Folks at home.

The pictures of the ideal people I drew in my mind, werent consistent with any greats in this world. Then one day I realised, that what I drew in mind bore resemblance to my folks at home.

How I got my first motorbike.

(The only significant thing in this post today, is, whats written in the title. Most of you would think, its a totally mismatched title for this post.) Today I met some of my engineering college friends. It was great fun. We discussed everything from people, cars, jobs, home loans etc. It kind of reminded me of my engineering college days (Just like everybody. People are reminded of 'those days' when they meet old friends !!). For me engineering college life was torrid. Most people would enjoy the college days. They are most memorable. Of course, I wouldnt say that, I didnt enjoy my college days. Its more like, I never had 'memorable' time. I dont think I would ever remember them as a happy memory. It was a point in my life, when I felt things couldnt be worse and believe me, i was right. I was suffering disappointments on all fronts. I was the worst student in class, I had a lot of KTs, all at different times. I was never used to seeing a 'pass' on the notice board where the results were put up plus I had a lot of run ins with teachers all throughout my engineering life. I once told a teacher in a viva that a question she asked was not from the syllabus. I was right about the syllabus, but no one is stupid enough to tell an external examiner that she is asking an invalid question, that too 'on her face'. Also, I was known to be an 'editor' .....A person who could make a 12 page assignment into a 6 page one, by the method of insystematic editing. Anyone, who was low on time to meet the assignment deadline would have my assignment to copy from. This was something which made me proud, people recognized me for something, atleast. If not a first class in studies at least I had a dubious distinction !!! As we approached our final year of engineering, I was buoyed up by one factor. Our college days were coming to an end. I hadnt performed well in my studies and I would certainly get a relief once education was over. The future looked bleak, but atleast the worst was coming to an end. My dad was worried about my future. He wasnt pressurizing me, but it was evident that he did not like the way things were going. With last year started the campus placements. Given my marks, I did not get any placements. In fact I didnt meet the cutoff marks criteria for most of the companies. My dad gave it a last shot, and told me that if I got a first class in my final year exams, he would buy me a motorbike. There are somethings in life which you never get. I thought that dad buying me a motorbike would be one of them !! Indeed, when I got my final year first term results (a 56% passing), I thought that I would never get a first class. That was because it wasnt possible for me to score a 64% in the final term to round the final year marks to a 60%, which is a first class. After that, I simply gave up hope. I studied like I wanted to, I went out to play when I wanted to and basically went all out on this 'I-dont-give-a-damn' attitude. In the last term exams, somehow, I managed to write my papers pretty well, gave my vivas without any incidents and enjoyed the final year farewell party, happily rejoicing, for those days would never come again while people cried for those days would never come again. I wasnt in anticipation of final term results. I knew they would be bad, even though, by my standards, the papers had gone off pretty well. In fact, I would be glad if I had passed all subjects. One day, one of my best friends, abhilash, called me and told me the results were out. I asked him, whether he saw them (he used to live near the college and usually was the first one to check the results.) He told me, yes. My folks were there with me watching while I talked to him. They looked more tense than I did and the anticipation on their part was intense. I coolly asked him about my results. He told me, I had got a first class in final year !!! I was so shocked to hear this that I didnt speak for a moment. Then when A said hello again, I came to and asked him how the others had fared. Later on I came to know that I had managed to get a 9 grace marks for a first class. Call it whatever you want, but I would call it, god given great luck !! I got my motorbike from dad, after all.

The balance of expression.

The fact of life: Everyone starts taking you for granted if you're too soft, you do all the work, you listen to all the orders and you take all the efforts.
Ethically, it is right to do all these things. There is just one thing to bear in mind. If you overdo this goody goody stuff, it'll backfire. And much as you would think of speaking and behaving nicely to people, sometimes you are compelled to raise your voice, argue, fire and squash people beneath your feet. This would be quite unlike me of course !!! (I ain't joking, I cant do all these as easily as some people would, it requires a lot of effort, in my case). But quite a lot of times these days, I find that its very useful. It shuts up people, they have to think twice before taking you for a ride with their bossy attitude and you learn how to defend yourself against dictatorship. It also gives you that very upmanship at times and the savage satisfaction of having defeated someone, or having shown him, that you can fight and overthrow your opponent. It makes you feel like a raging tiger or the king of the jungle. It gives you a psychological high. Can't overdo this stuff also, however. You keep speaking like that all the time and your words lose their value. People take you for a fool whose always arguing. Slowly people learn to ignore you even when your point may be right, although, raised your voice is, as always.
As they say, there needs to be balance of everything in life and human behaviour.

Sex kara aani slim raha

Well actually, it started of with someone sending an email; you know, one of those regular forward stuff. Now, I believe that there are a very few people who would actually 'read' a very descriptive sort of email in office, atleast, apart from that involving office work. For example, no one likes to read a long love story and no one wants too much information on how xyz achieved his goals inspite of being a pauper earlier. The main reason: People dont have time. An ideal 'office fwd email' would be one which contains pictures, or some good jokes or good cartoon strips etc. Pictures can be scanned through quickly, good jokes can refresh a worn-out mind and good cartoon strips do the same. Rarely is a descriptive type of email interesting.
Coming to the point, I once received an email, which was descriptive. It was good, I read it and I am sure it must have been read by all. The reason for this irony was that it was related to one of the most hottest topics in this whole world.......sex.
The subject line was: Sex kara aani slim raha (this was in marathi, the english translation would be, "Have sex and stay slim"). Now apparently, it was marked to quite a few people, mainly we people who are young and bachelors. Apart from this it was also marked to some seniors in office due the fact that they are the 'cool' sort of people whom other people dont mind sending such emails !!! Now there was this one senior SSS, who must be around 36-38 yrs of age. The mail was forwarded to him. I had read the mail and found it amusing. I smiled and moved on to my work. After some time, our department head came to pick up some of his printouts from the common printer which is kept on a table just a few places away where I sit. Now, the HOD has a habit of cleaning out the mess from the printer out tray (He hates it when people just keep their printouts lying on the tray.) So as usual he was checking all the stuff, and telling people off for leaving their printouts lying around. Suddenly he stopped and pulled out a paper from the bunch of papers he was holding in his hand. I saw the flash of a grin pass on his face. He handed me a printout. I thought that maybe I had forgotten about collecting it from the printer. I was about to say sorry when he laughed and said, "Its not yours, hand it over to SSS when he comes back to his place, and tell him that I picked it up from the tray" (SSS sits just a place ahead of me and had probably gone to the loo at that time !!).
I looked at the printout and realised that SSS had given a printout of the email subject lined 'sex kara aani slim raha' !!!! (The name of the person who gives the printout appears on the top of the email !!!). I laughed a lot secretly but somehow managed to keep a perfectly straight face when I handed him over the printout and told him that the HOD picked it up from the tray !! As he turned away to face his PC, I saw his ears turn red....

The love song and the hate song.

The following poem is for two people of opposite sex who have just fallen in love with each other:

Smile, her smile so bright,
She lit up my heart like a thousand lights.

She isnt so beautiful, she isnt so fair,
For me she's the one
who's so rare.

I'll fight for her, I'd die for her
I'd give my everything away..
I'd be with her, I'll care for her,
I'd think about her night and day !

Her hair so long,
A voice like a song,
Eyes like a dear,
Baby, come here, come here
Be my love, be my love !!

The following poem is for two people of opposite sex who have just started hating each other:

She looks at me like a hawk,
I wish I could give, give her a sock.

She isnt so beautiful, nor is she fair,
Yet I dunno how I liked this horrible mare.

I'd fight with her, I'd die for sure,
I'll lose my sanity and peace,
I cannot live with her, I have no cure,
Will I live, or will i cease?

She looks like a witch,
The stupid bitch,
My long lost love,
my long lost love !!

**************************Disclaimer*****************************************
This post does not bear any resemblance / relation with any two persons living or dead (natural causes or due to each other) It is completely in good humour and shall not be taken seriously. This disclaimer serves a notice that the poem is bound to be nasty to some extra sensitive types !!
****************************************************************************

Photography.

