Long Long queue.

Queues have always been a part of my life. They have always taught me a thing or two. They have taught me that patience is a virtue. They have taught me that nothing comes easy. You have to work for it. They have taught me that success comes to those who 'move ahead' in life. They have also taught me that sometimes the shortest distance between two points is not a straight line !!! From a very young age we have been quite used to standing in queues, waiting for our turn, in anticipation, waiting with all our will just to see the shuffle of feet of the people standing in front of you. So many times have we found ourselves being jealous of the person who is at the front most position in the line. So many times have we seen an exasperated look of someone who's been shown the end of a long queue, and has been asked to stand at the end of it, because he / she has just arrived. All our bill payments, admissions, form submissions, even in some areas the daily nature calls have involved standing in long queues. Many a times we have to stand out in the open, in the baking hot sun. Tempers run high at such times and any slack shown by the staff (whos taking the submission of bills etc.) is followed by bickering of people in the line and often by hurling of abuses openly. Anyone who tries to enter out of turn is yelled upon and is forced to his rightful place at the end of the line !!! Many a times I have seen a short queue of people forming near the door of a building. Later I have discovered that the same queue starts inside the building two floors above the floor where the same door is !!!

If you want to see the perfect expression of exasperation on a person's face.........Look at the person who's just seen how long the queue is and has come to stand in it.

If you want to see the perfect expression of hope and longing on a person's face ..........Look at the person who's standing in the middle of a long queue.

If you want to see the perfect expression of tension on a person's face.........Look at the person who's ahead in the queue.....cause he'll be worried........he'll be hoping that the work for which he came for and stood in the line gets done successfully.

If you want to see the perfect expression of relief and happiness on a person's face....Look at the person who's just finished his work at the counter after standing for hours in a long queue.

Today I went to a bank to open a public provident fund account. I wanted to deposit the minimum opening deposit money. The lady who checked the new account opening form asked me to deposit the money at the single window counter. There were three rows of chairs in the bank near the counters. All three rows were occupied by people. I assumed that they were sitting there to withdraw money or for other official purposes. As I wanted to deposit money, I went to one of the counters, thinking that my job would be over quickly, when I get a 'deposited' stamp on my deposit slip. When I went to one of the windows, the security guard told me to wait in the queue. It was then, to my astonishment, that I discovered that, the three rows of chairs occupied by people was indeed a queue and now I was at the end of the queue. Instead of a standing queue it was a sitting one and everytime someone at the start of the queue finished their work, the queue would shift and each person would move his ass to the next chair !!! Foolish, I thought, why dont they simply call the next person instead of making all the people shift from their places by one position everytime? But then thats how things work here.

Anyway after 45 minutes of exasperation, longing, hope and tension..........I opened my PPF account and made my first deposit......and went home a happy and relieved man!!!!

P.S: Qatar = queue. In india queues are so long, they seem to extend from India to Qatar, maybe that's why they say qatar in hindi.

P.S2: That was a bad joke. I am sorry.

The strange ways of animals.

It seemed like I had just fallen asleep when I heard the cawing of a crow. CAW CAW!! In my sleepy state, I wondered, how the hell had the night ended so soon and it seemed like I had just fallen asleep right then. To confirm that the night and my sleep had indeed been cruel to me, I checked the watch and realized that the night or my sleep were'nt cruel. Just that the crows were dumb. They had started cawing at 2 o'clock in the morning....a time when even the nightwatchman of my society sleeps!!! They continued their irritating CAW CAW...for another 15 minutes. Animals for one, behave strangely when something 'bad' is going to happen..........or so we've been told by our elders. But then 'bad' happens everyday these days........so I figured that the poor creatures must be getting confused, as to when to act strangely and when not to!!!
These days even stray dogs seemed to have developed some kind of arrogance. I have never before seen dogs maintaining the dignity of a cow, when a vehicle comes zooming down in its path. Its normally the cow's style to move slowly when honked on by a speeding car. The cow is unfazed by a speeding car or a speeding truck.....it will simply move at its own bloody pace, with its face upturned, slowly gliding away. The cow is probably sacred for this reason..........because it can stop such huge cars and trucks. The cows 'sacred' virtue is being followed by the dog. I havent seen dogs, these days getting out of the way quickly as they used to do it earlier. Scampering isnt their cup of tea any more. They too will get up slowly and move.....when honked upon. At least the dogs who are sitting are lazy enough to play 'cow'. The ones which are walking may get out of the way in a jiffy.
A pigeon perfectly fits the definition of a 'birdbrain'. The pigeon is characterized by its black and white looks and the throaty cooing sound. I have always thought that the sound of this 'cooing sound' is midway between a fart and a burp. Its droppings are a hell of a nuisance to clean up, from the window grills and panes. It seems like they just cant stop shitting. If one of them comes into your house.....you can be sure of three things....
1) They cant stop panicking and will keep flying around in circles.
2) This is because they cant remember from which window they came in from..........bless their forgetful, stupid bird brains!!!
3) In this process, they will get scared and bomb the room they get into, with droppings!!!

These are only some of the few behaviourial pecularities displayed by birds and animals........I could write more....but I wont write any more 'bullshit' here.

Waiting for a change that never came........

I have felt that, there is some thing, which should have been different than what it is today. I have worked hard, gave sweat, blood and tears, and tried my level best to change it, but to no avail. It remains as it is. I prayed hard, hoping that some day it will change. But it seemed like God was being unfair to me and the prayer fell on deaf ears. I felt bad, went mad with anger, got frustrated, even depressed at some point of time. I was patient, I was optimistic, I had hopes, but that ray of light never came, it never gave me joy, never illuminated my path. It simply rejected me. It simply dodged my way as if daring me to change it. People were harsh on me, they didnt care about what they said about it or who they were saying it in front of. So many of them misunderstood and gave superficial judgements.....never thinking for a moment how I must have been hurt by it. In the end, I learnt that, that one thing would never change. It is like a lifelong and permanent wound which cannot be healed. I have to stop being bothered by it, I have to accept it at its face value and to ultimately laugh it off every time, I am reminded that it will never vary. Nobody would be able to make out what that one 'thing' is, that I want to change, by reading this post. But anyway......I dont expect people to understand what it is........because nobody has really understood what it means to me and how deep the wound runs.

Shit happens.

Shit happens. That is what happened today. I would'nt say the day was one of those 'miserable days' when nothing goes right but then there are days when you wish that particular events would go right or 'wouldnt go at all' (wouldnt happen) , but, unfortunately, they go bad. Started off with the usual stuff.....my boss blaming me for all the shit thats been happening in his professional life. But, this was, of course, a perfectly normal start to a day......nothing unusual. Then I started filing some important office documents. I started sorting the stuff and then removed some papers which were old. I kept these papers separately and later tore the 'pile' of old papers........... or so I thought.........coz later, I realized to my dismay that I had torn some of the latest documents. A lot of time was wasted in getting copies of the new documents and ultimately I had wasted more time on the task than I actually should have.

A few hours later a friend of mine called up from abroad. Unfortunately we couldnt hear each other because of bad mobile network transmission. I couldnt call up my friend again...coz I changed my sim card recently and the ISD gets activated after 15 days of purchase. I couldnt call up from office because casual ISD calls are not permitted. I could have called from an ISD booth, now that I think about it...........but anyway.......I was too lazy to get my ass to go an ISD booth and I forgot to call up from home!!!

A friend of mine was supposed to go on a 'date'.......with a girl who was his childhood friend but whom he was meeting after a long time...... the girl didnt come alone..... but brought her niece along. He didnt have a problem with that and although he did say......that they chatted like old friends.........I am sure he must have been a 'bit' disappointed when he heard it from her on the phone that she was bringing her niece along!!!

I met a school classmate after a long time. He has newly joined our gym. I know I might sound a bit of a meany saying this, but.............HE WAS THE LAST PERSON ON THIS PLANET I WOULD HAVE WANTED TO MEET !!!! I tried to avoid him, but my gym is quite small and there arent many people around at the time I do my workout. I think I'll have to change my gym timings from now on.

I have always wondered why an auto-rickshaw driver sits on one side of the seat......side as in.....the very edge of the seat. My dad told me that since the engine of the autorick is beneath the seat.....it gets hot and the driver's bums must be feeling the heat. Hence the odd position.
When I had once tried to think reasonably, I figured that maybe, it is ergonomically convenient for the autorick driver to turn the steering handle, if he sits to one side as he gets a better position to outstretch his arms while making a full turn. Ergonomically convenient or not.....it doesnt do any good to their driving.......they are the most horrible, uncouth and arrogant drivers in this world. As for the funny part of it.........it sometimes looks as if they are planning to bail out in the middle of the ride!!!

Funny photo

Hahahaha........I laughed when I looked at this picture again today. Its a mastermind idea and a master piece in photography too......picture had to be clicked at a precise moment.....so that everyone was in mid-air. Unfortunately some of the dumbos in the picture were too lazy or just too tired to jump at the right moment. It was taken after we completed the somewhat strenous trek to ahupe ghat. I would still rate the trek as medium difficulty.....after all we did it in one day and there were people who returned home back to borivali !!!

So ya......the picture......To the right (viewers right side) is my friend PG......hes taken the right jump........just as I had told him to......his jump has come out absolutely perfect.

The second from right is TRM.......I remember that when we started the trek.....he was dressed smartly and looked like SRK (Shah rukh khan) in gogles, a half semi formal shirt and black coloured jeans. However by the time we were midway up he was down to his vests and had changed to a track pant and was panting like a dog on a wild chase. He was red in the face and gone was the smart and perky SRK look which was replaced by a half dead, haggard look!!! Anyway...he made the jump well too....wore his shirt and a gogle again (so that he'd look good in the photos!!!) ......lifted his legs to give him that extra high bounce!!!

