Ther r ways to kill time and bring oneself out of boredom, but I chose what was to be a disastrous way to kill time by deciding to watch a movie called "Poi" ..Ufff...Did I call it a movie?? It was worse than any of those Tv soaps that my Mum would be interested in.
It aint new to jack up expectations for a movie and take the audience for a wild ride through their extremely unrealistic whims and fancies, distressing satires and soporific dialogues. This movie tops my list as one of this kind. That it was from a much hyped director called Balachander talks volumes about the kind of cinema industry that we have. He could hav as well stopped with mentoring actors like rajni, kamal , prakash raj etc with his movies in 70's and 80's. It's disgusting to note that he still lives in the 70's and is only repeating his family dramas in variegated forms. In an era where a movie like Dhoom 2 is creating waves among the junta, Mr. Balachander needs to wake up and stand up to this level of competition and hone his directorial skills to match a few of his younger contemporaries.
For how long are we going to have movies with utterly jobless youths falling in love with lovely ladies . This movie is yet another run of the mill tam movie with a similar theme. It was after a long time that I had no option but to walk out of the theatre some 10 minutes after the interval. It had been such an emotional and financial drain :-(. Movie tickets in multiplexes do come with a price. The movie did make me take a resolution of not to venture into watching a movie without hearing the reviews, atleast in a multiplex.
Every alternate scene in the movie showcases Balachander as an imaginative figure who talks to the hero giving him tips to woo a girl and that impairs the tempo of the movie to the extent of feeling a gross hatred for the Man called "Balachander". For someone whose claimed to be the best in the art of extracting good performances, Balachander comes across as a highly unimpressive septagenarian with a white beard , with an accent that I had grown sick of. How often have I seen him speak like that, be it a movie or a serial. Add to that, the foul language that he uses to berate the hero everytime he flounders in his attempt to woo the girl just piles up the misery. A while later Prakashraj joins the party as one more imaginative character whose eloquence is only with Balachander. Prakashraj personifies destiny and presents a monstrous smile with no sound everytime there is a twist in the movie. Now fate is supposedly the villain in the movie. Balachander has used a sick white backdrop for all these scenes featuring him and prakashraj to distinguish the fictitious scenes of a fiction called "Poi"...Since the days of sridevi, in every movie of Balachander, there was an uncanny knack of projecting the heroine's eyes in an effort to convey a lot thru the eyes of the heroine. But, there's a limit to that and I guess there has already been an overdose of that in his previous movies and sadly there is more to it in this movie.
And this man does have a fascination for Hindi. The Heroine and one other trivial character using hindi words in the most unfashionable way is bound to create disgust among public. Words like "Ullu ka patta" are just not going to reach out to the audience as anything special and it will only help in this movie going down the history of tamil movies as one of the worst movies to have hit the screens.
The only positive if any about the movie, are it's songs. But then, You dont watch a movie for it's songs. I've been hearing to them on ma ipod for over two months now. The actors in the movie are beyond my scope of criticism. They are all too new to be criticized too soon.
I surely did need a cup of coffee after watching a sop like this. I started my enquiries on what is the climax of the movie to the guy at the coffee stall in the theatre. Much to my surprise and shock, he said the protaganists of the movie die..hahahah tats food for thought indeed. Until 10 mins after interval, they had not even started loving each other and finally end up ending their lives for each other...Funny....Silly old Man Balachander...It s hightime he contemplated retirement..
Monday, December 25, 2006
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Magic of vathakuzhambhu
Fed up would be an understatement to describe my inclination towards the consumption of rotis, paneer et all. No wonder why choms are called so !! For all the hatred I had for idlis, dosas, vatha kuzhambu stuffs until before 3 yrs, when I used to stay with parents, I deserved to suffer...Now I long for any of those traditional tam food that I once detested !! Vatha kuzhambhu has all of a sudden become nectar and pongal and dosas the ambrosia for life....
The longing has been so phenomenal that I am taking a vatha kuzhambhu bottle along for lunch..More so humiliating is the fact that it was actually purchased by a colleague of mine and I hav become a major consumer of a product I dont own..But, I dont think, this in anyway is going stop me from using it. There's an unprecedented longing for Mom's food. A longing that s likely to remain for a long long time !!!
As much as I stay away from Lasagne, I love to eat vadagiri !!!
As much as I hate rotis, I love the smell of Masala dosas
As much as I hate the Pulav, I love the traditional vathakuzhammbhu !!
A kfc, Mcdonalds, Bombay post or an Indijoe does not please me to the extent that Adyar anandha bhavan does :-)
The longing has been so phenomenal that I am taking a vatha kuzhambhu bottle along for lunch..More so humiliating is the fact that it was actually purchased by a colleague of mine and I hav become a major consumer of a product I dont own..But, I dont think, this in anyway is going stop me from using it. There's an unprecedented longing for Mom's food. A longing that s likely to remain for a long long time !!!
As much as I stay away from Lasagne, I love to eat vadagiri !!!
As much as I hate rotis, I love the smell of Masala dosas
As much as I hate the Pulav, I love the traditional vathakuzhammbhu !!
A kfc, Mcdonalds, Bombay post or an Indijoe does not please me to the extent that Adyar anandha bhavan does :-)
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Diurnal notoriety and smooth criminals
Bangalore’s public are increasingly becoming victims of their own silly mistakes that prove to be very costly and have a disastrous impact on their financial well being.
A robbery in a Bangalore residence is becoming as unbelievable as a scene straight out of a bollywood flick. But, thanks to the ever tiring techies, as everyday passes, one gets to hear new thefts, new modus operandi and the day seems to be far when this would have stopped.
On Diwali day, a good frnd of mine finds one of his credit cards to be missing. But, by the time he calls up to suspend operations on that card, the card had already been swiped for 50k. How it happened is yet another case of extended sleep that bachelors tend to have, leaving the doors open. But, what is noteworthy in this theft is the modus operandi. The thief didn’t care to take anything apart from that one credit card, among all other cards and even left the wallet where it was. The end result was that it had already been some 3-4 hours before my frnd realized that he was missing one of his cards. This is definitely a lesson to all those plastic card maestros on why not to have many cards. If my frnd can end up in big soup, despite having fewer cards, one wonders what would have been the plight of people with umpteen cards, had such a misery dawned upon them..Food for thought ?aint it…
Criminals r getting smarter and it s high time the public are upto it.
It may not be long before such a robbery hits the Indian scenes in the form of a movie..May be it helps in enlightening people of what they can expect and how careful they need to be…
A robbery in a Bangalore residence is becoming as unbelievable as a scene straight out of a bollywood flick. But, thanks to the ever tiring techies, as everyday passes, one gets to hear new thefts, new modus operandi and the day seems to be far when this would have stopped.
On Diwali day, a good frnd of mine finds one of his credit cards to be missing. But, by the time he calls up to suspend operations on that card, the card had already been swiped for 50k. How it happened is yet another case of extended sleep that bachelors tend to have, leaving the doors open. But, what is noteworthy in this theft is the modus operandi. The thief didn’t care to take anything apart from that one credit card, among all other cards and even left the wallet where it was. The end result was that it had already been some 3-4 hours before my frnd realized that he was missing one of his cards. This is definitely a lesson to all those plastic card maestros on why not to have many cards. If my frnd can end up in big soup, despite having fewer cards, one wonders what would have been the plight of people with umpteen cards, had such a misery dawned upon them..Food for thought ?aint it…
Criminals r getting smarter and it s high time the public are upto it.
It may not be long before such a robbery hits the Indian scenes in the form of a movie..May be it helps in enlightening people of what they can expect and how careful they need to be…
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Reminiscing 49/4
Screaming out loudly "Mama Vandachu" , I trigger a resonance in the house and rush to the door in anticipation of one of my uncles who would just be returning from the office.
