Good life..

Good life is the ultimate aim for many of us. A good life, with hundred percent of things we admire. Our projection and perception of good life can be and is indeed different from many of others. Sometimes they are limited by things beyond our control and sometimes we ourselves are the inhibitors. What lurks behind latter is that we are not aware of that inhibition. When we do become, aware, it starts evaporating – again, most of the times.

To experience, 'temptation' is a dangerous dictionary word. The older we grow the graver meaning it attains. 'Expectation' follows later, at times in line. We might earn dollars, be social, love kids or women.. we could still feel a need. To counter it at first place can make one do mistakes, but the solution is lone. The wound may heal but the temptation to scratch and reinvent creates problems. This is one side, problem can be solution too.

We are at several times ruled by a sense – to overpower. What escapes the rule is ‘thought’. It becomes vicious. What could be an overpowering thought on (a) thought is in itself a ‘thought’. We are limited, to judge the rationale. We rely on conventions, the wisdom acquired. When things fail or appear to fail, we need Him. He serves all purpose. Its only our belief that works wonder. Every counter-rationale is subdued – and ‘overpower’ rules.

Most of all, good life is lasting; we all aim for, work for – but, when do we live it? Sensory titillation is all we get or perhaps that is what that makes life look good. Bread is important, perhaps love, and perhaps both.

Young Indian asks

It was nice to see our India averages 25.9, the youngest in the world. A country full of youth.., aiming to achieve sky high goals. Well some of these goals should coincide with those of our nation, the direction we ourselves want it to go in. Most of us will love to be a part of it, the success story, and in fact many of us are. We feel the pain that surrounds us, the obstacles we need to step out.

A conscious mind like mine can put forward some questions, these can be disguised as byproducts of an energy driven approach, wanting to do something, most likely unaware of the way India goes. Yes, we are, not unaware. The difference is, we believe the popular sentiment of Chalta hai can be ruled out, and should be, so as to get a change visible enough.

70,000 crores, the largest figure that has come across the Games mess, read CWG related work. Why is media hyping the issue? Do they really have any base or all of this is just to provide some verbal stimulus to those who will work out their vocal glands before a deaf government?

Is Delhi going to be peril of vanity show, disguised by policy makers as one of great Indian resurgence, an upcoming might. Isn’t it already? (I mean peril) But yes we don’t care about our own people, do we? They get killed of electrocution, they get killed of dug up roads, we actually don’t.

Why aren’t our own people our top most priority? Those at the top are always in some kind of appeasement display. Be it much debated nuclear liability bill, be it GM Brinjal issue. Why are there allegations that government is pro-US or pro-profit makers?

Is the role of opposition always to oppose any move the government makes? And then suddenly one day things become alright. One day one Mulayam and one Amar support, the ever opposed Atomic deal. One day one BJP moots its liability Bill clause and provides full fledged support.

Average aged 26 nation demands transparency, if at least it is expected to involve.

Why it is that the government is not answerable to its people, one who gave it full majority. Why should one trust the ideals of constitution, when those who are bestowed turn betrayers? Shouldn’t there be a voice clearing airs..?

Well we expect

Engineer again!

Long I wrote something.. 30th April it says was the last entry. Got offer from Gallagher that day. Exact 40 days, left home. In between -
- appeared at Collabera, Cognizant, Oracle, TCS(referral)
- stood outside Steria, Pune with 500 odd people, hopeful of getting interviewd,
- made 29 hr journey to Mumbai for Accenture, and got nothing
- saw Bangalore, Mumbai and of course Pune
- been with Prashant at IIT-B, considered taking up that Embedded course at ThinkLABS
- enjoyed Beer at Mondegar
- twice enjoyed air-ride
- played Antakshri with Jagga & Co. (Jagga, Soni, Siddhu) at Versova beach, 1st time Sea. (also cursed Jaggi for showing Sea in night!)
- kept phone on roaming, chatted with every possible prospect of getting me a JOB, persons ranging from L&T to Deloitte. Nothing worked.