Next to him to the left (third from right) comes a very good friend of mine..RAA.....who claimed that day that his stamina had decreased a lot..........it wasnt a wonder then that TRM and he were few of the last ones to come to the top of ahupe. His jump left something to be desired and he looks like he was too tired to move his feet off the ground or maybe he jumped and landed too soon.

To his left, is SSP (fourth from right).........and its a wonder he even got his ass off the ground and even stood up for the photo, forget jumping!!! If TRM and RAA were one of the few who came last in the climb......SSP was the last to complete the trek up!!!!

To his left is AAS (fifth from right).....this fellow has thrown his arms to both sides in 45 degree angle and one of his leg is lifted. The angle of tilt of his right leg reminds me of a dog who is peeing against a pole!!!

To his left in a blue shirt with his face blocked from view is SAS (sixth from right)....he too made a good jump and would have looked good only if he was visible completely to the camera!!!!

To the extreme left (again viewers left) is ORA.........the most enthusiastic trekker in that group. You can see that from his jump itself........he was so exuberant in his jump that the tall idiot forgot to jump straight up and instead jumped up and also to his left, threw up his long arms and blocked two of them from the view..........yes TWO.......in case you are thinking that he has 3 hands which is holding two caps and also has three four legs (2 of them in shoes and 2 in flotters) you are wrong..........besides blocking SAS from view he also blocked a man behind him from the view........that man is actually jumping and he is on SAS's right!!! He was a man from the village of ahupe who guided us up the peak........

All in all we enjoyed the trip, Earlier, I have written a post about the trek. This photo is definitely one of the funniest and the best snaps I have ever clicked!!!

Heaven on earth

An email I received recently.........

An american decided to travel to different countries and visit all the famous churches of the respective places. He went to britain and visited a church there. In that church, there was a telephone made of pure gold. There was a sign next to it saying "Call charges: 10000 pounds". He asked the priest why the phone was golden and why was the call charge so high.....The priest said "Son, you can talk to God, using that phone"

The american travelled to Australia and visited a church. Here too he found a phone plated in Gold and studded with diamonds. A sign was kept next to it and it said "Call charges: 20000 Australian dollars" On asking the priest he got the same reply....."You can call god using the phone."

He travelled to many such countries....South Africa, Russia, China etc. Churches everywhere had a phone made from precious metals or stones and the same sky high call charges...because God could be contacted.

He came to India and went to a church. By now, he was used to seeing a special telephone....but in this church he couldnt see anything. Then he saw a phone.....but it was a simple one.....and a sign which said "Call charges : Rs 1" The traveller was puzzled and asked the priest....."Isnt this a phone through which you can call God?"

"Yes, son" said the priest. "
"But then why are call charges that less? In other countries there are phone facilities to call God, and call charges are high" said the american
" Well, Since India is 'heaven on earth'...........its a call to God is a local call, isnt it? That is why the charges are local call charges, which are low......does that answer your question?" said the priest.

Recession

With companies falling all over , oil companies putting up countrywide strikes and transport business also taking a backseat, it seems to be like the time has come that we stop taking things for granted. One of my senior colleagues told me in December that economic depression is one hell of a mess up and to know how the mess up affects everyone, it has to be experienced. Like for all other matters, experience is the best teacher and no matter how perfectly theoretical you are, you have to have experience. I have heard people talk about the times during the 90's when things were bad, employment was a boon and voluntary retirement schemes were a sort of consolation prize. Things improved, economy boosted and IT sector BOOMED in India. Salaries increased, share prices rose, companies started earning huge amounts of profits. Even the no. of Job placements through colleges increased. At the peak of this scenario, we graduated, got our respective educational degrees and good jobs. My father used to tell me before (when I had just got a job) that "The market is good. Take advantage of it, switch over as soon as you have minimum required experience to a better job." We even had plans and dreams for the future. Do we now have to say like old men do........."Those were the days" ???Will situation be so bad in the coming year? Good economical situation of the country and upmarket is something which we had taken for granted because we had never been in an economic state of turmoil since the time we had actually started understanding 'economics'.
It all started with Lehman brothers in the United States. Downslide started. Today we hear of Satyam (although it isnt exactly related to recession, but comes during a phase when every big collapse is being related to recession!!!) Also we hear of Indian oil going on strike. The transport strike is also going on.
As soon as we heard about the strike we started telling each other that petrol has to be filled in our vehicle's tanks. When I reached the petrol pump today I saw a long queue. It seemed that everyone in town had the same idea!!! Just like we stand shoulder to shoulder in a mumbai local, Cars were lined up, bumper to bumper, bikes were lined up, tyre to rearguard. The usually jolly petrol pump personnel who greet me everytime (They know me by now....I have filled up petrol quite a lot of times there......." Kyaa sahab, kaise ho? ") had guant, tired and haggard looking faces, they had to manage so many vehicles and non cooperative jerks who break queues. It was chaos and after 20 minutes (which was less.....seeing the no. of cars and bikes) my bike tank was finally topped up. It was then that I thought, "Cheeezz, it takes only 2 minutes to enter the petrol filling area and fill up petrol..........."
Quite apart from all the recession is the situation that crude oil stocks are depleted totally..........what will happen then? Many more things.......but then its enuff 'depressing' stuff for the day.........

A matter of faith

Spiritual faith is different for different individuals. Monopoly of it does not lie with 'The one' who is more commonly referred to as God. For some it rests with certain 'divine beings' or 'Godmen'. Frankly, I have never worshipped anyone but stone idols of certain gods (Lord Shiva, Lord Ganesh, Lord Rama, Lord Hanuman etc) , whom, I have been taught, were great powerful beings who had done great, miraculous and literally impossible deeds in their 'days'. All of them are representations of the one force we all (most of us) believe in..............God. Come to think of it, I feel even my parents are worth worshipping as they have done the miraculous and next to impossible deed of raising me!!!
Coming to the point, I dont believe in placing my spiritual faith in living 'Godmen'. Sadhus and Babas and Maharajas are quite 'popular' in India and even abroad. However, I would'nt look up to them as a God. Their photos would mean nothing to me but a mere photo of a fellow human being. I wouldnt believe anyone who tells me that if you pay a visit to so and so 'Maharaj' or 'sadhu' all your troubles would be driven away. I wouldnt believe anyone who'll say "Hey, I went to this 'babaji' and my problem miraculously disappeared". I wouldnt go to an ashram just for seeing a 'divine guru'. I know people who've told me that I havent experienced the powers of 'Maharaj'. Pardons to them but I still wouldnt believe them even if I do experience any such powers.
I'd rather believe in someone who's done some service to this world. I'd rather believe in Baba Ramdev......who's explained to the world the advantages of 'Yoga'. I'd rather worship someone, who did great social service like maybe Mother Teresa.
And above them all I believe in only one holy power and would pray to the force called 'God'. Its a matter of personal faith but this is mine.

Changing factors: Goals / Objectives, priorites and outlook towards life

When it comes to goals / objectives and priorities........they keep on changing all through the lifetime. No doubt that some believe in setting long term goals and get there by fulfilling the smaller objectives required to work towards the ultimate outcome. Its vice versa for some...........set short term goals and then let us see what happens. There are some who would say.........I cant think of whats going to happen tommorow, yaar....dont ask me what's gonna happen 5 years down the line.
Priorities, of course, are more subject to change than objectives. Like for instance, during the education phase of life.........studying to get good marks and get a good placement was a priority (only for some). After that during the work phase......priorities are to complete work on time and with maximum efficiency and within the required quality parameters.
What also changes is your outlook towards life. Today we may think that we want to enjoy ourselves as much as possible, party hard, travel a lot. Maybe a few years down the line when we have our own families......we may feel that we have to take care of family, be with them and earn lots of money ......Some more years down the line.......we may start feeling old and say...........let me work more... anyway........I am too old to party (NO!! HOPE I NEVER FEEL THAT WAY!!).

Dont know how I botched up this post......it was meant to be different but it got written differently........!!!

Tommorow at this time, I'll probably be ready for the countdown to the new year 2009. Its time to say goodbye to 2008. This year has been of mixed sorts for me. First of all the good :

1) My first trip abroad and by an aeroplane......to the United states......that too for more than a month of just holidaying!!! Visited places like san francisco city, yosemite national park, carmel beach, stanford university campus, roamed in sunnyvale city on a bicycle. Also, in general travelled a lot for holidays and hikes!!!
2) My new bike.....Honda Unicorn smooth as silk.........sold off old super splendor at a good price..
3) Good news from my sister's side .........(I am about to become a real uncle......BOO to the kid if he calls me uncle.!!!!)
4) One of my best friends, KC, completing MBA and getting placed as well as getting engaged to his gf!! Congrats to him.
5) Another of my best friends bought his own apartment!!! Congrats to him too!!!
6) Another one of my best friends, got a job in vashi and handled a lot of disappointments very well.
7) Made new friends in office.

Bad :
1) Attacks on our mumbai....wont say more on that.
2) My professional life.....wasnt great......learnt a lot of do's and dont's in work.......definitely a good learning period but I still wont say it was a good period of work.
3) Recession.........which has come as the year closes.....will definitely affect my future decisions of changing jobs and getting more out of india exposure.
4) Certain things are so bad, I wont even mention them here.

There are some things for which I dont know whether its good or bad.........
1) I still dont have a girlfriend!!! (Joking!! 60% of my brain tells me its good!!!)

My new year resolution: To enjoy more!!!
A happy and prosperous new year 2009 to all the readers of my blog!!!

The importance of diplomacy

Another post related to office. Sometimes I think I am turning into a workoholic so God save me. Not that its bad..................its very bad. So the post is about a conversation I had with our departments group head....quite simply called as the General manager. He called me to his cabin in the very early hours of saturday morning when no one was there except me and a few other fools who come to office on saturdays or are compelled to. So began the conversation...

Gm: Ravi, tell me, you have now worked with almost all the senior engineers (project leads). Tell me about them?

Me: They are good, sir.

