My beloved ...

He sent me her snap...
He'd captured her perfectly;
Picture perfect she stood;
Amidst those beaaaaaaautiful trees :)

He treated her like a damsel;
In her lush green attire,
She was his perfect company,
On those long solitary drives !!!

One fine day, he handed her to me,
His eyes, full of grieve;
I promised him, I'd take care of her...
As much as ; if not better than he !!!

With trembling hands, I held her the first time,
We gradually became friends, best of friends ;
She taught me to be independent;
She made me proud; really proud of myself :)

We spent time together,
We grew fonder n fonder of one another,
One fine day, she faltered a little,
Yet.. I love her coz'....
She kept me safe, as safe as a gem !!

But alas! A fault, is a fault is a fault !!!
We wondered, if we could still trust her,
We decided to barter... barter her off to safe hands
After much deliberation and remorse...
I sold my car...my beloved car ... :((
Adieu my dear , adieu...

Merry Christmas

Wishing all my blog readers

"Merry Christmas"

:))

I miss the yummy cake, the tasty candies, lovely flowers, the tiny wine glasses & tasty

savories !!!

A few absurd comments !!!

* "Humne to tumhe ladki samjha hi nahin !!!" What is it with the world, I do not understand. Looks like people are expecting typical prototypes as girls. Girls walk like this, they stand like this, they talk like this, they sound like this...Man !!! Girls are a huge set, they form the latter half of the society, take a break guys...no prototypes !!! Give them a chance to be as unique as they are !!!

* My little sis, has come to Hyd, for a few days...!!! She's been trying her mighty best to find a groom for me. And the only logical reason seems to be the fact that, chronologically, she landed on earth after me, n that shall be the order in which we get married. Now, now, now ... the most important part...she's FIVE years younger to me..!!! Where's the hurry ?? Neways..One brillaint advise from her " Don't marry any of those US mapplai's .... Avade kandavare okke umma vakkyum" !!! For those who do not understand this statement, go to an interpretter, its worth it :) I tried my best to convince her otherwise, but, she seems to be pretty sure of her opinion !! :)

* These lines have made me think quite deep over the last few days...

Madiralaya janeko ghar se nikalata hai pinewala,
Kis path per jau asamanjas main hai wo bholabala,
Alag alag path batalate sab, Per main yeh batalata hun,
Rah pakad kar too chala chal, Paa jayega Madhushala.

Shaayad ek path pakadne ka waqth aakhir aa hi gaya :)

Too Smart :)

Unni Vaibhav with his toy jeep!

< n yet for some>

On behalf of one of my best friends....

We held hands,we set out on a journry
we dreamt together, we has a vision
we took each other for granted
we loved each others presence
we never thought of life without the other

One fine day...
she left my hand, she betrayed me
she left me all alone in a durge
for a fault that could be termed a subterfuge...

I tried to persuade her..
I called her out, i cried to her;
she felt my pain, I knew she was mine,
n somewhere deep within she missed her man

The pain was terrible, the wound too deep,
i gave her all that was mine
but 'alas', finally my heart yelled,
"after all I beat as fast as hers'"
gimme a hearing, my dear man..
"my counterpart in her is as hard as a stone"

At last I lent my heart an ear,
I decided that she was not worth being my dear,
I broke off, without a last word,
I decided to forgive and forget....

Now, life seems difficult, life seems tough,
seconds seems minutes and minutes seem hours...
Oh lord!! Show me a way...
I am your son, you beloved son,
Hold me close and make me a man,
Tough and strong to caretake your world,
As well and better as you ever thought,
This rebirth of mine would ever have brought.

Pehla Thokar !!!

Nothing special for the world...Just a casual day....

