I had a very very long break from blogging and much has changed since my last post. Lalit Modi is gone, Ravana is a flop, my girlfriend got into a B school and I didn't...you get the general idea. One thing that hasn't changed is we are still pleading with Pakistan to take some action on Hafeez Saeed. I guess, somethings last forever.
Yesterday, I went to Chennai for my US visa interview. I had heard horror stories about Chennai's hostile environment to non localites since I was a kid. So, I was dreading that I would have to be there too. Bangalore had spoiled me totally. The best weather in India, superb city infrastructure, cosmopolitan crowd..I didn't want to leave this place for even a day! But I had to do what I had to do, so on the night of 23rd June, I boarded the Chennai Mail from Bangalore City station. I had my office friend for company, who luckily was a Chennai boy, so I was assured that I wouldn't be lost in the city. The night journey was pretty uneventful except for my petty skirmishes with a gentleman in my compartment over the use of the over head fans. He wanted to switch it off and I wanted it on. Four or five times during the night, he switched it off and I shamelessly turned it on within five minutes. Each time he would mutter some unmentionables to me in his own language but I decided to ignore him. I even offered him my upper berth but he didn't want to change his middle berth seat. Well if he isn't willing to compromise why the hell should I?
We reached Chennai around 5 am in the morning and already you had the feeling of being roasted slowly. Chennai has an awesome local train network and within 20 minutes we were at Saidapet, where my friend's house was located. I felt guilty of waking up his whole family so early in the morning, but apparently they all wake up at this time. Entering my friend's house, I couldn't help being reminded of "Two States" by Chetan Bhagat. A proper,unpretentious, clean house with minimal furniture so unlike what we have in the North. Aunty was already in a saree and Uncle was dressed in.......you guessed it right, a check shirt and a lungi."The Hindu" was lying next to the sofa and I couldn't stop myself chuckling. Filter coffee awaited us, hot and refreshing, and it put us right up and ready for the day ahead.A few idlis later, we were on our way to the US Consulate in Anna Salai.
At this point, I should now mention Chennai's infamous autorickshaw drivers. I thought they were pretty notorious in Bangalore itself, but after meeting their Chennai counterparts, the Bangalore dudes almost seem domesticated. In Chennai, there is no concept of a running meter; the driver will quote his own fare, which might be 2-5 times higher than the normal fare. It is now up to your own negotiable skills to bring that fare down as much as possible. If you succeed, you deserve to teach management classes at an IIM, and if you are a non Chennaite who succeeds, they should put you in the External Affairs ministry and ask you to deal directly with Pakistan's officials.
By 7:30 a.m. we were at Anna Salai, waiting outside the US Consulate in a quenue. It reminded me of the olden days, when people used to stand in front of the ration shops. The only difference being that we were probably better dressed than them. Apart from that, it all seemed pretty similar; the worried faces, the pile of documents in hand, the long suffering wait....And although it was only 7:30, the heat suggested it was closer to noon. My manager had forced me to wear formals for the visa appointment, and the full sleeved, starched nylon shirt made me sweat like a pig. Soon enough, it turned a creamish hue from the once brilliant white that my shirt originally was. Mercifully,we didn't have to wait too much long and by 9 a.m. we were out of the complex.
We returned home and had an awesome lunch,Tamil Nadu style. I don't remember the names of the dishes, but they seriously thrilled me.The best was a brown powder, which was fondly known as "Gun powder", you add it to your rice and sambar and you will realize why exactly it is called that!! I had the second shower of the day and changed into shorts and a tshirt. That was going to be my dress code for the rest of the day. Next on my agenda was getting a laptop charger for Sayantani.That meant a journey to the famous Electronics Market in Chennai, where you get an Apple Iphone for less than a thousand bucks, provided you know the right shop and are ready to fight for a bargain. It took me a good 1.5 hours to reach this place after innumerable bus and auto rides, but once I was there, it was totally worth it. You could literally buy any electronic product at throwaway prices, and I got away with a HP Charger for less than 500 bucks. (The original one costs above Rs 2000). In between, I had to take innumerable glasses of lime soda to keep myself hydrated.
With the whole afternoon ahead of us, I requested my friend to take me to Marina beach. I had visited this beach once around 12 years ago and I was dying to come back here. Thankfully the journey wasn't too long and soon enough we were on the beach. Even in the middle of the afternoon, under the scorching Chennai sun, the beach seemed pretty full. People were pretty oblivious to the heat and it was nice seeing them have so much fun there. The only way to forget the heat was to jump into the water and I didn't need any further invitations. After a good two hours of frolicking, we got very hungry. My friend disappeared to get some "bhajjis" which had fillings of every possible vegetable you get in Chennai. But that wasn't enough for me. I had heard they sold fried sea fish on the beach and soon enough I located a stall selling just that. I decided that I am not going to shift out of that place for the next one hour and I need to finish my year's quota of fish right then and there.Bangalore actually doesn't have a lot of options if you want to have fish and whatever is available is pretty expensive. Here on the beach I was getting the morning catch at 30 bucks per fish (each of around 300-400 gms). I took out a hundred rupee note, gave it to the fish guy, pointed at my mouth and in sign language asked me to feed me as much as he could. For the next half hour, my friend had a look which was a mixture of amazement and disgust, but I actually didn't care. All the heat of Chennai had vanished and it was only me and my fish that seemed to matter. Heaven was being experienced in a tiny stall right near the Marina Beach in Chennai and that too for only a hundred bucks!
We soon returned after my awesome dining experience. There we had the third shower of the day. Aunty had prepared delicious dosas and although I had promised myself that I wouldn't touch any more food,I knew that I would lose the battle. Another heavy meal followed topped up with mangoes and with a night journey ahead of us, I was deeply worried. Still, I always pack for emergencies and after shoving a handful of Pudin Haras in my mouth, I was good to go.I thanked my friend's parents for their wonderful hospitality and promised to return. With such a heavy meal in my stomach, I immediately dozed off in the bus. The next thing I remember was getting up at Bangalore station, with the familiar chill in the morning forcing a grin out of me. I was home finally.
Adios Chennai!! Like the Terminator once said " I WILL BE BACK!"
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Sunday, April 4, 2010
I pee and I yell!
"The batsmen was attempting a DLF Maximum, but he mistimed it and its a Karbon Kamaal catch at the boundary line; a true CITI Moment of success for the home team, and we will now head into the Max Mobile Strategic Time out!"
The likes of Bradman and Marshall would be turning in their graves if they knew the current state of affairs in the world of cricket.Even a decade ago, no one could have imagined that cricket would turn out to be such a huge brand market. When Sachin signed a Rs 5 crore deal with MRF to display their sticker on his bat, it had created ripples in the advertising world. Now bat stickers are passe. Advertisers are now seeking newer and more innovative spaces to display their brands. Last heard a leading hair care FMCG was contemplating approaching Andrew Symonds and buying the bald space above his head to show case their latest anti dandruff shampoo! Already 40% of the fields nowadays are covered with the logos of the sponsors. I am surprised they haven't entered the pitch area as of yet.
Let's look into the future and see how IPL Season-4 ads will pan out:
1. That's a Dabur Chawanprash dot ball!
2. Oohh...that's a run out chance missed...a Gillete Close shave indeed!
3. Well played Dravid..that's an Ever Ready battery 50; lasts long...really long.
4. The bowler is exchanging some non pleasantries with the batsman..a true Kodak moment.
5. Its 45 degrees of sweltering heat and the players are really sweating it out there..time for a Rexona deo spray for them.
6. It's a Fevicol 100 run partnership between the 2 batsmen at the crease..Tootega nahi!
7. Shot! That's a Frooti four! He really deserves something Fresh and Juicy.
and my favorite...
8. The captain has been fined $25,000 for the slow over rate, so unlike the Hero Honda CBZ Extreme guys."Thinking is such a waste of time" (and money!!)
If you guys can come with something more, leave a message to me. Will add it to the list.
I am planning to ship off this list to Lalit.Modi@ipl.com
If he accepts my plans, I will ask for a royalty charge for sharing my Intellectual Property.
What an IDEA Sirjee!!
The likes of Bradman and Marshall would be turning in their graves if they knew the current state of affairs in the world of cricket.Even a decade ago, no one could have imagined that cricket would turn out to be such a huge brand market. When Sachin signed a Rs 5 crore deal with MRF to display their sticker on his bat, it had created ripples in the advertising world. Now bat stickers are passe. Advertisers are now seeking newer and more innovative spaces to display their brands. Last heard a leading hair care FMCG was contemplating approaching Andrew Symonds and buying the bald space above his head to show case their latest anti dandruff shampoo! Already 40% of the fields nowadays are covered with the logos of the sponsors. I am surprised they haven't entered the pitch area as of yet.
