Vyaktigat_Manogat_Swagat

A really long Thanksgiving

2008-11-29T21:45:00.000-08:00

When I think of Thanksgiving, the first thing that comes to my mind are the wonderful dinners at the Schneider's residence. Never would I ever meet two such fine people in a land away from home who made us feel so comfortable and treated like their own grand-children.
However this post is somewhat of an ode to a different set of people who have helped me tremendously and continue to do so.

Though I am only 29, I would not want to take chances on my memory lasting very late in life to write the following piece. So before Mr. Alzheimers kicks in and starts knocking those cells around, I would like to sincerely thank everyone that I can recollect who made the journey from end of fall 2002 to end of spring 2003 possible. There are multiple reasons, and more importantly people due to whom this reunion would remain etched in my mind forever.From the Enterprise rental manager who gave us an additional 50 miles a day to the new illegal immigrant who probably forgot to charge us $15 dollars or so at a gas station somewhere in ‘Bama. Nikhil's room-mates were simply wonderful and extremely accommodating and made us feel very comfortable. To bear with our non-sense and chatter for 5 days is no mean task and to top it off our weird timings of waking-up and dozing off. Mami, Vahini, Tai, Akka et al, as they were affectionately called, deserve a great deal of credit and so does Kothasthane for ensuring that we had a pleasant stay in Austin.

But most importantly however, this trip was made possible for me by a couple of angelic friends who helped me be a part of what were the best 17 days of my stay in the US. In the above "Re-Union" spaces, wherever there is a comment as "We", kindly drop my name wherever any reference to any form of payment is concerned. 4 months prior to our planned reunion date I was in educational doldrums and financially in a complete mess. (KindNote: This had nothing to do with Sharaab/Shabaab) I had nearly quit and was about to give up when I received the best of support from my friends. Through emails, phone calls, suggestions, they absolutely bombarded positive thoughts in me, which helped me overcome all the obstacles I had faced till then. In the second week of December I finally came out of my Scholastic Funk and thanks to my added working hours during the 3rd semester, I had saved enough for this trip. When we sat together later for financial settlements, I was kept so much in the dark and asked to pay so meager an amount that I almost could not believe. Till this day, this still remains to be the only financial settlement which I had not presided on!!
The only time I clearly remember paying (shared with Ameya) was once for a Papa Johns Pizza party and another time at Subway when we had a Clemson University visit.

I frequently did (and sometimes still do) rue the fact that I was unable to treat them better during their visit. They had spent hundreds of dollars traveling to Clemson, SC and another "n" hundreds during those days. In terms of today’s economy and standard those might seem a few knocked out thousands of rupees, but ask a Graduate student in the US and you will surely be able to gauge its worth in gold.

Again in the spring of 2003, I was short on dollars when I rang up a friend and asked for some "n" hundred dollars. I received a check of "n+1" hundred dollars the day after next I had made the phone call. He never made it a point to mention this then nor till date until I have done the same now. He never asked me when I was returning the same, but simply emailed/called me the day I paid it back, months later. It was a transaction between the best of friends, never tripartite.

In the simplest of words the above two are mortgages which are extremely difficult to shrug off and impossible to return. Just thoughts of mentioning this is going to draw a lot of ire, thanking them would be near blasphemous and trying to repay would be downright sinful.

5 years.., seems a small frame of time when compared to your lifetime but some span gets frozen in eternity. I have traveled a long way from being a 3-point someone and a jobless bugger to a well-settled professional in a sort-of-well-renowned company in Pune. I have struggled and worked extremely hard, but there is no denying the fact who all made it happen. From a person who had hit rock-bottom and was still digging, to a person who has reached beautiful heights and is yearning to climb yonder, I have no one to thank for but a wonderful set of friends.
It has been Thanksgiving for the last 5 years :)

waLu - a refreshing comedy

2008-03-16T07:56:00.000-07:00

Just happened to watch a marathi movie "waLu" in theaters after years on end.I cannot even remember the last one but this one will linger in for some time for sure. A comical, satirical movie set on the backdrop of a Maharashtra village whose current health is disturbed by an advent of waLu - a wild bull

waLu : The real meaning of waLu is a huge, well built bull (OX) with an extra-ordinary libido capable of impregnating dozens of cattle in a really short span. Here the libidinous prowess is represented through his destructive power by harrassing the villagers.

The movie begins with a forest officer receiving a call to catch the wild bull (a huge black terrier) which has wreaked on a tiny village called Kusawade. This is a near insult for a person capable of catching and taming wild felines. He arrives in the villages with the usual fanfare accorded by the rural folks. Accompanying him are his younger brother, who wants to shoot a documentary on the plight of the villagers and the fight to catch the wild thing. The forest officers equipment consists of a couple of shot-guns and a blow-pipe with some sedatives in syringes. Though being an out-an-out MharaTi, he blurts out English suitable to a "Forest", as he is affectionately called by the KusawaDe'ites.

The very first POA for capture of "Durkyaa" as the waLu is referred, called by, is held, quite ironically, in the temple of KankaLeshwar (another name of Lord Shiva) whose vehicle is none other than the Nandi (a huge bull). As fate has it, on one hand they worship one kind and despise the second one."Forest", played by Atul Kulkarni tries to figure out the routine of Durkyaa and plan a way for the capture by putting together the narratives dictated by most of the respected public. All of this is being suitably captured in the "documentary" being put together which infact is the real deal behind the huge turn-out.

In all of this are the commonplace incidents/sidestories like a one-upsmanship between the surpanch (the village chieftan) and aaba (a new generation rebel of sorts), jeevanya - whose stock has sky-rocketed since "Forest" makes him his "Friday" for the mission. There is the brooding love-story between a belle (played by Amruta Subhash) and Shivaji whose fathers are at loggerheads due to an accidental death of a bull on the day of baeel-poLa (Festival Day for Bulls). A semi-crazy woman who is protective of the bull and the mother of jeevanya (played by Jyoti Subhash) who feeds the nasty animal each day.
The actual capture of Durkyaa by rope-a-dope is well captured in lens with total chaos in the back-ground and all previous planning which goes for a complete toss. The officer is treated as a hero-of-sorts and a procession is taken similar to those of deities. Finally the two factions and all villagers come together for celebrating this common victory.

waLu (the bull) is symbolic or metaphoric of the lives and stages happening through the life of the villagers and one very pregnant cow. The pain caused by the bull is shared by the cow through her labour pains. The disturbance and havoc is reminiscent of the gastro-entritis experienced by the village priest (Dilip Prabhawalkar in a surprizing role). The freedom of movement enjoyed by Durkyaa is missing from the lives of the two lovers who want to break barriers and elope. The loneliness of the bull grazing in the open sun but the immense power that it withholds is similar to that of the surpanch and aaba. Both powerful in their own accord but find themselves very lonely as the village meets at the temple and are left out of the documentary.

The movie ends with the very pregnant cow delivering a fresh new "waLu" - a black calf probably fathered by the beast

An Affair to Remember: Enigmatic End - Part IV

2008-03-16T07:42:00.000-07:00

It is said that relationships are based on some very basic virtues like honesty, trust, faith etc. There is probably a level of trust which we all have for different set of people, parents/siblings, friends, colleagues and an individual typically does not (should not) be entirely honest even within his most innermost "Circle Of Trust". And that is exactly when I faltered, I tried to be too brutally honest with S.C. at a time when I could have actually summed up the courage maybe some months/years down the line. My 'sail with it, or sink wink it' approach only took me down the drain.

We were having coffee/evening snacks when we decided to delve into the past of either of us. I found it hard to believe that no1 had ever asked her out or remotely not of thought of spending his entire life with her. She probably was very honest but then she could have not been entirely convinced that we had reached an "official" relationship level for which she was bound to answer certain questions. I failed to gauge this and decided to open out more than I should have. This was actually very much against the precept that my very dear/near friends had warned me against.

We were so close to being awarded a prize on Dec 10th at Royal Albert Hall for Chemistry for 2007. Just then, some reaction occured out of a sudden and there in sublimated any chances of a miracle.

I confessed, of having written 2 emails and also receiving near identical replies on my "proposals". And that proved to be the final walk of my eventful odyssey.

She was a very sensible girl who would not have taken this decision solely based upon my one guffaw. She would have probably (actually definitely) jotted the points along the graph when I had messed up. She was too systematic/statistical not to have not noticed the multiple inflexion points that I may surely have traced. I am pretty convinced she decided to take the final call only after all the possible indices of rational behavior were so badly distorted that it left her no other option. It finally wreaked havoc on the one aspect she (and most females) was looking forward to (stability) which I lacked to provide.
We met a couple of times but that was just to bring the happenings of the last 8 months (including email exchanges) to a closure.

The abrupt ending of a till-now-smooth matter from a pragmatic, sensible person may seem like a contradiction. However, Contradictions do not exist. If there is a contradiction, one of the premise must be wrong

I learned my lesson the very hard way and I am still convinced that I did not deserve this. However who am I to judge the decision of someone when I am the so-called accused/guilty party ? (Criminal's Side of the Court).
Two very important lessons: Do not give any unwanted, unheralded information unless asked for. Even if asked for, do not still give it up, lest it jeopardize the goodwill that has already been establish. Always trust your friends (whom you trust), especially when 6 (including their spouses) have advised you against some idiotic principles you might be (unnecessarily) carrying as unwanted baggage.
(The first and foremost Basic Axiom : You can never truly understand what goes on in the minds of XX)

Though this affair did not leave anyone with shrivelled legs nor did it physically handicap someone, it did have a crippling effect on my conscience/soul for a while. However with the friends that I have getting over and moving on was never difficult.

I know it and so do most of you understand/know, that I am not a person who went into the relationship for the heck of it. If I was looking for a fling and did not care really too much for the consequences, I would have just shrugged it off and chuckled "Who is John Galt" !!

An Affair to Remember: Perfection Personified

2008-02-12T08:49:00.000-08:00

Finding the time to meet S.C. was difficult enough from my engaging schedule. Even more challenging was of providing a reason of the time spent to a plethora of friends from school, college and colleagues as well as home. This was when my worst handicap proved to be my advantage.I worked late hours on most days and sometimes on weekends. These working hours/days provided me with the perfect alibi for the late hours on other days and "some" weekends (God bless DST Patches !!) spent.

Perfection Personified=>
S.C. was an epitome of low maintenance, she used to be dressed elegantly, decent clothing though not expensive ones. Comparing with her "Target" and "Filenes Basement" for no reason, I felt like I was shopping at "Banana Republic" or "Saks on the 5th". But S.C. carried herself with such elan that she never needed to enhance it any further.
The number of visits I had made to a salon/parlor exceeded hers by one ;)
Would have spoilt her looks anyway

S.C. had another great quality and that was of "patience". She probably had a store somewhere deep in her soul from where she kept on drawing and her reserves never seemed to end. She did not mind me canceling pre-decided dates, timings on account of work and added hours. S.C. quietly spent her time reading, till I reached and always welcome me with an eager smile. I used to be irritated with myself but felt it really amusing that she never mentioned the late appearances but focused on the time spent together. The only solace for me was that S.C. too used cell phone to a minimum, especially during office hours. Unanswered, missed calls on my instrument did not deter her from calling me later in the evening. S.C. never seemed disturbed, worried or bothered about these "trivial" (her term) events and this disturbed, worried, bothered me to no end!!

Once she showed me pictures of her room, a modest one compared to today's lavish ones but it was so neatly maintained, not one item out of place. S.C. was so particular about arranging stuff, I sometimes called her Monica instead !! She remembered Birthdays, Anniversaries not only of first cousins but of seconds and their spouses and kids without help of a Birthday Alarm, which I use to impress others ;) My falsely pretentious "kawach-kunDals of particularity had taken a beating like never before and now they were lying on the floor, cracked permanently
Heck, she was even good at driving even though I did not dare give my 2nd love in her careful hands.
I was also gleefully surprised when she mildly chastised me for bringing her some cliched "White Teddy with a Red Heart" in mid-Feb.

I always tried to find some chink in her armour which I would be able to focus and beat her (not physically, mentally) at atleast one daily activity. I gave up and finally concluded, the only thing I did ever "defeat" her was in gorging on food. S.C. was a healthy eater but she was no match for me. I was way better her than in all sports, but lets not take our focus from day-to-day activities for the moment.
Though we were as different as day and night, rather as different as solar and lunar eclipses to be exact, we did connect on most issues. We never had any differences of opinion on any topic and on most occasions would arrive at a consensus without compromise.

The most amazing moment came when we were once shopping in a mall for her beloved Jiju.. A very bright and definitely prudent gentleman came straight towards us. S.C. bent and touched his feet the next instant (I followed suit to impress ;) ) who was her adorable teacher in school. They talked for a while , while I listened and smiled. Just before leaving he turned to me and said "You know what my biggest regret in life is.., Not having a son of suitable age to be able to take her home as my daughter-in-law !!" And then He left, as I just stood there mesmerized by things happening that instant. That was in my opinion the greatest compliment any person could receive.

Secret between you and me : I had at one point of time wished progeny inheriting characteristics in the ratio 45:1

An Affair to Remember: Dizzyingly Delightful - Part III

2008-02-12T08:18:00.000-08:00

Delectable December and reJuvenating January and Fantabulous February:

There were multiple instances/days/events to rewind and play over and over again. However from a revolutionalizing and refreshing experience point of view the following excerpt is worth mentioning. The most memorable of our "date" that I think was when we had gone to Sinhagad on a clear, chilly Sunday morning.

