Bangalore diaries – taking a break

It’s time for a break. I will be heading home tomorrow morning on a week’s vacation. And I can’t wait being at home, enjoy food cooked by Mom. I have already told her what I would like to eat. I can already see the table set.

I have been in here for quite some time now. The initial few days were very difficult. I was feeling home-sick all the time. The work wasn’t too good then; the team members were not familiar; and the area was totally alien. But slowly things started getting better. And now if I look back at the time spent here, I would say it was a time well spent. In fact I have enjoyed the trip.

I have visited some places around which were pretty good. Made new friends here. Got familiarized with the teammates and it is actually fun to be in office with them. Work has also increased but it is good; a lot of learning and I am enjoying it. And in between all this won 4 titles in the Bangalore Sports meet – TT and Badminton, men’s doubles and mixed doubles in both. That felt really good.

But the best part about Bangalore was my friend. When you have good friends around, anything can turn enjoyable. I never thought it could be so much fun. So thanks to my dear friend, I actually enjoyed the Bangalore stay.

I will be back in Bangalore in first week of January. Till then it is time for home sweet home.

Bangalore diaries – Shivanasamudra + PlanetX

One of my friends here in Bangalore suggested I visit Shivanasamudra. It is a place known for its waterfalls. Shivanasamudra is some 150 kms from Bangalore and around 30 kms from Mysore. So we planned to go to Shivanasamudra in the afternoon, visit Talkad and then go to PlanetX, Mysore. Talkad is again a lake. PlanetX is a place where you have stuff like bowling, karting, pool, gaming zone, mini golf course, restaurant, etc. So far the places that I had visited around Bangalore, it was just me and my friend. This time though we had a friend of her’s for company – Rajesh. Rajesh knew the places well and so it was a welcome addition.

We picked Rajesh and then Rajesh took the driving task – a welcome relief for me having driven on all the previous trips. We followed the Mysore road. We stopped at a place for breakfast. I had ‘Plate Idly’ there. The size of the idly was bigger than any I had seen or eaten before. It was almost as big as a chapati (roti). It was served with sambhar and chutni. I had a tea to top it up – a nice breakfast.

We proceeded towards our destination. The road was pretty good and we were having a nice smooth drive. Then we had a take a diversion from the Mysore road. The road wasn’t as good as before. And my friend decided to do the driving. Soon she got bored with driving and it was my turn. As soon as I started driving the road again became good. Perfect timing – I must say.

We reached one of the falls. We wanted to go in the falls but it wasn’t allowed there. We could only have a distant view of the falls. But it was beautiful. We spend some time there capturing and enjoying the amazing view.

Then we proceeded towards another falls called the Bharachukki falls. As we reached there we could see people going towards the falls with towels and clothes which suggested we could actually get in the water. It was way down and we had to make our way through a long chain of stairs. As we climbed down we were expecting the effort it would take to climb those stairs on our way back. We made it down in good time and headed towards the waters. We had to cross a small stream. The rocks were very slippery and I almost fell down once. But we managed to cross it and reach the falls. There were lots of people there who were enjoying themselves in the water. Some had brought bathing clothes with them while some had entered the waters with clothes on. It was a sight in itself to see so many people enjoying the water together.

She was all set to enter the water while Rajesh didn’t want to enter water. I was undecided as always. She went to the falls and came back. She was enjoying it. She asked me join her. I finally agreed. I went into the water. Stood under the falls. The water came crashing on me. It wasn’t hard; instead it was pleasant and refreshing. Entering water with your shirt and jeans on isn’t something you do everyday. As I came out of water for a break the wet jeans made it difficult to walk. But I was feeling good. So was she. Rajesh meanwhile had found a stone to sit on. He was sitting there probably watching the view and keeping an eye on us. We asked Rajesh to join us but he didn’t. So the two of us went back. This time we went further into water. We didn’t like the crowd there and so came back to our original place. We enjoyed a few more rounds of shower in the falls and came back.

The way back included climbing the stairs. It was a long and hard task. We took breaks before finally reaching the top; breathing heavily. We had cucumber with chilly paste – a bad combination we soon found out. I changed my clothes and we headed towards Planet X. The road wasn’t good, just okay. We stopped near Talkad to visit some temples (I have forgotten the names). Rajesh told us the story behind the place – Due to a curse the entire place was covered in sand. The site that we were seeing was actually dug out of the sand. Every year the place gets covered with sand; and the structures are dug out.

The sand there certainly looked out of place. And one isn’t supposed to doubt the stories. There were three main temples. We had to walk on sand to see them. We would have been on a round trip of more than a km to visit the three temples and come back to the car. We then headed towards Mysore skipping Talkad.

We reached Mysore in another couple of hours and headed for PlanetX. The place looked good. We had around 4 hours to spend there before the place got closed. We started with eating as everyone was hungry. We ordered sandwiches coupled with beer/breezer. I had cranberry breezer which I liked. Then we headed towards bowling. There was an hour’s wait for bowling. So we went for pool to pass time. Since we were three, it was Rajesh versus the two of us. Rajesh was playing well and won easily the first game. He would have won the next 2 games as well but he didn’t say the pocket once and pocketed the cue ball the second time. Soon he was back to winning ways. We enjoyed pool for an hour and then went to bowling. Bowling was fun. Here I was playing really well for a change and won easily. Once the game got over, she wanted to have another round of bowling. We had another round of bowling, this time I was bowling left-handed as my wrist was paining. This time though I lost badly.

After bowling we decided to go for Hookah. I hadn’t tried it before so was looking forward to it. It was disappointing. It was just flavored hookah and I didn’t quite like it. But the other two seemed to like it. We had some snacks for company and headed back for Bangalore.

As we reached the car we remembered that we were almost out of petrol. It was quite late and most of the petrol pumps were already closed. The tank had come on reserve. It was definitely not good. We stopped and asked for directions. We continually kept looking for an open petrol pump. We passed 5-6 petrol pumps but all were closed. It was getting scary now. The idea of spending the night in car wasn’t pleasing at all. Luckily we found a petrol pump soon. We got the tank full. It was my turn to drive now. I think we reached Bangalore in two hours flat. We dropped Rajesh first. Then as we headed further we managed to lose our way after reaching quite close. A few u-turns later I dropped my friend and came to my hotel.

