Pumpkin festival

Confession

- Loius Gluck

To say I'm without fear--
it wouldn't be true.
I'm afraid of sickness, humiliation.
Like anyone I have my dreams.
But I've learned to hide them,
to protect myself
from fulfillment: all happiness
attracts the Fates' anger.
They are sisters, savages--
in the end, they have
no emotion but envy.

Impossible is Nothing

Have you ever taken a course in mass transfer? If not, do not read any further!

For if you have gone through the rituals, you are most likely to remember the book by treybal. If you are the unfortunate Phd kind, you probably still sleep over it.

This is not about the book. This isn't even about me. It is about a man and his deepest fears coming true!

I hated it from the bottom of my heart ever since i first met with the book. Whenever i opened the pages, i felt like i was being tied to a tree and punished with a hunter! The piercing pain and the imaginary smell of the silkened flesh still linger fresh in my memory. The psychometric charts looked like the kitchen of the devil who was cooking my misery. The problems about the distillation plants made me feel sad for the african girls who were being sold in the markets of Ethiopia. I felt a strong cord of distinct similarity. When you are forced to do something you dislike so much and there is no way out, what do you do about it?

Well, not much i guess.

Time moved on. Mass transfer became a thing of history and treybal was a happy man ever after. I actually don't remember an instance where i felt anything remotely bad for him. Even when i was going through the pain, i felt sad for the guy who had actually had to write a book about transfer of mass from a phase to an other. He probably doesn't have to worry about hell as he has lived through it!

A typical hindi movie romance starts with a fight between the boy and the girl and ends up with them falling in love. I never believed in it!


Well, most of the time, beliefs shouldn't change! That leaves for some time when they are allowed to change!

I met with the book again on this weekend. I happened to meet a friend doing his Phd at MIT and he was kind enough to let me into the room where he stores this book and treats it with atmost devotion!

I didn't know what to do for a minute. Here i was, face to face with my devil. My deepest fear. My deadliest nemesis. I slowly but surely moved towards it. I took the book in my hand and began to feel it's texture. In a single momentary flash, the entire history dawned itself before my eyes. I started going through the pages. The very psychometric charts from the past began to look like innocent puppies. It doesn't feel anywhere close to a devil's workshop. I went through the pages which discuss distillation plants. I felt something melt inside me. There were tears in my eyes.

The wonder for me is that i couldn't bring myself to hate the thing i thought was my worst enemy. I felt like i was holding a teddy bear in my hands.

I think this is a lesson for every man who is scared of something. anything. The thing that you are scared of is probably not the reason for your misery. The reason lies inside you. And gladly for me, the reason doesn't exist anymore!

Happy Days!

A few things can touch you.
A few other can move you.

Very rarely, few things do happen which can actually make you cry!

Shekhar Kammula, is a director with a magic wand. Happy Days is a must watch if you want to add quality to a few of your hours on the weekend.

It has everything you want from a movie and may be a lot more. The story is very simple yet immensely powerful that you actually stop treating it as just a movie. It is everybody's story. Anybody who went onto study after highschool, will relate to this movie to the highest degree of congruence. A run-of-the mill story but shot with such elegance and freshness which needs to be seen to realize it.

Acting in the movie is such a natural beauty! There are several independent stories each linked to the other and create great screenplay in the process. The new actors (i have never seen them before) did a great job! The background music tracks are very soothing and impressive.

Freshie ragging, Puppy love, Hot english teacher, deep friendships, gang wars, worries about career goals, struggles to decide whether to stay back in india or move to US, growing up from kids to be men and women.

Add to that, there is also a chapter on graduation towards the end of the movie.

The movie definitely leaves you with a heavy heart and tonnes of nostalgia.

Is it just me or this is real?

When the gates open...

Children walk to the school..
From the safety of mom's warmth.

Workers assemble at the factory..
Prayers never said.

Politicians are driven to their chambers..
Files smile at the luck.

Players enter the camp..
Sweat, Thirst and Desire.

Traders place the bets..
A shirt lost and and a feraari won.

Professor knocks it down.
The colour ain't changing. He laughs..

The old man at the sea..
Waits for his freedom.

A girl smiles and blossoms..
First love.


In a patch of land not very far away.................


A man opens fire.
He isn't one of us.



I wake up...
from a nightmare to an other.

Creed, justice and Marijuana!

I just found out that Marijuana is far better for you health-wise than cigarettes. It's a medical fact!

My question is why is marijuana illegal and cigarettes are legal if this is the case?
A probable answer is that the primary motive of the worldwide law and political systems is not public health and well-being. But, i don't want to be cynical today.

The evening is just too pleasant!

Funny things

Dear Silence,

Trust you are doing great.
It was nice meeting you last week. We hardly talked though. Guess all the noise at the restaurant distracted you? I wanted to tell you how much i loved the way you held the flowers. And when you sipped the wine, it felt like you were weaving symphony. Wish i can meet you again soon. I call often but i don't seem to get through?

Love,
Sound

P.S: You will receive this message late as am sound and not as fast as light!

Reply from Silence:

Dear Sound,

I am silent but you are dumb!
How can i ever meet you?


Reply from Sound:

Dear Silence,

There is no physics in dreams. It's all geography.

God of long things!

Faith does strange things to people. You somehow garner the strength to achieve the otherwise arduous and impossibly cruel tasks. Life starts looking like an easy drive on a half-volley.

I was witness to several acts of faith over the last weekend. A trip to tirupati with family helped in a lot of ways!

Tirupati, the abode of lord venkateshwara, is a place full of wonders. The mind-boggling queues do not worry the devotees at all. Infact, they almost enjoy the long wait! The average wait-time for a chance appointment with the lord is approx 4-5 hours!! This is if you belong to the privileged sorts of queues (the ones with reco letters from prominent politicians, etc.). A poor peasant typically waits for 12-18 hours to get a sneak peek at the lord!!!!!

The 'darshan' is a big tragedy. You are already too tired by the time you reach the crux of the temple and are in no mood to pray. Also, you will be pushed off by fat khakhi-walas/poorly clad pujaris in an instant. A nanosec is all you ever get! And, people typically close their eyes in front of the god. That esentially means that not more than a small portion of the devotees actually have a full glimpse of the lord.

The story isn't limited to the main temple where the real slim lord is located. Around the main temple, lots of smaller ones co-exist. Each one has a story. Interesting ones i should say. I often wondered if several of those temples were just plain jokes by the erstwhile feudal lords. The joke would have been a result of a chance conversation between two weekend friends.

Sometime during 14th century, the conversation between a rich merchant and a not-so-popular king on a dull sunday would have been like below:

Merchant A: "Dude, am gettin bored these days! Not enough golf!! Also, my wife is in the states with her relatives!"
King B: "Ahh, sorry to hear that bro! Am bored too. My wife is back again. Let's build a temple for timepass. We will also earn a lot of mudras through ads!!"
Merchant A: "Kewl idea man!!!"


