3 X 7 things about myself...

Here I am.. writing about myself. Long back i had written my 7 X 7 and felt like doing it again :D.. and also it is a great way to know about the new freinds i made on bloggers :) .. and the result is this blog. Just tweaked the regular 7 X 7 things about myself to 3 X 7 things about myself.. to keep it short and enjoyable.

I have tagged some of my friends in this blog (scroll down to see if you are in that list), if you are not on the list and wud love to write about urself.. pls go ahead and get tagged... dont forget to publish you blog to me and ur freinds though... wud love to read it! :)

3 places i would pack my travel bag for

1. Swiss alps, my dream destination

2. Eiffel Tower, Paris

3. Gods own country - Kerala (missed visiting twice)

3 On-Screen charectors i love to watch

1. Joker (Heath Ledger) in Dark Knight

2. Amir Khan in Dil Chahta Hai

3. Big B in Namak Halal (cant forget the Pag Ghunguroo song)

 .. and Joey (Matt LeBlanc) in Friends :)) 

3 moods that describes me the best

1. Lazy (during office days)

2. Anxious, thoughtful (when idle)

3. Overjoy, Excited.. (during weekends) 

3 things i always think of doing on a weekend... but never did.. :)

1. Clean my room (so much lying around not sure wher n wen to start)

2. Go for haircut (its been ages!!!)

3. Continue reading Jeffrey Archer (i dont rem wher i stopped anymr) 

3 things from my childhood that i cant forget

1. Play play and play.. :)

2. Last day at my school (HJKP)

3. Visit to my aunts place (in mysore) for every summer vacation.

3 things i wud never say no to

1. Bowling (quite a craze... hv bowled in Blore, Mysore, Pune, Hyd, Toronto, Melbourne...)

2. Long drive in my car... anywher, anytime...

3. Sweet corn (pepper masala or chat masala flvor) 

3 things i cant live without

1. Laptop, internet etc.. anything that hooks me online..

2. Playing wid Chinni (the one n only .. cute, little ravishing darling of mine.. my niece.. Mrudula)

3. Music, movies and masti.. 3M!

Yes, you have been Tagged!!! :))

Tagging my blogger friends Arindam, Sabrina, Jazmine, Vijay, Mehreen, Alankrita, Renella, Vijaya, Jyotsna, Ravali, Pragyan and Mayaa to continue this chain. Looking forward to see you all write 3 X 7 things on ur blogs... Come on folks, would love to know more about you!!

Happy Friendship day!!! :)

Just some rulezz to follow...

- Tag as many u want!! (well.. thts not a rule...)

- Link their pages in your tag post

- Post a message / leave a comment screaming that they r tagged

- Mention the person who tagged you in your tag post, and link their blog.

- Write 3 X 7 things about yourself :)

Mind over matter

Mind set: Don't play it safe

Most of the world likes to play it safe. They go to their safe jobs, come home to their safe relationships, they drive safe cars, they invest money in safe corporations, they think safe thoughts, and they want nothing more than to feel safe and secure.

Survival of the fittest dictates that these people live another day and therefore get to breed and would make up the majority of the population. We could say that they play it smart.

But there is another kind, too. This other group lives for thrills. They don't just occasionally think outside the box, they actually prefer to live outside the box. This is a group who thrives on adventure, change, and newness. They love innovative new ideas, they like to explore new things, and push the envelope beyond its capabilities. They are the visionaries who perceive something beyond where we stand today.

This group often does not feel understood nor supported by the mainstream population. They are not rebels, although they are often accused of being rebellious because they do not embrace the status quo. This group is not anti-anything. They do not require group consensus to be who they are. Young adults often think that by dressing badly or by misbehaving that they are somehow brave and different from whatever it is that they are opposing, but that is not revolutionary and different, that is just anger turned inside out. They are not making a point, they are not changing the world, they are simply behaving in a manner that causes people to shun them. That is not the group I am talking about today.