Let's look into the future and see how IPL Season-4 ads will pan out:
1. That's a Dabur Chawanprash dot ball!
2. Oohh...that's a run out chance missed...a Gillete Close shave indeed!
3. Well played Dravid..that's an Ever Ready battery 50; lasts long...really long.
4. The bowler is exchanging some non pleasantries with the batsman..a true Kodak moment.
5. Its 45 degrees of sweltering heat and the players are really sweating it out there..time for a Rexona deo spray for them.
6. It's a Fevicol 100 run partnership between the 2 batsmen at the crease..Tootega nahi!
7. Shot! That's a Frooti four! He really deserves something Fresh and Juicy.
and my favorite...
8. The captain has been fined $25,000 for the slow over rate, so unlike the Hero Honda CBZ Extreme guys."Thinking is such a waste of time" (and money!!)
If you guys can come with something more, leave a message to me. Will add it to the list.
I am planning to ship off this list to Lalit.Modi@ipl.com
If he accepts my plans, I will ask for a royalty charge for sharing my Intellectual Property.
What an IDEA Sirjee!!
Monday, March 15, 2010
MIT:part 2
Dear Sir,
Having made an introduction to MIT in my last email, let me continue from where I left off.
MIT is located in Cambridge, which is just across the Charles river from Boston.Harvard is a further 3 miles up the river. I find this pretty amazing...the 2 biggest and most prestigious universities in the world located at walking distance from one another!! Harvard is old school in all respects. The culture, the architecture, the general atmosphere is all reminiscent of the 18th century. That said, Harvard's two biggest departments, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Business School are located pretty far away from Harvard square, infact Med School is in downtown Boston and is the station from where I board the subway to MIT every day.
Its generally expected that with 2 such big universities located at such close proximity to each other, they will be a tremendous amount of rivalry and one oneupmanship. But surprisingly there is none. In fact the level of flexibility given to students is amazing. Do you know that a student registered at MIT can undertake courses and classes at Harvard! For some one like me, that is just unbelievable. But that is what many students too, and I have had the opportunity to attend some lectures at Harvard, which were tremendous experiences.
In my last mail, I had attached a few pictures of a building called Stata Centre. The architecture is pretty amazing and was designed by a very eccentric yet genius architect,Frank Gehry. It cost around $350 million to finish it, but I would say its worth every cent. Bill Gates was also one of the sponserers for the building. It houses the Computer Science and Mathematics departments of MIT. My wing mate at IIT is doing an internship here, so every evening after our work finishes, I go across to his office and play pool and foosball and gorge on chocolates and colas which are available for free here. :)
You might have heard about Tim Berner Lee, the guy who invented the World Wide Web. His office is next door to my friend's. Last week I got the opportunity to talk to him. I was expecting him to behave like a celebrity, and was initially very apprehensive. But he was very nice and humble and we had cookies and hot chocolate in his office. Now that doesn't happen everyday, does it!! We got a couple of Nobel Laureates too in my research center but I haven't been able to meet them yet. Must take some time out and talk to them
The 2008 graduating batch of MIT had its commencement ceremony last Friday. My professor's younger daughter is graduating from the Brain Research Center this year and so we had all gone for the celebrations. Mohammad Yunus was the guest lecturer and it was great to see a person from a Third world country get so much respect and admiration from the MIT fraternity. It was really a grand affair, and it was nice to see so many happy and beaming faces that day.
There is one research center here that garners the most attention and focus from all the academia and the industry here. That is the Media lab here. This is the place where fiction is turned to reality. The 100$ laptop, the electric car, smart city planning, etc etc were all born here. This is the one place where you can see the might of MIT technical prowess. The lab is open 24 hours and you will always find students and scientists working on problems and creating solutions for industries. Its always open to the public so anyone can access it, which is a good thing. MIT doesn't believe in closed door research and in fact there is a corner where you can give feedbacks and suggestions for any product you might want to see in the future. It doesn't matter who you are and what your qualifications are, if you have a good idea it will be implemented.
I still continue to be thrilled and astonished everyday here. Its literally like being Alice in Super wonderland. I do really want to come back some day and study here. Probably an MBA from MIT Sloan would be my best bet, but that is looking too far into the future. For the next one month, I shall continue to have the time of my life and make the most of a once in a life opportunity.
Having made an introduction to MIT in my last email, let me continue from where I left off.
MIT is located in Cambridge, which is just across the Charles river from Boston.Harvard is a further 3 miles up the river. I find this pretty amazing...the 2 biggest and most prestigious universities in the world located at walking distance from one another!! Harvard is old school in all respects. The culture, the architecture, the general atmosphere is all reminiscent of the 18th century. That said, Harvard's two biggest departments, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Business School are located pretty far away from Harvard square, infact Med School is in downtown Boston and is the station from where I board the subway to MIT every day.
Its generally expected that with 2 such big universities located at such close proximity to each other, they will be a tremendous amount of rivalry and one oneupmanship. But surprisingly there is none. In fact the level of flexibility given to students is amazing. Do you know that a student registered at MIT can undertake courses and classes at Harvard! For some one like me, that is just unbelievable. But that is what many students too, and I have had the opportunity to attend some lectures at Harvard, which were tremendous experiences.
In my last mail, I had attached a few pictures of a building called Stata Centre. The architecture is pretty amazing and was designed by a very eccentric yet genius architect,Frank Gehry. It cost around $350 million to finish it, but I would say its worth every cent. Bill Gates was also one of the sponserers for the building. It houses the Computer Science and Mathematics departments of MIT. My wing mate at IIT is doing an internship here, so every evening after our work finishes, I go across to his office and play pool and foosball and gorge on chocolates and colas which are available for free here. :)
You might have heard about Tim Berner Lee, the guy who invented the World Wide Web. His office is next door to my friend's. Last week I got the opportunity to talk to him. I was expecting him to behave like a celebrity, and was initially very apprehensive. But he was very nice and humble and we had cookies and hot chocolate in his office. Now that doesn't happen everyday, does it!! We got a couple of Nobel Laureates too in my research center but I haven't been able to meet them yet. Must take some time out and talk to them
The 2008 graduating batch of MIT had its commencement ceremony last Friday. My professor's younger daughter is graduating from the Brain Research Center this year and so we had all gone for the celebrations. Mohammad Yunus was the guest lecturer and it was great to see a person from a Third world country get so much respect and admiration from the MIT fraternity. It was really a grand affair, and it was nice to see so many happy and beaming faces that day.
There is one research center here that garners the most attention and focus from all the academia and the industry here. That is the Media lab here. This is the place where fiction is turned to reality. The 100$ laptop, the electric car, smart city planning, etc etc were all born here. This is the one place where you can see the might of MIT technical prowess. The lab is open 24 hours and you will always find students and scientists working on problems and creating solutions for industries. Its always open to the public so anyone can access it, which is a good thing. MIT doesn't believe in closed door research and in fact there is a corner where you can give feedbacks and suggestions for any product you might want to see in the future. It doesn't matter who you are and what your qualifications are, if you have a good idea it will be implemented.
I still continue to be thrilled and astonished everyday here. Its literally like being Alice in Super wonderland. I do really want to come back some day and study here. Probably an MBA from MIT Sloan would be my best bet, but that is looking too far into the future. For the next one month, I shall continue to have the time of my life and make the most of a once in a life opportunity.
MIT: part 1
Out of sheer laziness, I am not writing a new post but simply copy pasting an old email of mine. I had sent this across to a favorite teacher of mine at school and I think it should be an interesting read to all.
Dear Sir,
I very well remembered my promise. In fact I had also told you that give me a month's time so that I can understand this place better. I am not using that as an excuse to write in so late, but still, its been only 3 days over a month, I have been here. :) I guess thats too lame an excuse, but you know me too well to take offense to that!
Its no doubt been an awesome month for me. I am so glad I decided to come here. I guess I didn't tell you this, but I had offers from 3 places to chose from. The first was with the company with which I had interned last year, BHP Billiton. They were relocating me this time to Perth and I am sure it would have been a wonderful experience. The other one was from Bielefeld University in Germany. My mom was initially very keen for me to go for this, simply because it was giving me the additional opportunity of having a fun filled "Eurotrip". But when the MIT offer came along, there were absolutely no doubts for me. I think you will also agree with me on this.
Coming to the place itself, I should try to explain to you what exactly I am doing here. I am working at MIT's Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies.(MIT-ISN). Its a very advanced research laboratory which is funded by the US Army, in fact the technologies being developed here are all put to use by the US Army. My guide here has 2-3 patents to his name, all of which have been used in developing technologies for the "war against terror" in Iraq and Afghanistan. Maybe what I am doing here will also affect the ongoing conflict in some way or another, however small or insignificant that may be. I do not know whether I should be happy or sad for that.