And so were created dozens, hundreds, thousands and lakhs of temples across villages, towns and cities alike. Back then, the population must have been fairly low and the temples were never really crowded. But, the prosperity of last several centuries (read good rains) resulted in a population explosion leading to crores of devotees on streets. They all have a single-point agenda. Stand in a queue and visit a god! We devotees typically keep a score. It's similar to a fico-score. We call it the darshan-score. The one who drank the maximum 'theertham' (holy water distributed at the temple after darshan) and climbed the highest number of steps is the most reliable devotee. And temples usually issue blessings at lower interest rates (like a bank issues cheap credit for ppl with high fico scores) for devotees with high scores!!

Whatever that means, the fact is that the long queues are constant throughout the day at all kinds and sizes of temples. All that a true devotee has to do is chant "govinda govinda" ! It acts like a crocin pill to the fever caused by all the evils of capitalism, inefficient democracies, inadequate educational institutes, poor form of justice, pathetic infrastructure and gallons of corruption.

God bless.

Itinerary

August 26 9 AM : Arrival in hyderabad
August 31 3 PM: Arrival in Tirupati
September 3 10 AM: Arrival in Delhi
September 3-9: Ladakh
September 10: Arrival in Hyderabad
September 14: Arrival in Mumbai
September 16: Departure to Boston

September 17: Hell breaks loose.

Tryst with destiny

"Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance. It is fitting that at this solemn moment we take the pledge of dedication to the service of India and her people and to the still larger cause of humanity."

- Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru


Happy independence day!

She lay on the bed...

...wrapped in white, half covered in sheets. Her body was half revealed, and looked like it had been made to be loved by me.

I walked up to her, and turned her around. She looked at me lazily, and I could see myself in her eyes. I had loved her for years now, because everything about her was so unique, precious, and beautiful. She smiled at me, and her milky white skin shone in the morning light. I took her in my arms, caressing her tenderly, and knowing that she was now mine, for now, for ever.

She looked at peace, like the creator had thought out every inch of her design. She welcomed me with open arms, and I lost myself in her warm embrace. I knew I didn't want anything else in the world ever again: no money, no house, no doors, and definitely, no Windows.


My Angel.
My MacBook.


-Anon! :)

Stuff inside a pumpkin and the french revolution

Yes. they are real!
And so is everything else.

Tonight will be my last day at my dearest apartment flat in an innocent corner on the planet, called powai. This small town is special to me for more than a thousand million reasons. I was a toddler when i came here back in 2001. I now am a fully grown adult and many of my impressions and ideas about the universe were given shape here. Thanks to my IIT days, most of them are worth cherishing!

The dearest flatmates, (guys both of them), shashi and the freaking idiot, bapu gave me some wonderful time. It was an honour staying with you guys as i know you both will be amongst the most important people on the planet by the time we reach our 60s.

I will miss the flat, definetly! My bike has been standing in the parking space without a shade for years now! And, god bless, it's still in a working mode! If there is one thing i hate about the whole thing about my flat, it's the landlord. Whenever i see him or hear from him, it dawns upon me that evil is real too and omnipresent. But i still wish that god blesses him with any of his favourite disease.

It's a well know fact that home is where heart is. I testify!

Hack yourself!

You are hacker, ainh? A smart one?

Try these. These are not the traditional computer hacks, dey got more to do with your body!

• Hold your breath longer
• Think while you sleep
• Scratch your leg to make it to the loo!

Read more.....

http://lifehacker.com/software/lifehacker-top-10/top-10-body-hacks-257746.php

you know more?

Scott Adams is not worried about the future!!

Below is an alleged letter from a 10 year old to Scott Adams (of Dilbert's fame) which finally resolved all his worries about future of mankind and the planet!

-----------------------------Start---------------------------------------------------

Dear Mr. Scott Raymond Adams,

I am a 10-year-old boy who is an avid fan of your comic series, Dilbert. I know that it has achieved immense fame by the fact that it is shown in over 1600 newspapers around the world (at least, that was the way it was the last time I checked). I still want to know if the Dogbert's New Ruling Class (DNRC) newsletter is still available for new subscribers. I really wish to subscribe, even though it is only tri- or quad-annually, because it seems like it's better to have a regular update about your works and some random stories about people who send e-mails to you than to have to wait for the next book.

Now that I'm done with a proper introduction, I'll move on to more important matters. I like all of your books, but I'm especially intrigued with your philosophical works, God's Debris and its sequel, The Religion War. I like the way that you can exploit Occam's (I hope I spelled that right) Razor to the extent that it sounds refreshing and new, and yet doesn't seem like you're insane. I know that there's a warning in the introduction/prologue of God's Debris about how the ideas in the book are powerful and are not suitable for people under 14. I think that that is complete mish-mash, because, as you said in Dilbert and the Way of the Weasel, people know what to expect in a book. You (probably) won't get sued or ridiculed because somebody's religious parents found out that their children doubt their beliefs now because of something in a book. Actually, the law protects you from that kind of stuff because of the first amendment, which says that everybody has the right to practice freedom of religion, unless it is designed to hurt others, like a cult. You definitely aren't gathering a cult (are you?) right now, so you're completely free to do whatever you want in a book.

However, and this may sound contradicting to what I said in the last paragraph, the ideas in that book are extremely powerful. I wonder if you could incorporate hypnosis into a book, because it seems like you, a trained hypnotist, did. I was completely and totally transfixed as I read those books. The best part is, your (or rather, the Avatar's) explanation of the universe completely makes sense because we can't judge god! That is the one thing that keeps your idea alive! You simply don't know what god thinks like because he is another being, totally different from human beings.

There is only 1 counter to your idea of the universe, and that is if there is an omnipotent god, he would still need something to create him. In a sense, that other entity is the real god, and the one that we worship is only a subordinate. Then, that entity would need another thing to create it, and so it would span infinitely through lesser and greater. The same thing is true about the shape of the universe. I believe that the universe is finite, because if it was infinite, it would have to travel faster than the speed of light and that would rip a hole in the space-time continuum and so would suck all light outside of the universe at infinite speeds as well, forming a huge counter-vacuum that would make the universe uninhabitable because every shred of matter that formed would be sucked outside the universe through the hole in the space-time continuum and cause the universe to oscillate at, again, infinite speeds between infinity and nothing. I could bore you all day with my talks about the universe and all of that uncertain stuff, and I know that you need the whole day to write back to all to your e-mails and draw your comics.

I am an atheist, but my Grandmother is a Christian and my Grandfather is a Buddhist. That is why I could adapt so easily to the idea that god is really only probability and matter. It makes perfect sense!
I have some last questions for you. I would be extremely pleased if you could answer them for me in the e-mail that you (might!) send back. They are as follows:

• Is it true that you have involuntary muscle spasms in your drawing hand?
• Is it true that you once had speaking problems?
• In Pleasanton, California, is it true that you own a restaurant named Stacey's Café ? If so, please note that I lived there before and so would like directions to the place.
• Do you really believe that affirmations can make you achieve your goals, no matter how impossible they are?