On his entry, I poke my hands through his pockets in anticipation of some goodies..May be a dairy milk or a pack of nutties.This would be a scene from most of my summer vacation trips to my Maternal grandpa's place in Madras...
49/4 Icf East colony was more like a second home to me and a place that's probably the reason behind my liking for Madras as a city..
The sound of the Bell from the tricycle of the "Kulfi wala" , apprising the kids of the colony that he's back to business that night, is still fresh in my memory..
The huge window in the hall through which I used to peep out to see kids of my age play and dance in joy, elderly people go for late evening/night strolls and the youngsters just gather at one corner of the road to babble out their time..
For long, My Uncles, all of whom were bachelors then and my grandparents kept me under this impression that the person who rides through the streets every night with a pot covered with a red coloured cloth was infact selling "Puliyogare" and not kulfi.. Being a very gullible kid that I was, I used to fall a prey to their fallacies.
No wonder My Mom was very much the phenomenon behind my folks deluding me..She would just not allow her kid to have a kulfi from a road side vendor...That s not salubrious..
Being the only grandchild of the house then, I was very much a darling of the house and that I still enjoy that much of love inspite of all my uncles getting married off and some new kids arriving in the family, speaks volumes of how much I was loved in the family..
Anyway, lemme not digress..More on "One night at 49/4"...I would have just come back from a visit to the type writing institute, where my grandpa used to be an instructor. Until before a few years my grandpa was riding a bicycle...It was this very cycle in which he used to take me to the type writing institute..Man O Man, He had the patience to commute in a bicycle for close to 50 years of his life..
My Mom and grandma would be busy in the kitchen..My third uncle used to be busy studying in one room..He was a model of Perseverance.My dad still quotes his life as an example of how not to get flinched by failures and push hard for success. The eldest of all uncles jocularly used to remark that he would not be surprised if the chair my third uncle occupied while studying gets damaged due to extensive usage..Such was the intensity with which he used to study. He's now a fellow in CA,ICWA and CS...
The 2 youngest of my uncles were what I was until a few years back in college..Friends, road corner meet up's, late night chats was almost a regular feature those days..They used to storm into the house as late as at 12 o clock and have their dinner..Not speaking a word in return to grandma and Mom s railing, they used to go on serving food for themselves and hit the sack in silence...If this was the case inside the house, on those occasions when I used to go out of the house looking for my Uncles, who ll be standing at the end of the road along with their friends, I enjoyed staying late outside the house..Carrying a cricket bat along, I always used to find my uncle or his friends coming forward to bowl a few balls at me,under the brightness of the light coming from the big lamp post at the end of the road...Flood lights had just embraced the world of cricket then and I was already experiencing it.
It would have already been 12 when My mom would start pestering me to sleep...Sleeping so late meant that I would invariably wake up after every other person had woken up..Most often, I would find myself being awakened by the "Divya prabhandham" that starts playing in the Music system..As much as I hated it in my childhood, I realised the essence of the prabhandham as I grew old..No wonder it symbolises the faith of an Iyengar household !!
On his entry, I poke my hands through his pockets in anticipation of some goodies..May be a dairy milk or a pack of nutties.This would be a scene from most of my summer vacation trips to my Maternal grandpa's place in Madras...
49/4 Icf East colony was more like a second home to me and a place that's probably the reason behind my liking for Madras as a city..
The sound of the Bell from the tricycle of the "Kulfi wala" , apprising the kids of the colony that he's back to business that night, is still fresh in my memory..
The huge window in the hall through which I used to peep out to see kids of my age play and dance in joy, elderly people go for late evening/night strolls and the youngsters just gather at one corner of the road to babble out their time..
For long, My Uncles, all of whom were bachelors then and my grandparents kept me under this impression that the person who rides through the streets every night with a pot covered with a red coloured cloth was infact selling "Puliyogare" and not kulfi.. Being a very gullible kid that I was, I used to fall a prey to their fallacies.
No wonder My Mom was very much the phenomenon behind my folks deluding me..She would just not allow her kid to have a kulfi from a road side vendor...That s not salubrious..
Being the only grandchild of the house then, I was very much a darling of the house and that I still enjoy that much of love inspite of all my uncles getting married off and some new kids arriving in the family, speaks volumes of how much I was loved in the family..
Anyway, lemme not digress..More on "One night at 49/4"...I would have just come back from a visit to the type writing institute, where my grandpa used to be an instructor. Until before a few years my grandpa was riding a bicycle...It was this very cycle in which he used to take me to the type writing institute..Man O Man, He had the patience to commute in a bicycle for close to 50 years of his life..
My Mom and grandma would be busy in the kitchen..My third uncle used to be busy studying in one room..He was a model of Perseverance.My dad still quotes his life as an example of how not to get flinched by failures and push hard for success. The eldest of all uncles jocularly used to remark that he would not be surprised if the chair my third uncle occupied while studying gets damaged due to extensive usage..Such was the intensity with which he used to study. He's now a fellow in CA,ICWA and CS...
The 2 youngest of my uncles were what I was until a few years back in college..Friends, road corner meet up's, late night chats was almost a regular feature those days..They used to storm into the house as late as at 12 o clock and have their dinner..Not speaking a word in return to grandma and Mom s railing, they used to go on serving food for themselves and hit the sack in silence...If this was the case inside the house, on those occasions when I used to go out of the house looking for my Uncles, who ll be standing at the end of the road along with their friends, I enjoyed staying late outside the house..Carrying a cricket bat along, I always used to find my uncle or his friends coming forward to bowl a few balls at me,under the brightness of the light coming from the big lamp post at the end of the road...Flood lights had just embraced the world of cricket then and I was already experiencing it.
It would have already been 12 when My mom would start pestering me to sleep...Sleeping so late meant that I would invariably wake up after every other person had woken up..Most often, I would find myself being awakened by the "Divya prabhandham" that starts playing in the Music system..As much as I hated it in my childhood, I realised the essence of the prabhandham as I grew old..No wonder it symbolises the faith of an Iyengar household !!
Monday, September 04, 2006
Monday, August 28, 2006
A Pastoral jaunt, a holy experience and a House warming ceremony- Part I
Very reluctantly, I obliged to My Dad's suggestion to go down to Madurai for the Weekend that just passed. It might have well been an order had I turned down my Dad's suggestion :-)
The reason behind my nonchalance was that I ve never enjoyed those one or two trips I ve made to south Tamil nadu as a kid..Those trips had created such an impact that it was the first time in 13 years that I was going south of Trichy...
I cited reasons like heat, cleanliness etc to avoid the trip..But My Dad was not gonna budge and he kept insisting that I make the trip... I wish I could give him that more authentic and valid reason behind My reluctance :-)
The trip did happen and I took a A/c Volvo bus from Bangalore.. Li'll did I realise then that A/c was not gonna be on inside the bus...It took me very few minutes to get bugged with the comfort in the bus...Add to that, the old tam songs that were playing in the video were loud enough to drive me crazy...Wondering if there would be any serious objection from any of the fellow passengers, I went ahead and asked the cleaner to reduce the volume and thankfully no one objected..May be, it was bothering every one else too :-)..May be, I could have asked them to switch it off..
Adding fuel to the fire of frustration was the speed at which the bus was driven by the driver who looked to be a sexagenarian.... To me, it seemed, his legs were more often on the brake than on the accelerator :-(....It was 4.45 am in the early hours of saturday that the Bus had stopped at some place..I just opened my eyes and thought of getting down from the bus to get a feel of fresh air..I searched frantically for my sandals that I had left beneath my seat..Found one, but the other was missing...Much to my disgust, I found that the other one was under the foot of the guy sitting next to me...obviously, that guy had mistaken My sandals to be his in sleep...Just as I got down from the bus, I enquired with a person standing there as to how much time would it take to reach Madurai, oblivious of where the bus was currently...His answer stopped my breath for a while...He said 3-4 hours....It was then I realised that the six hours journey made till then had taken the Bus to Salem, which is supposedly a 3 hour drive from Bangalore....I am gonna feel scared everytime I see a old/tonsured guy at the driver's seat in the bus journeys I make in the future :-(......A farmer might comment "My bullock cart would run faster than this Bus"....
