Life..or something like it !

Its 7 : 30 a.m. and I stand here in the bus stop waiting for the office bus to arrive. I stand here in the same manner as I did a few years back waiting for my college bus. Little did I know then that things would change so much in 2 years; the sky under which I am standing seems to be looking at me and smiling .. It is perhaps the only thing that has acted as a witness .. watching the transformation of a loud and bubbly person into a quiet professional. I wouldn't blame the professionalism for the change though. It is destiny, or may be you could call it life.

Yes Life, esoteric in the true sense, for one does not understand why you meet hundreds of people everyday, work with so many, and still remain lonely. I am now in one of the corner seats in the bus, looking out of the window watching people trying to catch up with "life" .. It's an hour's journey and the only company that I generally have is the chatter of the RJ. I seldom notice the person sitting next to me, for its going to be yet another stranger or may be you could say another acquaintance. It is annoying at times when the radio is switched off, not because I am cut off from the melody but because I would now be thrust with thoughts of the solitary journey ahead.

I can't help thinking about the short bus journeys to college ... well it's a paradox to call a distance of 30 KMs "short", but that is how it always seemed. A typical college day always begins in the bus with all the familiar faces; you look forward for all your friends to get in from the various stops, the reasonless giggles, the loud laughter that were stifled to avert the eyes of the lecturers and professors who would watch on us as if we were their prospective prey for the day ... well as I said it was a different life then. The pleasant memories of college are in itself good enough to save me from the misery of the bus journey.

I notice that it is time for me to get down and flash my smile of acknowledgement to all the known strangers that I see as I approach my cubicle. A few of my colleagues greet me with their morning wishes and as always, we exchange our pleasantries. Discussions jump to the weekend plans and I wonder what I'd do over the weekend.It would be just another day staring at the mobile, wishing it would ring and bring back some wonderful moments that are now missing in life or maybe the safer option would be to come to office, for it's my new founded asylum these days. A few years back, weekends or weekdays didn't matter to me, I was always busy. I always stood doubting the authenticity of the wall clock that seemed to be in running too fast to perceive its movement. Alas, now it seems as though my clock is suffering from some kind of paralytic attack.
There is a time in life, where one needs to go ahead, leaving behind your friends and carrying along only memories. You do make new friends, but then you never get the old close ones ... you do meet people who'd be so good to you that you could tell them anything and everything, but you do not find a person to whom you needn't say things ... friends who just know you. Occasional calls from such friends, have been the only thing that I seem to look forward to .....However,I cant help but notice the uneasy pause that lingers around the conversation ..A pause not because of the relationship, but because it is too short a duration to say everything, and of course you cannot completely rule out the paucity of words!As I sip coffee from the ubiquitous coffee mug, watching the drops of rain, trickling down the tinted glass panes, veiling the scenic beauty outside, I tell myself, may be there will be a day when things will change, when life will offer a rewind, a recap of all the events and I just have to wait.Capricious are the ways of life, for I know there would be many who'd be able to empathize with me, ironically, even the dear ones that I miss this moment, waiting perhaps...!!And I keep on waiting...

If you think that it is my composition, then it's not !
But if you think it is good than you can thank me !

American obsession with all things paper

One thing that I have particularly disliked after my short and eventful existence in this country is the obsession of this country's policy makers to use paper tissues.

Be it kitchen, toilet at our homes or even the tea vending machines at office; all are covered with paper. On more googling on this disturbing trend, I could uncover a mind numbing fact :

each person in the United States uses 749 pounds of paper every year (adding up to a whopping 187 billion pounds per year for the entire population, by far the largest per capita consumption rate of paper for any country in the world)

The fact is, world consumption of paper has grown four hundred percent in the last 40 years. Now nearly 4 billion trees or 35% of the total trees cut around the world are used in paper industries on every continent. Besides what we see around us, paper comes in many forms from tissue paper to cardboard packaging to stereo speakers to electrical plugs to home insulation to the sole inserts in your tennis shoes. In short, paper is everywhere. The consequence is that, more paper is required and this results in more trees being cut.