Thank you for your time taken reading this e-mail.

Bobby [name withheld]

P.S. Get Google everything. It's better and more hassle-free. I have the Google Taskbar for my laptop and i can open every single thing that you could imagine from it, including the daily strip for Dilbert.

------------------------------------End------------------------------------------------

ROTFL!!!

Road Trip

Target: Khandala, Lonavla & Pune
Team: Chussi, Parmar, Bagla, Misra and Me!
Day: Sunday

Result: Pune missed!

Pics available at http://www.flickr.com/photos/midnightsaint/

River

Weekend log

(based on true fiction)

Location: Kolad
Time: Timeless
Characters:

Apoorv – The most photographed person of the year!

Amandeep – Arsenal’s no.4

Ankur – smiling Buddha. The smile continues even when he has just lost a cellphone!

Ashwin – the drunkard

Deependra – dancer!

Faraz – The lost brother of Pogu, the deer.

Murtuza – weird

Jimmy – dummy cat

Nagpal – the man who knows everything. But, ofcourse!

Harshvardhan – The foot-bomber

Rebecca – The newsreader

Meenal – Girl with the candy

Sandeep – The kid on the new block!

Shantanu – dumsy boy

Shomik – tiger in the den

Suresh - dreamer

Subrata – the guy who lost everything in the stock market

Prince – the prince

Milind – sensitive girl

Harsh – businezman and a scuba diver from dubai. He has a knee problem.

Dhwani – the princess

Sneha – two tea spoons of sugar

Samir – watchman at a chemical plant who needs to shout just to feel he is alive

Amit – guest appearance

Vinit – guest appearance. Avid reader of books and magazines. Also likes to talk about this habit.

It all started in the beginning!

Around 30 people at my workplace decided to break away from the corporate dirt over the weekend! Well, only about 20 odd people finally made it. Life is tough on rest of them.

Saturday, 21 July, 9 AM, Vikhroli

The official start time! Well, almost everybody was there. Except a few lazy asses like harsh. I had to bribe him just to wake him up and finally reached the start spot at around 11.

We only took a single look at the bus before harsh got a heart attack. I asked the admin desk to book the best possible bus and what I saw in front of me looked like the one used to deport prisoners. Harsh, the billionaire, who never walked barefoot or lived without AC, started crying. He started missing his mom and his favorite bullock cart back at Calcutta.

Saturday, 21 July, 11 AM, Vikhroli

The bus finally started moving. We had all that we needed! A cricket bat, a foot ball, some food, a music deck and lots of enthusiastic young men and women.

Saturday, 21 July, 12 Noon, Vashi

The first stopover. We picked up a few guys and more importantly, some important liquids. The music started getting louder and so was the laughter! The journey had officially begun.

Talking about music, I have a sub-story. The title is “Ashwin- the drunkard”.
Below is the conversation between us a day before.

@ 10 PM

Ashwin: dude, whatsup? I just started drinkin. But wil meet u guys tomorrow morning!

Me: Ok!

@ 12 midnight

Ashwin: dude, am really drunk. There is a lot left! I don’t think I will make it tomorrow morning.

Me: dude, I need you tomorrow morning. Just drink slowly whatever is left. I will wake u up in the morning

Ashwin: Ok!

@ 2 AM

Ashwin: dude, am drunk. In a very bad shape. Am driving to pune with friends

Me: WTF!!! Dude, just go back home.

Ashwin: my friend is crying. I can’t go back. I will start at 4 in the morning and reach u guys.

Me: Ok!

@ 6 AM

Ashwin: dude, my car broke down. Am stuck in lonavla.

Me: Asshole!


Ashwin could never make it and we had to live with whatever music harsh brought along. Imagine listening to “yeh tara who tara” on a hot afternoon in a hotter bus in heavy traffic! We missed ashwin’s ipod very badly.

Saturday, 21 July, 1 PM, Panvel

The traffic got worse. Everybody was sweating pretty badly. Milind started with his theories on how we could have avoided the traffic if we had started early. All I could do was listen and hope!

Traffic soon cleared.
Hope works!!
The bus started moving at its maximum speed which was around 40 kmph. The urban world soon started fading away and rural India started smiling with boundless affection! Freedom. From noise, dirt and mindless motion.

Prince started burning his chimneys. Samir started shouting. Sorry, talking. Shomik was silent except when he had to make some fun of harsh. The group of freshers in the back seats were trying to cool down from their boiling points. Slowly but surely, things were a changing!

Saturday, 21 July, 4 PM, Sai Farm, Kolad

We passed a bird sanctuary at karnal and I felt very bad at not having a chance to get down. We finally reached the resort after an awesome hour of wonderful road trip.

Talking about sai farm, I need to mention a guy called Gaby. He is the farm owner, around 50 years old and a fantastic goan! After I talked to him about lots of things, I realized why people love goa and everything about it. I wonder if there is any better species of people than goans.

Saturday, 21 July, 6 PM, Sai Farm, Kolad

Everybody settled in. It was too late to visit the waterfalls. Guys chose to play cricket instead. It was a lot of fun! Especially the part where people go to fetch the ball for long periods of time.

The light got poorer by the minute and flood lights came out. It started raining.

It was time for football, ofcourse. The real fun didn’t even begun.

People soon got dispersed. Some played cards, some tried hands at darting. Food was being served tirelessly.

Saturday, 21 July, 10 PM, Sai Farm, Kolad

Jimmy drove down with his car along with a fat guy. They call him Ashwin back in the jungle. Imagine a guy, heavily drunk from 2 non-stop days, walking with swagger. He started hurling abuses at everyone and anyone from the moment go. He almost bet Subrata in darting at 10-5 but subbo came back strongly to beat him 20-13!

This small game changed the atmosphere. Laidback audience suddenly got stiff and nobody attempted darting for some time after this hot game!

Sunday, 22 July, 1 AM, Sai Farm, Kolad

Bottles were drawn out. Tables laid out. The resort had an amazing river view gallery which made for a fantastic late night spot. The only problem, if it can be counted, were the small mosquitoes! No, am not talking about nagpals.

Sunday, 22 July, 5 AM, Sai Farm, Kolad

Most of the tired peeps were fast asleep. Me and ashwin decided to discuss stuff about life and beyond. I probably told him a few things which I never even told myself. Pinkfloyd was playing at the back and pretty soon, we stopped talking. Started doing something better, something like sleeping!

Sunday, 22 July, 6 AM

We had to reach the white water river rafting spot at 7, or so we were told! As usual, I got late due to Harsh. The fat ass was complaining all night about lack of AC and fell asleep till very late. We ran a small marathon to reach the bus. Something suddenly hit me. I didn’t know the route to the spot. There was no connectivity and I cudnt call anybody. I asked the driver to keep going until the road splits into two. I was hoping the cell comes alive before that. It almost did. We took a wrong direction and then reverted back to the correct road. It was so much more fun than to have done it the right way!