It was 8.45 am and there was still no sign of approaching any city/town....Just the Advertisement boards read Madurai...Atleast those boards brought back life to a shattered soul that I was :-)...9 o clock and I was there at the Madurain Bust stand..My Maternal grandpa eagerly waiting to receive or rather pick me up from there...At 71, My grandpa has more energy and patience than what I possess..He infact works at this age cozz he intends to be self sustaining, thereby also engaging in some work...He clocks 12 hours at office...More than What I do at this age...People of yesteryears are Men to be saluted...
Reached My Uncle s place and I was happy to note that it was a nice li'll residential area unlike the roads that took me there :-)..It was my first visit to this maternal uncle s place in 13 yrs and it took a house warming ceremony on a weekend to take me ther again :-)...The ceremony was to happen the next day and I was eager to catch up with lost sleep...
But, that was not to be...The rest of the folks including my Parents( who had come down frm cbe) were all geared up for a trip to the temple town of Srivilliputhur...The place that gave the world a great female saint called "Andal" who eventually married the lord himself !! This is my grandpa s native place apart from being a predominant vaishnav shrine....It took a while for the tired legs to actually stand up, carry the body along and head towards the bathroom for a shower.....I dressed up in a dhothi for the trip...I have enjoyed wearin dhothis on auspicious occasions and on trips to temples. I was helped by one of my Uncles in casting the caste mark on my forehead...
All set and we stepped out to take the tempo traveller waiting just outside the house...1.5 hours passed and We were there at Srivilliputhur....Much to my delight the temple was less crowded and my hope of having a good darshan got some life to it...As soon as we got down we were told by somebody there that we needed to visit the "Ranganatha" deity there at the earliest so that we get a darshan before the "sannidhi" (Lord's sanctum) is closed...This was the deity that Andal had adored during her times and was completely devoted to...Lord came down to marry her and in memory of that, the main deity in the temple has Andal and the lord in "Thiru kalyana" kolam (Together as a couple).....
The darshan at Ranganatha temple was one of the best I had and given my affinity towards Ranganatha, I was bound to enjoy the darshan....got to have the closest possible look at the God hoping for his blessings and a list of wishes to be fulfilled....Just as we turned our backs to the deity and walked towards the exit point of the sanctum, I noticed my dad completely absorbed in a conversation with the purohit at the sanctum....My Dad was waving hands frantically at me asking me to come over to the sanctum again...Wondering what could be the reason, I strolled towards the sanctum...It was then I found out that the purohit there is a person my dad knew so well and one whom he was meeting after more than a decade...The customary enquiries about each other's welfare went for a while before my dad introduced me to him as his son who used to work with Infy and is currently working with Juniper....Even before My dad could complete his sentence, the learned Purohit jumped the gun by sayin "Good good good"...I am quite sure he didnt hear my dad say Juniper.....huh...If this be the way that My dad 's gonna introduce me to his friends, then 10 years down the lane, he may have to carry a notepad to recite the companies I would have worked in a sequential order :-)...Infy's popularity is still a big problem to me :-)
The reason behind my nonchalance was that I ve never enjoyed those one or two trips I ve made to south Tamil nadu as a kid..Those trips had created such an impact that it was the first time in 13 years that I was going south of Trichy...
I cited reasons like heat, cleanliness etc to avoid the trip..But My Dad was not gonna budge and he kept insisting that I make the trip... I wish I could give him that more authentic and valid reason behind My reluctance :-)
The trip did happen and I took a A/c Volvo bus from Bangalore.. Li'll did I realise then that A/c was not gonna be on inside the bus...It took me very few minutes to get bugged with the comfort in the bus...Add to that, the old tam songs that were playing in the video were loud enough to drive me crazy...Wondering if there would be any serious objection from any of the fellow passengers, I went ahead and asked the cleaner to reduce the volume and thankfully no one objected..May be, it was bothering every one else too :-)..May be, I could have asked them to switch it off..
Adding fuel to the fire of frustration was the speed at which the bus was driven by the driver who looked to be a sexagenarian.... To me, it seemed, his legs were more often on the brake than on the accelerator :-(....It was 4.45 am in the early hours of saturday that the Bus had stopped at some place..I just opened my eyes and thought of getting down from the bus to get a feel of fresh air..I searched frantically for my sandals that I had left beneath my seat..Found one, but the other was missing...Much to my disgust, I found that the other one was under the foot of the guy sitting next to me...obviously, that guy had mistaken My sandals to be his in sleep...Just as I got down from the bus, I enquired with a person standing there as to how much time would it take to reach Madurai, oblivious of where the bus was currently...His answer stopped my breath for a while...He said 3-4 hours....It was then I realised that the six hours journey made till then had taken the Bus to Salem, which is supposedly a 3 hour drive from Bangalore....I am gonna feel scared everytime I see a old/tonsured guy at the driver's seat in the bus journeys I make in the future :-(......A farmer might comment "My bullock cart would run faster than this Bus"....
It was 8.45 am and there was still no sign of approaching any city/town....Just the Advertisement boards read Madurai...Atleast those boards brought back life to a shattered soul that I was :-)...9 o clock and I was there at the Madurain Bust stand..My Maternal grandpa eagerly waiting to receive or rather pick me up from there...At 71, My grandpa has more energy and patience than what I possess..He infact works at this age cozz he intends to be self sustaining, thereby also engaging in some work...He clocks 12 hours at office...More than What I do at this age...People of yesteryears are Men to be saluted...
Reached My Uncle s place and I was happy to note that it was a nice li'll residential area unlike the roads that took me there :-)..It was my first visit to this maternal uncle s place in 13 yrs and it took a house warming ceremony on a weekend to take me ther again :-)...The ceremony was to happen the next day and I was eager to catch up with lost sleep...
But, that was not to be...The rest of the folks including my Parents( who had come down frm cbe) were all geared up for a trip to the temple town of Srivilliputhur...The place that gave the world a great female saint called "Andal" who eventually married the lord himself !! This is my grandpa s native place apart from being a predominant vaishnav shrine....It took a while for the tired legs to actually stand up, carry the body along and head towards the bathroom for a shower.....I dressed up in a dhothi for the trip...I have enjoyed wearin dhothis on auspicious occasions and on trips to temples. I was helped by one of my Uncles in casting the caste mark on my forehead...
All set and we stepped out to take the tempo traveller waiting just outside the house...1.5 hours passed and We were there at Srivilliputhur....Much to my delight the temple was less crowded and my hope of having a good darshan got some life to it...As soon as we got down we were told by somebody there that we needed to visit the "Ranganatha" deity there at the earliest so that we get a darshan before the "sannidhi" (Lord's sanctum) is closed...This was the deity that Andal had adored during her times and was completely devoted to...Lord came down to marry her and in memory of that, the main deity in the temple has Andal and the lord in "Thiru kalyana" kolam (Together as a couple).....