Now, i wouldnt say that the first word that left my mouth when I was born was 'camera', so don't think that I am the best photographer in the world or anything, I would'nt think so too. But then snaps clicked by me arent that bad either. For one thing, I hate it when people show me photographs which have only people in it !!! I mean if its a social event or a party function then you'd obviously have snaps of people taken, cause there is nothing else to shoot, but people !!! What I mean to say is that I like to take and view photographs of landscapes and natural beauty more than I like to take and view photographs of only people in them. Of course, one might argue that natural beauty is as is taken by the eyes of the beholder. For example, there might be a very naturally beautiful lady in the group of people whom you have snapped !! Yes, thats ok, but then, I have seen pictures of only people even when they go to places like kathmandu and nainital. I mean c'mon...... Whats the point of looking at stupid idiots when there are lush green, mountainsque and picturesque landscapes behind those dimwits? If you take a photo of someone standing with a clearly visible view behind him / her, it looks beautiful, in fact it adds beauty. But its simply ridiculous, if you're taking such a closeup that you're hiding the background from view !!!! Some fools argue that those are for memories. But my counter-agrument is that, good group photographs can still serve as good memories and a few group / couple photographs ought to be enough for the whole trip. The 'exotic poses' can be taken at home or matrimonial photos can be snapped in studios !! Some people are just out to prove that 'we-were-there-for-the-trip-and-we-enjoyed-a-lot !!' through the photographs !!! I mean, look, you dont have to prove that do you? Unless, you have an appointment with the district attorney who's out to prove that you are innocent in the murder case of some poor dodo who stayed in the same hotel as you did on the trip?

Think of the weekend.

I'll tag my readers to take this......Ten things which you think of when the 'real' weekend approaches...
My ten things.....
1) Sleepzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....
2) Long gaming hours on the PC.
3) No work..laze around.
4) Cool glass of pineapple juice
5) Afternoon nap (Didnt include this in pt no. 1 coz.....its a totally different category of sleepzzz....the pleasure is more !!!)
6) Hang out with friends.....play pool, bowling, cricket, football.
7) Hang out with friends.....go for a long night time drive......have laughter filled and soulful chats....
8) Come home to a hot steaming.....mom-made dinner.....rice, curry, a nice aloo gobi....or mutter paneer ..or eat out with family or friends.....
9) Chat some more with folks......Write a post on da blog.......play some more PC games.....
10) Watch a night movie...

Route of the roses and route of the thorns !

Today I felt like running away from the office. The weather outside didnt help. It was nice cloudy, a bit breezy and it looked like it might rain. Thats the time when I remembered the 'life-is-a-road-with-many-forks' philosophy. There are times when you feel like running away from the difficulties. But you realise you have nowhere to go. They say you have to stay and fight. One road down the fork is very tempting. Its a bed of roses, comfortable, weather is fine and you feel like going down the garden on that route and just flopping down on the soft grass. The other road is the opposite kind. Uninviting, spectacularly barren, not even any dried berries to eat and thorns that would prick your bums if decide to flop onto them !!! Weather gets real rough at times. You'll be caught in storms, that you can fight, only if you stay alive and sane.
What would you choose? In my current 'professional conditions' I'd take the route of the roses !!!

The day of defeat.

There are times when you feel mentally DEFEATED at the end of the day. You have tried your best to make it good. Tried to please everyone, tried telling people nicely. Tried like hell to give the most sensible pieces of advice. Yet all the people who've been around you have either misunderstood you, have spoken ill of you, treated you like an enemy, spoken nastily about things which they dont know or are not concerned with and compared you to the most horrible people you have ever known, or with whom you wouldnt like to be compared with !!
Just for information....I didnt feel any of the above today.

The 9-point quiz on road rage.!!!

Do you do the following?
1) Does your heartbeat and pulse go up the moment you drive your car round the corner?
2) Do you wish at times that you had a monster truck or a road roller or better yet, a demolition ball?
3) Do you play GTA san andreas and idolize the character who mercilessly drives over pedestrians?Do you wish you could do that in real?
4) Does your middle finger go up in a salute to someone rather too quickly when driving a car?
5) Do you hurl the choicest abuses in front of your parents, colleagues, friends or complete strangers when you're driving, to a complete ass walking in the middle of the road?
6) Do you feel sadistic pride in having overtaken some car, and having squeezed it for space?
7) Do you feel a jumping joy in ur heart when an autorickshaw driver is hauled over by the traffic policeman?
8) Do you care less for your bike side mirrors, as long as it hits someone hard enough to teach him a lesson in non-hasty and careful ways of crossing the roads?
9) Do you fail to feel amazed by the fact that your car doesnt even have a scratch, let alone a dent or a blemish, even though you drive your car alongside the craziest and the nuttiest drivers?

If your answer to any of the above questions is a yes......congratulations and welcome to the world of road rage. Everything is fair in love, war and mumbai streets !!!

Waiting for the monsoons.

The end of summer,
The end of pains,
The end of the humidity,
And the start of the rains.

Oh the monsoons,
the monsoons are arriving,
the sky is greying,
and the wind is whistling.

Hailstorms and flooding,
thunder and lightning,
Shadows and sunshine,
Oh ! The landscape so fine !!

Umbrellas and raincoats,
Gum boots and paper boats,
Alike, the kids and folks
Can't wait to get soaked !!

Come one come all,
Enjoy the rains,
till cometh the fall.

Thats all of how I can express my feelings. The heat and humidity these days is at its peak. And mumbaikars are waiting for the monsoons to get underway. When it does start finally, it'll be raining all day everyday. And like everything in mumbai which changes fast, so will the opinion of people. They'll be saying "When will the rains end?"

Lack of enthu.

For starters let me tell you this....I am in quite a strong, hateful and edgy mood today. I cant say that I didnt laugh today at all. But this was a day when I laughed with devilish satisfaction. More of the sneery, smirky, smug, sadistic type of laughter. As I was telling ron, one of my best friends, I hate when people dont show enthusiasm. Enthusiasm of any kind at all.
Its not that I deny that some people dont have many activities, hobbies or interests. But then its impossible for anyone to have no topic of interest at all. You might say that they have interests other than your own. Possible. But some people, just go in a trance like state and seem to be staring at some sort of void in the air, when you are speaking. After sometime you start feeling whether you yourself are talking in an alien tongue or whether you are a brainless git.
The reality dawns upon you later on and you realise that the person with whom you are speaking with, lacks enthusiasm in any topic you come up with and he is the one who's a brainless git.

Winning

I played and I lost,
But never a regret there was.
Coz somewhere in my heart,
I knew that I had taken part.

But tommorow's another day,
I know I'll find a way,
I'll reach for the far,
And beat the stars,
And shine like the sun,
And feel like the one.


As kids we were told that participation in any competition was important rather than brooding over the results.
I dont think so.....I beg to differ now. Winning is important. How to win is something which has to be learnt. And that comes when you actually participate in the competition and lose. You lose and you learn. What you learn helps you to win. It helps to brood over what went wrong. It doesnt help to just participate. Nobody gives a shit if you participate. You have to participate to build your own experiences.
(What have I written? Does it even make sense?)

The not so green thumb.

So I saw this kid watering the young saplings which are planted in our building compound. He was being advised on how to water them by his grandpa ("Lower the hose, son....dont spray a jet near the base, you'll damage the roots"). The kid, for fun, or because he was annoyed with his grandpas constant lecturing.......sprayed some water on grandpa's shirt. I was passing by and smiled.....smirked, rather. This was the same old fellow who had stopped us from playing cricket in the building premises when we were young !!! Anyone troubling him makes me happy and I feel a natural bond to the person who troubles him !!! I mentally made notes to give the young kiddo a huge bar of chocolate later on !!!

