Little moments in life

Life often gives little moments. It is up to an individual whether he/she wants to enjoy it or let it pass by. The moments might not seem special and one might ignore it; but here one forgets that no moment is special in itself - its the actions or events that make it special.

For instance consider a few examples:

There's a official party going on. There is large gathering as these kind of parties are few and far between. It is for the duration of 1-2 hours. One has the option of going there or opting not to go and carry on with one's daily chores. Many assume the party to be boring and don't go. Some attend the party but find it dull and find it a wastage of time. There are a few who participate in it and make full use of the time. Which category do you fall? Majority of people fall under the 1st two categories.

One is travelling in a bus or metro. He/She is standing. He/She is just a couple of stops from his/her destination. A seat gets empty as some passenger sitting there gets down. Most of the people would keep standing thinking what's the benefit of sitting for 2 stops. Very few people would actually go and sit for the small duration.

There's a get-together of old friends. Some would not attend it thinking it would be boring. Others attend that. Of those who attend some are just passive who later think it was a wastage of time. The rest do the talking and try to make the most of it.


These were just a few examples; there are many such instances. What I am trying to say here is that people are forgetting to enjoy the moments. They are so caught up in their daily routine that even when they have the chance to enjoy they let it pass by waiting for the big opportunity which rarely comes. The message here is 'Make the most of every opportunity you get and enjoy even when the world is thinking what to do'

Suddenly the world has turned busy

Suddenly the world has turned busy. Or else how have I gone alone? I mean the second weekend running I am at home with none of my friends available. It wasn't like this nor was it meant to be like this. I mean with my mobile full of nos I can't find a no to dial. Oh that doesn't mean their nos are not working; its just that they are all busy. And I can't blame them for being busy as they can't help it. So here I am sitting in front of the computer, on a Saturday afternoon, writing this blog.
Let's look at a few things people are busy with these days -
Marriage is one major factor. Some are married so have to be at home. Some whose marriage are fixed are busy shopping and doing other things including spending a lot of time on phone. Others who are looking for partners, well their weekends are busy meeting prospective partners.
Office is another major reason keeping people busy. Either they have working weeknds - at least one day. Otherwise they are so exhausted with working overtime on weekdays that they can't think of anything but sleep & rest on weekends.
Guests/Relatives have become another major factor. Unplanned visits and occasions are keeping some people busy which they have to attend to and thus are busy.
Other reasons for people being busy is their weekend chores - washing clothes and cleaning for bachelors staying away from home, going home for people whose native place is nearby and household work for people living with family. Weekend courses are another thing that's keeping some people busy (it kept me busy for 2 years when I did my MBA)

These things had always been part but I always found someone :). I guess my luck has run out for once. Its been difficult finding people lately. But I guess what it is doing is allowing me to spend time with me - something which people hardly get time to do. I can indulge in things I have been wanting to do but don't find much time. For instance watching a movie at home with no disturbance, eating my favourite dishes, writing blogs, playing games and planning.
Wow! There are lots of stuff to do and I have been complaining. I guess this sums up how our life goes - "We wait all our life waiting for the right opportunities but often when they come we don't realize that and then we keep waiting". On second thoughts I think I will keep this thought aside and continue wondering what I should do now :)

Watching a movie alone

I am alone at home these days (starting yesterday and for some 10 days). Mom, dad and sister have gone out. Yesterday I decided to go out for lunch. I wanted some company so I started calling my friends to see if anyone could come down. I called some 5-6 friends one after the other but everyone was busy in something or the other and so I was all alone. I decided to go to Shipra Mall and have lunch. I was also thinking about watching a movie. But watching a movie alone was something I had never done before.
I reached Shipra Mall and went to KFC for lunch. After finishing the lunch I thought let me check the show timings. It was 1 PM and there was a show for 'Ishqiya' at 1:45 PM. I had nothing else to do so I bought the ticket. It was 45 mins to go before the movie started, so I started roaming around aimlessly. Since I had no one for company I started observing people. Groups of boys and girls entering and exiting shops, couples moving slowly holding hands, guys trying to get girl's attention, parents playing around with their kids, people waiting for their friends, sign of 'Sale' on almost every shop and many more things.
The entry to the movie area started and I went in. Still 30 mins for the movie to start. I now had a very limited area to roam around. And more and more people started coming in. There were couples lost in themselves, small groups laughing around, some families as well. The only person alone there was me. It was the getting very difficult to pass time. Of course there were a few beautiful girls around but they all had partners :P. Finally the movie theatre opened and people started getting in and taking their seats. I had a decent seat and since I had no one to talk to I hoped the movie is good. The movie was okay - no story as such but brilliant acting and screenplay. Moreover it had Nasiruddin Shah and Vidya Balan - 2 of my favourite actors.

