The week that was...

The week, which started on Monday 18^th December, 2006 and continued till Sunday 24^thDecember, 2006 was full of pressure, deadlines, anxiety & excitement. I think all these emotions weren’t only for me but for some of my friends too.

That week had two special days or occasions; to which almost everyone, who were associated to it was looking forward too. The first one was Thursday 21^st December, 2006: the day for Annual Christmas Party, this year, we named it as iCE Carnival ’06. The other was our (i-leap batch) trip to Alibaug, which was scheduled on Saturday 23^rd December, 2006 & Sunday 24^th December, 2006.

Party:
As usual that week too began on Monday morning, with lot of last minute activities to be completed for making the party a huge success. A usual checklist mail from Santanu was there in my mailbox and I began my day with completing those items present in the list. It almost became a routine to remind each other about the tasks which needs to be completed by the other one.

After rounds of checklists, approvals, meetings and reviews, arrived the final day. It was a day, for which our team had been working atleast from past one month. I don’t know about others but that day there were butterflies inside my stomach.

The excitement for the party started building up quite a few days back with posters put across the office and the mails sent from time to time kept the momentum going and set the grapevine buzzing about the most happening party of the year.

And a rocking party it was… with a packed house with people turning up in full strength accompanied by Family and Friends. The party began with full of enthusiasm and energy, where people also played games. Later they all set the dance floor on fire.

Kids section was another place which was really rocking; people playing with their kids, kids jumping & dancing all over the place. The party gave equal amount of space to all the parents & their kids, dance lovers and also to the people who just wanted to chill out with friends and colleagues.

The party came to an end around 2 a.m. And by God’s grace none of our efforts were wasted, everyone seemed to have enjoyed the party.

Alibaug Trip:
Eleven of us finally agreed to go to Alibaug on Saturday. Each of us was equally excited to enjoy this trip.

We nominated Rohit as our Event Manager for the trip. He planned all the necessary requirements and even made the proper arrangements for them. He tried to cover the minutest details and even planned our scheduled; frankly speaking he proved that he deserves to be an event manager. A Tempo Traveler was booked to carry all us, to our destination.

In the morning, travel agent ditched us. After trying hard for hours, for hiring another car, we somehow managed to get a Scorpio and an Indica for us. We were late by more than 5 hours as per our schedule inspite of the delay; it didn’t affected much since everyone was very keen to go there. We started our journey from J.B. Nagar around 12 noon instead of 6o’clock in the morning.

After hours of traveling, the first beautiful sight which we came across was the Sunset: the most admirable one which I’ve ever seen in my life. Next was the Kashid Beach, a white sand beach. This was our first stop; we spent more than an hour there.

Around 8 in the night, we reached our destination – Nandgaon, a village forty kilometers ahead of Alibaug. The cottage which we had booked was awesome. After having dinner, we had camp fire. You guys won’t believe that for putting the fire, we used Blender’s Pride Whisky instead of kerosene oil, ask Nishant and he’ll tell you how bad he felt at that moment. Our discussions, jokes & singing continued till 3 in the morning.

Next morning, most of us were ready by 7:30, for going to the nearby beach. Meanwhile others got ready, we all warmed-up by playing football, cricket and flying disc. Now came the beach time, most magnificent beach I’ve ever seen, greenish-blue water, white sand and mountains at the sides. What an amazing view, it was? Initially we played at the beach but once we entered into the sea, we had the real fun…

Afternoon was the time to visit Murud Zanzira Fort, located at an island. We reached fort by a boat and hired a guide too, who told various stories, which weren’t sounding true to us. Even though the view was good from there but it was a tiring too. On our journey back to Nandgaon, we had supper in a beachside restaurant, Anand Vatika.

Finally we left, Nandgaon at 8 o’clock in the night for coming back to Mumbai with only one slogan on everyone’s mouth, “Ganpati Bappa Morya, Agle baras tu GOA le jaa…”

Although the whole week was very hectic and tiring but it was one of the best weeks of this year.

Fresher Dulhan

From a long time, I’ve been thinking on this analogy which according to me, exists between a newly married bride and a fresher engineer joining an IT company.

I found lot of similarities in the course of the events which happen to a newly married bride, when she reaches her in-laws’ house and in a fresher engineer who joins an IT company. Let me put these similarities as stages of their lives:

Stage 1: Newly married bride comes to her in-laws’ house; first she is introduced to the senior members of the family and everyone give their blessings to her. Later she is taught all the traditions and customs followed by their family, since ages.

In the same manner, when a fresher joins an IT company; the first few days are kept for Induction. In this phase, all the seniors of the organization come and have an interaction with the new employees, joining the organization and also give them presentations about the organization and its processes. Like in the case of bride, she was made accustomed to the traditions of the family; here the freshers are made aware of PPP (principles, processes & policies) of the organization.

Stage 2: Once all the necessary customs are over or when the induction phase ends; the newly married couple is sent for a honeymoon trip. Similarly, freshers also start with their technical training, once their induction finishes off. Generally this training continues for more than a month. In this period, freshers make friends with other people (mostly freshers), who have joined the organization with them and also explore different places in that city like theatres, restaurants, tourist places, etc. Even some people call this training period as a Honeymoon period for freshers joining any company.

Stage 3: The Honeymoon period ends and now it’s time to work. Everyone whether a bride or a fresher looks forward to work sincerely and get recognition in her in-laws’ family or the organization respectively. A great man had said that getting work is also not easy in this world, same thing happens here too. Freshers come out of training with an urge to work hard and to prove their mettle but then in most of the cases they are not allotted on any project immediately, meaning that they are on bench. Similarly, whenever a new bride enters the kitchen to do something, the family members say that you don’t need to work right now. They even say that till now the color of Mehndi (Henna) also haven’t faded from your palms, so how can we ask you to work. So finally both of them don’t have any work for few days, weeks or may be months.

Stage 4: Finally after some time, everyone gets work; bride gets involved in her daily work at home and fresher in the project to which he or she is assigned to. But please don’t think that is the end of the story, infact this is the beginning of the real story. Till now everything was moving smoothly & happily but now comes the twist in the tale. Now the elders or the supervisors forget that these people are new and may make mistakes. They start assuming that both the bride and the fresher will be perfect in all the work they do. Even sometimes they start blaming them for the smallest of the mistakes these people commit. They even ask them that what you guys have learnt so far, most general question to the bride: What have your parents taught you? And to the fresher: What have you learnt at the engineering college and in the technical training?

