since streets are battlefields for public rights, what use are parliaments?

Sis's exams get over on 7th June, and long before that we were planning a vacation for a family trip. We had one last year ( aurangabad ) after ages and so decided to keep doing it every year. This time we wanted to go to Goa....but we knew like last year...rains will play spoil sport. Till the last minute we were undecided but then thought of giving it a shot. And it was a wonderful shot...we didnt feel the summer heat...nor did we face heavy rains! 10th June was a day full of packing and booking travel...getting extra battery for the cam...and other stuff required...that ended with a nice meal at Kalyani Veg. That restaurant's food has become too good. I remember eating it once before and not liking it...but now..its food is awesome! 11th June we planned to leave at 5:30 am for a 12 hour long drive. Our driver being a duffer that he was, got us an hour and a half late, but anyway our spirits were not dampened. As soon as we started we were alive singing and rocking with t...

Guys, I know this will be my 3rd blog, but I'm so keen on writing and writing and writing...that I started a new blog on the books I read :D Yea, I've been reading quite a few books lately and so I have decided to share my views on the good ones as well as the not so good ones, as well as the really bad ones...so in short..about most of the books I read... So, enjoy.. Oops..sorry forgot to publicize my blog..and increase the page rank :P Here goes the link . P.S. All the posts that appeared here under the tag 'nice read' have been moved to the books blog.

...the old man is snoring... It was getting hotter by the day..summer heat was on...and then almost out of nowhere...we are blessed with showers...showers of cool breeze...showers of..green leaves all bathed clean...showers...of the lovely smell of wet mud... You watch the lightening...and wait for the sound of thunder...watch the beauty of the colors displayed in the sky.... You watch the water pouring..and turning every small thing it touches into a new..fresh..being...It almost feels like a new fresh start... The wind blows in your face..and your strive to keep your hair tied...through the gaps you admire the beauty that the showers leave behind...through the gaps you are transported to a time before this moment... And in that very nostalgic weather...you discuss what rain reminds you and your colleagues... Someone remembers himself reading comics...another is reminded of the summer vacations getting over...another remembers covering new school textbooks and notebooks...

Everyone wants to make money as soon as he/she first realizes that money buys us material happiness. When we were kids we needed money to buy chocolates and candies. After we grew up a little we started demanding toys..then vehicles, cellphones..the list is never ending. After we graduate our only aim, most often sub-consciously is to make money so that we can live a comfortable life later on. After we start our job..we often realize that they do get monotonous and repetitive however cutting edge be the technology we work on (here I'm talking about the IT industry because I could confidently talk about it from an insider's view point). And so..to keep yourself sane you often fall back on your hobby..the one (or more) things that keep you happy..and happy from within. For me..painting has been one such happiness that never disappoints me. Even if I paint a disaster, it keeps me happy. And so..here is..one more painting which I think is brilliant..obvious...

Yea, literally..I went back to school yesterday. No I didn't have to attend classes this time round, but the feeling of being in your school premises after 8 whole years...is indescribable! It all started with an update on facebook, St.Felix has an alumni meet on 28th February 2010. And my reaction was 'finally'!! I mean I hadn't been to school, hadn't met teachers, hadn't been in school for almost 8 years now (yea, I did attend the fete some years ago, but that wasn't really quality time). So, started asking batchmates if they're attending and then thinking what its going to be like going to school again. However, close school friends couldn't make it, but I certainly wanted to attend and this time too, we went as we used to go always, all three sisters together :) Felt so nice and mom kept saying you'll are going to school :) Obviously we weren't in uniforms this time, we had let our hair loose, like we did on the farewell (wonder how ca...

"I haven't been blogging these days" "Does that mean I have done nothing 'post' worthy or is that 'm just plain lazy to see through the beauty of every moment?" "Beauty of every moment? hello...give me a break. That's just a very subtle way of saying that you have nothing worth talking about." "I see, that means I need to introspect" "Aaah, that's how it goes eh? Ok go on, I'm sure the best you can babble about is Pune's traffic" "Man, you know me inside out. Its the Pune traffic. Its the squabbles and arguments with siblings and parents. Its basically everything getting on my nerves. Is it me or is it my nerves?" "Lets go hit the couch" "No but wait, I guess I've been bunking gym too" "So, how does that get on your nerves?" "No, that's something good I've done in the whole week maybe :P" "Sad joke..so there you're back..with...

Yea, that's what the human body needs. And being in the IT industry its a must. Its been almost two years since I started working and I tried lots of diets (which were specially designed by me..and included pastries and cadB and chaat and lots of other calorie-full and yummy food :D). So anyway none of these diets worked anyway. I tried starving myself and slimmed down a little but then that's against my spirit 'I live to eat'. I kept thinking I'll go for walks...I'll get up and exercise..I'll go swimming...I'll go and play tennis...but I always found some very convincing reason (convincing reason for myself :P) to avoid physical exercise. After the marathon debacle I even started my stairs exercise which went on for hardly a week and a half. So after all free means of exercise failed, I switched over to the gym. This gym is very close to home, so that saves me some more sleep time and gives me more reason to not bunk the gym. Today was my first day....

No no, I'm not hinting that I was so bored that the weekend seemed to never end. I have done so much in these two days, roamed and seen and traveled and hogged so much, that the weekend seemed longer than just two days! Khyati had invited all of us over to her house in Vapi over the weekend. Since vapi is a six hour drive from Pune, we decided to start at 4am. The usual latecomer Lalit surprised all of us by turning up even before the car arrived :P. We started on time, but only to find a new late comer, Amit :P. We left for Vapi, after picking up everyone by 5:45. Everyone was drowsy and fell asleep after a few minutes only to be woken up by hunger. Had some breakfast at kamat (which wasn't half as tasty as the king's meal we had later on). We reached Khyati's place by noon and then freshened up and were ready for lunch. A very good hostess that Khyati was, she had asked her mom to make all kinds of gujarati dishes for us. We had 5 no 6 no I guess 8 or was it 9.....

Yea, I started again... Water colors is an art. Why? Just because you have to get out the creativity and reality in colors and as fast as you can. That's precisely why I'd left them way back after school. I then started using oils and found they were so convenient, you could install reality at a later phase of the painting too. This time, somehow that craving for water and color and art..got me! My long lost craving for art..creating art...was re-instilled in me. So I started afresh, new book, new pack of pencils, a sharpener,eraser, brushes, colors and water! And believe me it feels heavenly to be doing something you really love. You won't believe I even forgot that I was raving for food after I picked up the brush. Only after it was done (actually only after I received at least one compliment) did I grab some food. Here's my painting..(I shouldn't complain, but I forgot to buy white color and it does not come in the pack. So I tried my...

This time pree’s tweets are going to show me the way J 22 nd December : 9:29 AM Aah.. Njoying.. Nw wating frnds to come to ma home!! We were on the way to banaglore, boarded a 9pm bus from pune. The bookings were done in advance but last minute hiccups are always there. The travel decided to change their pick up point without informing the boarders. Luckily dad was home early and ash and my baggage got a ride through the traffic jam at yerwada. We were panicking about the bus leaving but then were waiting for almost half an hour after the scheduld hour, for the bus to start. Anyhow we thus started our 14 hour journey to the city of gardens! Pree had prepared methichi bhaji (my request) and masale bhaat (my request again) for us. The bus reached majestic at around 12:30 or so, and we were to look for platform 17 on the local bus stand. Yeah, there platforms are not only for trains but also for buses. The bus service is pretty organized there. We were hunting our platform 17. We sp...