The weather was great for such an outing and there was the usual hustle-bustle seen on the fort on most Sundays. We had started quite early and though we took multiple breaks looking at the quickly wuthering foliage around, they were also acting as welcome breathers in between :) With my belly contracting between a size 32 to size 30 and at times to size 33 due to the breathlessness from the thin-air, S.C. had a hearty laugh throughout the climb. On the way up, we also made fun of the other lovey-dovey birds who were proudly exhibiting their PDAs at frequent intervals on the context of helping to step on a rock about 6 inches tall ;)

We had started climbing in near darkness, experienced twilight passed the halfway point. We had reached the summit (it was almost an Everest like) just as the rays kissed the Towers atop the fort, which were still almost a blur. S.C was carrying her newly purchased S3-IS and we waited with bated breath to capture some eternal moments. The sun (rather the earth) was going through its routine but it was a first for the two of us.

We were discussing the events in the week before, when the topics shifted to the just held appraisal at S.C.'s company and how well she had "held" her own. She did not meekly submit to the points/grades offered but fought for her rights. My wicked, sarcastic smile did not amuse her much and that forced me to spill the beans. And so began my monologue for the next half an hour so. My typical laid-back approach to one of the most useless and controversial processes followed in most companies (obviously my personal opinion again) to suppress any hardworking, sincere engineer/employee (yeah, C.A.'s are not engineers but way beyond). What do they know of what I have been through, and this is nothing but just "A Walk In The Clouds" - similar to the emotions of reality that we were just passing through.

I had never seen S.C. with her real steely resolve coming to the fore. She was absolutely stunned and more-so-over frustrated as I did not even wish to desire whatever I deserved. I tried to vainly impress her with some hackneyed Hindi-Urdu dialogue about how worthless these events were compared to the time spent with her. Now it was her turn to smile which was neither of the sort that I had displayed some minutes back.

The next hour or so S.C. spoke and I listened, speechless, stunned and somewhat energized. S.C. delivered her words with such caution and even more passion that there was nothing else to do but genuflect in pure submission. She even mentioned that I should actually "go to the mattresses" (probably got to do with the surroundings - Sinhagad - and its immortal history) !! She just could not emphasize enough how it was "Not Personal, But Business". From someone who recited paragraphs from the Gita and who was a vivid and ardent follower of Swami Vivekananda and his philosophy, mention from Puzo's GodFather was quite shocking, to the point of being over-whelming.

I was like a pure "Neo"phyte in the presence of Krishna and Vivekananda at the same time in "Zion"

"THE" Re-Union : Day Nine

2007-12-31T06:36:00.000-08:00

26 December, 2002:
Auburn, AL: Just like we had bade Nikhil's home a farewell it was time to bid Kaustubh's home a final farewell as well. (Fact: They later changes places about 2-3 times as well, under the pretext and supporting statements that it barely takes 30 minutes to move out from one place and perch in the next ?? ) We had spent 2 wonderful nights in Auburn and more importantly got to meet some of Godya's room-mates, one out-sizing the other. Kaustubh, all of a sudden seemed to be like a cute stuffed teddy compared to them :)

Atlanta, GA: We either missed or took an incorrect exit or took some street South instead of North and the likes. But we definitely missed the place we had initially planned for. We finally managed to trace a Gujju Bhaaya's place and decided to satisfy our palates at the dine-in. What a wondeful treat it was from Kaustubh, on his fellowship grant, and we all ate till we were able to tickle the food just under/behind the tonsils !! With bloated bellies and droopy, sleepy eyes we made the final mad dash to Clemson, SC. We were going to lose an hour driving from CST to EST and had to hand-over the car to Enterprize lest we paid for an extra day. I was driving the Neon and all others were blissfully sleeping their "backs" off. The loud Kishore songs were hardly a deterrant to the ephedrine-like toxins secreted from the lunch menu.

Clemson, SC: Just passed the border into SC, all were awake and it was hardly any distance to go before we reached 115 Village Green. We had some time remaining and did some quick groceries at Winn Dixie and parallely did some VHS renting out at the adjacent video store. It was a great feeling to come back home as nothing heels you better than the first step inside "your own place".

After dropping the grocery, tapes and our bags and baggage home, we headed back to Seneca to bid farewell to our wondeful (at times irritable) companion. We had got the rental for a whopping 2800 miles and when we returned the car we had travelled 2792 miles !! The manager at the rental was simply amazed and commended us saying never had anyone got their calculations so correct for such a huge trip.

Little did he know nor does he still understand the underlying common thread between the last names Aphale, Divekar, Godbole and Ranade

"THE" Re-Union : Day Eight

2007-12-31T06:35:00.000-08:00

25 December 2002 :
College Station, TX: Finally, it was time to good-bye and we left with our baggage in quite a somber mood. With great memories from our stay and tons of wishes for our safe journey we left the twin-apartment for the last time. With Kaustubh in the drivers seat and a very-insistent "I will remain awake for sure" Nikhil, we left for Auburn, AL. We were going to again spend the night at Godya's place and then proceed to Clemson the next day morning. It was Christmas and people were enjoying at home and had left the road empty for wanderers like us. I remember a clear stretch of highway in TX, LA where-in we covered more than 200 miles in less than 3 hours or so. We (Kaustubh and I) had decided to give Atul a break from driving as he had done the bulk of the load towards TX from SC. Now from TX to SC, it was pay-back time and we gladly obliged. I recollect at times taking exits on freeways in search of Gas and Food Joints and then frustratingly finding them closed for Christmas :(

Someplace Dubdub3, MS: We dined at weird places and obliged ourselves mostly to some burger or american break-fast, Ham-Eggs on Toast at lunch time in Huddle House. Towards the fag end of the day, which was around 5pm, we were feeling sort of tired with an unseemingly unending road ahead of us. There were nothing but trusses and arches and bridges over the swamps and frequency of yawns seemed more than heart-beats. Finally the AL border was in sight and that in it itself was a sign of relief. The last couple of hundred miles remained to be covered and after a stomachful we decided to go at one-go. Unfortunately nature intervened and dialled calls so feverishly that we all had to take notice and make a quick stop at a road-side rest area. Within a couple of minutes and with five extremely light bladders, Godya drove into his hometown.

Auburn, AL: We had travelled more than 700 miles since morning and legs ached from sitting in cramped spaces for hours on end. We cursed expletives at the Dodge-Neon (like we had throughout our trip) and blamed all our woes on her. This time there were no plans for TableTennis as driver/navigators/passengers were drained alike. The last 250 odd miles remained which were to be accentuated and punctuated by a wondeful lunch in Downtown Atlanta at a terrific Indian Restaurant.

"THE" Re-Union : Day Seven

2007-12-31T06:24:00.000-08:00

24 Decmber 2002:
College Station, TX: The last day of our planned trip in the "Lone Star State". We had initially decided to visit the NASA space center. Just then a sort of an alarm rang "Houston, we have a problem". We had all gotten up pretty late as we were all busy chatting the previous day after returning from SanAntonio. It was nearly 12 or past 12, when we came to know that the last trip (viewing tour) starts at 3pm. TAMU room-mates mentioned that it was a drive which generally took more than two and a half hours or so. By the time we ready to roll it was past 1pm and the overall picture looked bleak.

On-Road-To-NASA, TX: We started driving and more news hit us when we came to know that NASA was actually even further down south of Houston, more closer closer to Galveston. But with some Shumachresque driving from Atul (and exquiste Navigation by "who else but me" ;) )and zigzagging like crazy through Downtown Houston we barely reached the NASA gate. Unfortunately the last shuttle and ride was already full and we had missed our chance. But "lady luck" smiled her brightest then, and we received the news that to accomodate the other turned up visitors during Holiday season, they would conjure another ride. We being among the first were very sure to make it and received preferred seating.

NASA, TX: The previous day was quite warm, barring the thunderstorm that lashed late evening. This day was the exact opposite as winds wailed and the cold breeze was almost cutting through skin. Luckily all of us had some kind of jumpers put on which helped us survive ?? the wintry ride. The open air carriage did not help much and it was really some great relief when we were inside the main building. On the walls were pictures of the many missions NASA had undertaken, space walks, moon trips and the like. (There is in fact a Flag for every mission that is carried out as well) There were some rock samples kept in vaccumized glass bottles kept for display behind closed Glass Walls.

Control Room, NASA, TX: This was the place where it all happens (happened), the heart and soul of any mission, manned or un-manned. This was the place where the words first were heard from the moon "The eagle has landed" (though this may have different meanings with changing contexts). There was a huge screen where all the parameters were displayed and the tracking for the shuttle performed. This was the haven which ensured that "Apollo 13" came back safely to earth !! The only difference the tour-guide mentioned was that previously it was a smoking facility which has now been converted to a non-smoking one. From a viewing point of view, the Control Room was open for public viewing prior to 9/11, now it was only visible from behind closed glass doors.

NASA, TX: The day had started to wane and so had the available warmth from the surroundings. On our way back to the NASA gallery it was even worse than when we had reached there. We spent the next hour or so viewing the different models on display from full-size command modules to a cock-pit of a jumbo. Then, it was time to turn back to College Station. We had to leave for Auburn, quite early the next day and it was truly sad that the wonderful trip was coming to a close.

Houston, TX: We had dinner at some restaurant but the Ok types food did not help much in overcoming the impending gloom. I dont know whether it was only me or others felt the same but never-the-less, none of expressed the obvious.

College Station, TX: It was not too late when we came back to pack our belongings and gear-up ourselves to a long, arduos and at-times treacherous journey. We were always hammering Nikhil that he HAD to come with us to Clemson and spent the remaining of his vacation with all of us. After much deliberation and slight use of physical and mental force, we managed to convince of making the trip back. We had a great clicking session which went way into the night and also reminiscing our last 5 wonderful days.

"THE" Re-Union : Day Six

2007-12-23T07:34:00.000-08:00

23 December 2002:
Austin, TX: We were all pretty early as we had a lot to travel to SanAntonio in the morning and return to College Station that very night. This was a sort-of-treacherous route w/o any interstates and only lonely, neglected State Highways. We had taken the directions for San Antonio and as told by my cousin, River View was supposed to be the best location in city. With correct and precise direction taken through MapQuest ( ?? :D ) we left for the Spurs' hometown.

San Antonio, TX: The skyline was visible from quite afar and then we started drifting away from the city. But we ensured to follow the directions as seen on the print-outs and reached River View Drive or Way !! We had crossed the main city and now found ourselves looking at a drain and wondering whether that was infact the desired destination. After quizzing a few along the way, we realized that we had hopelessly lost our way and that River View was in Downtown SanAntonio. But, just then we saw driving direction to the Zoo which was about a mile from the place we were.

SanAntonio Zoo, TX: This was the day when 5 adults decided to shed all inhibitions and act like 3 year olds. We had paid a decent sum of amount to the zoo keepers and made it a point to make every cent count. The zoo was itself pretty huge which animals ranging from 1 tiger to 1 elephant to 1 bear, multiple types of monkeys (there were 5 who were let loose to entertain others ;) ). The best part was that there was a lot of room for all animals and nor were they caged in a cramped place like we had in Peshwe Park previously. There was "some" natural surrounding that was created for each animal and also safety of viewers was also ensured by making huge pits between the Animal area and Viewing Area.
There was this one particular type of tiger/leopard/panther whom Godya wanted to capture as he looked dead-straight at the camera. Unfortunately for all us he never did and we spent about 50 clicks on eyes, ears, tails, abdomen of that feline.

Has anyone of you watched the movie "Birds" by Hitchcock ? Never before had I thought about birds as scary and able to outfight humans, manly ego I guess. But that was again a work of fiction we would suppose. However as we entered a bird-cage, mostly with species of parrots, parakeets all the fear could be actually experienced. We were in their area and it was really frightening when they decided to fly from one tree to the other in the enclosed area. We would have been able to capture a couple of parrots sitting on Ameya's shoulders had Mr. Photos not clicked too many features of a tiger and exhausted the batteries.
The nicest scene was of one parakeet removing the Cap of the bird-keeper as kept interacting with other people.

We had a light snack quite early on and then left after having a comprehensive visit of the park left for the actual River View.

RiverView, SanAntonio, TX: This has got to be the most romantic spot in this arid state and definitely the most crowded. (In the meantime we had obtained fresh set of batteries) Then we had a round of photos taken along the banks of the manmade channels and then moved around the area. Each one of us surely dreamt of visiting this place with their to-be someones at some point later in life :) We had moved a lot during the day and the outputted energy had hopelessly outnumbered the inputted one. There was a provision to have dinner as people undertook a boat ride in the water bed but we passed on as it was too expensive and the line was quite lengthy as well.Atul then treated us (just one the many he belted out at multiple places) at a very special Mexican Restaurant for supper. The food was definitely wonderful but the ambience just added the correct spice to the wonderful moment.
The picture taken by our table attendant also came out very well against the backdrop of the punts, boats.

The last destination for the day was "Tower of Americas" which consists of a revolving restaurant and a viewing-gallery on 3 huge pillars. It was not at all difficult locating the towers however finding the approach took very long as we kept on circling the roads around it. Finally we found a parking lot from where we could walk to the base of the tower.Just then there was a violent thunderstorm that lashed the city like crazy. It lasted for something like 15-20 mins which felt like eternity. There were trash cans kept along the pavements being uprooted and strewn across the roads. We took shelter near a convention center for some time and then the others (barring me) left for the tower. I was terribly scared to move but followed them as the storm subsided.