- A lonely uneventful drive to office (despite leaving home early , it took me 50 full minutes !!! )
- A casual well spent afternoon
- A few compromises with self ... :( , Sometimes heart does take over the mind.
- A mind full of thoughts, ideas and questions.
- A tired self, simply waiting to vent out all the left over energy into the world.
- A nice evening drive back home...
- A 'chota sa thokar' with an Auto, (neither of us or our vehicles were harmed). It was more of- yes...We did collide(okay that word is an exaggeration !!!) but hey we are okay!!! :)

Take homes ::

- I hate men on road who say "abbe yaar yeh ladkiyan drive kyon karti hain...Its not their cup of tea !!! "
- If the vehicle stops mid way, I'd tell ppl behind - "Chill bade miyan!!! Ruk gayi to ruk gayi...Any sensible creature would as much wanna move as you do, STOP honking !!! "
- Sometimes, drives of emotions make u utter and do many things in life. Before you speak or do anything important in life, THINK a million times. Sometimes impromptu decisions don't work. And once you have thought it out and kept your foot forward, never ever repent your decision. Remember the reasons you gave yourself when you took the decision, believe in them.
- Never leave the keys to your happiness, or to your integrity in someone else's hands. Nobody would take care of them as well as you do !!! Nobody !!
- All females, please drive carefully on the road, and ensure that you prove all those men who look at women driving n exclaim "Naah!! She can't be as gud as me !!! "- wrong :)

Somehow, this day, does get earmarked in my autobiography (hopefully someday I'll author one) !!!

Generation gap <>

It took me quite a lot of time to figure out a reason for generation gap, especially in the Indian context, but I believe, I have found one strong reason.

Guess who the culprit is :: Anyones guess...The new thought process. And who instilled it ? Books !!!
Most of you who studied the CBSE syllabus as kids would remember the first page of the science textbook. That page (after or before) Gandhiji's talisman!!! Yesss...That one page is the culprit !!!

It spoke of rational thinking, questioning the facts, questioning the age old beliefs, applying ones own sense of reason to every decision before implementing it !!!

On the contrary, many in the earlier generation believe in giving instructions. Mere set of commands. They expect the young ones to agree, to abide, and ask no questions. But, how on earth do they expect the same child to forget the instinct which has been so carefully ingrained in him by the very best educational system. He would accept to all that you say, provided you give him a reason. The youngster - his heart and mind, now demand - facts, which are substantiated with convincing reasoning. Once the youngster has thought through the reasoning, his mind goes through its fair share of interpretations.

At this point in time, after giving the young man his due hearing, the older generation can scream "generation gap"...But until then...I'd merely call the whole idea hypocracy !!! Books should preach that which the generation follows :) !!! Ain't I right ??

Yessss...I made it :)

I've learnt to drive.. yippeee..!!! I guess this is my only accomplishment over the last 3 months...Quite a bad record !!! I agree :D !!!

It took me about 7 days, starting with the A, B n C, the accelerator, break and clutch, I learnt the nitty grittys of driving a car!!! The first day I took the car out to office, nearly 16 km off home, I felt independent. It was a unique sense of joy !!! I guess everyone goes through it sometime in life :) !!!

Now I am mastering the art of maneuvering the car on Indian roads !!! Its quite an art any day !!! Observations ::
- Its close to impossible to stick to a lane as you drive. In case you manage it right, then the next good thing that would happen is a huge Volvo takes a sharp turn on a narrow road, giving almost no precursor of its arrival!!!
- People on the road do not believe in slowing down on a rainy day. Enjoy the brilliant weather, remember that the road might skid, and drive at 50-60 !! Chill Junta ... Not everybody always has to be in a hurry !!!
- I really wish I were 3 inches taller. That would have made reaching the A,B Cs a little easier, and ofcourse...As some of my friends call it..."It wouldn't look like a car without a driver" !!!
- Managing slopes was a challenge...For the Hyderabadi's ( I am talking about the Banjara Hills stretch & the Hi tech city roads) . There's a police check exactly on a 45 degree slope. The day I master that slope, with perfection, I guess I can handle any slope !!! :)
- Company makes a big difference !!! Some people almost make me forget the fact that its my second day with the car, its 8:30 in the night, its a 16 km stretch and the traffic is at its peak !!! Thanks ppl !!! :)
- Best driver I've met till date - bro....."Oru naal naanum Anna madiri ...."..Someday I'll drive as well as bhaiyya does, I guess then I'd really feel the joy :) !!!

A Day Out At Ashrey Akruthi

Motorola celebrated Global Services Day on the 18th of October. Employees, from all across the world, participated with loads of enthusiasm. We were divided into groups of twelve, and each group had a representative, who arranged for the activity for the day at the Voluntary Organisation. Our group went to the residential hostel of Akshay Akruti - a school for the hearing impaired.