This group is made up of people like Albert Einstein, Mahatma Gandhi, Nikola Tesla, Susan B Anthony, Melissa Etheridge, Nelson Mandela, and countless others who do not strive to be different nor to go against the mainstream beliefs. They simply are different, they think different, they live different, and they make passionate choices to contribute something meaningful to humanity despite the fact that others oppose them. All of these people stand tall despite the chaos and anger of those surrounding them. "Why can't you just leave well enough alone? Why do you always have to push people too far? Why can't you just get along?"

Those who would keep things safe and comfortable become frightened and angry at these innovative new thinkers. They torment them, threaten them, mistreat them, ostracise them, and create a storm of ugliness to try and stop these people from simply sharing the gifts of their hearts that they were born to share with humanity. Years later, often after they have long been dead, future generations can look back in hindsight and see their bravery as admirable. But in the moment, these people are historically treated terribly. These are typically men and women of peace who do not go out with an angry rebellious need to stir up trouble. They fight for higher ideals because in their heart of hearts they truly believe that things could be better.

Today there are millions of people who would change the world with their beautiful open-minded hearts and their incredibly brilliant minds, especially the upcoming teenagers and young adults in their early twenties. They feel that there is no point in even trying because the current political and cultural environment is so against them. I would be lying if I claimed that what you see as extreme hostility towards change was not at a peak right now. You are right. They do not want to change again, but you are right, it is time for another change and you are the ones to help bring it. Do not be afraid of the backlash. Stand tall and do what you know in your heart is right and just for all, not just what benefits a chosen few. You know that ignorance can no longer rule the people. You know that blind obedience is no longer a viable option.

People say that the signs are all here and Armageddon has begun. How selfish to assume that your god will come carry you off to heaven, therefore you do not have to care for the people and planet that are going to be left in the wake of your final choices. Who is to say that is not the ultimate test of who stays and who gets to ascend to a better place? If you had to choose who were truly worthy of burning in hell or going to heaven, would you pick those who were killing in the name of God or those who were crying out for love, equality, and to save the planet?

Good times

Life has to be full of fond moments and exciting times spent with family, friends, grandparents and loved ones. First day on your first job, an unexpected meeting of your childhood friend, first movie with your girlfriend, a romantic candle light dinner with your loved one... its wonderful how on such moments you feel the gush of emotions running right through you... and after many years it still gives you the feel as if it happened today.

One such memorable day that I wish to share was my first outing with Sindhu on my bike. Like any typical South Indian family, taking the girl out before being formally engaged is a strict no-no affair.. and like any typical pre-engagement boy and girl, we would be waiting to step out (Hehehehe... :)) But first time is always a first time, you are always in the dilemma whether to keep it chupa-chupi or let the elders know. After much thought (my Decision no.1) I decided to inform her dad on taking Sindhu out for a while. So I called her up and told her I would be there for pick up at 6PM IST... so that she would prepare the pitch, and all that I would need to do is to present myself in formal look (obviously not the MJ look and feel on the first visit).. exchange a few pleasentaries and ride away with the dream of my life. I was fully excited, got ready in no time, took my Fiero and zipped thru the traffic, only to find myself parking my bike at Sindhu's house at 7PM (late by an hour.. anyways IST is Indian Streachable Time and how can I not live upto the reputation that "guys" are never on time). Climbed the stairs to their first floor house with a bit of nervousness, but got a very generous warm  and a smiling welcome from everyone. Sindhu was inside dressing up for the outing.

Things were going as planned. Trying to keep the decent approach, I began a conversation with Sindhu's dad (hoping to end it soon and take Sindhu out asap). At first I was not even keen on listening, after a while I made an effort to listen to what was reaching my ears... Weather, coffee, job, Bangalore traffic, Metro, fuel prices... the talks never did seem to end. I too pitched in with a few comments here and there. Soon we ran out of topics... precious time.. God help me!!! Trying not to be rude or anything, I tried to close the conversation on a few occasions, but only to find another one starting.