Seeing the kid water the plant I remembered an incident. When I was in the 3rd grade, one of our teacher had asked us to plant a small sapling in a small pot at home (Instructions were pretty much basic. We werent told what to plant, that was for ourselves to find out. The pot was to be a small cup....An ice cream cup would do.). We were asked to record the growth in its length every day and its overall progress. The small plant was to be bought to school and shown to the teacher. Marks were supposed to be given on how healthy the plant appeared and how much the growth was. I was very excited, initially, and was looking forward to planting. However school time enthusiasm was forgotten once I got home. In fact, I forgot all about it until the very last day of the 'dead line' of 'submission of the sapling', which was some 15-20 days from the date on which the teacher had given us the project. Now, its agreed that you can't grow a 'tree' in 15-20 days, but I know (now, of course) that mustard seeds if planted in soil can grow quickly. However knowledge was of no consequence !!! The reality was that I had totally forgotten about it. Even if I did know it then, what was the use, if it had slipped completely off my mind? The teacher reminded us once a week, but even then I forgot. Then one day the teacher said, "Children, bring your plant tommorow, I hope they are growing well and you are watering them regularly."
It was then that I remembered !!! Oh yes, the plant ! I havent planted them !!! Oh what will I do?. And while everyone was happily discussing how well their plant had grown, I was left pondering on how to achieve a miracle. Usually mom was more 'demonic' and less 'angelic' when such kind of careless situations turned up....(I am sure every mom is.) and I wasnt exactly willing to tell mom to perform some kind of miracle.
I had an idea, of course. Next day (On day of submission.) I went downstairs and brought some 'soil' from the very place the kid was watering the plant today !!!
I remember scooping a handful of 'soil' in an old ice cream cup. So, I said to myself, "There's the soil". Now comes the plant. So I simply uprooted a weed-like thing from the ground, kept it in the soil collected in the cup and just packed some soil around its base. I put some water on the soil....and sprinkled some on the plant....it had to look fresh. It looked like a plant to me.......all fed and watered !!! The soil looked a bit more light coloured to me.....maybe it was because it did not have enough water, so I put some more. I punctured 5 holes at the base of the cup so that the extra water would drain off. And there it was....a nice plant. Grown by a cheat. I was proud of myself, even somewhat confident that I'll get good marks off it !!! I took the plant to school and showed it to the teacher. The teacher took one look at the plant and understood, of course. She simply pulled it out easily (of course.....if its not actually planted it comes off easily, isnt it?). She simply asked me, "What is this nonsense? Didnt I ask you ages ago to plant something? You havent done it and dare to bring this .....this 'fixed' plant to me? you'll get a big zero!! Get out of the class and kneel outside." So there I was, kneeling down outside the classroom, caught cheating and then 'humiliated' in front of my classmates !! Later on, I learnt that even the 'soil' I used was not soil,actually, but rather the loose gravel, used by the construction workers, who were repairing the building columns, at that time !!! Whenever, I think of this incident, I laugh. One things for sure, though. I never did have a green thumb anytime in my life, not then and not even now !!!!

Shape of the clouds and the dark sieve !!

Its been a very hot summer and hence cool beers or cool breezes are a pleasure. Since I dont prefer beer, I suggested that we ride down our bikes to the nearby 'hilly place' to enjoy the latter. Two of my office colleagues + friends were game. So we set off after office, SSR sitting pillion with me and RAA riding single. The ghat to the hilltop is always an enjoyable drive or ride, depending on whether you are in a car or on a bike. We reached the hilltop, parked our bikes and started the small trek to the peak. And we were glad that the cool breeze, we had come for was indeed there !! We reached the peak. While the other two of my friends were enjoying the scenery,
I took off my T-shirt, kept my bag on the ground and using it as a pillow, lay down on the earth. I closed my eyes for a moment and opened them again, and saw the vastness of the sky above. The soft cotton balls (the metaphor is commonly used) were far off, moving at a swift pace. I tried to imagine their shapes like I used to do when I was younger. But I couldnt make anything out of them. Nor was it a rabbit, nor an elephant, nor an old man, nor a house. Didnt think much of that then. What's there in a cloud anyway? They come, they go......they bring rains at times...Whats the big deal if it doesnt seem to be shaped like a monkey? When I sat up I saw a truly wonderful sight of the sunrays being filtered through gaps in some of the dark clouds. I was mesmerized by that lovely light amidst the dark sieve of the clouds and so were my friends.
Now, I dont know whether I am stupid to say this or anything, but later on for a moment, I actually regretted not seeing the clouds shaped like something. Am I losing my creativity or imagination, which was stronger when I was young? It was fun back then, seeing the cloud form some shape, letting your imagination run......is it not fun anymore? Has practical life taken away all my imagination, aspirations, dreams?
I saw the sunrays being filtered.....and thought of how wonderful the sun was........and then I completely missed the thought of why those sunrays got their identity and the focusing effect......it was due to the sieve like dark clouds !!!
Sometimes we are so overawed by the bigger picture that we totally miss the finer points which makes the bigger picture so much worth its value !!!

Lectures = meetings / presentations

Its one of those things that you remember out of the blue someday. It used to be mom who used to teach me marathi subject. My mom is one of the best teachers of the subject. That's what I used to hear from her tution students. Thats because I used to close my eyes while pretending to hear mom explain. I used to tell mom that I am listening to her and just that I can concentrate better if I close my eyes. After I closed my eyes, I would, of course, fall asleep. Mom isnt stupid and she used to make me get up, sit upright and ask me questions. Mom has a golden heart too.....and was at times content to see me sleep!! She let me sleep for about half an hour and then used to wake me up and start explaining chapters. Although I did sleep during the explanation time, it wasnt because mom was a bad teacher or boring or anything. It was just that I would feel sleepy after my lunch.

I remembered because, even today, if there is an important meeting going on, with a dead serious topic of discussion....I cant help but feel sleepy, restless and bored. No matter how interesting the presentation, how good the presenter, however good the length of the presentation / meeting may be.

Blogging woes.

A friend of mine has a blog. He recently wrote a post on his blog. I read it and told him so this evening. "Yes, That one....ya....wrote it last evening. Although it didnt turn out quite the way I wanted it to."
Ya. It does happen..... lots of times doesnt it?

You want to write something......but you cant think of a topic.
You dont want to write something but you are feeling trapped and lonely and want to release some frustration and express it in some form of the other and feel that your blog is the best way to vent it out.
You had a fixed topic in mind to write about, but when you started writing....you drifted away from the issue....
You didnt have a fixed topic but whatever you wrote came out well.
You remember some incident, feel like writing about it.......but somehow after writing it down...it doesnt seem to be like the same incident !!!
You start writing about a serious topic and when it is written down....it sounds rubbish !!
Sometimes you are just tired and cant write..although you want to...

Lots of other factors that way or the other. I henceforth cristen them as the 'Blogging woes'.
Wonder how professional writers handle these kind of woeful mood swings?

Those who pray and those who care,
Please say that he is still there.

He created Adam,
He created Eve,
He created their love and he created the seed.

He was generous and he was kind,
He was gracious and he didnt mind.
Those who pray and those who care,
Please say that he is still there.

Man became selfish and he became blind,
He created a kingdom ruled by might.
He wanted power, he wanted fame,
He wanted to be known and killed for gain.

He progressed and so he thought,
And so the precious territories for which he fought
After the war came the peace,
And then came again, a bloodfeast.

And so it went on and on,
And in the end became a norm.
This is the story of mankind....and so it will continue till the end of days,
Till he changes his self destructive ways.

And so I say, to those who pray and those who care,
Please hope that God is still there.

-By
Me. (Hoping that God is still everywhere on earth as per popular belief. Contrary to popular belief, I believe God left this place a long time ago, seeing man being such an arrogant bastard that he is today !!!)