A fun-filled but tiring day had come to an end. Monday morning office was looking at us with anticipation while all we could think of was a good sleep.

She hates my cargos

I went to visit my friend. We were to go for a movie. I was wearing my favorite cargo - the one which looks like an army pant. They are quite comfortable and I wear it on weekends wherever I am going. It was one such weekend.

She asked “Where did you buy this cargo”

I answered “Big-bazar. Isn’t it nice?”

She answered in the negative.

I didn’t bother as she disliked most of the things I liked. I thought the matter was closed.

Next day we met again. I was again wearing the same cargos. She saw them and said “Not again”

I said “Well you see these are my favorites. And until it is a formal occasion I wear these on weekends”

She “They don’t look good. I will buy you new ones.”

I “I am comfortable in this. I don’t want new ones. What makes you dislike them?”

She “They look cheap. And don’t suit you.”

I “Because they are from big-bazaar?”

She “Maybe”

I “I don’t care. I am comfortable in them.”

Next weekend I again met her in my cargos. She said she isn’t going anywhere with me until I change the cargos. I replied “Ok. Then let’s just stay here. I am not changing my cargos ”

She said “I am going to cut this cargo”

I “Doesn’t matter. I will still wear them”

She “I will cut it at places you won’t dare to wear them”

I “I don’t mind. I will be with you so you would be embarrassed”

She “We’ll see. I might even burn your cargos.”

I “What have you got against them. They are very comfortable and I don’t want any harm to them”

I am left wondering how come she hates my cargos so much.

Bangalore diaries - a trip to Mysore

Come to Bangalore and not going to Mysore doesn’t make sense. Does it? I was debating with my friend on this. My friend didn’t want to go to Mysore while I really wanted to go. I was pretty interested in visiting Vrindavan Gardens having heard a lot about it. After a long discussion we started for Mysore. We had to take the Mysore road and keep following it.

The plan was to visit Mysore Palace and then Vrindavan Garden. We thought we could spend quite some time in Mysore Palace and then in the evening go and visit Vrindavan Gardens to see the musical fountains. On the way we had an argument and the duration of our trip lengthened. We spent almost half the way without speaking to each other.

We reached Mysore Palace and were pretty hungry. We tried Bhel Puri, Pani Puri but they weren’t any good. We proceeded towards the Palace. My friend had been here some 15 years ago but found the place changed quite a bit. That was kind of expected I guess.

We entered the palace. No cameras were allowed. My friend acted as the guide. We went across the palace going over paintings, artifacts and antiques (if I can call them so). Some of the things were pretty good and some pretty ordinary. Overall it wasn’t as good as I had expected it to be. But then it was still good.

Then we proceeded towards Vrindavan Garden. Vrindavan Garden was a nice place. Well maintained to start with. It covers a huge area. One can take a walk or sit anywhere and relax. Of course if you looking for some activities, you will have to create them on their own. There’s a lake where you could go for a boat ride. We didn’t go for it. Instead we took the long walk towards the musical fountain. The place was filling up fast. We found a place on top row of the stairs – the perfect place to be. Soon the musical fountains started. It started off well. There was some creativity initially but soon it became monotonous. It was fun though; especially for the nice company.

We started our journey back to Bangalore. Although the palace and the Vrindavan Garden were not as good as I had expected them to be, the experience was still good. Actually just being there felt so good. I am not sure how it would feel the second time; but I sure won’t mind going there again.

Looking beyond the mask

There are people who always seem to be relaxed. And there are those who are always relaxed. The two may seem to be alike but there is a lot of difference. Of course everyone would like to be in a relaxed state of mind always but not everyone can achieve it. So the next best thing probably is to appear relaxed. That creates a good impression and saves you a lot of questions.

But people who put on a good act may not be actually feeling what they look or show. They may be feeling entirely different. I understand their whole purpose is not to show others the true picture. But do they really want others to believe their act? Do they really want people to take them on their face value? Or do they want someone to try and look beyond the mask? Do they want to see how many people actually can actually look past the cover? How many people actually want to look past the mask?

I have no answer to these questions. I am quoting a line from the movie The Smurfs that fits the situation – “I don’t want people to give me what I ask for. I want them to give me what they want.”

Bangalore diaries - Hogenakkal trip

This Sunday I went to Hogenakkal with my friend. We had been planning an outstation day trip for some time and all of sudden zeroed in on Hogenakkal. We did some research on the probable places of visit but what made us select this destination were the following lines –

“Hogenakkal Waterfalls, known as the 'Niagara' falls of India, are not a single waterfall but a series of falls and they offer a promising holiday destination for nature lovers from within and outside the country.” (courtesy http://www.mustseeindia.com/Hogenakkal)

We found three routes to reach Hogenakkal. The shortest one was about 120 kms but included a hilly patch. The longest was around 180 kms but the road was awesome as per the site – a 4 lane highway. We decided to take the longest route which was Bangalore => Hosur => Krishnagiri => Dharmapuri => Pennagaram => Hogenakkal.

We started around 4 AM to avoid the city traffic as well as the crowd at Hogenakkal. My friend was driving while I was giving directions. After about half an hour and a wrong turn later my friend got irritated by my directions and handed over the driving seat to me. I had never driven this long before so it was going to be a new experience for me. As we drove the sun began to rise. The view was excellent. Cool breeze was blowing and the weather was fantastic. A slight drizzle on and off added to the beauty. The drive was simply amazing. We were chit-chatting all the way, enjoying the surroundings. We had halt at McDonalds for pre-breakfast and continued on. The road was 4-lane and brilliant and we had done well to choose this route. After Dharmapuri we had to take a diversion. Although it was a 2 lane road with no divider, the condition of the road was pretty good. And we reached Hogenakkal around 8.

