Mirror, mirror on the wall / Who in the land is fairest of all...

A healthy social life is found only, when in the mirror of each soul the whole community finds its reflection, and when in the whole community the virtue of each one is living.
- Rudolf Steiner

I admit, I didn't know who Rudolf Steiner  was.. And no, I did not come across this quote by chance.. I actually hunted for this.. Why you ask? Because I had to pen down my gratitude to someone for reviving my love for reading newspapers again...

It's been a long time since I stopped my habit of reading the newspaper (in the morning or anytime during the day or even the week)... And it didn't have to do completely with just the fact that I was staying away from home and that we didn't buy papers where ever I stayed... It was more than that.. I was disinterested in knowing the biased opinions of "leading" newspapers.. And it started to seem that all news were "sensational".. frankly, it was sometimes simply hard to digest.. waking up everyday to read about theft, rape, murder, large-scale accusations, natural calamities killing hundreds, corruption in lakhs (and evidently lakhs of crores too - which did make me wonder about the number system and how many zeroes that actually meant and the nagging doubt that if a person could actually swindle lakhs of crores, how come we still have a National debt? I mean, where does all this money come from? Or go, for that matter!). In short, the day had already started with a messed up mind.. And you start looking at the world as the cruel monster.. trying to kill you.. that it might pounce on you any moment... The constant fear that you will end up as the butt of these very things.. or worse, you would be one of them...

But, off late, I have regained my urge to wake up every morning and "know" the news.. No, I am not trying to increase my general knowledge for the IAS or some other exam/ quiz.. I really do "want" to read the news..
And all that changed thanks to Bangalore Mirror (BM)

I know what you are thinking... (especially if you have read BM).. You want to know whether I am actually serious.. or whether reading too much BM has affected my brain thus impairing my judgment.. Yes and No.. Yes I am serious.. And No, this is no ill effect...

Let me explain why... Ever since I started reading BM, I have realized this subtle difference that it has over other newspapers (some "leading" ones included).. this subtle superiority, if I might go so far as to say... And it is because of this... Every morning I wake up to headlines like ‘For God’s sake, I’m not Upendra. this is not his number’, No single malt, no parking, Upendra, Puneeth owe traffic dept Rs 400 & Rs 200, Elderly man reunites with kin, thanks to kindness of strangers etc. etc. etc. It doesn't matter what the headlines is... it always seems trivial...

And I think to myself, is that the worst that has happened? And suddenly, the world seems much safer... you don't worry as much and the day begins on a good note (most of the times humorous).. you are more relaxed and you can take in the rest of the news more calmly... and that's what sets BM apart.. that it manages to deliver the news.. but in a less alarming way... like the watchman in 3 Idiot who keeps shouting "All izz well".. and yes, all does seem well...

And just for that (and since no one else will do it) I hereby present the best newspaper award to Bangalore Mirror (claps and whistles please!!!)

And BM - Thank you for making me read the news again...

For all those who still think BM is useless, you will soon see the light of things... till then, here is a funny quote so that you don't return empty handed from here:

I busted a mirror and got seven years bad luck, but my lawyer thinks he can get me five.
- Steven Wright

Placement Story – Part 1

Warning: Huge Post! Impatient readers, please refrain from continuing further!

Well, I warned you... Here I go...

The first company to come in was C (now K, after C bought K... and yes, the name change from the parent company to the child company for greater visibility is beyond my comprehension too!). Anyways, the on-campus placement came in at the end of my 6th semester which was unheard of in my region. And boy, were we happy! The prospect of getting ourselves placed in a MNC and that too in the 6th sem itself was very lucrative and everyone had their eyes on this.

The unfortunate part is that only 4 - 5 (out of abt 49) from my class were eligible for it. Totally 130 ppl approx. eligible from the whole college. The D day came and we were all nervous. With total lack of preparation on my part (except for wearing a tie), I reached college by 9. The first round was Apti and I just wrote whatever I could. When we came out, all of us were made to sit in a room and asked to write a one pager on the best thing that we liked about the college. I wrote some stuff up and we had to go the next round of GD. 10 ppl in each group and I was part of the first group in, for GD. The HR team gave us a warm introduction and congratulated us for making it to the next round and asked if there were any questions. Immediately one of the guys present in my group asked why they choose non-IT dept students into an IT company. The HR responded that they have other categories such as testing where non-IT ppl are used. And then one of the HR said “That’s actually a good question. That’s the topic for your GD. Should non-IT resources be allowed into IT companies or not”.

Here, I need to make a mention of the group present. My luck showed itself again by making sure that all of them present were one of the most outgoing students in the college (guys & girls who participate in various contests and symposiums and host competitions etc. in short, ppl who could talk well). With a time limit of 8 mins and 10 different ppl willing, and more importantly, completely capable to talk, I thought my chances were already sleek.

Anyways, when the HR said start, at least 4 of us (including me & the guy who had posed the question and unwittingly gave them a topic) tried to start. We immediately stopped with a nervous smile and asked the guy who had posed the question to start (after all, it was his topic!). Well, that turned out to be a blunder… he started talking two points and whenever I tried to take it up, someone else started and I just couldn’t cut in.