To describe my work in a nutshell, I have been assigned 2 projects. The first deals with developing and designing fuel cells which can offer an alternative and cheaper option to other non renewable energy resources. In all previous fuel cells designed, Platinum was used as the primary catalyst for the reduction of oxygen to water. This has 2 major problems. 1.Its way too expensive to be used on a commercial scale. 2 Platinum gets poisoned very easily by dust particles, so the cell also has longevity issues. Our team here is working on using Multi walled Carbon Nanotubes coupled with 3d metals as an alternative to Platinum. So far the results are pretty promising and I have already have had a paper written, which should find its way in to the Journal of American Chemical Society. However that isnt my head ache, so I am not really bothered about that.
My second project is on developing electromechanical actuators using again MWCNTs, which can then be used as artificial muscles in prosthetic limbs and other similar attachments I haven't had the time to start my work on this, but I am so engrossed in my previous work, that frankly I don't have the energy or inclination to start something afresh all of a sudden. If only IIT allowed us 6-8 months for internships, as they allow here abroad. Thats one thing I really hate about the IIT system....they are far far too rigid, and are never ever open to changes that might benefit the student fraternity. I seriously believe that students in their final year should be allowed to pursue interns for at least 6 months. They would play a much bigger role in developing our academic careers rather than making them go through the monotonous routine of classes and labs and mid terms and quizzes and end terms. But this is a separate issue, best not discussed here.
This Sir, is the end of my introduction to what I have been sent out here to do. In my next email, I shall be describing the place in more detail.I know I would not have been able to do justice to it in just 1 email, so I am going to break up my letters. But do not worry, the next one wont be as delayed as this one. It might come out within a few hours or a week at most. That is my promise.
Dear Sir,
I very well remembered my promise. In fact I had also told you that give me a month's time so that I can understand this place better. I am not using that as an excuse to write in so late, but still, its been only 3 days over a month, I have been here. :) I guess thats too lame an excuse, but you know me too well to take offense to that!
Its no doubt been an awesome month for me. I am so glad I decided to come here. I guess I didn't tell you this, but I had offers from 3 places to chose from. The first was with the company with which I had interned last year, BHP Billiton. They were relocating me this time to Perth and I am sure it would have been a wonderful experience. The other one was from Bielefeld University in Germany. My mom was initially very keen for me to go for this, simply because it was giving me the additional opportunity of having a fun filled "Eurotrip". But when the MIT offer came along, there were absolutely no doubts for me. I think you will also agree with me on this.
Coming to the place itself, I should try to explain to you what exactly I am doing here. I am working at MIT's Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies.(MIT-ISN). Its a very advanced research laboratory which is funded by the US Army, in fact the technologies being developed here are all put to use by the US Army. My guide here has 2-3 patents to his name, all of which have been used in developing technologies for the "war against terror" in Iraq and Afghanistan. Maybe what I am doing here will also affect the ongoing conflict in some way or another, however small or insignificant that may be. I do not know whether I should be happy or sad for that.
To describe my work in a nutshell, I have been assigned 2 projects. The first deals with developing and designing fuel cells which can offer an alternative and cheaper option to other non renewable energy resources. In all previous fuel cells designed, Platinum was used as the primary catalyst for the reduction of oxygen to water. This has 2 major problems. 1.Its way too expensive to be used on a commercial scale. 2 Platinum gets poisoned very easily by dust particles, so the cell also has longevity issues. Our team here is working on using Multi walled Carbon Nanotubes coupled with 3d metals as an alternative to Platinum. So far the results are pretty promising and I have already have had a paper written, which should find its way in to the Journal of American Chemical Society. However that isnt my head ache, so I am not really bothered about that.
My second project is on developing electromechanical actuators using again MWCNTs, which can then be used as artificial muscles in prosthetic limbs and other similar attachments I haven't had the time to start my work on this, but I am so engrossed in my previous work, that frankly I don't have the energy or inclination to start something afresh all of a sudden. If only IIT allowed us 6-8 months for internships, as they allow here abroad. Thats one thing I really hate about the IIT system....they are far far too rigid, and are never ever open to changes that might benefit the student fraternity. I seriously believe that students in their final year should be allowed to pursue interns for at least 6 months. They would play a much bigger role in developing our academic careers rather than making them go through the monotonous routine of classes and labs and mid terms and quizzes and end terms. But this is a separate issue, best not discussed here.
This Sir, is the end of my introduction to what I have been sent out here to do. In my next email, I shall be describing the place in more detail.I know I would not have been able to do justice to it in just 1 email, so I am going to break up my letters. But do not worry, the next one wont be as delayed as this one. It might come out within a few hours or a week at most. That is my promise.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
My best "grown up" friend
The title of the post might confuse some people. To simplify things, I am referring to my best friend among all the grown ups I have known in my life. In this case, I am bestowing this particular honor to my dear Mommy. To all those who might wonder how my Mom is my best friend; well she was the one who once played the role of a mediator between me and Dad, when he had found out that his "obedient" son,instead of devoting his precious time to his studies in Kharagpur, was actually in Calcutta,dining in one of the city's poshest restaurant with his girlfriend. I still don't know how I survived that incident; hell, if I was my own father, I would have thrashed myself. Yet, I survived with nothing but an angry glare and a day of uncomfortable silence from my dad. To those who marvel at my luck, it was all due to my Mom. Somehow she saved me from the clutches of death; not only that, she took the opportunity to broker such peace and harmony with me and dad, that the next time, my "friend" visited our house, (at my Mom's insistence, of course!),my Dad actually prepared coffee for her with his own hands! The transition from a gory death to a welcome guest was nothing short of a miracle to both of us.
So, as all of you must have guessed, I had one of the coolest Mom's I could have hoped for. She is a favorite of all my cousins. And she bonds more with them rather than any of the other elders in our family. Even with my friends, she is a big hit. And she can talk about almost anything. I say almost, because she has no interest in Science, so that's something I can't talk with her. But apart from that, be it movies, sports, music, history, fashion, girls, love affairs,etc...basically anything that might interest the younger generation, she will have a thing or two to say. Heck, she is so updated, that once she was offering me advice on how to change my profile status in Orkut!!! I remember the first time, her page popped up in Orkut and Facebook, all my friends scampered to make appropriate changes in their profile pages.
In our family home, she is known as Buaji. Actually she is the youngest sister of her three brothers. So all my cousins call her Buaji.Even I call her Buaji when I am with my cousins. It seemed odd calling her Mom when the whole world is busy addressing her as the "Bua".
Buaji is passionate about two things in life. One is her precious garden, the other is Sachin. I have no issues with Sachin, I mean he is everyone's darling, mine included, but I do get a bit tired of the attention that is showered at those useless plants. Get up in the morning, and she is out in her garden, gazing affectionately at her loved ones, catch her returning from school in the afternoon and she will be again in her dastardly garden, checking out her petunias. Come evening, and it is watering time for the plants. And if God forbid, there is a water crisis in our locality, when everybody else will be wondering about how to finish the cooking and the cleaning in their houses, she will be more worried about how her precocious plants will get their next drop of water!! I sometimes wonder who will get more of her attention, me or her plants in the eventuality that both of us fall sick?
I think I already know the answer to that question.
And with Sachin, she gets really hyper. The poor man isn't allowed to play in peace if she is watching him on TV. She believes her tiniest movement will somehow affect his play. So most of the time, her eyes are shut and she opens them only when he is on the non striker's end. And my Dad, to make fun of her, openly criticizes Sachin and shows his whole hearted support for Sourav, whom she just can't tolerate. Trust me, it's a fun time to be at the Singhs' residence when India is playing!
So thats it about my Mom. A fun loving, adventurous woman, who doesn't think twice about paragliding over the serene waters of the Gulf of Thailand,talks almost daily with my girlfriend, discussing strategies on how to rectify me as a person,and has an awesome album collection in Orkut(mostly filled with those miserable flowers).
p.s. I hate to admit it, but I think she is more popular with my friends than me!
So, as all of you must have guessed, I had one of the coolest Mom's I could have hoped for. She is a favorite of all my cousins. And she bonds more with them rather than any of the other elders in our family. Even with my friends, she is a big hit. And she can talk about almost anything. I say almost, because she has no interest in Science, so that's something I can't talk with her. But apart from that, be it movies, sports, music, history, fashion, girls, love affairs,etc...basically anything that might interest the younger generation, she will have a thing or two to say. Heck, she is so updated, that once she was offering me advice on how to change my profile status in Orkut!!! I remember the first time, her page popped up in Orkut and Facebook, all my friends scampered to make appropriate changes in their profile pages.
In our family home, she is known as Buaji. Actually she is the youngest sister of her three brothers. So all my cousins call her Buaji.Even I call her Buaji when I am with my cousins. It seemed odd calling her Mom when the whole world is busy addressing her as the "Bua".