It was my first experience of watching a movie alone. I had never ever imagined me watching a movie alone; but as I had nothing else to do and no company I decided to give it a try. Watching the movie alone is not bad but to pass the time between buying a ticket and the starting of the movie is very difficult, rather boring. Will I do it again? Like I say "Never say never"

A conversation between 2 parts of your mind/heart

Scenario: A friend has returned from a 2 week trip outside India. Its been almost a week and we haven't met yet

Participants:
M1 - one half of my mind/heart
M2 - other half of my mind/heart

Conversation:
M1 - She's back. I should go and meet her
M2 - She is back after 2 weeks. She would be busy
M1 - Then maybe I should call her and find out if she's busy
M2 - If she's anyways busy why bother her
M1 - How about dropping her a mail then. She can reply when she has time
M2 - She wouldn't check your mail right now
M1 - Why?
M2 - You had written to her sometime back giving your blog link. Have you heard from her on that?
M1 - No
M2 - Then?
M1 - She would have read the blog but might not have found time to reply. Or maybe she didn't want to reply on that as it wasn't something people should reply to. After all how many people have you heard from who were on that list.
M2 - Even if I take that why do you want to meet her?
M1 - Its been sometime since we had a good chat. And moreover I am looking forward to my gift
M2 - Are you sure you are going to get one?
M1 - I am hoping so... but not sure
M2 - Then why so much eagerness? You can wait for her to call.
M1 - But why shouldn't I call first?
M2 - Let look at it this way. If you go somewhere and get something for someone what do you do on returning? You call that person up and set up a meeting. You don't wait for the person to contact you. Right?
M1 - Hmm
M2 - And if there's no gift for you then you would be disappointed.
M1 - Actually not. That would set the expectations right for future
M2 - So you won't feel bad
M1 - Not at all. One shouldn't get upset over small things
M2 - Hmm
M1 - So what do you suggest? Shall I call her or wait?
M2 - Do whatever you feel like

Result: This post :)

Kyun dikhaye sapne tu sote jaagte

"O re manwa tu to baawra hai
Tu hi jane tu kya chahta hai baawre
Kyun dikhaye sapne tu sote jaagte"

This song from the movie 'Wake Up Sid' has been playing in my playlist for quite sometime. Today as I was humming this song (yes I do that often and people nearby often ask me to reduce the volume) I started to make sense out of the song, that is, my mind started analyzing the words in the song and comparing it with real life. And I found it quite similar.

To talk of few things why do people want the things they are told not to? Why do people try to do things that are prohibited? Why do people fall in love with people whom their parents won't accept? Why do people hope for things that are improbable?
One answer could be people believe in miracles; think their case is special and different. This can be considered a good thing as well as not a good thing. I mean there would be a time when you will have to draw the line, but that time is not defined. So one may go too far while others may leave too soon. Its a personal choice. I won't say anything more on this for now.

Of course I would love to dream and try to make them true. Whether the dreams are realistic are not only time will tell. Till then - "Kyun dikhaye sapne tu sote jagte"

A strange few days

Its been a pretty strange week so far. And for various reasons; or maybe no reason at all - I mean I know somethings wrong somewhere but don't know what and where. Or maybe nothing is wrong and its just me imagining things. Whatever the case be its certainly not the thing to be in; at least for me.

Lets see what all happened this week:

- On Moday I was in office till 2AM working. Of course I could have avoided it but decided to do it.

- Tueday I spent the most of the time sleeping. In between I watched 3 Idiots.

- Wednesday was pretty hectic trying to finish the work to meet the deadlines.

- Today I didn't feel like working but still had to.