Jawhar-Sajan-Kelwa: Part 2

So after taking the right left turn for Palghar, we finally felt relieved. We still werent sure that we would have a place to stay the night of course. But at least we had found the correct route and even that was something !! In fact it was something of an achievement after a botched up journey. And then surprise surprise, we found quite a nice place to stay called 'Kelwa beach resort'. This resort had cottages as well as some dorms. We rented a cottage for a 1000 smackers each (There were 3 of us) . The room rent included our dinner and breakfast. It had a small gate which opened out to the Kelwa beach. We dumped our bags in our rented cottage and headed straight for the beach. We stripped to our water gear..... Irfan wore his swimming trunks, rohan .... his boxers and me in shorts. We tore towards the water like young kids towards an ice cream man. The touch of sea water was so soothing after a whole day of travelling. We spent a quite a lot of time in the water. It was so cool and so refreshing that I didnt feel like leaving at all. Back at the hotel all of us had showers and then sat down outside. (The cottage had a small sit-out). As always, we had a lot of fun chatting. Long soulful chat, where we discussed life, people, cricket, IPL, relationships etc. After this was time for dinner. There was a buffet dinner. There was kofte ki sabji, dal, rice, rotis and ravas fish fry and custard for dessert. I liked the ravas fry, especially. After this we came back and slept like logs till 8 in the morning. I was the first one to get up. I ordered tea so that the other two would get up and I wouldnt get bored sitting there alone !! After tea we went to the beach again to take some photos and shoot some videos. It was low tide and the waters had drawn back so much that we had to walk for atleast 5 minutes to get to it !!! Kelwa beach.....I observed, is not as clean as, maybe, say, Kashid. But its still good enough to have a fun time ! We had breakfast and left the place at around 11:30 A.M. As we had not included lunch in our package the manager of the resort tried to tell us that we had to check out at 10:00 A.M (It was actually because some other people had booked the room for the day and were checking in early.). But since we had no such prior information from him about the check out time, we had a little argument with him. Rohan raised his voice a bit (or maybe his voice is a bit strong !!). Anyway, the manager was a bit intimidated and he 'adjusted' our check out time to 11:30 A.M !! We played some table tennis and left the place at around 11:15 A.M. We took turns to drive the car. Return journey was via Mumbai - Ahmedabad road. I wouldnt say it was the best of our trips. But I would say that it was one of the most adventurous and fun trips I'd ever had !

Jawhar-Sajan-Kelwa trip: Part 1

So finally I had my trip. It was all thanks to irfan once again, who once again managed to get hold of his car, so that we could make a quick journey. One day before the trip, I went to two or three travel agents to ask their rent-a-car rates. I was discouraged by the exorbitantly high rates (We were going to make a 2 day trip and we hadnt booked a place to live. We were just going to go to some undecided place and book a resort on the spot. So there was no point in booking a car just like that.) It was finally Irfan's call in the evening that shook me from my deadened and discouraged state. He told me that he had his dad's car at his disposal for two days and that we could finally go to someplace. It was decided in the evening that we (three of us...Rohan, Irfan and me) go to Jawhar, a hill station in Thane district, a little off the Mumbai-Ahmedabad road. Next day we started at around 0945 hrs (after casting our votes for the Lok sabha candidates.).
We took the Bhiwandi route (like idiots). This is because we did not know how to go from the Mumbai - Ahmedabad route. So we took the route to bhiwandi via Shilphata and then mumbra. We went through what seemed to be like the most interior part of bhiwandi....before we finally came out and started cruising towards Shelar and then Waada. On the way we stopped in Waada for some wadas !!! The road was nice and curvy after that and Irfan was having a time of his life driving his Hyundai accent. Before Jawhar, there was a ghat. On reaching Jawhar....we started at once to look for places to stay. Jawhar is a hillstation and is quite good for its view and all. But we realised some time later that it hasnt got any places to stay in and not much to see at summertime and that we should come down here in the monsoons !!! We were disappointed. We even searched for places to eat, but there was hardly any decent place to eat, let alone to stay in !!! We decided to head to Sajan which is just some Kms away from Jawhar. We had read about Sajan having a nice nature trail resort. On reaching the resort, we found that it was fully booked and once again it was not a hotel, meaning that there was no food. Again it was disappointment for us. It was 2:00 pm, our stomachs were rumbling with hunger and we had not even found a place to stay. We decided now, to head to Palghar, which is a coastal town, and has the famous Kelwa beach. We were hoping that we get a good place to stay in Kelwa !! Thinking that we should probably eat the first place we see now, we stopped at a dhaba which was fairly decent looking. We had a filling lunch and started off again. Just minutes later, we reached the highway, and wondered how bad our luck had been. Minutes earlier we had stopped at a Dhaba thinking that there would be no better place to eat on the path ahead and now just a few miles down, the road connects to the highway, where there are plenty of hotels to eat !! In the way we kept asking Irfan whether he wanted to take a break from driving his car. But he was enjoying the drive and had no desire to break off his rhythm. We took a right turn and headed towards the Palghar turn / cutting and kept driving. After going on for almost 25 Kms and passing a toll booth, we realised that we had left the Palghar turn behind. We took a U-turn, paid the toll again and headed back again.
Now it is said that man learns from his mistakes. But apparently we did not, that is because after driving back 25 Kms we drove another 10 Kms in the opposite direction and still hadnt found the Palghar turn !!! We stopped to ask someone. We found a scrawny looking man and asked him "Where is the Palghar turn?".
"Where do you want to go?" he asked.
"Palghar" we said.
"Then why did you come here?" he asked.
(That was a STUPID question.
Because we knew that the Palghar turn was behind and came ahead just to see your face and ask you directions of some turn already knew, BOZO !!...thats what we thought )
Anyway, he gave us the right direction. We were about to take a U-turn. When the U-turn was about to be taken, Irfan asked us whether we want to go to Palghar or head back to Mumbai? (Till this time we had travelled a lot, were hungry again and had been to the wrong places, taken the wrong routes and we were finding a place, where we were not sure whether we would even find a place to stay, so the thoughtful question from Irfan !!) After some contemplation, rohan and me were all for finding Palghar. So we took the U-turn and finally after going to and fro on the same highway for around 50 Kms we found the correct turning for Palghar. Hurrah !!!
Later on Irfan commented that
Life is just like the journey we had that day......we come to right place after going through so many wrong turns, so many treacherous climbs and descends. So many people, give you directions, few of them are right and many others, wrong. Also there are times when you decide, whether to head back to the safety of your homes or go on bravely in hunt of unaccomplished challenges, inspite of all the disappointments on the way !!!
(To be con'td)

Oath of a trip enthusiast.

These days I am quite skeptical of planning out a trip with my friends (friends here mean the group of my 5-6 closest friends) . The reason being that whenever a plan is made its almost always cancelled. There is a popular saying that rules are meant to be broken. In my friends' group case 'Trip plans are made to be cancelled'. No doubt that we have been to some of the most unforgettable trips and tours. But then even those plans were always made by a single person (my friend Irfan, bless him, God !!) Rest all of the people are experts at ruining plans, citing 'genuine' reasons like......
1) I have no money. The trip is out of my budget.
2) I have some work. (Right ! We have none.)
3) My parents wont allow me to go. (Why? Are we cannibals?)
4) The season is not right.
Personally, I am not a plan ruiner and take an enthusiastic part in planning a picnic. But when others are not enthusiastic, I lose my cool. I am never one to make up one of the above excuses.
1) No money.....Ya right....its going to cost a fortune and nobody's going to loan you any! Its not like we dont have money at all. All of us are working individuals now. Even if we dont earn very much we arent beggars !! . And when an excellent opportunity for a holiday comes your way, you should grab it no matter what !!
2) Work.......Right we have none !!! Work work and work, you have to, all your bloody life. Holidays are planned to get a break from this very work. Its ok to keep it aside for some time and go out with your friends, when you all have a good long weekend.
3) Wont be allowed: Why? Are we cannibals? Are we going to eat you? This was a favourite excuse when we were younger. Now its not. But plans are still cancelled. So who'll bother giving this reason? (Please note that I am referring here to an all boys group !!)
4) If the season is not right, you have to plan going to some place where it is right.

There have been so many times that we have got stuck up because we have no transportation. But then we always had options of hiring vehicles.
There has been so much of trip cancellation now, I have already sort of joined a trekking group through an office colleague of mine. They go on treks regularly. I am also seriously thinking of going somewhere myself with tour companies. No kidding ......these are the only ways that I am going to enjoy seeing places.

My best friends wedding (Part 2) : The party !!!

