There's a person who happens to be an old friend of yours. Old friend in the sense that there was a time when you were very good friends; but then you had a fight and you are no longer friends. There are times when you remember the old times and feel sad that you miss those moments now. And if that friend happened to be a very close friend or more than just a friend then you miss those moments more. And if that friend happens to be of opposite sex then you miss the moments even more. And then when you spot that friend suddenly somewhere what do you do? You feel like going to that friend and ask "How are you? What's up lately?". And you have a lot of similar questions to ask. But you can't do that. Especially if you have been told to keep distance and not to interfere in their lives. So what do you do? There's nothing you can do. You carry on doing what you were doing; your mind goes back to the old days; you are covered with the memories; the past fills your mind; untill you shrug it off and move on.
Of course you can't do much about it. Or can you? You can go to the person and try to make things alright; try to make a new beginning; try to go back to the good old days. But would it help? The gaps that have been created - will they fill? The wounds that haven't healed yet - will they heal? Will the other person like to go back to the old days; or is that person better off without you? These are the questions that can't be answered easily. And whether it is worth the effort to find the answer is for an individual to decide.
You decide to move on because it is the only option. You make new friends, start afresh and march ahead. But why does the past keep comming back to you? Its got to be for some reason but you never know the reason. Maybe its because you still hope somewhere deep down inside that you could make a new beginning; or maybe you feel it was mistake you made and you need to pay for it; or maybe just because you still care.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Can I call him selfish?
Yesterday, as usual, I took the cab at 10:15 PM for home. It was an indica and there were 4 of us. One guy took the front seat and was giving the directions. The sequence of drop was supposed to be such that mine was the first drop and his was last. The sequence was based on the shortest route and the relative distance from office. But what that guy (his name is Kanwarjeet Singh) did was took the cab straight to his home first, got down and moved on. I didn't know the way he took so didn't ask any questions and by the time realized what he was up to it was little too late. It didn't matter too much since my house wasn't too far from there but it made me think how selfish people can be. Although it didn't matter much yesterday, it would have mattered if the last drop was of a girl. The routes here are so designed that the last drop is not of a girl; and if it happens so then a guard accompanies the girl. But with these kind of people around there should be a re-think.
Its not about my getting late by 10 mins; it is about the nature, rather character, of a person. I don't know him and from our trip last night the best adjective that I can use for him is SELFISH. This type of incident is very rare here but then these things go out to show how different people can be. Its kind of an unwritten protocol where in the sequence of drops is based on the distance from office and most people follow it. Of course everyone would like to have the first drop but then thats not how groups work. But some people have there own thinking - which revolves totally around them. There are these kinds of people as well and you got to live with it. May god bless him. I just hope that guy never comes in my cab again :).
Its not about my getting late by 10 mins; it is about the nature, rather character, of a person. I don't know him and from our trip last night the best adjective that I can use for him is SELFISH. This type of incident is very rare here but then these things go out to show how different people can be. Its kind of an unwritten protocol where in the sequence of drops is based on the distance from office and most people follow it. Of course everyone would like to have the first drop but then thats not how groups work. But some people have there own thinking - which revolves totally around them. There are these kinds of people as well and you got to live with it. May god bless him. I just hope that guy never comes in my cab again :).
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Chandigarh and a Sleepless Night
The new season of Barclays Premiere League was to start this weekend. Having shifted to my new home a week before meant we had to get a cable/DTH connection to watch TV. I was on leave on Friday; so I used it to get Tata Sky connection. I had initially gone for a combo offer from Airtel but their broadband line hasn't reached my area (which of course is pretty sad as it is available in the nearby areas; and by the way my experience with airtel hasn't been good earlier). The Tata Sky people came in the afternoon and did the installation and finally I was all set for the BPL season to start on Saturday. My friends from my previous company called and said there was a get together for lunch. I agreed as I would have been back in time to see the matches. The lunch was fun and it reminded of the good old days.