The crowd wasn’t much at that time. We proceeded towards the main falls and had a nice walk watching the falls. The falls were pretty good. We even crossed a small stream on our way. We had a quick coracle (circular basket boat) ride. My friend wanted to have a bath in the falls while I was trying to avoid it. While we were still deciding on what to do, my friend decided to go for a head and body massage. I was left alone waiting. I decided to go for a head massage. The worst decision I took on the trip. I specifically told the guy that I wouldn’t be taking a bath, so that he can massage accordingly. And what he did was pour the entire packet of oil on my head in three turns. The massage was ok, nothing special. When he ended I had a feeling he had put too much oil. And soon the oil started dripping from my head. I had no option but to take a bath; ruing all the time my decision to go for the head massage. Anyways I took bath in the falls. No matter how much I hated it the bath was actually refreshing. After that we had a cup of tea and headed back.

On our way back we took the same route enjoying the same view in broad daylight now. We were having a nice conversation. We stopped for lunch and continued our journey back. I couldn’t believe I had driven so long, roughly 370 kms. I should have been a little more careful at a few places; but overall I believe I drove well. (Rest I will leave my friend to comment J).

All in all it was an amazing day. A beautiful place, a wonderful company and an amazing drive.

Bangalore diaries - Open Air Theatre

I had heard about the concept of open air theatre but never experienced it. I always wanted to experience it and finally got the chance this Saturday. I was planning to watch Desi Boyz and my friend here suggested we go and watch it in the open air theatre. For both of us it would be the first time; so I booked the tickets for Saturday evening.

Ever since I have been in Bangalore it hasn’t been raining here, which was quite unusual as per the locals. And the rain gods decided to pay a visit this weekend. The moment I booked the tickets it started drizzling and continued throughout the weekend. We were wondering if the movie would be screened despite the rain. We decided to go anyways as the weather was quite pleasant in spite of the drizzle. The venue was some 15-20 kms from our place and we didn’t know the way. We started early.

The traffic wasn’t helping and nor was the drizzle as we moved in a slow pace. But since we had given ourselves a big margin we didn’t worry too much. It took us more than 2 hours to reach the venue. There was some marriage going on nearby which had added to the traffic. We asked the parking guard about the exact place of the movie. He said the movie is cancelled because of the rain. We wondered if we had come all the way just to collect the refund. We located the ticket counter and found that the movie was on. We parked our car and went in.

The scene looked wonderful. There was a big screen which was playing some old movie for the time being. In front of the screen at some distance there were some 10-15 rows of mattresses. There were people covering them and putting a couple of pillows on each mattress. After the rows of mattresses ended the rows of sofas started. The sofas looked good and could seat 2 to 3 people comfortably. In the middle of the sofas was the projector tent which was used to show the movie on the screen. On the far side there were 2 food outlets – one for popcorn & soft drinks and the second for cakes, pastries, samosas, sandwiches, etc. Overall the setup looked pretty good and we had already started enjoying.

Just as the movie was about to start, it started raining. Luckily there was a covered area at the back. The organizers had put chairs there as a backup plan. And soon everyone was in the cover. The movie started. As the rain stopped people started moving to the mattresses and sofas. We too went to the sofa, got a blanket to cover the wet seat and started enjoying the movie. It started raining again. I was in a mood to keep sitting there in the rain and watch the movie. But my friend had other ideas. So we moved back to the covered area. But most of the people had settled down well and didn’t come to the covered area. We had some snacks as well – samosas, cake, kebab, roll and coffee. The coffee didn’t taste like coffee, but it was hot and good in the weather. It was getting cold and my friend had put on jacket and covered up in blanket to keep warm. I was however enjoying the weather (for a change).

Overall it was a wonderful experience, something I would like to do again.

My eating habits

My friends know me for my eating habits. Mostly for all the wrong reasons i.e. I don’t eat this I don’t eat that. In fact whoever has eaten with me once would definitely know I don’t eat capsicum at all. And call it co-incidence that whoever’s house I visit for the first time for lunch or dinner, the menu for the day includes capsicum – either already prepared or about to be prepared. So I explicitly have to call out at the time of invitation that kindly do not prepare capsicum. And still I often end up having capsicum as part of the menu on my first visit.

One of my friends asked me to prepare a list of things I like and dislike. I was like “What?”. But she didn’t budge. So I sat down to make a list. And believe me it wasn’t as easy as I thought. First of all remember all food items, and then group them into – Do not eat, Like, Okay and Dislike. I did make the list and send it to my friend. But before I talk about the contents of the list let me see how many of you could actually guess the list :)

Bangalore diaries - Passing time

Its been sometime now in Bangalore and I think I am getting used to the life here. The one thing that prevents me from going all out in settling here is the fact that I know it is temporary. I will be going back to my home soon. And so it doesn't drive me to go out explore the locale for day to day needs, to know the neighbourhood, to make friends around. In short it doesn't drive me to know Bangalore as a place to stay but just a place for temporary station.

Lets see what all I can do here. Apart from office work I think I can do absolutely anything. I mean I can literally do anything I want to. There are no restrictions to follow, no routines to carry, no one to answer to. I have always thought about the things I would do if I ever get into such a scenario. And not that I am actually in that scenario I have no clue what to do. I mean there are things I would like to do but I something is stopping me from doing them. Some I fear I will not be able to do, some I am sure I won't be able to do, some I don't think is the right thing to do and some I somehow don't feel like doing. So I guess it leaves just one thing to do - do nothing. And if I somehow manage to do nothing then what will I do. Sounds confusing? Doesn't it? Well that's exactly where I am stuck. I want to do absolutely nothing but need something to pass time. Thinking about it would lead me to something called a cyclic dependency which is heading towards a deadlock.

Does it mean a routine life a better than this life? Does that mean having restrictions is better than having no restrictions? Does that mean it is good to have someone answerable? I am not sure if I could answer them in boolean i.e. plain yes and no. It is probably human tendency to want things they don't have and when they get those they don't want it. And I am no different. There are actually a few things I definitely want to do. And I have everything to do them. But somehow I don't feel like doing it. Nothings preventing me from doing it, yet something is preventing me from doing to it.

I don't think I will be able to figure out what is preventing me. The options left to me are either I drop the idea, or I do it no matter what, or I take some more time to think about it. The third option seems to be the easiest thing to do which is what I am going to choose most likely, at least for now. Wait and watch. Keep thinking about what to do and pass the time. I am sure the mind will be fed up with all this and decide the course of action. I just hope I have more patience that my mind...