In this manner, the story continues further but this post ends here…

Let's talk Pink

In the fashion world today, they say Pink is the new Black. The color pink has acquired a lot of popularity and acceptance in the recent past, surprisingly even among men too. "Men in Pink" is the happening thing these days.

Sometime back, I decided to find more about this color and what it portrays. Here are some interesting facts about the color pink, which I picked up from Wikipedia:

• "Pink" was not a color word known to Shakespeare. He used words like "light red" to describe pink.

• Pink, though popular is a vile color that should be avoided at all times.

• The color pink is now associated with womanhood, just like blue is associated with boys and manhood.

• In Catholicism, pink symbolizes joy and happiness.

• Pink, along with red, is traditionally used on maps for territory ruled by the British Empire or for members of the Commonwealth of Nations.

• "Paint the Town Pink" a phrase that arose in the 1950s reflecting its influence on fashion and design and the popularity of pastel colors.

• Pink is the color of the Breast Cancer Awareness ribbon. Breast cancer is a leading killer of women, and pink was chosen partially because it is so strongly associated with femininity.

• Pink, being a 'watered-down' red, is sometimes used in a derogatory way to describe a watered-down socialist ('Pinko').

• Similar to white collar, there is a term Pink collar, which refers to female office worker (sometimes used in a derogatory manner).

• While the west typically refers to adult films as "blue movies", in Japan these films are often called "pink movies".

• Pink, is also associated with gays, lesbians, and bisexuals, often in the form of a pink triangle. In Britain, Pink News is a leading gay newspaper and online news service. In business, 'the pink pound' or 'pink dollar' refers to the spending power of the GLBT community.

Quite interesting, isn't it? I too never knew these shades of pink before…

After One Year

As O’ Henry used the title for his brilliantly written story “After Twenty Years”, to show that how the lives of two friends had changed in a time span of twenty years. I’m also using a similar title to list out some of the changes which had happened to me, after I came to Mumbai.

Question: What all have changed in me, in the past one year?

Answer: The answer seems to be very simple to me; but when I try to analyze these answers, I find that I’ve gained a lot in every aspect of life.

Made some more good friends and hope to continue these relationships throughout my life.
Now I know Places, People & Culture of one more city – Mumbai, the City of Dreams.
Got second life after having successful operation at the beginning of this calendar year.
Learnt some of typical words of the Mumbaiya language. And have also started using them in my day to day talks.
Also learnt 2 levels of ballroom dancing (Jive, Salsa & Waltz) & looking forward to learn Level 3 soon.
Now I’m an IT professional with one year of experience.
Also started loving Vada Pav with Cutting (a cup of tea).
How can I forget this, I also started blogging this year, which gave me freedom to express my thoughts.

But there are certain things in life which I still don’t like or find them incorrect:

Don’t like traveling in local trains and buses, although I travel in them whenever required.
Always miss my college & hostel life. I still missed my friends a lot.
Never liked the Rains of Mumbai.
Still don’t have a GF…

Celebrations...

Atleast I never expected that we’ll have so much fun that day. It was a celebration in the true sense.

It was 7^th November, the day we joined i-flex, a year ago. The first anniversary of my first job, not only mine; but for most of us it was their first job, hence it was a special day. Last year, 27 of us joined together as freshers and most of us were strangers to each other. Everyone ready to prove their metal in the organization and raring to climb up the ladder to success. Time passed and we became friends, infact good friends, even though some of the guys moved to the Bangalore office.

We decided to do something special that day. Something which should be different and out-of-box (actually I heard this phrase here only and it is one of the most commonly used jargon used here). This was followed by number of chain mails and also lots of conversations happened. After much discussions and debate, finally we decided to distribute sweets to our teammates, seniors and acquaintances in office. One more thing we decided that we’ll be sending out the same mail and approximately at the same time too. And it all happened according to our plans. Nishant suggested that atleast on this day; all of us who are working in the same office should have lunch together. Later we had photo session.

The day ended in carrying out all these activities and now was the evening time, meant for partying. We, actually 15 of us who are still in Mumbai, went to Bowling Café @ Hiranandani Gardens for bowling. Later we went to PopTates for dinner. The spirits were so high that we fitted ourselves at a table which was meant for only 8 people. Rounds of drink began, followed by dinner. I’m unable to express the emotions, spirit and the amicability which were present there. We missed all our batchmates who are not in Mumbai. We reached home around 1:30 in the night, with all the memories of that last one year. I always heard that people in Mumbai work hard and party harder, and I too realized that is true atleast for all of us today.

It was an awesome evening. I think that everyone of us must have enjoyed more than the other one of us. I’ll definitely remember that beautiful evening and celebrations throughout my life. That was also one of the best evenings that I have ever spent in my life.

On a lighter note, now when the day had already passed, we all became 1+ year of experience professionals and are no longer a fresher…

First Aniversary

Today is the first aniversary of joining i-flex.

Last year, on this same date, that is 7th November; a batch of 27 people joined this organisation. I was one of them.

This is an occasion to celebrate the completion of one year @ i-flex, completion of one year of my first salaried job and also the completion of one year of friendship with other people whom I came to know due to this job.

This year may have totally been different, if all the people and their best wishes wouldn't have been with me.

Happy B'Day SRK !!!

Today is the 41st birthday of King Khan aka Shah Rukh Khan...

Join me in wishing him:

"Many Many Happy Returns of the Day... May you continue to rule the industry for another century... Wishing you all the success and fame in Life !!!"

Expectations !!!

A little consolation for the battered hearts and the bruised egos, have a look.

A butcher watching over his shop is really surprised when he sees a dog coming inside the shop. He shoos him away. But later, the dog is back again. So, he goes over to the dog and notices it has a note in its mouth. He takes the note and it reads, "Can I have 12 sausages and a leg of lamb, please". The dog has money in its mouth, as well. The butcher looks inside and, lo and behold, there is a ten-dollar note there. So he takes the money and puts the sausages and lamb in a bag, placing it in the dog's mouth. The butcher is so impressed, and since it's about closing time, he decides to shut the shop and follow the dog.