The darshan at Ranganatha temple was one of the best I had and given my affinity towards Ranganatha, I was bound to enjoy the darshan....got to have the closest possible look at the God hoping for his blessings and a list of wishes to be fulfilled....Just as we turned our backs to the deity and walked towards the exit point of the sanctum, I noticed my dad completely absorbed in a conversation with the purohit at the sanctum....My Dad was waving hands frantically at me asking me to come over to the sanctum again...Wondering what could be the reason, I strolled towards the sanctum...It was then I found out that the purohit there is a person my dad knew so well and one whom he was meeting after more than a decade...The customary enquiries about each other's welfare went for a while before my dad introduced me to him as his son who used to work with Infy and is currently working with Juniper....Even before My dad could complete his sentence, the learned Purohit jumped the gun by sayin "Good good good"...I am quite sure he didnt hear my dad say Juniper.....huh...If this be the way that My dad 's gonna introduce me to his friends, then 10 years down the lane, he may have to carry a notepad to recite the companies I would have worked in a sequential order :-)...Infy's popularity is still a big problem to me :-)
Friday, August 25, 2006
May Ganesha bless our Routers !!!
Friday dressing is usually trendy, casual and colourful..But today was not to be a day of casual dressing..A mail asking all juniperites to come in traditional attire was received yesterday.Just that, it was not well received by my brain..It somehow got off my head..
Just as I entered the office, I spotted someone in a kurta and at that very instant the mail flashed in my mind. I might not have felt bad about not having worn it, had it not been for a Hawaian Shirt I was wearing. On a day when a lot of other people were gonna be in Kurthas, I wore what should probably be the most casual attire for guys :-(
Slowly, as I walked towards my cube, much to my relief I found a lot of guys in jeans-Tshirt combo.
The reason behind asking Employees to come in ethnic dresses was that Ganesh Pooja was being celebrated in advance here...
How does a headline like this sound :
"JUNIPER ADVANCES GANESH CHATHURTHI"
Anyway, this was not any Nasdaq crash or a bullish run for Juniper to make news..So, the headline does not serve any purpose but for adding spice to this blog
12 o clock was the time that the pooja was gonna kick off and a reminder mail was there in our inboxes to make sure that We all get blessed by the lord..
It was 12 and there was Prasad who was nudging me from behind saying "chal chal chal, pooja ka time ho gaya"...A few minutes passed and I was there in the cafeteria where the pooja was taking place.. Lot of People in traditional attire...Could spot more sarees than Kurthas...Guys probably are more hesistant towards wearing ethnic dresses. I was looking out for Prasad and there he was in one corner..His remark that I wear a short kurtha on almost every other day and not this day, made me feel ignominious of having such a volatile memory :-(
Saree gave a very pleasing and gentle look to the ladies and I was impressed with the dressing sense of almost all the ladies in attendance, with one of the Hr's dressing standing out among all..To me, she was the best dressed of all .... Pooja started and the customary "Ganpathi bappa moriya" was shouted a couple of times and there I was standing in a queue to have a closer look at the Ganesha idol and offer my Prayers to the lord...On my way back, I was treated to a few delicacies in the name of prasad....Even before I could swallow the first bite, Prasad had almost finished a major portion of the sweet that was given to me, which I had asked him to hold for a few seconds until I put on my shoes again...Few seconds were probably not enough for him to consume the sweet completely :-)....Calling him "Kameene", I just started walking towards the door as I spotted this female who was looking drop dead gorgeous in her costume..Not that she didnt look good on other days :-)....Aneway, all that I could do was to get admired, astonished and go spell bound or even drool over her...After all, this is the case when I bump into any good looking girl :-)
Back at the desk, I found a mail from one of the HR's that was supposed to test our Spiritual quotient...It was Ganesha trivia and the person who gives maximum number of correct answers was to be given a prize..
Mythological quiz was always something I considered myself to be good at..Just that it was pertaining to Lord Ganesha...I would have probably preferred anything on Lord Vishnu...Am surprised why there was not any such quiz leading to Krishna Janmashtami :-)..."That s gross prejudice" I told myself :-)
Pinning hopes on my Mythological intellect, I attempted the quiz and with a few discussions with fellow team members and a lot of googling, I was ready with the answers in 10 mins time...The results are awaited :-)...Lemme see if Ganesha's blessing is with me or someone else :-)
Just as I entered the office, I spotted someone in a kurta and at that very instant the mail flashed in my mind. I might not have felt bad about not having worn it, had it not been for a Hawaian Shirt I was wearing. On a day when a lot of other people were gonna be in Kurthas, I wore what should probably be the most casual attire for guys :-(
Slowly, as I walked towards my cube, much to my relief I found a lot of guys in jeans-Tshirt combo.
The reason behind asking Employees to come in ethnic dresses was that Ganesh Pooja was being celebrated in advance here...
How does a headline like this sound :
"JUNIPER ADVANCES GANESH CHATHURTHI"
Anyway, this was not any Nasdaq crash or a bullish run for Juniper to make news..So, the headline does not serve any purpose but for adding spice to this blog
12 o clock was the time that the pooja was gonna kick off and a reminder mail was there in our inboxes to make sure that We all get blessed by the lord..
It was 12 and there was Prasad who was nudging me from behind saying "chal chal chal, pooja ka time ho gaya"...A few minutes passed and I was there in the cafeteria where the pooja was taking place.. Lot of People in traditional attire...Could spot more sarees than Kurthas...Guys probably are more hesistant towards wearing ethnic dresses. I was looking out for Prasad and there he was in one corner..His remark that I wear a short kurtha on almost every other day and not this day, made me feel ignominious of having such a volatile memory :-(
Saree gave a very pleasing and gentle look to the ladies and I was impressed with the dressing sense of almost all the ladies in attendance, with one of the Hr's dressing standing out among all..To me, she was the best dressed of all .... Pooja started and the customary "Ganpathi bappa moriya" was shouted a couple of times and there I was standing in a queue to have a closer look at the Ganesha idol and offer my Prayers to the lord...On my way back, I was treated to a few delicacies in the name of prasad....Even before I could swallow the first bite, Prasad had almost finished a major portion of the sweet that was given to me, which I had asked him to hold for a few seconds until I put on my shoes again...Few seconds were probably not enough for him to consume the sweet completely :-)....Calling him "Kameene", I just started walking towards the door as I spotted this female who was looking drop dead gorgeous in her costume..Not that she didnt look good on other days :-)....Aneway, all that I could do was to get admired, astonished and go spell bound or even drool over her...After all, this is the case when I bump into any good looking girl :-)
Back at the desk, I found a mail from one of the HR's that was supposed to test our Spiritual quotient...It was Ganesha trivia and the person who gives maximum number of correct answers was to be given a prize..
Mythological quiz was always something I considered myself to be good at..Just that it was pertaining to Lord Ganesha...I would have probably preferred anything on Lord Vishnu...Am surprised why there was not any such quiz leading to Krishna Janmashtami :-)..."That s gross prejudice" I told myself :-)
Pinning hopes on my Mythological intellect, I attempted the quiz and with a few discussions with fellow team members and a lot of googling, I was ready with the answers in 10 mins time...The results are awaited :-)...Lemme see if Ganesha's blessing is with me or someone else :-)
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Nuptial knot - A filial obligation ??
Back from a long weekend and as I hit the sack in an attempt to sleep, I knew I had enough to blog based on what I came across over these past four days.
My Uncle and his family had come on a trip to Blr and Mys and I was pleased a punch to accompany them to various places..It was a fun filled trip in Mys after which we reached Blr...Mys trip blogging laterz...
It's such a strange thing that in Hindu families, to have contacts with someone beyond the immediate paternal and maternal relations seems almost impossible...
For someone who has seen second cousins and distant relatives only in Marriages and other functions, this was a rather new experience. My uncle insisted on meeting a few of his cousins here in Bangalore and what followed was quite dramatic...
Due to lack of acquaintance, I was initially very much reluctant to go to their houses, but finally decided to accompany them...Thought I ll make them feel happy that Jana's son dropped in to visit them and thereby also make my dad proud :-).. That brings me to this very interesting topic on how I get introduced to long lost relatives at marriages...The introduction has always been with My Mom or dad as reference...Charu's son/ Janardanan's son...For some reason, I hav always been introducing myself as Charu s son on most occassions, not coz I hate my dad, but Coz there s a stronger affinity with Mom...