Buaji is passionate about two things in life. One is her precious garden, the other is Sachin. I have no issues with Sachin, I mean he is everyone's darling, mine included, but I do get a bit tired of the attention that is showered at those useless plants. Get up in the morning, and she is out in her garden, gazing affectionately at her loved ones, catch her returning from school in the afternoon and she will be again in her dastardly garden, checking out her petunias. Come evening, and it is watering time for the plants. And if God forbid, there is a water crisis in our locality, when everybody else will be wondering about how to finish the cooking and the cleaning in their houses, she will be more worried about how her precocious plants will get their next drop of water!! I sometimes wonder who will get more of her attention, me or her plants in the eventuality that both of us fall sick?
I think I already know the answer to that question.
And with Sachin, she gets really hyper. The poor man isn't allowed to play in peace if she is watching him on TV. She believes her tiniest movement will somehow affect his play. So most of the time, her eyes are shut and she opens them only when he is on the non striker's end. And my Dad, to make fun of her, openly criticizes Sachin and shows his whole hearted support for Sourav, whom she just can't tolerate. Trust me, it's a fun time to be at the Singhs' residence when India is playing!
So thats it about my Mom. A fun loving, adventurous woman, who doesn't think twice about paragliding over the serene waters of the Gulf of Thailand,talks almost daily with my girlfriend, discussing strategies on how to rectify me as a person,and has an awesome album collection in Orkut(mostly filled with those miserable flowers).
p.s. I hate to admit it, but I think she is more popular with my friends than me!
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
A short one this time
Hi all,
The reasons, I haven't written a new post for a long time are many. For starters, I am terribly disappointed with my CAT results this year and I somehow couldn't summon any energy to sit down and write stuff. Also,office hours have been a bit too long for the past fortnight, so time was an issue too.
Anyways, I am expecting a couple of exciting changes in the very near future, so maybe that will be an incentive for me to get back to my blog with renewed vigor.
Next weekend mom is coming over. I have promised her that I will take her to an IPL match. She wants to see Dhoni in action, hopefully the experience will turn out to be as good as the hype surrounding it.
Off the topic note: Yesterday, when I was returning from office, I saw a small child selling panipuris in a makeshift stall, near the mall besides my flat. He looked exceedingly poor and he had a pleading look in his eyes, as if literally begging for people to buy his stuff. It was past 11 p.m. at that time, so I doubt anyone was in the mood to have a snack then. I wanted to help him, maybe give a 10 rupee note or some food. But, I didn't. I still don't know what stopped me. Was I too stingy to part with even 10 or 20 bucks and help that poor child? Or was I conscious that people might stare at me, if I went and talked to that boy and offered him food. Or was I afraid of what that boy will think of me? Whatever the reason, the end result was that I didn't do anything, I continued on my way home, had my dinner and went to sleep.
Maybe it's true that we are actually dead from inside. We are too scared/conscious of performing even good deeds. I once thought that these emotions are reserved only for bad or evil stuff. But, my own example has shown me how wrong I am.
That hurts.
The reasons, I haven't written a new post for a long time are many. For starters, I am terribly disappointed with my CAT results this year and I somehow couldn't summon any energy to sit down and write stuff. Also,office hours have been a bit too long for the past fortnight, so time was an issue too.
Anyways, I am expecting a couple of exciting changes in the very near future, so maybe that will be an incentive for me to get back to my blog with renewed vigor.
Next weekend mom is coming over. I have promised her that I will take her to an IPL match. She wants to see Dhoni in action, hopefully the experience will turn out to be as good as the hype surrounding it.
Off the topic note: Yesterday, when I was returning from office, I saw a small child selling panipuris in a makeshift stall, near the mall besides my flat. He looked exceedingly poor and he had a pleading look in his eyes, as if literally begging for people to buy his stuff. It was past 11 p.m. at that time, so I doubt anyone was in the mood to have a snack then. I wanted to help him, maybe give a 10 rupee note or some food. But, I didn't. I still don't know what stopped me. Was I too stingy to part with even 10 or 20 bucks and help that poor child? Or was I conscious that people might stare at me, if I went and talked to that boy and offered him food. Or was I afraid of what that boy will think of me? Whatever the reason, the end result was that I didn't do anything, I continued on my way home, had my dinner and went to sleep.
Maybe it's true that we are actually dead from inside. We are too scared/conscious of performing even good deeds. I once thought that these emotions are reserved only for bad or evil stuff. But, my own example has shown me how wrong I am.
That hurts.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
My first bike
Too much sentimental stuff was shared in the last post and I am not sure I am up for something similar again. So I have decided to go in for something more materialistic, yet at the same time is extremely close to my heart.So,this post is about my bike, my beloved Hunk!
I was in class X, when dad taught me how to ride a scooter. And I absolutely loved it. For the first time, going somewhere wasn't a pain anymore. I mean don't get me wrong, I love cycling, but sometimes you do long for a machine which would take you places without any physical efforts whatsoever. And somehow I had this notion that chicks dig dudes who have a motorized vehicle.I still remember how in class IX, I had borrowed a neighboring Didi's gearless moped and had zoomed it at a Hayabusian speed of 20 kmph to our play ground to show it off to my friends and the girls who used to hang out there. Imagine my disappointment,when no one turned up! There were only a couple of toddlers who were rolling in the dust much to the anguish of their weary mothers.Ten minutes later, my own mom crossed our playground,(she was on her evening walk)and realized what had happened. There,right in front of her eyes, was her stud of a son, on a girl's scooty, alone in the playground, waiting for girls to check him out.I so wish the ground had swallowed me then and there! Ahh...the fallacies of teenage hood, we would believe just about anything they showed on TV. Luckily, I had a set of parents who knew when and how to put me straight, so the idea of having my own personalized bike/scooter never really caught up with me. Plus, all my friends were like totally middle class kids, whose only aim was to study well and get into the best of colleges.So I had to shelf my plans for my dream bike for the time being.
So, I thought,"Ok, let me get into college and then I will pester dad for a bike.Everyone has a bike in films, so I should have one too." My reasoning seemed sound in logic, so I was happy thinking that my bike was just round the corner.
I think God was listening to my prayers, but in the opposite sense I guess. For he decided to put me in a college, where even the professors used cycles to come to class. Motorized wheelers were banned in our campus and almost everyone preferred those two wheelered nuisances that they mass produce in the downtown factories of Ludhiana.And to top it off, I was in a five year course, so the wait just got longer and longer.
So, for the next 4 years, I didn't even bother finding out which bike was hot in the market. But when finally, I landed with a job, I realized my dream was near. Another 6 months,and I would be out of that god forsaken place. I would kick my old bicycle away for good and never mount on another one for the rest of my life.I was going to Bangalore, where my childhood friends were presently working.(as software engineers, what else do you expect???). More importantly, my girl friend(eehh..I am blushing as I am writing this) was also in Bangalore, so once again, the thought of us together on a super bike, riding out to the sunset, seemed like a luring possibility. Needless to say, I couldn't wait to get onto my flight to Bangalore.
p.s. I later realized that instead of becoming the cool dude who rode on his cool bike with his gf to all the cool hotspots in Bangalore, I was now more of a glorified chauffeur, who took his mistress to all the malls and bazaars and tailor shops which appealed to the whims of her Royal Highness.But more of that in a later post!!
So, now that only a few months were left, I started googling for the hottest Indian bikes. I already knew that I wasn't go for anything less than a 150 cc bike. The price range seemed right too. The 150 cc ones started from Rs 65k and the bigger models(225 ccs) ended at Rs 100k.After a lot of analysis, reviews and fundas from the internet and from friends, I had zeroed in on the Hunk and Karizma from Hero Honda, P 220 from Bajaj, FZ 16 from Yamaha,Unicorn from Honda and the Apache RTR from TVS.
The Hero Honda bikes were good looking, reliable, sturdy vehicles which came at a pocket friendly price tag. I loved the Hunk's muscular looks and the fact that it was a very heavy bike, which meant that it would remain stable in high speed conditions was a major plus point for me. Also it had the reliable Honda 149.6 cc engine embedded beneath it's giant body, so it made for a very good choice indeed.
The Karizma was a beast of a bike, a true blood sports bike, which would make one's heart go thumping at the start of it's engine. Being a 225 cc bike, it wouldn't be fuel efficient, but I was ready for that. If, mileage was an actual concern for me, I would have gone a CD 100.
The P220 was a bike in a similar league to Karizma's. In fact it is the fastest bike in India, and it's majestic wolf like looks had dudes swooning all over it. I didn't consider the P150/180 for 2 major reasons: (a). they are too common on Indian roads and I wanted a more exclusive bike. (b). The reliability of Bajaj bikes is a major concern and I had heard too many cases of Pulsars breaking down within an year or two of purchase. There were similar quality issues with the P220, but so fascinated was I with this bike, that I was willing to take the risk.