So off he goes. The dog is walking down the street, when it comes to a level crossing; the dog puts down the bag, jumps up and presses the button. Then it waits patiently, bag in mouth, for the lights to turn. They do, and it walks across the road, with the butcher following him all the way. The dog then comes to a bus stop, and starts looking at the timetable. The butcher is in awe as the dog stops a bus by pulling its left leg up and gets in it. The butcher follows the dog into the bus. The dog shows a ticket which is tied to its belt.

The butcher is nearly fainting at this sight, so are the other passengers in the bus. The dog then sits near the driver's seat looking outside waiting for the bus stop to come. As soon as the stop is in sight, the dog stands and wags its tail to inform the conductor. Then, without waiting for the bus to stop completely, it jumps out of the bus and runs to a house very close to the stop.

It opens the big Iron Gate and rushes inside towards the door. As it approaches the wooden door, the dog suddenly changes its mind and heads towards the garden. It goes to the window, and beats its head against it several times, walks back, jumps off, and waits at the door. The butcher watches as a big guy opens the door, and starts abusing the dog, kicking him and punching him, and swearing at him.

The butcher surprised with this, runs up, and stops the guy. "What in heaven's name are you doing? The dog is a genius. He could be on TV, for the life of me!" to which the guy responds: "You call this clever? This is the second time this week that this stupid dog's forgotten his key."

Moral of the Story: You may continue to exceed onlookers' expectations but shall always fall short of the boss' expectations for which you are paid for.

NOTE: I received this as a forwarded mail.

Journey called LIFE...

I always believed on the lines, by Shakespeare, “Life is a stage where everyone has its own part to play.” Before I heard Nishant talking on phone, that “Life is like a local train, where on every other station, we find some new fellow passengers but sometimes we even may have to travel alone, looking only at the trees on either side of the railway tracks….”

Later I started thinking on those lines, I found to an extent this concept applied in my life too. We never plan our lives too many steps ahead; at max we go for two or three steps ahead in future. Here I’ll be metaphorically comparing my life with a local train and I also try to portray the stages in my lives as the stations.

I’ll not go into the details but if I try to go into flashback, the story will begin from my BHS days: I’ve spent 13 long years there, with my friend’s & classmates. Friend’s not only for that period but for lifetime. Memories fade or clear but still present at back of the mind.

Next in the row comes the station named as AKGEC, even though the journey from this station to the next was short in comparison to the previous one. Then too I’ll cherish this beautiful journey throughout my life. Those four years gave me the best companions I could have asked for. This college awarded me with a degree which will always help me in earning my daily bread.

With all the experience I gained throughout these years, it helped in taking to the next station of my journey. All the skills and knowledge which I acquired throughout the years helped me in getting a job. A job in an organization, which is amongst the pioneer in it’s field.

Life was always not as good as I thought it should be, but in any case, I had to continue my journey. As in the case of a local train, many a times I too didn’t found a seat to sit; it happened in my life too, there were problems and many a times I was clueless in finding a solution to them. But I tried to fight and overcome the problems as soon as possible. Even for some of the problems, I’m still trying to find an appropriate solution.

I may be standing in a local train and bearing the pressure from all sides but I should continue to stand at the same location till I find some better place to stand or to sit. The same thing happens in our lives too, we all have many problems but we should continuously try to overcome them.

At some point of time in my life, I always dreamt of becoming a Computer Engineer and then at a later point I had never thought that I’ll be able to become a Computer Engineer or even that I’ll get a job in such a reputed organization. But no one knows what life has for you in his kitty? Life is a mystery which unfolds itself as we carry on with it. So I’m ending at this note; but my journey in life hasn’t ended, but it has just begun !!!

“Some people come into out lives and quickly go
Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts.
And we are never, ever the same.”

Analogy

Analogy: It is not the latest post on my blog but it is a group of write-ups which I’ll be posting under this topic.

Frankly speaking guys, here I’ll try to write what I think or what I have observed throughout these years in my life. My first post in this series will be Journey called LIFE… and the others to follow soon.

The recent post in Analogy series is:

1. Fresher Dulhan

Rang De Oscars...

All the Best to RDB team for bringing the Oscars to India...

Happy Engineer's Day !!!

" The Engineer's First problem in any design situation is to discover what the problem really is " – Sir M Visvesvaraya

Bharat Ratna Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya (September 15, 1860 – April 12, 1962) was called a wizard in engineering. He was also called the precursor of economic planning in India. He took an interest not in engineering alone, but was capable of applying his talent to many allied matters connected with the development of the nation.

He was an eminent Indian engineer and statesman. His learned discourse on economic planning in India entitled 'Planned Economy for India and Reconstructing India' was the first available document on the planning effort of the country and it is still held as the parent source matter for economic planners. He was also knighted by the British for his myriad contributions to the public good.

To commemorate the birthday of Bharat Ratna Sir M Visvesvaraya, the Council of the Institution decided to observe September 15 as the Engineers' Day every year.

Hats off to the Genius...

Happy Engineer's Day !!!

Ganpati Bappa Morya !!!

On Wednesday 6th September 2006, Mumbai bid adieu to it’s favorite God, Ganpati. As the ten day festival came to an end, the idols were taken to the various sea-fronts, mainly Dadar, Girgaum, Juhu and Marve for Visarjan.

This was the first I witnessed this festival in reality, before this I had always seen this on TV and films. Even though I visited only few Ganpati pandals but I was clearly able to see the enthusiasm amongst the Mumbaikars. This is one festival which most of the people celebrate here and that too with full josh.

I saw few Ganpati Visarjan processions too, they were awesome. People were playing with gulal, burning fireworks and dancing in front of the trucks, which were carrying the idols of Ganpati. Not only males but their female counterparts were also seen dancing in huge number. I saw some old ladies dancing with so much energy by which they must have not danced even in their son’s marriage. It was clearly visible that how much they’re enjoying and the degree of respect and love which they have towards Ganpati.

There is one special Ganpati of Mumbai, without whom we can’t finish discussion about the Ganpati festival in Mumbai. It is Navsala Pavnara Lalbaugcha Raja (Ganpati who fulfills vows / wishes). The Lalbaugcha Raja or Raja, as it is commonly known has a history of over 73 years. This is one pandal which received the award for Most Visited Pandal in Mumbai, according to the organizers more than 70 lakh devotees visited the pandal this year. The Visarjan procession of Raja takes more than 15 hours to reach its final destination, before moving through various parts of the city. Generally it is the last idol, to have Visarjan.