I started getting restless, matters was slowly slipping out of my control, topics started repeating :'( .... I even tried to remain silent, hoping of some reciprocation. But my prayers to the God of Silence went in vain as the talks went on and on and on.. like Amaron battery. By now, each passing minute started to give me the feel of a day... thats when my Decision no.2 came.. I stood up on my feet, took the helmet in my hands, and said non-stop - "I think its getting late, we have planned to go out for a while, will be come back in an hour's time". Then there was silence. When you ask your fiancee out making the return time obvious for her parents is very important (not that you would take their daughter on a 6D/7N all inclusive trip to Kulu Manali, but just to sound responsible)... else forget even getting a shake of the head from her parents.  Finally after a few exchange of smiles... we left. There she was, sitting on my bike for the first time, and I was all in heavens :).... took her to a famous chat center in Gandhibazar, spent more than 2 hours chatting (lots of talks and samosa chats in-between).

Time just flew by, me and Sindhu met a few more times before getting engaged. Currently enjoying, the so called golden era (post engagement and pre-marital bliss). Suddenly weekends became more happening and full of fun (minus all the effort and the pain) :)

Engagement models!!!

A funny blog from my collegue. Read and Enjoy!! :)

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No, no.. don’t go away.. this is not about proposals or project management. This is my unique take (actually nothing unique, but then I am running out of topics) on the post engagement pre-marriage period which is the golden era (ahem..hem) in anybody’s life..

There are so many guys (read 1) these days asking me for tips on how to handle this enragement period (oops, spelling mistake! anyway let us leave it that way). So, being the shrewd observer of things (that should make it clear that this is not out of experience.. any comments of that sort will be ruthlessly moderated), I decided to play the savior of such wandering sheep.. Please follow this set of rules to confirm your marital status. Remember, there is very little difference between marital law and martial law!

Rule number 1: Unless you are a close relative of the Ambani’s (or own sweat equity of some IPL franchise), get a CUG phone connection. You have so much talking to do (mostly listening.. but talk also if you count ‘yeah’, ‘right’ and ‘ok’). 

Rule number 2: Your reply SMS messages should be a minimum of 10 words. Remove words like ‘ok’, ’sure’, ‘me too’, ‘fine’ from your SMS dictionary. For example, a suggested reply for a message like ‘I have a lot of work today’, should be ‘Oh no.. Too bad. Tell ur mngr that you have a hdache :-):-) ‘..  A reply like ‘oh ok’ for this message is sure to put you in mortal danger. 

Rule number 3: Remember to remember.  Guys have a tendency to remember key things like Sachin’s centuries, Deepika’s latest boyfriend and Messi’s jersey number and forget trivial things like fiancee’s birthday, the names of all of her 14 friends, in-laws’ wedding day and Tommy’s vaccination day. Not any more brother! Try at least to remember the month of birth of your fiancee’s sister-in-law’s  second cousin. You never know how it will help.

Rule number 4: Know your colours. Men can distinguish about 3 colours in a rainbow. But women can identify all the 38 colours in it. So, practise until you can clearly distinguish blue, light blue, deep blue, dark blue, navy blue, sky blue, copper sulphate blue, zinc phosphate blue.. you get the idea..

Rule number 5: Extrapolate! This is very important. What she says is not what she wants.. For eg., if she messages you to get a band-aid, and if you manage to buy one, you will look like an absolute idiot! You are supposed to immediately call her with an anxious voice on why she needs one, what really happened, whether she needs an ambulance (a rescue helicopter if she can’t see through the sarcasm).. And by the way, she really does not need a band-aid!