GM: See, I am asking you about them on the professional front. I am asking u for a review of your current lead. Just as I would ask him about a review of you.

This question put my usually saturday-numbed senses on red high alert. A big boss asking for a review of his juniors from a junior of his juniors. (Pardon the repetition). A question of this nature is quite tricky. There's no point in being totally honest.............especially if you honestly think that your immediate senior is bloody son of a bitch!! There is also no point in saying that hes good, coz that would be like telling your GM that "I wont tell you anything."

This question is like one of those which your lady lover asks you........Am I looking fat? If your answer is yes..........she'll say......"You are just trying to please me, you arent being honest"

If your answer is no.........she wont say anything.......she'll slap you and say "How mean!!"

So it goes without saying that the answer to such trick questions should be diplomatic. Put your point forward and yet in a non accusatory way. That is what I did that day.......first lesson in politics (professional or government)..........Be diplomatic.

Overtime

Working in the office on a saturday is never by choice......for me atleast. We have 5 official working days. So coming to office on saturdays is either due to excess of pent up work loads or simply due to the orders which cannot be defied. Bachelors like me come sleepy eyed to the office on saturday. Most of us look as if a zombie has taken control of our bodies. Sleeping till late hours of the morning, afternoon naps or matinee shows on TV, the hot steaming home cooked lunch, perhaps a movie later on in the evening........all these happy thoughts are snatched away by a 'working saturday'. Some people like to think that working on non official days in office has its merits. Like work can be done efficiently, because there are less people around you, so no one can trouble you. I have also met those dumbsters who say that coming to office is fun because you get to sit in air conditioned environment, get free coffee and also get to surf the net at company's cost and for them there is nothing better to do at home too. A big boo to people who think that way. In mumbai, traditional thinking is on the lines of 'If-you-sit-late-in-office-or-on-come-on-non-official-working-days-then-you-are-really-working'. This kind of thinking is crap and I hope that it is changing. What I feel and have always felt is that work is something which has to be done only for the sake of earning 'the big M' and that work and ambitions should not take your life away. It was a different story when our folk generation started earning. They had to work like hell to make ends meet initially. But now as India has grown as an economy (Pre-current-recession), we should be working comfortably. Just as there are a minimum no. of working hours in a week, so should there be a maximum limit.

The way the mind works.

They say that a person changes as he grows. They also say that his habits change. They also say that some of his personality traits change throughtout his lifetime. Rubbing of chin while thinking, scratching your head when in utter confusion, biting nails when nervous, fidgeting etc etc. While some people might outgrow these , still others take the habit all the way.

I dont know why I wrote the above part because the reason why I wrote this post is I wanted to describe one of my habits.........actually it cant be called a habit but its something of a fear induced compulsion...........

A long time ago....when I was very young I hated the dark. I could not sleep alone in a room. Fear of the dark, no doubt about it. Whenever I slept alone, I felt as if ghosts would come and haunt the room. I used to feel that if I opened my eyes, a ghastly face would stare right into my eyes and scare the wits out of me. Once a ghastly face did stare at me when I opened my eyes......later I realised my sister was wearing a paper mask and trying to scare me!!

Anyway, once it so happened that I was sleeping alone in my room (I was scared and yet was very sleepy so sleep was coming inspite of my fears I was in a sort of subconscious state of sleep.) It happened to be a stormy night and I remember there was a lot of thunder and lightning, that night. Just as I was about to sleep, there came a bolt of lightning which illuminated the dark night and simultaneously a loud crack of thunder. Thoroughly shaken by the loud sound of thunder, I opened my eyes wide and sat up on my bed upright like a 'bolt' (It probably freaked me out more because I was in a sort of subconscious state of sleep). When I looked at my rooms cupboard, there was another illuminating strike of lightning, and I saw a white figure moving side to side in perfect oscillatory motion, in the wind. When I saw that thing there, I literally froze, out of fear for a few moments. I could'nt talk or I would have screamed. After a few moments, I came out of my 'trance' and realised that it was indeed, just my shirt which was hung on a hanger!!! I still remember that incident and even till now, whenever there is a shirt on hanger, I put it out of sight before going to bed!!!

Revisiting childhood playing days!!!

Played football after almost a year today......and got to say that IT WAS GREAT!!!! Never been an expert at it........in fact quite the opposite!!! (sadly, as my friends would totally agree!!) nevertheless its very refreshing to go out in the open field and take a sprint to the goal post. It was like being a kid again...no worries of work, no tensions, not a care in the world......just be out there and run....run like hell.....run loose...run for the fun of it!!! Changed into shorts, they felt so comfortable (half chaddis offer a nice breeze around the privates!!!)...especially after a long day in the office in trousers...putting on sports shoes and da stockings (socks more like). Took the football, kept it on the ground and then kicked it as hard as I could towards one of my friends standing near the goal posts. The feeling of elation when you play is still so pleasingly familiar. As if we were kids just a few days ago and came to play everyday on the grounds!!! So started the game 3 people on 3, a game, a war, a battle, a fight to the finish......thats how I have always thought a game should be!! The usual tiffs come....as they came so naturally when we were kids.......the abuses hurled, so casually.....no one to hear them on the ground....no one to say its "bad to say that"......no holding ur tongue back, shout and yell all you like, shout till your throat goes hoarse!!! . The sweat trickling down in huge drops......the minor cuts and scratches, a fall, and still an almost dignified ignorance to all these, by the true sport, amidst the game!! The twists in the game......the tackles made by members of the other team, dodging, ball control.....it would go on and be endless......lets leave it at that and say that I revisited my childhood playing days today!!!

So much to learn in life from games and sports..........

In life there are times when you'll win and times you'll lose......enjoy the times you win.....cherish those moments. Try to be a good sport when you lose.....,much as you would feel bad for yourself.....congratulate the winners......they were definitely better on that day!!!

When you lose.......try to find where you went wrong....correct the flaw and come back to win another day....higher...stronger and faster.....

Opportunities come and go.....grab them if you see them and score!!!

When you fall, get up, if you don't, you wont be able to chase your goals!!!

If at first you dont succeed, try again................then give up .......you werent probably talented enough for the same!!!! Try another one!!!!

What happens when you forget yourself?

Went to a marathi movie recently called 'Dhudgus'. Didnt like it very much.....In fact didnt like it at all. But anyway....folks wanted to watch it since someone had given them good reviews about the movie. Went to a mall cum theatre to book tickets. Rs 102 was the cost per ticket .  Purchased 4 tickets. Sister, her husband, dad and mom. Gave the cashier Rs 410. 

Cashier: Sir, Do you have the exact change. 

Me: Nope. I dont have change. 

Cashier: Just a moment sir, I'll have to get it from someplace. 

Me: You dont have Rs 2 ? That is surprising....

Cashier: No sir, Morning time.....no change. Just a moment, sir, I'll get it. 

Me: Ok. 

Moments later cashier comes over at counter. 

Cashier: Sorry sir, a bit late. 

Me: Yeah it didnt seem like a single 'moment'. 

The cashier handed over Rs 2 to me and I was off. As I was walking towards my parked vehicle, I realised that, to see the movie, there were going to be 5 of us!!! I had forgotten to count myself!!! When I realised my absent mindedness, I laughed out loud. Started back towards the booking counter to book another single ticket. 

Me (Handing him a Rs 100 note and the Rs 2 coin which he had given me): Here is Rs 102 in exact change. Give me another ticket!! 

I am still wondering how I could forget myself while booking tickets? 

Wouldnt happen again I hope!!!       

Trouble usually finds me...

"I don't go looking for trouble. Trouble usually finds me." 

Harry Potter says to his friend Hermione Granger, when the latter asks him to be more careful and not to go looking for trouble. 

It seems strange that I find that the above statement is many a times true for me as well. No one wants to go looking for trouble, usually (unless you are trouble happy or something) But it seems to find them. I wont kid anyone.......By nature, I am a very sweet person (Cough, and smirk all you want, all those ye who know me, but that is how I am) but then I do get these reckless moods at times when I am totally off my character!!! Even then, I feel, that everyone gets these moods....maybe some people are reckless by nature and even then do not get into trouble.   

"We dont work this way, Son!!!"

Consultants or consulting companies are knowledge based. The measure of a good consultant is by the knowledge he has in his field of expertise. If an end user firm is planning to hire a consulting company to do its job it has to make sure that management from its side is experienced, tough, intimidating and is able to handle the people of the consulting company, who in turn are bound to think that, knowledge-wise, they are a cut above their client. In short, client project manager should have good management skills so that he can derive desired results from a bunch of bloat heads. 

Early in my consulting company career life  (Its not that I'm an old man now.....but right now much more work experienced than I was then)  I worked with such a project manager. He was working on extention duty in the client's company. Being highly experienced he was assigned as the project manager of that particular project. I remember him bustling around the office corridors with the energy of a horse. Slim, fit looking and a sort of radiance on his face is how I would describe him (I have observed that, any man who gets to yell at 10 different people a day has a 'radiant face'!!!)  He used to be on his toes and used to keep people on theirs too. He was given a tight schedule of around 1 year to complete the project, and such was his 'power' that he managed to get it done in a span of 8 months!!! He was an expert at commercial negotiations with vendors, he used to participate in them, himself and take command from the commercial group people......Every time a vendor tried to quote a very high price......he would somehow convince them to quote lower and bring their pricing down. A vendor once quoted a delivery schedule of 24 weeks, to which Mr. N (I'll call him that) replied "20 weeks and thats final, I am 68 years old now, I am getting older, I arent sure if I can make it till 24 weeks!!!" The vendor was down to 22 weeks in the next 15 minutes of discussion.  

He was a good observer too. When I first sat for a commercial discussion meeting, I was quite nervous.....there were a lot of bigwigs from the client's side, vendor's side and I was sitting in the meeting in the capacity of an engineer who had technically evaluated and accepted the vendor's offer. He noticed this and voiced his opinion in front of everyone......"Dont be nervous young man, I ain't gonna eat you." 