Everyone was trying to be neutral and gave two points each and that’s when one girl present strongly suggested that non-IT ppl shouldn’t be allowed on the grounds that it affected the placement opportunity of pure IT ppl to get jobs. I took that chance and said some two points about how non-IT ppl have dual advantage of taking up a job in both IT and non-IT and that job placement should be on merit irrespective of specialization. 3 of us noted that it was time to complete and tried to conclude things with the result that one girl gave an ending. And so ended the GD. The HR said “Other than the name I call, others move on. And the name is *****”. We all stood still, not understanding whether all of us except that one girl are disqualified or whether it was the opposite. Looking at our confused faces, the HR repeated “The girl didn’t get through. All others get ready for Tech and HR rounds”. With a collective heave of self evident sigh of relief (which was so much that we didn’t even try to console the girl), we hurriedly dispersed for lunch. By the time I went to my class I got back my tongue and started to tell my eager friends about the progress of things and then went off to my dept. staff room to recite what happened.

There I found at least 5 ppl with books in hand asking something or the other to the staff and not letting them eat their lunch in peace. I saw my fav maam sitting there and went to her. She asked “So Vivek, I guess you went to the next round too. So what questions do you want to ask?” That’s when I realized that everyone was actually bugging them for last minute “General Knowledge” questions pertaining to computers. For ex. “What are the differences between C and Java” “What are the different types of Sorting Algorithms” etc. And I was the only not asking anything. Not that I knew them all. I just didn’t know what to ask. So just gossiped with the staff and went back to the placement hall getting ready for the Technical round.

The short listed candidates were made to sit outside our seminar hall... And there too almost everyone was busy with books in their hands... Once again I had to sit idly talking to staffs that chanced to pass by and the volunteers who were helping in the recruitment...Soon the tech round started and ppl started getting more and more impatient with some saying that we should brush up on sorting algorithms and Fibonacci series... Eventually my turn came up and when I went in I was greeted by a nice middle aged man... he asked me to sit down.. asked my name.. father's name and asked the first question.. "How would you find the second largest number from a set of numbers".. I was expected to give only the pseudo code which I felt was quite easy.. just told him that I would first get the input on the number of numbers and use two for loops to sort and store in an array and print the value in the second place in the array... and he just kept looking at me... I started wondering whether I had made a mistake or was plain primitive in my method.. but to  my surprise, he smiled and said that was exactly what he wanted... seems a girl had previously tried to use lots of ifs to compare and then get the second largest number and had used up the full sheet and still hadn't got the answer right... phew.. what a relief.. and right when I started to feel comfortable, he asked the next question - what are the types of sort that I knew.. damn.. i shud have listened to ppl outside and just brushed up on these... I recollected 2 -3 from deep within my mind, all the while silently praying he doesn't ask me to explain how the sort works... luckily he didn't... and then.. somehow perceiving that I was squirming in my seat, he asked me to explain Fibonacci series... I told him how it works and he said I could go... for a sec, I was disappointed... I mean, that's all? oh well... like they say, never look a gift horse in the mouth... left the room and waited in an empty class to know the results... I was thru to the next round - HR interview...


Well, to complete the tech round, it took 2 more hours.. all this while I was just sitting in the class room looking out for ppl I knew and in the process made a few frnds too... by then the Assistant TPO saw me, called me out angrily and asked what I was doing in the class.. he very sternly told me that I could get disqualified for talking to ppl who have completed the tech round.. and I told him that I cleared the tech round... the change of expression on his face was really worth the scolding... I realized then that I was not the only one who had under-estimated myself...

Soon it was time for the HR interview.. I was one of the first persons to go in.. And I was shit scared.. I didnt know what they would ask.. what I was supposed say.. what was the "right" thing to say... And the interview started.. "what's your name" "what's your father's name" "what is your father"... normal questions.. until I told him that my dad used to work in Corporation Bank... and the next question was a stunner.. "does your father know Mr.X" well, there was no way I would know who all my dad knew... and I said that... he said that Mr.x worked in Mumbai too... and I said, i still wouldn't know.. and then the with a grave face he asked "are you okay if we post you in Bangalore".. i immediately said yes (which for some reason surprised him) "but are you okay to stay away from your family?" and I said "but I am already staying away from family. so it doesnt matter" "But you wont be able to meet them often" "i dont meet them often now either.. besides, bangalore is near, i can always come and meet once a month"... "so you r flexible wid d location?" "yes i am.. any place".. some more random questions and again "u r sure u r comfortable wid postings in chennai or bangalore?" after another reassuring yes, the round was over.. i didn't know what to think... just came back to the class.. and waited for more ppl to finish the round...

At around 8 PM, the results were announced and I was one of the ppl selected.. i was just jumping wid joy... 26 ppl selected... and I was one of them.. one of the first to get placed in 6th sem... my joy knew no bounds... we all said all the best to each other.. and started walking towards the college gate.. i called my mom to tell the good news.. "Mom, I got into C!" "thats nice.. congrats.. did u hav ur dinner?" "Mom, I said, I got placed! in C!!!" "yes, i heard u.. its quite late, eat something.. dont sleep on an empty stomach" that was my typical mom reaction.. thats one thing abt her which I think I got... the ability to not go to extremes.. whether it be happiness or sadness... that kind of "level-headedness" is something that i always strive to get.. dad said congrats too.. and thats abt it.. i guess the only person who was very excited was my bro... he was happy that I got it.. and asked me to ask for posting in Bangalore so that we could stay together...

about that time, a frnd and a professor from hostel came out.. saw me talk excitedly on the phone... got the news, congratulated me and forced me along for a stupid Ajith movie.. but hey, i was too happy to let that get me down...


No matter what ppl say, no matter if i didn't join C and no matter how many other placements i got after that, C would always be close to my heart.. the first time i got placed.. the feeling was just exhilarating.. a profound joy... an immense pride... a boost of confidence... thanks C.. and m sorry I didn't join u guys...