We reached the hostel premises by the afternoon. We were graciously welcomed by the secretary of the school. We were handed a rose and a card signed by the children, as a mark of their affection. Then the wardens and the caretakers, showed us around the place - the rooms, the beds, the posters, the balcony, special facilities for girls, the study rooms, evening activity space, the lab space. We were impressed! The place was indeed maintained very well.

After all the hospitality, we set out on the task for the day. We were to paint the walls of two rooms of the Hostel, the drawing room and the kitchen. The coordinators had done a great job, we had everything ready - paint, gloves, face masks, brushes, and ofcourse the much needed guide, the man who would make do for the little goof ups we would make all through the day - the Painter, who would take care of the final coating.

We spent the evening, cleaning the walls, removing the oil stains, climbing up those huge ladders holding those little buckets full of paint... With songs, tit-bit chat sessions, hulla-bulla sessions, we had a good time painting the place. We learnt some good lessons through the day. A day out of the software industry, we realised "why we software engineers are paid 100 folds for the same 8 hours of work":) .

As evening dawned, we were served, hot tea and refreshments. The children were back from school, and it was time for some fun. We met the kids, spoke to them, and truly got inspired seeing the way they found happiness, in sensing little noise around them despite the fact that they couldn't hear us. They understood us; may be the language of compassion needed no voice !!!

We had a nice day out - working, having fun, making a difference to the little hearts !

Voids...

People walk into our life, and walk out... As they walk out, they leave those deep voids, I can call them blackholes. They suck in all that comes their way, everything around. It takes quite a lot to fill those black holes:

- fill them up so much that, someday they vanish n there are no scars (replace memories)
- eliminate the core - the reason for the gravitational pull, and you can slowly or maybe instantly do away with the black hole (find a reason to dislike the person)
- create a force stronger that the black hole, which can pull in your all (find a distraction of a different kind all together- work, dance, music ...)

Which ever solution you chose, one FACT remains - Memories cannot be forgotten, they can only be overwritten (Thanks! For that one mi ...Just in case you read this blog!)

I've started getting used to people in my life... Especially those emotional companions, with whom I can be myself, with whom I share every moment, every emotion, every up and down, whose name strikes me first when I am happy or sad. Whom I sometimes forget, just because I am in neither extremes, but whose presence is always there at the back of my mind.
I want this person (roles change with time) to always be there for me, I want him/her to be always fine. A small problem in their life, can break lose all the knots of my life, I'm too perturbed to set myself to anything sensible or sane....

This role can be and has been taken by many people, mom, friends - friends, whom I have known for two months, friends whom I have known for 2 years...Friends whom I have know for 8-9 years...

Its more about getting used to having someone (for sure not your alterego) , around...Its not about being weak, it not about being dependent, its about needing a companion, sometimes a single person, sometimes a group of like minded people with whom you can share thoughts, discuss and be on the same page...No matter how abstract or crazy the discussion might be.

How long that person is able to retain that role, depends on loads of things. As time moves on, you expect people to understand you, many things go unsaid, many emotions need to be understood. Slowly you outgrow that relation with your mom/dad, you transition to sis/bro, then you find that companion in close pals n friends, some find such companions in the opposite sex, people just move in and out of life...And the chord strikes with a few chosen.... Statements like - " if you don't understand, nobody will"..Would come in...

Smiles and scorns, with implicit meanings would come in, more and more days would be spent wondering if you really like this one and only entity, who would know more of u than maybe yourself... ?

Slowly, you might outgrow this person, slowly you might find another person, slowly you might fall in love with this person...Sometimes, the companionship just fades away, after a few days, you wonder, what ever kept you together ?..Or sometimes, if you are fortunate enough, you can find the best friend for a lifetime...

Whatever it be, this person someday leaves, maybe in a few months, in a few years, after a life time of togetherness... But when they leave, they leave a void- which is nothing short of a black hole..A deep abyss that is nearly impossible to fill ...

Am I replacable ? ~~ ?

Funny question eh ... For all those who said "No"...Thank U Soooooooo Much :)) None of us are replacable, each human is unique, n unless we keep aside ethical reasons n agree on creating clones, there is no other way we could replace the presence of a being!!!