There are fun times which you never forget all your life. KCs wedding reception party was one such occasion. It had everything......meeting old friends....music......dancing......food.....drinks. It was more of a 'party' than a 'reception'. You can say we saw a mix of traditional and modern ways of celebrations on the same day.
We arrived early.....the party had not started then. We had bought KC and his wife gifts....which we had selected after great deal of contemplations, discussions, brain storming and brain stomping!!. Buying a gift had never been so difficult for us......thats cause we never gave gifts to anyone in our group for birthdays or anything else !!! But since this was KCs marriage we wanted to pick out the perfect gift for him and his wifey. Bhabhiji had suggested diamonds.....she was either joking or being seriously stupid......as diamonds were way beyond our 'reach'. I will always remember the way....me and rohan and others discussed the different kinds of gifts for him. I remember that I had asked some of my friends and colleagues for gift ideas....
In the end we bought them nice wrist watches (and added a packet of _____ as an additional gift to KC.).
Anyway, on the night of the party, we were the first ones to arrive. People began to come in slowly after that.
KC and bulbul came in after some time. KC once again looking smart in a black blazer and bulbul beautiful again in a black coloured dress. The party started with the arrival of the couple. Drinks and starters were being served. People were being introduced to each other. An hour later the music started.....people started stepping rhythmically. Slowly the tempo picked up and the floor was now alive with enthusiastic dancers.
I dont ever remember dancing like that before with my friends. We all have been friends for so long now.....and yet the only time we danced together was probably when we won our locality cricket matches !!! KC and bulbul looked so happy......Indeed by the time the party was well into the night....all the people in the party were happy....some just happy and others alcoholically happy.
There were some truly unforgettable moments.....KC and bulbul waltzing..... KCs brother and KCs bhabhi doing a jive.........People hugging each other simply because they were happy (and drunk, of course !!!)......KCs brother pulling me onto the dance floor and asking me to dance......My friends all looking very joyous.......Jitu dancing so well......rohit dancing like he always does......
At the end of the day (night, I should say) of wedding KC thanked us for supporting him thru his thick and thins...we hugged each other. The first from our group to get married is KC. We all wish him and bulbul a very happy married life.

Sun le tu dil ki sada.

Sun le tu dil ki sada........Pyaar se pyaar sajaa...
Sun le tu dil ki sada .......Pyaar se pyaar sajaa....

Meri aawaz kaa teer....
jayega Dil ko bhi cheer...
Khoye nafrat...
Laye ulfat....
Ye aasar hai.....meherabaan...
Sun le tu dil ki sada..Pyaar se pyaar saja...

Pyaar rasta hai mera...
Aisa raahi hu tera....
Naa rahu main...
Naa rahe tu....
Par rahegi daastan...
Sun le tu dil ki sada..Pyaar se pyaar saja...

Do dilon ki yeh lagan...
Jaane dharti aur gagan....
Tu jahan hai...
main wahan hu...
Jism do hai....
Ek jaan....
Sun le tu dil ki sada..Pyaar se pyaar saja...

These are the lyrics of a wonderful song from the film Tere ghar ke saamne sung by Mohd Rafi, one of my favourite playback singers. Kyaa dard tha unki aawaz mein !!!

My best friend's wedding (Part 1) - The marriage

The day had finally arrived. 'KC weds Buls' was the invitation. I was still to come out of that state when you say.....Huh? Yesterday, I was a kid.....today my best friend is getting married.
My best friend's wedding took place on the 18th April 2009. I am writing this date in this post because I am bad at remembering birthdates and anniversaries. So its good to make a note of it. Next year I'll remember to wish my friend KC and my bhabhi-friend bulbul a happy anniversary. KC called me up in the morning and told me again to be there for the wedding. (As if I would'nt !!!). Me and irfan arrived at the temple hall exactly at 11:30 am as he told us. Rohan came up later. Slowly the hall filled with people. There were kids and older men who looked like KC so we came to the conclusion that they must be his cousins and uncles respectively (haha!!) . After some time of waiting I saw both of them climb the stairs and walking hand in hand. It was KC and bulbul.......KC looking very smart and handsome in that slim fit formal shirt, his face looking bright and happy (the facial helped also, i guess). Bulbul, looking gorgeous, in a lovely saree, carrying herself gracefully, with her hair tied up in an elegant knot. Both looked very happy. Before the 'vidhis' started, KC was made to wear the traditional 'pheta' or 'pagdi'. The pheta fitted him like a song. Never before having seen KC in that traditional pheta we found it quite funny and laughed. The 'vidhis' started after that. KC stood up for the vidhi and it was at that moment....when I saw him in the pheta standing beside the guruji for the 'mangal ashtak' vidhi......that I really came to terms with the fact that my friend was finally getting married !!! Until then everything seemed to be so unreal....just like a dream. It was just like , you know when things are going to happen, but still, you dont come to terms with it until they really happen !!! As I saw Kedar (KCs brother) playfully throwing 'akshatha' with unnecessary force.....this scene seemed to roll in slow motion in front of my eyes......and I was reminded of my younger days when I went to KCs place to play.....and he had these physical fights with Kedar...for the cricket bat. When I came back to the present the 'mangal ashtak' was over. Kedar told us to proceed for lunch. When I went downstairs, I realised that my footwear was missing. I had kept it at the entrance but it wasnt there anymore. Oh boy !! I thought !! Its KCs wedding and my footwear is bring stolen !! I had another 'vision' in which an older looking KC and bulbul were telling their kids...."Look children, here is your uncle, whose 'chapals' were stolen in our marriage" and all of them laughing !!!
I grinned to myself. "I am getting too many 'visions' "I said to myself and went to the nearby store to buy a new pair of flotters. We had lunch and left for home. There was going to be a reception party in the evening and I wanted to sleep in the afternoon so that I was energetic to dance in the party !!

English is a very funny language....some 'peoples' make it even funnier !!!

A certain Mr. XXX from my office (he is from another department) had arranged a picnic for his department people. Now, this department is 30 strong. 7 guys from his department confirmed that they would like to go for the picnic. Apart from the 7 nobody else was going. However later on even these 7 fellas dropped out citing personal reasons. . So Mr.XXX wrote a mail to everyone in his department......It goes this way....

"PICNIC CANCELLED, PICNIC CANCELLED
No Confirmation is received and the peoples who already confirmed now taken the deviation for picnic. No picnic will be arranged henceforth.
Regards,
XXX"

(Note the usage of the english language.....very funny......deviation is a very commonly used official term in our company.)

Now, it so happened that another fellow from that department fwded the mail to RV, a guy in our department. It so happens that, earlier Mr XXX had tried to arrange a cricket match in the same fashion with our department's cricket team.....and that had also been cancelled on account of the non-availability of his department's cricket team members...

RV wrote a mail to Mr. XXX saying.....
Sorry to interrupt, but if you can’t arrange for a simple picnic program…..why did you ask us to arrange for a cricket match……….?
No thanks or regards,
RV

Mr XXX saw the reply.....he wasnt at all happy that the mail (the one about the picnic being cancelled. ) which should have been circulated within his department only, was sent to RV who is from another department and who made fun of him. Mr. XXX thought that the mail was 'divulged' to RV by some lady who is in Mr. XXX dept.

Mr XXX then sent a 'scorcher'....to RV.....
"It seem that someone ( I don’t know who but I don’t want to insult a Who.. , she is atleast loyal with the one who pays her ) from my dept have stabbed my dept.
Do you feel that arranging a picnic with such peoples is a simple program? I don’t bother about such peoples also. But still it was managed and cancelled because two of my friends are not available for the picnic due to genuine reason. Anyway there is no personal with you. I don’t want to loose friends. Atleast like u. I don’t want to stretch this issue which may create a nuisance to us and all ,who are involved in this mail. I havenot copy this mail to anyone.
Requested to you ( atleast) Become a wise man.
I don’t want to start a day with such mail.
With Warm Regards
XXX"

Wow !!! I know I arent an expert in the english language.....but this is simply horrible grammar, vocab and spelling....I dont know how this fellow writes his official mails?

Little cousin sister's day in...