Returned home with KPO offer,7th May. 18th May joining.
10 days home and no respite.
-Got call from Amdocs. Result got scrapped.
-Shopped extensively with sis. Sunscream in kitty too.

17th I left. Again a flight, via Mumbai.
KPO was cool. Lasted 2 weeks.
Felt like ..belittled, working with some dumb-heads. I call 'some'.

US culture started setting in. Loved it.
- Vishnu, my Lead, kept US flag on his desk. Not b'coz he loved country that much, but 'coz it was 'Made In US'. You dont get to see a US flag, generally 'Made in US'.
-Amazing Anisha, my trainer for a week. Loved her for getting chocolates. ;)

In between got call from TCS, checked a day before (otherwise it'd have also gone). Topped Pune region, all applicants. Had interview a week late. Didn't scrub it, and got it.

Well, it doesn't happen each time, but the day I resigned, I was watching Rajneeti with same guys the next day. -Reason to love Gallagher- And I met Mansi too.

Gyaan:
- Things require patience. I ended up with same company that got my 1st reject.
- Life comes full circle, one day or other.


P.S. - Journey ended with some bliss. Of course, other than the job!

My English - Love Story

One day, class 5 or 6, can't exactly remember, my Maths teacher asked me to write 50 times Why I was absent a day before and Why I had not done my home work. I had reason so I wrote:
"I will went to Delhi"
"I will went to Delhi"
.
.

Two tight slaps and some scolding followed. 'Can't write in English? Should have asked..!'

I wanted to tell her - 'Ma'am.. 'will' goes best with 'I', and I had really been to Delhi'. On the other hand, 'Keeping quiet' was better option. It was, saved me two more.
That was the day my 1st embarrassment came with English.

English classes I used to be quiet. Used to tear off pages from notebook whenever I got less marks in tests.

Class 7 and 8 were good. Savita Ma'am. Used to study because I feared her a lot. Never once she slapped though. Everyone used to say she was partial with a few, I never felt.
1st time at length when I spoke in English was in her class, was summarizing a story, and did that quite well. Lately I developed a feeling that even I was one of her favorites, she surely was mine.

Class 9 and 10 was another influential teacher, Daas Ma'am. Feared her too, but lately that fear diluted when I got to know that apart from keeping 3 different registers for English nothing else mattered.

I used to get books with some kind of patronage associated, used by elder brother, elder sister and then myself. Every word had its meaning well written, so when no one spoke of some reference of some unknown word, I used to raise hand, chin high. It felt good.
2nd embarrassment was in line.

The day after summer vacation, Ma'am asked Class something - Everyone had to speak one new word learnt, with meaning. I was in middle of class, and countdown began.
I used to get shivers whenever such thing happened, teacher going from student to student asking something. Also you have to sit still, focused; Make a move and Who knows you are the next in queue.
I took a smarter way out, Oxford Dictionary came to help. Opened a random page, picked a random word.
'Abet'.
My turn came.. and the moment I spoke, class fell silent.
- What exactly is that Lalit?
- Ma'am its..
Its actually..
Its like
- Like.. What you actually need?
Support.
- Yes ma'am. Some kind of encouragement.

Turn passed. But I was embarrassed. Lalit.. one word? Could not speak a word, on own. This is it? Dictionary? Shivers? One word?

I was never her favorite. No praise, ever. Winning quizzes, radio show, debates, extempore.. nothing mattered.
I loved her and her daughter's articulation, mannerisms.

Senior school, English hardly mattered. Used to be another P.E. period. You aim chalks, you giggle.. and you relax. You don't get books and you get slaps, you see others laughing, you respond and you get slaps again.