Sunday, 22 July, 8.30 AM, Kundalika River

We finally start rafting after a series of training instructions. The trainer from north-east had an accent akin to a german. You could hear but you cudn’t understand. Harsh came up with a request for a hindi trainer. There are some moments in life when you feel the deepest of pity for a fellow human being. This was one of those. Now that he didn’t understand any of the instructions, I was sure this was the last time I will suffer him. So, I made my final handshake and took some last snaps.

The instructions looked tricky at the beginning. “Front on right and Back on left” sounded like solving the Schrödinger equation all over again. My team of rafters incuded subbo, prince, milind, ashwin, faraz, muthu and myself, ofcourse! The lead rafters were, ashwin and milind. The key to good rafting is to synchronize and paddle harder in a rapid. A rapid is a sudden flux of water and it will make your raft do strange things. It is a period of uncertainty and you never know how you are going to land back on to the water. It’s also when mishaps can happen, if at all. The key to survival is to paddle faster and harder!

The guide kept on shouting instructions from the back and in the moments of thrill and laughter, they were often missed! It landed us in precarious situations. Ashwin and Milind managed to miss so many of the instructions that after a while, the guide stopped shouting at them!

The hands started tiring. Our team luckily had 7 rafters which meant that only 6 could raft at a time. That gave us room to take some quality rest!

Pretty soon, the rapids fizzled out. The river started looking calmer and smoother. It was time to throw away the paddles and jump into the river. The life jackets meant that anybody could jump. I tried to learn swimming from ashwin but he almost killed me by pushing me down into the water for a very long minute. My desire to learn swimming almost had a death knell. Floating on river water was definitely an awesome experience. It was time for photographs and some quick fun.

We soon reached the shore. We had to lift the raft onto a small hill and walk further upwards to reach our bus. Luck, as it usually happens, turned a blind eye on us! The bus wasn’t there and we soon found out that the driver was sleeping somewhere away unreachable. We fortunately found Amit’s driver nearby, who btw reached the rafting spot separately in his car, early morning on Sunday. According to him, he got very lucky as he got to raft separately with this beautiful bunch of ladies from Gujarat. I hope his wife doesn’t read this post!

We started waiting for the bus. Tired and hungry souls soon started drifting apart. I and Ankur tried walking into a village nearby. We were hoping to get some hot tea and may be a smoke! But, the village ended even before it began. Aman joined us on our way back. While on the way, something hit me. I started wondering about this small kid on the road who had a half smile. I felt a deep pain in my heart when I attempted to imagine how this kid will go about making a life. A few hours later, during the journey back, I realized that perhaps that kid will lead a far peaceful life than mine. I was back to being happy!

The bus soon arrived. We hopped onto it and had a tasty meal on the way back. The legs were tired and so was the mind. Everybody just went back to their rooms and got relaxed.

The river in front of the gallery had a soothing effect! Amit and Vineet joined us after their happy adventure with the band of girls. They soon started drinking some fluids and I chose not to disturb the event.

It was again some time for cricket and food. The hosts, Gaby and his wife, are a wonderful old couple. They were very kind and so thoughtful that i felt a deep connect and was sad when I finally left them.

Sunday, 22 July, 5 PM, Kolad Waterfalls

It was time to leave the resort. The bus was around 2-3 kms away as it couldn’t drive on the very small path to Sai Farm. Gaby carried our luggage and us to the bus. Amit, Vineet and Ashwin left early in the car. Jimmy joined us in his own.

It was time again for some water. This time, the water was vertical. I mean the waterfalls!

They were not huge waterfalls but were big enough to cool your eyes and mind. Shantanu soon found a hidden spot and I joined him to research it further. He taught me a few things about science and award winning photography and I started admiring his presence of mind!

The cameras started rolling and the flashes all around make it look like a movie shoot!

Sunday, 22 July, 7 PM

The light was fading away. It was time to leave Kolad. The bus started its way back and we soon realized the hunger again! Man, we ate so much!!!!

After almost an hour and a half of a small tea& samosa session, we got back onto the ride of maharaja air travel. Rebekah left jimmy’s car and joined us! Some people miss the bumpy ride or jimmy is really an ass.

Sunday, 22 July 11 PM

Bombay arrived. I didn’t know how as I was fast asleep. I could hear people singing and dancing at the back all the way during the journey. But, all I could do was nod in agreement. It was a struggle just to open the eyes!

We reached the very famous and our very own petrol station at gate no.4, godrej. Shomik got down far before this and it sink in to me then that I will miss him and Monday was his last day at office.

People just said bye to each other and started leaving. Memories were heavy and the mood was happy.

Some stories don’t have an ending and I hope to continue this post sometime again in future!

Walk on water

and please don't sleep when you do that!
especially, if you don't know how to swim.
And if you do, make sure it's not a holiday for the rescue team.

enough of instructions.
now, please go jump!

the one who must not be named

lord voldemort is back and so is harry!
Not the dealthy hallows (its scheduled to be released on july 21), this is about the movie, order of the phoenix! the movie does rock and roll and more.

are there any people who don't like harrypotter and the story? well, i do know that the count is greater than zero. and this is for all those who still are not bitten by the bug.

at the end of movie, harry has this to say,
"we do have something that voldemort doesn't. something to fight for!"

For all those who are rock-hearted to not like harry, here is what i have to say, "we atleast have something to wait for!"

It's not about the book

Well, actually, it is.
But it is more about the man who wrote it and also about his bike.

There are two kinds of super humans.
The one kind, the extraordinary, do fantastic deeds.
But, at the bottom of your heart, you get the feeling that you might have done it too given the time and space.
There is the other set of humans usually referred to with words akin to 'genius'.
Lance Armstrong fits into this set.

And, they do write autobiographies to help other mortals realize that greatness can be achieved.
I read the book. 90% of it in the first sitting.

To be Cont....

Board of Secondary education!

Just chill!

PoliTricks

Hey, we gonna get a new president! Wow!! Really?

Indian democracy never really gave any powers to president who is just a brand name for the government rubber stamp. So, what's all this hue and cry about the fresh election?

Some theory states that all the global problems emerge from Italy. I kind of started believing in this. Remember the head butt?

Yeah....see?

Abdul Kalam, the man who uses rockets to travel even to the local bank, is a superhero who deserves an other term. The italians for some reason think its better off to send him back to research, or worse, academia!!

The only impressive fact is that some patil bai will be the first female rubber stamp we ever had! Three Cheers and No Vodka to that.

It's raining!

The rains are back. And so am I!
Those of you who live in a dream called Mumbai, might not prefer the former. I am not sure of the latter.

There is not a real difference to the rains this time. They are as regularly irregular, seriously comic, painfully joyous, a change which is not!

Someone recently commented on my blog that my writings are getting closer by the day! Thanks for pointing that out to me. It's not that i didn't know it was happening. It's just that it felt a lot better when it came from a stranger.

People, i believe write for a myriad of reasons. Some write for themselves. Like Ayn Rand. They don't have a preferred audience. Some write for an audience. Like Salman Rushdie. Craving for attention. I lie somewhere in between. No, not between the authors. But, between the styles.