Isn't it our duty to do save trees ? I wish more movements like "Chipko Aandolan/ Vanmahotsava" are held worldwide so that mass awarenes is created on this critical issue.

Those interested should check out the following link :-

http://www.ecology.com/feature-stories/paper-chase/index.html

It talks of the importance of paper, paper industry and the alternative solutions which can be thought of to save trees from being shed blindly.

Some interesting facts on paper and trees

The first paper merchant in America was Benjamin Franklin, who helped to start 18 paper mills in Virginia and surrounding areas.
Wood pulp is found in rayon material, laundry detergent, camera film, tires, and transmission belts.
The trees used to make paper in the United States come mostly from softwood forests-mostly pine-in the South and West.
In 1883 Philadelphia resident Charles Stillwell invented a machine to make brown paper bags so folks would have something to carry their groceries home in. Today more than 20 million paper bags are used annually in supermarkets throughout the country.
45% of all paper used in the United States is recycled. Hemp was grown commercially in the United States until the 1950s.
The single oldest living thing on Earth is a tree, a 4,700 year-old bristlecone pine tree in Nevada. It was growing when the Egyptians built the pyramids.
There are 747 million acres of forest land in the United States.
In 1998, over 1.6 billion tree seedlings were planted in the United States.

10 things I love doing in Hyderabad !

1) Lazing at Eat-street and gosip with friends, enjoying the lake view at late night.
2) Helping myself with a full pate of "Chicken Biryaani" at Hyderabad House on a leisurely Sunday.
3) Watching a movie at prasadz imax.
4) Walking at the footpaath sunday market in abids hunting for books/novels.
5) Listening to music for free at planet M for free at Panjagutta.
6) Checking out the latest accessories/gazzets at Hyderabad Central.
7) Watching English Flicks at Skyline theater in Basheerbagh at 35 bucks for a balcony ticket.
8) Having a Sweetened Large size "meetha paan" available at basheerbagh after the weekend movie at Skyline.
9) Updating about the latest in fashion just outside the Wipro office gate.
10) Driving or getting driven on the wonderfully carved out swinging roads of the city with small and big hillocks gaping at you.

Sabse Peeche Hum Khade

Zaara naazar uthake dekho
Baithe hai hum yahi
Bekhabar mujhse kyon ho?
Itne boore bhi hum nahin

Zamane ki baaton mein uljho na
Hai yeh aasaan janana
Khud se jo agar tum pooch
Hai hum tumhare ke nahi

Teri aankhon ka jaadu
Poori duniya pe hai
Duniya ki iss bheed main
Sabse peeche hum kahen

Mehfile aayi aur gayi
Log aaye aur gaye
Tum jo aaj aaye ho
Dil mein ho bas gaye

Muskarake baat taalo na
Phir miloge jo kahi
Dekhana yahi kahoge
Itne boore the hum nahi
Teri aankhon ka jaadupoori
duniya pe hai
Duniya ki is bheed mein
sabse peeche hum khade
Teri aankhon ka jaadu
poori duniya pe hai
Duniya ki is bheed mein
sabse peeche hum khade

-->Lyrics of a wonderful Silk Route Song...

kya batayeN kya hamare dil mein hai....

Sarfaroshi ki Tamanna
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sarfaroshi Ki Tamanna is a poem by Ramprasad Bismil. It is an emotion-evoking ode to the revolutionaries of the Indian Independence Movement. It goes as follows:

Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaray dil meiN hai,
dekhna hai zor kitna baazuay qaatil meiN hai
karta nahiN kyuN doosra kuch baat cheet,
dekhta hun maiN jise voh chup teri mehfil meiN hai
ay shaheed-e-mulk-o-millat main teray oopar nisaar,
ab teri himmat ka charcha ghair ki mehfil meiN hai
waqt aanay dey bata deNge tujhe ay aasmaN,
ham abhi se kya batayeN kya hamare dil mein hai
khainch kar layee hai sab ko qatl honay ki ummeed,
aashiqoN ka aaj jumghat koocha-e-qaatil meiN hai

In the movie "Rang de basanti" we all had the previledge of listening to this hair-raising couplet written by Ram Prasad Bismil. I liked it and had an emotional experience, both the times that I watched the movie. The second time I found myself appriciating it even better, perhaps these words find their resonance even in todays times !