Rockstar

Finally watched Rockstar today. I would say it was a decent watch. The songs and music was superb – thanks to A R Rehman and Mohit Chouhan; they have simply put an awesome performance. Ranbir Kapoor has done a wonderful job except the initial stages where in I found him on the verge of over acting. The heroine I felt was disappointing. But overall Imtiaz Ali has done a nice job with execution of the movie. And Khatara bhai deserves a special mention.

There were certain aspects of the movie that really touched my heart. One of them was when the heroine was getting married she asks Ranbir to come to Prague. Did she really mean it? I don’t think so. But Ranbir had registered it in his mind and was ready to sign any contract to go to Prague when he got a chance. Of course he didn’t give a damn about the contract. He didn’t realize initially that he was in love. And he never said so in the entire movie. But he felt that.

Another such instance is when the girl says we shouldn’t be doing it as it isn’t the right thing to do. But she knew she wanted to do it. Ranbir has been projected as someone who doesn’t give a damn what people think. You have to be actually that crazy to be in love. Most people don’t have that courage to do what they want.

Shammi Kapoor plays a nice role in the movie. The scene where he is playing the shehnai along with Ranbir who is playing his guitar speaks a lot. Ranbir had made fun of classical music by calling it monotonous. Shammi Kapoor proves Ranbir wrong not by defending himself but by playing different tunes with shehnai which makes Ranbir realize his mistake. When Ranbir stops playing guitar he actually acknowledges Shammi Kapoor without saying anything. The execution of the movie is brilliant.

If I look back at the movie I don’t think I would mind watching it again. Putting it in my friend Manas’s words I actually liked the movie for certain reasons. And I guess what I think the movie conveys is that you should rather do what you want to rather than do what seems to be the right thing to do. You have one life and it’s better to live it the way you want rather than living it the right way. It actually resembles a line said by Mark Twain “20 years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do, than by the one’s you did do. So throw off the bow line. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sail. Explore. Dream Discover”. I wish GOD gives everyone the courage to do what they want.

To quote from the movie "Kyun sach ka sabak sikhaye jab sach sun bhi na paye..."

A goldfish that disturbed my sleep

“How can the alarm ring so early” I wondered in my sleep as I tried to locate my phone. I had been woken from a deep sleep. As I grabbed my phone I realized it wasn’t the alarm but the phone was actually ringing. I rubbed my eyes and read the name of the caller. It was a friend of mine. I took the call.

“Can you hold a fish?” she asked.

I asked “What?” still trying to make sense.

“A parasite has got on my goldfish and I doubt if it will survive till morning. I need to remove the parasite from its fins and for that I need to hold the goldfish”

I was beginning to understand things.

“But I can’t hold the fish” she continued “Can you hold the fish”

Her voice was serious and concerned. I hadn’t held a fish ever and the thought of holding a fish that was alive was a little scary. But as my friend was so concerned I said “I haven’t done that ever but I can try”.

She probably sensed my anxiety and asked for any other way by which she could hold the fish without hurting it. I suggested her a few ways and she said she would call me in sometime.

I looked at the watch. It was 1:34 AM. She was still awake and googling goldfish. She was concerned for her goldfish as her other goldfish had died a few days back. What she assumed to be baby fish turned out to be parasites and were actually killing the goldfish. The goldfish had come to the bottom of the jar and stayed there mostly which made my friend try and find out why it was doing so.

While I waited for her call I was wondering how am I going to hold the goldfish. If she didn’t find a way to get rid of the parasite I would actually have to hold the goldfish. The thought was a little worrying but I couldn’t have said NO.

The phone rang. She seemed relieved. She had managed to remove the parasite. She said “I used two pencils to hold the goldfish and removed the parasite using a toothpick. Now my goldfish is swimming freely”

I said “Cool. By the way why are you awake so late?”

“Koi kaam to hota nahi hai aapse ab baat karne ki fursat hai. So jao aap” she replied

All I could say was “Ok. Good night.”

This happened last night. Today morning she said that the goldfish was swimming happily and even took feeds from her hand. She was pretty happy. And in the afternoon she bought 3 more fishes to give company to her goldfish.

For those who like keeping fishes here’s a useful link in case they face similar situation as my friend - http://factoidz.com/keeping-tropical-fish-in-an-aquarium-how-to-use-salt-in-killing-protozoan-parasites-plus-an-amazing-video/ She used this link to find out the problem and then sorted it out. In the process she befriended her goldfish. Cheers to her goldfish…

Mind games the Mind plays

The mind is so powerful and yet it keeps playing such petty games. It makes you do great things and it keeps you from doing the simple things. It makes one climb the Everest while it makes one fear cockroaches. It makes things look so simple but prevents you from doing it. It makes the same food taste different at different times. It makes you say things which it feels is necessary and makes you regret after you have said it. It makes you support a point while talking to someone and makes you go against the point while talking to someone else.

The mind makes you believe things will be fine and then makes everything look like a mess. The mind asks you to accept things as they are and then challenges you to bring change. It says you to keep your life simple and then complicates it by increasing your needs.

The mind has the power to complicate the simplest of things and to simplify the most complicated things. I seem to be saying the same thing over and over again. Well my mind seems to have decided to play with me. It is really messing around and I don’t know what to do. It starts with a question and helps me come to a conclusion. We (I and my mind) are on the same page. We decide on the next steps and when it is all settled it pops up a question – “Are you sure?” I am like “We finalized it together and now you doubt it. Come on man you can’t do this”. It doesn’t reply because it knows it already did it.

I can hear it giggling and I shout at it “What the hell are you doing man? Are we not supposed to be one? I mean you are part of me; you should help me; not confuse me.”

No answer. More smiles.

“I can do without you dude.”

More smiles.

“Shut the hell up. Will you?”

Smile continues.

“Go to hell”

It stops smiling. At least I think so. But that doesn’t ease the situation. I know as well as it does that this is going to happen again. Probably this is why wise men have said that one should try and control one’s mind. They could have given a guidebook for the same but instead they gave many guidebooks. Go figure for yourself which one to follow. I think I will patch up with my mind.