Ganpati Visarjan reminded me of all the festivals whether its Holi, Diwali and especially Dusherra. This time I really missed something good but I’ve decided that next year I’ll definitely try to visit more pandals and seek more blessings from Ganpati.

“Ganpati Bappa Morya,
Pudcha Varshi Laukar Ya”

No matter, what the odds are.....

A true story about one’s Vision, Determination and Persistence:-

In 1883, a creative engineer named John Roebling was inspired by an idea to build a spectacular bridge connecting New York with the Long Island. However bridge building experts throughout the world thought that this was an impossible feat and told Roebling to forget the idea. It just could not be done. It was not practical. It had never been done before.

Roebling could not ignore the vision he had in his mind of this bridge. He thought about it all the time and he knew deep in his heart that it could be done. He just had to share the dream with someone else. After much discussion and persuasion he managed to convince his son Washington, an up and coming engineer, that the bridge in fact could be built.

Working together for the first time, the father and son developed concepts of how it could be accomplished and how the obstacles could be overcome. With great excitement and inspiration, and the headiness of a wild challenge before them, they hired their crew and began to build their dream bridge.

The project started well, but when it was only a few months underway a tragic accident on the site took the life of John Roebling. Washington was injured and left with a certain amount of brain damage, which resulted in him not being able to walk or talk or even move.


"We told them so."
"Crazy men and their crazy dreams."
"It’s foolish to chase wild visions."

Everyone had a negative comment to make and felt that the project should be scrapped since the Roeblings were the only ones who knew how the bridge could be built. In spite of his handicap Washington was never discouraged and still had a burning desire to complete the bridge and his mind was still as sharp as ever.

He tried to inspire and pass on his enthusiasm to some of his friends, but they were too daunted by the task. As he lay on his bed in his hospital room, with the sunlight streaming through the windows, a gentle breeze blew the flimsy white curtains apart and he was able to see the sky and the tops of the trees outside for just a moment.

It seemed that there was a message for him not to give up. Suddenly an idea hit him. All he could do was move one finger and he decided to make the best use of it. By moving this, he slowly developed a code of communication with his wife.

He touched his wife's arm with that finger, indicating to her that he wanted her to call the engineers again. Then he used the same method of tapping her arm to tell the engineers what to do. It seemed foolish but the project was under way again.

For 13 years Washington tapped out his instructions with his finger on his wife's arm, until the bridge was finally completed. Today the spectacular Brooklyn Bridge stands in all its glory as a tribute to the triumph of one man's indomitable spirit and his determination not to be defeated by circumstances. It is also a tribute to the engineers and their team work, and to their faith in a man who was considered mad by half the world. It stands too as a tangible monument to the love and devotion of his wife who for 13 long years patiently decoded the messages of her husband and told the engineers what to do.

Perhaps this is one of the best examples of a never-say-die attitude that overcomes a terrible physical handicap and achieves an impossible goal.

Morale of the Story: Often when we face obstacles in our day-to-day life, our hurdles seem very small in comparison to what many others have to face. The Brooklyn Bridge shows us that dreams that seem impossible can be realized with determination and persistence, no matter what the odds are.

VT Program !!! (Part II)

continued from VT Program !! (Part I) ….

The Artic Wave became part of our lives for next few weeks. Although the furniture setting in the room was similar to that of a class room but it was totally different from the typical classes which we have had at our colleges or schools. The room had inspirational and motivating posters on all the sides. The tables were semi-circle in shape and chairs too were very comfortable.

As we all entered the room, like our habit of being a back bencher; Abhi, Kunal & me went to the second row, leaving the first row empty for others to occupy. Before we would have sat comfortably, Arti told us to join two of the tales to make it a round one. We sat around the table, in the same manner as we were participating in one of those round tables conferences’.

After going through our intros, Arti made it clear to us that she will be our mentor and we are here for four weeks of Voice Training Program. She gave us the plan of action for our training and explained us that how we’ll go about it. She told us that we’ll be soon getting our course materials. Our course material included three books, two audio cassettes and a CD, which we got after few days.

From next day onwards, our day began at 9:30am after reaching the office. We all use to wait for each other at the same cafeteria where we all first met. After having a cup of coffee and a light breakfast, if anyone needed; we used to move to the classroom.

The first day; and the first thing which Arti asked us to do were to discuss traffic problems in Delhi. It was a sort of discussion, but it was an extempore rather than a discussion, we were asked to speak few lines on that topic. After few days, we felt so comfortable in public speaking that we may speak on any given topic, at any moment continuously for minutes.

Extempore was an essential part of our training and so it became a part of our lives too. But some of us had few topics in which they were very comfortable. Lets start from Anurag, whenever he was asked to speak something; he always preferred to tell us the experiences from his affair. In that short span of time, we knew so much about his friend. Even Joy also spoke about his girlfriend, many a times.

Now Kunal’s turn. He always loved to talk about computers. Even though only 40% of us were engineers but he always continued speaking about computer and networking. Ashish, a story writer by hobby and an engineer by profession narrated us his stories few times.

There were few other people like me, who didn’t have any favorite subject to speak on but had some different qualities associated to them. Starting from the ladies, Megha & Laveena both always reacted as they were very nervous in speaking; but once they started; they were so confident like some professional orators. One special quality about Laveena, she never hesitated in taking the initiative. At times, no one was willing to start the discussion and at that time she always took the initiative. Megha had very good intonation in her voice, she sounded so natural and her speeches were always full of expression.

Vargis, one of the best debaters I’ve ever seen. He had a vast knowledge of almost on every subject. While in discussions, he had the ability to prove everyone wrong through his debating and convincing power. Abhishek was the best listener in our batch. He was perfect in catching the mistakes of others. We used to tell him, you will soon get an offer letter from the training institute to become an instructor there.

Vijayendra was known as Arsenal of Words. He was one person, who always used heavy words in his talks (actually those were heavy for us but not for him). The usage of words was perfect. And was always known some or other things which he did, whether his discussions or date, etc. Last but not the least, comes my turn. Even though I spoke very less and also whatever came to my mind but people always believed that I think well before speaking out anything. I know it seems that I’m doing self appraisal here but I didn’t want to miss this: Vijayendra always use to tell me that I’m a thinker.


to be continued…………

F | R | I | E | N | D | S

Friendship is not about leading or following, it is simply being with each other to share each and every single moment of our lives. These simple words contain in themselves the entire beauty of friendship.