Stranger on a rainy day

Being alone in a city which is as alien to you as perhaps India was to Christopher Columbus, has its own unique points. It can sometime lead you to a strange experience which lingers on for a while in your mind.
Last Sunday was one such day. On an unusually windy, muggy very english kind of a day in my current city of inhabitation, I ventured out of my comfort zone at home to have lunch outside. It was not sunny so I decided to have a stroll to the local food joint which I suspected to be filled by now as the time by my wrist watch was well past one hour the afternoon, the usual time for people to cater to their hunger pangs. As I walked past the security guard in the restaurant it was already drizzling outside. I thanked my stars having escaped the wrath of rain gods by a whisker.
True to my intuition, the place was crowded to its maximum capacity and I was politely requested by the manager to wait for my turn in the reception. I could empathize with his problem to settle a single person in a place usually frequented by families or couples. Outside, the mix of sweat, perspiration and rain water were presenting a heady cocktail of emotions for me, primarily pertaining to anxiousness and helplessness for being alone. Anyways I got my call and I was made to share my table space with a stranger. As this scenario was not something new to me, I gave my order and quietly waited to be served. Just as I was about to bring out my cell phone to kill time by playing some game, the stranger opposite to my table started a conversation.

Stranger: Are you from Hyderabad?
Me: Yeah, pretty much so, been here since last 18 months. (This was only partially correct) Stranger: So you work somewhere nearby this Hitec City.
Me: Yes, Wipro. (in a slightly annoyed tone as I don't like being encroached upon my privacy by strangers)
Stranger: So you a software professional?
Me: Yeah.
Stranger: Which languages do you work in?
Me : Oracle technologies.(now this was getting too much for me...being recognized as a techie, who as an outsider was bad enough, now this man going to challenge my technical expertise too)
Stranger : Well, I am a manager in a trading company.
Me: hmm.
Stranger: What do you think of Wipro? Actually we have a proposal for my sister from a wiproite, I was just wondering if you somehow know anything.
Me: Ours is a big organization, you can't hope to know each and every person. (Said with considerable pride in my voice)
Stranger: Ok. So where are your parents staying?
Me: Delhi.
Stranger: Wow that's where my companies head quarter is !
Me: Ok, which place in Delhi? (Now I sensed some opportunity to score some brownie points over him)
Stranger: Malviya Nagar.
Me: Oh! That's very near my place, on the way to IIT, Delhi right?
Stranger: Yeah, don't know much. I just stay there for some hours, work and come back the same day.
Me: Hmm. (Well this man has already started brandishing the fact that he is a frequent flier!) Stranger: So what do you like about Hyderabad?
Me: It's good; I mean it has all the amenities available which are required for a comfortable living. However I don't like the weather here. (Meanwhile both our orders have been served, and we had started treating ourselves)
Stranger: But your Delhi has extreme climate and summer is unbearable there.
Me: It has winter too, which I prefer more. (I wondered whether an argument was going to start discussing the pros and cons of the two cities.)
Stranger: Okay point taken. Do you think that Wipro is as moralistic and ethical organization in it's business practices as it prclaims itself to be ?
Me: yeah, I think so. ( I mean what point does he have as an outsider to say something like this) Stranger: Then why do you think Wipro always follows it's closest rival in declaring its quarterly results ? I always say that the result that they show is a balanced report and not a balance report ! It is always due to the reason that they want to manipulate the market forces.
Me: May be, but as wiproites we are always imbibed a culture in ourselves to be always honest, transparent and totally integrity conscious employees from the day we join this organization. Stranger: That may be the case, but to an outsider like us, this is what which seems to be true.
Me: Hmm....
(Followed by a momentary silence)
Me: May be we should start, now, it seems to stop raining outside now.
Stranger: Ok. Let’s go ....so how are you planning to spend your evening today?
Me: I started reading a novel yesterday; hopefully I will complete it today.
Stranger: So you are a bookie, I am mostly into management and non fiction stuff & I read only while in a flight!
Me: Ok....Seems like this rain is not stooping soon. (Now seriously in a mood to end this conversation)