Rule number 6: Interpret! Continuing with the above rule, sometimes  you have to do the opposite of what she says, because there is a hidden meaning associated with each phrase

‘OK, you don’t have to come’           If you are not here in the next half-our I will kill you’
‘It is not heavy, I can carry it’           ’You moron, will you take this from me or what?’
‘This dress does not suit me’             ‘It looks great on me and I expect you to say it’

Rule number 7: Hidden within those multiple strands of your brain, there is a commodity called logic. Get it out somehow and throw it as farther as you can.. Else it will interfere in those inopportune moments, like when she calls at 2:00 AM in the morning to check whether you are awake or why she needs 3 pair of slippers when she already has 4 or how someone can be a fan of Tushar Kapoor. Asking such questions will result in… I don’t even want to think about it!

Ok, folks I hope you find these pearls of wisdom useful. Some people listen to experts, some learn the hard way. So it is up to you. Enjoy the marital bliss.

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Any feedbacks or comments will be promptly fwdd to the author of the original blog :)

Pseudo democracy

Relaxing at home, trying to slow down the fast paced world I live in. Its a nationwide bandh today in India against price rise and govt decision to increase petrol and diesel prices. In Bangalore the response to this bandh call has been quite effective. Though the timing has been apt for me (considering the hectic weekend i had), the fact that most of the business establishments and normal life is shutdown denting the economy, such strikes should not be supported. I understand its a sign of protest against the govt policies and price rise n blah blah blah... but surely there are other ways to voice your opinion against govt apathy.

Sipping coffee and sitting on my bed, this is exactly what i am thinking How else would one protest without bringing public life to a grinding halt and still ensure that public is active in this democracy? How may from your neighbourhood feel that the price rise is an issue? Even if they feel its an issue, how many of us feel that we need to come out to the streets and shout slogans against it? Well, the number is very very small. Its only those who wish to gain some political mileage and publicity call for agitations and strikes. Aam aadmi, or the mango people, are least bothered on what is happening at the global level, and how India should react in a mature way thinking ahead of times and well within the boundaries of democracy. Active participation from the public, and questioning the usual should become the order. Dont blindly follow the selfish politicians who at the end of the day are just playing political games. Its funny how the word 'politics' is made up of the words 'poli' meaning 'many' in Latin, and 'tics' as in 'bloodsucking creatures’. I would say, instead of the Suprme Court banning strikes, they should legalise it. And ensure that there is a representative of such strikes and he is made accountable till the end of conflict, not only to maintain peace during the agitiations but also  to bring about a legal and an amicable solution keeping the interests of the public in mind. He should work hand in hand with the govt to see that the objective of the agitation is achieved. Thats where the real test of democracy (of the people, by the people & for the people) lies... lets who will come forward to organise strikes and agitations. Sad but true, what we are living is pseudo-democracy...

Anyways, not entirely happy staying at home today, as i have to compensate for today's off in the coming weeks. More when i return to my lappie...till then munch on some FIFAWC news (casualities galore!)... Dunga is fired as Brazil coach, CR7 may be stripped of capatincy and the man with the Hand-of-God is ready to give way for a new coach.

God as the purifier of Silver

"He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver." (Malachi 3:3)

This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.

That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: 'He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.' She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed. The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, 'How do you know when the silver is fully refined?' He smiled at her and answered, 'Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it'.

Speaking Tree - Happiness is not everything - May 24, 2010

The idea of happiness is a kind of ignorance. If your understanding is healthy, then you will never give too much importance to happiness; we do so because of our ignorance. Happiness is not the idea, purpose or aim of life; happiness is a consequence, a fruit.

Happiness is a subject of the senses; it is felt by the senses, it is an idea of the senses; it is information got from the senses. The scope of the senses is limited and the senses are completely unaware of the greatness of life. So if you are thinking for happiness or working for happiness you are just following your senses, you are indulging them. You are just living with your senses.

Understand the game of the senses, and then go beyond them. Discover that portion of life, that part of life that can give us something permanent, the highest knowledge of life, the highest clarity in life.