Just when I was heading back Manas called and said Deepak was asking about going out of town for a day. I replied "I am busy till 11:30 PM after which I can go". Manas said it was okay and we started working out options about places we could go. Finally we settled for Chandigarh (I had stressed on Kasauli and believed we were heading towards it untill we reached Chandigarh the next morning :)). They picked me at around 11:45 PM and we headed towards Chandigarh. We started of enquiring about each other's life which moved from person to person and soon revolved around girls. Deepak had his usual stories and Manas had his theories and I had my own logic which lead to a nice conversation (or should I say passing the parcel). We stopped midway for a cup of tea when I was almost asleep and continued the journey. Deepak was in his singing mood and kept on singing in what I called his accented voice. We didn't mind as Manas is a silent singer and the lesser I say about me the better :) (to be frank I couldn't hear Deepak's voice much ;)). We reached Chandigarh in the wee hours of the morning with everything closed and we dying to catch some sleep. Finally after roaming all over Chandigarh, Panchkula, ManiMajra etc we decided to park the car in parking and sleep for sometime. I couldn't sleep as the mosquitoes didn't let me sleep; Manas couldn't sleep either as the flies didn't let him sleep; but Deepak did manage to sleep despite the mosquitoes and flies. He would have been tired after his dance classes.
The next morning after Deepak got up we deicided to go to Sukhna Lake. It was around 5 and there were lots of people. People of all ages were there for morning walk; some for their daily exercises and some just to get some fresh morning air. Manas - all set for morning walk - started walking followed by Deepak and me (reluctantly). We would have covered about a km before I stopped while the others continued. I sat there for a while enjoying the view and watching the people doing what seemed their routine act. I then started walking again and when I covered another half a km I stopped there. Manas and Deepak returned after a while and we started walking back. We reached the starting point and since we had nothing to do we just sat there doing nothing. Deepak and Manas tried to sleep but couldn't. We started from there at around 9 looking for something to eat. It seemed the entire Chandigarh was closed as we didn't find a single shop open for almost an hour and whoever we asked said shops will open after 11:30. Deepak was wanting to have beer since the last night but couldn't get any as it was dry day. As we were looking for a place to eat we saw a couple of wine and beer shops open. So we took a turn to get to the shops. Just before them we found a place to eat which was open. We went there and ate parathas. By the time we finished the breakfast Deepak had dropped the idea of beers. But now he wanted to go to amusement park. He got the directions and we headed towards it but didn't find it and almost got out of the city. So we headed back to Sukhna lake as it was the only open place we knew :). When we went there this time it was buzzing with people. The lake was full with boats, the shops there had opened, and even the rides for the kids had opened. There was a electronic bull ride which Deepak wanted to take while I and Manas resisted. So we went ahead and sat facing the lake. Deepak started talking about the songs he had written specifically mentioning the song he had given to his third girlfriend. Manas urged him to sing the song and he obliged after a little deliberation. I have to admit Deepak has got talent when it comes to writing songs. Soon he moved on to other songs. I told him about the accent he used while singing to which he said its natural and we had a minor debate which ended in we agreeing to disagree. Then as we deicided to head back Deepak deicded to take the bull ride. He ended up being the only grown up (we might prefer not to call him a grown up though) to take that ride. He made a mockery of himself there. We left Sukhna Lake and as we headed back we stopped at Rock Garden. Manas's comment to me "If it is the first time you have come to Chandigarh you must visit Rock Garden". So we visited it. I found it a wonderful place and it was all there due to an innovative idea of its founder Nek Chand. We went through the designated pathway covering the entire Rock Garden and it looked great.
Finally it was time to head back to Delhi. We had decided to stop at Haveli on the way for lunch. We reached Haveli around 4 PM. We didn't find it a good place to eat but still ate something and drove back. I don't remember much further as I was either sleeping or falling asleep or waking up to fall asleep again. Deepak was probabaly sleeping too. Manas though didn't sleep and drove non-stop till we reached Delhi. They dropped me at my home and then got caught in traffic on their way back before reaching home late at night. I didn't have dinner at home and slept soon only to wake up next morning with a little headache. We all were back to our daily routines after a sleepless night and a trip to Chandigarh.