The first thoughts to flash in my mind on talking to those second cousins and my Dad's cousins were definitely related to how iyengarish were these iyengar folks of mine. I could definitely see a big difference in their approach to life from how it is in my immediate family and relatives. I could spot broad mindedness in terms of tolerance to love marriages in almost everyone..My sis funnily remarked them to have a small national integration built in their families. All that seems ridiculous and uniyengarish to my uncle, aunt and my sis. I am not sure why I am not able to see them as anything bad..
My views over these past few years have gone through a lot of transitions(may be for the good) and I reckon I am far more broad minded than what I was a few years back...
My family as a whole takes so much pride in claiming that Children and grandchildren of my late grand father shall never attempt to do anything that would be against the wishes of the family and in anyway be detrimental to the good reputation that the family enjoys in the society..All that is fine.But, is marrying someone of my choice such a big crime ? Would I lose the liberty of claiming to hail from this family just on account of marrying some one of my choice ?? How can someone who s loved the family as much as I have, be outcast if I were to marry a Woman I may love ?
These are intriguing questions that have haunted me for years and despite some open discussions with the family, I never ever managed to find a solution to this problem. That I came across a phenomenal difference in the approach of my second cousins has probably rekindled this entire debate within myself to a degree that I decided to vent my queries in the form of a blog.
I am as devoted to the lord as much as any other Iyengar, even if not as religious as a few.
I am as much an iyengar as anyone else, even if not as conservative as a few.
I am as much a vegetarian and teetotaller as any other pristine iyengar, even if I consume cakes.
I have a cross thread unlike most of my second cousins who had long back lost their faith in being what they are..
Society is such a strange word these days..Families are more obsessed about pleasing the society than getting their children married. As much as they hate the society they live in, they also pay more attention to it than what is required. Everytime, I bring up this discussion with My Mom seeking a rationale behind their stand, they dont say anything but this "The society is gonna hold the family with huge disregard if someone from the family were to anything that s unethical by caste and religion".
They make what is probably a society for the third person.. This is the truth. But, They only seem to think of a society that constitutes other people. They often forget that they are an integral part of it and have as much liberty and freedom to define their own boundaries. Some one who sets up to do something uncommon may as well be looked upon by the society as unethical, but the bottomline is that the very person will be seen by the future as someone who set a precedence. A precedence that may be looked upon as a classical example of social liberation.
Conservative living is like a capsule that we only bother to consume, not bothering to know what are the ingredients. The only difference is that while a capsule more often than not has a positive effect on the body, this capsule called conservativeness is a slow poison and a self inflicted incurable disease...
This apart, there s something that s always common in almost every family reunion. A discussion on the nuptial guys and gals in the family as little bit of match making goes on..It was no different past weekend when My second cousin was interested in knowing from my Aunty if I would be ready for marriage and was bent upon getting me into a nuptial knot with his maternal uncle's daughter. He was supporting his stand suggesting that well settled guys are getting married early these days and it would not be a bad time for me to get married...It s not the first time that this girl s name has been taken by my distant relatives as a prospective alliance for me. This time though, My Aunt seemed to show some interest in it and was asking if they would wait for a few more years.. It baffled me and through me off guard.. It s not even taking hours to decide upon marriages these days..I was clear on my stand of having no idea of even thinking about a marriage in the near future. Uff, I have already grown sick of the whole concept of horoscopes, match making etc etc and the days ahead are probably gonne be tougher as I grow old :-)
My Uncle and his family had come on a trip to Blr and Mys and I was pleased a punch to accompany them to various places..It was a fun filled trip in Mys after which we reached Blr...Mys trip blogging laterz...
It's such a strange thing that in Hindu families, to have contacts with someone beyond the immediate paternal and maternal relations seems almost impossible...
For someone who has seen second cousins and distant relatives only in Marriages and other functions, this was a rather new experience. My uncle insisted on meeting a few of his cousins here in Bangalore and what followed was quite dramatic...
Due to lack of acquaintance, I was initially very much reluctant to go to their houses, but finally decided to accompany them...Thought I ll make them feel happy that Jana's son dropped in to visit them and thereby also make my dad proud :-).. That brings me to this very interesting topic on how I get introduced to long lost relatives at marriages...The introduction has always been with My Mom or dad as reference...Charu's son/ Janardanan's son...For some reason, I hav always been introducing myself as Charu s son on most occassions, not coz I hate my dad, but Coz there s a stronger affinity with Mom...
The first thoughts to flash in my mind on talking to those second cousins and my Dad's cousins were definitely related to how iyengarish were these iyengar folks of mine. I could definitely see a big difference in their approach to life from how it is in my immediate family and relatives. I could spot broad mindedness in terms of tolerance to love marriages in almost everyone..My sis funnily remarked them to have a small national integration built in their families. All that seems ridiculous and uniyengarish to my uncle, aunt and my sis. I am not sure why I am not able to see them as anything bad..
My views over these past few years have gone through a lot of transitions(may be for the good) and I reckon I am far more broad minded than what I was a few years back...
My family as a whole takes so much pride in claiming that Children and grandchildren of my late grand father shall never attempt to do anything that would be against the wishes of the family and in anyway be detrimental to the good reputation that the family enjoys in the society..All that is fine.But, is marrying someone of my choice such a big crime ? Would I lose the liberty of claiming to hail from this family just on account of marrying some one of my choice ?? How can someone who s loved the family as much as I have, be outcast if I were to marry a Woman I may love ?
These are intriguing questions that have haunted me for years and despite some open discussions with the family, I never ever managed to find a solution to this problem. That I came across a phenomenal difference in the approach of my second cousins has probably rekindled this entire debate within myself to a degree that I decided to vent my queries in the form of a blog.
I am as devoted to the lord as much as any other Iyengar, even if not as religious as a few.
I am as much an iyengar as anyone else, even if not as conservative as a few.
I am as much a vegetarian and teetotaller as any other pristine iyengar, even if I consume cakes.
I have a cross thread unlike most of my second cousins who had long back lost their faith in being what they are..
Society is such a strange word these days..Families are more obsessed about pleasing the society than getting their children married. As much as they hate the society they live in, they also pay more attention to it than what is required. Everytime, I bring up this discussion with My Mom seeking a rationale behind their stand, they dont say anything but this "The society is gonna hold the family with huge disregard if someone from the family were to anything that s unethical by caste and religion".
They make what is probably a society for the third person.. This is the truth. But, They only seem to think of a society that constitutes other people. They often forget that they are an integral part of it and have as much liberty and freedom to define their own boundaries. Some one who sets up to do something uncommon may as well be looked upon by the society as unethical, but the bottomline is that the very person will be seen by the future as someone who set a precedence. A precedence that may be looked upon as a classical example of social liberation.
Conservative living is like a capsule that we only bother to consume, not bothering to know what are the ingredients. The only difference is that while a capsule more often than not has a positive effect on the body, this capsule called conservativeness is a slow poison and a self inflicted incurable disease...
This apart, there s something that s always common in almost every family reunion. A discussion on the nuptial guys and gals in the family as little bit of match making goes on..It was no different past weekend when My second cousin was interested in knowing from my Aunty if I would be ready for marriage and was bent upon getting me into a nuptial knot with his maternal uncle's daughter. He was supporting his stand suggesting that well settled guys are getting married early these days and it would not be a bad time for me to get married...It s not the first time that this girl s name has been taken by my distant relatives as a prospective alliance for me. This time though, My Aunt seemed to show some interest in it and was asking if they would wait for a few more years.. It baffled me and through me off guard.. It s not even taking hours to decide upon marriages these days..I was clear on my stand of having no idea of even thinking about a marriage in the near future. Uff, I have already grown sick of the whole concept of horoscopes, match making etc etc and the days ahead are probably gonne be tougher as I grow old :-)
Monday, July 24, 2006
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Dormant to Terror !!!