My little cousin sister had the day of her life yesterday. Summer holidays have started for schools and she had invited 6 of her friends home. The little girls had a gala time. Everyone's mom left them to my uncle and aunt's place at around 10 in the morning. They had a fantastic lunch of aloo parathas made by my aunt whos an expert cook. The first thing they did, after that, was to organize a small skit....'Cinderella'. They prepared and handed out small hand-written invitation cards on nice colourful papers to everyone in the house. Me, my dad (me and dad were there for a visit), my uncle, my aunt, my grandparents. My invitation card bore the following script:

Ravi Dada
You are invited to see the following play:
Name: Cinderela (That was the spelling)
Time: 3:00 P.M
Venue: Hall (This 'Hall' meant the living room of my uncle and aunt's place)

My cousin sister had 'directed' the play. She played the role of Cinderella. All of us sat on the living room sofas as 'audience'. They had a makeshift 'curtain', a bedsheet held on by two girls. The curtain was dropped (The girls quickly scrambled away pulling the bedsheet!!)

The skit was quite cute and was quite well made. They even had a sequence where the prince and cinderella danced in 'ball-room' style. 'Blue danube' was played on a mobile phone with speakers, while the prince and cinderella danced. There was some giggling in the middle of the play and some prompting too !!! And they forgot the last scene where the prince and cinderella hold hands and the fairy godmother showers flowers on them !!! The 'fairy Godmother' came out and giggled "Hey Cinderella, you forgot the flowers scene !!!" As my elder sister would say .....'Cho Chweet !!!'

It was then Ice cream time for the young ones....and giggling continued all the time. Then they went downstairs to play...and then one by one all their mothers came to pick them up. An enjoyable day for them.

I remember those days when my mom used to leave me at KCs place and then we used to play all day.....It was so special to visit a friends place. Still is.........but back then it was once in a bluemoon opportunity to visit a friend's place!!!

Good luck and bad luck.

Luck never takes sides. Everyone has equal distribution of luck. If I am out of luck today, its just that my time is bad. Tommorow, if the times are good, it does not mean that I am just plain lucky. Conclusion .....

Luck is fickle,
But Luck is fair,
Good luck, while it lasts,
Enjoy your share.

Uncle and uncle's bhabhijis

My sister giving me a niece. My best friend KC getting married. Another one, Dr NNA, with his engagement fixed in May. Suddenly, I feel very grown up. Things have changed pretty much pretty soon. My niece will call me 'mama'. Someone who'll call me 'uncle' is something I have to come to terms with. Anyway, mom told me the news on the phone. The baby was born on 7th April 2009...So that's her birthdate. She's an Arien. Curiously, its on the same date as my best friend's KC's birthdate, which is 7th June. The phone rang at 2030 hrs IST on 7th April. Mom told me "The good news has come."
My best friend whom I've known for the past 20 years will be marrying his lady love. And I will have someone whom I'll call 'bhabhi' (Bhabhi is actually brother's wife, but since friends are like brothers, their wife is also called as 'Bhabhi'. (I'll address her by her name of course....but still....she'll be a bhabhi). Congratulations to the lovely couple !!! I've been asking my friend, what gift he wants for his wedding. He says he doesnt his own house to keep gifts. So I told him that I cant afford to buy him a house, but he can ask for anything else !!! If he doesnt tell me, I'll ask bhabhiji and if she doesnt tell me either.....I'll give them a 'Food bazaar voucher' which I guess will be totally useless for them !!!
NNA has been out of contact for a long time. He makes his special appearances only during the ganeshotsav festival at my place. Still it was a pleasant shocker for me to hear that hes getting hitched....He's the kind of guy who would say...."Shaadi kidhar yaar, abhi? Abhi tak to mera MD karna baki hai." Congratulations to him too. Wasnt in contact with us for a long time. Now, he wont remember us at all !!! Meri aur ek bhabhiji.

Summer time.

I am writing this post because I am glad I am home and not outside. I had just been out in the open right now and the sun is blazing away all its atomic power and dazzling and roasting people on earth in mumbai. Thousands of things have been said on global warming and its effect, but frankly, I have never before experienced such a solid heat wave in mumbai. It was a recorded 40 degrees high in the shade, at colaba the day before yesterday. It seems like if you drop an egg on your head it will fry. A drop of water falling on the trunk of a car sizzles like 'tadka dal' (Smack !!! That makes me hungry !!!) Mumbai summer brings with it more pains than pleasures, just like the mumbai monsoons. The summer heat certainly has effect on people's brains too. For instance, everyone in office, yesterday, seemed to be blowing their tops more than usual. It was'nt unusual for my boss to blow his top. Thats coz' he does it everyday !!! But yeah, weather does have an effect on people. Heat makes you feel irritable and anger, just like sweat, surfaces more often than usual. Mumbai summer- The advantages: Mangoes and 'Kayris' sweet mangoes, when eaten transport you to seventh heaven, lip smacking and satisfying juicy and ripe.....and Kayris (raw mangoes).....put some salt and chilli powder on them and what you have is a delightful snack....my mouth starts watering thinking about kayri.
So apart from mangoes and kayris, I am waiting for summer to get over and rains to start.
The song goes......we're all going on a summer holiday......
I realised it a long time back that its for California, where the summers are fine.........not for mumbai where the heat is unbearable.

Then and now...

On the lines of the last post, i tag all readers of my blog to take this one....

The nickname mom gave me as a kid...?
Goondoba.

The nickname I have now...from mom, friends and colleagues?
Goondoba, muttz and RC respectively.

Any one thing I never understood as a kid?
How a computer works?

Any one thing which I dont understand now?
How does my home PC work despite all the viruses it contains.

Any one thing I loved doing as a kid?
Playing cricket.

Any one thing which I love doing now?
Playing counter-strike, cricket, writing blog etc.

Any one thing which I hated as a kid?
Studying.

Any one thing which I hate now?
Working.

Any one thing I heard dad say many times when I was a kid?
I dont understand your mom.

Any one thing I hear dad say often now?
I never really understood your mom !!!

Any one thing which you did not understand about women as a kid?
Why they dont have mustaches while men do.

Any one thing which you did not understand about women now?
I dont understand anything about women till now, except why they dont have mustaches.

Any one thing you dreamed of as a kid?
Of becoming a pilot.

Any one thing you dream of now?
Of being the king of this world.

Hence I reach the conclusion that more or less everything is the same as it was when I was a kid. Or to put it in a better way............I am still a kid at heart !!!!

Ur favourite timepass ???

Dear friend KC has tagged all the readers of his blog and since I am in a mood to write today but out of topics, I accept his tag.....so here goes....

Favourite time pass when u are alone ?? Listening to music at louder volumes, watching movies, eating, singing, dancing.....

Favourite time pass when u are wid friends ?? Playing counter-strike and other computer games, pulling friends' legs (not literally), bird watching and bird analysis, watching movies, eating, going out on drives, playing cricket, pool, bowling etc.

Favourite time pass when u are wid ur family ?? Going out on drives in car, playing scotland yard (detective board game), eating (again)

Favourite time pass when u are wid colleagues ?? If colleagues are friends.....then the above 'friends' part is applicable, if not, then, I dont know......maybe talk to them and see if we are like minded about my boss being a bastard that he is.

Favourite time pass when u are wid boss ?? To see him being screwed by the superboss !!!

Favourite time pass while travelling ?? Listening to music and see the scenery and the greenery outside.....

Mentor.

When it comes to professional life.......nobody can be depended upon, to lend you any 'support' or 'help'. You are on your own, a loner, singular. Whatever problems you have, you have to face them yourself. This belief makes life easier. However, before you reach this conclusion , there are some people whom you call as, your mentors. They would seem like 'born leaders' to you. You start 'hero worshipping' them. You cannot find any fault with them. They seem like the greatest and the coolest of people to work under. Everything seems to be so easy around them. They encourage you for the good work you've done, cover up your mistakes and fight it for you, when you are passing through difficult phases. Then, one fine day you realise that they aren't that calm and cool. They crack under pressure and when this happens, they behave strangely, so much so, that you start wondering whether this is the same person. You start wondering whether he was cool as a cucumber before, or just plain carefree and careless? Your earlier opinion takes a beating and you start questioning and revising your own beliefs on mentor-ism and 'born leadership' skills. Period.