Just when I was heading back Manas called and said Deepak was asking about going out of town for a day. I replied "I am busy till 11:30 PM after which I can go". Manas said it was okay and we started working out options about places we could go. Finally we settled for Chandigarh (I had stressed on Kasauli and believed we were heading towards it untill we reached Chandigarh the next morning :)). They picked me at around 11:45 PM and we headed towards Chandigarh. We started of enquiring about each other's life which moved from person to person and soon revolved around girls. Deepak had his usual stories and Manas had his theories and I had my own logic which lead to a nice conversation (or should I say passing the parcel). We stopped midway for a cup of tea when I was almost asleep and continued the journey. Deepak was in his singing mood and kept on singing in what I called his accented voice. We didn't mind as Manas is a silent singer and the lesser I say about me the better :) (to be frank I couldn't hear Deepak's voice much ;)). We reached Chandigarh in the wee hours of the morning with everything closed and we dying to catch some sleep. Finally after roaming all over Chandigarh, Panchkula, ManiMajra etc we decided to park the car in parking and sleep for sometime. I couldn't sleep as the mosquitoes didn't let me sleep; Manas couldn't sleep either as the flies didn't let him sleep; but Deepak did manage to sleep despite the mosquitoes and flies. He would have been tired after his dance classes.
The next morning after Deepak got up we deicided to go to Sukhna Lake. It was around 5 and there were lots of people. People of all ages were there for morning walk; some for their daily exercises and some just to get some fresh morning air. Manas - all set for morning walk - started walking followed by Deepak and me (reluctantly). We would have covered about a km before I stopped while the others continued. I sat there for a while enjoying the view and watching the people doing what seemed their routine act. I then started walking again and when I covered another half a km I stopped there. Manas and Deepak returned after a while and we started walking back. We reached the starting point and since we had nothing to do we just sat there doing nothing. Deepak and Manas tried to sleep but couldn't. We started from there at around 9 looking for something to eat. It seemed the entire Chandigarh was closed as we didn't find a single shop open for almost an hour and whoever we asked said shops will open after 11:30. Deepak was wanting to have beer since the last night but couldn't get any as it was dry day. As we were looking for a place to eat we saw a couple of wine and beer shops open. So we took a turn to get to the shops. Just before them we found a place to eat which was open. We went there and ate parathas. By the time we finished the breakfast Deepak had dropped the idea of beers. But now he wanted to go to amusement park. He got the directions and we headed towards it but didn't find it and almost got out of the city. So we headed back to Sukhna lake as it was the only open place we knew :). When we went there this time it was buzzing with people. The lake was full with boats, the shops there had opened, and even the rides for the kids had opened. There was a electronic bull ride which Deepak wanted to take while I and Manas resisted. So we went ahead and sat facing the lake. Deepak started talking about the songs he had written specifically mentioning the song he had given to his third girlfriend. Manas urged him to sing the song and he obliged after a little deliberation. I have to admit Deepak has got talent when it comes to writing songs. Soon he moved on to other songs. I told him about the accent he used while singing to which he said its natural and we had a minor debate which ended in we agreeing to disagree. Then as we deicided to head back Deepak deicded to take the bull ride. He ended up being the only grown up (we might prefer not to call him a grown up though) to take that ride. He made a mockery of himself there. We left Sukhna Lake and as we headed back we stopped at Rock Garden. Manas's comment to me "If it is the first time you have come to Chandigarh you must visit Rock Garden". So we visited it. I found it a wonderful place and it was all there due to an innovative idea of its founder Nek Chand. We went through the designated pathway covering the entire Rock Garden and it looked great.
Finally it was time to head back to Delhi. We had decided to stop at Haveli on the way for lunch. We reached Haveli around 4 PM. We didn't find it a good place to eat but still ate something and drove back. I don't remember much further as I was either sleeping or falling asleep or waking up to fall asleep again. Deepak was probabaly sleeping too. Manas though didn't sleep and drove non-stop till we reached Delhi. They dropped me at my home and then got caught in traffic on their way back before reaching home late at night. I didn't have dinner at home and slept soon only to wake up next morning with a little headache. We all were back to our daily routines after a sleepless night and a trip to Chandigarh.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Life's lessons
For once instead of writing anything I am pointing to a link which mentions 45 life lessons. One could do with reading it once a few days. Here's the link -
http://blog.cleveland.com/pdextra/2007/09/regina_bretts_45_life_lessons.html
Friday, August 7, 2009
A boring team event
On 24th last month we went on a team outing.
The venue - Botanix Garden near Dumduma lake.