Bangalore diaries - the first weekend

My first weekend in Bangalore turned out to be quite good. After the not so good first 4 days here I was looking at the weekend with a lot of hope. Things didn’t start too well as my friends here had other plans and I was to spend the day with me with nothing to do. I didn’t want to spend the entire day in hotel so I decided to explore the nearby areas. I asked the hotel staff for some nearby place that I could visit and he told me to go to Forum mall. He gave me the directions to reach the mall. I had to change a bus at Kundalahalli Gate (might still have got the spelling wrong) to reach the mall. I had already been to the mall for lunch twice and wasn’t too excited but still decided to go there as it also had a movie hall. I wanted to watch Rockstar but that was planned with a friend for Sunday. So I bought the tickets for the next available movie which turned out to be Immortals. It was a decent movie. After the movie spent some time in the mall and came back to the hotel following the same route. I didn’t want to have dinner at the hotel but there wasn’t another option. I switched on the TV, logged in to the internet browsing some sites. Then my friend called asking about my dinner plans. Since I hadn’t had my dinner my friend came to pick me up and we went to my friend’s house. It was the first time I had a cup of home made tea – it was wonderful. Then had Palak Dal for dinner and luckily it was my favourite dal. We spoke about certain things and it was time well spent. I also came to know that my friend had already watched Rockstar with someone else ditching me. We decided to meet the next day for breakfast and go some place.

Sunday morning started as expected. I called my friend who was still asleep and said wouldn’t be joining for breakfast, but would meet around noon. We met around 12:30 and proceeded towards my friend’s friend’s house. It was around 30-40 mins drive and I was asked to drive. The car being new it took a little time to get used to the car. But I must say driving in Bangalore is not fun at all. As soon as the car picks up speed a speed-breaker greets you. We reached the friend’s place and had a wonderful lunch. Then when my friend enquired about the places to visit in Bangalore we got the response as “There are no places to visit in Bangalore. But there are lots of places around Bangalore.” That came as a shock as I expected Bangalore to have some decent places to visit. We finally decided to go to Lal Bagh. It was a nice place to spend time with friends although it had nothing spectacular about it. The drive to Lal Bagh was awesome though thanks to GPS and blocked roads.

While returning from Lal Bagh my friend wanted to have momos and samosa – a deadly combo. No one knew a place where they could get samosas but they knew a place where we could get momos. We reached the place only to find that momos were out of stock. Awesome. We had a cup of tea and some pakoras instead. We then headed to my firend’s friend’s home. On the way they found a place where they got samosas which pleased my friend. We had a game of Monopoly. The international monopoly was quite different from the game I had played in my childhood. I ended up having the most number of cards, the least amount of money and the highest rent payer. We had soupy noodles for dinner and bid goodbye to my new friends. I and my friend drove back and thankfully I wasn’t driving this time. We had a decent discussion on the way and to continue it further went to my friend’s house. We had ice tea and a long discussion.

Overall it turned out to be a decent weekend and the first time I actually liked Bangalore in my entire time here.

Bangalore diaries - the first 4 days

It’s been 4 days now in Bangalore. I am staying in a hotel in the outskirts of the city. The place really looks like a village. I haven’t been anywhere except for office and hotel and a mall for lunch. And on the way (via car) I didn’t find any place to visit. To summarize I haven’t got the slightest idea about the place and what I am going to do this weekend.

The office mates are pretty busy with work. I have a few folks from my previous project with whom I have spent some time in office which has been good for the otherwise boring days. The only saving grace has been a friend of mine who has been giving me company for lunch in 3 of the 4 days. Apparently that has been the best time spent here so far.

The weather hasn’t been too good either. Coming from Delhi at this time of the year, the Bangalore weather seems hot to me. Weather was supposed to be a plus point here but even that hasn’t been helpful. I haven’t felt charged up for one moment since leaving the airport.

This seems to be going on to being a pretty depressing blog. This shouldn’t have been this way but unfortunately this is this way and all I have stated so far is what I have felt. Maybe staying alone so far from home is taking its toll. Or maybe I am still struggling to get used to things here. Or maybe something else is wrong somewhere. After all being in a new place should make you enthusiastic at least in the initial days. In fact I was all charged up for this trip but somewhere something has gone missing.

I think I should stop writing now as it isn’t making things better. Hoping that the weekend will get things going in the right direction.

1st day away from home

There are certain things you want; you want to do/try things even when you are not sure how they would turn out. You desperately want to know how it feels but somewhere deep down you actually don’t want to do them. It’s like you want to do them and you don’t want to do them. How many times have you been in such a situation where in you have actually done it?

Today happens to be one such day for me. I have come to Bangalore on deputation and today happens to be my first day in here. As I am writing this blog sitting in a hotel room with plenty of time with absolutely nothing to do, I am wondering if I am enjoying it. Well, to be honest I don’t know. On one hand I have this complete freedom with no responsibilities once I am away from office; on the other hand I miss the things Mom used to ask me to do.

A sense of loneliness is beginning to creep in. and thinking of how long the stay might be I feel like running away from this city and go home. Come to think of this – I have never been away from home alone all my life. And now I am all alone in an unknown city. Of course I have friends here and I am sure I will settle in soon; but for now …

The stay here brings with itself a whole new bunch of things – an unknown city, an unfamiliar culture, a new atmosphere and loads of interesting opportunities. It is just like any other trip. Just thinking of the places I might go changes the mood completely. But when you come to think of the fact that you are here for official purpose, the mood changes again. I mean I could certainly have done without taking this project. But then I wanted to take the project for exactly the same reason. It looks gloomy when I think that I am away from my family, away from my home, away from the known. But it looks encouraging when I think of the challenges, the scope of seeing new places and giving me the exposure. Overall it looks like a coin – heads and tails can never be the same yet they are part of the same coin – you can’t separate them.

Things should get better as I spend more days here. Today being the first day I guess this was bound to happen. Lets’ see what the coming days bring in. As of now my first day in Bangalore is coming to an end.