The FZ 16 from Yamaha was a new entrant in the Indian biking terrain. And it was absolutely smashing. Having riden this machine, I can vouch for it to be having the most refined engine, the smoothest gear box and the best power transmission from any other comparable bike.It's looks were also radical and made heads turn at every traffic signal. But the bike was over priced, nearly 7-8k more than other bikes in the same league. Also its fuel efficiency was pretty low. Still, I was willing to forego all these drawbacks. I was sure that the FZ was the bike for me...until I discovered that FZ doesn't have a kick start! It only came in auto start, which meant total dependence on the bike's battery and I certainly didn't want to be left with a plausible situation that one fine day when I am hundreds of km from the nearest bike service shop, my battery gives way and I then have to drag my bike all the way till I reach civilization. Then and there, the FZ was out of my list, and consequently the Karizma and P220 were also out as they do have the same auto start issue.
The Honda Unicorn was the last bike in my list. Its the perfect bike. Simple yet elegsant looks, good fuel efficiency, a superb engine and Honda's legendary reliability tag made me realize that the Unicorn could very well possibly be the bike for me. I tried the Apache RTR,but didn't like it one bit. It's a race bike where tall people need to crouch to ride it. Also its a bike for thrills, and I doubt you would get much of it in the busy lanes of Bangalore. Lastly, I heard about some quality issues with the bike's spare parts, so very soon the Apache was kicked out of my list.
Thus it was now a 2 way race between the Hunk and Unicorn.
But before I finally zeroed in on my favored bike, something else happened with me. I got a mail from my new employees that since the world is in the middle of recession, there will be a massive pay cut from our promised salaries. Also there will be a delayed joining for all of us, the extent of which was unknown even to them. The world came crashing down on me.All my dreams of settling in Bangalore in the very near future was gone, and awaiting me now was an uncertain tomorrow.
However, God was looking over me all this while. By a stroke of luck, he got me an offer with another company in Bangalore. The pay wasn't much but at least I had work now. My salary didn't afford me a bike, so I initially commuted to office by public buses. But in Bangalore,even that is expensive. So I settled on the next best thing. Believe it or not, I bought a 2nd hand cycle for 500 bucks!! Imagine my anguish when instead of a brand new Honda at my doorsteps, I had a 2nd hand cycle waiting for me. I bet God must have been dancing on the latest Himesh Reshammiya's songs at that moment. But nothing could be done, and exactly 2 months after I had sworn I would never get on a cycle again, I was back on the damn thing again.The memories of Kgp had come back to haunt me.
So my life continued in this way for the next 5 months. Each day I swore at my cycle and prayed for my agony to end. On the roads, I made jealous glances towards the other bike wallahs and consoled myself that at least I was saving precious money on fuel this way. The consolation didn't help much though.
But one fine day, I got a call from my original company that they were ready to take me on board within a fortnight. Life seemed sweet again. I had also saved a sizeable amount by then and since my new office was about 15 km from my flat, I had to buy a bike...ASAP! So once again it was back to inquiries and opinions from friends, office colleagues and almost anyone who had a bike and could speak in Hindi or English.After satisfying myself that the Hunk and the Unicorn were still the best options for me, I got a couple of my friends to accompany me to Honda showrooms.I still couldn't decide which bike I wanted. Everyone gave me a different opinion. My gf wanted the Hunk because it looked cool, my flatmate wanted me to go for the Unicorn as it was more fuel efficient, and others were still confused. So, I decided that I will buy the bike which will be available immediately and I wouldn't have to wait for it. Since the Honda show room was closer to my house, we went in there first. The black Unicorn was priced at Rs.68k, but it had a waiting period of 2 weeks. Disheartened, I headed to the Hero Honda Showroom. Sure enough they had 10 black models on display. Within half an hour, I was the proud owner of my very own Hunk.
That night,I couldn't sleep. Every half hour I would keep going down to admire my beast's looks. My dream was realized and I was a happy boy once more. Till date it has clocked 3800 km in 3 months, with 2 servicings done. Zero issues upto now and I dont have a single regret with my choice.
Next bike: A Kawasaki Ninja 250(most probably after I am done with my MBA.)
I was in class X, when dad taught me how to ride a scooter. And I absolutely loved it. For the first time, going somewhere wasn't a pain anymore. I mean don't get me wrong, I love cycling, but sometimes you do long for a machine which would take you places without any physical efforts whatsoever. And somehow I had this notion that chicks dig dudes who have a motorized vehicle.I still remember how in class IX, I had borrowed a neighboring Didi's gearless moped and had zoomed it at a Hayabusian speed of 20 kmph to our play ground to show it off to my friends and the girls who used to hang out there. Imagine my disappointment,when no one turned up! There were only a couple of toddlers who were rolling in the dust much to the anguish of their weary mothers.Ten minutes later, my own mom crossed our playground,(she was on her evening walk)and realized what had happened. There,right in front of her eyes, was her stud of a son, on a girl's scooty, alone in the playground, waiting for girls to check him out.I so wish the ground had swallowed me then and there! Ahh...the fallacies of teenage hood, we would believe just about anything they showed on TV. Luckily, I had a set of parents who knew when and how to put me straight, so the idea of having my own personalized bike/scooter never really caught up with me. Plus, all my friends were like totally middle class kids, whose only aim was to study well and get into the best of colleges.So I had to shelf my plans for my dream bike for the time being.
So, I thought,"Ok, let me get into college and then I will pester dad for a bike.Everyone has a bike in films, so I should have one too." My reasoning seemed sound in logic, so I was happy thinking that my bike was just round the corner.
I think God was listening to my prayers, but in the opposite sense I guess. For he decided to put me in a college, where even the professors used cycles to come to class. Motorized wheelers were banned in our campus and almost everyone preferred those two wheelered nuisances that they mass produce in the downtown factories of Ludhiana.And to top it off, I was in a five year course, so the wait just got longer and longer.
So, for the next 4 years, I didn't even bother finding out which bike was hot in the market. But when finally, I landed with a job, I realized my dream was near. Another 6 months,and I would be out of that god forsaken place. I would kick my old bicycle away for good and never mount on another one for the rest of my life.I was going to Bangalore, where my childhood friends were presently working.(as software engineers, what else do you expect???). More importantly, my girl friend(eehh..I am blushing as I am writing this) was also in Bangalore, so once again, the thought of us together on a super bike, riding out to the sunset, seemed like a luring possibility. Needless to say, I couldn't wait to get onto my flight to Bangalore.
p.s. I later realized that instead of becoming the cool dude who rode on his cool bike with his gf to all the cool hotspots in Bangalore, I was now more of a glorified chauffeur, who took his mistress to all the malls and bazaars and tailor shops which appealed to the whims of her Royal Highness.But more of that in a later post!!
So, now that only a few months were left, I started googling for the hottest Indian bikes. I already knew that I wasn't go for anything less than a 150 cc bike. The price range seemed right too. The 150 cc ones started from Rs 65k and the bigger models(225 ccs) ended at Rs 100k.After a lot of analysis, reviews and fundas from the internet and from friends, I had zeroed in on the Hunk and Karizma from Hero Honda, P 220 from Bajaj, FZ 16 from Yamaha,Unicorn from Honda and the Apache RTR from TVS.
The Hero Honda bikes were good looking, reliable, sturdy vehicles which came at a pocket friendly price tag. I loved the Hunk's muscular looks and the fact that it was a very heavy bike, which meant that it would remain stable in high speed conditions was a major plus point for me. Also it had the reliable Honda 149.6 cc engine embedded beneath it's giant body, so it made for a very good choice indeed.
The Karizma was a beast of a bike, a true blood sports bike, which would make one's heart go thumping at the start of it's engine. Being a 225 cc bike, it wouldn't be fuel efficient, but I was ready for that. If, mileage was an actual concern for me, I would have gone a CD 100.
The P220 was a bike in a similar league to Karizma's. In fact it is the fastest bike in India, and it's majestic wolf like looks had dudes swooning all over it. I didn't consider the P150/180 for 2 major reasons: (a). they are too common on Indian roads and I wanted a more exclusive bike. (b). The reliability of Bajaj bikes is a major concern and I had heard too many cases of Pulsars breaking down within an year or two of purchase. There were similar quality issues with the P220, but so fascinated was I with this bike, that I was willing to take the risk.
The FZ 16 from Yamaha was a new entrant in the Indian biking terrain. And it was absolutely smashing. Having riden this machine, I can vouch for it to be having the most refined engine, the smoothest gear box and the best power transmission from any other comparable bike.It's looks were also radical and made heads turn at every traffic signal. But the bike was over priced, nearly 7-8k more than other bikes in the same league. Also its fuel efficiency was pretty low. Still, I was willing to forego all these drawbacks. I was sure that the FZ was the bike for me...until I discovered that FZ doesn't have a kick start! It only came in auto start, which meant total dependence on the bike's battery and I certainly didn't want to be left with a plausible situation that one fine day when I am hundreds of km from the nearest bike service shop, my battery gives way and I then have to drag my bike all the way till I reach civilization. Then and there, the FZ was out of my list, and consequently the Karizma and P220 were also out as they do have the same auto start issue.