No of people - around 40
Weather - Hot and humid
Event theme - shaadi
Let me tell you the sequence of events. Before we proceeded towards the venue everyone assembled in the team area. A no of guys were called out in the centre to perform some act so as to woo the bride. The bride wasn't announced yet. A few names were called out and they were forced to perform. Once through with that the bride was announced. The entire team was divided into two parts - ladkiwala and ladkawala. The bride had to chose a groom which she did without much fuss - selecting the quietest guy of the lot. Then everyone proceeded to the venue in three cabs (two travera and one innova) and personal vehicles. The three cabs lost the way and ended up travelling through villgae and muddy rough roads before reaching the destination - some 1 hour late and 20+ kms extra. When people reached the venue the breakfast was ready and everyone jumped to it. There was cutlet (okay), sandwich (not worth mentioning), tea/coffee (the cup plates weren't so clean). Breakfast done the first event came up where in a scene was created where the ladkawalas have come to see the bride and family. The entire thing lasted about an hour with some people involved while others just standing there. As soon as it got over the guys rushed to play cricket and volleyball. They played for quite sometime which led to the girls getting bored and they finally came over to ask the guys to stop playing. Then lunch followed. Lunch was okay. Then the next event began which included sari contest for men. mehendi contest for men and pagdi contest for women followed by ladkawala versus ladkiwala. Then it was time for the DJ. And then the event was over with people heading back home.
My take on the entire event - writing about it so far has been more fun than the entire event. It was a total wastage of time for me. My reasons:
- No attempt was made to make everyone participate
- The theme was pretty strange I would say
- The food wasn't that good - in fact it was below average
- There was no drinks arrangement at the venue - it was done by the event team
- DJ in the open at 5:30 PM in summer
I would say it was a complete waste of the day for me. The venue no doubt was beautiful but was not suitable for summer daytime. Team events are either meant to be for fun or for getting the team together - but this was neither. There was no build up to the event. The event itself was so boring that people left 30 minutes before the scheduled end time.
The venue - Botanix Garden near Dumduma lake.
No of people - around 40
Weather - Hot and humid
Event theme - shaadi
Let me tell you the sequence of events. Before we proceeded towards the venue everyone assembled in the team area. A no of guys were called out in the centre to perform some act so as to woo the bride. The bride wasn't announced yet. A few names were called out and they were forced to perform. Once through with that the bride was announced. The entire team was divided into two parts - ladkiwala and ladkawala. The bride had to chose a groom which she did without much fuss - selecting the quietest guy of the lot. Then everyone proceeded to the venue in three cabs (two travera and one innova) and personal vehicles. The three cabs lost the way and ended up travelling through villgae and muddy rough roads before reaching the destination - some 1 hour late and 20+ kms extra. When people reached the venue the breakfast was ready and everyone jumped to it. There was cutlet (okay), sandwich (not worth mentioning), tea/coffee (the cup plates weren't so clean). Breakfast done the first event came up where in a scene was created where the ladkawalas have come to see the bride and family. The entire thing lasted about an hour with some people involved while others just standing there. As soon as it got over the guys rushed to play cricket and volleyball. They played for quite sometime which led to the girls getting bored and they finally came over to ask the guys to stop playing. Then lunch followed. Lunch was okay. Then the next event began which included sari contest for men. mehendi contest for men and pagdi contest for women followed by ladkawala versus ladkiwala. Then it was time for the DJ. And then the event was over with people heading back home.
My take on the entire event - writing about it so far has been more fun than the entire event. It was a total wastage of time for me. My reasons:
- No attempt was made to make everyone participate
- The theme was pretty strange I would say
- The food wasn't that good - in fact it was below average
- There was no drinks arrangement at the venue - it was done by the event team
- DJ in the open at 5:30 PM in summer
I would say it was a complete waste of the day for me. The venue no doubt was beautiful but was not suitable for summer daytime. Team events are either meant to be for fun or for getting the team together - but this was neither. There was no build up to the event. The event itself was so boring that people left 30 minutes before the scheduled end time.
Happy Friendship Day
Friendships day is meant to be spent with your close friends (Although I often say I don't celebrate such days; but sometimes I do feel we could do with a little celebration). You often don't get time to celebrate some days and when you have bought a new house and are on the verge of shifting you hardly find any time. I was at the house getting things done - the dining table and centre table were to arrive while the plumber had to do some work and we were waiting for the electrician. I had anticipated work to get over by 2 PM and thought of going for a movie with Manas. But as plans often end up the work got delayed by a good few hours. I asked Manas if he could come to my house and he was there at around 5 PM. The work here was also winding up. So we left for The Great India Place (TGIP) in Noida.