And, normal people don't write forever. There comes a time when all that you want to say is said. Then comes the golden silence. A pause which speaks more powerfully than the most eloquent speaker. That's when the writer has arrived. Am not even hinting at the prospect that i might have reached there. Well, i haven't even begun.

I do want to write. Each additional moment am spending on this planet convinces me that writing is all that is there to living. Attaining nirvana is not for me. All i want to do is to communicate. Talk, speak, write and listen. That's all i want to do. Get a life, did i hear?

:)

Well, am at the least, trying!

What do you want to be when you grow up?

"Adults are always asking kids what they want to be when they grow up because they are looking for ideas."

-Paula Pondstone

Give me a reason

just another trick in the wall!

:)

If you have friends in columbo, bangkok or khatmandu, please ping me at sureshg3(gmail)!
Please reply back only if you have read this before Friday (25/05)!!

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24 hours

What is the most important thing in your life?
What is the next most important thing in your life?
What is the next to next most important thing in your life?
What is the next to next to next most important thing in your life?
What is the next to next to next to next most important thing in your life?




No, Think Again!

I have been thinking about the answers to these questions since last midnight.....Its close to 24 hours now and i don't think i have the answers yet. But, there is no time left now!

I think the most important questions one can ever ask are the questions to oneself. The man inside is definitely much more complex than the man outside. Whoever said life is simple must have had a sponsor who made him do it.

Time runs faster than anything else i know and it's running faster than ever now.

I look back. Fond memories. Fonder memories. Playgrounds. Faces. Smiles. Laughter. It's louder than ever. Lost heavens. It pains me to see the photographs. Was there anything important there? Or should i ask if there was anything less than important there? The man who sold me chai at 4 in the morning was important too. He taught me how to smile when you have to work inspite of feeling damn sleepy!

I look ahead. Colorful. New faces. New Smiles. The laughter is silent (they don't laugh loudly anymore). Ahh. How will the photograhs look like? Will it pain me to see them if i get to see them now? Will it pain u?

The answers, however, elude me. Past and Future don't hold answers to my questions.


I probably should have looked at now? The answers, if any can exist only in the now. Past is a dream. Future is an other dream. Present is when you are living in the dream!


24 hours.
That's all you will ever get.


per day.
:)

On a high!

Life is a complex maze full of surprises, delights, opportunities, failures, heartbreaks, and blah blah blah!

Nah, am not goin to write all that crap. Who cares what it is! We are here just to have fun while it lasts and its not gonna last forever!!

Now, just shut up and dance!

Coffee break in a Tea Company!

The world is full of hypocrisy!
You will find examples of people/processes/institutions who are hypocrite in any sphere of activity in any place in the world at any given point of time.

The question am thinking of at this odd hour in the midnight is "why are people hypocrite?"
What i have come to conclude is that most people live others lives. In the sense, most of one's ideas/impressions/attitudes are stamped on one by obvious forces like schools/parents/friends and disguised sources like media.

Lack of originality should be the root cause of it all. I realize i really admire those people who chose to be original but failed rather than the copy cats who got successful just because they could bullshit their way to the top! So, what drives originality and what stops it? I think, it comes down to what a man is built of. Courage and Wisdom are things which can't be taught and are things one has or doesn't. To be original and creative needs a lot of courage. If you have been trying to be an original, you know failure is always an inch closer than you think! But, when success happens, which does happen, its really worth cherishing.

No wonder men have been called prisoners of their minds!

Ideal Sunday

a dream
7.00 AM hit the gym and workout hard
9.00 AM eat food like a devil
10.00 AM watch da latest flick on lappy
1.00 PM eat da favourite dish in da chic restaurent down da street
3.00 PM hit the bed and sleep like a baby
6.00 PM call the tennis buddy, and play like mad
9.00 PM watch da second latest flick on lappy
11.00 PM meet friends and chat/smoke/eat like hell
2.00 AM read that kewl book
3.00 AM sleep like a baby

a nightmare
9.00 PM and am still in office :(

Broken promises and Far away lands!

I promised myself sometime back that i will never be poetic.
Much of the reason was that poems hurt more than they sooth.


But, i break my promise today. yet again!

.........................

Walking into the meadows
I listened to the grass whispering
Silence.
Nothing to hear but everything to understand.

All the significant details: the crucial meetings,
deadlines to meet, oh please!
Vanished into a far away land
They call it Utopia

This vehicle – my body,
engine and headlights on,
ready and humming.

Flying bird
Stop here and listen to the music
There is nothing ahead!

Yes.

Just another letter in the box!

When i was a kid, like when i was very very kid, like around 5-6 years old, i dreamt of being a postman! It was a feverish dream and i used to get all excited whenever i saw a postman. Some insane logic of my newly built mind told me that since postman got all the important letters, he must be a very influential man. I was also led to believe by my friends back then that the postman's bag typically has lots of chocolates and other similar treasures. I took their word for it and just kept on building on my dream for about a year or so.....





Soon, i began to grow older and wiser or so i believe. The idiot box and other shapes of idiots taught me the real value chain of the workings of the postman (for 5 yr olds who are reading this..........it works like this: letter->postbox->postoffice->headoffice->postoffice->postman. a typical postman is very very poor and doesn't have any hidden choclates in his bag)

For many years later, whenever i felt a little intelligent like when i cracked an exam or something, the dream used to come back to haunt me and i felt this strange guilt for being such a dumb thing.

Average men typically learn from half of their mistakes. Really gifted men learn from only one of them and they never touch the hot stove again! I belong to such a category and so do many people i know.

Years have changed, things have changed, people have changed (nah...only their shapes have changed), and the postman is even poorer now all thanks to the e-mail. But, somethings like nerolac paint and stupidity never change, or so they say. But, I have changed. Being a Postman don't excite me anymore.

The world has changed rapidly owing to all the globalization, aids and other diseases. The idea of postmen has been replaced in my mind by the idea of investment bankers/fundmanagers/entrepreneurs. Friends tell me they have lots of choclates(money) in their bags and i still believe some of them. The idiot box has given way to the idiot web and all kinds of media feeds tell me that these guys are the real rich postmen.

I might still end up chasing the dream. We all end-up chasing dreams. But, you know the result, right? And if you are still a 5 year old, you might have still got a little chance to save your precious little freedom. Switch off that damn TV, tear off the newspapers, ditch that friend who bugs you about all the great things you can buy if you had a little more money. Just go blind to all such nonsense. And may be then, you still have a little chance of being the real rich postman. And that ain't got anything to do with money or chocolates.

Note: I wish there were blogs when i was 5!
Note1: If you want to read further on why smart people do dumb things, read this guy's blog at http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2006/09/why_smart_peopl.html

Just like that!

This happens with me. Does it with you?

Chaos

Since you are here, do this:

curl up your legs, put more wood into the fire
and just watch.

Fire.

It slowly consumes everything.
Chaotic, but beautiful.

isn't it?