Though the Friendship Day is celebrated with great pomp and show in all over the world but not much is known about how this celebration started. However many folk tales and mythological stories reveal the fact that friendship has been valued as a relationship since the commencement of the civilized world. As far as the history of the Friendship day is concerned it is said that in 1935 the first Sunday of August was proclaimed as the Friendship Day. Since then the celebration of the Friendship Day became an annual event in United Sates. Slowly this tradition spread to other countries too and they also started celebrating this day with much excitement.

Winnie – the Pooh was appointed as the Friendship’s world ambassador by the United States in 1997. Friendship Day has been dedicated to those friends who make our lives merrier and give a meaningful direction to the path of our lives. On Friendship Day people try their best to thank all those special angels called friends in their lives from the bottom of their hearts. There are some people who believe that friendship is so strong a relationship that it needs no special day for celebration. But then also it is a tried and tested fact that every relationship, no matter how strong needs some recognition and the Friendship Day enables you to do just the same that is it allows you to give due recognition to the beautiful bond of friendship which you share with your friend.

At times we get so busy with our lives that we just start taking our friends for granted and just start neglecting them. On such occasions this Friendship Day reminds us of the importance of the friends in our lives so that we can never ever ignore the special beings sent on this earth by the supreme power just for us.

When I was born I got lots of relation by God as gift... mother, father, sister, brother.. And many more... But the relation which I made by myself, over the years, is "Friend”. So give the same value as God gifted us. Today I am very happy to see you all in my friend list. You all are my Strength. So Always be with me...

Spirit of Mumbaikars...

“Seven blasts in 11 minutes in Mumbai's jam-packed local trains brought India's financial hub to a standstill on July 11. Suburban trains along the Western Line were targeted and more than 200 people were killed and countless were injured.”

7/11, a day which most of the Mumbaikars will never forget. Serial bomb blasts in first class coaches of the local trains on the Western Line in Mumbai (local trains which are known as “lifeline of Mumbai”). The first blast was near Khar station and then series of six more blasts within few minutes all at different locations. The timing of these blasts was perfect, in respect to the terrorists. Telephone lines were also jammed, creating chaos amongst the citizens.

I was in office that time, when I received a mail stating about the blasts. Soon I saw chaos there too. Everyone was trying phone numbers of their near and dear ones. Even I was trying my Bua’s mobile and residence number’s by two different phones at the same time. We reached home by 8 o’clock and kept swapping between the news channels till 2 am in the morning.

Even though I’m living in Mumbai only from last 8 months but I’ve heard a lot about the spirits of Mumbaikars… This time I too witnessed it, news channels showed clips where people were distributing drinking water, tea and eatables to passengers who were struck due to this mishap. Common people were first to reach even the blast spots to help the injured passengers. They took out the dead bodies, ferried injured to the hospitals and rescued others.

This was not the end; even the hospitals have to discourage the blood donors after midnight because their stock was full. Mumbai faced some major communal riots in the past but at the time of this type of crisis, common Mumbaikar doesn’t think of his or her religion. And I don’t need to give any illustrations, to prove my point. The situation was improving steadily and slowly around midnight as mobiles started working, there were no jams on the road now and even the slow local trains were started again on the Western Line.

12th July was a new day. The first thing I did in the morning is to watch the news. It said that all school, colleges and offices will remain open. These efforts were made just to make things normal. Outside everything seemed normal, as it was another Wednesday morning with nothing special or abnormal in it. Small kids were going to their schools, people moving towards their respective offices, housewives busy in their daily routine. The only difference was that at the back of everyone’s mind was: what will happen now is it safe to travel today and lot of other questions. There was anger accompanied with terror and panic amongst the people.

I just wanted to ask these Terrorist Organizations’ that whom they were trying to target: The working class men who struggle for an inch of space in local trains? The working women who try to finish some of their daily work in trains on their way back home? Young and dreamy students discussing career, exams and love? The old aged retired people who don’t have any other means of commuting?

If we analyze then this week was not good for India; Sunday – Testing of Agni III failed, Monday – Launch of INSAT failed and Tuesday – Mumbai Bomb Blasts. Last few days were bad for Mumbaikars too… first the rains on Tuesday, then Shiv Sena Drama on Sunday and lastly these deadly blasts again on Tuesday. How long can an ordinary Mumbaikar maintain his or her spirits? But one question which always comes to my mind: Is this the spirit to fight back or the helplessness because we can’t to do anything else except for continuing our lives as before???

Level 1 Completed !!

Yesterday was the last dance class for Level 1. Sorry guys, I forgot to tell you, that I’ve been learning dance (Jive, Salsa & Waltz) from last 8 weeks.

It had been a fantastic experience for a person like me, who doesn’t know even the ‘D’ of Dancing. Although I’ve danced few times before too: But only in marriages, where you don’t need to know, how to dance; it is sufficient enough, if you know how to jump… I never thought of dancing, except for marriages and parties in our hostel. But these classes made me think differently.

Even though I have lot more to learn, then too, now I can say that I know a little bit of dancing too… I’ll always be thankful to my company (who organized these dance classes), the dance academy and the instructors (especially Sagar, Tanvi & Bosky).

After all this, the thought which is revolving in my mind is: When will the classes for next level commence? Looking forward for Level 2

Jashn...

Jashn – A Live Musical Concert by Pankaj Udhas.

Last Friday I went to see this concert @ Nehru Centre, Worli. This was the second time I went for a live concert. The first one was when I was in class 11th and went to see a Daler Mehndi Show (hope you all still remember him).

Pankaj Udhas is my favorite ghazal singer. Rather I should put in this way: I listen only to his ghazals. Thus it was a very good opportunity for me to see him performing live. Two of my friends also agreed to come with me. I booked the tickets and reached the venue on time (which happens rarely). As I have said, till date I have seen only two live concerts. Both were awesome, the only difference being the ticket prices. The first one was for Rs.20 (I know you people won’t believe me, but its true) and for this concert; it was 10 times the first one.

Luckily we got seats at the center of the auditorium. So the view of the stage was absolutely clear. I was very excited to see my favorite artist performing in front of me.