Note: This just took too long and m starting to lose interest.. so the other two stories may not come anytime soon... besides most of my frnds hav heard it twice, so I think I will give it a rest for now...

Paati - I will miss you always...

There is always something quite unsettling about a death in the family. And under normal conditions, I wouldn't really blog about it. But for some strange reason, I have this urge to pen down things... I really hope no one is offended by the post - especially my family... It's hard to explain why I am doing what I am doing... maybe a tribute to my last and most loved grandparent...

My grandma was almost 90 yrs of age. And she has been quite unwell for the last 2 months or so... And worse off for the last 2 weeks... My mom and her sister were there with granny trying to take care of her... trying not to get scared by her cries of pain... trying to maintain decorum... trying to maintain normality... ofcourse, things are never that easy... On Tuesday morning, my granny had her last sip of milk and by around 11am heaved her last breath... When my mom called me around 1pm, I instinctively knew something was amiss... I don't get calls from her number and that too never in the mornings... I heard her hello... And I knew... before she could say anything... yet she took the trouble to word it out... and I could feel her pain and loss in her voice... those few words in between her sobs... I wanted to be there to comfort her... to let her know I am there... so it's okay... She tried to dissuade me to come... saying it would be a strain to come 11 hours and then return quickly... I didn't oppose her... but I knew I had to go... I heard that my uncle from Hosur was leaving by a train that evening... I decided to join him... And then I remembered my brother... I tried reaching him but his phone was busy... called my dad... told him I am coming... he too said it wasn't really necessary... by then my brother called... he said he is going... I said I will come too... We decided instantly, I came back to my cubicle and booked forward and return tickets on Tatkal...

All this time, P was sitting beside me... He didn't utter a word... But I knew he understood... and I knew he was sorry for what happened... that's the best thing about him... he doesn't really have to say much (even though there are times I wish he would)... I had had a late breakfast and wasn't really hungry for lunch... but bro had asked me to have something and come... Work was going on and I asked P to continue work and that I would go for lunch and leave... A & C joined me... That's one thing about A... She does the most thoughtful of things at the least expected of times... the reason why I oversee the other times that she doesn't... And C... was just plain surprising... I didn't expect she would come along to cheer me up... Especially since both weren't really hungry and were just coming for my company... found cafeteria too crowded, got burger from burger-man... was forced to eat it by A who got juice and a choc... Met L on the way who also tried to cheer me up... told abt his good news... finished the lunch half halfheartedly... left and reached home... packed stuff and boarded train at Majestic by 7pm...


Had some food from the pantry... seemed like any normal train journey... except for the look in our eyes... met uncle and aunty at Hosur station... discussed on where to get down and whether to take a cab from Trichy or Tanjore... Called my dear old friend N and confirmed that we could get a cab at Trichy early in the morning... ended up deciding to get down at Tanjore.. got down at about 5am, got a cab and reached Thiruvarur by 6.40am... 


I could see a lot of ppl sitting at the entrance... entering the hall, we found the lifeless form of my granny on the floor on one side.. most of relatives sitting near the feet and the other side... all of them teary eyed... my mom was sitting there too... her eyes red and puffy... it was evident she had been crying a lot... I looked at grandma's body lying there... it was hard to imagine that just a few months back, this shrunk, almost hollow form was the very lively granny who used to pamper us with food and tell us stories... I just went and sat next to my mom... my bro came and tried to console her... she started crying and telling how it all happened... I was just sitting there... mind numb... half listening, half lost... Everything felt surreal... And tears just started to well up my eyes... Of all my grandparents, granny was someone I was more attached to.. but I never imagined I would cry... I do consider myself emotional but death of someone close was never really something that I had gone thru before... Not after I came to an age where I would actually understand these things... Sure there was the death of a friend's father for whom I had donated blood... and even the death of a dear friend.. I felt remorse... but still, I knew very less of both of them to actually feel a loss...


I just cried silently then... and put my head on my mom's lap... and I just kept crying... heard other relatives, friends and neighbors coming in... ppl trying to be normal in their conversations.. an aunt introducing her new daughter-in-law... another person asking where my other aunt is currently living.. cousins of mom meeting after a very long time... somehow none of that registered.. the topics seemed pointless in that situation.. as if someone could actually have a normal conversation with a corpse at your feet... pointless conversations filled with meaningless words and hollow sentences amidst the presence of a lifeless body - aged and withered...


And then ppl started talking abt my granny.. how she would never say no to anyone.. how she always served everyone selflessly - from grandpa who in his last decade lost his leg to Diabetes and was bed ridden to even complete strangers who would pass by the house asking for something to eat... her virtues were being lauded.. but one thing that came up quite often was how she never let anyone go empty stomach.. be it some guest who came in the middle of the night. some tired worker passing by, a starved beggar or just us kids who had come for vacation.. Granny was always there trying to cook up something for us.. all of us...


I still remember the times when I would come to Granny's place and the first thing she would ask is what I wanted to eat.. no, I don't just mean lunch or dinner.. I mean sweets, snacks etc... jhangari.. somasi... paal goa... mixture... thenkozhal.. murukku... seedai... and what not... and for no special occasion..  just coz I had come... never really understood how much I would miss those.. being treated special... given special food... taking extra care that I don't lift a finger.. all this at her age...