Tower of Americas, SanAntonio, TX: We moved in to the soothing comment that we would not be able to visit the viewing gallery due to the lightning and thunderstorm. The good news was that the elevators were going to take us to the hotel and that we were not going to be charged for it !! We must've climbed about 75 odd meters in a matter of some seconds and that too in a glass escalator. With the speed of the elevator and the sudden stop gives a giddy feeling. Thankfully none of required any plastic bags but there was a feeling that the floor was moving. We went a little further to view the city from a bar area (which does not revolve) but did not venture out on the revolving floor. Heartbreak was in store for Ameya and Godu when they saw a stunning young lady in a cocktail dress move in to dine with a much older gentleman.
And lastly we had a snap taken in which my friends compelled (like they always do) me give a crazy pose !!

This was definitely The Best Day I had during our 8 day trip

"THE" Re-Union : Day Five

2007-12-22T01:39:00.000-08:00

22 December 2002:
College Station, TX: The main intention of our trip, of that attending the graduation had been a grand success. Now we decided to explore the areas in-and-around ?? College Station. Arriving at a consensus of from where to start and how to end our trip was difficult with multiple choices and several impediments along the way.

We finally decided to leave for Austin late that afternoon and to visit Lake Basstrop on the way. Kaustubh was the one who had least driven the car till then and he decided to drive. With a royal battle staging who would reach the destination first, our "Major" was nearing 90-100 on the speedometer at frequent interval !! Inspite of several warnings, we gave up knowing that only a Ticket would slow the car down. Fortunately the cops too were enjoying their December vacation and resting somewhere else.

Lake Basstrop, TX: A beautiful natural lake surrounded my miniature hills on most sides and a quite well maintained one. There was actually an entrance ticket to the lake and adjoining areas but with No Keeper and the vending machine out of order it was free enjoyment for all of us. Again some snaps captured in the most weird of poses, especially one "wass-up, how-u-doin" pose is still fresh in my memory. We were there for about a couple of hours and enjoyed at the lakeside a lot.

Austin, TX: Next we were on our way to Austin, the capital of the state of Texas. We were going to stay at Kotasthane's place for the night before leaving for SanAntonio the next day. Austin, is supposedly The Best town in Texas, with plenty of greenery around, which is as close as you come to a hill-station in this arid-land.
The Hill:We first decided to visit the Hill (cannot recall the name) which overlooks the town and from where there is a beautiful view of the neighboring countryside. The only similarity this hill has with our own Parwati is that it is located within the heart of the city and has an equal number of steps to reach the top. Thats all where the similarities end, from Cleanliness, to the ample foliage that surrounds this place was "Once Upon a Time" true of Parwati. Again we had some snaps taken but the flashes just got wasted in thin and extremely dark air.
Capitol : All of the states and the country have a similar kind of state building and I guess called "Capitol" throughout. There was a beautifully decorated Christmas tree in the way to the entrance of the building. We were just a little late for the last tour of the building and hence could not see the place from inside. Again a few snaps and then we left to have dinner. This was again a treat by the Graduating class for the last time at a decent Indian restaurant.

University of Texas, Austin: We then made a short trip around the University and took a nice picture of "The Owl" also called as the University of Texas Tower.The top of the building is lighted such that when seen from a diagonal the top resembles the head of an owl and hence the name.

We then called it a day after deciding on the course to take the next day to San Antonio which was our next destination.

"THE" Re-Union : Day Four

2007-12-22T01:32:00.000-08:00

21 December 2002:
College Station, TX: This was the day we had reserved in our schedule to visit the Texas Agricultural and Mechanical University (TAMU) Campus.

We first visited the Industrial Engineering Department from which Niks had just completed his graduation. It was neatly constructed quite new a building on the campus compared to one that I went to at Clemson. The classrooms and the labs (that we peeped and saw through closed doors) were of a much larger size and seemed spacious. This building was probably shared by some other department as well but cannot now recollect which one it was. We had a picture taken of the 6 of us on the stairs of the building.

We then walked through many more departments, some special in Ranade's mind maybe because of some sweet memories maybe ;)

The stand-out room of that day was an International Hall or Flag Room or something of sorts. There were flags of almost all countries (recognized by the US) proudly were seen hanging from the ceiling. In one corner of this room was a piano waiting to be played and Ranade obliged the same. He played about 3-4 different songs on the beauty while we watched and listened in awe as the sound-of-music reverberated in the Hall. There was another family visiting the place and they too were listening to the tunes being played.

We also visited the Cafeteria where Nikhil worked and at one point of time had his hands full of dishes ready to be washed. He also showed us the room where they had once served at a buffet attended by "Dubya" just before he had become president in late 2000. I think I still having a feeling of deja-vu looking at the place and knowing what it is to work at such a place.

The 6 of us then moved around the campus in the car a lot before descending upon some place to eat. Quite surprisingly but absolutely cannot remember where we had food. We also captured the "Leaning Tower of College Station" in our camera while driving across the Univ. Lastly I remember climbing on a very tall building just after clicking some photos of all of us in idiotic poses below it. There was a huge walkway connecting two buildings which gave us a near giddy feeling and scratched our vertigo (Ameya's for sure)

We returned back and then dropped Tejas at the College Station greyhound station who returned back to Houston at his obscure relatives' place and has been out of touch since.

That evening again there was a "maifil" set again and the same set of people entertained us throughout the late evening.

"THE" Re-Union : Day Three

2007-12-22T01:27:00.000-08:00

20 December 2002:
College Station, TX: We all got up pretty late as we were extremely fatigued following the really long but thoroughly enjoyable drive of about 1100 miles !! Both of the houses had started to get ready for the graduation ceremony while we watched with our near sleepy eyes. It was nearly 1pm by which all of us were ready with a minor breakfast or the like. The graduation was in some huge coliseum kind of a place and reasonably far-off from Nikhil's place. We were about 6 of us stuffed in the Dodge-Neon, a really small segment car. During the next 2 days of our driving it was probably luck that did not get us caught.

The graduation ceremony was packed, the lower tier with all the graduating students, first Doctoral, then Masters, then the Bachelors. The upper tier was filled with family, friends and other near-dear ones of the lower tier. The guest-of-honor was some lady and as usual there was some message from her for the passing out students, which bored everyone to death (like usual). Then one-by-one the students starting collecting their Certificates (look like Batons from a relay race) to loud cheers from their side of friends. We waited and then shouted like crazy, and clicked multiple snaps when Ranade saan was collecting his diploma. (The pathetic zoom and low lighting did not help) . The saddest part of the ceremony is that the cancidates cannot leave the hall till ALL other students have had their turn. We then left the arena for a short time and went for a walk and view of the campus around the coliseum. The gymnasium and the swimming pool and some other sporting complex was awesome. But with December vacations in progress and most of the campus crowd home for Christmas there was hardly any activity around. We returned about 10-15 minutes before the ceremony was about to end and then again went out to see all the students fling their graduation caps high in the air. The next hour or so was spent in first finding Nikhil and his co-graduators and then clicking numerous photos on the lawns outside.

We all then went back to their residence and then had some amazing tea prepared in a pressure-cooker !! The quality and quantity was both of the highest order. For the evening dinner we were treated at a wonderful sandwich place close by. By this time there were another 3-4 new additions to the place with another of our friend driving from Austin, brother-in-law of another roommate from Monroe, LA.

There was to be an even better treat when we reached home in the form of a "maifil" by 3-4 singers, prominent among them being Kotasthane, affectionately called as "Popat" by his buddies from COEP. The stage was set with Voice Boxes, Tuners for all the singers to set the room alight with their beautiful rendering of music. Kotasthane was belting out mostly classical numbers or bhajans/bhavgeete with classical base. Panya/Ranade sang a couple of melodious tunes from old Hindi/Marathi movies or from albums of Sudhir Phadke. There was a one-of-its-kind duet from Udayan and Mami which well appreciated by all those who cannot distinguish a Sa from a Dha ;)

There was another girl who sang a couple of ghazals of Asha Bhosale from Ijaazat while another colleague of Ranade's sang Karnatic music which too was soulful though the words did not pierce through. There was also a song by our own Godya, but it was probably only appreciated truly by our Supply-304 gang.

21st December had arrived and also was quite past us when we called it a day.

"THE" Re-Union : Day Two

2007-12-19T09:12:00.000-08:00

19 December 2002:
Auburn, AL: TaTe duo must probably returned way past mid-night and the only thing that woke me up at night was an insect which so conveniently after disturbing my sleep went off its own way. All of us were up earlier than usual and usual can be anywhere between 10-12am.
We had to take some print-outs of directions in Houston as we were going to pick-up another school friend, Tejas (on the way ???) who was visiting his distant family.This was a time when the traffic in Bama was least, (lazy buggers getting up late from the night booze and hangovers) and I decided to take up the drivers duty. We had barely started when it started to drizzle and we then started scampering for the wipers.

Rule of Thumb: Whenever you take control of any new vehicle, make a note of its controls. This might have serious consequences.

What might have been with iota of loss of concentration was nothing short of life-threatening. The car was immediately on the pavement and the tires literally skidded and only a violent jerk saved from what would have been a disaster. All the energy seemed to have snapped from my legs and I could feel the shaking right upto my neurotic nerve :D
The next 2 hours compared to the first 2 minutes were almost heavenly as nature did not interfere any further. I was distressed somehow that now I would have to move into the backseat and Kaustubh would have his day in the sun.
Now with a different pupil to teach, driving tutorials began afresh. "Overtake only when there is no car in the left rear-view mirror, change lanes when the car at the rear is seen completely in the main-rear-view mirror" were hummed continuously :)
(Wish we could apply the same driving skills on our roads ;) )

SomePlace Dubdub1, MS: Rat infested colons soon started plaguing us and it was time for lunch. We ate at a pretty nondescript KFC in Mississippi (it takes one second to pronounce this word : statistics had to come sooner than later) and then it was time to give the driving onus to Atul.
Dangerous Moments 1: Within a few minutes and miles of driving we encountered what has been the worst thunderstorm and rain combo that I have witnessed and being a part of till date. With visibility down to a few meters and trucks/trailers/lorries whizzing past we decided to take an exit, seemed an easy solution but easier said than done. We just could not locate the exits and one went through without us even aware of that one. Somehow, just somehow Atul managed to follow the yellow/white lane marking which helped us proceed onto the exit ramp and later onto a Gas Station. We waited for a while till the rain gods smiled and then moved back onto the interstate.

SomePlace Dubdub2, LA:
Dangerous Moments 2: I had just dozed off when I felt the car take a wild swish to the left and then barely saw a ladder on the road before we moved past it. Through the rear-windshield we saw multitudes of vehicles in a near hit-and-miss affair while the Red-Necks from whose truck the ladder had fallen were just taking an exit to retrieve their package. From what I heard, the ladder was tied (quite loosely) on the truck's rear and it just came out from its bindings and attached itself to the road pretty well.

BatonRouge, LA : Just before entering BR, I took over for the last of my allotted driving time suited to a rookie driver. With traffic similar to Atlanta and lanes merging/demerging, it was a test of nerves as I previously driven on near-empty stretches. However I passed the test with flying colors (pat on my own back) and then again it was old school and old roads. We were having just a gala time and reminiscing the past and dreaming about the nearest of futures. With the brilliant arch-bridges over the swamps behind us it was no longer a beautiful sight. Even more, the sun had decided to set early as it does in December and poked me straight in the eye from the bottom-left-hand-corner.Twilight they say is the worst time to drive !!Three hours and a nearing empty fuel tank later, I call it a day and drag my cramped legs onto the back seat for some well deserved rest. With night approaching fast and plenty of distance to cover, Atul took up the wheel for a one last lunge into TX.

Suburban Houston, TX: The roads are a near mess, the road signs have no clear meaning, and road side is as pathetic as downtown AddisAbaba. Welcome to Cowboy Country, Buckle Up, Giddy Up Horsie !! We are looking up one road South and traveling N miles North, then we take numerous lefts, rights, some U's and finally land up close to pick up Tejas. Don't care to know who his relatives were who do not invite us in for a break or a cup-of-water even -XIt is way past 10 and we are now hovering and closing on College Station, our final destination. Roads finally have some signs, correct distances and some light to shed on the above.

College Station, TX: Again there are a series of lefts/rights but we are unable to locate the residence. We finally alight at a MacD's and ask Nikhil to come over to pick us up. Ranade saan and a room-mate make their way in. Its good to finally meet him after 2 and a half years after our miss at Tekdy when he was doing his Co-Op with GE and I was on my way to Niagara.As 19th comes to a close and graduation day nearly begins we enter the twin apartments shared by Nishkeel (another of his names) and his 7 friends. There is another room-mate whose first cousin (her husband would arrive the next day) is visiting as well but there is enough space for all.

Ending Quote of the Day : Agar Dil Mein Jagah Ho, To Ghar Mein To Mil Hi Jaayegi

"THE" Re-Union : Day One

2007-12-19T08:41:00.000-08:00

Approx 5 years and 3 months to this date:
Auburn/Clemson/Purdue : We school friends decide to make a Road Trip half the way across the country to Texas to attend our friend's Masters graduation ceremony. He is the first amongst our school gang to graduate and we would not miss this event for anything. Ameya and I have no plans (and money to go with it) to visit India, Kaustubh has just arrived in Fall, Atul too had just visited 5 months back. Our room-mates, all of ours would be visiting Mother India in December and we were going to have a free hand.The graduation date was 20th December and we decided to embark on our journey on 18th December and return by 26th December back to Clemson. 8 days and more miles than one can imagine.