And during this time I was waiting to meet a friend, had an arguement with another friend, was waiting to hear from another friend and now also waiting for a headband. None of this is reason enough for the mood swing which points towards still not having found the cause. Hopefully the thing would go away without actually finding the cause.

What a Team !!!

We have a pretty big team but I will confine this post to 6+1 person. The +1 will be clear as the post goes on. Since I do not know if they would want their names to be published I will use just the initials.
This team has not been together for more than a couple of months but this seems to be a team that knows each other for ages. Everyone is strong in their domains, has sound technical knowledge and with them carry vast experience. And they are all different in their own ways. Everyone, I should say almost everyone, wants to finish their work way before time, are willing to stretch beyond office hours; even work on weekends, but at the same time willing to help whoever needs help - and that too without any complaints. And the best part is that everyone will ask others not to stretch and assure others not to worry and that things will be done; but at the same time stretching themselves to the limit to make sure their work gets done.
Let me give an insight to them now.

MM started as a specialist who was supposed to provide technical help to the team. He was always there to help, and parallely he was going through the ramp up. After his ramp-up was done he got stories (the work items are broken into stories) to work upon. But even then – despite being loaded with work – whenever someone required any help all he had to do was turn around and ask MM, and he was there to help.

RT is the guy who has been in this project for the longest duration and has thorough knowledge of the application. He is someone who always tries to do the things in the best possible way. When someone is stuck somewhere and finds the task a little tricky and calls RT, RT will look at the problem and if he finds it difficult he would definitely spend some time on the problem (where others might just point to google) as he takes it up as a challenge and feels he has something to learn from it. One more thing about RT, rather an incident that happened just a few days back – RT had to go somewhere on Monday morning and felt he might be late for office; so he finished the work he was supposed to do on Monday on Sunday night only.

SS is another brilliant guy. Technically he is excellent and he is also an excellent human being. He stays near the office. So whenever the team has calls with the onsite manager and the manager speaks person to person SS’s turn usually comes last and he has to stay back the longest, but I have never seen him complain. Whenever you go to him for help he is more than willing to help you. And where he feels one has a scope to learn SS doesn’t help directly but points you towards the examples/links which would enable you to not only solve your problem but to learn as well.

KS is someone who keeps the environment enjoyable and makes sure everyone is comfortable. Again technically very strong and has experience working in different sorts of projects. In our team he is responsible for starting celebrating birthday parties in the team, taking the team out for lunch, making sure everyone participates and interacts with each other. With him you don’t have to ask but just the mention of things is enough. He takes up individual’s concern to the proper personnel, doesn’t mind staying back even when he has no work of his own. He even accompanies for tea/coffee breaks when he himself doesn’t drink either. And most importantly he is happy to do these things.

AB is someone who has spent the last 7 years in the US, but when you talk to him he seems one of us. He has his unique style of talking and is the person to listen to when on breaks, especially dinners. He again is technically pretty strong and is always willing to him. One of these days he was stuck somewhere and looking for the solution for quite some time as it was to be delivered that day. KS was struggling with an issue and AB had worked on something similar before. AB left his work and went to KS and helped him with it before returning to his work.

SM is a QA person. He was in our track initially but moved to some other track sometime back. He keeps the area happening with his dialogues; sometimes attempted poetry. And when it comes to work he is a thorough professional. Never afraid to stay late or shy away from working on weekends. I remember one weekend when I was enjoying in a mall with my friends I got a call from him saying that there’s some problem in the build and asking if there is a way to fix it so that he can do the testing. I couldn’t help him then but he spent the next night testing the entire thing once the application was up.

Now moving to the +1 – its none other than PS. PS is the person who was part of this team from the start before deciding to move on. He was the India team lead and a gem of a person. Despite the constant pressure, he always remained cool and made sure that the team remains calm. He also always made sure that there is complete harmony in the team and that no one is feeling the heat. He was brilliant technically and equally good in managing things. I must say he is the person who has laid the foundation for such a good team.

I must admit that I am lucky enough to be part of such a team. I don’t know what else anyone can ask from his/her team. Everyone knowing their work, finishing deliverables on time, always there to help each other and at the same time game for fun. Despite all the pressure the enthusiasm never dies. Probably one of the best teams to work with as everyone is so approachable and helpful and knowledgeable at the same time.