That was the thing with granny... even when she was sick.. or having a fever or was ill enough that someone had to cook for her... when any of her grandchildren came (especially the little ones) you should see the energy with which she gets up, cooks for them and does the household chores... a transformation in a matter of secs... you would actually wonder whether she was faking illness... but thats how she was.. and she would put herself through all that just to see the satisfied looks on our faces when we we would stuff ourselves greedily... I really wonder how many times we actually appreciated her.. or even let her know how good the snacks were... but she continued to do it... every single time.. as if it was her duty...


To come to think of it, she really did think of feeding ppl as her duty.. I deliberately mentioned ppl coz it was not just family.. she would argue with coconut vendors to decrease the price by a rupee.. and later listen to his family story and pay him more money and give him food.. she would say that was to help that poor man.. that was something that happened quite often... haggling over the price from some street hawker and then giving him separately more money than asked, out of pity... no matter what others told her.. she wouldn't change that habit of hers.. we would point out that she could just buy things at the price that he asks... and she would say that the thing was not worth that much and so she had to haggle...


But it was this soft heartedness along with her sheer will power and steel nerves that I always admired in her... I still remember a story told by my mom about the time granny came to Bhubaneshwar where my parents were staying when I was still too little.. neither of my parents knew the language well and were getting by with broken hindi.. vegetable shopping was something that was always a complex task... but it seems my granny just went to the market alone, pointed at vegetables and paid what she felt was the right amount and just walked back home.. Ofcourse, mom keeps saying that she got away coz of her age.. but gotta hand it to her for her courage... all this in a city that she earlier never knew existed and without knowing anything about the place or language...


By around 10.30am, the shaastrigal came to perform the final rites... mantras were read... holy water was poured and it was time to take the corpse for cremation... by this time, the "bed" on which granny was to be carried was prepared... 4 ppl placed her on it... and four more lifted... dad had already told that I may have to pitch in in between... the cremation ground was around 2-3 kms from the home... and we took turns carrying... when we reached the cremation ground, some more mantras... a few more rites.. and then the undertaker was asked to cover the body with raatis (dried cow dung cakes).


They just went on with their work.. passively doing what they have always been doing... without the slightest hint of pain or a sense of foreboding... thats when I realized... it was grandma to me.. to them, it was just a bag of bones... something part of their work... nothing that they could connect to emotionally... and then I saw something really gruesome... they had to make sure the limbs do not outstretch while burning... so they just broke the arms and wrists backward and tucked them under the body... I almost shouted then.... half fearing that she would actually cry out in pain... but seeing the others just disregarding this activity, I managed to hold back my cry.. saw them cover the face.. and my uncle placed the burning log into the heap of dried cow dung cakes... and with it burned the body of my grandma... the person who was once warm hearted, eagerly helpful, strict in making sure we followed customs, always supporting our demands in front of parents, always making sure she made our favorites and always keeping herself busy like a bee even when she was sick... a very active person transformed into a lifeless form and finally into just ashes...


Ashes to ashes.. Dust to dust... its so simple to say that... but what remains is not just ashes and dust.. there is the hollowness within us... like a missing piece from a jigsaw puzzle... the sea of memories... the ocean of words left unsaid... deeds left undone... a lot of ifs and if onlys... and there is a finality.... the realization that nothing can be done.. nothing can be changed... and that life must move on for the rest of us...


Life - how that word suddenly means so much... till yest, life was the boring job, the tight schedules, the untimely food, the long travels, the missed events, the lost friends... life was something that was going on.. whether u liked it or not... but now... there was another aspect to it... you live ur life the way u want to and die... but has it made a difference? to you, maybe.. but then, after you are dead, it doesn't really matter how rich you were or how popular... its not just about ur life... its about how many lives you touch in your lifetime... that made me wonder.. if I die tomorrow, how many ppl would mourn? No, I don't mean show up for the cremation.. I mean, how many would actually miss me? how many would feel the loss? how many would thank God that at some point in time, I was part of their lives? that I made a difference and I would be remembered for that?


I really don't have an answer for that... but I understand that life is short - shorter than you expect and so u need to do all the things that you want to... but u also need to do things for others.. make their lives simpler, better or easier... in any small way possible.. coz in the end, u ll remember what u did wid ur life... but others would remember what u did wid theirs.. and somewhere, that is more important... 

The day the world revolved around me :) :) :)

The Mark of the awesome birthday!

Warning: Humongous Post! But considering how my Birthday was, I am at liberty to be overtly descriptive :)

It was Thursday, 5th of August 2010... When I was at the top of the world... The day the song "Aaj main uppar, aasmaan neeche... Aaj main aage, zamaana hai peeche.." fitted my situation perfectly! A celebrity for a day... A dream come true.. The day I realized I am surrounded by wonderful people... And how lucky I am to have them... I am not sure how many of their lives I have touched (for good or bad), but all of them reached for my hands to wish me... and touched my heart...

As usual (usual coz I am a man of many words :P), the story begins two days before - on Tuesday... P & A, who thought shopping for me was more important than shopping wid me for my B'day, were desperately trying to shake me off to get me gifts... made up stories that were just too obvious and in the end, ended up for tea wid me coz of heavy rain... After tea, it was off to Pantaloons @ Cosmos for my birthday dress.. With sale upto 50% off, it was hard to resist... even for me...