18 December 2002:
Clemson, SC: The day finally arrives when we would be leaving for TAMU (Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA) and we all pretty geared up and very excited for the road trip. It would be the first driving experience for me on the InterStates. (I had earlier driven my aunt's car in Natick much to the displeasure of my uncle). A day before we have been able to convince the rental company to permit us 350 miles per day for an 8 day trip. We had roughly calculated the distances within the state that we would be traveling. Atul and Kaustubh have got some nice gifts for all of us and we take idiotic pictures and amazing poses are clicked as we show them off :)
Atul and Ameya went off to get the rental car while Kaustubh and I cleaned up our home and got rid of the trash by 4. By 5pm we are all seated and ready to roll. Some more pictures are clicked and then we drive off towards Anderson. Atul as expected is in the driver's seat while I was the navigator for the initial stretch. We mess up on the lights and forget to switch them on, mistaking the lights seen on the dashboard as a sign of them being correctly set. We receive a lot of wild stares from drivers and their navigators. We then play around and voila, they are on and the road ahead seems to be much better lighted.

Atlanta, GA : Just passed 7-30 we are in the midst of the traffic in Atlanta and on the ring road it is all chaos. Cars vrooming left, right, changing lanes, cutting lanes (screw the cops) and it is a near edge-of-the-seat thriller. This is the first time I was in a car in such peak traffic and at speeds worthy on expressways here. After about 20 odd mins we are passed the heavy traffic and now enjoying a nice, smooth ride in Georgia countryside (though it was absolutely not visible). Now it is the turn of YoursTruly to take the wheels (steering wheel included) in my stride. Another 15 mins and we are now in Alabama, and for a change the clock turns back to 7:10 as we enter the Central Time Zone. I am having once heck of a time as the traffic has now subsided and we are doing about 60 miles an hour. Not too bad it is till those huge 18-wheeler beasts decide to spoil the ongoing party. I was nearly derailing onto the dirt track everytime I saw them coming close and Atul kept pushing the steering to remain on the main line. Tens of them might have passed after which I got a feel of the situation and then it was just a video-game after that.

Auburn, AL: We reached Godu's place and were extremely shocked to see his roommates (some in pics), all of them on the higher scales of the weight/size/shape factor. We had Bread-Eggs for dinner quite late and then we tried to doze off as we were looking at a 15 hour drive the next day. Ameya and Mr. AnythingPossible decided that this was the best time to play table tennis at a church/chapel nearby !!

Happy Teacher's Day, Miss Doctor !!

2007-09-05T03:49:00.000-07:00

On the occasion of Teacher's Day, I would like to present a write-up about a magnificent person who was my class teacher 20 years ago in Vincents, Miss Mani Doctor. Quite true to her name she would snap like a cat and then treat you with utmost care, affection and love of a pediatrician. To put her personality in simplest of words she was Florence Nightingale, Mother Teresa and Adolf Hitler rolled into one !!

When we first saw our names against 4B and Mani Doctor, the writing was clear on the wall. A distant cousin of mine (who was 4yrs senior to me in school) told me that an entire year of fun, games, exams and discipline was about to begin. I really do not recollect a day by day account of the happenings but our day would inevitably have an equal proportion of the above ingredients. There were just too many exams, atleast one each day, sometimes two and she was particularly severe on the students whom she expected to do well and who didn't. The everyday evaluations helped enormously during the actual school unit tests, terminals and finals. Most days (and all Fridays) ended with a feel-good story about Brare-Rabbit and his antics. This was the only time when we allowed to put our books away and rest our heads on the desks and doze off.

However the two things that I miss most about Miss Doctor's class are "Handwriting" and "History".
History: The 4th history textbooks then contained the history about Shivaji and that was the time she really came alive. The students used to be enchanted by her teaching and the actual battlefield would come alive before us. Shivaji tearing through AfzalKhan's belly, cutting ShahisteKhan's fingers. Murarbaaji, Tanaaji seemed to have lost their lives not on Purandar or Sinhagad but right there in 4B.. It did happen there and I am sure I would have 55 another witnesses coming forth to attest my statements.
Handwriting: My writing was pathetic till 3rd and though I scored in the higher 90s in subjects, reading/recitation/writing brought my %s in the lower 90s. This all changed once Miss Doctor took over. I haven't seen a single person till date who put such a high premium on writing skills than Miss Doctor. Her writing on the blackboard (we had the spilt one, similar to a lift and its dead weight - push one side up and the other side would come down) as well as on notebooks was way better than what Microsoft Word or any other editors offer. It was better that we had BlackBoards and not WhiteBoards/Markers "nahito najar lag jaati". The curves of her cursive writing would put today's bombshells to shame. The quality of my handwriting absolutely skyrocketed and remained better till about 10-12th exams after which speed and exam pressure caught up quite badly.
As of today my handwriting is history but then, so are good and dedicated teachers !!
(I still don't know how Godya managed to complete his exam papers and yet maintain the writing he still has)

I would also not forget the class for 3 more reasons, all very nice memories. This was the last time Chirag and I were classmates after 6 years since our days from St Pauls and the first time that Ameya and I were classmates. The last reason being the beating I had received the day before Ameya had joined as Miss Doctor assumed me for someone else. The last one being sweet coz, that was the only teacher who had whacked me when I was a student and it would have been almost criminal to have passed out of school 'unbeaten' :)

There were other teacher's from School like Mrs. C Fernandes and Smt Garde, or professors from Electrical Engg in VIT who were nice and good at teaching but then Miss Doctor was different. She did not have great persona or charisma but looked bright and energetic each time we saw her in white, spotless sarees. Some years ago we had gone to meet her at her home near Westend (last heard she had moved out from there) and she was still her old-self, vibrant but did look frail due to her age. She talked very passionately about teaching and students and rued the fact that the current lot of teachers were not dedicated enough and that their devotion lay elsewhere.

There are numerous people who make their mark on you but there are ONLY a few who leave an indelible impression on your head and heart.
Miss Doctor was surely one such person whose footprints will never be erased from the minds of her endearing students.

Third Week in Sunnyvale/Fremont/Berkeley

2007-07-21T10:14:00.000-07:00

The highlight of my third week was that I was able to place my feet on the hallowed turf of "University of California at Berkeley" which probably boasts the highest number of Nobel laureates in a single institution.

Monday, July 9th:
I am thinking that 3 weeks from now on, I would be back at my beloved, not so much really, cubicle in PSPL. As usual we go for the Lunch with the engineering group and then the afternoon session is spent mostly in answering queries from Engineering.
I wish Amit Bhise a very happy birthday, albeit belatedly. Time zones/difference can be killing

Tuesday, July 10th:
You've gottta give me this one, 2+ weeks and not a single statistic from me !! Ameya/Harshu would be nauseated ;) Ok then, here's wishing Sunil Gavaskar a Very Happy 58th Birthday. We are at the fag end of the QH4 cycle and waiting for the handoff the next day.

Wednesday, July 11th:
While on my way to office, I am thinking, one week back I was on my way to SanFrancisco for the I-Day celebrations.Meetings, with Engineering and Bug Triage etc, and the entire morning and early afternoon vrooms by.. We are waiting for the Handoff notification but we receive the same just before 8pm and its way late for us to check its feasibility/stability. Our team in China takes the responsibility and I send a flurry of emails and reach home quite late.Thats two consecutive hectic Wednesdays, one for enjoyment the other for work.

Thursday, July 12th:
I am working from 9am to 11pm most of it very Project Specific. There is the monthly/quarterly meeting at Innopath. I am not a part of it as Company Confidential information is being disbursed. However.., for the disbursed food, I was a front-runner of sorts. But with only one dish each of Chicken and Veg items, there was nothing to be excited about.

Friday, July 13th:
Even though being Friday the 13th, it actually is one of the nicest days I have over here. I have invitations from Ashutosh & Swati, friends from Clemson and on Sunday from the Patwardhan family, family friends for the weekend and I having the nostalgic feeling of those days from Clemson. Work pressure brings me back to reality and I am fighting back the eagerness.
6:30pm -> The best 48-hour period of stay begins with a wait of an hour but the time is spent watching an amazing episode of "Seinfeld", the one with "the BET".
Ashu is here and I treat him to a couple of Baakarwadis. Within a couple of minutes we are in his stylish Nissan-Altima and on the way to Fremont.
Its great to see Swati after a long time. The last image I have of them is them fighting back boredom risen out of countless pictures being taken during their wedding reception. Neither have changed in terms of shape, though Mrs Finance Minister is so-close to being moved from Resident Individual to Institutional Bidder !! And, this time I am real serious.
Mark this: Swati will one day be on the front page of Wall Street Journal.
Ashu's parents are also amazing individuals who are enjoying their post-retirement days at their elder son's beautiful place in Fremont. Faar, faar away from the horrific monsoons of Mumbai. We keep chatting about our Waitressing experiences, the then affairs at Clemson, very few which actually fructified. Dinner consists of very well made Salad, Soup, Cabbage Sabji and poLi (chapaati). In order that kaka-kaku think somewhat highly of me, I avoid to gorge on the food, similar to what I do at Innopath dinners. We chat late into the night about daily stuff and in general, till the upper eye-lid absolutely refuses to leave its twin.

Saturday, July 14th:
Kaka is up about 7am, atleast thats when I first wake up but I decide to keep company to the sleeping bag. By about 8:30am, I finally wake up and then chat with the only up person at the table in between reading the Wall Street Journal. After days on end, I have a nice cup of tea to savour. The rest are up gradually after 10 and then its back to reminiscing in the past. The three of us are able to remember a lot of names, and some faces, but find difficulty in correlating them. Again its time for lunch and then after a layover on the couch for an hour we leave for UC, Berkeley.
UC, Berkeley as I have probably mentioned is a premier educational institution. The campus is simply beautiful, extremely thick foliage throughout. The new buildings coming up or have recently come up, have an archaic, arcane look to them. We must have roamed like half of the campus and we saw atleast 3 different libraries, a separate one for UnderGraduate students !!
(The Cooper Library at Clemson was also great too. However, I have really never understood what people do in libraries. I went to Cooper just for scanning pictures to my mom (and that explain my educational woes in short :D .., Back to Berkeley.. )
There was a huge line for some play/rock show at the famed Greek Theatre and hence we missed having a peak at the stage. We also were just late for a ride up to the Clock Tower as well. But we did capture such nice pictures of all the surroundings. I will try to put them up at the earliest.
We then had a very delicious dinner at a Thai restaurant. The Prawns/Chicken/Egg Rice dish was simply too good to resist and nearly sufficient for 2-3 people :D
The concluding part of the day is like the grandest finale of all, a ride above the SanFrancisco Bay Bridge. Instead of recording the Engineering Marvel, I tried to capture it in images, which did not turn up well as the images were all blurred.Back in Fremont after a wondrous day, Ashu's parents leave us to chat early on. We all discuss our jobs and work profiles, and then about the Stocks/Market.

Sunday, July 15th:
I get up late again after sleeping late, but a cup of tea later, I am very refreshed. I am up and working and getting ready for date with the Patwardhans. Dr Satyajit (junior son) and Dr Neelkantharao (senior) come to pick me up. Their Near-Million Dollar home in Fremont is the nicest home owned by our relatives/friends in the US. A nice 2-storeyed, 4BR, single house with a swimming pool. Lunch was also very tasty, Quiche as a starter, and then Idli-Sambar for the main course. The dessert was the icing on the.., no actually it was unlimited ice-cream on GulabJamun.
After spending too good moments in Fremont, I am back in "Homestead". In between moving my clothes from the Bathroom to the Washer and from the Washer to Dryer, I catch up on old friends and have a long talk with Samya, I hit the kitchen. I also catch up on the ex-colleagues settled - married in the USofA.

An Affair to Remember: Coasting Comfortably - Part II

2007-07-21T09:55:00.000-07:00

I had no idea how this person looked like nor did she know how freaky I looked. Clean-shaven and nice dressed was quite not Salil-like yet surprisingly no one questioned me which was a relief in itself. I am generally very early at most events or atleast on time and if not then I make sure I intimate the concerned about my later arrival. Here I purposely decided to make a late entrance. I wanted to make really sure that the woman (she wasn't a girl anymore and lady sounds a lot formal) I was about to meet was atleast attractive enough :)
Men can be real jerks sometimes, don't they ?