100 Blogs

WOW - I have finally reached the 3 figure mark. I can't stop myself from saying "Bravo".

It all started as a tryst some 5 years ago on a friend's suggestion. It took more than 1.5 years to get in the habit of writing blogs. I got used to it and soon it became a hobby - in fact an addiction. My mind was constantly searching for things to write upon. Every night I would sleep thinking about what I would be writing the next day. Many topics got washed out in sleep but many made it to the blogs. Gradually writing slowed down. Not sure why but it took a back seat. But still I managed to sneak in a blog or two once a while. And now I stand writing my 100th blog.

The journey has been great so far. There have been many constant companions giving their opinions and views on my write-ups as well as thoughts. There have been many wonderful journeymen in the way where our paths crossed for a while. All in all it has been a thoroughly enjoyable experience. I am sure the journey will continue.

Thanks to all my readers for your time and comments. I hope you will continue to read my blogs and leave your comments.

Movies - what do you remember about them

What do you remember most about the movies?
Story?
Acting?
Songs?
Dialogues?

Until and unless it is a dialogue like “Tumhara naam kya hai Basanti” or “Don ko pakadna mushkil hi nahi namumkin hai” I don’t think you remember either of the mentioned things. Some songs do stay in memory for long but not because of the movie.

So what is it that one remembers most about a movie? For me it’s the circumstances or the incidents leading to or during the movie. And as I think of it there are some which I remember instantly

‘Welcome’ starring Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif somehow tops the list. We (I, Manjeet, Pomey, Abhishek, Ujjwal and Sanjeev) had gone to watch the movie during office hours without informing anyone. While the movie was in progress the project leads tried calling us but we missed their calls and it was a mess afterwards :)

‘Pyar ka Punchnama’ – watched it with Kunal and Febin. It was a complete laugh riot. More so as we compared the three characters with Kunal, Febin and Sahil. We still laugh when we remember the movie.

‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dubara’ – watched it with Sahil and Febin; probably the only movie we three have watched together. It was a wonderful movie no doubt and the food at Sahil’s place after the movie was wonderful.

‘Road Movie’ – this movie is remembered for all the wrong reasons. Watched it with Shubhi, Kunal and Dheeraj. I and Kunal were literally thinking what we were doing sitting in the hall while Shubhi and Dheeraj said that they actually liked the movie. Well, if someone asks me movies to avoid at all costs, this movie tops the list for me.

‘Murder 2’ – watched this movie with Kunal, Smita and Febin. The 4 of us actually watched the movie buying 3 tickets only. Read http://strictly-my-views.blogspot.com/2011/10/movie-without-ticket.html for more.

‘Love Aaj Kal’ – watched it with Manas. The day we watched this movie was Friendship day and we were the last people to get the tickets for this movie for the show. We watched the movie sitting in the 1st row – seat no 1 and 2.

‘Jhoom Barabar Jhoom’ – well our company decided to take the entire SBU to watch this movie. The entire hall was booked for us. About the movie, well the lesser said is better :P

‘Pirates of the Carribian: On Stranger Tides’ – watched this movie with Febin. It was the 11:40 PM show and the movie was way longer than expected. Reached home around 2:30 AM. From next morning onwards the upper limit to reach home was set to 12 midnight :(

‘Jurassic Park’ – this was my first movie ever at a cinema hall, so this has to be part of the list. And I don’t know how but I had actually fallen asleep in this movie.

‘Break Ke Baad’ – watched this movie with Minakshi. We were supposed to have a paper on this day, but due to some mishandling on the part of the university our name was not there. So we could either go to the main campus and enquire or watch a movie. We decided to do the latter.

‘Dhol’ – watched this movie with Supreet, Sachin and Manisha. It was during my part time MBA where we were studying. The mid-term was going on and we had given the morning paper. There were 2 papers scheduled the next day. I asked if anyone was game for a movie. To my surprise all of them agreed and we ended up watching ‘Dhol’ instead of heading home and studying.

‘Ghajini’ – watched this movie with Hina. It was the first movie I watched at Shakuntalam. The interiors were more like a old college auditorium than a movie hall; and the interval snacks were same as a college canteen.

‘Rocket Singh’ – watched this movie with my mom and sister. My mom doesn’t usually go to movie halls. But I insisted and took her assuring her that if she doesn’t like the movie then we’ll leave early. But she liked the movie.

There are many more movies which are fondly remembered for some reason or the other. If you remember any such thing about a movie then do post a comment; and if it involves me then you must definitely write about it ;)

Waiting for your comments…

The list remains...

The last few weeks, I have felt, there is a lot of work to be done. Work on all facets. I have somehow been avoiding/delaying them for no apparent reason. Avoiding because I probably am not ready to spend time on them. Delaying probably because I am not sure what needs to be done. Laziness probably is behind both.

Didn’t someone say “With time everything will be alright”? I am probably waiting for time to take care of things. Time, however, has failed me so far. Probably Time needs more time.

Someone else said “If you want it done, do it yourself”. I start doing things with enthusiasm, determined to finish it. I set deadlines. I manage to finish some of the stuff. For others, I make a plan and promise to follow it.

Things keep piling on. Some take high priority. A few get thrown out because of not doing them on time (they have their consequences). Most increase their scope. I keep looking at the list determined to reduce it soon.

Someone said “It’s more important to enjoy the journey rather than reaching the destination”. I decide to enjoy the stuff and do it thoroughly. I start picking up things related (but avoidable) to the stuff I am doing. Time passes by. The list grows.

Someone said “Take time out for family and friends and spend time doing things you enjoy.” I take a break. I enjoy the time as it flies by. The list grows.

Someone said “If it is to be, it is up to me”. I have to clear the list. I start with vigor. I finish a few stuff. I feel energized. I continue working more. I look at the list. It looks messy. I decide to redo the list. Prioritize and plan better. The new list looks good; even beautiful to some extent.

Someone said “Beauty is only skin deep”. I re-checked the list. None of the stuff had moved out, they were re-aligned. I start working. It feels good to work with a proper plan. I look at the list. It looks at me mockingly and says “I am still the same – a few things here and a few things there doesn’t change anything.”