Slip

Huh! I thought i took the path less travelled and now i see everyone here!

Bee box

In this small box, my love,
you'll not find a ring,
but instead, a brave, little bee.
He'll be dead by morn, having given his life
defending his flowers against me.
I felt his sting
while picking the small, purple pansies
growing wild along the roadside,
in hopes of an afternoon bouquet for you.
And I grieved the sting,
more for him than me,
knowing full well the price he paid
for my small pain.
And I allowed him his victory,
leaving his flowers as a memory,
and brought you instead
this brave, little bee,
who proves there is love
even in the smallest
of things.

-- Lowell Parker

A Conundrum called life!

Am just thinking aloud! (A passe corporate phrase)

Is life a puzzle or a mystery?

A puzzle can be solved given that crucial piece of information or the usual missing link. A mystery on the other hand is just what it is! You may have all the information in the world but it's just unsolvable!

Life often throws puzzles and mysteries at its beholder and the usual problem is the inability to judge which one it is!

The extent of chaos one faces everyday usually implies that chance plays a dominant rule in the shaping up of any individual life. Simple decisions sometimes become the toughest and the most mind-boggling.

Alas, one can only live forward and understand it backward!

Or, as someone in Jurassic Park said, "Life just finds its way!"

Travelogue

What did you do for this New Year Eve?

Well, the standard answers from most of the adults will be one of the following:

1. I went to this party at this cool pub (blah, blah)
2. I went to a disco with my gf/bf
3. I just laid back on my bed and watched all the nonsense on TV
4. I am old and am just happy that I am alive
5. Dude, I was working in office and I had a quick deadline
6. I am a grad student and don't have enough money to party hard

A very few lucky souls will have an answer similar to mine.

7. I went trekking, got lost and spent the night in woods amidst
wild animals, dangerous tribals and scary ghosts!


And the story goes as below...

Characters:

Who: Shashi, Bapu, Me(from Mumbai) and Mathe(from Pune)
Where: Bombay-Naneghat and back
When: 31 December-1 January
Why: We forgot to ask this question!










I woke up on 31st December completely unaware of what was in store. I knew that I had this tentative plan of going for a trek somewhere outside Mumbai but I wasn't sure.
But, some divine intervention had me thrown into a jam-packed local train which headed towards Kalyan. The trouble started even before it all began. A friend who was supposed to join us at Kalyan stopped picking up his phone. After hours of wait, he finally contacted us. Apparently, he fell asleep on a bench while waiting for us.

The next scene was in a Maharashtra Govt bus whose driver was just back after a good season at F1 circuit. The ride sometimes also felt like we were in a flight which was just about to take off. By god's grace, we avoided two close accidents and another closer one.

At the end of it, we found some strangers waiting at the bus door and they were all back-packed and ready to trek. We knew we found company and desperately wanted to avoid it. We did the inevitable and got off the bus at a hotel far before the base of the mountain.




5.30 PM


All of us were damn hungry by then and gulped on loads of hot tea and garam pav. I then realized that I forgot to inform my peeps back at home and tell them that they won't be able to reach me on mobile. The signals were dead already. The hotelier told us that there was an STD booth in a near by village and directed us to it. We soon reached the village and pleasantly found that every body was willing to help and direct us to the phone booth. After roaming around for about 20 minutes in the village, we finally found the revered STD booth. And as fate would have it, the phone wasn't functional. An elderly man who stood near by had a great advice to give. He pointed us to a hotel near by (which was the very spot we came from) and told us that mobile catches signal there. So much for a phone call which was never to be made. I finally called a friend in bombay through a local PCO and asked him to inform my peeps in hyderabad. Happy ending? The real troubles didn’t even begun yet.


6. 30 PM





We soon started to walk towards the base of the mountain which looked too hot to resist. It was close to 7 in the evening and the beloved Sun started to fade. (We planned to stay overnight in the mountain cave but never planned to trek through the entire night. As a result, we were soon to go short of lots of things which are a must when you trek in the night). We soon separated into two groups on the walk. I/Shashi were complaining about how slow Bapu/Mathe were while they were too busy discussing the vampire movie that Bapu saw when he was a kid!

We reached the base at around 7.30. Pleasantly, the moonlight was good and the mood was upbeat. We got out our torches, put on the jackets, rearranged the back-packs and
plunged into the dark tunnel towards the mountain.

The initial path was smooth and everybody was full of energy. There were alternate patches of rocky beds and sandy roads which was so akin to life. Someone intelligent amongst us pointed out that not all torches should be burnt lest we should go out of light. Somebody else noted that mobile phone lights will help us in that case. All is well when you are in a well!

We met few villagers on the way and they revealed the golden truth (all that glitters is not gold): "There are arrows everywhere to point you the direction and when you find two divergent paths, be assured that they will meet in the end". After this happened, the trek shaped into a single point mission. Just fetch for the arrows. Shashi, who by this time emerged a natural leader (this was based on his past experience which incidentally was full of failures...did someone say no experience is better than bad experience?) was actively engaging others to look for arrows. Mathe was the most excited of all whenever he found an arrow. It was almost as if he found a treasure. The arrows were plenty to come by and we just kept walking. Johnywalker!

The moonlight was pleasant and so was the company. Light jokes and harder ones made the mood much lighter and it was almost like walking in heaven. We then found a plain which was straight from storybooks and decided to take a break. For a change, nobody was bitching about their jobs and avoided the talk about how life sucks in general. Like all good things, it had to come to an end too!

All the four of us learnt a lot of trigonometry back in school and triangle was one of our favourite shapes. But not today. At a horrible juncture, we found sets of arrows pointing in two different directions. We divided ourselves into groups. Mathe/Bapu stood the ground and Me/Shashi did the dirty work of figuring out the right way. After thirty minutes of roaming around the dirt tracks, we found ourselves back at the original spot.

9 PM



We regrouped at the spot with the bizarre arrows and had a small brainstorming session. It resulted in a dynamic research in both the ways but the results were bleak. And then, Shashi did something quite natural to him. He suggested that we back track the arrows and then may be we will find the spot where we went wrong.

We decided to let the walking do the talking and just traced the path back. Mathe was soon found complaining that we are going too down-hill and may soon reach the base if we don't stop. We realized the mistake and under the able guidance of Mathe, found the way back on to the hill. It was one of the moments of serendipity when luck finds you at the most unpredictable moment. Two of our torches suddenly went blank.
And the other two started showing signs of fatigue. At this great moment of misfortune and indecisiveness, we sat together for dinner and had cakes, pavs and more cakes and pavs. The drinking water as expected was going to finish sooner rather than later.


10 PM

After dinner, Bapu declared that he was too tired to think of further adventure. Everybody agreed that the light wasn’t enough to venture further into the jungle. Fear is the genesis of all misfortune!


We soon found shelter, it was really just a patch of rock with no grass. We were surrounded with dense patches of grass and trees beyond that. We were staring at multi-fold dangers: Reptiles, Animals (including humans) and Ghosts! Well, it’s too easy to claim the absence of ghosts but you should have been there to realize the extreme pressure we were in. Bapu, as he usually does, gave up early and decided that it’s time to take a nap and his claim to fame was that there is no reason to fear.