Nobody enters the path with full clarity, so even if you are ignorant or you lack the aspiration, somehow you will get connected. For instance you have a certain understanding of life and what you want. On the basis of what you know, your highest goal is to find happiness. As you undergo experiences in the course of life, your understanding grows wider and deeper. As your understanding develops you begin to see that happiness is not everything, that there is something beyond, that happiness comes and goes. You begin to think that perhaps satisfaction and being content is more important, no matter the kind of circumstances you are faced with. You could be content if you wished to be so.

Earlier your level of understanding prompted you to say: “How can I be content when I don’t have this, or I don’t have that?” Now your level of understanding has changed, and with that understanding you don’t miss anything, you are fully content. So it is just that in the level of our understanding something happens; if the understanding is high then you will not give too much importance to happiness, or sadness. When you aspire for something higher you will give more importance to your clarity, to your higher understanding, you will live for that; you will not give importance to whether the path is long or not, you will not give importance to the path at all, you will give importance to the target, the target is higher, aspiration is higher.

When you climb a mountain with the aim of reaching the top you have clarity. You know that you have to reach the top. That clarity helps you. The path will be very difficult, and maybe you will not be happy on the way, but when you reach the top that will give you much more than happiness, it will give you contentment. If we are only looking for happiness then we will never be able to climb high, aim high, or aspire for anything that can help us to evolve further.

What we understand by happiness lies on the surface. When you live at a deeper level, you give importance to clarity of consciousness which gives you information on the purpose of your existence; it gives you purpose. Once this is clear, everything will come to you including contentment and balance.

(Swami Brahmdev - As told to Sudhamahi Regunathan)

The Battle Inside

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, "My son, the battle is between 2 wolves.

"One is Evil. It is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego.

The other is God. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf wins?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

Take care of your thoughts

"Thoughts lead to purposes;
Purposes go forth in action;
Actions form habits;
Habits decide character;
Character fixes our destiny."

So take care of your thoughts!

Making life more intersting.. Calvin way!!! :)

Just a few weeks back got Creative 2.1(Inspire M2600) for my swanky laptop(Inspiron 1525). Music takes me to a whole new world.. it soothes ones mind. i dont know if music therapy ever works, but for me it hits the right chord to take me out from my clogged confused stressed mind to a completely different plane from where i can see the pleasentnes that life brings to all of us. That young flower you had seen in the garden, tht bird soaring sky high above ur head, the endless green patch of beautiful landscape that you had once captured on ur camera, the clouds that almost seem insync with ur emotions... all start talking to you with music in ur ears.. aint it???... esp when needed most.

Very recently one of my frend said she wanted to listen Bob Dylan, so i burnt a cd for her of the songs i had.. i have a good collection of Dylans, if not huge... like Blowing in the wind, Like a rolling stone, I want You.. Changing of Guards and a few more. different kind of music work for differnt people.. some like it to be soothing, some like bollywood tunes, some like it all hard(rock), while for a few its just the instrumental... its all there in finding and clinging onto it!

Beleive me... Music does a lot of things to you than you ever knew it could. Just sit back and lose yourself amidst the rythms of life(music)... :-)

Know your conflicting self

Swami Sukhabodhananda

Happiness is what we want but our overwhelming desire to attain happiness and freedom actually takes it away from us.

We are not able to love for we are filled with hope and expectations. We are all working for freedom but freedom is elusive. Happiness is what we want but in our overwhelming desire for happiness and freedom it slips away. We come to a master with the desire to be happy and that prevents us from being happy. What comes between oneself and happiness is desire. The possibility of attaining happiness is weakened by increasing one’s desire for it. So what should we do? It is not a question of doing but seeing the foolishness of the desire. Look what is happening now. There is an experience of what is happening and yet there is another part in oneself that does not want what is happening. That is, “I want something other than what is. I create a conflict with my self”. This conflicting self is the “me”, and with this self one wants to be happy. Unless one sees the whole foolishness of this conflict, unhappiness will exist and you hold it in your desire to be happy.