As for this blog the question is not on the personal front ... This question is on the professional front. For the first time, in life I kinda got a clue, as to what i want in life !!! I want to take up a profession where in I am irreplacable. Tough, impossible, .... I agree !!! But, Will there be another Hrishikesh Mukherjee ?? Will there be another Mahatma Gandhi ?? Will there be another Albert Einstein ?? Can someone create another Mother Teresa ??

This though dawned on me last night. I've been down with viral fever the last 2 days ... n have been going to office for 6-8 hours each day, trying to complete the work assigned. We have a typical structure - me, Lead, Manager, Senior Manager. And as was expected, the 3 hours that I wasn't there each day, my lead was filling the gap. May be I should appreciate his adeptness, it took him no time, to get into the groove. And the reality was , the ball kept rolling, without a break. My presence, or absence, made no difference !!! Whoopsy !!!! That makes me sad !!! :(

Taking it a step further I wondered, what if my lead wasn't as adept as he was ? Maybe he would have taken a few hours longer!! But thats it !!!What if my lead falls sick, another lead would take over his job!!! What if my Manager is ill, the senior manager will take over !!! Man.... are we all so easily replacable ???

On my way back home in the Auto I wondered, if I meet with an accident tonight, what happens to my secure life ?? Everything goes for a full toss !!! My salary, the huge house, happy go lucky life !!! I suddenly realised the importance of being talented, being talented from within. Keeping myself abreast, with the world and its happening, so that until I become a "vegetable" , I have it in me to sustain, on my inner credentials. The importance of being irreplacable as a person dawned on me. I finally found a mission to pursue ~~~~~!!!

Ganesh Chaturthi @ Hyd

Hyderabad and Mumbai are two cities in India that I know of, which celebrate Ganesh Pooja, in its full fury.
This is my second consecutive Ganesh Chaturthi @ Hyd. Its fun to watch Ganesh idols of all sizes, made by people from all sects, bought by people from all economic strata. The fun and frolic involved, brings together, the true Hyderabadi spirit in the crowd.

Its been my "good fortune" that my adobe has always been very close to a temple. I have moved through two houses during my short stint in Hyderabad, and each one has an open ground beside it, where people can congregate together and celebrate, and most importantly, fix up huge speaker sets n very good flash lights. It happens that the loud music, hungama, dance, drums go on far beyond the 6 AM-11PM restrictions. This year, I was happy to see 2-3 police men accompany each procession. These men were trying to let vehicles pass, without having to wait for more than 2 minutes, they tried to prevent drunk devotees from causing a havoc in the road. They tried to push the procession off residencial areas as the clock was crossing the 11PM deadline.

My appreciation to the men in uniform. I'm sure they would be wondering, if this kind of policing is what they were trained for, but never mind, in India, policing can be in all forms.... moral, physical, mental or ..... religious !!!

I was impressed with the policemen this year, may be coz' I live in the center of the city, pretty close to the Raj Bhawan and the chief ministers residence. Ironically, last year same time, my room mates and I had a tough time sleeping in the nights. Our building overlooked a ground, where these processions would go on late into the night. It was a nightmare to walk back home, alone on these days. Under the pretext of being devotees, young men, drunk ( enough to lose their concentration to pray for sure!!! ) would roam about, recklessly on the road. Bright lights, loud cacophony (I am a staunch Hindu, but I guess music of this sort, which disturbs the crowd- cannot be called anything better), we had a heluva time trying to control out temper, n get ourselves to sleep. At the end of the 11th day, when I was waiting for the group to take the idol to Hussain Sagar for immersion (its a sight to see the "clean, hygienic" Hussai Sagar- for the next one week, after the immersions!!!), my room mate reminded me that Durga pooja was on its way, and in wouldn't be long before the cycle starts again....!!!

Phew!!! Can't we pray, n have fun, in a little more civilized fashion.... Me a Hindu can write this, without causing a riot, I wonder if a non Hindu could write this in our "secular" land without causing a huge uproar!!!!

Onam

Onam marks a special hallmark in my life... :))

A fraud mallu that I am... All I can think of is the elaborate sadya, the lamps, the temple, the po kalam, n the mallu saree n veshti, kunkuma cheppu n chandana lepam !!!