He had once told a vendor, "Mr. R, you look quite good with that scar on your neck, so please quote a good price!!!" (There was actually no relation between the good looks and the good price, but then Mr. N was an eccentric old man....he must have been under the impression that he was cracking a good joke!!!)

'Young man' and 'Son' were his favourite words. He used to throw them around with the air of a ship's captain addressing a newly inducted midshipman on a frigate.

"Son, why are you taking so much time for this evaluatation?" he asked. "Sir, I need a written confirmation from the vendor. He's not replying to my email since the past 2 days" I said. 

"Son, I have worked in this bloody business for 30 years......we ask for confirmations across the table, in my company, why do you want it thru email? Call him today, record the minutes of that meeting, ask him to sign it. If he doesnt come, reject his offer, we have many more vendors willing to take the offers, is that clear?" he said. "Crystal." I replied. 

 I once made a very bad technical error. The gravity of the error was such that he called me personally to his cabin (he was given a temporary cabin in our company, so that he could personally interact with our people, on a day to day basis) ....."How long have you been working in this company, young man?" he yelled the minute I entered. "Since the past 8 months, sir" I replied (I was a trainee then). He stopped for a moment and told me "That figures why you made a mistake. Sorry, I yelled that way. Its ok, we'll rectify the error somehow, I probably didnt know where my office's washroom was when I was at your level of experience." 

The project was completed in a span of 8 months (engineering phase) as I mentioned earlier and the plant was commissioned after the next 3 months. Wont ever forget Mr. N's very powerful personality, though. He is something I would like to be when I am older......maybe not that eccentric or blunt, but yes, something of that sort.  

TV at its best.

Was watching 'The wonder years' today. Must say it was a great series. Had watched it when it used to be aired on Star Plus (Star Plus of those days was a 100 times better and a 1000 times watchable, all mothers would disagree!!!). The best part about the series was that you could relate your own feelings and incidents to those that were a part of Kevin Arnold's life (A bit different, as I didnt have a pretty girlfriend like 'Winnie Cooper'!!!). So I remember being glued to the television with my sister who loved the series as much as I did.

Another one was 'Full House' in which characters like DJ, Stephenie, cute little michelle, their father (played by Bob Saget), Joey, Jesse and Rebecca (Wow!!) provided us with the family entertainment.

I am a fan of FRIENDS. Dont need to say much about it. Almost every average teenager or adult who watches TV must have watched FRIENDS. Joey Tribianni was my favourite character in it.

Apart from this i remember watching cartoon series like He-man, Centurions, Johny Quest, Speed Racer, Ducktales, Talespin. There was also a series which used to be aired on DD. It was called 'Giant Robot'.

Among hindi ones......Dekh bhai dekh and Zabaan Sambhal ke.

And if there is something I would always enjoy watching..........it would be 'Tom and Jerry'..............it defeats all!!!

Superstitions.

Mom: Let me tell you about a strange incident......funny how people's minds work at times!!
Me: Ya....tell me....what happened?
Mom: There was this time when your aunt (distant aunt), had a dream......she dreamed that she was praying in front of a ganapati idol.
Me: Ok, then?
Mom: She got up in the morning and ur aunt and uncle decided to go to Wai (Wai is a place which is near satara district of maharashtra. There is a big idol of ganapati there.). They both left on ur uncle's motorbike and went to Wai.
Me: What? Just because she had a dream?
Mom: Yes. Dont know what made them do it.....but they just got up the next day and were off to Wai, your uncle even took a day off at the office.
Me: Hahahaha!!! That's funny.
Mom: If thats funny.......you hear this out.....your sides'll probably split once i complete the story...
Me: What more?
Mom: Well they went to the temple at Wai.....took 'darshan'. On seeing the idol ur aunt realised that it wasnt the one that appeared in her dreams.
Me: Huh? So? She had gone there to confirm that it was the same idol?
Mom: I dont know......but all the same i feel that what they did was either very superstitious or completely idiotic.
Me: Hahahahahahaha!!!! Imagine if the idol she saw in her dreams was of the mandir they have near to their house!!! Such a waste of time, energy and petrol!!! hahahahaha!!!

What do you call this? Height of idiocy or height of superstition?
I dreamt yesterday that I went to meet this uncle and aunt of mine , but i didnt go there today........for the fear that i might burst out laughing in front of them.

The man who taught me how to drive!!!

Writing about another character in life who has influenced me. He was very much like my dad in the sense that he too like my dad, gave me instructions while driving a car!!! This is because, that person, was the one who taught me how to drive a car. I am writing about my car driving school instructor!!! A man by the name of 'Shiekh'. Tall fellow, and quite broad too. In fact he was so much of both length and breadth that he seemed to almost pop out from the small maruti car I was trained in. When he sat down in the car it used to 'shake', hence the name 'shiekh' (bad joke, a thousand pardons!!) His style of teaching was different.....he did not take you on the most 'low traffic' roads, even on your first day. He took you on roads which were medium crowded. He hated impudent ladies both on the road and on the drivers seat. He used to particularly hate the lady who was before me on the training schedule. Used to say....."She's a dimwit...Shows the right indicator while turning left and she's slightly confused on the 'keep left' rules."
"You are the best trainee i ever had", he used to say to me (Later on i learnt that he said this to everyone...except the ladies.......it did give the nervous driver the much required encouragement and the confidence to learn the ropes.)
When anyone got in the way of that small maruti car......he used to hurl the choicest of abuses at them......
Then i was terrified of driving in traffic (who isnt? at least initially everyone is...). I remember telling him that i was afraid that i would hurt someone by knocking them over...!!! Next day he took me on to the most crowded road in the city and told me to drive at the speed of 70 Km/hr.....I did as he told me to.....and he kept applying his pair of brakes wherever necessary.......as we came to the end of the road.....he asked me...."Did you knock down anyone?"
"No" I said.......so he says..."See there's nothing to be afraid of!!!"
Thats because you applied the brakes when required, wise guy, I had thought.......but then i realised that.....the fear of knocking someone had somewhat subsided........(It had been overcome by the fear of getting knocked over by a stupid maniac in a maruti car!!!!)
On the day of the driving test.....he had come with me ....and seemed to know everyone in the RTO office!!! Thats how everyone passes the test in India!!! I passed too. Today, Whatever little I know about driving a car is due to 'shiekh' and of course my dad!!!

National spillage day..

Today (as everyday) the canteen boy who brings breakfast for employees brought a large pile of plates with Idli sambar in them (He normally brings them one on top of the other plate and makes a pile of 7-8 plates. Doesnt bring them on a tray or trolley). One of my colleagues wanted a plate and so this boy 'rests' the pile on his table and picks up the topmost plate and gives it to him. While trying to focus on 2 things at a time (Keeping the pile balanced and handing over a plate..), the pile tumbled and my colleague had hot steaming sambar all over his newly bought trousers. After an 'agonized yell' from the colleague he jumped from his chair and stood up like a rocket that is fired up. He went to the washroom and wiped most of the 'sambar' but it left a stain, nevertheless . The canteen boy got a firing from his boss (The catering head) and also my colleague. I was inclined to laugh at the pattern the stain made on his pants. I told my colleague jokingly....."Hey, why did you yell at the canteen boy......hes made ur dull looking pants into a nice patterned one......It looks better with the stain!!! Give him a reward!!! "

In another incident one of my other colleagues spilled coffee on his pants......the stain looked as if he'd pissed in his pants...!!! He was roaming in the common area for some time to let the stain dry off, too embarrassed to go beyond the reception area lest anyone sees him like that!!!

In the evening I saw the same canteen boy carrying a single 'wada' in his hand.....He was carrying it like a grenade....I saw this and asked him....
Me: Aren't u suppose to carry that on a plate...for purposes of hygiene?
Canteen boy: Yes sir, but one of the employees dropped it....I am just throwing it in the dustbin..
Me (with a grin on my face): Are you sure YOU didnt drop it..?
Canteen: No sir.

I came home and saw our neighbour with the watchman, both were staring down the elevator shaft....
Me: What are you doing, aunty?
Aunty: My keys have fallen down the shaft.....i hope the watchman can retrieve them....

National stumbly day?
National spillage day?
What was it?

Appreciation

I have learnt that appreciation should not be taken seriously most of the times.

I have learnt that appreciation is measured in words and also in 'kind'.

I have learnt that true appreciation is hard to come by.

I have learnt that it is good to appreciate true efforts.

I have learnt that it is useless to expect the same.

I have learnt that there is a very thin dividing line between appreciation and flattery.

I have learnt to admire people who can realise and appreciate.

I have learnt that there are a lot of people who expect to be appreciated but do not do the same themselves.

I have learnt that appreciation is the positive outlook of life.

I have learnt that over a period of time......humility and appreciation have a relation........a humble man is rarely appreciated........

I have learnt that even god does not get a 100% appreciation vote!!!

Highlight of the day? Why?