Sounds of Horror they are
Scenes of Panic they are
Times of Distress they are
Periods of frustration they are
Hard it is to digest
Weird it is to digest
Killing of Mankind
Weeping of Mankind
Mourning of Mankind
Threaten they do the terrorists
Act they dont on the terrorists
How long we lived it is indelible
How long we ll live it is inscrutable
Temporize do We, exihibiting timidity
Rise dont We, inhibiting audacity
Yell we do at the gun men
yell we should at the top men
Spirited are we to rise to normalcy
Spirited not to fight the cowardly
Parlance they give to the world
nonchalance they show to the people
Patience we lose in being patient
Tensions we gain in being patient
May the day arise,
When independence shall not just be spelled
But shall also be felt
Scenes of Panic they are
Times of Distress they are
Periods of frustration they are
Hard it is to digest
Weird it is to digest
Killing of Mankind
Weeping of Mankind
Mourning of Mankind
Threaten they do the terrorists
Act they dont on the terrorists
How long we lived it is indelible
How long we ll live it is inscrutable
Temporize do We, exihibiting timidity
Rise dont We, inhibiting audacity
Yell we do at the gun men
yell we should at the top men
Spirited are we to rise to normalcy
Spirited not to fight the cowardly
Parlance they give to the world
nonchalance they show to the people
Patience we lose in being patient
Tensions we gain in being patient
May the day arise,
When independence shall not just be spelled
But shall also be felt
Monday, July 17, 2006
Reluctant Worker and the Enthusiastic dreamer !!!
As the world around her travels,
Her world still sleeps
As the world around her works,
Her world's getting over blues
Castles are built in our dreams
flyovers are built in her dreams
Dream she does, not just at home
No wonder she's seeking work from home
Shuttle is always early for her
late is she always for the shuttle
fan of the dorm
dorm is the second home...
Rest is she always bereft of
"Rest" is she always depressed of
Her world still sleeps
As the world around her works,
Her world's getting over blues
Castles are built in our dreams
flyovers are built in her dreams
Dream she does, not just at home
No wonder she's seeking work from home
Shuttle is always early for her
late is she always for the shuttle
fan of the dorm
dorm is the second home...
Rest is she always bereft of
"Rest" is she always depressed of
Inspiration !!!
A group of frogs were traveling through the woods, and two of them fell into a deep pit. When the other frogs saw how deep the pit was, they told the two frogs that they were as good as dead. The two frogs ignored the comments and tried to jump up out of the pit with all their might. The other frogs kept telling them to stop, that they were as good as dead. Finally, one of the frogs took heed to what the other frogs were saying and gave up. He fell down and died.
The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could. Once again, the crowd of frogs yelled at him to stop the pain and just die. He jumped even harder and finally made it out. When he got out, the other frogs said, "Did you not hear us?" The frog explained to them that he was deaf. He thought they were encouraging him the entire time.
This story teaches two lessons:
1. There is power of life and death in the tongue. An encouraging word to someone who is down can lift them up and help them make it through the day.
2. A destructive word to someone who is down can be what it takes to kill them.
Be careful of what you say. Speak life to those who cross your path. The power of words... it is sometimes hard to understand that an encouraging word can go such a long way. Anyone can speak words that tend to rob another of the spirit to continue in difficult times. Special is the individual who will take the time to encourage another.
The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could. Once again, the crowd of frogs yelled at him to stop the pain and just die. He jumped even harder and finally made it out. When he got out, the other frogs said, "Did you not hear us?" The frog explained to them that he was deaf. He thought they were encouraging him the entire time.
This story teaches two lessons:
1. There is power of life and death in the tongue. An encouraging word to someone who is down can lift them up and help them make it through the day.
2. A destructive word to someone who is down can be what it takes to kill them.
Be careful of what you say. Speak life to those who cross your path. The power of words... it is sometimes hard to understand that an encouraging word can go such a long way. Anyone can speak words that tend to rob another of the spirit to continue in difficult times. Special is the individual who will take the time to encourage another.
Friday, July 14, 2006
Flyovers...
Not certainly a plane that helps us fly
But most certainly is it called a fly over
Strive We do for as many of it
thrive we cant with as few of it
Stand do they symbolising Indian infrastructure
banned are they until opened by Indian chief minister
Decades we take to design one
Generations we take to construct one
They are what we wanted for eternity
they are what we get in senility
Legacy they are to our grandchildren
legacy they are we failed to inherit
[This poem s dedicated to Bangalore city and it s patient Junta]
But most certainly is it called a fly over
Strive We do for as many of it
thrive we cant with as few of it
Stand do they symbolising Indian infrastructure
banned are they until opened by Indian chief minister
Decades we take to design one
Generations we take to construct one
They are what we wanted for eternity
they are what we get in senility
Legacy they are to our grandchildren
legacy they are we failed to inherit
[This poem s dedicated to Bangalore city and it s patient Junta]
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Frustration quotient !!!
Now this is how the tenure of a techie in any damn comp ends :-)
One last mail to trusted frnz/colleagues goes this way:
Hey all,
It gives me great relief to flee from this Project at xxx where I have wasted the last n years loitering on this project. I sincerely want to express my deep unexpressed feelings (hatred, disgust, rancor, frustration, malice..) towards my PM whose useless suggestions, ignorance, and continual cribbing has given this project its current distorted shape. Every long and vague discussions with him had left me more confused shattering my fragile fundamentals. I will also like to extend my disgust to those who have unnecessarily showed undue interest in this project by poking their noses and hammering suggestions in areas which did not in any way concern them. Their destructive criticism and sardonic and superfluous remarks coupled with shabby grammar are greatly depreciated. Lastly I would like to thank all my friends for helping me to endure through this catastrophe. Do keep in touch guys!
Worst Regards,
A battered Team Member Soul
Copying this for usage elsewhere is strictly discouraged/prohibited !!!
One last mail to trusted frnz/colleagues goes this way:
Hey all,
It gives me great relief to flee from this Project at xxx where I have wasted the last n years loitering on this project. I sincerely want to express my deep unexpressed feelings (hatred, disgust, rancor, frustration, malice..) towards my PM whose useless suggestions, ignorance, and continual cribbing has given this project its current distorted shape. Every long and vague discussions with him had left me more confused shattering my fragile fundamentals. I will also like to extend my disgust to those who have unnecessarily showed undue interest in this project by poking their noses and hammering suggestions in areas which did not in any way concern them. Their destructive criticism and sardonic and superfluous remarks coupled with shabby grammar are greatly depreciated. Lastly I would like to thank all my friends for helping me to endure through this catastrophe. Do keep in touch guys!
Worst Regards,
A battered Team Member Soul
Copying this for usage elsewhere is strictly discouraged/prohibited !!!
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Thats creativity at it's best !!!
This AD for a sleeping pill(Man dozing off while setting the alarm) won an award at Cannes Ad fest :-)
Monday, July 10, 2006
The Early morning conundrum !!!!
Over these past few days, An algorithm to decide upon how to commute to office seems to run on my mind just as i get off the bed....No wonder, possessing a bike s driven me all the more slothful...Add to that the kind of frenzy that the soccer world cup seems to have stirred, I dont see myself hitting the sack before 1 o clock and that s the last thin that i would hav wanted to do in order to take the only office shuttle at 7.45 am in the morning.....
Now, wat s the problem in opting out of the shuttle service and deciding upon going by bike??? Not many, but there are a few gud enough reasons to refrain from commuting by bike..