11.30 PM

The year had only half an hour left in it and we decided to make the most of it. The discussions and deliberations revolved around the performance of the cricket team in South Africa, nuances of planetary motions and the basics of the existence of universe and predictions on its growth strategy. Bapu also expressed his liking towards the kind of work that NGO’s do and how he is disillusioned with the corporate world. The discussions ranged from mild debate to hot dialogue. Suddenly, Mathe erupted from his silence and declared that his company was not giving enough raises and how the problem is the failure to generate revenues. In effect, everything and anything was being discussed.

Cold winds began to take over the pleasant weather and the temperature started dropping steeply. We had a few hours before the moon went down to result in pitch darkness. Nelly Furtado was singing passionately from a mobile phone.


The new year soon arrived. The greetings were limited to mild handshakes and everybody was soon back to the business of keep themselves warm. Mathe brought twelve candles (why twelve mathe?) and soon burnt the first. Shashi warned against warming up the area which might attract reptiles. So intelligent of him!

And very soon after that Shashi stood up and used the torch to check the sorroudings for any slight movement. We were caught in the middle of no where and had no where to go if someone attached. So all sorts of care was called for. Bapu was indifferent to all this and soon started snoring. (He later claimed that he never slept at all and all he did was taken a small nap!).


2 AM

The rock we were sitting on was unbearably cold and I couldn’t take it anymore. I stood up along with Shashi and started looking at the moon which was moving slowly but steadily. Our prediction was that we had an hour or so before the moonlight vanished. We started using the torches alternately. Mathe was part of the unanimous (minus bapu) cry that no one should sleep. He was fast asleep.


3.30 AM

Everybody was almost frozen. I had given up all hope of any more warmth. The candles had given up against the fierce cold winds. I realized how lucky I was that I have a solid roof to sleep under, everyday. The moon was completely set and one couldn’t see an inch ahead of oneself. I just wrapped the blanket around me and decided to close my eyes for the first time in the day.


5 AM

Bapu and Mathe were awake. Shashi almost fell to sleep but soon got back to his consistent position of standing upright. It was almost as if he was defending the native brown Indians against the onslaught of some French army. I was in semi-sleep mode and wasn’t really thinking about the cold and the darkness. It was almost as if my mind was frozen and I was unable to perform any neural processes beyond basic breathing.

Soon, Sun came up from behind the mountain head. It felt almost like we were seeing a dear friend. I never really wanted sun to shine so badly.


6 AM

Me and Mathe decided to discover where we went wrong the other night. Shashi kept on talking about some electric towers he walked by when he last trekked to this spot. We also saw some torchlights along a lane of poles early in the morning.

So, we took the plunge into the rocks and started hiking towards the poles. We had to cross dry waterfalls, millions of broken branches, zillions of hard stones and soon reached a spot which can logically called a point where successful hike to the cave above us can begun. But, reality soon sank into us. We were short of water and our bodies were aching because of the cold wave. Even if we climb onto the path, it might be very difficult for us to gather stamina to come back downhill.


Sadly but surely, we decided to put an end to an upward trek. But, we had to finish what we had started and had to get down the hill. It’s tricky when you climb down. You can move at your own pace when you climb but when gravity takes over when you decide to come down. One of those pranks of our mother planet. I toppled twice, Mathe once and I don’t know about the rest as they were too far ahead.


8 AM

We almost reached the base but not yet. The path, however, was much friendly now. All the pleasures we had dreamt of the earlier day came back to us. Every simple thing like the sweet flower and smooth stream of water looked divine. The dry grass looked absolutely gorgeous. I closed my eyes and drank the moment to its fullest.



9 AM

We were back on to the main road and were ready to walk to the nearest bus stop. But, surprises were not to end so soon. A govt bus came from nowhere and stopped next to us. The F1 driver was back but we were in no mood to enjoy his stints. We soon feel asleep.

1 PM

When I next opened my eyes, I was lying in my apartment! It felt like heaven and I felt like really living after a long time!

India Incredible

The term is overburdened with all the hype created around the shining of India. Much of it is a myth and much of it is a reality too! If you move any young urban india, he will give you a dozen reasons of why he is optimistic. But you will also get more than a dozen reasons to be pessimistic if the young fellow happens to live in rural india.

Neverthless, the tremendously energetic young brigade and feverishly aspiring entrepreneurs hold the indian flag high.

The blog below is a result of discussion between three indo-american entrepreneurs with offices both in sanfransisco and mumbai. Their discussion confirms many of my apprehensions and also rejuvenates hope of a brighter india.

Read on...

http://blog.octanetech.com/?p=4

I particularly liked the comment when the author says that you need to be brave to look at India as a primary market instead as a hub of raw technical talent.

iTalk

What a beauty!

Why the f*** is it 42?

Walking down the memory lane....


'The Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything' by Douglas Adams.

Excerpts:

First-

"...I am at a rough estimate, thirty billion times more intelligent than you. Let me give you an example. Think of a number, any number." [said Marvin]
"Er, five" said the mattress.
"Wrong," said Marvin. "You see?"


Next-

"Forty-two!" yelled Loonquawl. "Is that all you've got to show for seven and a half million years' work?"
"I checked it very thoroughly," said the computer, "and that quite definitely is the answer. I think the problem, to be quite honest with you, is that you've never actually known what the question is."


Last-

"Six by nine. Forty-two."
"That's it. That's all there is."


p.s: For novices, the number was calculated to base 13!

How many roads must a man walk down?

42

bookcrossing

bookcrossing
n. the practice of leaving a book in a public place to be picked up and read by others, who then do likewise.


http://www.bookcrossing.com

why?
good karma!

November Rain

Caution: The below text involves some preaching and please avoid it if you can. Much of it involves exaggeration of facts and sways on the borders of fiction. It was written under no influence of alcohol. For the record, I turned into a teetotaller lately. I totally drink tea now.

(Here it goes..)

It rained again!

If you are a young adult and indian, the one animal you definitely know a lot about is CAT. And if you are not, get out of here. If you are faint hearted, it will definitely terrorize you. It will make you feel things which you probably never will when faced with any other kind of exam. It is a real test of character where all the basic human traits of fear, greed, love (albeit self-love), courage, moral conviction, intution are tested and tasted. And people usually tend to deny the obvious effects inflicted upon them by the exam. Firstly, the evil force of the exam makes you feel cold-blooded. Nothing effects you anymore. You stop feeling things. Its bound to happen when you stare at the truth that only <0.5% of you and your fellow victims can get through into the sacred gates. And the losers stand at a staggering number of close to 1/5th of a million! Neverthless, thousands of innocent young men and women march into the gallows on some sunday every november. All of them have something in common. The ambition to make it big(ger). No, not in their own eyes but in the eyes of their friends/parents/society whatever. I hardly know a person who gave CAT because he felt the genuine need for management education (what do they really teach?). Its normal to believe that MBA will lead to a happy ever-after life when you look at the high pay packets offered to the grads. And its also perfectly normal to not know what to do in life right after college or even after some years into it. Life is a big level playing field and everybody has enough pie to eat from and to contribute. Frankly, does money even matter after a level? It may to many people and many of them would probably be thinking that i have lost it. But, i think it will help one immensely if one questions and tries to find out one's real purpose beyond money.