Today was a day of varied activities. Day started out as usual with me getting up late for office and reaching office on flexi time. However, I attended half day of office coz a friend (we were engineering college classmates) of mine got married today and I attended his marriage ceremony (Or the latter part of the marriage ceremony which consists of food!!) after half day of office. Met a lot of old college friends whom I had lost touch with. It was like being back to college all over again without the lectures and the study activities !!! After that we went to a nearby gaming centre and playzone to play rounds of bowling, pool and dodge-em cars!! Went to Barista coffee....to have a nice cool large glass of their 'frappe latte'. After that went back home to find that mom and dad had planned a nice 'investment schedule' for me to follow up.....Lectures on financial investments are not uncommon at my place, especially these days when the global economy is down and investors are losing out on investments made,a year ago. This condition is in turn making the same investors hope that if they invest now (when market is down) they'll make a profit on those investments (Pardon the repetition of the term 'invest'. But I have to give you an idea of how I feel when those lectures start!!!). So after hearing the lecture out and promising my mom and dad that I would henceforth invest my money thoughtfully, I left for the gym.
There is a four way junction where traffic is normally blocked......most of the times due to traffic indiscipline. As I stopped my bike behind a vehicle in a line.....I saw a man......must be around 60 years of age......dressed in civilian clothes blowing a whistle and directing traffic......that too in a neat fashion. I dont know whether he was a real traffic policeman (But then they arent that old....when in service) or maybe from a reserve department. But somehow I think he must just be a volunteer, one of those who get out from their cars and start giving directions to sort out traffic jams.
I met one of my friends at evening, we went for a ride in his newly 'serviced' car and told him about this 'old-man-directing-traffic' incident. "Yeah I saw him the other day, too. He was there in the afternoon as well as in the evening. Dont know who he is though. The old geyser must have gone mad after drving in our country's traffic conditions!!!" said my friend.

Now there are some days like these when you are involved in a lot of activities, sit for lot of meetings, meet a lot of people and see a lot of sights (sights like seeing your friend in a wedding dress!!!). But there are times when there is just one thing, a highlight of the day which you do not forget. And I dont know why but the man who was directing the traffic....left a lasting impression on me......
Dont know who he was or what he was...........but the fact was that he was old and still enthusiastically blowing a whistle and directing traffic with the precision of a real traffic policeman!!! He, probably, wasnt even paid for doing it. People could have just dismissed the old man as crazy old fool.....but it wasnt the case.....his directions were being followed and before long traffic was back to its normal free flow!!!

Of couples and bachelors

Ever been out on a trip with an 'unmarried couple or couples'? A trip in which you are familiar with both the boy and the girl, both being good friends of yours, but who are going steady with each other?
In such a condition you are likely to be in trouble unless their is someone else who is just as single as you are!!!
My personal experience (personal experience, here, would also include my friends' experience!!) tells me, 'God save you if you are on a trip / picnic with an 'unmarried couple''. Because most of the times this happens the committed are likely to get cosy with each other and most likely to forget that you have NOT ceased to exist!!! How? Let me explain....with an example,
Today as I was having one of our heart to heart discussions with my dear friend A......he told me such an instance where he got stuck up in.....
Me: So what happened? How was the new years eve?
A: Don't even ask.....T (girl), H (girl) and P (boy) were to come for the trip....
Me: Great!! I know them, they are fun, arent they?
A: Yeah they are, separately.......not together, unfortunately, at the last moment K (boy) also joined in.....
Me: Ok....then?
A: Then what? T and P are going steady and H and K are going steady......so i was the only 'bachelor' in the group....
Me: Happens yaar......dont worry.....you'll find someone soon.....you must be feeling alone!!!
A: Ass......I wasnt talking about that!!! The thing is, we were supposed to be spending time with each other, with everyone .....Instead of that the couples were together and I was left sitting like a bloody lonely duck!!!
Me: That's what I told you....you must be feeling alone.....go find someone....
A: Idiot!!! You try going out with a couple sometime......they are so 'within themselves'
Me: I have been with a couple many times.....
A: Who?
Me: My mom and dad......hahahahaha!!!!
A: Have you lost it today? Must be that meeting with your boss that's left you talking nonsense...
Me: Hahahaha!! OK, sorry.....pun intended......go on......
A: So these couples...wanted to spend time with each other and dragged me along to just give it a 'feel' new year eve's celebration......and I didnt even know that K was coming or I would've guessed it was a couples' celebration......In the end I had to sit alone on the living room sofa, eat pizza and coke that we had brought from outside......(because these ppl wanted to get to the apartment room early!!!) and watch TV all night long while the 'others in the group' were busy with each other.....in the other rooms!!! They didnt even wait till 0000 hrs (for the new year to start) I watched the fireworks alone....
Me: They watched it too......but maybe from somewhere else!!!

I had some similar experiences as my friend did, but then atleast I was spared as their were other 'bachelors' in the group and I was spared of the 'wrath' of couple entries.
Another friend of mine once told me, that, he never had the feeling of being left out even when he was in a 'committed' type group.........
"Your group is an exceptional case, then", I told him !!!

A wednesday

Watched 'A Wednesday' today. First review observation and a forthright one.............great movie. Do watch it. The only audience who won't probably like it might be those who only love mishy mashy lovey dovey type romantic stories and this is not one of them...quite the opposite, in fact, its got none of that....doesnt even have a 'female lead role heroine'. When you see the film you'll know that there are only 2 females in the film.....And another cool thing.........no songs to disturb the focus of the gripping story.....

This one is totally different....... Fresh idea for the story, based on the very serious topic of terrorism and which happens on a wednesday and hence the name. Strong character definition......Anupam Kher as a tough, responsible and a cool and level headed commissioner of police who knows how to handle his men and make his plans and run negotiations with the higher authorities in the face of hell shitty circumstances. Naseeruddin Shah, bad man or whatever (whatever? u must be wondering where did that 'whatever' come from......please see the movie before u form an opinion on his movie character !!!). Aamir bashir....a capable police officer and one of anupam's best men in the police department. Jimmy shergill.....ATS man who is known to be a man who rides an enfield and regularly beats the stuffing out of criminals !!! These 4 characters have made the movie worth its story, there's no doubt about that. The best thing about 'A wednesday' was that it turned out to be something totally different than expected. (For understanding this statement too, watch the movie). All in all.....raapchik movie as we call in mumbai hindi..!!! Well done Mr. Neeraj pandey!!! If I were to rate it on a scale of 5, I'd give it a 4. A four 'coz I would have loved to see a pretty face amidst the face of adversity!!!!

Simplicity.....the funda of life

It has always been my belief that I am a simple man, who is being led to live in a complicated world made that way by people who are abstruse with complex ideologies and puzzling mindsets. My biggest dream would be to build a world which is simple, non-complicated, pure, true and yet progressive in every aspect of its existence.

-By
Me.
(How? is the question.......But then dreams are dreams!!! They come true or they don't!!)

Three of my most favourite roadside foods!!!

There's a great variety of food in mumbai. Gastronomic pleasures are plenty. Wherever you go, whether the western suburbs or the great big ol' south mumbai or new mumbai. For the average mumbaikar, hardly does a day pass without the roadside chats, the bhel puris, pani puris or the pav bhajis. These are the delights enjoyed by the young and the old. There is nothing like the bhel puri, a colourful mixture of rice puffs and farsan, with a generous dusting of spices and dashes of mineral and rock salt. A handful of sev, further topped up with fresh coriander leaves. What you have is a blissful blend, a taste bud tingling and savouring recipe......created by the 'bhel wala bhaiyaa' who gives you a free 'masala' puri, so that the tingling of your tongue due to the spices is soothed, but the taste of that great dish lingers on for a sweet amount of time!!! And then there is the pani puri......edible little balloons filled with juices of tamarind and mint leaves which just pop in your mouth flooding it completely, the taste that follows make you want to close ur eyes......heavenly!!!
Pav bhaji....which i know is a maharashtrian dish.....,the aroma of pav bhaji is simply too irresistable!!! Made out of a variety of vegetables it is also a nutritious dish. Eaten with 'garma garam' pav which is buttered and golden brown toasted. Like these there are many other dishes. But these three, which have been described above, are something which have and will always have a place in my heart and my stomach as well!!! If someone hasn't tried (mostly not applicable to indian residents!!) any of these items please do...... ur heart and your taste buds won't regret it at all.......ur stomach just might, though!!!!

Emotional dependence....

One of our (human beings) greatest strengths and probably one of our biggest weakness would be our emotional dependence. A great strength because, without this element of our mental makeup we would'nt be called human beings. We would be animals. Our very existence depends upon the fact that we have an emotional support system. Be it your parents, your friends or any others . A great weakness because, being dependent makes us vulnerable, conquerable, fallable. At times, knowing that we have an emotional backup, we allow ourselves to drift away, become sensitive, lose control. I have always wondered......Can there be any person on this planet who can do without this kind of mental support system? Are there people who have lived; not only lived, but lived happily without being emotionally dependent? One can argue that, he or she is a very hard-hearted person ('pathar dil' as we call in hindi) and feels that he/she does not need anybody or does not need anyone's help at any time. But i am sure even these so- called hard hearted ones are not entirely truthful to themselves and the others. On the other extreme, there are ones who are called as 'emotional fools', who cannot do a thing until they have someone's mental backup. The latter case pisses me off.....I'd rather go with the former types..... What about you?

Wisecracking Barber!!

Going to the barber's is quite a regular activity for men who like to keep their hair trim. At times, there are some interesting conversations which go on between the barber and his customer......There was one such conversation today.........

Customer (after having his haircut done) : How much for the haircut?
Barber: Rs 40, sir
Customer: Rs 40!!! That's a bit high priced for a haircut isnt it?
Barber: No sir, prices of all the things have skyrocketed.
Customer: That's OK. But the other day...i went to this other place, he cut my hair for Rs 30.
Barber: Sir, our rate is fixed.
Customer (with a grin on his face): Even the amount of hair that grows on my head is somewhat more or less the same...still i have to pay more. Moreover, you cut my hair, so I give my hair and still have to pay for it??
Barber (with a grin on his face now): As i told u sir, whatever the amount of hair on your head, our rate is fixed and as for your hair which you dont have now or which you have 'given', do you want it back? Its right here on the floor....i can pack it up for you......
Customer (hurriedly hands over Rs 40 to the barber): Wisecracker!!!

Life is beautiful when there is laughter all the way......