There in a corner sat a girl (she really looked like one) wearing very decent clothes but did not see her face as she was reading a book or something. Isn't "Hi" one of the nicest words that we have come across ? Not too long, neither too short and conveys the perfect message through your intonation. With my "hi", a slightly course one, (nerves.., nerves.., damn these nerves) she looked up and returned my "hi" with her "hi". The difference was evident, from looks to confidence to voice timber. Boy, was she pretty !! And I know I am undervaluing her greatly !! On a beauty scale of 1 - 10, she was definitely somewhere between 13 and 14, and I am talking exponential scales here. I was very elated but then deep down in my heart I knew that I was not even close to her and that hurt. To be to very true I was so much enamoured by her looks, (ok I was, I lost it, I was indeed hit by the "Thunderbolt") I have absolutely no idea what we spoke for the first 10 odd minutes or so. Thats when I gained my composure, and then I was in my elements. I decided that if this was to be "it" (the final time) I was going to make the most of my opportunity (cannot think of a better word, though I want to)

There was hardly a lull in our conversation nor a single dull moment. We spoke on various topics ranging from Investments/Financials to Software/Careers, Tourist Places to Food likes/dislikes, from Family/Friends to Movies/Plays to Sports/TV. She was an avid fan of tennis and football and had given up on cricket much like I had. She too did not watch the stupid K-serials and followed only a couple of meaningful Marathi serials. She also read a lot, novels, (auto)biographies and stuff, with my schedule the max I read was Newspapers and ohh yes.., a lot of Functional Specifications :(Staying with her grandparents had made her not very religious but definitely spiritual. She knew a lot of a the scriptures as well as she knew about accounting. She had even tried her hand, rather voice for the SaReGaMaPa tryouts but had to fall out in the 2nd last round of eliminations.

We had practically exhausted the widest of spectrum of all topics and yet I felt that there was still so much to talk about. The question was what she thought. Moreover the real question was "what she thought of me" And I was absolutely stunned by her suggestion of meeting for breakfast the very next day !! The next day we did meet at an even better place than yesterday, not that the place mattered but it helped.
It wasn't exactly "Breakfast at Tiffany's", though we had Audrey at one end there was George Costanza at the other !!
The breakfast was not that great but it just did not matter. The topics were enough food for thought though the platter no longer existed. Breakfast turned into an early lunch and then it was time to part (it would have been difficult to explain my long absence from home).., only to meet two weeks later. Next weekend being my B'Day, S.C. was comfortable with the fact that I would not be able to meet her and instead spend time with family and dear friends.

The pretty long 2 weeks seemed like they would never end, but thankfully they did :)

2nd Week in Sunnyvale/SanFrancisco

2007-07-09T14:16:00.000-07:00

Spent the 2nd week in Sunnyvale working and enjoying in SanFrancisco listening to different versions of the "Star Spangled Banner" at multiple locations around the Fisherman's Wharf.

2nd July:
Got to meet the 4 engineers from China who are also on a 4 week schedule to HQ.Meetings as usual and the engineering meeting after lunch. The meeting lasted a little longer for some of us due to various issues involved.

3rd July:
There seems to be a festive atmosphere in the company air. People have their individual plans for the next day. Work drags as usual and I leave just after taking the Carry-Out dinner from work. The fish is awful.., extremely salty and that just spoils the entire dinner.

4th July:
Wake up pretty late at 8:30 and leave for SanFrancisco at about 10am from Homestead. From the Crossman station I take the Light Rail towards Mountain View. It is all a rip-off.., minimum fare is a day-pass for $5.25. Then take the CalTrain from Mountain View towards SanFrancisco and its already past 1 by the time I reach Milbrae. Next is the 3rd change from Milbrae to Powell Street and I am finally in SanFrancisco. Next there is this huge line for the CableCar which takes towards the Fisherman's Wharf, GroundZero for the Fireworks of July 4th. The ride is amazing and you've got to see the videos and photos to realize the thrill of the ride. Foolish people were sitting in the carriage and some idiots standing much like the ones hanging from locals in Mumbai. I had found the best view place, not the most comforting but from where I could shoot a lot of great stuff. The CableCar runs on rails through some of the major streets in this area and the same roads are also shared by other cars, buses etc. Reached Fisherman's Wharf past 2 and I was very hungry. I buy myself a Shrimp Sandwich and buy the ticket to the Golden Gate Ferry also known as the "Red and White Ferry". This is the 2nd rip-off of the day, $21 for an hour long ferry. The ride itself though was very amazing. They take you out towards the Golden Gate bridge and it is frickin cold/chilly/breezy. The suspension bridge is truely an engineering marvel. Built by Huge Steel Ropes with something a meter in diameter and rested on two humongous Girders (is that the correct word ?) The return back is through the other side of Alcatraz but we just glide by it and there is no inside view for me for the famous "The Rock" prison of one time. Next I am out to see the very famous "Crooked Street" which is a part of the Lombard Street. Now SanFrancisco is a very weird town with totally ups and downs and it is a truly a weight-loss regimen for the walkers. The line for the CableCar was huge and I decided to tire my already fatigued legs just a little more. A couple of Chinese girls help me track down the correct way and then I am off on a very Kaustubh-like clicking spree. Now I am at the risk of running down the batteries and missing the fireworks being digitally captured. I next capture about a bare-minimum of required pictures at a Ship-Wrecked Museum. I am just looking at the watch now and checking to see if I could make the last train back home or atleast take me back to some place closer to Homestead. Finally its Dinner time and the lines at all diners are lengthy. I decide not to try something different lest I miss the show ;) Subway the safest bet is chosen as the Last Supper and after serving about another 20 famished customers, I am in-line to place my order. I order a double-Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki (the Clemson favorite) with plenty of South-West sauce with a bottle of Coke to go with it. I then walk for another half-a-mile and perch upon a nice place from where I would have a great view of the evening extravaganza. And then, lo-behold, its begins, the initial display draws a lot of applause, then the next series is most of a repeat of the previous display but with minor changes. This is much like the Chopra-Johar-Advani movies in which the script is same, so are the actors, the locations change. Similarly the fireworks mostly had the same colors, shapes, sizes, just their locations kept on changing :D. I glance at the watch and realize that I am not going to make to the Powell station in time if I don't make the way towards the CableCar. So using my peanut-shaped-sized brain I slowly but surely start breezing towards the exit. The grand finale is something that should not be written about or captured but it something to be seen to believe. As Richie Benaud puts it most of the time "Simply Superb", but that too would have been much of an understatement.4th July 10:15pm:I am probably the 200th person in the line and so-close to missing my first train and thus all the next connecting trains. As I am standing contemplating how it would be to sleep at the SanFrancisco Airport much like the multitudes of Homeless people in this area. They somehow squeeze like 60-70 people in each Car and I am JIT for the ride to Milbrae. (5th July begins) As quite expected there was a lot of WhiteTrash in the cube that I was, and they did give me great company right till the end. At the Milbrae station there were just 4 students on their way back as well. The train was 15 minutes late and I was limping in the cold and trying to suppress yawns. But at 12:35am I am finding that very difficult and just then there is this group of 5 brothers who show up and the entertainment lightens me up, definitely missed Harshu enjoying the bro-sho. I get down at Sunnyvale station and pleasantly find an even more pleasant Sardarji as the driver of a Cab. $13.20 and 10 minutes later I finally enter Homestead. I barely change, brush and lie down to see the clock tick past 2am on July 5th.

5th July:
I really want to miss work and spend the day lying the entire day in the bed but alas I am ready as usual by 9 and leave for work. The day is as usual, nothing special except that I get a not-so-ok take-out from a Vietnamese place. The evening eating experience is much more wonderful with an all-Indian cuisine served at the office. I ignore the glares from other colleagues and absolutely gorge on the delicacies on display.

6th July:
In terms of work was slightly different from Thursday and much like Monday with a lot of meetings. I do get a ride back home from Pradeep and then I am looking at a "what-to-do-over-the-weekend" question mark on the door !! I have Chiwda/Ladoo that I have taken from back-home and then I sleep like a baby.

7th July (07:07:07):
This is supposed to be a very auspicious day and a lottt of people were supposed to get married. I do not have any such issues to tackle and hence I am sleeping my "behind" off. I wake up and find Makya's voice on the other side. After a 15 mins talk and a lot of catch-up chat we hang-up. I call-up a lot of friends including the ones in Pune and then I am off and running after cleaning up the dishes. I take a nice little nap and then I go to visit the grocery store. Just before leaving I have made all arrangements for Moong-Daal Khichadi. Just after I am back, its less than 40 mins before I am having my dinner. The taste is good except that as usual the salt is less and it could have been more moist had I shut-down the burner a couple-of-minutes earlier.

8th July:I wake up to the call of, neither a friend nor a family member, but to the call that we just cannot hang-up on. The more you try to put it off the more the pressure it generates. I come back with a very lighter bladder and switch on the TV. King Federer pulls off a stunner in the decider though I had a feeling that Rafa would win if it went to the 5th. Again a string of calls, more like a tete-a-tete with the Answering Machines. I eat the remaining Khichadi and another sandwich after another 30 mins run-plus-walk in the sun. Then its the time for the weekly laundry and in the mid-cycles I am again calling people. I have a 15 mins talk each with Mike Mixon and Jayson Sawyer and it is simply awesome catching up on old friends.

I am just smiling the entire evening and in a great mood, tomorrow's Monday notwithstanding.
With each passing day the urge to get back home gets stronger I guess. Nature and Humans have their own ways, again a strong guess.

An Affair to Remember: Benign Beginning - Part I

2007-07-09T14:11:00.000-07:00

It all began in the last week of July last year. I finally had some decent savings in my account after my car's down payment had emptied the same. I had posted some questions on an investment site and after a couple of days was pleased to receive a very precise, concise, correct response to the same. I knew it had to be a very old Bawa or an hardcore Chitpavan, either of whom weigh words extremely carefully. I had revealed my identity/email-id when I had posted the questions however the reply was anonymous and the Id did not suggest much. To be true, it did not really matter to me either.

Now being a thorough gentleman, I replied and expressed my sincere thanks and gratitude. What happened next was what I had never thought would occur. I got an email the very same day (though I checked it the next day myself) from the "Financial Advisor". Turns out 'she' was a very pure 'ekaraant' kokanastha girl, born and brought up in the Deccan area.

We then started exchanging emails first once a week, then twice, then daily, then maybe twice daily. I had the cake and was having it to. It was past Mid-September and it were really happier times. The mid-year salary hike was just barely the icing and I am not much of an icing fan. We just connected, e-connected. It seemed like "Magic".

We had known pretty much about each other except that we had not yet met. She had completed her CA in her second attempt, her paternal grandmother had passed away on the morning of one of her papers and she had to skip. S.C. (I think I can use the initials here without revealing her name) had had not such a great childhood, she had lost her father when she was 5. Financially they were quite stable and her grandparents and uncles on both sides had looked after them (S.C., elder sister, mother) very well. Elder sister was married about 3 years back and she was living in Pune with her husband, who for a change did not work in a software firm and was in pure Process Control. Things (Financial, Career wise) were going great for S.C. as she had joined a biotech company as its Chartered Accountant.

It was decided that it was quite some time that we had merely exchanged data over email, and that we take it up a step further. But who would pop the question and finally S.C. asked "Should we meet ? " And so we decided to meet just a week shy of my birthday to meet in a coffee shop. Quite a "sleepless" night/person that was in Pune and seemed a very long one too :)

(more later, till then relax)

First Week in Sunnyvale

2007-07-05T14:48:00.000-07:00

1st week in the "Land of the Free and the Land of the Brave"

It is nearly a week since I have landed here and sort of enjoying myself.

Monday 25th June: The first day was full of meetings and one-on-one with most Engineering group. Even attended the Engg weekly progress meeting. Shiva provided me the pick-up and drop-off and showed me the way around I could walk to. Went shopping with him at the Indian grocery store and did some more basic shopping. The Chinese lunch place was also nice though I would prefer a Hunan place next time around. Came back from work to 'Homestead' and had a couple of Methi Parathas. Called home, spoke for about 15 mins or so, and then slept. The journey was Pune to Sunnyvale was quite a long one and very hectic to put it in mild terms.Absolutely No Work done.

Tuesday, 26th June: Power outage in the company and hence work is affected again. Here however it works differently. people were happy and enjoying. We back home get tense as execution is affected. Around here they find it as an excuse to go HOME !!and so more than half the day gone. Work starts at 2:30 or so, try to do my best by 7 and beyond.., most of the office is empty before 6 and you are all by yourself. I returned to 'Homestead' and went for a nice jog. Felt nice running on an Empty Street at 7:30pm and that too in Bright Sunlight.

Wednesday, 27th June: Again a power outage but luckily it is up by 12pm and work starts earlier than the previous day. Finally I am able to get some work going and with an isolated place of work, I am able to pull-up nearly 2 days or work by 7. In between, its Pizza day and I have a sumptuous feast at the table. I mostly limit myself to salad and veg pizza slices (3 of them) and a couple of Chicken Wings. Conference call starts at 8:30 and ends by 9:30 or so. From office to 'Homestead' which is nearly a 20 mins walk I do not see a single car pass on either side of the roads that I take home.

Thursday, 28th June: No Power Outages this day and work as usual, nothing much happens. Shiva was going to come in late so had a coffee break with Pradeep. Now he is one of the most coolest guys I have seen altogether, not just in Innopath. Work is finally taking some shape, speed and size. The "Chinese" food in the company in the evening was really bad and I have a weird feeling in my stomach.

Friday, 29th June: The food was really not "that" bad. Breakfast includes Bagels, Muffins and Orange juice. For lunch we head to an Indian restaurant called "Shaan". Shiva orders "Tandoori Chicken Breast". If that is supposed to be the size of a Chicken Breast, that chicken must have been as big as a Goat/Sheep. Man was it Huge.., too bad, I did not have my camera with me. I, being the guest, get the extra one to take home for Dinner as well. So far No Cooking done and I am missing it.It is 8:30 and the thing being shown on TV is unbelievable. If kids are watching no doubt they are a messed up lot. I later come to know that there is DishTV and hence "this Entertainment". Parents can breathe a little easy I guess.I am actually counting the number of things I was doing exactly a week back. Godya helping me buy and pack stuff, reducing the increased Kgs. Time Flies.