Someone said “Alcohol doesn’t solve problems, but neither does milk”. I decide to go for tea. A no of cups later the problems still exist. I try the ostrich way. The things don’t change; the neck hurts now.

Someone said “Whatever happens, happens for a reason”. Does it mean the delay was meant to happen? Or does it mean I am always reminded of the things to do because they need to be done?

I guess there will always be things to do. Whether it gets done or not depends on your desire to do them; and maybe on the circumstances. There are times when you don’t feel like doing things. There are times when you are unsure about what to do or how to do. There are times when you need help. There are times when you know things need to be done but somehow can’t/don’t do it. These are the times when your thinking becomes all messed up and your decision making is hindered. Of course there are times when things take care of themselves. People will keep saying things on every situation and often different people will say different things. It is up to you to decide what advice you want to follow.

For me the list still remains…

Movie without ticket

I, Febin, Kunal and Smita (Kunal’s wife) had gone to watch a movie. We asked Kunal to buy the tickets and he did so. As we entered the movie hall the guard at the entrance asked for the tickets as usual. Kunal was at front of the four of us and I was at the back. As I reached the guard he asked me for the ticket and I said I was with them. He allowed me to go. Then we entered the audi where our movie was to be shown. We proceeded towards our seats. Kunal was leading the way. As he sat down we asked him the seat numbers. He whispered that he had bought only 3 tickets. We were like “what the hell”.

We gave Kunal a stern look. I asked him to go and buy the 4th ticket; to which he replied he’ll do so in the interval. When Febin asked him what would we do if all the seats get filled, he had no answer. He just said “We’ll see when it actually happens” Febin told him that if the case arises he’ll have to buy 4 more tickets as we all will be moving out.
Ours was 3rd row from the screen and the hall was almost full. Instead of watching the ongoing ads we started looking at the gate to see how many more people are coming. Ours were middle seats. The seats on either side were almost filled. People started sitting in the row in front of us. Slowly (it seemed an eternity but actually it was around a minute or two) the no of people entering reduced and started settling in their seats. There were still some empty seats in front of us for contingency – you never know what might happen :P. Luckily things went fine. The movie started. The hall was completely full upto our row. The people stopped entering and we had a sigh of relief.
Of course we didn’t buy the extra ticket in the interval and had a good laugh on it. Every time Kunal is with us and goes to buy the ticket we remember this incident and ask him to buy the exact no of tickets.

When clarification leads to confusion

There are 4 friends – let me call them A, B, C and D (B being the only female in the group) for the sake of anonymity. They happen to be good friends; happened would be a better word now. A series of incidents occurred leading to a lot of confusion and a few fights. Here’s how the things went:

A and B had a fight which lead to their not speaking to each other for some time. C and D were not (supposedly) aware of it. As things turn out between friends, soon A and B were back to talking to each other although after some heated conversations/clarifications. During one such conversation B had vowed never to call A if the next call went unanswered. Of course that didn't happen and soon things seemed to be normal. But it wasn't to last long.

B spoke to C about her fight with A and inquired from C if he felt any indication of A being upset with her. C said that he felt something was wrong because when he had asked A about B, A had replied “why would she call me”. A wasn't aware of this conversation between B and C.

In one of the succeeding conversations with A, B asked A if he really believed that she wouldn't call him again. A answered in the negative and asked B what made her think so? B said that she got to know from somewhere that A had said “why would she call me” on being asked about her. When A asked “Who said this?” B wasn't willing to answer that question. A continually kept asking B the same question whenever B initiated a conversation which resulted in their not having much of conversation.

A had used the words “why would she call me” with only 2 persons C and D and had a hunch that it would have to be either of them who had said this to B. So A while having a conversation with D, asked him what all he had said to B. D was shocked by the question as he hadn't had any such conversation with B. In fact D didn't have any context of what was going on between A and B. A explained the situation to D. D didn't like it at all and blamed B for creating confusion between him and A.

It was A’s birthday. B, C and D along with another common friend had decided to buy a gift for A. B was to buy the gift online and have it delivered to D’s house. D was to handover the gift to A on his birthday. During the purchase of the gift, D had asked B to provide her account details so that D could transfer his contribution to B. B said that she would do so once the gift was delivered and liked by A. D had asked the question thrice and didn't like the response from B. In the meantime all the above mentioned things happened. So D stopped picking/responding B’s calls/SMS. D got stuck in office work and got delayed. B wasn't aware why the gift wasn’t delivered yet. C was out of town and D wasn't picking her phone. So B was worried as well as confused. D came to A’s home late at night to deliver the gift. Along with the gift they all had decided to give together D got separate gift for A while the combined gift was given with only B’s name on it.

A sensed something was wrong and asked D as to what was going on. D mentioned the conversation he had with A sometime back and also recalled an incident from the past. (The incident went something like this - B had jokingly said to A that she had a conversation with D. At that time B and D weren't quite friends so A couldn’t believe it. When A tried to confirm from D about the conversation D said he never had a conversation with B) Combining the 2 incidents D decided to close all relations with B as twice the actions of B had caused confusion between A and D. A tried to clarify B’s standpoint to D but to no avail. At that time D also told A about how the 4 of them had planned the gift and a brief of their conversations.

A called up B to understand what was going on and also convey D’s stand. They had a long conversation wherein everything - mentioned so far in the post - was discussed in details. The viewpoints of all 4 people was talked about and debated. B also said that her reason for not saying the name to A was to prevent any frictions between A and C. And B was hurt at how things turned out and blamed herself for her role in it. She also pointed a few fingers on A on his involvement. A had to agree to some of it.

The outcome of all these is as follows:

D is not talking to B
B is hurt because she didn’t intend to hurt D
B is upset with A
B is hurt for she thinks she could have done things differently
D is upset with C for C’s role in the things
A is skeptical about C
C is unaware of all these
A is upset with D’s standpoint on B

Having said this I am wondering what went wrong. Is there a chance things could have been different? If so, what could have been done differently? Was A wrong in seeking clarification as to who wasn’t keeping the conversation to himself? Was B wrong in trying to avoid friction between 2 friends? Was B wrong in trying to identify if things were smooth between her and A? Was D wrong in feeling that B was responsible for creating confusion between him and A? And subsequently severing all ties with B? Was C wrong in clarifying B’s doubts? Was B right in sharing with C about her fight with A? Was A wrong in thinking C broke his trust?