I often have had these 'laughter' sessions with some of my friends who like me, love to laugh on what seems to be a 'whats so funny?' kind of statement or event. Today as we got along together in the evening......we thought about the great times we had in the past. My friend mentioned that, the way we still laugh at the smallest and the most absurd and ridiculous jokes, might probably make people think that we are being silly, but this very ability of laughing frequently and generally, making people laugh, is a real god given gift. I think he's quite right. Even the thought that we still laugh at the silliest of jokes, which only young kids would find funny makes me feel 'gifted'. Indeed laughing this way, takes away all my pains and relieves all the tensions and all the pressures of life (Do not misunderstand the word 'pressures' in this context). The feeling of elation and emotional 'High' that you feel after you have laughed ur guts out is unmatched!!! There are times, when people ask me........are you always like that? Do you always laugh that way? Or are you trying to cover up any deep hidden emotions? And the answer goes.........Yes, I do cover up deep hidden emotions at times, by laughing out.....and at such times laughter is the greatest let out for me......it does a hell lot good to you than any other means of venting out emotions......At other times, there are no hidden emotions, I just laugh. Many a times, I have hurt other's feelings by laughing and have'nt even realised it till they told me so.

As another of my friends had once told me...........Laughter is a free gift ......You dont have to pay a price for it...............nor do you have to pay any taxes!!!

Mumbai's taxiwallas

Got to hand it over to the taxiwallas (yellow and black cab drivers) of Mumbai. The emperors of the roads, the kings of ‘guerilla’ driving tactics. The mavericks, the rovers, riders on the storm, highwaymen. Supremely confident of their driving skills and a ruthless attitude towards both, the other vehicles on the road and their own taxi’s body paint and finishing works. Ever the pinpoint precision masters, they can slide through gaps, which you wouldn’t even consider taking if you were on a two wheeler. Style masters too….. one hand on the gear, the other casually applying corrections to the steering, elbow resting on the window. ‘Neither the left lane, nor the right, keep it down the mid and leave the others in doubt’ . That’s their motto and each and every taxi driver follows this rule. While they are the part of mumbai’s very efficient public transport service, people would prefer the bus or the train over the taxi any day. The only reason and the a very obvious one…..travelling by a taxi is expensive….if ur company pays for it, fine. Otherwise, you’ll be robbed clean of a considerable sum of money, which is calculated, by comparing the taxi’s meter reading to the respective values on the tariff cards or sometimes by the sheer word of the taxi driver!!! Its your choice!!!

Me vs my home computer

My dad brought me my first PC when i was in the ninth grade, just short of the age of 15. From then on the home computer has been my best friend and my worst enemy. Or should i say home computers. Yes, coz just as life changes so do computers and so have mine. My relations with my home PC have always been thru the ups and downs. More thru the downs than the ups. I have enjoyed games on my PC just like I enjoyed surfing the net. Its always enjoyable to play the games on the comp which you cant play in real life!!! For example, you cannot drive vehicles and knock over peds who frustrate you with their impolite ways of crossing the roads, but on the PC, you can hit them, crush them with your car, even chainsaw them to a bloody death!!!
So talking about PCs, yeah, they give you the enjoyment, but when it comes to reliability, I would rate assembled PCs below any of the other electronic appliances!!! You people reading the post can only imagine the number of times….. I have changed some hardware, formatted my PC’s hard disk, installed the OS, partitioned the disk, defragmented it, scanned it for viruses and last but not the least kicked it in utter ‘disgust’ (That would affect hardware, but I did it only with my 2nd comp’s CPU!!!). Computers never cease to perplex me with their astonishing abilities of crashing, that too at the most inconvenient junctures of time. Last week when I was mourning for the sad demise of my 4th CPU motherboard, one of my friends went superstitious and suggested that it would, perhaps, be better if I installed my PC at another location of the house. “Tere comp ke jagah kaa vaastu barabar nahi hai.” Maybe he’s right!!

My first gym trainer

Dont know why i'm writing about this character........neither is he a very close friend nor an enemy, nor a very idealistic man, nor a great hero, nor is he been a great personality, nor someone famous, nor all of the above. He's just one of those 'barely noticeable or remembered' parts of life. Yet it would be fun to describe him and so the post.

I was once exercising at the gym....doing some warmup......when this fellow enters the gym and says a jaunty 'hi' to the gym owner. This jaunty fellow is quite 'big'. But hes big in a 'physically fit' sort of way.....great physique. So he takes a look around the gym walks up to me and says........Darling.....Please wear track pants next time you workout. I stopped mid exercise and looked at him wondering where the 'darling' came from.....is he gay or what? I told him that i was wearing track pants. So then he takes a look at me and says....oh yeah, i got confused by the color, it looks like a light coloured trouser from some distance. (I am still unable to figure how he thought that my grey coloured 'perfectly looking, track pants' were a pair of trousers....maybe he was joking.) I came to know that he was to be our new gym instructor, he was the gym owner's friend and had worked out for around 10-12 years.......and yeah, he did have a habit of saying 'darling' when he addressed any of the boys in the gym. So from that day on he started giving out routines to everyone. He believed in doing exercises perfectly, in proper form. He used to say, "Take lower weights if necessary, but do the exercise correctly and then graduate to higher weights". At one time there used to be at least 25 people in the gym. This trainer used to give out 25 different routines to all these 25 people and could still spot anyone doing exercise in improper fashion and correct him. He did have a habit of cracking bad jokes, of course. The bad jokes were so bad, that it would send your mind reeling and if by chance at the same time he cracked a joke, you had a weight in your hands you would literally 'lose power' and drop the weights!!!! All in all he had a very enthusiastic presence in the gym and would keep encouraging the lot of us. I left that gym after a year or so for my university exams. After that i went to another gym. I changed around 4-5 gymnasiums. Just around a year back i joined another one, only to meet my first trainer there. But in this gym hes not a trainer. He works out. His jokes have gone from bad to worse. He keeps telling me about his diet and is quite pompous about his '18 years body building experience.' He is now middle aged and hes not quite the same great shape as he was when i first trained under him. However he is still under the illusion that he actually has visible 'ab muscles' which he certainly does not, coz hes got a great big, round fat tummy. Inspite of all the above, He maintains a very good form and works out for around 1.5 hours everday for 4-5 days a week, 6 days also quite often. He's very fit, dont remember that hes taken a break from the gym anytime. Still tells me at times, "Maintain good form, never sacrifice good form for higher weights" This philosophy is, at least, being followed.

Stay in touch? Sometimes I'd rather not!!!

It is sometimes hard to keep in touch with friends. There are ones who will write mails to you on the busiest of days. Replying will get delayed until you totally forget about it. Others wont write mails anyways........they'll call you up when you are attempting to 'balance a tightrope' or something and have no other option but to cancel the call or answer it only to tell them that you'll call em later. One of my friends once commented that i never bother staying in touch. A week later i called him up and he said he was busy and he would call up later. He did call up later but then i was busy and then the cycle continued until both of us quit. I do send some forwarded mails to people at times. But then some people have a problem with that too......They say.........what the heck? why do you keep sending forwarded mails?
I cant reason with this kind of logic...........What is wrong in sending forwarded mails? Its alright if you say "I didnt like the mail" or something......but saying something like......"This fellow sends only forwarded mails".............Is that a crime? Seems to be with majority of the people....they dont like fwd mails or fwd sms. I always sms (not fwd sms) one of my friends who stays abroad. Diwali wishes, holi wishes, birthday wishes etc. However these too are expected to be on time. If the sms goes in the afternoon of the special day....i get a reply sms saying that.....Thanks....but did you forget to wish me in the morning?
My sister herself told me that she hates my mails because they are fwd.......these days i am sending her more just to irritate her.
One of my other friends always calls up at night.......night here means......'midnight' or 'ghastly hour of the night'. One of my conversations with him when he called up.........

J: Heeeellllllllooooo!!! How are you?
Me (Thinking): Huh? How would I be at 0100 in the morning, stupid?
Me: I am fine.
J: Were you sleeping?
Me (Thinking): No, I was dancing on the tune of Lucky Ali's' shyam savere teri yaadien aati hai'
Me: Yes, I was sleeping.
J: Oh, I am sorry. I'll call up later.
Me (Thinking): Later????? How later than this would you want to call up?????
Me: No, lets talk now....anyway....i ain't feeling sleepy now.

So we talk and talk until he says,
J: Ok, chal ill hang up.....You call me up too sometimes, yaar.....main hi phone karta hu tereko!!
Me (Thinking): Haan woh bhi subah ke ek baje!!!!
Me: Ok, chal bye!!! Will call you up!!!

What i'd like to add here is that, its fine to keep in touch with friends, in fact, one should make efforts to stay in touch. But then, i wouldnt expect them to return the favor!!! Some friends are friends no matter how 'Out of touch' they may seem to be. I know that this post presents a somewhat indifferent attitude on my behalf.........but then thats how I am and I dont think that part of me will change !!!

A power called 'Ganapati'

The festival of Ganeshotsav brings to my home an idol of a great god , maharashtra's favourite and most worshipped gods.....Ganapati.
Whether a standing, sitting or a lying idol of ganapati never fails to impress me....there is something in that somewhat 'hefty' figure that makes you feel........'.euphoric' at the very sight of the idol (there is no other word for it!!)
From the stories we've heard about Lord ganesh as kids......we all know that he could be as big, as powerful, as intelligent, as pious, as noble, as 'cheeky', as we can imagine any Lord to be!!!
Last, but not the least i cannot imagine how he could have so many 'modaks' in one sitting, neither can i imagine the greatness of a certain Lord 'mouse' who carried him on his back!!!
Believe me, once you immerse the Ganesh idol in the sea and when you come back to the place where the idol was kept, its hard to get over that very 'empty' feeling caused by the idol's absence!! The ganeshotsav at my place is over since its only for 1 1/2 days but then ill try to see all the big ganapati idols in town!!!

Lets get drunk? No way!!!