Saturday, 30th June: The alarm is Off for 2 days and I get up past 12.., with the Blinds closed there is no sense of the time by looking out of the window. It does not help much as it looks to be same from 8am to 9pm. I get up and finish the daily activities. And then, I go for a RUN.., at 12:30. It feels great, liberated almost. Roads are empty other than some Mexicans working/mowing the gardens/lawns in front of the office buildings. I jog past the Innopath building on the other side and then I give up. Walk some more then jog some more. Locate where the Subway is then start my way home through a different side. I lose the orientation for a moment but then am back at "Homestead" in 5 mins. Nice 30-40 mins workout on Saturday morning.My first hand at cooking involves "Maggi Masala" and nothing more. Lunch and then there is an array of great movies, Forrest Gump, Cast Away on one channel, Mission Impossible on another. Basic Instinct 2 is nowhere even Close to the Classic-Prequel. Sharon Stone.. now thats a different story.I talk to relatives/friends for some time and then I fall asleep for a while. When I get up, I am Lethargy Personified. Do not even wish to get off the bed.Then I decide to go to the temple. I know this is as absurd as "Tambe Aarogya Bhuvan and Mutton Pattice". Nah, I did not go there to exactly pray, but I went there for prey. And I do not mean "Single Rich Indian Women" but Food. Its not that I don't want to spend money but there is nothing around to go and spend. Clemson suddenly seems to be so much better than the Bigger Cities. Thats the biggest Irony, when the shops were close by, the wallet did not smile much the. Now the $ are there but the shops aren't to be seen.The temple or so, and the surroundings are not like what we see in India. All Gods are placed in one corner and the rest of the pandal is for people just to sit and listen to a person who was wailing aloud under the pretext of singing a Bhajan. He either was taking momentary breaks or was forgetting the lines while singing. But whatever he was singing probably drove the Gods away rather than bringing them closer. The dinner arrangements were nice but the food, the less said the better. BH people, don't crib, stop abusing the quality of food. Rice, Kaali Daal, Roti and a couple of Sabjis, Jalebis and Rice Kheer was quantity enough but lacking quality. Should not be complaining of free food though and the greatest part was that I did not have to cook for another day.There was this "Aunty" in a cocktail dress, in a temple ??? and Boy was that low-cut. Another inch or so and Mallika Sherawat would have been put to shame. Why did she have to bend low anyways to feed her kid ? Why not keep the kid on a chair or even the table to feed him ? Most Gentlemen were not complaining though their better halves were.

Sunday 1st July : I wake up to the call from home and its dad on the line. After about 15 mins of Parents-Son and Sister-Brother talk I get up to get ready. Have a 15-20 min call with my cousin in Baltimore and then I am off again. Running baby.., run Forrest run. Atul would be glad to know that I ran nearly 2 miles in one go.., nearly though, gave up on the last 200 yards or so. Came back and decided to make some nice stuff. and so here is the Egg Curry

for the afternoon. Luckily the movies being shown were really bad and I could get a lot of things going, including writing all of this stuff.Plan to do some laundry and clean up all the dishes during the evening. Also planning to write some Blogical Nonsense of mine, which I haven't been able to do so lately.

Passing Thoughts:
Summer in California is Not all that Sunny and Warm. Instead it is Chilly, Windy.
Missing Family, Missing Friends, Missing Colleagues, Missing PSPL (including Badminton on Saturdays) and most of all Missing PUNE :((

Worldly Walls of Wisdom

2007-05-07T01:01:00.000-07:00

Last week we moved out of the house that housed me for most of my life. While cleaning up Stuff from all the rooms including the bathrooms, I realized the number of marks (naah not those ones that you are thinking about) that I had left on the walls. I mean the paper and glue marks of study material pasted for close to 10 years.

Some people tend to put up scenic pictures, I had this habit of putting up formulae, diagrams, maps, chemical equations, notes, theorems on paper to wall. You name it and that would have ended up on one of the walls of either of our bathrooms or above the wash-basins. I had and still have this huge amount of respect for time. And till date I have not yet found a suitable way to utilize my time while performing "that" duty. The diagrams were nowhere of the Michelangelo Da Vinci kind and the Maps were a far grotesque version of the Oxford Atlas but none the less they were extremely helpful in securing whatever marks I could/would gather. Later on the same space was captured by Derivatives, Integrals, Differential Equations . By the time I reached Engineering levels, I totally gave up on the study material.

Either the syllabus was too vast or our bathroom was too small !!

This is when I put a small rack against the wall and placed Reader's Digest(s), Short Story Books, Sportstars, Puzzle Books and Utilized my time. Newspapers and Library Material were taboo, as they often later landed on the dinning table later on during the day. The most helpful was a Chess Book by Max Euwe which helped me tremendously improve my theoretical game and the benefits were to be seen in Dec 05 and Dec 06 in PSPL and multiple other times. The Sports' Magazines were the inputs for the Stats that I blurt out every now and then. The "Word Power" from RDs were the sole inputs that I took for my GRE Verbal and the carelessness promptly showed in me getting all of 480 out of a possible 800. Bye Bye Assistantship ;)

Currently what lies of those loved memories is a wall littered with the marks. In a month's time it would turn into nothing but a piece of rubble as the house will be pulled down to give rise to a whole new world.

Hopefully, some other kiddo would take my "inspiration" and bring glory to the new walls once again.

Marriage and Social Acceptance

2007-02-20T00:14:00.000-08:00

In the last couple of months a few of my close friends have bitten the dust (one more is about to. )and currently are absolutely smitten by the love bug !! Everytime I break any such news at home these days, I know whats coming next.., their faces absolutely without an utter say "When is your Turn ?"

I have been wondering the last few months, why is getting married the One All, Be All.. aren't there more things in life that are as important, my mother invariably senses this and keeps hammering that "there are other things as well, but nothing as important as tying the knot". I have somehow come to conclude that once you are committed (though this does not mean much these days), engaged (same as the previous one), married (now we are talking) , society looks up to you with much more respect than before. People feel "Ok, this guy is not that disgusting perhaps, lets cozy a little bit upto him". I go for walks up the Law College Tekdi sometimes and I see newly/about-to-be married couples holding hands, whispering sweet nothings and I do feel a little bit of envy, I admit. But to be very true, I also see a little smirk or a sly smug on most faces as well which seems to suggest that "Ok, how the heck did I manage to fool someone so easily !! The happiness also stems from the fact that there is someone willing to accept you as how you are with all your fallacies intact .."
Very few realize that their partner is also probably thinking the same ;)

Now, I may be ridiculed that I am being a pessimist or this is nothing but a case of sour grapes.., trust me, I am very happy for all of friends who are "happily" married or who are about to be. Frankly speaking amongst the multitudes of friends who have tied the knot I see 2 (all of 2) pairs (one, a very close friend, another from college) which are really close to one another.. The way they speak to each other, about one another.., the way my two friends (and their spouses as well) hang up their wireless phones.. even though they are disconnected, I feel the connection is not lost (In case of others maybe it is there, but its that I don't see it..) It could also be attributed to some dreadful moments that they witnessed in their past.., but mostly its due to the simple fact that they want to make it work.

Now to the important part.. Why am I still single? I am neither afraid of commitments nor do I have any doubts of my orientation. Simple, its just not working my way and I have no ill-feelings towards anyone for it not working. Personally, I am comfortable with way things are, it is the peer/society pressure which kills :) I am still not social-acceptable. I may be now, but 3-4 years down the line, I may be the one castigated to the sidelines. (I would probably still have Sameer as company while having coffee on the 4th floor walkway :D ) There have been instances when I was close, but the ball never turned or bounced the way it was intended. She either had issues with me supporting my sister's education (when the time would come), did not want to travel abroad (not that I am flying tomorrow) or her job profile/aspirations (which she was convinced was the perfect one) were such that we would not have got enough time together.

I am really at a loss how to conclude this one, as it is as much an open-ended issue, till the time it actually ends. So till the time you hear any good news, let me keep this one alive

Its really funny that 2 2in*2in absent patches of thickets could actually ostracize a person from society !! When the "Genetically Weakened Defective Picket Fences" started giving way early in college, it wasn't much of an issue, but now I feel I am about a hair's thickness away from being quarantined.

My "Beauty" Escapade

2007-02-04T20:15:00.000-08:00

A few days back on one of my blog I had mentioned about having a Root-Canal and how painful the procedure was and that the next worst would be a Kidney-Stone. One of my Girl-Friends (friend who is a girl) said that I take it one step at a time and that I should try Threading/Waxing. I promptly called my dentist and .... he probably passed out or shut shop or maybe has shut shop all-together. I called my friend again and told her about it. She too nearly died laughing. I later understood that this was not a dental procedure but instead a procedure carried out in a Parlour or a Salon (for newcomers its Salon and Not Saloon) as I had understood. I also ensured that I took appropriate permission from head-quarters (read Mother). I was even more surprised when she said that it was a good thing to get rid of my Uni-Brow which made me look like "KroorSingh" from ChandraKanta YUCKKOOOO

Ok so there I was standing inside one of the Men's Salon on Bhandarkar Road. This was one heck of a place, huge room with 4 very comfortable chairs in four corners with amazing arm/head rests and all (This was the only comfort I received there).There was one Goldilocks with his Rapunzelesque hair drenched in a tub and a man was combing through the same, another one had some kind of cream applied, I called him the Creamy Layer ;) (all in my mind). All in all it was a sight to behold. I was about to receive the wildest jolt of my life in a few minutes and I did not have the slightest of ideas. Normally when I go to the Saloon (this one is the Regular Ghaati Types) I generally close my eyes and chat with Mahesh (the owner) about the happenings in our colony and in general, till its time to leave. I did the same here and the person (different Mahesh) asked if he could proceed and he did when I gave him the green light.

I felt something close to my eye-brow and then Holy-Smoly-&*&^%^& .. what the *&^&^ on earth was that.. I opened my eyes to see a man hovering around me with a Thread inter-twined in his teeth, hands and probably some place else. I am a person who can bear pain, physical and mental both.. but just by mere Reflex-Action a tear-drop did come out. Through the mirror I was staring and glaring at him but he was practically unmoved as if he had not committed any blunder. I stared back at the mirror to look at myself and that was the weirdest I have ever looked. It was obvious that the procedure could not be reverted nor could it have ended there. The next few moments of my life were.. I was miserable and must have cursed the man (with the thread), who was on an all out mission to ruin my weekend, and his past 15 generations.

I must have also shed around 5ml of Tears in the whole process !! People say "No Gain, Without Pain", which I feel is nothing but Bull-$#!&, I did not gain a whisker (rather lost some similar ones) and Pain.., yup.., that I Gained a lottt, too much for anyones comfort.

I asked what Waxing would be like and what the procedure would do to me. To sum up his words in one line "Waxing: Process that would Transform me from being a Anil Kapoor to being a Salman Khan" !! I almost bolted out of the door, "Thats It", I said, "Pack-Up". I was/am tooo damn scared to even think what the heck that Waxing stuff ought to be and made my way out. I was only too happy to see my first (and perhaps only) tryst with Parlourhood (if thats a word) end. An ordeal that tried to convert me to a metrosexual ended midway and I heaved a great sigh of relief.

I had doled out a 3 digit sum for one of the ghastliest cruelest procedure a human can carry out on himself. The next week my eyes and the space between them twitched and itched like anything, cold cream, talc didn't help. And yes, if you have cold, ensure than Amrutanjan does not creep from your nose upward. Coz that too is ^&*^*&^-*&^&*^*

My respect for the Fairer-Sex has increased atleast ten-fold

Shatranj Ke Khiladi

2006-12-30T01:47:00.000-08:00

For most Chess or Chaturanga or Shatranj is Boring, even more Boring that the movie made by Ray. Actually the movie is a classic (though I wouldn't recommend it to anyone) in the sense it shows the laid-back attitude of two Kings and their engrossment in a game of chess while their soldiers/generals fight a war.

For me however, Chess is the Most Beautiful Game (Supply is a very distant 2nd). Played on 64 Black/White squares it tests a person's skills, patience (especially if you are pitted against Vivek D or Shriram U :D ), aptitude, attitude. A game that can start with umpteen different moves (though only a few lead to a Win) has got to be interestingly complex. The after game "analysis" is what improves your games, sadly understood by only a few. How quickly you rectify the mistakes in your games enables you to grow from a "Strong Amateur" to a "Weak Master".

Last week we concluded the Intra-PSPL matches/tournaments as part of Pulse-2006 and for the 2nd year running, TBU (Telecom Business Unit) won the coveted prize easily defeating most opponents. Such was the dominance that the Gold was won even before the last round had begun. Though last year we had won the prize with a difference of 4+ points reduced to 2.5 this year, it was still a pretty margin, a convincing one indeed.

Selection process was in a mess and our team was seriously crippled with the loss of Anthony, Vivek and Amit. The new members (Shriram, Sachin and Sameer) picked up from where we left last year and ensured that we would not lose our way. I must also thank all my opponents who so graciously lost against me from perfectly winning positions. Though my last game ended in a Draw, it was a game when I have possibly played the most unconventional chess and should have won (Time Factor killed my chances: Had to meet priya mitra Baavya after 3 and a half long years). No regrets for this one though.