We bought tickets for the movie 'Love Aaj Kal'. The seats we got were corner seats of first row (probabaly the last available tickets). Imagine paying 165 bucks for the front row seats; that too when the movie was some 2 hours away and you had nothing to do in those 2 hours. We went to Barista to have something to eat and drink. Then we strolled through TGIP walking around talking. Finally some 30 minutes before 8:10 PM (the movie start time) we decided to head towards the hall and maybe find some seat as the legs had started aching. We couldn't find any place to sit and kept standing and watching people around. We saw a drunk girl being escorted by her friends. The girl was moving zigzag, couldn't walk or stand still as her friends' expressions changed from smile to anger to concern.
Finally went inside and there too was no place to sit (we hadn't entered our audi yet). As the start time was nearing the crowd was increasing. It was 8:10 and still the doors weren't opened. The crowd had become very large (as you expect for a houseful show). People started getting impatient; one aunty caught hold of a staff and threatened her that if the movie doesn't start in another 5 minutes money has to be refunded. The dumb-stuck staff somehow managed to escape her.
Finally the doors opened and we entered. We had meanwhile got ourselves Nachos and Pepsi. The Nachos had two sauces - salsa and cheese. Manas eats only cheese sauce while I take only salsa; so we exchanged the sauces each having two of his favourite. (Now that's called understanding :)). The movie started and it was an okay movie (rather better than okay it was good - Manas might disagree though). It brought back some old memories (not anything so serious though :P).
After the movie we went to get something to eat. Manas wanted donut while I wanted something to drink. He got his donut while I got a Litchi shake. He didn't like the donut while the Litchi shake was ok. We had called Deepak and he said he would be comming. We called him again and he said he wouldn't be able to make it. He had to drop his friends at the station and didn't feel like comming to Noida after that (He has this habit of not turning up but when he does turn up its lot more than fun). So it was the two of us only. We went to Atta and found a place which was open at around 12 midnight. I had called up a couple of friends to get the location and finally we reached it. There we ordered something both of us like - Maggi. After finishing it he dropped me at my home and went to his home.
Two friends - one movie - Maggi in the open at midnight - some old memories and some future talk - what could be better on a friendship day?
We bought tickets for the movie 'Love Aaj Kal'. The seats we got were corner seats of first row (probabaly the last available tickets). Imagine paying 165 bucks for the front row seats; that too when the movie was some 2 hours away and you had nothing to do in those 2 hours. We went to Barista to have something to eat and drink. Then we strolled through TGIP walking around talking. Finally some 30 minutes before 8:10 PM (the movie start time) we decided to head towards the hall and maybe find some seat as the legs had started aching. We couldn't find any place to sit and kept standing and watching people around. We saw a drunk girl being escorted by her friends. The girl was moving zigzag, couldn't walk or stand still as her friends' expressions changed from smile to anger to concern.
Finally went inside and there too was no place to sit (we hadn't entered our audi yet). As the start time was nearing the crowd was increasing. It was 8:10 and still the doors weren't opened. The crowd had become very large (as you expect for a houseful show). People started getting impatient; one aunty caught hold of a staff and threatened her that if the movie doesn't start in another 5 minutes money has to be refunded. The dumb-stuck staff somehow managed to escape her.
Finally the doors opened and we entered. We had meanwhile got ourselves Nachos and Pepsi. The Nachos had two sauces - salsa and cheese. Manas eats only cheese sauce while I take only salsa; so we exchanged the sauces each having two of his favourite. (Now that's called understanding :)). The movie started and it was an okay movie (rather better than okay it was good - Manas might disagree though). It brought back some old memories (not anything so serious though :P).
After the movie we went to get something to eat. Manas wanted donut while I wanted something to drink. He got his donut while I got a Litchi shake. He didn't like the donut while the Litchi shake was ok. We had called Deepak and he said he would be comming. We called him again and he said he wouldn't be able to make it. He had to drop his friends at the station and didn't feel like comming to Noida after that (He has this habit of not turning up but when he does turn up its lot more than fun). So it was the two of us only. We went to Atta and found a place which was open at around 12 midnight. I had called up a couple of friends to get the location and finally we reached it. There we ordered something both of us like - Maggi. After finishing it he dropped me at my home and went to his home.
Two friends - one movie - Maggi in the open at midnight - some old memories and some future talk - what could be better on a friendship day?
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