There is one more thing which pisses me off. I dont quite oppose the idea of having 'daaru' , but then for some people its a 'let off'. They drink when they are emotionally upset. They'll go on harping about, how a large quantity liquor will give them a 'kick' and make them feel normal again and drive away all their worries. In my opinion this opinion of theirs is nothing more than 'bullshit'. Some feel like drinking when they are elated....theyll go on like.....i am feeling elated......its a reason to celebrate......lets have daaru!!! Then there are these types who'll get absolutely 'drunk' which leaves them weaving to and fro. In the end there are always friends who'll leave them home or who'll take care of their sorry state!!!
I dont say that i'm a saint.....i have tried all varieties of 'hard drinks'....but then for none of the reasons stated above and neither have i got drunk anytime and had my friends leave me home!!!
There will always be people who wont quite agree with me or with any of my above opinions.......so what? I dont give a damn!!!

The sneeze of God

The best riddle i have ever heard...... (Got it through an email, on my office ID today)

If you meet God, and he sneezes, what do you say to him?

Reply 1:
Bless Thyself!!!!

Reply 2:
Stop sneezing. There are enough hurricanes already. No need for more.

Reply 3:
I didnt know you can catch a cold, God. Is there any coldarin in heaven?

Reply 4:
I didnt understand the riddle.

The 4th reply came from a person in my office who was working busily.....I went upto his desk and asked him what he was doing......He mumbled something absent mindedly and I thought it was best that he be left alone with his work. As i turned my back on him, I sneezed loudly.................
He winced and said "God bless you"!!!

Restrooms

So there was this new employee......his name is Mr D. Mr. D joined office a few days ago. As a new employee he was given a form to fill up. It was a strange sort of form which had all sorts of questions like ......Do you know who ur mentor is? Do you know where the office canteen is located? Do you know who is your group head? etc.....I hadnt filled one like that when i joined the company.....Thought that it must be some new concept of our HR and admin department who don't have any better jobs than to think of such so called 'HR policies'. So anyway.....this new employee answered all the questions correctly except for one. He asked me......"Can you tell me where employees can take a break? Maybe lie down or sleep for some time if they are feeling ill?" I told him that i often slept on my office chair and sometimes also during meetings on conference room chairs and that u didnt need a room just for sleeping in office at least!!!
I then saw his form and found out what the question was.............

Do you know where the restrooms of your office are located?

Was this ignorance? Or the funny language called 'English'?
Both.........I'd say.....

Do you have photos of your best friends?

Had an 'overnight' stay at my place with my friends yesternight. For the first time in the history of 'nightouts'......I shot a video with my newly aquired handycam. I realised after i watched the video that, somehow...............somehow............i have very few photos with the best of my friends!!
It is ridiculous and strange to actually realise this now, especially when you know that the very same guys have been with you for so many years, been together at these 'nightouts' and during all the evenings when you meet them. Apparently its because we took each others presence for granted and no one really bothered to have a 'best friends group photo'. And we realise it now because a stage has come when every member of the group has taken up their own career path and has to go places for work. Its an ideal farewell gift to a best friend, going to some other place to give him a video CD which has all these memories recorded in it, aint it?
So anyway, I shot a video...........and its come out real funny.........A sincere thanks to 3 of my best friends......KJC, RAA and IAK............for that....
KJC for giving your best facial expressions and beating RAA with that pillow.......which were skillfully captured by my practised Handycam hand....
RAA for throwing in that funny 'BOOO' sound in the dark and his crazy antics behind KJC's back.....
IAK for doing what he does best at 3 am at night outs.............sleepzzzzzz!!! that too in completely odd positions !!!!
YOU GUYS are the best!!!
Wish that some of my other best pals were here at my place too yesternight..........OV, AR, JRS, NNA and MS!!!

Whos you? Weight watcher or mass builder?

Why is it difficult for an underweight person to gain weight even if he eats like 'obelix' and still difficult for an overweight person to lose weight at all even if he eats an 'ant's' diet?

Is there an overweight person here in this big fat world who does NOT think it is more easier to gain weight than to lose it or an underweight person who does 'NOT' think it is more easier to lose weight than to gain it?

Probably not.

None of the above? Yeah you're lucky, then!!!

Fears.

There is no one without fears. Fear of the darkness, fear of heights, fear of water, fear of closed spaces. Some fear the elements and still others fear the living. I have known people who have hunted down a wild bear and have cowered, knocked knees and pissed their pants in front of their own father!!! Most of us fear the unknown. 'Unknown' could be ghosts, aliens landing on planet earth, paranormal activity and even the force we call 'God'. Fear of unknown could also mean fear of what would happen in future, to self, family, friends. It is perhaps, fear which keeps us alive, which helps us be cautious, take preventive steps before danger leaps out and takes its chances. When fear takes command, for a moment, you cannot move, nor can you think.

Fears can also hamper our progress. It is said that to achieve success you have to conquer your fears, first. And for that you have to face your fears, face it and stare right back at it, and fight it and vanquish it!! This is easier said than done. isnt it? But then what isnt?

Darr hi sabse bada rog hai - A quote on fear by the great 'Mahatma Gandhi'

Mummy, Mummy bhoonk lagi.........bas do minute!!!

This post is dedicated to one of my favourite snacks. A wet rainy day or a cold and chilly wintry evening is just the ideal weather to have a bowl of 'Maggi Noodles'. Kudos to the man / woman who invented maggi noodles. For most of the people in mumbai (or everywhere in india i'd like to think) Maggi is synonymous with 'noodles'. Obviously the reason being that in India Maggi Noodles are the only kind of Noodles for most of the people. Back then when we were kids, the meaning of Maggi for us was 'Noodles'. Or rather, we knew of Maggi before we knew that they were noodles. Such lies the fame of 'The Maggi Noodles' in india. Maggi is actually a subbrand of Nestle. It covers a large range of products such as Maggi sauce, Maggi seasoning cubes, Maggi soups etc. 'Maggi' was brought into existence in 1872 in Swizterland by a man called Julius Maggi. Wikipedia has some interesting facts on 'Maggi' I came to know of the above fact from wiki too. Earlier we used to get 'Maggi noodles' in different flavours. I remember Capsica, a very popular flavour back then. Pity it was discontinued. Then there was masala, which is still available, there is chicken (Dont know why it is called chicken?). There are also two new types, recently launched, Atta noodles and mania. Atta noodles is good. Havent tried 'Mania' (I got scared by the name and never really felt like buying it!!!) The best part of maggi is that its instant and is pretty filling. Not that it'll bloat your stomach. One packet of maggi is a perfect snack. Procedure of making it is rather simple. I think you just boil some 1 1/2 cups of water and.............i dont remember the rest of the recipe........i think its written in the back of the packet, simple isnt it?!!! (hahahaha!!!) So here is the maggi mantra..........

Mummy, Mummy Bhoonk lagi...................

Bas Do minute...........
and then u see a hot steaming bowl of maggi in mom's hand................WOW!!!! YUMMY!!!

Huh?

There are times in life when certain events take a totally different turn. On hearing the developments you are dumbstruck. You dont know whether you are surprised or 'shocked'. You start wondering......Is it a dream? Or did i have too much cheese last night? (So that this is a bizarre dream due to effects of overeating?) You forget for a brief period what is happening. During this brief period there is a likelihood that you might do something very absent minded like..... holding your mobile phone like a computer's mouse and moving it around. Such is the state of your mind, that you'll expect the cursor to move!!!! You might also do something silly at these times...like keep your mouth open in surprise!! There was one such news today that left me dumbstruck today....my friends might be knowing about it....

The 'art' of multitasking.

Ability of multitasking at work (working on two activities at a time or working on two projects)…..what is it? A boon or a bane? They say many hands make less work. Its more like………..if there are many hands on a project each of them work less than they actually should. Then comes, out of the blue, a man (or a woman) who’s willing to do all the work. He takes over and instead of ‘many’ hands, two hands are sufficient. Such men call themselves multitaskers, bosses call them work horses and still others simply say they are fools!! So what are the flipsides of multitasking? Many, I would say. First of all and possibly the biggest of them is that you do a lot more work than others and still get paid the same as others. Secondly, bosses start taking you for granted. Thirdly, its additional responsibility and even the best of multitaskers are at times on the very edge of their mental stability. In ‘short’, multitasking can be defined as, ‘The ability to work more efficiently than others on more jobs, so that you are ultimately loaded with more work, which is expected to be completed in more or less the same time in which it would have been completed by two or more persons. This results in you having more than one boss, who are more and more dependent on you for the completion of their work which in turn brings in more responsibilities and more pains in more parts of the body apart from your neck and ass.
Advantages? Well, First of all, you get change. When you are bored of one activity you can take up the other and keep switching. Each activity serves as a change from the other. Next, you can make your boss suffer, if he’s given you a firing or if you suddenly develop some kind of grudge against him. How? Remain absent for a period of 5-6 days. His world of work will go awry and he’ll suffer. He’ll start wishing that you come back quickly, and when you do, he’ll either be soft towards you or yell at you. In either case you’ll have the mental satisfaction of ruffling his feathers a bit. Thirdly, when you multitask once in your work life, you’ll realize that its foolish and never do it again!!!

Whatcha say?

P.S: This post like the others is quite sarcastic in nature. Any resemblance of ability to the one given above in a person living or dead is strictly coincidental.