See that one part of you is experiencing what is happening while the other part says, “I don’t want this and I want something else”. See this basic conflict. Sharpen your seeing and let the seeing just see “what is”.

Now see this conflict of who you are and who you want to become as a dream. Don’t give it the importance of a waking reality; see it as a movement of a dream state.
Learn to dis-identify yourself from this conflict and go on witnessing it from a distance. Learn to see the witness and not the witnessed. See the witnessing consciousness- the ‘sakshi’ and slowly without any desire you will see it is complete and full.

Now from this fullness, you start living life. From this fullness even if you desire, then a desire would be out of fullness and not for fullness. Your desire is out of happiness and not for happiness. This is a state of nirvana — enlightenment.

Here I'm .... :)))

SAGAR/BHARATH MR
TG 328 23NOV BLRBKK 2245 0400
TG 999 24NOV BKKMEL 0810 2120

If you can read this intinerary.. u'll probably know where i am!! :p
Watch this space for more.. soon!!

Frends, food, fun...

3 magnificient treats, a lot of shopping, and catching up with frends.. all of this and much more in just one week. hmm. what am i upto???!!.. well, u will know soon! :) Its has been a great week since last wednesday... and the best part is all the fun has come on week days.. after office.. n not weeknds!

After all the lavish eatings, I feel I can actually write my own column on the restaurents in Bangalore. Desmonds, Sahib Sindh Sultan, TGIF. Yesterday nite was also memorable.. had been to TGIF (they say, Everyday is a friday at TGIF!), great place for some continental food... pastas, shrimps, and others. Not to mention sm great music is played during the night. Shall srcibble more with sm snaps.. till then read this.. feels like cricket is no more a Gentleman's game.

Sahib Sindh Sultan

Words of Wisdom

Yesterday was one of those days where i was not myself. And just when i started feeling that everything within me was faling apart, a friend handed me a book "Way of Youth" by a Buddhist philosopher, Daisaku Ikeda. The approach of book is so very simple (and yet head on) in addressing the turbulences of a young mind, the concerns and questions that constantly poses. This book brings about a self directed transformation, making a powerful impact on the person reading it. For a young mind, looking for answers amidst lifes' strangest ways, this book strikes that chord of realisation of your truest self within you, that you have been looking for... what we really are, what we should really be to keep and maintain that unruffled peace and calm within. It brings about a change in your thoughts to regain your lost strength, and the lost "YOU". I would recommend this book for all the youngsters, go on, get a copy of it from your nearest book store.

"What kind of future do I envision for myself? What kind of self am I trying to develop? What do I want to accomplish in my life?" The thing is to paint this vision of your life in your heart as specifically as possible. That "painting" itself becomes the design of your future. The power of the heart enables us to actually create with our lives a wonderful masterpiece in accordance with that design." - Daisaku Ikeda

Getting back to life...

me wrapping up my fourth visit to Hyderabad (not a very pleasant one though, when compared to the prvs 3 trips within 2 months)... gotta catch a taxi to airport now. Have a beautiful eveng, while i take myself sometime off (have got a precious weeknd ahead) to just sit back and feel lite and good about my life.

The beginning of the end...

The one n only Windsor manor, the beautiful Bangalore Golf grounds, Le Meridian, Governer's residence, Chinanswamy stadium, Mahatma Gandhi road (MG road), Trinity Church, Diamond district, The Leela... I used to ride thru the best in blore.. but not anymore. My office had been shifted and we are sitting in CV Raman nagar office (Bagman Tech Park) starting today. Well, it kinda getting back in time for me.. the thot of the legendary Sir CV Raman takes me back to my school days... the whole of Hymamshu Jyothi Kala Peetha (my school in malleshwaram, bangalore) was grouped into 4 different houses named after the great legends from the glorious Indian History. Jawahar, Subhash, Raman and Sir MV were the four houses.