And by all means, there is such a terrible gap between demand and supply of quality higher education in India. Will the real indian government ever stand up?

And the man who gets into the hallowed portals is not granted sainthood either. He is turned into a monster as one is bound to be when trained by one. The life as they say, changes forever. You can touch but you can't feel.


P.S: A Boy who read all this asks his Mother, "Will it rain again next year?"


Disclaimer: I have gone through the hammer thrice now. And ironically, everytime i have been through it, i have come out a better person! I believe it is all that counts in the end.

Good Afternoon!

I often wonder what's the best part of the mother nature that i really enjoy. Is it the early morning sun? the dew on the grass after the hard rounds of jogging? Or, is it the sunset and the sight of birds going back to their nests? Can it be the sound of ocean waves? Ahh...the very image brings such peace!

I often venture into the wild to catch glimpses of fresh but rare creatures. Is it the best part of nature? Or, the sight of hundred thousand people cheering when sachin hits a four?..well, i consider it an equally bright piece of nature. What is nature after all if not for the people who bring some method to appreciate its madness? Of all the sights i have seen in my life, i think the sweat on the face of a man toiling hard in a workshop ranks amongst the top!

While at college, i often ate dosas at 4 in the early morning. The to and fro walks to the small eatery amongst the green landscapes of the university will be imprinted in my mind forever. The whole world looked such a sane place back then! How often do you feel things even when you can't see them?

While i was at it, during this sequence of morbid thoughts, i was lazing away on my bed after i read a book called 'Eragon', a story about a boy and a dragon! It was quite in the afternoon and life stood still. Then, i realised that this very moment is the best gift that mother nature has ever endowed me with. NO, it's not the afternoon am talking about. It's the moment called 'now'. If the mind can be as still as during a quite afternoon, free of clutter and the usual noise, every moment can bring you peace!

Life is beautiful. I can do nothing but accept!

Happy Diwali!

Distant Dream

Bathed in the moonlight
I walk in to the town
I feel a chill in the air
And there's not a soul around

The sky is crimson red
And all the lights are out
Sadness shrouds the night
And I hear the silence shout

Far in the distance I can see
A lonely light calling out to me
I walk inside
And see her standing behind
The counter smiling back at me.

- Lyrics of the song 'prelude' of the album 'distant dream'

Amazing lyrics, Amazing tunes and its all indian!

Have a great time at http://www.distantdream.com/music/

And this is why!

A question used to regularly poke my head when i used to study history as a kid at school. The textbooks always taught about foreginers invading India and indians mostly submissing with the exceptions of a few special men like shivaji. The thing that bothered me was the perceived weakness. Weren't india kings not as ambitious as their counterparts in other nations? What was lacking in the indian school of thought? This was a question that stayed with me. Strange but true.

Fortunately, i read this paragraph by rabindranath tagore, today.
Quoting him,

"According to the true Indian view, our consciousness of the world, merely as the sum total of things that exist, and as governed by laws, is imperfect. But it is perfect when our consciousness realizes all things as spiritually one with it, and therefore capable of giving us joy. For us the highest purpose of this world is not merely
living in it, knowing it and making use of it, but realizing our ownselves in it through expansion of sympathy; not alienating ourselves from it and dominating it, but comprehending and uniting it with ourselves in pefect union."

May be indian kings knew what tagore meant even before he said this!

This is not relevant here but he also said this, 'all men have poetry in their hearts and it is necessary for them, as much as possible, to express their feelings'.

Tagore, you rock dude!

Conversation!

Don't you love to dip the biscuit in your cup of tea and then have it ?? I love doing it, and couldnt resist doing so at the cafeteria today morning, finally ended up drawing "not-so-nice" stares at my direction !!

What's the big deal anyway ... I love soggy biscuits, so sue me !! thus, to spice up the morning, I did another "blasphemous" act ... pour the tea in the saucer and then sip it making a slurping noise ... I loved the way the faces wrinkled across the table !!

I laughed aloud and so did the others ... the talk was complete!


Author: Anonymous

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Saturday at office!

I hate working on Saturdays. But, this particular saturday seems a lot friendly.I logged in to work at 1.00 PM and had lunch until 2!! Then logged into my PC, checked e-mail and headed back to lounge. I read all kinds of crap in the newspapers. I even read an article in a magazine about the best way to cook some chicken dish. You will surely come to the conclusion that i am really jobless if i let the secret out that am a vegeterian. So, i won't!

After the newspapers was the turn of the coffee machine and the chocolate bites. I suddenly realise that i do enjoy anything that's free of cost. My unusually large appetitie comes to the fore and takes charge. After consuming the fruits of globalization for about thirty minutes i turn back to my desk. I look around and see that people are typing hard into their keyboards. Most of them i believe must be writing to their sweethearts or their distant uncles who might have lost their hats on their way to a winter trek. Or worse, they might be working. But, i do really hope that the rest of my team is working.

Did i tell you that i have a deliverable later in the day?
So much for a job outsourced!

And do try this for fun. Open "google.com". Type in "failure" and click on "I am feeling lucky". No, the results didn't surprise me.

Aristotle is happy

Aristotle's four sources of happiness:

hedone (sensuous pleasure)
propraitari (acquiring assets)
ethikos (moral virtue)
dialogike (logical investigation)

Time just flys by!

Minutes turn into missiles
Hours turn into seconds
Days turn into pieces of paper
Years turn into yesterdays
Decades turn into a folder of old mails
Life turns into a junkyard

Pure

A fresh rose
First rain
Blue sky
Tea
Night!

Silence
Sunrise on the mountains
Math
A child's bliss
Empty highways!

Time
This Moment
Lake
Long drive
Song!


Try did many others

None came close
To

Her smile :)

Somehow

Everything else
disappears!

Mathematics of life

a*childhood+b*school+c*college+d*university+e*MNC+f*career+g*marriage
+h*children == death-bed

memories of a >>> memories of b,c,d,e,f,g,h => a life unspent!
memories of b >>> memories of a,c,d,e,f,g,h => mama's boy!
memories of c >>> memories of a,b,d,e,f,g,h => a geek!
memories of d >>> memories of a,b,c,e,f,g,h => an iitian or a cassanova!
memories of e >>> memories of a,b,c,d,f,g,h => a fool!
memories of f >>> memories of a,b,c,d,e,g,h => an entreprenuer (social or anti-social)!
memories of g >>> memories of a,b,c,d,e,f,h => truly in love or truly in hate!
memories of h >>> memories of a,b,c,d,e,f,g => blessed!

What memories will you have on the death bed?