Once he started singing, the whole auditorium seemed to be intoxicated by his melodies. And after 2 ghazals, when he sung a famous Bollywood number, the crowd was unable to control their emotions. Everyone was clapping and some of them were whistling too. His musicians too, were good. They played really well. There was one Jugalbandi performance by the musicians. Everyone was astonished to see such a performance. Finally came the turn of the song, for which almost everyone present in that audi was waiting: “Chithi Aayi Hai.” I even saw a lady sitting there, who started weeping on hearing this song.

We took some photographs, recorded videos and overall, enjoyed a lot. It was totally a paisa vasool show…

What Lies Ahead...

I got this as a forwarded mail but couldn't resist myself posting it. I know it's lengthy but worth reading

Date: 1st June, 2020

Sun is rising as usual in the east. I’m standing here outside the school waiting for my 10 yr kid. He studies is class 2. Only this year he could get admission into the school. For the last 3 yrs admissions were closed for the general category students. School bell rings. I can see a lot of happy children coming out of the gate, I waited for half an hour and my kid came at last after other children. General students are not allowed to cross the gate unless other OBC/SC/ST students have crossed the gates. OBC/SC/ST fathers drive away their children in classy cars. But I have to walk back home with my kid a 5 km stretch. I lost my car some years back when Govt. came with a rule that general people have to deposit a tax equal to cost of their cars. Failing which, I had to sell the car. As far as buses are concerned, the seats in buses are reserved for OBC/SC/ST. So no place there also. After walking some 5 km in scorching heat I finally reached home. It was Wednesday... shit, no electricity. Every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday is power cut in the houses of General category population. So that SC/ST/OBC can be uplifted by providing them with every opportunity and in that consideration electricity is an important factor.

Its 10:00 pm in night, no electricity at home. It’s very hot inside the four walls of home. So I dare to step out in park with my wife and kid. I seated myself with my family on a secluded bench in garden. It was hardly 5 min, when a guard came to us strolling in the park. He asked me what caste you belong to. I said with some hesitation; G..General. He asked me to pay a fine of Rs.200 and get out of the park. My Fault... The bench I was sitting on was meant for again the SC/ST/OBC, for their upliftment peace of mind is on essential things. So govt came with this decision, to reserve benches for them. Kudos to them...
Its early in the morning... the newspaper wala just knocked the door. I took the newspaper and started reading.., it’s Independence Day. I never used to forget this day some 20 yrs back. My kid hardly knows wat 15th August is, because I never told him any stories of greatness of our country or anything realted to country. I don't feel like telling him the failures after freedom.

On front page of newspaper, in a corner their is a news about a OBC member getting 6 months impriosonment in "BAL SUDHAR GRAHA" from a juvenile court for murdering and raping a six year old girl. Yes the rules have been amended, since the last 5 years. The Culprit was a 20 year old OBC so age relaxation was provided for trial of crime. So he was taken to juvenile court, since there is an age relaxation for OBC/SC/ST.
About 11 am some one gave me the BAD news about demise of one of my neighbour and friend Mr.Mehta. I went to his house for condolence next day, his body was lying there still rotting in the heat. I asked his son about the Cremation. His son told me "Many reserved category have died yesterday so we are not getting entry to creamtion ground." This rule is the latest from Govt. where the seats in creamtion ground will be reserved for SC/ST/OBC for their upliftment. Finally next day Mehta ji was cremated. I could see sun seeting through the Flames burning a libarated Body, liberated from casre n creed. I was surprised sun still sets in the west?

It was about 9 pm, I was about to sleep in my bed my son came to me with innocence in his eyes, inquisitively he asked me the question, what is reservation? I asked him where you listened that. He suddenly burst in tears. I asked him to keep quiet. But I could listen through his sobs "mujhe bhi reservation chahiye (I too want reservation)". How can I convince him that it’s no other toy in the market, which I can get for him? He kept crying that night, claiming many of "his classmates have got reservation". To make him quiet I said ok, I’ll buy you reservation at your next B'day.

Bye Bye INDIA !!!

Barsaat ke mausam mein...

Rains always remind me these lines, written by Rossiter Johnson:

How it pours, pours, pours, In a never-ending sheet! How it drives beneath the doors!

How it soaks the passer's feet! How it rattles on the shutter! How it rumples up the lawn! How 'twill sigh, and moan, and mutter, From darkness until dawn.
(Source: Rhyme of the Rain)


Yesterday, first time I witnessed the rains in Mumbai. The rains brought both joy n reliefs from the scorching heat of summer but along with this, it also brought panic n feeling of fear in the minds of the people.

As soon as the rain started, my mailbox was flooded by the mails, warning about the future dates on which there is the possibility of heavy rainfall. But this was not all, then came a warning SMS came from my mobile service provider. People here in Mumbai, really fear rains now, atleast after last year’s 26/7.

Panicked Mumbaikars believe that this was only the trailer, as it rained only for few hours. The rains led to water-logging at many places between my office and home. Addition to this was heavy traffics jams on the road, as everyone was in a rush to reach their homes.

Finally, I managed to reach my place, bare-footed, with shoes in my hands and singing the song “Barsaat ke mausam mein…”

Na Jaane Koii.....

Amidst volatility the markets have slipped in deep red. The markets ended weak after a choppy session with the BSE Sensex closing at 452.82 points down 10,938.61 levels below the 11,000 mark.

In intra-day trade, it slipped to a low of 10,799 levels. The market tried to gain some momentum during the day but the due to heavy selling and some disappointing Q4 results, it again slipped in deep red.

Now all eyes will be on the stock indices on Monday. The BSE Sensex had nosedived 1279 points approximately in the last two days, the highest-ever absolute fall for the index.

Reacting to the Thursday's losses, Finance Minister Mr. P Chidambaram said on Friday that the crash had been a "manufactured crisis". Even he mentioned that the government is not looking FII’s as traders and they will be considered only as investors. Even this promise was not enough for the market to rise.

The question which comes to my mind is that “What should retail investors do at this moment of time?” Whether they should continue holding the stocks, hoping that by next week, the markets will flourish again. Or they should sell their stocks because sensex can go down further. “What will be the future of small investors?”

How much correction is still needed in the Sensex? Or till what time we’ll continue fearing from Black Monday, Torrid Thursday or Freaky FryDay. The last and the most important question is that how this crash will effect the future of Aam Aadmi….


Please Note: I’m neither an investor nor a trader. But try to follow the markets closely because of my interests.

Hasna Zaroori Hai

RGV & K Sera Sera presents “Darna Zaroori Hai"

Saw the movie on Friday night @ Cinemax, Andheri East. I just wanted to share some of my experiences related to this movie, this may help my frndz in saving some money.