First came John Miller... 2 pe ek free... P and I thought we would get a shirt and trouser for me and a shirt for him as I am quite minimalistic when it comes to shopping... P found a shirt for himself and I found a trouser for myself.. Just what I wanted... But search as we might, we could not get a shirt that suits me... In the end, after endless trials and difference of choices between P and A, we ended up buying another trouser for me... Now I had 2 trousers and no shirts.. That's when we noticed the Urbana Offer - Ek pe Ek free... Perfect offer at the right time... Immediately do shirts pe nazar padi.. P ko do aur nazar mein aaya... So, just had to select 2 out of the four... A slightly subsided A ne entry maara and chose 2 of the best out of them... One trial and we knew they were perfect!

3 Shirts & 2 trousers - Rs.3797... Not bad at all... Tab A ki nazar friendship bands pe padi aur usne 4 ka do set le liya...

Trying to keep the story short (which I don't really think s possible!), so I ll jump to Wednesday... P & I bought formal shoes from Bata, wid his at thrice the price of mine... One of the many advantages of knowing exactly what you want and how it will look on you... Oh well, with more training, I hope to reach P's level soon :P

P & A went shopping for gifts in the evening.. this time without trying to hide it :P. A "surprise" party was organized at S&R's place... While having snacks, S let loose that N was coming too (I was surprised then & there so couldn't act surprised when I actually met her) Party was supposed to start at 11.30... I found out, to my extreme pleasure, that my roomie Su would also be coming... But since he didn't know the way, I told him I knew a route that would take only 10 mins and decided to pick him at 11 (which turned out to be a big mistake!!!) By 10PM, I got a call from my lovely sis An who started to sing Happy Birthday but the call got cut.. Took quite an effort to convince her that it was accidental and definitely not my fault... After a lot of coaxing, cajoling and a bit of blackmail, she finally agreed to sing it again.. And what a wish it was... Melodious and from the heart... the b'day was starting to look good, even before it started...

Left office by 11, picked Su up and left on his bike with me being the Navigator... Ppl who know how good I am wid routes would question Su's judgment to trust my sense of direction... But being such a good friend, he trusted me blindly... We roamed in & out of Old Madras Road to CV Raman Nagar twice before we could set our compass correct and reach S&R's place.. By then it was 12 already and the crowd was getting impatient... And while we were still on the way, I got a msg from C, a call from Sa, a call from Ni and surprises of surprises, a call from Pr!!! That's a BBBBIIIIGGGG surprise coz she s bad wid dates... Her memory s so bad that it's actually a wonder that she s even able to remember her own b'day.. and this ability is beaten by only one other person - Vi... which is why, her call was a pleasant surprise...

All in all, I was already high when I reached S's place for the "Surprise" party... and what a surprise it was! Lights out and guided into the spare bedroom with P covering my eyes... Lights on... Eyes open... S, R, A, P, M, Suj, T, D, Mu, Su & N! Phew! quite a crowd! And quite a lot of balloons and gifts... what a superb sight!

So Many Ppl, so many gifts...

Time for cake cutting - Kiwi cake, magic candles, bouquet and 11 ppl... the perfect combo... Cake was cut and by the time I finished a round of giving everyone a bite, my face was smeared with icing and cake... over my eyes, ears and mouth! Every good turn deserves another so started off by smearing some frosting on R and soon all our faces were covered so fully with cream that without our dresses (& our relative sizes) no one could identify who was who... the perfect candidates for GoldSafe - Pehchaan kaun????

Photo shoot - done... washing up - done... what's left? of course... it was time for the best part - gift opening ceremony! Itne saare gifts kisi ko nahi mila hoga.. Kya gifts hain! None of them non-essential... none of them just-for-the-sake-of-gifting... A set of much needed RBK socks, a pair of awesome ID Shoes and a heartfelt card from my sweetheart A, a super shirt and touching card from my sweet sis N, a fitting sexy black jacket and a card with personal msgs from the whole group! I am tired just telling about it! Just when I thought I should pinch myself to believe that I really got so many gifts, P got this wonderful idea (wonderful to the group, not to me) of B'day Bums! A strong kick and a hard hit from everyone along with an extra kick from M everytime someone tried to be mellow... 10 mins later, we all sat down to talk... my bums were still sore and I was sitting at an odd angle for sometime... But I was just glad I wasn't hit where it "hurts" ;)

All The gifts for me :)

I am wearing everything new :)

Till that time, my darling R and my big bro S started preparing dishes for dinner... 30 mins later, a tired R and others set the papers for dinner... Dinner ended with small swigs of Single Malt by P & Mu and Pan for everybody... Soon it was time to leave and I left with Su assuring and reassuring him that I would show the proper route this time.. We did reach in 15 mins and after a bit of chatting, slept off...

Finally, the D-day - My birthday! Woke up to my Mom's call... Mom & Dad gave their blessings... I was still in my sleep... Got wished by Bro, Sil and friends & colleagues including a surprise call from a sick Ch, a call from my very good friend DJP, a call from a special friend SB and a msg from my best friend SS.

Wore my birthday dress, the new shoes and a pair of socks from the set that I had already bought... and how can I forget, my awesome new black jacket! Reached office by 11.30 and found my cubicle beautifully decorated with alternating blue and white balloons... A splendid sight - balloons on my desk, decoration papers strewn here and there, bouquet from the previous night, the card from the group...

Just when I thought things can't get any better, enter C - with 2 gifts in hand and a big smile... I started opening the gifts, with some help from impatient A and C... Waah.. Ek bag... ARE WAAH! Wildcraft ki bag?!?!? I was floored... And the next gift - A pen set... Two very good gifts from C.