(Going out of the restaurant now)

Stranger: I am calling a auto, would you like to join me, I will drop you off on the way.
Me: Ok, sure. (With delight)
(Both in the auto now, driving towards my home)

Stranger: Do you know, my blood boils whenever I see the office complex of yours !
Me: Why?? (Totally perplexed at such a thought as what harm possibly an innocent looking semi-old building cause to a man who is not even remotely connected to it. I guessed being unsatisfied with the business policies of my company was bad enough. Surely he must have sinister ulterior motive, I told to myself, waiting for him to answer. But the reply which I got was something totally unexpected.)
Stranger: Well I was totally, madly, deeply and romantically involved some time back with a girl who worked in this office complex, things didn't work out and we separated after that. Since that day every time I go past this complex on this road, it reminds me of those painful moments.

I waved to the stranger, as I got out of the auto and walked towards the lift in my apartment.

Mission Netaji : The truth must unfold

BOSE MYSTERY: AN OVERVIEW

It's been more than 60 years, and the man still haunts us the citizens of so called independent India, " The free India".
An India unlike any which our pre-independence freedom fighters and inspirational leaders like Bhagat, Azaad, Bose and many others had dreamt of. Why are we here ?
Did we deserve this ?
The answer is a profound "YES". Say as much as you want that the country is going to the dogs, but it's all you and me who are to be blamed if we must. A nation which hides the facts and fears to bring out the truth, should not be allowed to be tom-tom its present and turn blind to the past.
So why are we hiding and what is it that we fear so much ? It's our own self and our own self created ghost which we get scared of !
Let the truth unfold and let their be light !

Me back to the land of Nizaam and Biryani

Well that explains my absence from blogging in my transition period.
I am back to my karma bhoomi. To the land of Biryani, Charminar and more.
The first weekend has started with a bang here. watched 2 movies on the go in 2 days.
King-Kong and the 'chronicles of narnia'. Got a flat too here with a new room-mate(absolute strangers). So now it's back to my good old bachelor days in a virgin city. More updates in future.

Apni Paathshaala

na koi padhne wala na koi sikhne wala - 2
apni toh paathshala masti ki paathshala - 2

chehare ki kitaabein hain ham woh padhne aate hai
yeh surat teri meri mobile library
yaaron ki equation hain love multiplication hain
jisne dil ko jeeta hain
woh alpha hain deeta hain - 3

talli hoke girne se samjhi hamne gravity
ishq ka practical kiya tab aayi clearity
na koi padhne wala na koi sikhne wala
naata yeh sannata hai dekho lambu shor hain
har dil mein bud bud karta h2so4 hain
na koi padhne wala na koi sikhnewala
apni toh paathshala masti ki paathshala - 2

apni toh paathsahala masti ki paathshala - 2

WhatToNameIt

WhatToNameIt

Happened to visit this blog by quite an eminent multi-faceted personality(but yet unknown) of our nation. Take a look on chinmayi...

Why I like Chetan's work ?

If you have read Chetan Bhagat's books, then you will agree with me that they are mindless fun which you can enjoy while on the move or in a single night when you have got nothing else to kill time.
Some readers may disagree with me and say that it is too early or he is not yet an author to be discussed about, however my point is that this man knows the pulse of youth of the nation and to connect with it. To write about IIT's in his debut making book and that too which is not about "Make it to IIT stuff" needs some effort. For the uninitiated, I am talking about the recent bestseller "Five Point Someone". This book was abouth three losers or rather three batchmates in IIT, Delhi who were not exactly the stereotypes IIT nerds and who manage to screw their carrers while in IIT(Well it all ends well in the end).
To me it was a good enough read, I mean it was not a great literary effort by Chetan, but still it had all the ingredients of a bestseller with which everyone of the readers could identify himself atleast once. Either ways I had not read something like this from anglo Indian writers who pride themselves in getting their books panned by the masses everytime, infact by a recent survey 90 % of them are bought by the pseudo-readers only to decorate their shelves.

Meanwhile chetan has come up with another book on the youth called " One night@call center". It is expected to be more on the same lines of it's predecessor. I am actually halfway through it, will comment on it once finished.