Nirlajam sada sukhi

There is an old adage in marathi..... "Nirlajam sada sukhi". It means that people who are shameless (not in the 'physical sense of the meaning', of course..) are the happiest. If the reverse of this is true.....I am probably the most shameless person in this whole wide world !!!
Yes, its probably the fact that being shameless upto a great extent protects my sanity and my emotional balance !!!
At times I feel grateful that God's given me two ears. One for listening and other for letting out the filtered information !!!
As kids, we were often scolded by our school teachers....." Dont just stand their laughing shamelessly." or "That was a shameless lie, you idiot." etc. I remember that children who were shameless were happier, even that time. Those who werent shameless, cried like wimps.
Agreed, that its not good to be entirely shameless, but some shamelessness is required. This world is a bad and cruel place. It contains evil people. Everyday, there are people who will talk harshly to you, hurt your feelings, and sabotage your public image, even if you are doing no wrong. If there are people like that around, its quite ok to be shameless.

Cleanliness mania..

Ever wondered whom to blame for, your mom's cranky and ever paranoid nature, at certain times? Blame it all on house cleaning and keeping. Its otherwise, hard for me to worry about that tiny speck of dirt on the table, or shoes kept out of their fixed position in the shoe cabinet, or the slightly tilted photoframe hanging on the wall, or the teensy weensy black spot on the white refridgerator !!! However, since the time I am 'home alone', I find myself stepping in mom's shoes of crankiness. I often find myself telling my friends, who come home, that they shouldnt throw their shoes around the place, keep the newspapers in a neat pile or things like that.

The reason being is that whoever does the house cleaning feels the 'pain' when someone jeopardizes the neatness or the orderliness with which things are maintained.

Then of course, the levels of fanatism and tolerance in terms of home cleanliness and tidiness for different people are different.

Cruel world.

There are times when you feel totally dejected at certain 'aspects' in life. You always try to forget them, saying to yourself what good will it do by remembering them? But they keep coming back to haunt you. At times you'll feel that it would have been so good if it was different. You dream about the difference. But in reality, aspects of this nature never change. People are 'kind' enough to bring those depressing matters again and again and keep reminding you what you are trying to forget. So it is difficult for you to forget at all. Especially if they are brought on by people who you trust the most to understand your feelings. These are the wounds which never heal. You carry them off as permanent scars. Nobody will support your views. Nobody can understand them. Nobody will understand this post, and what it is about, anyway. Sob !! Its a cruel world.

As days go by......Home alone.

Been getting used to a new life lately. A life of living home alone. Living alone has its upsides and downsides. Upsides include some factors like getting an 'off' from everyone's nagging and pestering. You are your own master, you are at no one's mercy. Do what you like, eat what you want to, sleep whenever you want to. You can play the music at loud volumes, scream and sing, shout all you want. You can even dance naked, run around the house wearing only underwears and throw your clothes here and there (Please dont think, that I would do all this stuff. I am only saying that when you are alone, it is practically possible to all this stuff !!).
If you are going to live alone for a long time...........the above upsides will eventually lead you to doom !!! (Yeah, but not all, i guess, eg nothing would happen if you continue running around the house wearing underwears. As long as you are alone, its not a problem!!!)
I'll not talk about the downsides..........cause there are many............one of them namely....loneliness. It can be a killer. I'll write about the other downsides when I start realising what they are, as my days go by, home alone.

Be who you are and say what you feel.

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those that matter don't mind."

Have read this quite a bit of times now. It seems to appear on many websites, blogs, calendars, inspirational novels and management books. Nice saying. I tend to agree to it and tend to be like that.....most of the times.

A pouring out of frustration.

There are some people in this world who, I wish, would shut up and mind their own bloody business. They have this infuriating habit of poking their nose into matters which are strictly out of their territory. Its one thing to be mildy curious and another to be overtly inquisitive. Also, I would like to tell some of these 'some people', one day that, they should not mix personal and professional life and keep the two apart. A fellow I know, seems to be judging how my personal life would be, based on his experiences of my professional workmanship. He even has the nerve of telling me his totally inaccurate conclusions. If it were not for the fact that my hands are tied right now, I would give him a piece of my mind in the form of an angry retort. The bastard. He tends to think that he is the 'coolest dude' which is quite untrue, in fact quite contradictory. If he was the coolest, I think the definition of 'cool' itself would change. Right now, I wish that he has an upset stomach 24 X 7 till he drops faint in his own pool of poo. Yeah, that was disgusting, but then you have an idea about how disgusted I am, by his behaviourial characteristics.

3 awesome photos.

Given below are three of some 'interesting' snaps, which have been captured by me or my shutterbug friends........Thought I'd put them on the blog and write something about it......

The above is a picture taken by one of my best friends, KC. Its a truly fantastic snap. The story goes that the lady who lives next door to KCs place, had to go outstation , and had her son draw this 'poster'.Maybe, the lady did not have the time to inform the milkman who delivers milk at her place. This 'simple representation', which is placed between the metal grill of the front door, makes it amply clear that milk is NOT to be delivered !!! A huge NO MILK sign, a cow below it (who gives milk, as we all know!!) and an arrow towards what seems to be a plastic bag in which milk is delivered !!! An amazing imaginative piece of drawing by a boy !!!

'JANTS' toilet.

Spelling mistake. Its ok. Everyone is not perfect in english after all. And it conveys the meaning does'nt it? Afterall, who'll look at the grammar and spelling sign if mother nature calls urgently?

And why is this grown-up man standing in a plastic bucket? Does he think its funny? The reality is, he is collecting trash from dustbins and then throwing them into that big blue bucket. When the bucket is filled to its full capacity, the man stands on the trash, forcing it down further, so that more trash can be added to the bucket !!! This photo is taken by another of my best friends, Rohan, who captured this snap at the time when office boys collect trash from all the dustbins in office.

Gifts

One of my friends recently chatted with me. The chatting session seemed to be perfectly normal until, she suddenly tells me that she has a friend who is a male, whom she wants to give a gift to. This question threw me off track. I've never given a gift to a person of the opposite sex. How do you choose a gift ?

SS: Ravi tell me something normally what gift can a girl give a boy whos her friend?

Me(I was thrown off track, couldnt think of an answer, and wondered why she asked me instead of all the knowledgable people and great romeos in the world? !!) : i could ask u the same vice versa question sometime later.............but right now i will only try to answer ur query.........., however let me think.........

SS: Let us suppose that I want to gift u something, what kind of gift would u like to have from me?

Me (still stumped): Well actually......let me think, are u giving it to this boy...........ur potential suitor? or a friend? or a potential suitor as a friend?

SS: Only a friend, I told u didnt I? dumbo........this is in no way related to my matrimony!!

Me (trying to buy time) : Do u want to surprise him?

SS: Maybe yes

Me: Ok if its a surprise its real tough (ya, when have I thot of giving a gift? let alone a surprise gift?) .......... coz boys are rarely surprised (huh? what? what a stupid statement !!) ..........but let me think.........dont give him perfume ok..............watever u do.......... he'll take the wrong meaning!! (Now I started telling what not to gift.............its always a good strategy when you dont what is to be done...You can start on the things which are NOT to be done, coz you might know those better!!!. )

SS : Why?

Me (Thinking): This .........why?.......... just proves that ur real stupid birdbrain

SS: Still, if I give him a branded one? It will be good no?

Me: No ...........

SS: Anyway tell me what to give and not what not to give

Me(Thinking) :She has realised my strategy !!

Me: You can buy him a wrist watch.

SS: Another option

Me: Ok. that wasnt a good option ..........wrist watch.............

SS: Give me options no.........

Me: Ya ok...............its just that i cant think of any...........

Me: You can give the boy a backpack...........a cool branded one.......... adidas or reebok.........

SS: I dont prefer tat as gift

Me: Do u prefer flowers?