The Honda Unicorn was the last bike in my list. Its the perfect bike. Simple yet elegsant looks, good fuel efficiency, a superb engine and Honda's legendary reliability tag made me realize that the Unicorn could very well possibly be the bike for me. I tried the Apache RTR,but didn't like it one bit. It's a race bike where tall people need to crouch to ride it. Also its a bike for thrills, and I doubt you would get much of it in the busy lanes of Bangalore. Lastly, I heard about some quality issues with the bike's spare parts, so very soon the Apache was kicked out of my list.
Thus it was now a 2 way race between the Hunk and Unicorn.
But before I finally zeroed in on my favored bike, something else happened with me. I got a mail from my new employees that since the world is in the middle of recession, there will be a massive pay cut from our promised salaries. Also there will be a delayed joining for all of us, the extent of which was unknown even to them. The world came crashing down on me.All my dreams of settling in Bangalore in the very near future was gone, and awaiting me now was an uncertain tomorrow.
However, God was looking over me all this while. By a stroke of luck, he got me an offer with another company in Bangalore. The pay wasn't much but at least I had work now. My salary didn't afford me a bike, so I initially commuted to office by public buses. But in Bangalore,even that is expensive. So I settled on the next best thing. Believe it or not, I bought a 2nd hand cycle for 500 bucks!! Imagine my anguish when instead of a brand new Honda at my doorsteps, I had a 2nd hand cycle waiting for me. I bet God must have been dancing on the latest Himesh Reshammiya's songs at that moment. But nothing could be done, and exactly 2 months after I had sworn I would never get on a cycle again, I was back on the damn thing again.The memories of Kgp had come back to haunt me.
So my life continued in this way for the next 5 months. Each day I swore at my cycle and prayed for my agony to end. On the roads, I made jealous glances towards the other bike wallahs and consoled myself that at least I was saving precious money on fuel this way. The consolation didn't help much though.
But one fine day, I got a call from my original company that they were ready to take me on board within a fortnight. Life seemed sweet again. I had also saved a sizeable amount by then and since my new office was about 15 km from my flat, I had to buy a bike...ASAP! So once again it was back to inquiries and opinions from friends, office colleagues and almost anyone who had a bike and could speak in Hindi or English.After satisfying myself that the Hunk and the Unicorn were still the best options for me, I got a couple of my friends to accompany me to Honda showrooms.I still couldn't decide which bike I wanted. Everyone gave me a different opinion. My gf wanted the Hunk because it looked cool, my flatmate wanted me to go for the Unicorn as it was more fuel efficient, and others were still confused. So, I decided that I will buy the bike which will be available immediately and I wouldn't have to wait for it. Since the Honda show room was closer to my house, we went in there first. The black Unicorn was priced at Rs.68k, but it had a waiting period of 2 weeks. Disheartened, I headed to the Hero Honda Showroom. Sure enough they had 10 black models on display. Within half an hour, I was the proud owner of my very own Hunk.
That night,I couldn't sleep. Every half hour I would keep going down to admire my beast's looks. My dream was realized and I was a happy boy once more. Till date it has clocked 3800 km in 3 months, with 2 servicings done. Zero issues upto now and I dont have a single regret with my choice.
Next bike: A Kawasaki Ninja 250(most probably after I am done with my MBA.)
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Dad
So now that I am four posts old, I feel like a veteran already. Before going onto the next phase of my life, I feel compelled to write a few words on some of the people who have impacted me in some way or other.
Starting off with my dad...Well he somehow scares people. I dont know how he does that, but there is a great aura about him. All my cousins are terrified of him and keep on empathizing with me about how I manage to survive in the same house. But to tell you the truth, I was always more afraid of mom than him. With dad, you could work things out. I mean if he is angry, he will show it. When I was a kid, I did stuff that forced dad to beat the crap out of me. And everytime he used to say the same thing,"Babu! Aaj toh mein tere ko hospitalize karke hi rahunga..aur tera ilaaj sirf tera baap hi kar payega!!" I think he sometimes forgot that not only was he my "Baap", but he was also a doctor, so in case of any injuries, he would be the only to actually treat me!I also remember one of his favourite dialogues,before he commenced operation Babu, "Open your specs!! If it breaks, tera baap khareedke dega tere ko naya??"
But I actually looked forwards to the beatings. For one,I never felt that physically hurt, and secondly, by evening he would be guilt ridden and would come home loaded with chocolates, ice creams and chicken. Ahh..who wouldn't want a beating then!!
But he is always some one I look for approval.Whatever I did, I kept him in mind whether he would be proud of me or not. When I failed to crack IIT the first time, I was more sorry for him than me. The one year break that I took for preps, the only thought that kept coming in my mind was how he would be coping with the whole thing.People will keep on asking him how is your son doing and where is he studying, and I always dreaded to imagine his face then.One of the most striking memories, I have of him, was when he came to drop me off at Kota. After a few days, when I had settled in, he decided to leave and return home. The day he went back, he got up very early in the morning and left without awaking me. I was actually awake the whole time, but I had tears in my eyes, I didn't want him to see me that way, so I didn't dare to get up. Once he was ready, he came to me once,patted my hair, looked up at the blank vacant space and just left. I actually wanted to run after him and hug him, but I was a "man" now and I didn't dare show my vulnerability.
An year later, when he dropped me off at my campus at Kharagpur, I could see pride in his eyes. We hardly speak to each other,but we do connect a lot. And mom says that he is very proud of me. When I went abroad for the first time, she said he couldn't stop bragging about me to everyone. That was the only incentive I needed.
Come 2009, when the whole world was in recession, getting a job was pretty difficult. I was among the unlucky ones who actually had to find one, and my major concern was what will dad think if I end up jobless. But all the time, he kept telling me it was alright and itsn't my fault and if nothing works out, then both of us will go to Jaunpur and look after our cows together. Thank God, that didn't happen!
Still, I sometimes wonder if he is really satisfied with me or not...
He is also a very funny man. When I was small, I remember him shaving in front of the wash basin, singing to himself,"Meine toh nahin, haaan...meine to nahin.."For the life of me, I couldnt fathom how that song ended. Also now that he holds an important profile in his company , he has to attend a lot of official parties. So many in fact that it's a surprise to me if someday he doesn't have a party to attend. And he loves his non veg food. So everytime he comes back, I ask him what he had, and everytime, he would answer with the straightest of faces,"Oh, I had nothing, just a little daal and some rice and 1 piece of chicken." And he would conveniently forget to tell us that infact he had already gorged to his heart's content on all the kebabs and tandoors served during snacks.Confront him with that and he will say,"But you asked only about dinner, how am I supposed to know you meant snacks too!!"
He is also a bit absent minded. Once he met an aunty and her daughter in front of the gynecology ward. Aunty's husband was actually having a major operation, and she was on her way to meet him when she met dad. Seeing dad, she wept her case to him, searching for some sympathies. My dad, who was too busy to hear, assumed that since she is with her daughter(who was actually a bit fat), and near the gynae area, assumed that the daughter was pregnant and congratulated her with all his heart."Khub bhalo! Khub bhalo..keep it up!"
I can only imagine the lady's shocked face..
Dad you are a real dude!
Starting off with my dad...Well he somehow scares people. I dont know how he does that, but there is a great aura about him. All my cousins are terrified of him and keep on empathizing with me about how I manage to survive in the same house. But to tell you the truth, I was always more afraid of mom than him. With dad, you could work things out. I mean if he is angry, he will show it. When I was a kid, I did stuff that forced dad to beat the crap out of me. And everytime he used to say the same thing,"Babu! Aaj toh mein tere ko hospitalize karke hi rahunga..aur tera ilaaj sirf tera baap hi kar payega!!" I think he sometimes forgot that not only was he my "Baap", but he was also a doctor, so in case of any injuries, he would be the only to actually treat me!I also remember one of his favourite dialogues,before he commenced operation Babu, "Open your specs!! If it breaks, tera baap khareedke dega tere ko naya??"
But I actually looked forwards to the beatings. For one,I never felt that physically hurt, and secondly, by evening he would be guilt ridden and would come home loaded with chocolates, ice creams and chicken. Ahh..who wouldn't want a beating then!!