Then got a call from Security "Sir, a courier has come". I could hear P in the background, who had just reached office, saying he would collect it... In comes P with a gift from my lovely sis An... By now, I was impatient with anticipation.. opened the box hurriedly and found a Phillips Shaver - Just what I always wanted... and a greeting card... it was a nice and funny card... until I saw the back of the card... and I was blown away... An had done something that only she could have done (as far as I know, no offense to others who can!) - hand crafted the whole back of the extra-wide card with my name and some wordings... The best card ever! And I am ready to fight whoever comes to challenge that!

I had reached cloud 99! And there was no way anyone could pull me down... Was being wished right, left and center by all my colleagues... by then, decided to go for lunch and went to Dominos - Me, P, A, C, H and He... After lunch, Me and P went to K.C.Das to get sweets and snacks for everyone! Nice sweet and mixture, thought a bit costlier than I had anticipated... Was pleasantly surprised by the ppl who came to wish me.. including a client who had to come to visit our office and two of our account side managers... and my fav crush too! simply awesome...

You must think that's about it.. what else can there be... I was thinking the same.. but boy, was I wrong! There was cake cutting planned in the Cafeteria... P and D were talking about getting a cake from Raagam or Iyengar's bakery the day before... both of which are considered radioactive and quite toxic... So when I was herded towards the cafeteria like a soon-to-be-sacrificed goat, I didn't expect the next set of events... Came out of lift and could see at the least 30 ppl standing there.. okay.. it definitely can't be that kind of cake.. too risky wid so many ppl... it had to be the "good" cake if so many were invited... but wait.. what's this? 2 cakes? it must be for Mu farewell.. combined cake cutting presumably... wait.. 3 cakes? okay.. Mu's birthday s coming up and he is not going to be in office till then... WAIT A GOD DAMN MINUTE!!! 4 cakes???? is that for M's bday too??? But he is here only... By that time I reached the table and what do I find???? 5 beautiful cakes.. all of different flavors and each one having one letter of my name V-I-V-E-K... I was so shocked, I could not say anything... 5 cakes for a single person! In office! With 30 ppl! D to the rescue - He joked how if they had tried to write my whole name, they would have had to spend their whole year's salary..

5 Awesome Cakes ! ! !

I admit - I almost cried! Never has such a thing been done for me! And never was it done in OFSS... Ohoo.. By God... No words whatsoever... with the whole crowd of 30 or so ppl singing happy birthday, I sliced through 5 cakes! Everyone got to taste a flavor that they wanted.. and some more cake on the face... phew.. the day was just getting better and better... what a day it was!

Wait, it isn't over yet... I know what you are thinking! Still more?!?!? Yes indeed! My Billi who had told me that she would take sweets from me only after she gets me something (which I thought she was just kidding) did actually get me something unexpected - Chocolates!!! And that too four of em - 1 Five Star Fruit & Nut (which is the default one I buy when I feel like buying a choc), 1 Temptations (Which is the choc I ask for whenever someone keeps choc as a bet), 1 Bournville (The choc I wanted but never really bought it coz I had to "earn" it) and finally, 1 Kinder Joy (The egg shaped choc wid choc on one side and a toy on the other side). I still don't understand how she unknowingly got all the right chocs! And wait... One Red flower (Not a rose, but something better!). The red flower is so good and bright that it still sits proudly on my cubicle in a wine glass of water...

It was evening already and A said she would leave soon and left as she was tired... P said he would leave too... And since I had not worked since morning, I thought I should at least complete some part of my pending work before I left... Was just doing that and P came back... WTF!?! With more gifts!! :O :O :O He got me 3 bright colored t-shirts (since I had only dull ones and that too very few coz of which I always ended up wearing a color that did not in any way match the color that A or P would ask me to wear on Fridays)... ruko! the list is pending... One Bulchee Belt and one Bulchee Wallet and another card!!! Now everything I wore was new! Was overjoyed by that!

Then decided to leave soon... Ended up going for tea@Raagam (which, by the way, is considered the best in the whole area, unlike their cakes!)... Was planning to go to my bro's place and drop M on the way.. But knowing P and M, I should have realized it would not be that simple.. They had to plan something... and it had to be booze... that's when Mu said he has never been to Purple Haze (A pub near office).. And since I didn't have any urgent thing to do and I had promised to drop M, I had to go along... P, M, Mu and L together had two towers of Beer in less than 45 mins!!! Then when we were stepping out, we noticed a group of drunk guys standing outside singing pro-punjabi slogans... I commented to M that these guys would get beating and get us beaten up too (This is based on a previous experience of getting beaten up for all the wrong reasons... but that story deserves a post of it's own :P)

All of my friends were in a senti mood and were hugging each other and reiterating how much we "loved" each other! Bang comes a Pulsar.. Two cops on it... Wonderful beating to the other group... in less than 3 secs all of us had dispersed and by the time I got the bike out of the parking, P had already reached his place! Damn, that guy was fast... I dropped M on the way and reached bro's place.

I was so excited that I couldn't sit down at all... or change... or freshen up... I immediately started telling him the whole story... By the end of it, while I was still jumping up and down excitedly, he told me how he and my dear sil had got me two shirts... Two Muscle fit shirts! As expected, they fit me quite wonderfully, but I didn't have the body to suit them yet... But hey, that's an inspiration now :)

Finally, still flying high, I tried to go to sleep and finally fell asleep... And that is how my Birthday ended... I challenge anyone else to beat the b'day I had!!! Actually I myself don't think that my future b'day celebrations would beat that!!!!