Firstly, it s got to be the reluctance towards going through the pain of driving through the highly congested/ jam prone roads of bangalore city...With evey place seeming doubly farther than it actually is(thanks to the traffic jams and the resulting time loss), more and more people are thinking on the lines of either shifting to houses closer to office or atleast commute by office shuttle, which allows them to dilute the pain of jams by browsing through pages of their favourite books or by getting absorbed in the music of their choice, as a driver(shuttle) bears the brunt for having chosen a profession that sucks big time in Bangalore...
Be it Suchi of Radio mirchi fame in chennai or Vasanthi of Radio city in blr, their immense popularity is in no less way related to early morning jams across these cities..
I realised the biggest pain on account of traffic jam last week, when I rode home after having worked out heavily inthe Gym and the night turned out to be a nightmare to me...My knees failed to respond...My eyes were drooping....My back was inflexible and head was giddy....Cant attribute anything but the 1 hr drive from office as the foremost reason behind these aches.....
Secondly, Bangalore is a kind of city where it starts pouring cats and dogs from no where. Over these 3 years of mystay in Bangalore, I had realised that it doesnt necessarily need to be monsoon time to see rain in bangalore.Rain triggers total fiasco on the roads...My colleagues say they hav experienced 3 hour journeys from office on rainy days.Rain makes it even more difficult to ride a bike...Biting time by being inside the shuttle is anyday better than having to maneuver a bike on these water clogged roads...
It reminds me of the very funny thing that one of my ex colleagues used to do...He used to commute by bike to office.The time he used to leave office was neither governed by work in office nor by his personal commitments back home,but by his self assessment of the clouds at around 5'o clock in the evening..Over the years, he had probably acquired a very special talent of predicting the possibility of rains to precision, just by looking at the clouds. No wonder I am missing the services of such a Gentleman here :-)
Thirdly, Bangalore traffic may soon earn a dubious reputation of bettering the temperament of bangaloreans, just by having them toil hard on the road, highly watchful of the vehicles around and completely absorbed in the world of driving for hours together until reaching the destination....There have been countless occasions when My feet hav been so close to being run over by the adjacent vehicle...This morning, for over 20 minutes as I was crawling through a traffic plagued area in first gear, the"dupatta" of the female driving next to me was brushing my knees atleast a couple of times..That s how close are the vehicles near by....People here are craving for space, but the rate at which the human/vehicle density is growing, even breathing space seems unlikely in years to come :-)...
One of the most pleasant places to live in the whole of India is turning into a living hell...Climate s probably the onlything that s holding back the people here...If that were to change, I would not be here to write one more blog on this once lovely place called Bangalore !!!
Now, wat s the problem in opting out of the shuttle service and deciding upon going by bike??? Not many, but there are a few gud enough reasons to refrain from commuting by bike..
Firstly, it s got to be the reluctance towards going through the pain of driving through the highly congested/ jam prone roads of bangalore city...With evey place seeming doubly farther than it actually is(thanks to the traffic jams and the resulting time loss), more and more people are thinking on the lines of either shifting to houses closer to office or atleast commute by office shuttle, which allows them to dilute the pain of jams by browsing through pages of their favourite books or by getting absorbed in the music of their choice, as a driver(shuttle) bears the brunt for having chosen a profession that sucks big time in Bangalore...
Be it Suchi of Radio mirchi fame in chennai or Vasanthi of Radio city in blr, their immense popularity is in no less way related to early morning jams across these cities..
I realised the biggest pain on account of traffic jam last week, when I rode home after having worked out heavily inthe Gym and the night turned out to be a nightmare to me...My knees failed to respond...My eyes were drooping....My back was inflexible and head was giddy....Cant attribute anything but the 1 hr drive from office as the foremost reason behind these aches.....
Secondly, Bangalore is a kind of city where it starts pouring cats and dogs from no where. Over these 3 years of mystay in Bangalore, I had realised that it doesnt necessarily need to be monsoon time to see rain in bangalore.Rain triggers total fiasco on the roads...My colleagues say they hav experienced 3 hour journeys from office on rainy days.Rain makes it even more difficult to ride a bike...Biting time by being inside the shuttle is anyday better than having to maneuver a bike on these water clogged roads...
It reminds me of the very funny thing that one of my ex colleagues used to do...He used to commute by bike to office.The time he used to leave office was neither governed by work in office nor by his personal commitments back home,but by his self assessment of the clouds at around 5'o clock in the evening..Over the years, he had probably acquired a very special talent of predicting the possibility of rains to precision, just by looking at the clouds. No wonder I am missing the services of such a Gentleman here :-)
Thirdly, Bangalore traffic may soon earn a dubious reputation of bettering the temperament of bangaloreans, just by having them toil hard on the road, highly watchful of the vehicles around and completely absorbed in the world of driving for hours together until reaching the destination....There have been countless occasions when My feet hav been so close to being run over by the adjacent vehicle...This morning, for over 20 minutes as I was crawling through a traffic plagued area in first gear, the"dupatta" of the female driving next to me was brushing my knees atleast a couple of times..That s how close are the vehicles near by....People here are craving for space, but the rate at which the human/vehicle density is growing, even breathing space seems unlikely in years to come :-)...
One of the most pleasant places to live in the whole of India is turning into a living hell...Climate s probably the onlything that s holding back the people here...If that were to change, I would not be here to write one more blog on this once lovely place called Bangalore !!!
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Destiny brings them together !!!
Frndship can happen anywhere, anytime....This blog is dedicated to those 5 frnz of mine who hav become my frnz purely by virtue of having the same destiny as I- meeting/bumping into each other by sheer coincidence...
If My joblessness just after my final semester Engineering exams brought a frnd, my joblessness after quitting my first job, brought another.....I shall never regret for having wiled out time during these 2 phases, for it gave me a few memories to cherish, to blog and may b script a novel sometime in the future...Now, dont b surprised at that wish...Wat u r about to read is as dramatic as a novel, as exhillarating as any movie and as interesting as our own life :-)
That all of this happened post college has definitely made me convinced that I hav left college for the gud :-)
Now....I require immesurable time to write on each of these events that led to making a new friend, building a new relationship and sustaining it....Time being a huge constraint, I am putting off the start of this topic to the next blog....
Keep visitin, cozzzz this one in all likelihood will be my best blog :-)
If My joblessness just after my final semester Engineering exams brought a frnd, my joblessness after quitting my first job, brought another.....I shall never regret for having wiled out time during these 2 phases, for it gave me a few memories to cherish, to blog and may b script a novel sometime in the future...Now, dont b surprised at that wish...Wat u r about to read is as dramatic as a novel, as exhillarating as any movie and as interesting as our own life :-)
That all of this happened post college has definitely made me convinced that I hav left college for the gud :-)
Now....I require immesurable time to write on each of these events that led to making a new friend, building a new relationship and sustaining it....Time being a huge constraint, I am putting off the start of this topic to the next blog....
Keep visitin, cozzzz this one in all likelihood will be my best blog :-)
Thursday, June 29, 2006
The problem of being ME :-)
Gawd....Cant believe it was sept'2005 when i last wrote a blog...the other 2 posts after tht jus being cut n paste stuff :-)
hav no clue wat pushed me to write after such a long time, but here i am with my first writeup in over 10 months :-).....i Certainly don hav a clue on wat to write......though I hav a gut feeling that my spontaneity will help me get ther...am in a strange quandary here..my heart says there's a lot to write on..but i am only finding myself jus struggle to get on with writin wat shud also b a gud read not jus for me but for the rest who r readin it....is that me who s struggling for topic/words to write?? gawd...i cant allow this to happen...so here goes the writeup
I hav been thru a huge transition over these past 10 months and the most important of all of them is the fact that I am not typing this from inside the Cisco development centre in Infosys...First job change is as special as the first job....wat to expect and wat not to expect ?? new companions, new boss.....was extremely circumspect abt all this...but therein lies the exposure and no doubt it helps me mature as a professional....