But he is always some one I look for approval.Whatever I did, I kept him in mind whether he would be proud of me or not. When I failed to crack IIT the first time, I was more sorry for him than me. The one year break that I took for preps, the only thought that kept coming in my mind was how he would be coping with the whole thing.People will keep on asking him how is your son doing and where is he studying, and I always dreaded to imagine his face then.One of the most striking memories, I have of him, was when he came to drop me off at Kota. After a few days, when I had settled in, he decided to leave and return home. The day he went back, he got up very early in the morning and left without awaking me. I was actually awake the whole time, but I had tears in my eyes, I didn't want him to see me that way, so I didn't dare to get up. Once he was ready, he came to me once,patted my hair, looked up at the blank vacant space and just left. I actually wanted to run after him and hug him, but I was a "man" now and I didn't dare show my vulnerability.
An year later, when he dropped me off at my campus at Kharagpur, I could see pride in his eyes. We hardly speak to each other,but we do connect a lot. And mom says that he is very proud of me. When I went abroad for the first time, she said he couldn't stop bragging about me to everyone. That was the only incentive I needed.
Come 2009, when the whole world was in recession, getting a job was pretty difficult. I was among the unlucky ones who actually had to find one, and my major concern was what will dad think if I end up jobless. But all the time, he kept telling me it was alright and itsn't my fault and if nothing works out, then both of us will go to Jaunpur and look after our cows together. Thank God, that didn't happen!
Still, I sometimes wonder if he is really satisfied with me or not...
He is also a very funny man. When I was small, I remember him shaving in front of the wash basin, singing to himself,"Meine toh nahin, haaan...meine to nahin.."For the life of me, I couldnt fathom how that song ended. Also now that he holds an important profile in his company , he has to attend a lot of official parties. So many in fact that it's a surprise to me if someday he doesn't have a party to attend. And he loves his non veg food. So everytime he comes back, I ask him what he had, and everytime, he would answer with the straightest of faces,"Oh, I had nothing, just a little daal and some rice and 1 piece of chicken." And he would conveniently forget to tell us that infact he had already gorged to his heart's content on all the kebabs and tandoors served during snacks.Confront him with that and he will say,"But you asked only about dinner, how am I supposed to know you meant snacks too!!"
He is also a bit absent minded. Once he met an aunty and her daughter in front of the gynecology ward. Aunty's husband was actually having a major operation, and she was on her way to meet him when she met dad. Seeing dad, she wept her case to him, searching for some sympathies. My dad, who was too busy to hear, assumed that since she is with her daughter(who was actually a bit fat), and near the gynae area, assumed that the daughter was pregnant and congratulated her with all his heart."Khub bhalo! Khub bhalo..keep it up!"
I can only imagine the lady's shocked face..
Dad you are a real dude!
I am famous (continued...)
So there we were, superstars in our right, giving advice and inspiration to all those who came asking for it. Life couldn't have been better. I was all charged up for the Finals, even more so when I realized that we were having a very special celebrity guest on our show. She was the former Miss Universe, Sushmita Sen herself! The year was 1997 and she was famous then.People were still making the mistake of comparing her with Aishwarya Rai, and so it was quite a big deal when she walked into the studios.I was happy too.
In my QF, I had Abey Kuruvilla as the special guest and T.N. Seshan in the semis.For the ignorant person,Abey's claim to fame is that he is India's tallest medium pace bowler(fast would be an aberration), who played one series in West Indies, and had Lara effectively reduce his ego to Lilliputian standards. Nevertheless, I was glad to meet him; I had indirectly met God himself. The reasoning being that Abey must have interacted a lot with Sachin during his playing days, and now I was doing the same with Abey.
Get the connection??
There were many more celebrities we met. There was Baichung Bhutia who was gracious enough to have breakfast with us at the hotel. Dravid too, but he had just started,so people weren't paying him too much attention. Dalip Tahil(remember Sirjee from Kaho Na Pyar Hai?), Remo Fernandes and Shiamak Davar. It was a nice company to be in and we were loving it.
Unfortunately,the Finals didn't turn out the way I had imagined. We made some major goof ups and by the end of the show were tied with Naval Public School,Bombay for the first position. There could be only 1 winner, so there was going to be a tie breaker.My partner had gone eerily quiet by then and I had started praying to as many Gods whose names I could remember. When the tie breaker question was finally asked, I didn't hear it. My partner still had a case of the freeze up and before I realized what was happening, it was all over. Naval Public had won and our fairy tale story had come to an end.
Surprisingly, my partner took the loss rather well. He had recovered from his speech impairment and was busy mingling with everyone, shaking hands and congratulating all and sundry. I, on the other hand, couldn't get my ass off my chair. It still hadn't sunken in that we hadn't won. Success is a wicked thing, it makes you greedy. And when your greed isn't satisfied, it literally kills you. I couldn't speak, I just wanted to get the hell out of there. Talking to anyone seemed like a pain. It really felt like someone had poked in a thousand needles into my heart and was pulling them in and out at will.
When we returned to Durgapur, we were accorded a hero's welcome by our friends. Our exploits had reached far and wide, and almost every day,I had people coming up to me, wishing me and sympathizing with our loss. Buses, hospitals, markets, wherever I went people looked at me and smiled.Many wanted to talk too. In my school, I guess apart from a few disgruntled teachers (with whom I had a long and chequered history) and perhaps Fr Jerome (I guess he was still angry at our extra long holiday),we were treated like royalty.
One good pay off was that we were discussed even in the neighboring Carmel Convent Girl's High school. Suddenly species from another planet whom I had only heard about but had never spoken to, were discussing me and a couple of brave ones even approached me to know more about my experiences.The pompous fool that I am, I was loving every moment of it. I was getting missed calls and prank calls from the girls all the time and my ego was at all time inflated high. Of course my father couldn't quite understand these side effects of stardom, and his patience was slowly weaning out. I couldn't care less though. I was making sure that I spent a couple of minutes extra combing my gelled hair,(actually, it wasn't gel, but water)had my best pair of jeans at all times and wore the Old Spice cologne, which a medical company had kindly bestowed my father with, at all times. Life was beautiful and I was hell bent on enjoying it as long as it lasted.
Anyways, things went back to normal within 6 months. My identification went back to the mundane "Dr Singh's son", a big fall from the once exuberant "BQC Kid". But life moves on, and I was lucky to have experienced something that very few people in their life time have ever gone through.I thank the Lord for that.
p.s. The tie breaker q. we were asked in the Finals was "Rearrange the word "POLES" to get a word, which implies the side of a mountain."
Adios!
In my QF, I had Abey Kuruvilla as the special guest and T.N. Seshan in the semis.For the ignorant person,Abey's claim to fame is that he is India's tallest medium pace bowler(fast would be an aberration), who played one series in West Indies, and had Lara effectively reduce his ego to Lilliputian standards. Nevertheless, I was glad to meet him; I had indirectly met God himself. The reasoning being that Abey must have interacted a lot with Sachin during his playing days, and now I was doing the same with Abey.
Get the connection??
There were many more celebrities we met. There was Baichung Bhutia who was gracious enough to have breakfast with us at the hotel. Dravid too, but he had just started,so people weren't paying him too much attention. Dalip Tahil(remember Sirjee from Kaho Na Pyar Hai?), Remo Fernandes and Shiamak Davar. It was a nice company to be in and we were loving it.
Unfortunately,the Finals didn't turn out the way I had imagined. We made some major goof ups and by the end of the show were tied with Naval Public School,Bombay for the first position. There could be only 1 winner, so there was going to be a tie breaker.My partner had gone eerily quiet by then and I had started praying to as many Gods whose names I could remember. When the tie breaker question was finally asked, I didn't hear it. My partner still had a case of the freeze up and before I realized what was happening, it was all over. Naval Public had won and our fairy tale story had come to an end.
Surprisingly, my partner took the loss rather well. He had recovered from his speech impairment and was busy mingling with everyone, shaking hands and congratulating all and sundry. I, on the other hand, couldn't get my ass off my chair. It still hadn't sunken in that we hadn't won. Success is a wicked thing, it makes you greedy. And when your greed isn't satisfied, it literally kills you. I couldn't speak, I just wanted to get the hell out of there. Talking to anyone seemed like a pain. It really felt like someone had poked in a thousand needles into my heart and was pulling them in and out at will.
When we returned to Durgapur, we were accorded a hero's welcome by our friends. Our exploits had reached far and wide, and almost every day,I had people coming up to me, wishing me and sympathizing with our loss. Buses, hospitals, markets, wherever I went people looked at me and smiled.Many wanted to talk too. In my school, I guess apart from a few disgruntled teachers (with whom I had a long and chequered history) and perhaps Fr Jerome (I guess he was still angry at our extra long holiday),we were treated like royalty.
One good pay off was that we were discussed even in the neighboring Carmel Convent Girl's High school. Suddenly species from another planet whom I had only heard about but had never spoken to, were discussing me and a couple of brave ones even approached me to know more about my experiences.The pompous fool that I am, I was loving every moment of it. I was getting missed calls and prank calls from the girls all the time and my ego was at all time inflated high. Of course my father couldn't quite understand these side effects of stardom, and his patience was slowly weaning out. I couldn't care less though. I was making sure that I spent a couple of minutes extra combing my gelled hair,(actually, it wasn't gel, but water)had my best pair of jeans at all times and wore the Old Spice cologne, which a medical company had kindly bestowed my father with, at all times. Life was beautiful and I was hell bent on enjoying it as long as it lasted.