Friendship is one of the best gifts someone can have. It is to be valued and cherished. Often it is the only thing left with people when things go wrong. Here there are 4 friends who value each other and would spare no effort to make sure that their friends are fine. But the friendship is now caught in a storm. How should A, B, C and D feel about each other and what should be the state of their friendship? What can each of them do to come back to a steady state?

Happy Teachers Day

Teachers Day used to be fun in school days. We used to wait for 5^th September to come every year. No study was one of the main reasons at that timeJ; but it also meant that the seniors would be taking the classes for that one day. Of course they wouldn’t be teaching; it was more of fun and games session. And we would be giving cards to our favorite teachers. When we were younger we would be making cards; and as we grew older we would buy cards. Those were really wonderful days.

When we moved from school to college, the charm for Teachers day lessened. There were still your favorite teachers whom you wished and gave cards; but it was nothing like it used to be in schools.

Once college got over it became just 5^th September. It is still celebrated as the Teachers day but for most it became just another day.

Today it happens to be 5^th September i.e. Teachers Day. Every year I wish my favorite teachers on this day and thank them for the lessons they taught us without actually saying it to them. When I think of teachers a few names pop-up quickly like Ratna Chakravarthy madam who was my class teacher in class I, Kinra madam who taught us English in class IX and X, Roma Das madam who was the class teacher in class XI and XII (who being biology teacher never taught me anything as I had taken computers), Computer Science madam (I forgot her name L) in class XI and XII and so on.

Then there were the ones in B.Tech whose name I don’t recall now but remember the subjects they taught which included VLSI, OS, Microprocessor, DCN.

Then there were some during MBA whom I fondly remember like Dr Shekhar (whom our gang used to call Anna), Meenakshi madam who taught Retail Marketing, Sanjay Dhingra sir who took all the IT subjects and was also my project guide.

Usually people remember those teachers about whom they can joke around, with whom they didn’t have a good relation, those who just couldn’t teach, had a weird accent, had a peculiar way of teaching, didn’t pronounce a few words correctly, made grammatical errors, etc. Basically teachers are remembered for all the wrong reasons. But then most people have some teacher(s) whom they remember fondly for all the good reasons and those are the teachers one really respects. And on this day those are the teachers who are remembered.

Apart from the teachers I have already mentioned there are others who teach us without actually enrolling us in any course; those who are part of our day to day life and who give us valuable lessons in life. Yes I am talking about those people who give you valuable inputs in different facets of life. They maybe your friends, foes, even strangers. You don’t have a teacher-student relationship with them, but you still learn a lot from them.

I would take this opportunity to thank all such people from whom I have learned valuable lessons in the past one year especially Shubhi, Hina Dikshit, Minakshi Bajaj, Saurav Gupta, Navdeep and Pooja Malhotra.

Wishing you all a Happy Teachers Day.

The Laddakh Trip

The long awaited Laddakh trip finally happened. It started on late night of the 24th of June and concluded on 5th of July. There were 4 people including me. It was a road trip and covered more than 3000 kms. Following were the participants in the trip -

The Car

The car was Zen. The car has the experience of being on similar terrains before and has done well.

The People

Name: Vijesh

Role: Pilot, Guide and Car Mechanic

He drove for the entire trip, even when everyone else was sleeping. I must say he has tremendous capacity of driving for long hours as well as on the kind of roads we traveled.

Name: Minakshi

Role: Organizer and Decision-maker

She was the one who organized the trip in the first place. And when it came to deciding the place to stay or bargaining she was the one who made the final call.

Name: Kannan

Role: Guest and Tyre changer

He had come all the way from Kerala just for this trip. There were several times when the tyre got puncture; he was the one who was changing the tyres.

Name: Pradyumna

Role: Guest and Aide

Got the opportunity and grabbed it. Was helping others whenever required.

During the trip our car got stuck in water and mud, there were numerous punctures - twice the stepney was also punctured, the car had to be serviced and a few parts replaced, the roads were as good as non-existent at some places, and many more similar things. We didn't know where we would be spending the next night and twice we slept in the car. Despite all that, the trip was wonderful; Laddakh and Srinagar are really really beautiful and if anyone gets a chance to visit these places then it shouldn't be missed.

The details of the trip are comming soon :)

Forget the past and Move on

Read this somewhere and found it worthwhile to share it.

A wise man once sat in the audience & cracked a joke.
All laughed like crazy. After a moment he cracked the same joke again and a little less people laughed this time.
He cracked the same joke again & again, When there was no laughter in the crowd,
he smiled and said

"When u can't laugh on the same joke again & again, then why do u keep crying over the same thing over and over again.

'Forget the past & move on'…

Bye Bye 2010

What an year 2010 turned out to be. It started at the deserts of Jaisalmer and ended on the beaches of Goa with the entire in-between spent in Delhi. The year had its share of ups and downs which I believe every thing has. Let me have a quick recap of the year as I recall the events...
Marriage was at an all time high with my sister getting married and a lot of friends also getting married including Ashish, Kunal and Shubhi as well as few friends getting engaged which included Saurav and Saurabh.
The threat of recession became less which lead to lot of friends switching companies which of course doesn't include me :)
Not many trips happened this year. The ones that happened though were great and included return from Jaisalmer, a trip to Ramnagar to attend a marriage and finally a trip to Bombay, Pune and Goa.
Got my driving license finally and then bought a car (Alto). I never thought I would be driving on the roads of Delhi but as usual things that I don't want to do I end up doing them.
Joined badminton club this year to continue my relation with sports; and also to take some care of health :)
Spend some wonderful time with family and friends, had the usual fights in office, planned and replanned my future, managed to stay away from marriage despite everyone's best efforts, my VISA got declined, got another loan, saw my favourite team lose in the FIFA world cup, and many more.

They say whatever happens, happens for a reason. And now what had to happen has already happened in the last year. Now that the year has gone, only memories remain. Goodbye 2010.