With no element of doubt, I can say it s been a very smooth transition...hardly felt the pinch of working for a new organization and I ve thoroughly enjoyed these few months in my new organization.....My love for Computer Networks has grown by leaps and bounds and the work here is demanding enough to hav me go thru books, config guides, manuals and wat not...Now that s a total shift from how it was in infy, where my reading was more out of interest than out of purpose :-)......
The job hunt phase was so intense. loads of calls, umpteen interviews happened over a period of 20-30 days...yeah, that was all that it took......i still cant believe that one Monday when i took four interviews on a single day, apart from contributing a li'll to work in office :-)...Now that s serious lack of dedication if one may call it that way, but that s the way this generation behaves..Loyalty is not human but a dog s job :-)
Not sure if tat was a record of any sort for most interviews by any person on a given day :-)...but, such was the intensity of the job search....Consultants/comps kept pestering me with calls and I had realised that I had come too far that my stint in Infy was soon gonna end....After 5 offers, 25 days of monumental effort in taking interviews(not sure if i ever realised the advantage of hands free as much as i would hav during the course of these interviews..i was certainly craving for one), the day had come....Ater repeated persuasions from managers, the unyielding guy that I am managed to make them yield to my request, the promise of immediate onsite to london/US notwithstanding... :-)....Quality of work and the supremacy of the company mattered most to me than a trip that gives me money and nothin else...Not that Money is unimportant, but I can get it anytime....Moreover, I wasnt leaving for peanuts either :-)
More than any1 else, the person whom i found the toughest to convince was my Mom..For a layman/every Indian parent, Infy s up ther in their mind as a demi god among companies :-)...To my Mom, leaving it was nothin less than a fatal mistake and she would for no reason digest my decision to relinquish a trip to california sometime this year...but, bein the sort of guy that i am, i never really cared for these tools of motivation called onsite...I would rather wait for a trip on purpose(may it take longer time) in my new comp :-)
Now....that's not the only transition....My mind has gone thru a transition too....After close to 2 1/2 years, I started thinking seriously about wat I intended to do in my final year of Engineering...I had locked my passion for MBA in one corner of my heart and never gave it a chance to haunt me for over 2.5 years...but, these past few months hav been tough....those dark days of failure in 2003 flashed in my dreams;Those days when i messed up CAT and blew up the chance of getting into xlri in the interview and was in a total disarray wondering wat next....
Infy was an alternative to feel secure...but, little did I know then that Infy would not be a stopgap phase, but a career shaping phase......
After years of work in IT, I have managed to surprise myself with the kind of passion and expertise that I have in the field of networks....somethin that I would have laughed off as a big joke, if someone had asked me about making a career in Networking some 3 years bak :-)
Wat I do, Where I work are all factors that are firmly taking me away from a passion that I had cherished for 10 years.....In comparison...A experience that s lasted these past 3 yrs can easily be superimposed by an ambition that s lived in my heart for over 10 years??? Thats a trillion dollar question that am tryin to answer every day,night,dream and wat not......
After all, life s never devoid of trade offs.....Ones who havent realised it r fewer !!
Wat hasnt changed is the significance that the phrase below has in my life....this was somethin that i told one of my buddies spontaneously and was just bemused at how precisely I had described my own life :-)
It goes this way.."wat i am is somethin i didnt want 2 b and wat i wanted to b is somethin that i am not"......................It has to b seen for how long this phrase is gonna b applicable..May b for life?? or may be not ??? :-)
hav no clue wat pushed me to write after such a long time, but here i am with my first writeup in over 10 months :-).....i Certainly don hav a clue on wat to write......though I hav a gut feeling that my spontaneity will help me get ther...am in a strange quandary here..my heart says there's a lot to write on..but i am only finding myself jus struggle to get on with writin wat shud also b a gud read not jus for me but for the rest who r readin it....is that me who s struggling for topic/words to write?? gawd...i cant allow this to happen...so here goes the writeup
I hav been thru a huge transition over these past 10 months and the most important of all of them is the fact that I am not typing this from inside the Cisco development centre in Infosys...First job change is as special as the first job....wat to expect and wat not to expect ?? new companions, new boss.....was extremely circumspect abt all this...but therein lies the exposure and no doubt it helps me mature as a professional....
With no element of doubt, I can say it s been a very smooth transition...hardly felt the pinch of working for a new organization and I ve thoroughly enjoyed these few months in my new organization.....My love for Computer Networks has grown by leaps and bounds and the work here is demanding enough to hav me go thru books, config guides, manuals and wat not...Now that s a total shift from how it was in infy, where my reading was more out of interest than out of purpose :-)......
The job hunt phase was so intense. loads of calls, umpteen interviews happened over a period of 20-30 days...yeah, that was all that it took......i still cant believe that one Monday when i took four interviews on a single day, apart from contributing a li'll to work in office :-)...Now that s serious lack of dedication if one may call it that way, but that s the way this generation behaves..Loyalty is not human but a dog s job :-)
Not sure if tat was a record of any sort for most interviews by any person on a given day :-)...but, such was the intensity of the job search....Consultants/comps kept pestering me with calls and I had realised that I had come too far that my stint in Infy was soon gonna end....After 5 offers, 25 days of monumental effort in taking interviews(not sure if i ever realised the advantage of hands free as much as i would hav during the course of these interviews..i was certainly craving for one), the day had come....Ater repeated persuasions from managers, the unyielding guy that I am managed to make them yield to my request, the promise of immediate onsite to london/US notwithstanding... :-)....Quality of work and the supremacy of the company mattered most to me than a trip that gives me money and nothin else...Not that Money is unimportant, but I can get it anytime....Moreover, I wasnt leaving for peanuts either :-)
More than any1 else, the person whom i found the toughest to convince was my Mom..For a layman/every Indian parent, Infy s up ther in their mind as a demi god among companies :-)...To my Mom, leaving it was nothin less than a fatal mistake and she would for no reason digest my decision to relinquish a trip to california sometime this year...but, bein the sort of guy that i am, i never really cared for these tools of motivation called onsite...I would rather wait for a trip on purpose(may it take longer time) in my new comp :-)
Now....that's not the only transition....My mind has gone thru a transition too....After close to 2 1/2 years, I started thinking seriously about wat I intended to do in my final year of Engineering...I had locked my passion for MBA in one corner of my heart and never gave it a chance to haunt me for over 2.5 years...but, these past few months hav been tough....those dark days of failure in 2003 flashed in my dreams;Those days when i messed up CAT and blew up the chance of getting into xlri in the interview and was in a total disarray wondering wat next....
Infy was an alternative to feel secure...but, little did I know then that Infy would not be a stopgap phase, but a career shaping phase......
After years of work in IT, I have managed to surprise myself with the kind of passion and expertise that I have in the field of networks....somethin that I would have laughed off as a big joke, if someone had asked me about making a career in Networking some 3 years bak :-)
Wat I do, Where I work are all factors that are firmly taking me away from a passion that I had cherished for 10 years.....In comparison...A experience that s lasted these past 3 yrs can easily be superimposed by an ambition that s lived in my heart for over 10 years??? Thats a trillion dollar question that am tryin to answer every day,night,dream and wat not......
After all, life s never devoid of trade offs.....Ones who havent realised it r fewer !!
Wat hasnt changed is the significance that the phrase below has in my life....this was somethin that i told one of my buddies spontaneously and was just bemused at how precisely I had described my own life :-)
It goes this way.."wat i am is somethin i didnt want 2 b and wat i wanted to b is somethin that i am not"......................It has to b seen for how long this phrase is gonna b applicable..May b for life?? or may be not ??? :-)
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