Engineering, English got a new name - Essentials of Communication. EOC.
Thought of studying English in college kept me smiling throughout. Teacher was equally funny. (correction : fun-loving) If nothing, my smile used to be a reason for argument. Could never keep a straight face there. Thought of keeping one made me smile harder.
Add to it, Arun - always having a spare ear plug for me,
Kunal and Punu - always there cracking jokes.
Ma'am won't notice them, but won't leave any chance to aim me. One day there was a discussion going on in class Whether students should bring cell phones in class or not. Usual, my smiling face caught her attention and I was asked to present my views. I started, her phone rang and she took 3-4 minutes. My views got directed.
'Ma'am not only students, even teachers should not bring cell phones, or atleast they can talk later.' She fumed, took me over and Had I not spoke sorry I'd have been sentenced!
I didn't see her for rest of semester.

My CAT prep in final year came at Delhi, CL - Kailash Colony. Sole aim - English.
Apart from parajumbles, para completion, RCs.. Judith Smith taught several other things. Love for English started.
I learnt to smile at Che Guevera T-shirts, cool guys wear. Started appreciating Vinita Nangia articles in Times Life (had other reasons too!). Started reading Krugman. Got to know, the difference among satire, sarcasm & sardonic. RD & Frontline became favorites. Got to know Who was Orwell.
Familiarity with World and Self increased.

1st time Mumbai

Failed in 2D array initialization at Oracle interview and also at plotting RLC series-parallel circuit responses, I knew I won't be able to make it. Answering logic puzzles in milliseconds doesn't make much sense when you have guys with appropriate skills & apt logic sense.
I was rejected.
New shirt and no selection.

Set out for room again, biking for 1st time in Bangalore. Reached. Told Lalit entire story.
Tried being composed. I wasn't.
Logged in. Checked mailbox. Had response from Accenture off-campus. Had call.
Prepared. Packed. Set out.
1st meal of day came in form of Veg Biryani at a Madrasi restaurant. Boarded bus at 9.
20 straight hrs. Pune.
Last time it was train. Was kinda excited. Kunal and V and Cognizant.
Nothing this time. Wasn't thinking anything. Was trying not to think of anything.
Take things as they come and let go of them.
Tried relaxing. Couldn't. Called Kits. Told story. Slept.

Woke up at Belgaum: 630. Saw a big temple, thought of locating it on google map some time late.
Pune wasn't quite like a home coming.
Also Google map can deceive you at times. Showed the New Panvel campus near Dadar.
Believed.
Set out for Mumbai - 9 p.m. Volvo.

Woke up when bus was crossing Vashi around 1230. I had always wanted to visit Mumbai. This way, was never expected.
Conductor came in again and again.
Mankhurd... Sion, this, that, Dadar, Bandra, Andheri. Mumbai was appearing smaller than I had thought. Jogeshwari came at 1 10, I had set alarm for 1 11.
Just because I was so sleepy at the time of setting alarm, didn't care about moving finger over some other digit on keypad.

Reached Jagdish's room around 130. Had discussion.
'New Panvel is Panvel only, i.e. Navi Mumbai'
(Could have been two hr journey from Pune itself in morning)
Cursed Google.
Imagined tryst in Locals, next morning.
Slept.
Woke up at 645.
Jogeshwari to Dadar, to Wadala Road, to Panvel. Reached Campus at 10.

A2 batch had to wait outside, only to hear an hr late that campus for them was taken off.
I was in A2.

Pune

Two weeks before I had no idea Where I would be a week later. Collabera interview made me head to Bangalore. Days there I didn't know I'd land up in Pune a week late. Day before yesterday I did. Cognizant this time.
Not much surprise, no converts.
Two cities in a week. Ferry 1 took 2 hrs and 2000 kms, while ferry 2 took 20 hrs and 1000 kms. Bangalore I had no expectations. Expectation in the sense What the city would be like. I went, gave interview, stayed at Lalit's room for 5 days and then left. Left for Pune. Pune I was excited, Kunal and V.