I was in the Sir CV Raman house.. the nobel laurette (his exceptional work in physics). Blue was the color of our house and it was a great bunch... every kid, every student .. right from 1st standard till 10th were grouped into one of these houses... and we used to compete against each other in all the school activites.. right from sports, cultural events... to exams n competetions. This wud bring the best out of each individual everytime. At the end of every year one of the 4 houses would be identified as the best house and best contributer for the school's progress and would be given the prestigious HJKP Shield during the school day celebrations. Being a part of Raman house my contribution was in the field of sports and science shows. Also on a few occasions for school day cultural programs.. but sports was serious business at HJKP... the Sports day was one of the days i always looked forward to.. , and now getting back to the CV Raman nagar (has his bust at the entrance of the loacality, which i make sure i watch everyday i ride into office) is like a rejuvination for me to look ahead with great pride and enthusiasm. Many such changes have rippled in my recent past... say last one month or so,.. which has kept me awesomely amazed with life's strange offerings. (somehow) I also feel that this is the beginning of the end of a few good things in life.. obvsly for many more to come :) hmmmmmmm....well, . okay!!! .. enough for the time being.. as of now need to get ready for office and get going... just to add our office is neighboured by iflex, motorola, samsung, hp and Texas instruments... (amidst some scenic lanscape.. still under construction though, shall attach a snap soon).. bye for now... btw .. the Indo-US nuclear deal has been introduced in the US Congress. The world is real curious to watch wat happns next.. will it be passed or shelved!!!!

its already tomorrow....

(was) Doin a late nite study... actually after a very long time.. infact its been years since i have kept awake reading something... back during the BE days i used to study pretty late into the nite....(only during exams though). i still rememeber the late nite teas i used to make for myself during exams. classic memories!!! Well, here im, well past midnight, reading some documents related to my project, and inbt doing some blogging as well ;)

Day one complete.. two more days to go. Actually it wasnt as tiring as i had presumed. more bcos it was more of hands on than just listening. also the trainer is my former collegue. we both were project mates at netkraft. so was nice talking and sharing the past with him. he is a tech consultant now and will be travelling to Ireland in another week or so. well looking forward for day2 as he has said it will be more complex and challenging. me going for home.. probably will meet a frend on the way. bye.. keep cool ;)

Riding High

Riding fast on my fiero on a bright sunny early morning was all that was required to spur me up for wat seemd to be quite a long day ahead at office. I started from home pretty early.. wantd to reach office before the Bangalore (bengaluru) traffic peaked. its a 15km ride from my home. and boy! it was one terrific ride today... no signals, not many vehicles, smooth ride all the way... felt as if the road was laid only for me. Also today was one of those mornings when u carry forward the feeling of larger than life attitude from the yesterdays !!! Feeling light and cheerful is certainly contagious.., moreover as they say - "The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up" ... so smile maadi!! :)

Fun-filled trip to Pune

It was a perfect get-away from home, work and worries… a 3-4 day off from all the worldly headaches and a trip with frends to some distant place was all that was needed to relax and rejuvenate.

We headed to Pune for a training on one of the products required for our projects. Accomodations were arranged, tickets were booked, luggage were packed and we were all set (four of us.. myself, N, S and SH). Our onward journey started on the Saturday evening from Bangalore. Ahead of us was an 18hr train travel in a 3-tier AC … which we thought wud be the most boring part. But it turned out to be the most fun filled part of the whole package. I don remember the last time when I had been out on a train journey with frends.. yeah I traveled bt Chennai and blore evey weekend when I worked for CTS Chennai. But it was alwys an overnite travel. So here I was with 3 of my project mates on a Saturday evening chatting, eating, teasing, playing cards (Badam Satta, Bluff and a new game called ‘Phat’ :))… none of us were in the mood to sleep. we stayed awake till pretty late and slept only after we got several warnings from the co-commuters ;). The next day it was a lazy (Sunday) morning… and the first thing that was on our mind was to meet SH’s mom and bro who wud meet us at Gulabarga station with some nice food preparted for our lunch… the train wud stop there for 10min and it was fun to meet, greet and grab all that they had got for us.