And to top our victory our TBU also won the overall prize at Pulse '06 beating SIBU by a whopping margin of 1100 points. Victory of Truth over Pavan "SadaraDgaaNi" finally prevailed :)

Three Cheers to the BU and Three Cheers to our Chess Team !!

Appendix:
Supply : Chess doubles for the deranged
sadaraDgaaNi : Cry Baby

Shashi Tharoor : Lost Opportunity

2006-10-09T23:12:00.000-07:00

Its been exactly one week since Shashi Tharoor pulled out of the race for the UN General Secretary thus handing a clear victory to Mr Moon of South Korea (As of yesterday the UNSC had already recommended his name to the UN General Assembly). The apathy shown by the Government of Indian (GI) to his bid was evident and extremely frustrating. When Nehru was the PM in mid-50s, he went all out to ensure that VijayaLakshmi Pandit became the first Woman President of the UN General Assembly. This year the honorable Dr. Singh skipped the UN Session but found it important to attend "the last rites of NAM" !!

Mr Tharoor was the only candidate among the 6 to have a vast experience working at the UN level. He has had an impeccable record for the last 28 years and was one of Kofi Annan's right hand man. I was a regular reader of his writings in the Indian Express till sometime ago. I remember seeing him being interviewed by Barkha Dutt on NDTV shortly after he announced his desire to contest. One thing became clear, the more arrogant and aggressive Ms Dutt became the more sharp and straight came the answers. Mr Tharoor is his articulate style just took one question at a time and threw her and her seemingly foolish, stupid, childish behavior out of the door. Till date I have no clue what she was trying to achieve.

A few things that come to my mind for the failure of Mr Tharoor not being able to clinch the title:
1) He is Mallu : The current Malyali lobby is so weak that he was never going to get through the ranks of Indian Government officials. Had he been a Bengali or of the Gandhi clan it would have been a different GI approach. Less than 1% of Political and Corporate India knew who Shashi Tharoor is and what he was about to achieve.
2) He has been a member of the UN and Kofi Annan's Man : There is a general feeling that person who has risen from the very ranks of the UN is incompetent to lead for lack of his vision for Newer Reforms. (Probably these are the reasons Lateral Recruits earn more than present employees !!) Annan was never the first choice to the post and recently has had a fall-out with the US.
3) North Korea V/S US : US has been an ardent supporter of South Korea (strategic and financial reasons) and a fierce critic of North (The So-Called "Axis of Evil" starts at North Korea and ends in Iran, with the US being unsure whether Pakistan be included in the same or otherwise). The latest Nuclear threat (and the actual testing of N-Bomb) from North (DPRK) made Moon's succession to the post a virtual certainty. Note : Surprisingly China of all had pledged its support to any candidate from Asia which was a welcome sign.
4) India's Ohh-So-Far Bid for a Permanent Membership of the UNSC : India has long been longing for a permanent seat in the UNSC along with Germany and Japan. We have never been close to getting there nor still do not seem to be in any position to get there. Even if we do in the long run, VETO may not a be part of the package which would confine us to powers equivalent to that enjoyed by Fakruddhin Ali Ahmed when IG was heading GI.
5) Bottom Line : The UN needs Money to run and Korea provided ample of what India lacked. Korea has been pouring in $ all over Africa to show its solidarity for World Peace and Health for the half of this decade. We would never have matched that though Tharoor as a candidate was much more than a match for Moon.

One positive that I see in this failure is that Mr Tharoor would be able to devote more time to Writing than ever before (He probably would be relieved of his duties come 2007). Position of Foreign Secretary is not in the offering anytime soon (besides his last name is not Menon !! ) and that of External Affairs might not be his cup of tea keeping his mind his "affinity" for politics and politicians alike. There was a chance India might have won a couple of Nobel Prizes in Literature post Tagore. We lost a chance by electing BJP/Vajpayee to the PM's seat.
Now we do have a chance to gain one more.

Lage Raho !!!

2006-09-19T05:14:00.000-07:00

From Docs Reviews to Film Reviews, I am doing it all. There is a common theme to these two as well. I hate reading docs and I hate reading/viewing anything Gandhi. However, the latest movie LRM (Lage Raho Munnabhai) brings out, expresses (so-called) Gandhian principles in a manner the local-tapori would understand, that I had to like it.

[Note : One thing I have never understood in my life, why are "Truthfulness, Honesty, Sincerity etc" termed as "Gandhian Principles". Don't our parents teach us the same things, nor is it that he invented them. They have been there for ages, but I guess the love our hopeless people have for the name "Gandhi" says it all.]

However it is noteworthy to note that a person like me who practically hates everything that is "Gandhi" loved the movie "Lage Raho Munnabhai" to death. IMHO its is the next best movie to DCH in the last 5 years or so.It is a great movie, cool dialogs, standout performances by Arshad Warsi as Circuit, Dilip Prabhawalkar as "Gandhi" supported by a nice starcast. Vidya Balan looks gorgeous and her Million Watt smile itself is worth the money spent. Sanjay Dutt gives his 36" biceps quite a rest and so does Boman Irani to his funny bone. The romance between a 65+ couple is captured so brilliantly, I actually wanted to be 65 and widowed for a while. Yes, Sameer Mainkar does have hope after all ;)

Through all the laughs that reverberate in the cinema halls, it later dawns that it is quite a serious movie which makes us think and yet tickles us at the correct places. The handling of the delicate/serious subjects in the movie is so subtle, it almost brings the viewer to the Hrishikesh Mukherjee era. The director (Hirani or someone) deserves all the kudos that he is receiving to bring out such kind of a movie, which could have easily bombed had it been over-done. Make it a point to see the film and take your parents/beloved ones along as it is a must-see-for-all-ages.

Passing Thoughts:
Would Sanjay Dutt after all his own preaching in the film confess/tell the truth in connection with the Mumbai Blasts of '93.
Great Irony : Pseudo-activist-secularist Shabana Azmi wins the "International Gandhi Peace Prize" around the same time LRM is released.

12 Days of utter Bliss

2006-09-18T08:01:00.000-07:00

Spent the last 12 Days Sleeping, Lying, Blabbering, Drooling, Drooping and the like.

I am back to work today from a 12-day hiatus that actually included 5 trips to PSPL. Who can simply remain separated from their spouse for long anyways ? ;)

Starting from Anant Chaturdashi till yesterday I had some of the best moments since being here. 12 days of bliss (notwithstanding the fact that I had my mid-year appraisal) were spent sleeping, lying (down) - alone, eating and what not. No execution, no meetings, no TestPlan/Test Case updates, almost seemed "Summer of 69"

Promises to a friend of contributing one blog per day were evaporated in thin air. Some of it due to commitments to some other friends/relatives but most of it due to sheer "what the heck" and "who reads it anyway" attitude.

Two days were utterly lost in blaze of MidTerm Appraisal and now the oh-so-common "You dumb piece of s$#t, worth for nothing" remarks that have been so much trite in my Reports. First Day I said the same stuff to people I was suppose to appraise/evaluate (Untrue) and the Second Day, I heard the music (VeryTrue). Over the last two and half years or so, I have learnt to suitably take these in my stride and move ahead and would do so again this time.

However, there was some good news as we were handed our New Compensation package letters from the company. To be very true, it was somewhat needed, but the amounts handed over to people far surpass from simply ridiculous to plain ludicrous (unfortunately I was not one of them being a "worth nothing, lump of crap"). Eye-Popping, Jaw-Dropping, Heart-Stopping numbers that some of received from would certainly be taking its toll on the company's profit at year-end, but for now No Cribbing / No Quitting for most.

Watched one great movie "Lage Raho Munnabhai", and more on this later on the site. But till then, if you haven't watched the same, do so at this very moment.

Went for "Bowling at 3D-Destination" followed by dinner at "Mirchi Cola" (Expensive for the petaaD public) and awesome restaurant on MG Road as part of our Product Release party. I haven't got a clue how/why I was invited considering my limited/ohh-so-little contribution, but yeah.., enjoy the moment..

Till the next pieces of my stupid articles are published, Ciao.

Appendix:
Trite = Hackneyed = Commonplace
Ludicrous = PrePosterous = Absurd
petaaD (marathi) = drunkard (english) = bewaDa (hindi)
Summer of 69 = Famous Song by Bryan Adams (and not by the Eagles as mentioned earlier)

Missing the Mark != Hitting the Target

2006-07-30T22:15:00.000-07:00

Please do not dismiss the following as "TOILET" Humor, because I want to highlight people's apathy for Basic Public Hygiene.

Being in a software company and having friends in similar places, words like Missing Deadlines, On Target, As Planned and other Managerial Jargon are familiar to one an all, rather they are so common that I feel "nauseated" every time I hear them.

This weekend, I happened to go see a movie with my friends to one of the nicest Multiplexes in Pune. Currently, its not just raining here but pouring "Felines and Canines" for the last few days. With water seeping through various layers of clothing and reaching unwanted, intimate places, the rush for the Restrooms was much higher than that for the movie "Tom, Dick and Harry". I agree that the mad rush at cramped spaces causes people to rush/hush about and get things done in a hurry. But then, you expect people who shell out "some" amount of money to have "some" public mannerisms in getting "things" done.

First, the distance between two stalls was about 12 inches and the partition a whopping 2 !! When I entered, what I saw was really ghastly. people (read Men) had Missed the Mark, not by a whisker but "The Whole Nine Yards". I mean how many ways are there exactly to get this wrong. With "Peer" pressure and more so from the Bladder, you may not hit Bull's Eye, but missing the Bull is to much too digest. I have seen more cleanliness and beauty?? in the "Sulabh Toilets" just outside the Bus Depot at Dadar of all places.

This is probably the only one thing a person can claim as an entire independent task since the age of 4. Rest all he is dependent on someone or the other. This is his one chance to be in "Hall of Fame". The only thing these people achieve is painting themselves over the "Wall of Shame" !!

I am with MDM for 2+ years and we had some lapses in the past, but none so glaring than the one observed at some of the Plush Oft-Visited Public Places.

Q: Where have the mannerisms gone ?
A: Probably Flushed down the Drain

FEDERER => Numero Uno

2006-07-13T23:12:00.000-07:00

F : Flair
E : Elegance
D : Delightful
E : Exquisite
R : Regal
E : Epitome
R : Royal

Damn, His name is so short. Letters like G: Greatest, S: Supreme, SimplySuperb (in Benaud English) somehow don't fit. The man transcends everything you would find in the multitudes of Sporting Lexicons. His demeanor On and Off Court is so adorable that it almost seems untrue. He possesses what I feel is an innate swagger and a tremendous will power to excel.

Last Sunday, I watched him play (was rather privileged to watch him play) the Finals of The Championships and Boy, was he on song from the word go... The walk to the chair with the Cream Colored Flannel Blazer seemed as easy as a stroll in the park for a kid. The Non-Chalant attitude that he displayed without the slightest hint of arrogance was one to marvel at.

The first set was a breeze with Nadal not having a clue of the surface. The point on which Roger claimed the set was an Amazing Backhand Cross court that he whipped with extreme precision. He sure does not love his opponents but definitely cherishes winning Games and Sets at Love.
The second set began on a discordant note for the champion, yet came back to break Nadal as he was about to Serve out the set. He pulled from a mini-break down in the Tie-Break to take an almost unassailable lead at 2 - 0.
The third set produced the best phase of the game in which the Spaniard managed to hold his own by some amazing returns. Federer is not quite the Tie-Break King as Michael Stich and the loss of his first set at Wembley in 30 odd sets did prove that he is Human after all.
The fourth set was All Federer and for the first time, I saw him afraid and nervous of winning. He actually conceded a Break while serving for the Championships but wrapped up the Match on his next service game at "Love".

He also never seems to be out of words at Award Ceremonies or Interviews and yet never gives a whiff of arrogance nor is he a snob nor does he display false Modesty. Sometime back I was watching an interview in which he was asked "What took you so long (2 years) to win a Grand Slam Title after beating Sampras at Wimbledon ?". His answer was as sharp as his serve : "It was a good thing that I did not win early because I was not ready to handle the accolades" !!A perfect role model for our generation and a slap in the face for today's brash youngsters, teeny bopper tennis kids who flash "Quoted" and Tantra/Mantra T-Shirts but Zero Brilliance.

Unlike Sampras who shied away from Clay and Courier who shied away from Grass, he never seems to not try winning even on his least favored surface against heavily favored opponents. Thats the Genius of the man. He might not break Sampras' 14 Grand Slam Titles record, he may not win a single French Open Title (though both are very much on the cards), or he may never win a Grand Slam (all 4 in a year), leave alone 2 Grand Slams like Laver, but for me Federer would still remain the Numero Uno Tennis Player.

Country before Self OR Self before Country

2006-06-28T23:47:00.000-07:00

The thing/zing that carried Leander Paes to such glorious heights in the Davis Cup or fetched him the Bronze Medal at Atlanta was the Pride that he derived while playing under the India flag.
Sunil Gavaskar had echoed similar statements (prior to the Australia tour of 2003-04) about Rahul Dravid being the sole cricketer who seemed to carry the India Flag each time he stepped on to the cricket field.
John McEnroe defied his age and nearly beat a young Boris Becker in the greatest Davis Cup match that went for a marathon 6'20''.

I always wonder what makes these people perform at a much higher level when playing for their country than otherwise.