V can recollect we met in 'Tennis' room more than 4 yrs back. She had id name she thought no one could make out, person being male or female. I did, for I thought such name only 'female'.
She left her no. offline only when it was sure I'll visit Pune. Deal done.. "We meet."
Lots of messages and a few calls we decided I reach Corporation first and she'll join. I reached and was directed - Ask people for FC road and see for Vaishali restaurant. It took me almost 30 minutes and 10-12 people i asked. Only when I could see 'Fergusson College - Junior Wing' written on a board, I got sure, 4 yrs of talking and it'll be real soon.

I always knew she is taller (5'9" to be precise ..and I like to say am 5'7"), only that couldn't see myself believing that. Why not? Only non realistic fascination, Deepika Padukone can be 5 9. I can't remember when was the last time I came face to face with a taller girl.
5 minutes later I reached. She was there and I can say "Girls make you look up -(quite literally also)".
Greetings. Handshake. I wanted to hug. Didn't happen. We moved into Vaishali. Hell crowded. She moved out, I followed.
What next? Wasn't I hungry. 3 sandwiches in day and not for South-indian.
Its a little difficult to move around with pretty girls. A little more if they are taller. You can always spot scores of eye balls glued on. I accepted.
Ok. CCD next.

Am fond of Tea and Coffee both, Cold and Hot both, and I never order. I can't. At times its been Kits, Bhai or Sis or someone else. And she expected me too. She settled for Lemon Ice Tea and .. I followed.
CCD was well occupied and still very ok. Ice tea made us talk longer. Longer or shorter, don't know. Minutes become semi-minutes..
We came out.
A famous bakery nearby. She decided. I followed. (Sweet chariot it was, and not that famous, just that one can't find any in my city. Bangalore, Pune: Quite common!)

Few minutes walk down FC, a strawberry cheese cake waited on platter. My choice. Pink Triangle turned out a little more sweeter. Pink color can actually make you do weird things. We decided to scoop that off. One spoon pressed triangle from one side while other did the scooping job. Later spoons reversed roles. Her was better. Still.. Had the shop owner seen what we did, the 45 Rs. Triangle was set to be orphaned. Anyways I got some increase in my GK, next time you see any strawberry, 90% chance, its from Mahabaleshwar.

So cake done. We were out, again walking along FC. In between Bhai called, In between met one of my classmate, his 1st ques. - Kaun hai? Sahi hai!
I shrugged.
Back, Vaishali again. Crowded again. We moved out again.
We moved ahead, another good restaurent nearby. But Booking.. had to wait.

- You have girlfriend?
- No. none.
- You had, no?
- Ah.. no. Leave that.
- You have.. Boyfriend?
- Yess..
3 yrs. He is in SIBM, doing MBA.
- Ah.. great.

I at times make some idiotic responses. Trying to find words. Questions. One involuntarily was in line.

- He knows, you are here..?
- Yup.. obviously. 3 years yar. He knows, Just a friend, what big deal.

So called idiotic response can trigger hormonal reaction. Ahmm.. just a friend. What big deal!
Much of the later part.. I was quiet. Silenced.

We moved in. A table in open.. which wasn't quite aptly set in open.
12 male eyes on the adjacent table were soon replaced by equal no of female ones.
Time to order. Not very fond of dosa, myself. She ordered and it was ok. Sweet sambhar and teekha dosa.
Chit chat went on and we finished it soon.
.
.
.
.
.
This was it. Apart from noticing soil color change from place to place, brown to red to black... 1 accomplishment. Met V. Always wanted to.

Atleast glad of something...

I was talking to an old friend after a real long time.. while conversing she recalled something, 'Your nose still turn red when you get angry?', I told her that I don't lose temper that often, the way I used to.. moreover, told her that my ears turn red at times. Quick she was, as always, gave me the related metabolic reason: "I can attribute it to increased dilation of blood vessels resulting in increased blood flow into your sinuses, may be you have a lot of sinuses or free spaces into which blood rushes in, it's a physiological response triggered by the hormone epinephrine.....it's ok, not a big deal."

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Am very glad,quit biology long back.

:)