SS : No

SS: Because, I feel it is waste of money.

Me: ok..........

Me: Give him a cool looking formal shirt. You shud know his size of course........

SS: How will I know that? Like for example I want to buy a shirt for you, how do I know your size?

Me: You could ask some other friend who knows u and him............He'll know your friends size, isnt it?

SS: Too complicated, tell me something else........

Me (Thinking): She wants to give a surprise gift to this friend of hers, doesnt want it to be personal, still give him something useful, doesnt know his specifications and on top of that, asks me, of all the people, for an opinion, and then cancels out each of my best options!!)

Me: I will think and tell you tommorow..........If I meet you online !!! Right now, I am signing out!!!

Simply amazing bit of chat !!!!

My favourite Bollywood Characters

So mysterio has tagged me and so will write abt my favourite bollywood characters....Wont write them in any order of 'favouritism', will write bout them as they come to mind....

Sameer aka Saif Ali Khan in Dil Chahta Hai: Certainly, Aamir Khan was the main character in the film, although it was a story of three friends. But what strikes me, is that despite all his 'antics' in the film Saif Ali Khan is the most normal character in the movie. He does not display the mysterious behaviour of Sid, nor the impulsive behaviour of Akash.

Arif Khan aka Jimmy Shergill in A Wednesday: 'Pagla aa gaya, aaj aur koi marega' says the havaldar in the movie on seeing Arif Khan on his enfield wearing those Rayban's. He lives upto this 'pagla' name. Instilling fear in the minds of criminals who pee their pants on seeing him. Kidhar Mohabattein ka woh goody goody Jimmy Shergill aur kidhar ye khunkhar sher ki tarah, goondo ki kutton jaisi pittai karne wala Arif Khan?

Captain Russel aka Paul Blackthorne in Lagaan: You just love to hate this person. Thats what makes him a great actor in the movie Lagaan.

Amitabh Bachhan in Deewar "Jaoo pehle us aadmi ka sign lekar aao jisne mere haath par ye likh diya tha." What power of dialogue delivery !!! A son of a widow, protects both his mother and his younger brother from the bad world. Has the guts to ask a mafioso to pick up a penny which was thrown and hand it over to him !!! Has the cool style of snatching 'maal' under the nose of a rival and is handsome enough to woo the sexy parveen babi.

Kishore Kumar in Padosan: Typical paan chewing character, funny with his chameli ka tel coated hair and one 'lat' of hair coming down on his face. Loves his friend 'Bhola' and sings a beautiful song for him too. Amazingly comedy!!

Baki characters bhi hai...........but abhi yahi dimag me aa rahe hai....

Valentine's and Ballantine's

Oh, the day would be so fine,

If I had a valentine,

More brightly the sun would shine,

The night would be divine,

and we would, under the candle, wine and dine.

Oh the day would be so fine.

Oh the day would be so fine,

If I had a ballantine's,

EVERYTHING would seem so divine,

Even if I could'nt walk in a straight line.

This post is a sure sign,

that I am full of ballantine's.

So I leave you readers, to read this poor poem and whine,

and wish you all a happy Valentine's !!!

P.P.S (Poem Post script): I have made poems before but none were this bad, I think. In case of those poor dingalings who dont know what Ballantine's is.........the above poem is worst for them.

My tryst with cooking.

I like cooking food. But not as much as I like eating it. Cooking just for fun is a once-in-many-days activity for me. Like all other geminis, my attention span being equivalent to the width of the sharp edge of the knife, it is difficult for me to cook food regularly. Also its a big thanks to mom, the cook who makes excellent 'home-made' food, which is why it is difficult for me to digest 'own-made' food which is not very good !!! Many diet experts say that home made food is the best. Rightfully so, I think, coz, its made by a cook, who takes it upon herself with great pride and sense of responsibility, the task of making food which is tasty, less oily, nutrient-rich, energy giving. No wonder, that its called a balanced diet.
Since mom is going to be out of town for a couple of months, she is teaching me the ropes of cooking. She also cooks my brains at times, with the endless bickering. It gets quite irritating, while someone stands at your side and shouts out instructions while you are struggling to come to terms with some 'sabji' which you havent tried making before. If mom asks me to pen down my own recipe journal, I imagine I would write something like......."Dear recipe book, today I learnt a very important lesson in life.......never put milk on gas and run away to play computer games......"
Anyway, in real life I learnt how to steam rice and dal in a cooker, today. Some of you might be thinking.......how easy it is.........even I do. But the problem is that my mom wont like my careless way of saying, "I already know how to do it." So I just shut my mouth and listened to what she had to say. I learnt how to put up the pressure cooker for maybe the 100th time. So thats the deal with my cooking lessons. I have to learn cooking and have to learn it mom's way !!! Hope I learn to be half as good a cook as mom is.

'Part' is parcel of the game of life.

There are people who come and go in your life. Yet of those, there are special ones, who leave a permanent mark in your memories, which you carry on throughout your life. Parting with them drives an arrow through your heart, and yet you learn to live with it, wishing for the other person's happiness and prosperity, wishing the world for him. Later sometime, those memories come back to you, and you find yourself willing that things should have been different. Still the past cannot be changed.
I know I ain't any good at writing this sort of stuff. I would just like to dedicate this post to one of my best friends, who had many special ones come and go in his life.......Hes had his failures, and downs. In fact, hes had so much of the parting stuff, that he swears he could write a book on it!! Inspite of all this, he is a perfectly normal person. I wish him all the best in his life.

My dreams and my present.

I had dreamt of becoming a pilot................ended up playing Microsoft flight simulator 2002.

I had dreamt of becoming a dancer...........was picked up only once for a dance program in my primary school days..........unfortunately the dance program got cancelled because my partner and three others fell ill.

I had dreamt of becoming an archeologist..........dug up a hole in the compound lawn area, only to hit the underground piping which unfortunately sprang a leak.

I had dreamt of becoming a singer.....had a wonderful voice when I was younger.............then my voice broke......and i began to croak.

I had dreamt of becoming a local train driver........at least they get to stand conveniently in the local train !!

I had dreamt of becoming a famous actor...........but everyone used to tell me ........dont act smart.

I had dreamt of becoming a comedian.........but sentences like the last one made me a PJ KING.

I had dreamt of building a fast and a reliable PC which would never crash and never be infected by viruses...........I had realised it then and there itself that it was just a dream!!!!

Tax.

There is a dialogue in the hindi movie 'Lagaan'. It goes this way...........

Man katata hai mora jab hum raja kaa lagaan bharat hai

Aur woh phirangio ki ghandi hateli par dhar dete hai

Tu bol maa.....

Dharti ki chati phad kar beej kaun boe? hum boe.

Phir sicche kaun hai? hum hi.

Phir lagaan unki gaat kahe baande?

Good question was'nt it? I feel like asking the same question at times. Tax has always troubled people !!! Its really horrible to see the 'TDS' column in your salary slip.

Success.

Success is.....
not about how rich you get or what awards you receive.
It is not about how famous you are, or what powers you have.
It is not about how intelligent you are, or what talent you possess.

True success is, what makes you happy. Whichever of the above makes you happy imparts success. Unfortunately, the world does not agree, to this!!! They say that a successful man is rarely happy.

A century of posts.....100 POSTS!!!

With this post........I celebrate my 100th post...........nothing great, of course. Just thought I should mark it.......its been a place where I have opened all my memories or rubbish thoughts and have managed to get a few readers (They are my friends, only three or four of them, maybe !! However absurd, ridiculous, faltu, stupid, ill humored, disgusting, pakau the posts might have been to them, they have politely told me that they like some of my posts on the blog !!! So a special thanks to their unending endurance!!!)

Sometimes it is difficult to express your thoughts by telling them to someone close to you, Sometimes there is no one close to you, to express your thoughts to, Sometimes your most sincere of expressions mean nothing to anyone but yourself, Sometimes you are uncertain whether to express certain thoughts to someone or not!!!

At such times....I blog........ironically out comes something which is something totally unrelated to the subject on my mind !!!!

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.........