Few years ago, Ram Gopal Varma experimented; he made a movie with six different stories but with same conclusion named Darna Mana Hai. His latest offering in this 'Darna' series is Darna Zaroori Hai. This movie also has six different stories but they all are similar to the stories in previous part.

Even the main plot of the movie was similar to the previous one. Let's get this straight. 'Scary' is too strong a word for Darna Zaroori Hai. The film doesn't even succeed in sending a slight shiver down your spine. Almost everyone present in the theatre was laughing instead of getting scared.

Of the six stories that are juxtaposed in this new 'Darna' series, I only liked the first story, which was directed by Sajid Khan. The remaining five stories and also the story that binds them in a thread, of an old woman and five children were unable to generate interest amongst the audiences.

On the whole, the movie lacks the power to scare, frighten, terrify or to even generate some interest in the audience. It was a major disappointment. Instead of Darna Zaroori Hai, the title of the movie should be “Hasna Zaroori Hai.”

Live Humbly !!

The story written below is based on a real life incident and it may teach us how to be modest:

" Vivek Pradhan wasn't a happy man. Even the plush comfort of the First Class air-conditioned compartment of the Shatabdi Express couldn't cool his frayed nerves. He was the Project Manager and still not entitled to air travel. It was not the prestige he sought; he had tried to reason with the admin guy, it was the savings in
time. A PM had so many things to do!

He opened his case and took out the laptop, determined to put the time to some good use.

"Are you from the software industry sir," the man beside him was staring appreciatively at the laptop.

Vivek glanced briefly and mumbled in affirmation, handling the laptop now with exaggerated care and importance as if it were an expensive car.

"You people have brought so much advancement to the country sir. Today everything is getting computerized."

'Thanks," smiled Vivek, turning around to give the man a detailed look.

He always found it difficult to resist appreciation. The man was young and stocky like a sportsman. He looked simple and strangely out of place in that little lap of luxury like a small town boy in a prep school. He probably was a Railway sportsman making the most of his free traveling pass.

"You people always amaze me," the man continued, "You sit in an office and write something on a computer and it does so many big things outside."

Vivek smiled deprecatingly. Naivety demanded reasoning not anger. "It is not as simple as that my friend. It is not just a question of writing a few lines. There is a lot of process that goes behind it." For a moment he was tempted to explain the entire Software Development Lifecycle but restrained himself to a single statement. "It is complex, very complex."

"It has to be. No wonder you people are so highly paid," came the reply.
This was not turning out as Vivek had thought. A hint of belligerence came into his so far affable, persuasive tone.

"Everyone just sees the money. No one sees the amount of hard work we have to put in." "Hard work!" "Indians have such a narrow concept of hard work. Just because we sit in an air-conditioned office doesn't mean our brows don't sweat. You exercise the muscle; we exercise the mind and believe me that is no less taxing."


He had the man where he wanted him and it was time to drive home the point.
"Let me give you an example. Take this train. The entire railway reservation system is computerized. You can book a train ticket between any two stations from any of the hundreds of computerized booking centers across the country.

Thousands of transactions accessing a single database at a given time; concurrency, data integrity, locking, data security. Do you understand the complexity in designing and coding such a system?"

The man was stuck with amazement, like a child at a planetarium. This was something big and beyond his imagination.

"You design and code such things."

"I used to," Vivek paused for effect, "But now I am the project manager,"

"Oh!" sighed the man, as if the storm had passed over, "so your life is easy now."

It was like being told the fire was better than the frying pan. The man had to be given a feel of the heat.

"Oh come on, does life ever get easy as you go up the ladder.
Responsibility only brings more work. Design and coding! That is the easier part. Now I don't do it, but I am responsible for it and believe me, that is far more stressful. My job is to get the work done in time and with the highest quality. And to tell you about the pressures! There is the customer at one end always changing his requirements, the user wanting something else and your boss always expecting you to have finished it yesterday."

Vivek paused in his diatribe, his belligerence fading with self-realization. What he had said was not merely the outburst of a wronged man, it was the truth. And one need not get angry while defending the truth.

"My friend," he concluded triumphantly, "you don't know what it is to be in the line of fire."

The man sat back in his chair, his eyes closed as if in realization.

When he spoke after sometime, it was with a calm certainty that surprised Vivek.

"I know sir, I know what it is to be in the line of fire," He was staring blankly as if no passenger, no train existed, just a vast expanse of time.

"There were 30 of us when we were ordered to capture Point 4875 in the cover of the night. The enemy was firing from the top. There was no knowing where the next bullet was going to come from and for whom. In the morning when we finally hoisted the tricolor at the top only 4 of us were alive."

"You are a..."

"I am Subedar Sushant from the 13 J&K Rifles on duty at Peak 4875 in Kargil. They tell me I have completed my term and can opt for a land assignment. But tell me sir, can one give up duty just because it makes life easier. On the dawn of that capture one of my colleagues lay injured in the snow, open to enemy fire while we were hiding behind a bunker. It was my job to go and fetch that soldier to safety. But my captain refused me permission and went ahead himself. He said that the first pledge he had taken as a Gentleman Cadet was to put the safety and welfare of the nation foremost followed by the safety and welfare of the men he commanded. His own personal safety came last, always and every time. He was killed as he shielded that soldier into the bunker. Every morning now as I stand guard I can see him taking all those bullets, which were actually meant for me. I know sir, I know what it is to be in the line of fire."

Vivek looked at him in disbelief not sure of his reply. Abruptly he switched off the laptop. It seemed trivial, even insulting to edit a word document in the presence of a man for whom valor and duty was a daily part of life; a valor and sense of duty which he had so far attributed only to epical heroes.

The train slowed down as it pulled into the station and Subedar Sushant picked up his bags to alight.

"It was nice meeting you sir."

Vivek fumbled with the handshake. This was the hand that had climbed mountains, pressed the trigger and hoisted the tricolor.

Suddenly as if by impulse he stood at attention, and his right hand went up in an impromptu salute.

It was the least he felt he could do for the country.

PS: The incident he narrates during the capture of Peak 4875 is a true life incident during the Kargil War. Major Batra sacrificed his life while trying to save one of the men he commanded, as victory was within sight. For this and his various other acts of bravery he was awarded the Param Vir Chakra – the nation's highest military award.