A very big thanks to all my dear friends who made it such an unforgettably wonderful occasion with specially big thanks to (alphabetically) A (I love the shoes and awesome idea for the 5 cakes), An (Best card ever for now and forever!!! and for the much needed shaver), C (Superb bag that has become a part of me now), P (for the belt, wallet, t-shirts and for all the background activities!), N (For the nice shirt and card), Billi (for the nice set of Chocs and the flower) and S, R, M, Suj, T, D, Mu & Su (in no particular order) for the sexy jacket & the wonderful wordings on the card. Thanks a ton guys... Love you lots and lots!!!

And I will sign off by saying only one thing about the whole thing:
YYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Placement Story – Part 0

One of the interesting experiences I have had is my placement in college. And my placement stories are some that I keep telling ppl and now I would like to recount it to a wider audience. Before I start, let me clarify that I am in no way trying to make fun of the esteemed institutions (including my college) or my much respected training placement officer. Any inherent humor is as is and has not been introduced for literary exaltation.

Now that I have covered my bases, I better start. I did my engineering in a well known college in the city (For the record, well known is not equivalent to the best!). The college was not a hotspot for placements... until the new training placement officer came in. Thanks to him, we had some good companies coming in. But what I really pitied was the state of the students there. Here I would like to thank the TPO for his true efforts in getting as many students placed as possible (considering most of them had multiple backlogs)

I got placed in three companies out of the three that I attended (If this was cricket, I could boast of 100% Strike Rate but then, I know how lucky I was to get these offers and how much I really didn’t have what it takes to get it, so I won’t blow my own trumpet). And there is only one other person in my college who accomplished the same feat (A nice guy even though he thinks he is superior to everyone else:P)

I will be putting the stories for each in 3 posts following this. Hope you have the patience to go through them all :P

Finally, Cricket!

Friday, 26th Feb... everyone is trying to get their cricket teams to practice and trying to find out who is playing against whom…

PRELUDE: iCe, the event organizing team in the company (now under the capable organizing skills of B, our very own DJ) came up with a brilliant event. It was but obvious that the only event that could ever bring out a big group and make iCe events hip, hop and happeneing was the master of all games – Cricket… thus came the iCL (keeping in line with our naming convention of starting with an "i") 10 players per team out of which only 8 can play – 8 overs match.. 2 mandatory female players in that 8 playing members and only a lady can substitute another lady… registration closed on Thursday and there were 16 teams… I was obviously in P’s team… and then the inevitable happened… the quest to win took over and S and P talked and merged the team to get one super team with all good players (obviously not including me)…

By Friday, those who got left out of this super team and some others who missed out on the registration on the whole were independently feeling a bit... a bit left out… then came the idea of getting these ppl into a team… a last minute team… including me, the ultimate cricketer, someone who is not a cricket fan, not a cricket buff, someone who knew nothing but the spelling of “Crikett” and that someone who had played less than 10 cricket matches in his whole life… yes I am indian but I refuse to eat cricket, sleep cricket and drink only coco cola…. (Coz I prefer Slice or Aavin/ Nandhini flavoured milk :P)

Anyways, the league matches were commencing on Saturday, to be played in the adjoining college ground (how convenient.. I wonder y no one came up with that idea one sooner!!) P and S’s team came before us.. they plaeyed well and won (they should! After all that grouping and the sort!!!!) even R who was in their team bowled well… by the time it came for our team’s turn to play, I remembered a vital thing… owing to my having played very few matches, I didn’t know bowling at all.. coz I hadn't bowled at all in that very few matches… fortunately, for some unknown reason, whenever I did bat, I used to bat well enough… a bit above average, if I say so myself.. anyways, enough of blowing my own trumpet… oh, I didn’t mention my team members did i?

Tuff-E-Nuff – S (A & C’s project team mate and our team captain), Another S (A & C’s another team mate), C (A's team mate and originally P's very good friend, now my friend too), A, H, Myself, JK and N (from R's project team). A & C being the ladies in the team.

H gave me some last minute bowling tips (how a ball looks like, what we are supposed to do with it, how it is held and how it should be thrown etc.) Then P said just swing your hand and throw it – simple.. and I tried twice and it did seem simple! Hand didn’t swing enough but that was okay… lucky for the girls that they could just throw the ball without swinging. Anyways, to be on the safer side. I “suggested” to the captain that I be used in the last over (I forgot to mention the “nail-in-the-coffin” rule.. all playing members must bowl an over!) the captain thought my “suggestion” was some strategy of mine and agreed (he didn’t realise that when I said I cant bowl, I meant I CANT BOWL!!!)…

We won the toss and as planned we decided to chase… before I cut to the chase, let me mention that we bowled well and I caught out someone. In 5 overs, we had given about 52 runs.. next 3 overs were from C, A and the gr8 me… C gave about 20 runs, A gave around 25. In my turn, the first ball went okay.. then in the next swing I sprained my shoulder… now comes the best part… one- I cant bowl, two-its sprained now and three- the umpire insists that I cant just throw the ball or be substituted.. so I ended up with wides and no balls.. the batsman understood that he might never get to hit the ball and took the trouble to go out of his way and hit the balls to fours and sixes… I tired convincing the umpire to get myself substituted… he said no and the charade continued… I gave 29 runs and their total reached to 128!