Anyways, things went back to normal within 6 months. My identification went back to the mundane "Dr Singh's son", a big fall from the once exuberant "BQC Kid". But life moves on, and I was lucky to have experienced something that very few people in their life time have ever gone through.I thank the Lord for that.
p.s. The tie breaker q. we were asked in the Finals was "Rearrange the word "POLES" to get a word, which implies the side of a mountain."
Adios!
I am famous!
In class 8, something really big happened to me. At that time, there was this very famous quiz show that used to come on TV, "Bournvita Quiz Contest" and it was hosted by Derek O'Brian. I got a chance to participate in this show and my life changed after that.(for a couple of months only, btw). My partner was a bright chap from Class 7,(he is a doctor now) and I had my mom accompanying us as the school representative. That turned out to be both a blessing and a curse, hehe! Our's is a small school, from a small town, which no one had ever heard about.So people, including our beloved Principal, didn't have much confidence in our abilities. I didn't care though, because I was gonna come on TV and I was ready to brag about it for the rest of my life.
So there we were in Mumbai(it was Bombay then,..with no apologies to RT and his band of merry men), being put up in the posh Juhu Centaur hotel with a room overlooking the Arabian Sea. I was going absolute nuts and since food was complimentary, was busy hogging away on all the dishes that I could pronounce from the menu card.
After a couple of days of rest and sightseeing, we had our shooting lined up. The schedule was such that, both our quarter final and semi final rounds(if we made that far) were to be shot on the same day. The shooting was at the famous Nanavati studios, and I could barely contain myself. We were powdered and pampered in the green room and soon enough we were in the studio sets. Derek was waiting for us and seeing a team from Bengal, winked and wished us best of luck! We were ready to rumble..
The QF round had 2 teams from Bombay and one from Bangalore.Our measly Durgapur team looked completely out of sync in there. I just prayed we didn't finish last. As luck would have it, we were 3rd before the final speed round. For those unaware, one has to answer 15 q.s in 1 minute and could score a maximum of 75 points. So, if we aced it, we could finish as toppers. Maybe God was with us that day, we did exactly that, I don't remember any of the q.s save the last one, which was "Spell renaissance".
I doubt I could spell that now.
The euphoria of winning the QF was quickly submerged in the preparation for the SF round which was due to start within one hour. After a few hugs from my over excited mom, we were back in the green room, with a double layer of smelly stuff pasted over our "pretty" faces. The teams we were facing were now Bombay Scottish, who were last year champions,DPS RK Puram from Delhi and Little Flowers from Jamshedpur. But we weren't intimidated any more. St Xavier's from the steel city of Durgapur, were in the finals of the All Asia BQC, and we had already made history in our town!!!
I couldn't stop jumping up and down after it was all over. Some teams had gone into shock, after all big names had been toppled and we were the ones responsible for it. That night, we were the toast of the hotel. Everyone was congratulating us and teams were looking at us in awe. I think that was the first time in my life, that a girl ( a fellow participant) actually walked up to me and wished me and wanted to be friends with me. I still remember her name....Sonal from Christ School, Guwahati.For a thirteen year old, who is on the verge of major hormonal upheavals, it was quite a landmark!
All night, I was getting congratulatory calls from friends and relatives. But the best one was from our Principal, dear Father Jerome.We called him up and said that we were through to the finals..instead of the expected "Well done lads", what we got was "Ahh, so you guys are through, hmm..well that means you would want one more week off, I am telling you that is going to affect your grades. And now, I need to cancel your return train tickets for tomorrow and book them again for a week later. Do you think these TV people are going to refund the cancellation charges too?? Ahh too much work for me, anyways talk to them and let me know soon. Don't delay your stay more than required. Good night!"
more later....
So there we were in Mumbai(it was Bombay then,..with no apologies to RT and his band of merry men), being put up in the posh Juhu Centaur hotel with a room overlooking the Arabian Sea. I was going absolute nuts and since food was complimentary, was busy hogging away on all the dishes that I could pronounce from the menu card.
After a couple of days of rest and sightseeing, we had our shooting lined up. The schedule was such that, both our quarter final and semi final rounds(if we made that far) were to be shot on the same day. The shooting was at the famous Nanavati studios, and I could barely contain myself. We were powdered and pampered in the green room and soon enough we were in the studio sets. Derek was waiting for us and seeing a team from Bengal, winked and wished us best of luck! We were ready to rumble..
The QF round had 2 teams from Bombay and one from Bangalore.Our measly Durgapur team looked completely out of sync in there. I just prayed we didn't finish last. As luck would have it, we were 3rd before the final speed round. For those unaware, one has to answer 15 q.s in 1 minute and could score a maximum of 75 points. So, if we aced it, we could finish as toppers. Maybe God was with us that day, we did exactly that, I don't remember any of the q.s save the last one, which was "Spell renaissance".
I doubt I could spell that now.
The euphoria of winning the QF was quickly submerged in the preparation for the SF round which was due to start within one hour. After a few hugs from my over excited mom, we were back in the green room, with a double layer of smelly stuff pasted over our "pretty" faces. The teams we were facing were now Bombay Scottish, who were last year champions,DPS RK Puram from Delhi and Little Flowers from Jamshedpur. But we weren't intimidated any more. St Xavier's from the steel city of Durgapur, were in the finals of the All Asia BQC, and we had already made history in our town!!!
I couldn't stop jumping up and down after it was all over. Some teams had gone into shock, after all big names had been toppled and we were the ones responsible for it. That night, we were the toast of the hotel. Everyone was congratulating us and teams were looking at us in awe. I think that was the first time in my life, that a girl ( a fellow participant) actually walked up to me and wished me and wanted to be friends with me. I still remember her name....Sonal from Christ School, Guwahati.For a thirteen year old, who is on the verge of major hormonal upheavals, it was quite a landmark!
All night, I was getting congratulatory calls from friends and relatives. But the best one was from our Principal, dear Father Jerome.We called him up and said that we were through to the finals..instead of the expected "Well done lads", what we got was "Ahh, so you guys are through, hmm..well that means you would want one more week off, I am telling you that is going to affect your grades. And now, I need to cancel your return train tickets for tomorrow and book them again for a week later. Do you think these TV people are going to refund the cancellation charges too?? Ahh too much work for me, anyways talk to them and let me know soon. Don't delay your stay more than required. Good night!"
more later....
The early days
Being brought up in an industrial town can be a bit taxing for a 15 year old boy. For once, his career is already decided, not by him or by his parents,but by his society.
In a town full of engineers, the only 2 respectable professions that are considered suitable for a boy is "Engineering" or "Medicine". To even think of Commerce or Arts was sacrilege. The common comments we heard were that those subjects are for weak students and no self respecting boy will go for them. The girls had freedom to go for whatever the heck they liked, but for us it was like an open and shut case. Even my father had succumbed to the notion. I remember once , when I had come home after getting a pathetic 42/100 in Chemistry in class IX, and he thundered," Babu!! If you don't get 90+ in your X Boards and are hence unable to secure admission in DAV , I am not going to waste my time and money on any other school, and will pack you off straight to Jaunpur, where you will look after the cows and report to me daily the volume of milk and ghee,we get out of them!"
Ohh boy!! what a start to teenage life...
In a town full of engineers, the only 2 respectable professions that are considered suitable for a boy is "Engineering" or "Medicine". To even think of Commerce or Arts was sacrilege. The common comments we heard were that those subjects are for weak students and no self respecting boy will go for them. The girls had freedom to go for whatever the heck they liked, but for us it was like an open and shut case. Even my father had succumbed to the notion. I remember once , when I had come home after getting a pathetic 42/100 in Chemistry in class IX, and he thundered," Babu!! If you don't get 90+ in your X Boards and are hence unable to secure admission in DAV , I am not going to waste my time and money on any other school, and will pack you off straight to Jaunpur, where you will look after the cows and report to me daily the volume of milk and ghee,we get out of them!"
Ohh boy!! what a start to teenage life...
My first blog
I am joining the club...5 years ago, if some one had asked me,"Hey dude! do you blog?", I would have given him the crazy look and would have recommended him to some psycho doc. Me and writing!! wow...seems a strange marriage..I hated writing so much, that once I got a C in my Economics subject at college because I just couldn't get myself to fill 10 pages of the answer booklet.(p.s. it was also due to the fact that I couldn't for the world fathom what Keynesian theory is all about :P).The point is, I never imagined that one day, I will willingly sit down and pen down my thoughts and reminiscence of the good old days.
Here is to my new muse then!
Here is to my new muse then!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)