So if you are still waiting for someone to gift you these books, go and grab it on your own. After all it doesn't cost even one hundred Indian bucks !!!

Do you have it with you ?

If you ask Arry about the various kinds of people who live in this earth, then I can bet on what his reply would be. In his typical moronic way he would say, "well I believe there are only two kinds of homo sapiens who inhabit the earth; and they are
1) Those who have
2) Those who haven't".

Now you might be curious to know what this have or haven't business is? To throw more light on this matter let's just jump on the topic which I believe must have mystified, terrified, sickened all of us at some point of our life span at least once. If you are still clueless, then let me be crystal clear about my blog's topic now; lest you skip this page and hop on to another ride on the information super highway. We are talking (taking a specific case-study) of the perils of having a beer belly in your early twenties; and if you are a bachelor; then god forbid you from the uncanny comments from everybody around you; which I believe can unsettle even a person of nerves made of steel.

To comeback to our central character of our plot or rather blog; it was not always that Arry was like this having this halo effect around him. By halo effect, I mean the situation when an acquaintance or an office colleague comes to you and says "hello" to your belly and not to you. I mean, how much more embarrassing it can get to you. Well I shudder to think myself in Arry's shoes. As I know him since existence, I can vouch for the fact that he was quite a lean (may be not mean) machine in his insti days. Rather I would say he was a gangly person of average build, quite awkward and unsure about himself or his future. But then he was happy with whatever he was, at least he didn't had to listen to others about his upper half.

Then one fine day, cupid stuck in his life (not in the sense of romance, that will be one huge novel, not to be covered in this tiny little blog) Arry got a job in a good enough company with a decent starting salary and prospects of the moon in future. This is where the twist comes in the story.
As Arry became more sure and confident about himself and his future, he became more and more careless about his upper half. (He failed in his quest for a better half). Parties after parties followed like bogies follow each other in a typical express Indian train except in some rare circumstances. He was away from home for the first time of his life and the restrictions that it brings, so it was natural for him to enjoy his newfound status of free life. (Guess what, I want to break free, the famous lyrics from Queen, became the national anthem of his beer-chicken biryani parties). Gradually this started taking a toll on his belly, it started getting a spare tyre (as they usually say). Now, having a spare tyre can be quite handy when you are on a long drive but it's another matter when you have to carry it on with you always.

Soon fate and some perseverance brought Arry to his home city for an assignment in which everything was free for all for him, he was staying in a guest house and he could go home too depending on his mood and opportunity. This quite aggravated the matters for him and the situation gradually worsened. People started giving comments, like when his PM came to visit his project team, his first comment was " you are putting on more weight, don't want to get married or what".
People started getting conclusions that he must be missing love in his life, may be that's why he is putting on more weight (quoting remarks by great personalities like Osho, who once had remarked that people tend to eat more when they are not loved or appreciated). I mean Osho may be true in his observations, but how can he be generic. As far as I know Arry, he was in his happiest state of mind since long. Doesn't make sense!

It's not as if he didn't try to get rid of the flab that he had acquired in the recent past. Following were the remedial steps tried by him: -
1) Tried to hit the gym goaded by his office colleagues and friends who motivated him enough to visit the gym for the first time in his entire life, but sadly that was not enough to be sustaining the activity for a long enough period to have any drastic effect.
2) Stopped having free colas and chips, which were in abundance in his office. But compensated that by buying junk material daily once in breakfast time.
3) Distanced him from having more than one chapattis in lunch, but this too was compensated by having daily chocolate ice-cream treats from his project gang, who I suspect viciously had ganged up against Arry from regaining his past glory (in stricter sense, may not be glory days but still he had seen better).

Now a new year has come, bringing with it new hopes and motivations for a better tomorrow and I suspect that he has made a resolution to himself that come what may, he will not treat himself anymore of junk till he gets back to his original waist size of 32'' from the present almost gigantic 36". Till then, I know that Arry is consoling himself by getting relief from the fact one of his fellow office mate (who sits next to him) weighs almost one quintal. Thank god for small mercies!!!