On the Contrary, there are multitudes of other athletes who do not perform even 10% while playing under their National Banner than they do when they play for a particular Club (Euro Sports) or for a Franchise (US Sports).

The US may boast of the Best League for Basketball and Baseball and the players might have Contracts worth millions, however when it is time to put your hand up for playing for the US, they generally Pull a Hamstring, Tear a Knee (Torn ACL) or something else.Ditto for the Top European Football players, they hang on to their Dear Clubs till they are 35 and beyond yet convey their unavailability to turn up for their country (barring the World Cup) after turning 28. Nor do they owe allegiance to any particular club, the minute their stock rises, they switch clubs for monetary gains (barring a few like Paolo Maldini).
[But then, dont we Software Professional's do the same ??]

The only reason I see here is Money and tons of it. The "Risk" (if it may be called) of an Injury to a Player while playing for His Own Country is so frightening that the Club Coaches nearly hold the National Coach at ransom. All is not bad at it seems, otherwise people would have lost faith in these sportsmen long back.
For every Azhar you have a Tendulkar, for every Sampras you have a McEnroe, for every Lawyer Milloy you have a Tedy Bruschi.

It would be worthwhile subject for a Doctoral Thesis to compare and conjure the reasons for such contrasting behavior of Sportsmen. I admire some of the above mentioned sportsmen, but fail to digest the fact that the very pledge they utter of allegiance to the nation is hollow.
The term "Country before Self" falls flat on the face in the Capitalist Countries (barring a few) while it is upheld amongst the least heralded of nations.

I did wonder then on the backdrop of Kargil, should Tendulkar have returned to attend his father's funeral during the Cricket World Cup in 1999 ?

A Day of Firsts

2006-06-19T01:15:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was truly memorable

1) For the first time in Chimera our Install did not Fail !!
2) For the first time Sagar not only went for a Second Helping but even got something else for a Team Member.., wow..
3) For the first time, the Status Report was sent before 7:00pm.
4) For the first time in the Chimera Timeframe, I reached home before 8:15pm.
5) For the first time since I bought a car, I travelled to-and-fro from home-office in a rick and also walked for a considerable distance.
6) For the first time in the Chimera Timeframe, I had the privilege to dine with my family.

Make sure that these Firsts are Not the Only ones.
Try to make them a habit

Marriage 101

2006-06-14T01:03:00.000-07:00

An interesting forward that would remain here only till I tie the Knot (which seems to be some Light Years away)..

Husband & Wife - Why divorce?
In a divorce court a woman requested the judge: "Your honor, I want to divorce my husband." "But why ?" asked the judge. She replied, "Because he is not faithful to me." The judge asked, "How do you know ?" She replied, "My lord, not a single child resembles him."

Husband & Wife - Love Your Enemy
From his death bed, the husband called his wife and said, "One month after I die I want you to marry Samy." "Samy...!!! But he is your enemy....!!!" "Yes, I know that.....!!! I have suffered all these years so let him suffer now." Husband & Wife - Wedding Ring At the cocktail party, one woman said to another, "Aren't you wearing your wedding ring on the wrong finger?" The other replied, "Yes I am, I married the wrong man."

Husband & Wife - Why?
"Dad, I was away for a week. Yesterday I sent a fax to my wife I'd be home that night, and when I got into my room I found my wife in another man's arms. "Why, Dad ? Tell me why...!!!" Dad kept silent for a few minutes, then coolly said, "Maybe, Son, she didn't get the fax."

Husband & Wife - Same Service
A husband visited a marriage counselor and said, "When we were first married, I would come home from the office, my wife would bring my slippers and our cute little dog would run around barking. Now after ten years it's all different, I come home, the dog brings the slippers and my wife runs around barking." "Why complain?" said the counselor. "You're still getting the same service!"

Husband & Wife - Talk About Husband
One woman told another : "My neighbor is always speaking ill of her husband, but look at me, my husband is foolish, lazy and a coward; but have I ever said anything bad about him?"

Husband & Wife - Love To Do
A wife, one evening, drew her husband's attention to the couple next door and said, "Do you see that couple? How devoted they are? He kisses her every time they meet. Why don't you do that?" "I would love to." Replied the husband. "But I don't know her well enough."

Husband & Wife - No Answer Back
A man was telling his friends, "When my wife is infuriated, she starts shouting at me, my children and even at our dogs and nobody dares answer her." One of his friends asked." And when you are angry, what do you do?" The man replied, "I also shout angrily at the windows and doors of the house and none of them dares to answer back.

Husband & Wife - Come Home Late
A woman was complaining to the neighbor that her husband always came home late, no matter how she tried to stop him. "Take my advice," said the neighbor, "and do what I did. Once my husband came home at three o'clock in the morning, and from my bed I called out : "Is that you, Jim?" And that cured him. "Cured him !" asked the woman, "but how?" The neighbor said, "You see, his name is Bill."

Husband & Wife - Problem Father
"You looked troubled," I told my friend, "what's your problem?" He replied, "I'm going to be a father." "But that's wonderful," I said. "What's wonderful? My wife doesn't know about it yet.

The World's Best OxyMoron : Happily Married !!
[ Only Morons feel they are Happy after Marriage ]

Perplexed

2006-06-10T22:11:00.000-07:00

Perplexed at reading a blog named "Perplexed"? Me too. First of all, I have the least idea about what this word really means, whats the originality of this word, the greek, latin roots of this word ? Confused ? Join the club.

Monday to Friday:
Should I continue with Bug Regression ?
Should I begin with Test Case Execution ?
Should I first respond to the Developers from Innopath ?
Should I first respond to my Manager ?
A colleague is stuck with an issue, I think I need to look into that first so that he/she can get started.
Atleast, I should be allowed to fill by bottle with water and have a cuppa coffee.
Let me check some of my personal emails.
Damn, need to call someone urgently.
Why did my date with her go all wrong the past weekend ?
Will I have a date the coming weekend ?
Lunch : Sabji kaise hogi ? Rice leni chhaiye ya chapati ? aaj dahi Gore ko dena hai ya Sagar ko ?
Walk after lunch : baahar jaaye dhoop mein, ya parking mein bheed mein chalna hai ?
I havent even stared with my work yet, where do I begin ?
I better skip the afternoon coffee break as well as snakes.., Rutu, plzz get tea for me..
45% work completed, Status Report not completed as yet ? Why havent all of you uploaded results ? Checked in the Bug Regression sheet ? Have you booked the conference room for tomorrow's Conf Call, day-after's Demo, Thursday's interview and Friday's Team Meeting ? Make sure that you make a Note of the Minutes of the Call and Meeting that go for a couple of hours in about 47.29 secs.
Two Ears, Two Eyes, Two Hands and above all just 1 PC !!
Later.. Salil, your efficiency is Pathetic.. ???

Saturday/Sunday:
The last one (date) at CCD failed, probably the ambience is not great. Barista this time ? Who are you kidding ? PSPL salary and Barista, take a break, have a KitKat at home, watch TV
Should I watch Football World Cup on ESPN ?
Should I watch India-WI on Ten-Sports ?
Should I watch Federer-Nadal on Zee-Sports ?
Should I watch the F-1 Grand-Prix ( pronounced as Gro'm Pree) on Star Sports

This is getting out of control.. Why does our brain not SHUT UP !!

per·plexed ( P ) Pronunciation Key (pr-plkst)adj.
Filled with confusion or bewilderment; puzzled.
Full of complications or difficulty; involved.

from Old French perplexe, from Latin perplexus : per-, per- + plexus, past participle of plectere, to entwine; see plek- in Indo-European Roots

Hamara Bajaj

2006-06-09T22:20:00.000-07:00

I really feel proud to be from a State which is about to be elect a Member of Parliament who is a Multi-Billionaire and Not only does he File Tax Returns but actually Files Taxes as well !! Yes, thats Mr. Rahul Bajaj .., Sir Rahul Bajaj for me.. However, he is really setting up a Bad Example to the So-Called Poor Billionaires whose Income somehow remains in the No-Tax zone.

Its really a shame that the Govt and its so called committees are trying to burden the already salaried class by removing Rebates on 80-C and the likes, then rub salt on wounds by asking us to actually file even our Cash spendings.. wow.. way to go PC

Everything around is changing some for the good and some for the bad. Reservations in Education and Private Jobs, Additional Paperwork for Tax Filing, Increased Duties/Taxes, Cess for Roads in Pune (which do not really exist). I would not really be too critical of the increase in Petrol Prices though they Hurt the common man as this was something inevitable. But the Fiasco that Sonia and Co pulled off in New Delhi was One for the Show.. Typical Scenario, you force a person to Jump and then say "why the heck did you do so ?" (Should this question mark be actually after the quote, never have understood English and never will)

The only thing that I feel that has somewhat remained same is the way a Bajaj Scooter starts !! The last 40 years the ONLY way to start this Amazing State of The Art vehicle (however Old it maybe) is by a slight tilt towards the Engine side and then Half a Kick and there you go.. For pure consistency this one beats Dravid to a distant 2nd. It is very much reminiscent to the dialog from Sarfarosh which has a reference to an AK-47 "Ja ke gaTar mein fe.nk de, ek saal baad Petrol Daalke starT karega to waise-ich fire karegi. Maintenance ka koi lafDa nahi hai" !!

Proud Owner of a 1985 Green Coloured Bajaj Super. Hamara Bajaj.

Price of Air in 3 tyres (including the Spare) : Rs 2.0
Price of Petrol per litre : Rs 55
Price of 2-wheeler : Rs 35000+
Satisfaction of having vehicle start at the first Go : Priceless

There are some things money cant buy, for everything else dial your Father !!

Adieu BH 5A C15

2006-05-13T01:55:00.000-07:00

I was deeply saddened couple of weeks back by a rumour circulating that our team would have to move out of our current places. Finally when our Manager confirmed the news, I began to relive all the moments I had had in my home away from home.
It almost felt like a premonition of the things to hit me in the weeks to come.

My fears seemed to be uncalled for when I received an email from the Dev Guy at Innopath, congratulating and thanking and complimenting me for my work .. However, it all went bust within the next few minutes when I received the firing of a lifetime, got rejected by .. ; Lets leave these details out of here. It has started to go all wrong since. Back to the main issue at hand.

I still clearly remember the day the three of us, Noor, Shripad and myself were yanked from the training schedule at KV and thrown into BH. Lest I knew that I would be spending 2 great years with some amazing cubicle mates and that too in a project like MDM. Let me state the names here with whom I have spent some wonderful moments together in C15, Shripad and Noor (my best of friends at PSPL), Amit Dangle, Shailesh Athalye, Srihari, Shweta, Prabha and Mrunalini. I apologize if I have missed anyone. We even had a Square reserved for Wasim, Noor's to be.., upon which Noor could look down upon (Noor, plzz don’t kill me for this..) Thank you to one and all who made it a beautiful place.

This cubicle was certainly the spice of our work hall and was the liveliest amongst all its counterparts. The jabbering, joking, laughter had reached macro proportions and to curb it all, we even started a "Maun Samay", period of total silence for all of 10 mins !! The cubicle was a mute witness to some of the extreme altercations within our project, within the cubicle or across cubicle. It was here that I took my baby steps into the professional world and now helps me sprint. The ragged dance to the tunes of my seniors that seemed like a Waltz to the people outside of here, facilitated by the calmness of the place.

The panoramic view of Pune from our place was breathtaking, Model Colony, Khadki, even the AirStrip at Lohegaon was visible. Later on as the buildings of the ICC Trade Tower and those of T-Systems etc came up, the left side was a slight blur.. but overall still very beautiful. Some say they even have seen a Ghost (Ghastly Image, I believe) just outside of the glass pane, though we never heard or saw either at nights or otherwise.

The new cubicle does not suit me much. With C15 it was like "I was institutionalized, the cubicle and the cubicle mates knew me, here I just cut a sorry figure, trying to wrap up things and leave (by 11:00pm)". I really miss the place and as I sit here in my new place trying to put words to Keyboard with a tear in my eye, I am sure 5A must have been equally saddened by the loss of its truly beloved friends.

I have an eerie feeling that this is just a harbinger of some not so happy events in the near future.

Best lesson learnt in C15 -> "Karmanyewa adhikaraste ma phaleshu kadachana"

My Very First Blog

2006-03-13T19:53:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to start blogging, basically get away from mundane work and start something new and spicy..

I would try to make this space as humorous, funny (slapstick style) as much as I can.., not that I am great at it, but a try would not be as bad, atleast that’s what I hope to.. Surrounding this hoopla I would like to mention that I would be very honest in the true sense of the word.

This space would consist as the name suggests, blogs that are Vyaktigat (Personal), Manogat (Self Expressions, Musings) and Swagat (Soliloquy, Monologue). Most of the stuff would be true as per my knowledge which to be very true is very negligible ;). However, just to spice up some of the things, I may definitely add some "Masala" to it. Some Names would be changed to maintain secrecy so that OTHERS involved may not necessarily be affected by stuff that I post.. Posts about People, Friends, Relatives, Sports, Sportsmen, Movies, who have influenced me or have had played a significant or even a small role to play in my well being. Betterment for India and its public, ways and means of achieving the same is definitely on the cards.

Hopefully my next post and first meaningful (I hope so) would be up by next week. Please do let me know your suggestions, your invaluable feedback would be highly appreciated and respected and honored.
Till then, Off the Record, On the QT and Very Hush Hush !!