I fervently wish I get to spend an Onam in kerela, with friends, relatives, following all traditions n customs.

Weekend ...

O Saathi Re (from Omkara)

O saathi re din dube na
O saathi re din dube na
aa chal din ko roke
dhup ke peeche daude
chaanv chhue na
saathi re......

saathi re din dube na.....
aa chal din ko roke
dhup ke peeche daude
chaanv chhue na
saathi re .....

saathi re din dube na ....
thaka thaka suraj jab nadi se hokar niklega

hari hari kaayi pe paanv bada toh fislega

tum rok ke rakhna main jaal giraaun

tum pith pe lena main haath lagaaun
din dube na ha
teri meri atti patti
daat se khaati katti
re jaiiyo na
piyu re.....

piyu re na jaiyyo na .....

kabhi kabhi yun kare main daantu aur tum darna

ugal pade aankhon se feenke paani ka jharna

hum tere kehre badan mein sil jaaungi re
jab karwat lega tu chhil jaaungi re

sang le jaaunga
teri meri angni mangni
and sang laagi sangni
sang le jaaun
piyu re .....

saathi re din dube na......
aa chal din ko roke
dhup ke peeche daude
chaanv chhue na
saathi re .......

By Vishal Bharadwaj, with lyrics by Gulzar, from the film Omkara.

Such profound music....hats off to the singers and the lyricist :))


An amazing book ... Erich Segal - Love Story
Get free version at http://www.esnips.com/web/eb00ks/

"Love means not ever having to say you're sorry."

I Wish I cud be a child again

Those carefree childhood days were simply amazing...When :

- Laughing out loud happened so many times a day
- There were only two states among friends- "katti" n "parzham" (forgot the hindi equivalent) !!!
- When no mistake was a crime.... each one of those could be "forgiven n forgotten"
- When you could cuddle into mama's lap, n feel so secure.
- When every day had something definite to give
- When you really wanted to grow tall, strong, older.
- Birthdays meant so special...
- Cousins would meet up atleast once a year
- Learning new languages was so easy.
- No one really caught u up...u were always a free bird...
- Mama would wait to see u sleep, n give u a sweet good night kiss
- You would be pampered so much, the moment u sneeze...

I really miss those days.... How I wish, I got another chance to relive those days :))

The thick black lining ...

Whats it about men and moustache ? Over the last 6 months, 6 ppl around me have shaved off that thick black, bold lining over their upper lip. There was a time when ppl used to consider a long, well shaped, moustache symbolic of masculnity, brave heart, n valour and if I'm not exhaggarating a symbol of their sex. And now, men consider it fashionable to shave it off.
Its fun to see them apear before the big world, a day after they have shaved off the moush. They carefully (but quite obviously) hold their hands over the upperlip n wear a sly smile, they try n avoid eye-to-eye contact, and most importantly, they give that childish grin that kinda says - 'Don't you think I look more handsome n young this way'. Its quite different to see men blush, especially those, who don't really exhibit that side of their personality.

What makes them decide either way ? I realised this few days back, when these changes started becoming a bit too obvious to me. And the one line answer I received was -'When you girls have so much of variety in life, don't u think we deserve a few. And after all what can we really do - trousers, shirts, hair syle, hair color, moush, beard. There ends the variety.
And amongst these, the most conspicious would be - moush n beard. An inch reduced or increased is so obviously visible, that you gotta be sure of the change...A little here n there, can simply put ppl off. French breard, one line beards (Moto L7 ad), looong beard, a clean shaven fair skin, stubble (it ofcourse depends, on the complexion), there's quite a lot men can do.

And probably this (19 - 27) is the age when men really like to try it out. And for a woman, it does take a little time to appreaciate the change. So far as looks goes, she makes her decision at the first instance. Either you are handsome and whatever u wear/do, u look handsome, or, you are "okay"..and what ever you try you continue to look okay. And if her opinion changes, its more so because of another parameter (a smart presentation, the way you carry yourself, your charisma, your eduation, you job, your character). The girls opinion changes, it might be based on many not so obvious parameters, that might have nothing to do with looks... but yeah, never does she change sides, just coz' a man wears a new makover.

Just a passing thought....