To compensate, I entered as opening batsman along with N… he was a good batsman and made me run for 2s and 3s and he hit a four or two.. and he got out… next came the other S, we ran a bit, he hit a bit and I hit a bit… then I hit a four… the next could-have-been-four-if-that-guy-was-not-standing-there shot was got caught. And I started to gloomily walk out of the crease… the fielder threw the ball and the bowler immediately hit the stumps… I was wondering why someone would try to out me when I was laready out. Turns out that the leg umpire had given a no ball and that the catch was invalid and that I was run out!!! Imagine that.. with total disappointment and back to pavillion… soon one after the other, the others including our dear captain who did score a few runs got out with everything coming to H and A..

A almost hit a four (the fielder stood too close and didn’t realise she would actually make contact with the ball).. that fielder ran after the ball and stopped it at the nick of time… (A special thanks to A for forgiving the fielder's instinct to run after the ball to stop it and deciding not to kill him after all!)... everyone were so engrossed in watching this situation play out (including H and A) that no one took runs… soon H also got out and it all came down to A and C… then it was just a matter of time before they got out too… probably on the last ball… we scored some 80 runs and lost…

But our team had set some nice records:
1. Only team in which a guy gave more runs while bowling than the girls in his team (that's me!)
2. Only team to give so many runs in an over (till then)
3. Only team which let the other team reach 128 (till then)
4. Only team in which the girls actually got to bat (till then)
5. Only chasing team which played all 8 overs (till then)
6. Only losing team to do hip-hip-hooray after match

But the saving-grace part of things:
1. I actually batted okay and could have led to victory with my batting if not for that run out (this is how we all are convincing ourselves)
2. The team we lost to, actually ended up as the runners up in finals, so we lost to the second best team in the league
3. The girls too got to play and have fun
4. Everyone had fun and we did manage to score well considering our line up

After that wonderful performance, I am sure no one would take me into their team. But hey, I did get to play and have fun. And I am sure that someone else (who hasn't seen me play yet but thinks that all guys play at least okay cricket) would unwittingly hit his/ her leg on a chainsaw and take me into his/ her team.

And oh ya, the best comedy of all - P's team had cleared the quarter final but lost at the semi finals to the winners of the league match… so the whole point of merging and forming a strong team turned out to be almost futile (almost coz the team they lost to had 5 players who represent the organization at the corporate matches!)

Sachin does it again...

On 24the Feb, Sachin Tendulkar did what I thought would not happen for a long time to come. And no... I don't just mean the double century that he made. He did something more than that. Sachin Tendulkar, on 24th Feb, made a non-cricket fan want to write another post about him and cricket. And that, I believe, is definitely a compliment to him. Don't get me wrong now. It's not like I am a huge cricket critic and getting an appreciation from me is hard. It's in fact the complete opposite. I can never recite the scores of famous matches or remember any such match that should remembered in "the history of cricket". I don't know of most of the achievements by Sachin or for that matter by any other cricketer. And my cricketing knowledge is itself very limited (as already mentioned in one of my earlier posts).

So what's so special now, you ask. It's simply that Sachin has done something, the magnitude of which, even a complete cricket-less non-sports person like me can appreciate. And there lies Sachin. At the age of 36, when most people (especially in the sports field) are losing their grips on their skills and are getting ready to look for alternative paths, here we have a person who refuses to slow down. Who continues to show that he is still capable, probably even more than the youngsters. Who continues to display what sportsmanship is all about. And why there won't be another Sachin.

The best part of the match was when MSD was playing well too and everyone watching here was scolding him for not giving a chance to Sachin to get his score. For once, ppl were actually asking a batsman not to hit boundaries and just give the strike to Sachin. And there wasn't single point where Sachin actually went up to him and said anything to MSD about giving him the strike (Probably he did so using telepathy a la SRK in Chak De)

There is a lot to learn from Sachin. His stubbornness to not stop playing and slowly fade into oblivion may be regarded by many as childishly adamant or even over-ambitious nature. But then, the real question is, why should he. He has repeatedly proven that he is capable of more. The fact that he scored the double century at the age of 36 rather than 26 is in itself proof enough. Yes, he is physically not as energetic as the teen who entered the cricketing world. But the experience that he has culminated over the years has helped him play smart cricket. And that is thanks to his brain. In the modern world when everything from planning to strategy is computerized, a person who is able to remember, analyze and adapt to the playing conditions is definitely a super player. And Sachin is, quite simply, that - a super player. Not just because of his performance. But because of the type of man he his. I cannot think of anyone else, who rose to stardom at such a young age and who did not let it get to his head. And not just in cricket. It's rare to find talented persons with not only the skills but also the humility to carry it. If only we had more persons like Sachin - down-to-earth, humble, still having the inner drive to perform and someone who respects everyone around him. When Sachin scores magnificently and quite calmly states that he is honored to play for India, you can't help but feel proud to be an Indian.

And that is the magic called Sachin. Which reminds me of this small Tickr on MTV that I once saw. It said that the best way to attain Peace and Unity in India was to make Sachin the Prime Minister and President (at the same time) because everyone loves Sachin and no one would oppose anything he says. Making Sachin PM would ensure that smaller parties don't fight and bully the major parties. There wouldn't be any religious/ communal fights. Pakistan would give up it's struggle over Kashmir. Babri Masjid can be resolved by building a stadium there. And with a person like Sachin, we can be sure that he wouldn't let the power go to his head and that he would do good. Whilst the other things stated may be just wishful thinking, the building of a stadium is indeed a good idea.

Sachin for PM!!! Sachin ki jai ho!

Till then, may he continue to keep setting records and keep breaking them himself and may all that attract me to be a cricket fan. Okay, not the last one...

Note: Any facts mentioned above have been googled. I really don't remember the day when he took the double century or for that matter, his correct age!