It was almost 4pm when we reached Pune station. S’s sister had come to escort us to the place where we had our acc booked. my second stint of Pune was ok, thot it was more impressive on my first visit. Anyway… the weather was good.. unlike blore which is pretty damp for quite sometime now. All four of us were pretty tired with the journey.. we got settled in our rooms and then had a nice dinner and dozed off, for we had make at our training center the next morning at nine. We did make there but atleast 30 min late, thanks to the taxi driver who came late to pick us up. First day at the training was pretty decent with theory sessions being covered during the pre-noon and pracs during the post lunch. but the sessions which were supposed to complete by 4pm… got dragged till 6pm. we were pretty exhausted … Day1 at the training was over. That evening S’s sister took us for a small roam inside Pune. We saw MG Rd and visited a couple of stalls .. and did some shopping. Then we were taken to the best eat outs in Pune. “Durvankur” … the place where u can find the maharastrian food at its best. Well, I don’t remember what all I ate that day but yes we all ate soo much that we cudn get up from our seats. we sat for a few more minutes at the table and then started back to out service apartments, which was quite out of the city. the clocked ticked well over 9pm as we hired two auto rickshaws. well this was how our day ended.... some amazing never eaten before maharastrian delicacy. Slept to the core that nite only to be woken up by S the nxt morning.

Day2, 9am and we found ourselves sipping coffee in the corridors of the training centre. Still pretty lazy.. but one good thing happnd on day2 was we started with the practical sessions which was unfinished on the prevs day. The learning went on till 6 again and we did quite a lot of work on day2. The satisfying part was we cud see some outputs. Well, it was evening and we had to cover the Fergueshen College Road before. “The” place where the Pune youth wud hangout. Most of the famous restaurant, cafes, coffee bars are located on this long stretch. We all had a walk thru the streets .. took a few snaps (which includes the one posted on this blog). The best of the lot. S’s sister took this snap and she moved even before my digi cam flashed and took the pic. Hence u can see the feet all of us :D. truly a fantastic, unforgettable evening. That nite S’s sister had cooked some amazing veggie stuff for our dinner. Ate nicely and gave a gift we had purchased for her. Infact we couldn have asked for more… we got some superb company for the two days we spent in Pune. She provided great comfort level as she kept us engaged and never did we feel that we were outsiders. Tremendous energy levels. Well, Tuesday night was all over as we slept early as we had to catch our trains the next day arnd 12 noon. We obvsly wantd to stay for one more day in the city as we dint see any places as such. But we consoled ourselves that there is always a next time.

We boarded the train at the Pune station at exact noon and started towards Bangalore. We were blessed with some well cooked food for lunch. We had an all day of journey ahead of us…. this time it was a two-tier AC so it was only 4 of us in the compartment. it was pretty comfortable. another 18hr travel and we started doing what we were good doing at.. having fun !! listened to music, chatted, played a lot of improvised versions of the games…. laughed to the core. Seriously it wud hv been a pretty boring journey if we had to travel single. The company was good, and we all had a brilliant time. Ate all the junkies like ice cream, bhel puri, tomato soups, etc and kept ourselves engaged till nite. No doubt we were sort of exhausted traveling all day. so we decided to sleep early. And it was my mom’s phone call that woke me up in the morning. She gave me the news that my sister in law gave birth to a baby girl in mysore. Sweet was the news… there cud hav been no better way to complete our unforgettable journey. N, S, SH n myself .. for all of us it was a nice break and happy time together for 4 wonderful days.

We all certainly wud hav opted to stay back in pune given a choice, but then we wud hav never looked forward of visiting Pune again. Now we do!! The memories of this visit wud certainly live in our hearts…. so that we cherish them forever.