Meetings and presentations

Been writing this post after quite a long time. Last time I wrote a post, I was in another country and it was a sunny day. This time I am in my home country and it’s a rainy night. US and India are two different countries with different cultures. No one, who has been to both these countries would waste their time comparing the two, because there is no comparison. Life is very different in US and India. Anyway, I resumed office last week and was quite happy to see ‘some’ of my colleagues in office. Some of the travel descriptions which I should have written in my blog when I was in USA shall be written later, that is, when I feel like re-visiting those memories!!! So anyway, the first day I resumed office, my boss told me to attend a vendor seminar on ‘lightning protection’ equipment. It was an interesting seminar…………………………………………………and so I was told later, because I did not hear anything……….i was busy sleeping!!! It wasn’t jet lag, it was either the soporific power of the presenter’s voice or the topic was simply boring. Meetings and presentations have always been a bore for me, however short the length. I am never one of those who carry a note pad, to a presentation to note any important points. I sit in a place where no one can see me, so that when a slide show is going on and the lights go out, my head starts drooping. Whenever I am in plain view of the speaker (rarely), I try not to sleep……..in doing so my mind starts wandering to far away places……….like the office canteen where tea is being made. I start wondering when the tea is gonna come. When it finally comes, and I drink it and somewhat come out of my stupor. I had once even played games on my mobile, when a vendor seminar was on and it was much more exciting!!! My friend once suggested that we play tic tac toe, during our group meetings. We will be trying that out soon!! Another method of timepass during a meeting or seminar is ‘chatting’. Same as chatting online. The only difference here is that u have to write on paper. So when I want to ask someone “How are you?” I write this down on my notepad and show it to him……..he reads it and writes his response below. This way we can chat without disturbing anyone!!! Hahahahaha!!!!!

Carmel-by-the-sea

The day started off clear…..with clear skies and bright sunshine that is…..and my sister asked us to carry along our winter jackets. Even though its cooler here than it is in Mumbai, I did not think it was necessary to carry along my winter jacket. My sister’s predictions turned out to be right. But then, even I wasn’t wrong. A winter jacket was required at carmel on that day, but so was a rain-jacket. It rained that day at carmel !!!
Carmel-by-the-sea is the name of the city where we parked our vehicles. Carmel- by- the- sea also seems to be built on a slope. In some areas roads were just like those in San Francisco, with virtually a 45 degree slope. We parked our vehicles and took out the picnic baskets. The moment we put on our hats, we had to hold onto them….the reason being that it was very windy. When I had my first look at Carmel beach ….it was spectacular. The sands are as white as they can be. It looks as if someone’s put ‘flour’ on the sea shore. Behind and stretching far beyond this white sand was the sea…..bluish green…pure looking. We took off our shoes and walked on the sands and into the water. The water was very cold. My sister told me that its even more colder than it was that day. Near the horizon dark stormy clouds had started appearing. It seemed like there were trails of clouds below the thick upper layer of dark clouds. It was only after some time that I realized that these ‘trails’ of clouds was, in fact, rain which was falling in the faraway sea.We saw flashes of lightning too. I even tried to capture the flashes of lightning in my camera…..but no ones that fast or that lucky!!! We had a fun time taking pictures of each other. There were many people on the beach that day……some enjoying the waters, others playing volleyball and football….while still others were content with just lying down in the sun…tanning themselves. By this time the clouds were very close to the beach and we started wrapping up to leave. Just as we left the beach it started pouring. We took cover under some trees until the rain stopped. After this we ‘hiked’ to a nearby thai restaurant and had tom yum soup, pad thai curry and brown rice. Next we went to chocolate shop where we bought pieces of fudge for everyone. There were also some great looking candy lollipops which my sister wanted to buy for me. I turned down the offer. After all it would look a bit weird for a 20 year old ‘kid’ to eat a lollipop!!! Something to note……there are a lot of art galleries in the city of carmel-by-the-sea. Paintings Galleries, sculpture galleries, regional (folk) handicraft galleries and many more. When you take a walk in the city….there are art galleries….which seem to be everywhere….so this is also a city for the art lovers. We went to Thomas Kinkade galleries. His paintings are lovely. We purchased some of the Thomas Kinkade painting jigsaw puzzles!!! We visited a Chinese Handicraft gallery and many more. After this it was time to leave….so we did.

P.S: Photos of carmel beach will be published later. The computer here is too damn slow.

Evening at Stanford University....

I have had a truly incredible stay here up till now. Each new thing is a new discovery and each new sight does not fail to amaze me. We visited many stores like Trader Joe’s, Safeway, Fry’s, India Cash and Carry etc. All these stores are so big that one could easily be lost in one of them!!!
This Monday, I took out the bicycle for the first time. Was carrying a map and few dollars for emergency situations, such as, getting lost in the city or something like that. Also wore a helmet (A helmet here is compulsory even when you are on a bicycle.). Initially I was a bit confused….coz here you have to keep to the extreme right, unlike in India where you have to be on the left (Is that so? Naah…In India, you can walk or drive on any side of the road that you feel like…) Went around in circles in nearby locality. Discovered that there is a big soccer field out here and two elementary schools.
The thing here is that parking lots are in abundance and no cars are parked on the roads. People only park where there is permission to do so on the roads…or in parking lots. Parking is sometimes time based….that is, parking in that area can be done only for a fixed period of time, after which you have to pay more to park for a further period of time. This system is called paid parking here. Also, just as car drivers obey signals, even the pedestrians do. Although peds usually have right of way, there are roads where there are pedestrian signals. Only if peds get a ‘white’ light, they can cross. At times there is a button which peds have to push to get the ‘go’ signal. Even otherwise peds cross roads only at zebra crossings.
The other day saw a screening of the marathi movie ‘Valu’ which was organized by the California Arts Association. After seeing the movie we went to see the Stanford university. Stanford University has a large campus and separate buildings…department wise. Stanford university is quite old (100+ years as I was informed by Dr. J….my sister’s hubby). As you enter the University complex, students’ residence is seen on either sides of the road. As you move in deeper, the various department buildings can be seen. After you turn from one of the junctions, a huge lawn space is seen ahead. This is called as the oval. The oval is like a huge park. On the periphery of this oval is the car park. When you stand on the approach stairs of the main university building and the church……the oval and the main approach road can be seen at a slightly lower level. (Can the above layout description be understood? I don’t think so….I ain’t too good at explaining….. The photo above makes it more clear!!!). The church was closed that evening…because the following day was convocation day!!! (Imagine the pride of passing out from such a coveted university!!!) There is a big clock in the same complex which sounds a ‘gong’ every 15 minutes. The mechanism of the clock is displayed in a nice glass enclosure on the ground level. When the gong sounds, you can see the cogs, wheels and the gears moving!!! Its great fun to see it!!! The architecture of the buildings and the walls and arches makes one feel as if the buildings are of historic importance…which they probably are!!!

Hello California.....Hello San Francisco!!!

This post is being written after 24 hours of travel and 48 hours of complete rest. The weather as was announced by the cathay pilot is ‘balmy’ with maximum temperatures at 23 degrees and a minimum of 10 degree Celsius. The sun is out here till 2100 hrs here in California during these days, which is greatly surprising for a person like me who sees the sunlight go off at around 1830 hrs in India.

We checked in early at the Sahar on the day of departure (night of departure?). After passing quickly through the customs and immigration checks, it was a long 3 hour wait in the waiting lounge, before we boarded the plane (The time of departure was 0300 hours and we checked in by 0000 hours!!!). I have never before seen an aircraft and so I was taken aback when I saw the wing of the plane from the window!! It was so huge!! Indeed when I first saw the plane, I wondered whether the thing really flies at all!!! But then the pilot taxied down to the runway and after a moment’s halt on the strip, accelerated the plane to such a high speed that I could feel like I left my stomach behind. And then it took off…..I could feel the power of the engines…..could hear its magnificent whistle and could barely believe the sight, when the lights in mumbai city became smaller and smaller and finally disappeared when the plane leveled out at the desired altitude.

The landing at Hong Kong airport was another fantastic experience. Hong Kong looks truly fabulous when seen from above during the time of landing. Its covered by sea on what seems to be, from all the directions. The mountains and other landforms can be seen quite clearly. The plane makes a sort of ‘thud’ when it touches down and then vibrates a lot before coming to a halt and then starts taxiing.
There is this one sight, I will probably never forget. A few hours after takeoff, I opened my window flap and looked outside. Behind the wing of the aircraft I could see total darkness and ahead I could see a halo of morning light being filtered through a portion of the clouds!! It was so thrilling a sight that words cannot describe what I saw.
Hong Kong airport was a marvel. There are a total of 70 exit gates, all in single rows on either sides, between which, are the waiting areas and the escalators. (straight escalators). For people who want to save the trouble of walking; there are these…small carts (called ‘shuttle’) which ferry people from one end of the airport to another. 50$ Hong Kong is the fare from one end to the other. People here have a different accent, than either the British or Americans. The whole building has glass panels so that the airport runways and the aircraft parking areas on either sides can be seen. Its rather fun to see, different aircrafts land and takeoff against a backdrop of the Hong Kong city and the China Sea. The second flight was much boring except the takeoff part. I mostly slept during the second journey. After 12 hours we landed at San Francisco airport My sister and her husband were there to pick us up. I pushed the trolley up to her car in the parking lot. There are a lot of good looking cars and bikes out here. I saw a Ford GTI, Lexus Mountaineers, a lot of Mini Coopers and also a snazzy looking Yamaha bike called RTZ and a Harley Davidson. There were a lot of Toyota corollas and camrys as well. I even saw a Hyundai Accent. The roads here are as beautiful as they can be. Signboards are put up everywhere and the network of roads is very complicated. You got to have a map to move around here. Traffic Discipline is maintained and on the first day a car stopped to let me cross the road!!! My sister told me that pedestrians are given the first priority to cross roads!!! It was even surprising to see signals being followed and people braking completely even where there was just a ‘STOP’ sign. My sister’s house is nice and neat. It has a large garage where the cars are parked. My sister owns a 2 door Honda Civic, a very cute looking car. On the first day we visited a grocery store called as Trader Joe’s. My sister showed me the cheese section. There were atleast 100 different types of cheese…..mozarella, cottage, milk, goat, cheese cubes, gowda, Feta etc etc etc etc.
We also went to the Sunnyvale public library. Here again there were several millions of books and several thousands of CDs and DVDs. Also they were all properly categorized and were easily accessible. Any book could be searched for through a search engine on a computer. The library as everything else here was so big….I almost lost myself in the war books section. A lot more programs have been planned out. I might take my sister’s bicycle tomorrow in the morning and go for a small joyride!!!