Live humbly, there are great people around us, let us learn! ”

Mandal II

So now there are fresh reservations to get into IITs and IIMs. Premier institutes forced to compromise on their meritocracy. I do not understand why we are so socialist. Shouldn't the best survive and let others perish?

If there has to be reservation for anyone than it should be done on the basis of their economic position not on the basis of their caste. Initially when the constitution was drafted, this reservation system was proposed only for 10 years but it has been extended to 55 years, even now not giving any sign to terminate. I agree that reservations were a necessity in early years after our independence but now, in the global economy, there should be no place for reservations.

Caste system is evil practice because then people from a particular caste could be deprived from getting into a particular organization. However, reservation is also bad because of same reasons; It denies the general public who are more able, an entry into these organizations just because they do not belong to particular castes.

By making reservations up to 50%, we ourselves are creating a difference amongst the society. Students, who joined on merit basis in these colleges, will treat the other group, who came there on the basis of reservations, as inferiors.

Even after having reservations in some of the top notch colleges, these students are unable to perform. At IITs they have preparatory classes for the student community, who come through these quotas. These classes are given to them just to bring them to the level of the other students and also to the level of studies which they have to do at these colleges. In spite of all this many of them become drop-outs in between of the course coz they are unable to cope up with pressure there.

A real meritorious student is never deprived; he comes up in life whichever field he chooses and which ever college, industry he joins. Even I know one person who belonged to these minority classes but then too he got the admission in IIT through the general category, just to prove that he doesn’t want any quota to be there.

We all know the kind of extraordinary talent, which is needed to get into the India's best institutes like IIT's & IIM's. Students start their preparations for these exams; years before they actually appear for them, with a hope that one day they will be IITians or IIM grads, they face a cut throat competition in these exams, which selects 1 student out of thousands. Every year competition is becoming tougher n tougher and instead of reducing the reservation and increasing number of seats, government is restricting the general class to get into premier institutes.

Now what exactly is the government trying to do? It’s playing with the future of thousands of students belonging to the General Category. Instead of giving them economic support, fee waivers and scholarships it wants to appease them with something that will cost students their future. Reservation aimed at more than 50%. Approximately 1330 seats going to be out of question for general candidates in IITs and 210 in each IIMs. Half the passouts from these esteemed institutions will be those who never fought for their careers. If the government is so interested in their development, then let them open new colleges for these so called underprivileged backward classes.

Children of poor labourers’, anywhere in India, who has been discriminated for generations, will never benefit from these reservations. Since reservation never permeates to that level. The only ones who actually benefit are well-settled city folks who are under the "Creamy layer" category of SC/STs and so called backward classes.
The reservation does not ensure social respect for anyone. On the contrary it prejudices minds of those merit based candidates who have been at the receiving end of reservations. And also it is not good for our economy.

These reservations are made by the politicians just for their vote banks and not for the welfare of the common citizen. The major vote banks for these political parties have always been these minority classes and other backward classes. Since We, (the general category) never vote. And the Politicians want their votes... Therefore, we have to face all these crap. So, it’s high time that we should be aware of our rights and should vote.

India is now becoming a superpower, economic growth is on fast lane, more and more Multinational's are investing in India just because of 1991 reforms and the strategy "Open For All", but at the same time, making the education closed, restricted to few. It slaps the face of education in India...

Whatever is the reason, vote bank or up gradation of backward castes, it is injustice to the deserving candidates. Apropos to the government's recent decision to increase the reservation quota up to 50% for the reserved castes, we the "General Society" strongly oppose this government's authoritarian step.

One Rupee !!!

Few days ago, while coming back from Linking Road, I was getting restless as my auto-rickshaw stopped on every other signal.

But soon I was engrossed in listening to the songs, played on the FM that I didn’t noticed that we were again waiting for a green light. I realized this when I saw a beggar standing at one side of my rick, with her baby. I tried to ignore her and turned my head towards the other side.

The story on the other side was more or less the same. A girl between 8 – 10 years of age came and stood on the other side of my auto. I ignored her too in the beginning but the dejected look on her face, made me re-consider my decision.

After thinking for a while, I took out my purse gave a one rupee coin to that girl and said, “Ab kissi aur ko mat bhejna. (Now don’t send anybody else.)” She smiled and ran away.

As my rick moved ahead, she again passed by my side and smiled looking towards me. This was the third time; I saw her happy and smiling, after receiving that one rupee from me. My rick moved further and by this time she must have been left far behind. But as soon as we got stuck in the jam again, I saw her standing on one of the sides of my rick. She again passed me a smile and waved to me as my rick moved forward. I don’t how but my hands automatically started waving back towards her. I turned back and kept on looking as I wanted to see that happy face again and again, as my rick moved ahead.

We’ll give tips to waiters, cab drivers or any one else but we’ll not give a single penny to the beggars because the fact have been inculcated into our minds that begging is a bad habit and we should not encourage it. We don’t blame people who take bribes or tips, for making our society corrupt and dysfunctional. We never think of the reason that why people are forced to beg. It is our society which is responsible for the evolvement of this evil practice.

Before this incident I never knew the amount of happiness, which a single penny may give to someone. May be I cannot change this world or buy something expensive but certainly I bought happiness on the face of that girl, by just One Rupee !!!

Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaray dil meiN hai !!!

Thought of reminding you the cost of our freedom


Dont forget their sacrifice,their valour efforts,their courage .....for the freedom in which we were born and have enjoyed so far:

23rd-March 1931

Its 75 years of their valour martyrdom.
Exactly 75 years back from here three gallant sons of India
(Shaheed Bhagat Singh,Shaheed Sukhdev,Shaheed Rajguru) sacrificed
their lifes for the sake of our freedom.

Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaray dil meiN hai,
dekhna hai zor kitna baazuay qaatil meiN hai
karta nahiN kyuN doosra kuch baat cheet,
dekhta hun maiN jise voh chup teri mehfil meiN hai
ay shaheed-e-mulk-o-millat main teray oopar nisaar,
ab teri himmat ka charcha ghair ki mehfil meiN hai
waqt aanay dey bata deNge tujhe ay aasmaN,
ham abhi se kya batayeN kya hamare dil mein hai
khainch kar layee hai sab ko qatl honay ki ummeed,
aashiqoN ka aaj jumghat koocha-e-qaatil meiN hai

Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaray dil meiN hai !!!